A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert

About the Book
Sometimes everything you ever learned about yourself is wrong
Fashion is a fickle industry, a frightening fact for twenty-four year old model Ivy Clark. Ten years in and she’s learned a sacred truth—appearance is everything. Nobody cares about her broken past as long as she looks beautiful for the camera. This is the only life Ivy knows—so when it starts to unravel, she’ll do anything to hold on. Even if that means moving to the quaint island town of Greenbrier, South Carolina, to be the new face of her stepmother’s bridal wear line—an irony too rich for words, since Ivy is far from the pure bride in white.

If only her tenuous future didn’t rest in the hands of Davis Knight, her mysterious new photographer. Not only did he walk away from the kind of success Ivy longs for to work maintenance at a local church, he treats her differently than any man ever has. Somehow, Davis sees through the façade she works so hard to maintain. He, along with a cast of other characters, challenges everything Ivy has come to believe about beauty and worth. Is it possible that God sees her—a woman stained and broken by the world—yet wants her still?

My Thoughts
A Broken Kind of Beautiful was the absolute perfect title for this book! That is exactly what this story and Ivy were, broken but beautiful. It is really hard to describe Ivy and my feelings about her. The front she put on for people made me greatly dislike her yet we got to see the deep pain she lived with which made you understand why she acted the way she did and made your heart break for her. I can't imagine living the life she grew up with, a checked out mother, a father who acted like she didn't exist, an uncle/agent who only cared for her as long as she was able to make him money, and hundreds of people who looked only at her outward beauty. It is no wonder she ended up the way she did! I greatly admired the way Davis didn't just fall at her feet like every other guy, but instead saw through the show she put on, to the person underneath. And I loved the way he tried to help her see it too. I felt so bad for the guilt he bore, that was partly justified, yet was doing no one any good.
This novel was filled with pain and brokenness and I loved watching the characters be redeemed from that to the beautiful life God had planned for them!

Meet the Author
Katie Ganshert graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a degree in education, and worked as a fifth grade teacher for several years before staying home to write full-time. She was born and raised in the Midwest, where she lives with her husband, their young son, and their goofy black lab, Bubba. When she's not busy writing or playing or reading or snuggling, she is obsessing over the paperwork and the waiting that comes with adoption. She is the author of Wildflowers from Winter and Wishing on Willows. Visit her website at katieganshert.com

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.