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Wings of Glass
Wings of Glass
Wings of Glass
Audiobook9 hours

Wings of Glass

Written by Gina Holmes

Narrated by Susan Bennett

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

From the best-selling author of Crossing Oceans comes a heartrending yet uplifting story of friendship and redemption. On the cusp of adulthood, eighteen-year-old Penny Carson is swept off her feet by a handsome farmhand with a confident swagger. Though Trent Taylor seems like Prince Charming and offers an escape from her one-stop-sign town, Penny's happily-ever-after lasts no longer than their breakneck courtship. Before the ink even dries on their marriage certificate, he hits her for the first time. It isn't the last, yet the bruises that can't be seen are the most painful of all. When Trent is injured in a welding accident and his paycheck stops, he has no choice but to finally allow Penny to take a job cleaning houses. Here she meets two women from very different worlds who will teach her to live and laugh again, and lend her their backbones just long enough for her to find her own.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 26, 2013
ISBN9781470366858

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Reviews for Wings of Glass

Rating: 3.88 out of 5 stars
4/5

25 ratings7 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Devil Incarnate came into young Penny Carson' life in the form of charismatic, good-looking Trent Taylor, a farmhand who dared to talk back to her overbearing father. With seductive promises, Trent stole Penny away from her home and family, luring her with his possessiveness, which at first made her feel wanted. It didn't take long at all for the twisted man behind the handsome face to begin his cycle of abuse--expectation of forgiveness--abuse. In "Wings of Glass", author Gina Holmes offers a look at domestic violence which is intense, unflinching, at times quite brutal, but is ultimately healing. The subject of abuse is one that many people turn away from because it makes them uncomfortable. Almost all of us know someone who is an abuse victim. We ourselves may be that victim. Abuse taints and tortures not only the immediate victim, but also others in the surrounding vicinity. Its effects are endless. Ripples upon ripples on the sea of life. When Trent is blinded in a work accident, Penny eventually finds work cleaning houses through a "church lady", Callie Mae. The woman who trains her, Fatimah, is a Sudanese refugee. The three women would at first seem very different, but they form a genuine friendship with a thread of shared painful memories. When Trent regains his eyesight, he also regains the vicious edge to his personality, which had been somewhat lessened by his loss of vision. Penny's pregnancy adds to the tension of the situation, even though at times Trent seems pleased about becoming a father. The abuse he suffered in his own childhood has taken a terrible toll, though, and he cannot stop the demon inside which makes him do awful things to Penny and other people. When the scope of the violence increases beyond their own home, and eventually includes the loss of a life, Penny must rely on the life lessons and friendship she has received from Callie Mae and Fatimah to sustain her own life and the life of her young son, Manny. I would like to commend Gina Holmes for choosing to write about abuse and its lasting, widespread effects–not just on the victim, but on those who care for the victim. All of us, whether we realize it or not, know someone who has been abused at some point in their life. The first reaction to abuse is denial. It’s a subject which makes people uncomfortable, and the victims often linger in a very painful silence. Writing about it may encourage someone who is a victim to seek help. Acknowledgement is not only a first step, it’s a giant leap! Recommended.Book Copy Gratis Tyndale House Publishers
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    What will it take for Penny to admit to herself that her husband is an abuser? For years, she takes the abuse as the life she was dealt, and covers up for him, denying the truth. But after years a abuse, her life takes a different bend, and now circumstances force her to make difficult choices. With the help of two new friends, she sees what her life is and what it could be. But is she strong enough to choose the right path? Author Gina Holmes gives us a startling look at what life is like for an abused woman and what possibilities exist to help her free herself from her abuser. An enlightening tale of strength that comes from within and above, you will find yourself caught up with these characters and wondering how it will all end.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Penny is an abused woman and like others she defends her husband's actions. We sit back and wonder why she doesn't leave himor how can she take this from a rotten drunk, the man who was supposed to love and cherish her? This story gives you insight into the mind of an abuse victim. It's not pretty but this kind of thing happens every day. Gina has the most wonderful characters in her books, especially in this one. How I would love to have friends like Fatimah and Callie Mae! I chuckled at almost everything that came out of Fatimah's mouth, she's a hoot! In spite of the horrors Penney endures the author has managed to put a ray of sunshine in her life. This is a tender story, beautifully written, with a message of hope.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I thought this book was well done in showing how it is to live in an abusive relationship. It felt very true and was still a very good read. I felt like I knew how it would end but it didn't stop me from wanting to turn each page until the end and then I was sad that it was over.

    I came to care for Penny.

    Her friendships that she made were out of the box but made the story more interesting, it just kind of shows about God's love for us.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    When Penny meets Trent its love at first sight. He's the first man to give her attention, the first man to make her feel alive and the first man to punch her in the face. Of course the punching didn't come until after they eloped and ran off together, cutting off her parents and everything that tied her to her old life. Trent's charm reeled her in and kept her there for years to come as his Jekyll and Hyde persona controlled every aspect of the marriage. Depressed, isolated and alone, Penny can't seem to get out of bed most days, let alone attempt to be the quintessential housewife. At the end of her rope, Penny almost wants to die, but fate has other plans for Penny and a door opens that changes the course of everything after Trent is hurt in a working accident and is temporally blinded.Disabled and unable to provide financially a bitter and mopey Trent allows Penny to get a cleaning job and grants her a little freedom to have a life outside the home. The abuse stops during his recovery and Penny discovers shes pregnant, between making a few friends and Trent trying to be a better husband, its really the most peace shes had in all their married years. The dynamic of the two women she gets close to changes her perspective on life, love and what it means to really live, Penny is feeling excited about her future for the first time, but deep down she knows this balloon of happiness could not last forever, and as Trent regains his eyesight, the abuse and control follows. As the balloon pops, her friends will go to lengths to help, but Penny always a prisoner of Trent's dominance wont let go, she doesn't know how and doesn't want to. With a baby weeks away and a man hell bent on destruction Penny will have to make the hardest decisions in her life.Wings of Glass is Gina Holmes third novel and while not my favorite of hers, an overall solid read. Most of the abuse in Wings of Glass is told and not shown, which of course is beneficial to those who are sensitive readers or prefer less graphic details when reading about touchy subjects. Besides the abuse, drinking, drugs and infidelity are all used to signify who Trent's character is, but the full force of his personality is somewhat dulled because obviously Holmes was not going to use graphic language or scenes, she still managed to confirm that he was a man lost in his own battle, and not so much making him out to be the top dog of evil, but one we almost feel sorry for. I had a hard time with that, it was a powerful question to ask- the ultimate forgiveness scenario- I myself would say beat him on the head with a frying pan, but mercy is extended to people like him everyday, especially in Gods eyes. While forgiveness is a command not to be taken lightly, there are also consequences for our actions and forgiveness should never enable a person to continue in evil, which for the better half of the book Penny allowed Trent to do. I didn't want to see a path taken in this novel to say that as a Christian woman Penny had to condone her husbands abuse and infidelity and while I did like the outcome of Penny's future, I didn't agree with the issue of divorce presented in the story, and by that I mean the almost too easy way out for Penny. It can be said God works in mysterious ways, but I felt Penny had every right to divorce and press charges had Holmes decided to take her character in that direction.At the end I had very mixed feelings about Penny, I was frustrated with her and didn't understand her decisions, yet I knew I couldn't relate to her fully due to never experiencing spousal abuse, so that in itself softened me towards her. It intrigued me that at the end of the book, Gina Holmes addresses this very question in her acknowledgments, I believe she wanted us to see not so much the detailed accounts of beating after beating but the physiological warfare going on inside of Penny's mind. Her reactions are illogical to a reader who has never been abused, that I can understand, but trying to see why she protected him and used God hating divorce as her crutch was hard for me to look past.I think Holmes created a beneficial story and as much as I liked the more personal feel and loved that Holmes made her characters everyday like, the faith aspect was very thick and the time setting never felt right to me, sometimes it felt like the early 60's, others times current day, Penny used unfamiliar settings and slang that felt off for modern day, and her personality only hit me at surface level, it was hard to connect to any of the characters without knowing what time frame I was in. Little things like that will probably pass most readers by, but as a reviewer they stuck out like a sore thumb to me. In the end though, it comes down to minor glitches in an all around moving story.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    To say I loathed this book is a gross understatement. I despise domestic abuse stories. That being said I enjoyed the author's writing style and imagery, I just hated her story. Penny ran away from her folks at age 17 in order to elope with her abusive lover. It's been 10 years of hell, but now that her husband has tragically lost her eyesight and she is with child, she hopes that it wil turn him into a better man. Her new friends however are doubtful, they want Penny to get away before Trent crosses the line and hurts her AND the baby. What is she supposed to do? She loves Trent and thinks that him abusing her is part of his duty as head of household. Will she ever be able to find God's strength and run away?Now instead of giving this review only one star I chose to give it three because there are some redeeming qualities. 1. The characters are well developed and you feel as if they are people you could easily run into in real life.2. The writing style is very descriptive, but doesn't bog you down, I read this book in a record 2 1/2 hours.3. The author did her research well, even though I despise domestic abuse stories, the author really got into the mentality of the abused and makes it easy for you to empathize with the victim.Now, why I hated this soo much. For the life of me I cannot understand or relate with the excuses that battered women make. I'm not trying to sound judgemental and I know I've never had to experience what they're going through, but I just can't undestand. Penny makes excuse after excuse for her husband. She even defends him when he drunkenly pushes her friend down the stairs who was carrying her newborn child!! A man pushes a woman carrying an infant and you try to tell the police it was an accident and that your husband didn't mean to do it!? Worst friend ever. Penny's friends keep trying to help her but she's in denial. Her husband beats her, degrades her, cheats on her, and verbally abuses her and she thinks it's ok! Like all the time!! I know this happens in real life but I can't understand it. As one of her friends, Callie Mae, says "The first time a man hit me would be the last time."If you're into domestic abuse, rising above challenges, or living in denial, then thsi is the book for you.I received this book for free from Waterbrook Press in return for my honest unbiased opinion.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Swept off her feet by Trent who she thinks is her Knight in Shining Armour, Penny marries to escape a strict father and the farm life. Little does she know that she has escaped the frying pan only to jump directly into the fire.Although this is a classic tale of an abused wife, Wings of Glass by Gina Holmes is told from the prospective of a mother telling her child the story of his mother and father. It is an unusual way to write a story, but Gina has masterfully used it in telling Penny's story.Gina takes you on a journey into the mind of the abused (Penny) and the workings of the abuser (Trent). You learn how Trent uses isolation, verbal and physical abuse to keep Penny under his thumb. This leaves Penny with poor self esteem, has her rationalizing Trent's actions and forever trying to fix the wrong she has done.Salvation for Penny comes by way of a welding accident her husband has which allows her to get a job to pay the bills and 2 new found friends that show her how to live life again.Two thumbs up Gina for such an eye opening story.For those that want to dig deeper into the book, there are several pages of thought provoking discussion questions at the end of the book.I did receive a copy of this book from The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review.