Mary Not Broken

By: Deborah L. King

Narrated by: Lisa Reneé Pitts

In 1930s Mississippi, Mary Johnson hates the oppressive heat, working on her family farm, and having to attend her minister father's church several times a week. But she loves Mason Carter, her musician boyfriend. Both fantasize about living the high life up north in the big city.

When William Bevers, a wealthy old preacher, comes to court her, he promises a life of luxury along with money and status for her family. Mary wants nothing to do with him, but her parents decide for her. Determined to avoid a forced marriage, Mary elopes with Mason to the bright lights of Chicago.

But life up north is not the dream they expected. Multiple tragedies push Mary to the brink, and she soon returns home to the very world she tried so desperately to escape.

Too numb to stave off the pressure from her father, Mary considers accepting William's proposal. But she soon realizes that life as the preacher's wife might not provide the safety and security she craves.

©2023 Deborah L. King (P)2023 Tantor

MARY DOESNT BEND NOR DOES SHE BREAK

First off, the narrator did an AMAZING job. She really helped bring this story and characters to life.

I really enjoyed this one for the most part. So much so that I thought it would at least be 4.5 stars but towards the middle the plotting hit a wall.

If you don’t like religion, specifically Christianity, being a big part of the plot of your books then avoid this one. Religion is used to control and shame others and oneself. Growing up in that atmosphere it was very much believable.

Initially I loved Mary’s character. So brash and rebellious. Eventually all the things that I liked about her became so grating. I’m not sure if it was a writing choice or just bad character development but many times in the book I just kept thinking, “Sis, at some point you’ll have to evolve and grow up.” Then her character takes a drastic turn and her personality does a complete 180 that I thought I missed some plot point that made this change come about.

What truly caused me not to get immersed in the story was the repetitiveness of hitting the same plot points that it made Mary feel so stunted.

What saved the book was the pacing and just the overall melodramatic, over the top plotting. I love a soap opera style story approach.

Enjoyable listen

The different voices of the characters were very believable. However, the way the characters laughed was a bit annoying.

Not really extraordinary

Some people could be broken by what Mary experienced. But most would not. A mildly interesting story of one persons like

So many ups and downs with a great ending.

This books takes you on a life Journey with Mary Johnson as she navigates youthfulness, early marriage and painful loses. In the end Mary finds herself and love.

This is a great book with a great ending.

Great Story Telling

The author did a great job describing the main character Mary. But in today’s world, her father’s goal to sell her to the professor would be considered human trafficking. So I had no sympathy at all for her minister father who caused Mary to take action to get pregnant by her young love, Mason. This spiraled into a series of tragic events in her life that made her follow her family’s wishes and marry the older man. I also had problems with Mary’s strong belief that God was punishing her for her “sins” to the point that she inflicted physical torture on herself to stifle her physical attraction to men. I found myself hopeful for her and then disappointed when things didn’t work out for her and some of the men who crossed her path over the years. I would have wanted some of the characters to be better described, to know more about her parents’ lives, her sisters, and even some of the men she found herself involved with. Overall this was a good read with enough action to hold my attention until the end.