Faith (the character) is not and will never be my favorite. There, I said it. I may not have liked the main character of this story much, but Keep the Faith is one of my favorite reads this year.
Summary:
Summary:
As a community development worker, Faith was quite familiar with heartbreak and recovery after all the time she spent on disaster relief missions. So when her five-year relationship ends right before she left for a mission trip to a typhoon-stricken town in Iloilo, she tries not to make a big deal out of it. How can she be broken up about a breakup when she’s with people who literally lost everything?
But now that she’s back, all Faith wants is for her life to go back to normal and have people stop looking at her with pity. Never mind that she still has a lot of questions about the breakup, or that she feels a tiny ache every time her ex comes up in conversations. She’s okay now, and happily distracted by Nico Tamayo, the attractive new guy at work.
With new possibilities in the horizon, Faith thinks she is well on her way to moving on. But when her past comes calling back to her, will all the good things in her present be enough to keep her on the path? Or will she finally learn that there was more to heartbreak and recovery than what she knows?
So how do I love this? Let me count the ways:
With new possibilities in the horizon, Faith thinks she is well on her way to moving on. But when her past comes calling back to her, will all the good things in her present be enough to keep her on the path? Or will she finally learn that there was more to heartbreak and recovery than what she knows?
So how do I love this? Let me count the ways:
- Firstly, I think I need to clarify the first two sentences of this review. There were a couple of times when I got annoyed at how Faith seemed to drag on her feelings for James for far too long.(Cue: Mariah Carey singing Love Takes Time) She could have done a lot of things differently, but she wasn't facing the problem head-on. But I loved the character development of Faith. I liked how she dealt with things towards the end.
- This was an honest depiction of how a person feels disoriented and lost when a long-term relationship just ended. I admit that some things felt familiar to me that I know, if I happened to have read this right after my previous relationship, I would have bawled my eyes out. Thankfully, I'm past that phase, so all's good. No tears shed. This also reminded me of a friend who asked "What if your 'The One' does not feel like you're 'The One'?"
- It was my first time to read about Community Development workers. I don't know much about them, but through this story, I have a newfound admiration for this line of work. People usually think that this being one is just a fallback, a volunteer work when one has extra time. But really, this profession requires so much - passion, empathy, and compassion.
- I like stand-alone series! Keep The Faith can definitely be read as a stand-alone, but reading Fall Like Rain first gave me a glimpse on Faith and James' relationship. It made me understand why Faith felt so attached to her ex's family and why she felt lost after the breakup. It was also nice to see Mark and Rain here and that they're both doing good.
- If you've read any of my previous reviews, you'd know that I'm always in love with supporting characters. As mentioned in my Fall Like Rain review, Meah is my favorite out of the trio of friends. We get a few glimpses of her again and I'm anticipating the book with her as the MC. Faith's mom was also a good supporting character.
- Nico was charming. He was tender-hearted and cute, and he knows how to wait. Ugh. I wished for him to be my soulmate. One order of Nico with French Fries on the side, please!
- Faith (being a Catholic) played an important part in the story. The author also showed how being a Catholic can be deeply rooted in a Filipino household. Needless to say, like Fall Like Rain, this one was a wholesome read too.
