All For Anna (Letting Go, #1)

by Nicole Deese

[Angie]

All for Anna is not at all my typical kind of read, but I figured I'd give it a chance. I liked it in the beginning. Tori has just moved back home and accepted a job as a trauma nurse. She never thought she'd return, since a little over a year ago she was involved in an accident that killed a little girl. Tori hasn't dealt with her grief at all, and she's recommended for therapy, which is the only way she can take on overtime shifts (part of her coping mechanism other than running until she's exhausted). But then she meets Kai, and is finally opening up to someone again after having shut her emotions down for so long.

I knew All for Anna was Christian Fiction going into it, but I was glad that there wasn't too much talk of church and God in the beginning. Tori actually stopped going to church after the accident because she couldn't believe that God would take a child like that. But then about a third in, Kai is trying to convince her to renew her relationship with God and that it'll help her with her PTSD. Sorry, but what? God does not cure PTSD! I have no doubt that maybe faith could help her cope better than running herself ragged, but it's not going to cure her. Then she starts hearing voices, which at first seemed to be part of her hallucinations and flashbacks, but nope. It's God. Like, literally. Tori is hearing the voice of God, and he says the one thing that snaps her back to reality and she's magically fixed. No.

All for Anna is all about Tori healing after this tragedy, but there's one thing that really bothered me since no one mentions it. Ever. Tori is beating herself up because she shouldn't have been driving in the storm, so it's all her fault. But, obviously someone else was driving in the storm, otherwise she wouldn't have been in the accident. Maybe Anna's mother shouldn't have been driving in that storm either! I totally get that she's upset about the accident and the outcome, but how could no one bring this up? They all tell her not to blame herself, but no one points out an obvious flaw in her blame game logic.

I was also very annoyed with the ending. I was scared that this was going to be a saved by the power of love story, since Tori is struggling with PTSD and finds love in the process. Thankfully it didn't, but once again God butts in and ruins everything. Tori decides that she wants to do something, gets the paperwork all filled out, and everyone is in an uproar about it! Her sister yells at her about keeping secrets, when she literally had just found about her acceptance. Kai walks out on her, but says he'll wait for her. Then God is like nope, don't do it. So she doesn't do it. I think this thing would have been good for her! Who's to say that she needs to stay at home in order to heal? She could find purpose and use her passion! But noooo, everyone and God (literally) tell her no. Whatever.

All for Anna was just not for me. The romance was sweet, but I did see that twist coming from the beginning. It's not subtle or surprising at all. I probably would have been alright with the God aspects if he wasn't literally speaking to her for most of the book.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.