Longing: Volume 3 [Paperback]

Karen Kingsbury yet again reveals how amazing she is as a writer and that her writing is a God-given gift. The one thing I loved the most was that how all the characters really seek God first in every situation and how God really had a plan for all of them everyday in their lives. My problem was not with writing, but with how the story turned out.
I found this book really disappointing with how the love triangle between Bailey, Cody, and Brandon turned out. Cheyenne's wisdom for Cody did not make sense to me. How can Cody have such deep feelings for Bailey to have it turned out that he fell for the "idea" of her? You can't feel so deeply for someone and have someone suddenly tell you that she wasn't the "one". It's like a huge slap to the face. Cody and Bailey's love for one another in the past is so special. Yes, it's Bailey's past love and always will be and that doesn't mean that she will end up with Cody. But I just felt like it was written off so fast and the reasoning behind it was not enough, especially with the amount of time spent developing their relationship from past series. Team Cody fans deserve a better explanation than that.
And is it just me, or does Bailey and Brandon's relationship seem so unrealistic? Empire State Building date to prom on rooftop are just SO unreal to me. Never had I thought that Bailey was the type of girl who wanted a high-profile guy that swept her off her feet everyday. She seems more the type of girl who longs for a simple AND HUMBLE relationship, like the relationship of her parents. Especially with the time spent for Bailey, Cody, and Brandon to be realistic as possible (especially with their Facebook pages), the relationship just keeps getting more unrealistic as it goes on.
Also, I just don't understand why Brandon keeps looking more perfect (in terms of his relationship with Bailey, not in his career which I think he's really naive) and why Cody keeps looking more flawed. The inverse relationship between these two guys is also another reason why I'm highly disappointed because it's unrealistic and it doesn't make sense. Bailey keeps comparing Brandon to Cody to determine if her relationship is right for her. But I think it is unhealthy for her to do that because she's falling in love with the "idea" (haha...) of how Brandon is better than Cody and not falling in love with Brandon himself.
With the way this book ended, I don't see how Cody will end up with Bailey in the final book. For that to happen will just be even more confusing.
I love Karen Kingsbury's books and how I can relate to the characters. I can't believe I'm saying this but this book was a huge let down. This is the first time, and only time I hope, that I will be disappointed in the plot of her books.

After Katy and Dayne's story I was ready for new things. It seems this series is going exactly the same way which is so unrealistic to most of us. Bailey has always been such a Godly woman and now seems to be so attracted to gifts, glitter, and gain. I was truly disappointed with how the plot changed in this story and trust that the sequel would make up for my disappointment. I believe I'm finally ready to say good-bye to the Flanigan story and I never thought I would say that.

Have to agree with S. Miller on this one. I was so excited about the Flannigan series and the idea that Bailey would have her own books but the series is turning out to be a much poorer re-write of Katie was never into the materialism that Bailey is now getting into. It's a shame, because this storyline is clearly a Dayne/Katie knock-off and I'm just not sure I'll be able to feel the same way about them now that the Bailey series is trying to parallel it so closely. Very disappointing the way things seem to be heading.