Half Agony, Half Hope: Dear Lily Edition by Joy Michelle Austin

Book Stats:

Genre: Contemporary Fiction Release Date: March 17, 2026

Series: Related to Jane Austen's Men series Pages: 424

My Review:

I have been trying quite a few new authors lately, and this is another one of those new authors. This book was hard to read but also so hopeful, and full of strenth. If you enjoy a good synopsis here is what the author has to say about her book: Half Agony, Half Hope, Dear Lily Edition .

I don't even know where to begin in this review. The first sentence "Lily was not getting the wedding she had spent nearly a year planning" sets off this heartbreaking yet wonderful journey of self discovery. We follow Lily as she endures heartache and learning about a past she does not remember. Rick's letters to Lily are difficult to read, but also show just how deep a father's love can be for their child. There is so much space and care for the trauma endured and the processing that has to happen. We follow them through this space, and the story's pacing lines up with Lily's in that when she needs to slow down we slow and when she tries to speed up we can feel that. It fit the story very well.

I personally related to Lily in that I literally cannot remember most of my high school years. Especially the parts when I was in school. I transitioned from schools on military bases to a civilian school and experienced a huge amount of culture shock. So much that I honestly could not tell you anything about my freshman year of high school. I remember I hated the first day, convinced my mom to let me stay home the second day and then of course attended after that, despite not wanting to. I can only give snippets of the remaining three years and they get a little clearer closer to graduating. It's a strange experience. They are not the same as Lily because I know they are missing, whereas she was unaware, it was simply a way I was able to connect with the character.

Reading these letters and Lily's story makes me want to dive deeper into Rick's story because while we can kind of see his side of what happened, I think experiencing the letters as they happened would just give a deeper appreciation for the characters and everything they endured. So I will definitely be checking out his book. I like how this book was a gentle introduction to the characters and story so that I can now go back knowing the basics and read Rick's story. It is a very neat way to create a story.

Quote Time:

"There are seasons," Eddie added gently, "when God brings people into your life. And there are seasons when it feels like He is taking some away. Neither season is a verdict on your worth"

As someone who is going through what seems a prolonged season of taking away, this quote was a well timed reminder that He never leaves, and my worth rests in my identity as His child alone. He is the only one who gets to dictate who I am.

"You asked if I still pray. I wanted to give you an easy answer. I wanted to say prayer fixes things. That faith keeps the worst from happening. But I am learning that faith is not a shield. Sometimes it is simply the thing that keeps you standing inside the harm."

I am still marinating on that quote, because having just lost someone important in my life there are many days when the Lord is the only thing keeping me going. His strength is what is getting me through the days. It is not the same as what Rick went through by any means, but what I love about reading, is that as we read we get to bring our experiences to the book as well as see the world in different ways.

So while this book is hard in so many ways, and I needed a lighter book after reading I would recommend it. A solid four star read.

I want to thank the publisher for a copy of this book to read, with no expectations of a review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Meet the Author:

Joy Michelle Austin is an award-winning novelist writing contemporary fiction. Her debut found an immediate audience among readers drawn to heartfelt stories of healing and second chances, launching the Jane Austen's Men series. She also wrote The Seaside Sleuths and the Bridal Batter Blunder, a cozy mystery tie-in project for young readers.

She is the recipient of the West Coast Christian Writers Encourager Award and the Walt Disney Legacy Award--an honor given to fewer than 1% of Cast Members worldwide for embodying Disney's "Dream, Create, Inspire" legacy.

Joy draws inspiration from real stories of courage, grace, and the quiet heroes found in everyday life, crafting fiction for readers who seek hope, honesty, and heart in contemporary storytelling.

Through her blog, The Joyous Living, she connects with thousands of readers who share her love of culture, storytelling, and meaningful living. She lives in Southern California with her dog, Captain Hastings.

More from Joy

Half Agony, Half Hope was not a story I set out to write lightly.It was an answer to a call God placed on my heart as a survivor of sexual assault—a call to tell the truth without exploiting it, and to create hope without diminishing the pain. From the beginning, I knew this would be a heavy debut novel. I also knew I wanted it to be clean, faith-centered, and redemptive.
The decision to tell this story through the eyes of a man was intentional. So few novels explore male survivors with compassion and dignity, yet one in six men are sexually assaulted. Their stories are often hidden, misunderstood, or minimized. Rick Wentworth’s journey exists to say plainly: healing is possible, faith is not erased by trauma, and masculinity is not diminished by suffering.
Because of the weight of Rick’s past, much of the abuse in Half Agony, Half Hope is veiled. I wanted readers to feel the truth of what he endured without being retraumatized themselves. Still, after the book released, readers told me they longed for more gentleness—more space to breathe inside the story.
That is how the Dear Lily Edition was born.
Lily was Rick’s hope and grace during the darkest years of his captivity. In the cellar, she was the reminder that love could still exist, that innocence could survive, and that God was not absent—even there. Their bond became the quiet heartbeat of the story: a wounded man learning how to hope again through the steady, healing love of a child.
At its core, Half Agony, Half Hope: Dear Lily Edition is a story of survival and faith—but it is also a story of a father and daughter choosing trust and hope despite hardship, and building a family where brokenness does not get the final word.