Tag Archives: Christian fiction

Book Review: The Theory of Happily Ever After

08 Monday Oct 2018

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I received a copy of The Theory of Happily Ever After by Kristin Billerbeck from Revell in exchange for a review.

This story aims to resemble a Hallmark Channel movie, but it gets a little more convoluted with its references to Dr. Maggie Maguire’s science background. If you simply board the story as the characters do the cruise and go along with it, it has the makings of a romantic comedy. It even attempts to add some depth with contemplations of happiness and relationships, but the friends’ arguments get confusing for what the prevailing lesson should be. At least the ultimate lesson of opening up yourself to find God’s purpose for you rather than your friends’ or parents’ and to accept love and happiness remains mostly clear. Generally speaking, this book tries too hard to attain a sweetness and ends up bordering cheese. The Hallmark Channel does this more successfully in their simple, sweet movies.

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Book Review: The Proving

15 Tuesday May 2018

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I received a copy of The Proving by Beverly Lewis from Bethany House in exchange for a review.

I have enjoyed my second Beverly Lewis book. While the people may be plain and the storyline fairly simple, it carries a relatability to it. Amanda moves away from her family after a disappointment and lives among the Englishers but ends up moving back after her mother passes away and leaves the family Bed and Breakfast to her. Amanda goes back thinking she will fulfill her mother’s wishes to stay for a year then collect the money and return to her new life. However, she ends up finding out that the people she left behind may welcome her back.

It feels nice to imagine the setting of the Amish inn. I wish I could get away and spend a weekend there as well and meet Amanda and the other sweet characters from the story. Amanda’s internal struggle to forgive herself, forgive her twin sister and accept forgiveness from her sister holds a universal message of grace and the importance of family. It also shows that tensions exist in all kinds of all families but they can be overcome if the people involved demonstrate a willingness to show grace and communicate. As a young person, Amanda also grapples with choosing her path for her future as she decides where she wants to live, what career she wants to pursue and if she wants to have a marriage and family. These choices also remind readers that we all have decisions to make and paths to follow and that no one stands alone in moving forward. Amanda and her new friend who visits the inn show a lot of angles on progressing through life with hope.

I enjoy this book and Beverly Lewis. I recommend it as a fairly light read for a peaceful setting and hope for life’s common choices and struggles.

Book Review: The Two of Us by Victoria Bylin

09 Wednesday May 2018

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I received a copy of The Two of Us by Victoria Bylin from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review.

The Two of Us follows a modern, female centric story revolving around faith. While at times almost cliché, it does have a heart. Mia proves an admirable protagonist who struggles with finding direction in her life and trusting God to provide what she wants after she’s been burned a couple times. Yet, despite these troubles, she does hold to her faith as she honestly shares her disappointments, fears and doubts with God. She also stands on her faith and values even when doing so means losing a person or situation she wants. Specifically with sex outside marriage, this book shows multiple angles on how people struggle to uphold their value or who do fall but get back on track with grace. Mia and her sister Lucy show this balance in their lives; Mia starts off the story with a broken heart after her engagement breaks due to her standing her ground to maintain her virginity, and Mia’s younger sister Lucy starts out getting married because she got pregnant due to not waiting for marriage. Over the course of the story, the sisters support each other as each struggles to trust God for his provision and guidance as they choose careers and develop relationships.

I enjoyed this story that somehow felt lighthearted even though it held some weight in its content. I appreciated the characters and their authenticity in not only their struggles but their trust and hope to overcome them with faith and trust. The situations were realistic and relatable, making it easy to apply the sisters’ lessons to my own life, whether relating to choosing my next steps for career like Mia or trusting God to guide me in another area of my life. I liked that Bylin wrote imperfect characters who stood rooted in their faith, authentically shared their doubts and who gracefully failed yet continued on their paths.

Book Review: The Return by Suzanne Woods Fisher

25 Wednesday Apr 2018

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I received a copy of The Return by Suzanne Woods Fisher from Revell in exchange for a review.

The Return, Suzanne Woods Fisher’s third installment in her Amish Beginnings series, gives readers a glimpse into prerevolutionary life in Pennsylvania through a story inspired by true events. The female leads Betsy Zook and Tessa Bauer give a real sense of the tough situations of the time and a timeless rawness for difficult circumstances. They face loss of family, fear for their lives, relationship choices and more. As they endure their hardships, they become stronger women.

I enjoyed this story and its history. I learned a lot about the time period and people represented in this book and appreciated the new knowledge. Some of the relationship strains between groups of people resembled ones we see now, which gave the story an added layer for lessons learned from history.

Book Review: These Healing Hills by Ann H. Gabhart

23 Monday Apr 2018

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I received a copy of These Healing Hills by Ann H. Gabhart from Revell in exchange for a review.

This book with its Kentucky mountain fall picture on its cover arrived when I moved to Kentucky last autumn. Though the setting was more mountainous and backwoods than Bowling Green and further back in time, it provided a place and mood match. The story followed a city nurse midwife named Francine Howard as she finished her training to “catch babies” and Ben Locke, a man who returned from war unsure of what to do next.

Gabhart brought me into this mountain world and taught me about the midwife profession as well as the mountain lifestyle. The characters all held likable qualities, and I could relate to Francine’s internal struggle to determine where she belonged and where she wanted to live in the future. Francine also held admirable qualities to strive to do her best to complete the training as prescribed as well as to fully understand her patients. Overall, she showed strength in many ways as she handled birthing situations, a breakup with her fiancé and a new living and working environment. She held true to her values as she sought her direction for her next steps.

I enjoyed this book and also had the opportunity to meet Ann H. Gabhart at SOKY Book Fest this past weekend. She chatted with me for a while was really sweet. She signed my book, and I got one of her cozy mysteries to read next.

Book Review: The Captain’s Daughter by Jennifer Delamere

16 Monday Apr 2018

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I received a copy of The Captain’s Daughter by Jennifer Delamere from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review.

I enjoyed this story, especially for its London 1879 setting. It followed the intersecting lives of Rosalyn Bernay and Nate Moran as they worked at a theater company. They both sought to overcome struggled of their recent past, which they both hid from the other at the outset. Rosalyn hurriedly left her previous employer amid a scandal, and she wished to clear her name and prove her innocence; Nate grappled with the heartbreak of a broken engagement and the injury sustained in battle when he received the breakup letter. They both had to overcome their pride and worry of others’ perceptions while they sought to improve their economic status and stability. This they ended up doing together as Rosalyn rented a room from the Bernay family and they worked at the same theater.

The London setting, the class struggle and the theater details made for a fun atmosphere. The story itself fit into it like a classic from that time period. The characters also showed depth and relatability in their struggles. Most importantly, they had to stand their ground on their values and seek peace through forgiveness of themselves and others. Rosalyn showed a deep understanding and empathy of others as she encountered a variety of people with different backgrounds and intentions. Though Nate thought she might make easy prey for men with ill intentions, Rosalyn contemplated what people might think or want when they interacted with her. Instead of harboring bitterness when someone hurt her, she sought to understand their background and to let go of the situation so she could move forward. In contrast, Nate struggled with this, especially when it came to forgiving his fiancé for breaking the engagement and with forgiving himself for unintentionally putting a comrade in his regimen in danger. Throughout the story, these characters showed the effects of holding grudges and the peace that came with forgiveness.

Overall, this book offered a neat story with some more encouragement that took place in a familiar London class and setting in the town and theater. It demonstrated the power of forgiveness and the power of persistence. The characters stuck to their values and encountered good outcomes. After finishing the book, I felt like I too could move forward in my goals.

Book Review: Beloved Hope by Tracie Peterson

11 Wednesday Apr 2018

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I received a copy of Beloved Hope, the second book in the Heart of the Frontier series, by Tracie Peterson in exchange for a review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, which made sense to me despite not having read the first in the series. Though the setting may seem old, simple and isolated from civilization, it presents complex human issues through the lives of the three sisters in the Flanagan family in Oregon City. The story revolves around Hope; she, along with her older sister Grace, survived a massacre by the Cayuse. The effects of that trauma lingers even more than two years later when the trial occurs for the Cayuse. Hope still keeps her heart hidden and fears the man who abused and impregnated her while she was held hostage. Yet as the story unfolds, we see multiple perspectives and timelines of forgiveness as well as hope for romance and intimacy after healing.

The story depicts a realistic development of pain, healing and forgiveness. Hope goes from fear to hope as she finally learns to trust the Lord. Ultimately, she sees that she need not hide from the prospect of marriage as she can enjoy an intimacy with God as well as with someone he has in mind for her. The story shows the understanding and patience of a godly man as Army lieutenant Lance Kenner gets closer to Hope, always respecting her need for space and understanding. Hope’s sisters also go through different phases of trust, love and forgiveness as they embark on new stages of their relationships and healing from the massacre trauma.

I enjoyed the story, particularly its realistic and hopeful portrayal of healing and forgiveness. The setting may have been different from my experience, but I could relate to the universal experience of learning to trust. It also presented new information regarding history that informed while providing a premise for a timeless hope lesson.

I already have another Tracie Peterson book on my shelf to review. I look forward to reading and reviewing Out of the Ashes as well as continuing the Heart of the Frontier series.

Under a Summer Sky Makes a Warm, Tender Summer Read

03 Monday Jul 2017

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I received a copy of Under a Summer Sky by Melody Carlson from Revell Books in exchange for an honest review.

Once again I got a third in a series, but this one also didn’t require knowledge of the previous books for me to enjoy this novel. This time I had the added pleasure of reading a sweet summer love story during the summer months. Overall, I enjoyed the story and the characters, especially the protagonist Nicole.

Nicole, a high school art teacher, moved from Seattle, Washington to Savannah, Georgia to run a family friend’s art gallery for the summer. She agreed to the arrangement with the hope of not feeling stuck in her job and relationship status. While there, she encountered new career experience, difficult co-workers, friendships, and a budding romance. She even took one of her friend’s children under her wing.

I appreciated Nicole’s character since her experiences and time of life resembled my own. She showed strength in trying a new angle to develop her career and skills, moving to gain perspective and allowing a nice gentleman to pursue her for a relationship. I too made a faraway move to gain perspective and job experience and could relate to the uncertainty. It felt hopeful to read about someone else doing it and overcoming the obstacles.

My only knocks on the book were that some of the dialogue seemed contrived. The content still made sense; they just didn’t flow as naturally as real dialogue usually would. However, the situations and characters still maintained their authenticity and relatability. In a way the story had a certain simplicity, but I enjoyed it and appreciated the positive outlook.

Wings of the Wind book review

28 Wednesday Jun 2017

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I received a copy of Wings of the Wind by Connilyn Cossette from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.

This book indicated it was the third in the Out From Egypt series, but it was the first one I read and still made sense without the context of the other books as it seemed those revolved around other characters. Generally, the story gave a greater insight into the biblical time period when the Hebrews fled Egypt as they traveled to the Promised Land. This brought it to life in a greater depth in my mind. Hearing the characters discuss the manna falling from the sky and their various thoughts on it made it more real. It also gave a greater context to the interaction and culture of the Hebrews and Canaanites.

As Alanah and Tobiah got to know each other in the marriage they arranged for Alanah’s safety, despite her being an enemy discovered by Tobiah, I learned how the cultures honored their beliefs. I saw how they respected God and the Torah as well as each other. The background of war showed how tough the times must have been for all involved. Both Alanah and Tobiah lose people close to them and must grapple with the loss as they move on in their significant relationship to each other as strangers.

I enjoyed the book overall. The war descriptions didn’t excite me as I don’t particularly care for war scenes, but the war itself does give a context for the struggles in the story. It also gives the characters opportunities to show their mental and spiritual strengths in addition to their physical strengths. These characters showed a lot of all as they faced several difficulties on their hopeful road to the Promised Land.

The Ebb Tide Book Review

17 Wednesday May 2017

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I received a copy of The Ebb Tide by Beverly Lewis from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

This book introduced me to Beverly Lewis as well as Amish fiction, and I’ve enjoyed my first encounter with both. Twenty year old Sallie made a good protagonist to demonstrate a healthy curiosity for the wonders of the world around her. Her situations in the story served as good examples for people exchanging culture and living peacefully together.

Sally’s background differed from mine a lot, ranging from her having ten kids in her family while mine had two to her family living the Plain lifestyle while mine lived a pretty Christian and mainstream one. However, I could relate to her wanting to experience more than what she knew. I too spent my young adult years reading books to learn more about cultures and places. We both also got to reach our dream locations, hers being the beach and mine being London. Then it seemed like those trips led to beginnings of a greater enlightenment of the world and other cultures.

Sally lived with a family for the summer who did not live the Plain lifestyle, and she got to see more modern tools like iPhones, Google and a washing machine. She noticed how the family who hired her didn’t look at her or treat her differently because of her attire but also noticed how they had more material goods at their disposal. Later, she met a nice young man who shared a similar family background but differed. Sallie’s life really flourished in many ways through her experiences as a nanny in a beach area summer home.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I liked learning more about Amish culture, and I appreciated how it showed a positive way to learn about other cultures through genuine interactions with others. Sallie also demonstrated a healthy yearning to learn and experience those cultures and learn about the world and its people.