Francine RiversRezensionen

I can certainly see why this book has a lot of controversy, but I really enjoyed it and found it to be quite a moving story. Angel grew so much throughout the book and it was just good to see.

I was nervous about starting this because I really disliked the last book I read by the author (The Atonement Child). I am glad to say that I worried for nothing.
This book hooked me right from the beginning. The characters were so well-developed. It was really nice to see that the book spanned so many years. Eventually, it switched from Marta's POV to Hildemara's and then back to Marta's. Even by the end of the book, there is still a lot that those two have to work through so I would recommend keeping book two since there is a cliffhanger.

5 Stars

Content: As with all of Francine's books, I'd say 18 .

I didn’t enjoy this as much as the author’s other books. This one was so heavy-handed with the preaching. Something about how the characters were portrayed was really off-putting.

I will admit that I didn't think this could live up to Redeeming Love. I am glad to say that I was mistaken.

Well, I 'just one more chapter'ed this book all through the night. That ending...wow. It was heartbreaking, bittersweet, hopeful. You get the idea.
I will say that the first 60-70% of the book was quite dark. Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong and I was losing hope in the book. Rivers got quite heavy-handed with a particular topic, and I didn't like that. Not because I disagree with what she was saying, but just because it was too much foreshadowing. I felt like I was being hit over the head with it.
And then the climax of the book happened. The women were finally locked up together without being able to leave and they addressed their issues. It was emotional and sad and healing. There were generations of women who all had dysfunctional relationships with each other that needed to be mended. I also liked that Marta's secrets came out even though she was gone.
AND THAT ENDING. That is literally all I can say without spoiling anything, but yeah, if you know, you know.

4 Stars

Content: As with all of Francine's books, I recommend for 18 .

LENTEN AND FUNERAL SONGS

This one is a coming of age and coming to faith story. I read it a while back, but I remember that it is set in the 1950s – the golden age of Hollywood. Pastor Ezekiel Freeman finds an abandoned baby under a bridge in the small town of Haven - and it’s her story - Abra’s. She grows up in Haven and becomes a beautiful young lady - but due to abandonment issues, she is vulnerable and easily manipulated. She gets talked into going out to Hollywood to become a star. It’s a tough story because she goes through a lot in Hollywood that is pretty dark. If you read it, be prepared for that. Her closest friend, the pastor’s son Joshua, back in Haven knows and loves Abra for who she really is… beneath the Hollywood persona. Will she ever be able to make it back home? Will she learn that God loves her no matter what mistakes she has made and she can still go to Him?

This story, set in a mining town in 1875, is about Kathryn Walsh, a Christian lady from Boston, whose step-father wants her sent far away so she can’t embarrass the family with her crazy ideas about women’s suffrage. Her mother inherits a house/disused newspaper office from Kathryn’s father’s brother - Uncle City Walsh - out west. She gives it to Kathryn and sends her to the remote mining town of Calvada to claim it. There, she meets the two most powerful and wealthy men in Calvada. One is determined to marry her, and the other begrudgingly feels an obligation to protect her because of his friendship with her Uncle City. Kathryn never met City - or her father who had gone west with City and died before Kathryn’s birth. Kathryn soon learns that another newspaper serves up the news in Calvada now. Her Uncle’s house is a mess. She has inherited a worthless mine that isn’t being worked. And there are not many opportunities for women in terms of work in Calvada - unless you count the brothel. Kathryn does make a few friends, though, and when she decides to start her Uncle’s newspaper back up, she find herself in the middle of mining town politics - not a pretty place to be for a lady…

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book. Some of Rivers’ books have been top-notch, while I struggled with others. She’s a talented author; the way she describes her characters and setting and creates her plots are all intriguing and engrossing. When I picked this book up, I wondered how long it would take me to get through it—it’s a chunker, coming in right around 500 pages! In the end, it only took me four days to read it, even though it came at a fairly hectic time. This was a gripping story.

There was a lot to enjoy in this story. I was able to relate to both Marta and Hildemara, and loved following along their life journeys. This could easily have been a fairly boring read: “They did this, then they did that…” but it wasn’t, and I’m so glad! I felt like I was there with the characters, and that was great!

I did struggle with some elements of the story. I felt like intimacy in marriage was mentioned way more often than necessary, and while it was generally only vaguely referred to, it was still more than I’m comfortable with. I was also hoping this would have a stronger Christian theme than it had, in the end—neither character seemed to have a living relationship with Jesus, until maybe in the last few chapters.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It deals with some very difficult themes, but it’s a well-written, gripping novel, and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel eventually.

Mothers and Daughters

From the depths of the sea to the far reaches of space are countless blessings the Lord offers you. This weekly devotional invites you to seek our Creator through the marvellous natural world we live in. A beautiful book! With stunning photos, Scripture excerpts, prayers and reflections.

I enjoyed this! I did think it could have used more editing though. While I realize recovery from a life as traumatic as Angel's would take a long time to recover from, I think Rivers made her go back to the same thoughts again and again that she would not have in real life. The audiobook was 17 hours! (I cut it down to 9 by listening on 1.20 speed instead of 1.00)

I also really wanted more from Michael's perspective. It would be cool if there was a sequel or something that told Paul's story, or one that told Michael's entire story.

Summary: I liked this book, but it was longer than it needed to be.

Sons of Encouragement Series #4

Sons of Encouragement Series #2

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I liked the period of time it was set in and I liked the main character. I love stories based in the old West and this one met my expectations.
Kathryn arrives in a mining town having been banished there by her stepfather. She's come to claim an Inheritance from her uncle that she never knew. She decides to relaunch her uncles newspaper and starts to stir up trouble. The two most powerful men in town also vie for her attention. She's determined to live her life as she wants, by herself.
She then finds out that her uncle left her a mine and it turns out to be quite profitable. She brings new life to the dying town. Along the way she falls in love and learns that she can be a wife and be herself too.
A great read!

Just read this for the first time in 8 years! I love this series and was really encouraged by the character of Hadassah. I'm feeling bolder about sharing my own faith after reading about her sharing hers! Truly a masterpiece series!!

(Mine has the original cover art...different from the one pictured here.)

Just read this for the first time in over 10 years! I love this series, though I don't care for this book all that much. It's very negative throughout. I understand that's necessary but Atretes is so mean that it makes his nice moments unbelievable. Also, I was so bummed at the very last page she makes a HUGE historical error in saying Caleb went to minister to the Vikings. She's about 800 years off...ugh. As someone else pointed out, these were written pre-internet so she probably didn't have a lot of access to research materials. But that one is a pretty big leap in the historical timeline!

(My cover is different from the one pictured above. I have the one with the original artwork.)

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Let me start by saying that the setting in this book is top-notch. The way the characters talk took a little getting used to, but that adds to the immersion. Though that makes it all the more strange when a new character shows up partway through the book and talks like a KJV Bible. And stranger still that the other characters seem to have no trouble understanding him.

The story that revolves more directly around Cadi and the sin eater is what I liked most about the book. Her quest to be absolved of her sins and his desire to better understand his role are heartbreaking, yet allow for maximum hopefulness as the story unfolds. I’ll admit I didn’t care for the way the preacher’s storyline plays out though. The book overall feels really allegorical, with a character that is clearly not “real” in the strictest sense of the word and the instantaneous way that the characters know entire passages of the Bible by heart. Not that I’m against an allegory, but there was one particular element in the story that it would have been really nice to get even a partial explanation for that was completely left unaddressed. Overall, though, this was an engaging read, and I think most fans of historical Christian fiction, especially those with a missions-type storyline, would like it.

To men of faith who serve in the shadows of others! It was the scribe who brought the words of Peter & Paul to future generations. Very well written!
With Bible Study at the end of the book.

An unexpected and redemptive love story.

A deeply moving story about a family torn apart and the grace and forgiveness that can heal even the deepest wounds.

A Heart-Wrenching but Uplifting Contemporary Christian Fiction Novel.
To all those who live with the anguish of abortion, and to their families who suffer with them in secret and in silence.