Archive | July 2016

One Thursday Morning by T.K. Chapin

Jul12

Hope And Fear

ThursdayOne Thursday Morning by T. K. Chapin is a contemporary Christian novel and the start of a new series. It’s clearly going to be a great series if book one is anything to go by.

I always love T. K. Chapin’s novels and like a fine wine, I think his writings just get better and better.

God is at the heart of the novel. Serenah cannot always hear Him. “I felt alone, like God had left me to die.” Sometimes we cannot see, hear or feel God but that does not mean He is not there, walking alongside us every step of the way. “That still, quiet voice inside told me to trust God.”

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The Things We Knew by Catherine West

Jul8

Secrets And Second Chances

Things We KnewThe Things We Knew by Catherine West is a contemporary Christian novel with a twist and I absolutely loved it. It’s about a family, a family with its secrets, its vices and its difficulties. A family who has split apart but when a crisis looms, comes together again, determined to seek out and face the truth.

The novel deals with many different themes, a major one is that of fathers. There is only one father who will not let us down and He is God. Within the novel there are several fathers and none of them are perfect. Nick on his childhood, “eventually he (Nick) got tired of waiting, tired of hoping.” Nick’s father was never there for him, and as an adult, Nick’s father has very little faith in Nick, “when you screw up…” Nick is still waiting for his father’s approval. Sometimes we approach God in this way, trying to work our way into His good books but God loves us just as we are. We are His and we already have His approval, without ever having to work at it.

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My Sister’s Prayer by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould

Jul8

The Bond Of Sisters

SistersMy Sister’s Prayer by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould is both a contemporary and historical Christian romance. It is the second book in the Cousins Of The Dove series but can be read as a stand-alone. I had not read the first book and I had no trouble following the story.

My Sister’s Prayer – Wow! It’s an epic novel as it journeys from late seventeenth century to present day. The main setting for both is similar. Both stories are intertwined and the lives run parallel of sisters Maddee and Nicole, and Celeste and Berta. Both face similar challenges and dilemmas in their relationships with each other.

The story alternated between the two time periods. The seventeenth century action was told from the point of view of Celeste and in the third person. Present day it was told in the first person from the viewpoint of Maddee. It wasn’t confusing as the chapters were all headed with their names.

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Sarah’s Orphans by Vanetta Chapman

Jul6

Getting Lost In A Good Story

SarahSarah’s Orphan’s by Vannetta Chapman is a contemporary Amish romance. It is the third book in the Plain And Simple Miracles series but can be read as a stand-alone.

I absolutely loved Sarah’s Orphan’s. Very few books manage to bring a tear to my eye but this one did! I fell in love with all the characters but especially young Mateo and Mia. Both were delightfully drawn and bought out the maternal side in me.

The novel deals with the whole theme of taking care of the widows and orphans. It has a secondary theme of belonging. My heart broke as I read “When had anyone ever wanted them?” It just takes one person to make all the difference in another’s life.

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