Hold On To Hope
Surviving Christmas by Valerie Hansen is a delightful Christian romantic thriller about second chances and trust.
Suffering from PTSD, veteran Sean sees danger everywhere, but it is not always in his head. He has to learn to trust others, his own instincts and God, whom he believed had abandoned him. “There had been a time when he’d believed God was guiding him… now he felt adrift.” Whenever we feel adrift we must cling to our anchor God who will always guide us home safely.
The novel shows the partnership of man and dog, and man and God. Both can work well when they are in tune and both can be trusted.
There is the theme of healing – sometimes mental, sometimes physical or spiritual. Sometimes we grip a situation so hard that we block healing. We need to loosen our grip and let the healing flow.
A delightful read with all the elements we could wish for in an entertaining tale.
Holiday High Alert by Lenora Worth is a marvellous Christian romantic mystery which I really enjoyed. There are themes of revenge, power, love and hope.
The love of money is the root of all evil. Money can motivate people to behave in some despicable ways. “People… will do anything especially when it involves money.” Money can be used for good but the love of money corrupts.
Past events may also become warped and twist our way of thinking and behaving.
The novel is also about love and protection. The love of a father is strong. The pull to protect motivates behaviour. Likewise the K9 unit is also trained to protect.
Our father God can be trusted. When all seems bleak, He will never leave us. He is not without power but because of free will, there is evil in the world. “He [God] watched and He cried because God hates evil.” Whatever we face, God walks alongside us.
There are burdens in the novel, some we were never meant to carry. We need to give our burdens to God and press into Him.
If we know God, we can have hope. “We have to hold out hope.” Hope that life will be better with God alongside us.
A delightful story with elements for all to enjoy.
Rookie K9 Unit Christmas was a wonderful read. Both stories were linked by their characters and had similar themes of trust, hope, corruption by power and money, survival, love and faith. Delightful read together or as stand-alones.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
JULIA WILSON