Archive | October 2018

Better Than First by Kari Trumbo

Oct23

Chasing Dreams

Better Than First by Kari Trumbo is the most delightful Christian romance that is set around Christmas but you do not have to wait until the festive season to read it! It’s a wonderful all-year round read.

Once again Kari Trumbo has created wonderful, warm and welcoming characters who will lodge in your heart. The lead characters bounce their dialogue off each other, exuding love and friendship, to the delight of the reader.

The backdrop of snow adds to the festive feel. Sometimes things that look good have a dangerous edge. We can see parallels in life… not everything that looks good is beneficial for us.

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Under My Skin by Lisa Unger

Oct23

The Power Of Dreams

Under My Skin by Lisa Unger is a fabulous contemporary psychological crime thriller that I just could not put down.

The story is a study of grief. “I don’t have a home. I have a place where I live, but not a home.” It is a grief so raw that it clings like a fog, from which it is impossible to emerge. “Until you let your husband go, no one else will measure up.” But what happens if you do not want to let him go?

As part of a couple, it feels like a limb has been severed. “Widowed… it defines me by the loss of my husband.” So much of life was wrapped up as a couple, that losing one’s mate gives a feeling of lostness. Life continues but it seems hard to see how you can go on. “There’s life on the other side of this for you.”

There is a crime to solve. As characters struggle to find answers, so the reader looks for clues.

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Love On The Rocks by Kerry Evelyn

Oct22

Perfect Love

Love On The Rocks by Kerry Evelyn is a marvellous contemporary Christian novel and the second book in a series but can be read as a stand-alone as I had not read book one.

Love On The Rocks was unique in that its focus was on a character recovering from a serious brain injury six years earlier. The reader witnesses the lead character’s struggles as she realises she will never be the person she once was. At times it is all too much. “The solution was… not to be found in a shot of whiskey.” Drink is never the answer. Trusting in God and resting in His arms is.

Life sometimes makes no sense even with God. “Why God hadn’t prevented Kat’s accident.” Without God, life makes even less sense. We need to stay close to God. “He would wait for God’s whisper and obey His timing.” God’s timing is always perfect but waiting can be hard.

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The Mending Of Lillian Cathleen by Linda Brooks Davis

Oct22

Love Cannot Be Measured

The Mending Of Lillian Cathleen by Linda Brooks Davis is a marvellous Christian historical novel set in 1914.

The main theme is that of searching for the lost, reminding the reader of the parables of the lost coin, sheep and  son. God relentlessly pursues us. He does not give up because He loves us.

The novel is about the fight for emancipation for women. For too long the world has been dominated by men. Men who abuse and use women. There are the difficult themes of prostitution and trafficking of women and girls. There are some strong female characters determined to make a difference.

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