Archive | July 2020

The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke

Jul23

All For One

The Unadoptables by Hana Tooke is an exciting children’s adventure that will appeal to ages eight and above. This book will entertain no matter how old you are.

The novel is set in Amsterdam in 1892. It follows five orphans who are deemed ‘unadoptable’. Following clues, the orphans set out to find the family of one of their number. Each one desires to be a part of a forever family. They desire to belong.

The orphans are unique, plucky and determined. They face life as one unit and try to right wrongs along the way. Together they have a heart for the lost, the lonely and the different.

Each child has a gift. Each gift is unique to that child. Together they use gifts as they band together in love and loyalty.

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Love’s Autumn Harvest by Patricia Lee

Jul22

Absolutely Charming

Love’s Autumn Harvest by Patricia Lee is an absolutely charming contemporary Christian novel about friendship and second chances. It is part of the Mended Hearts series.

I loved the fact that the lead characters were in their fifties and not the first flush of youth. Patricia Lee has constructed a beautiful tale around a widow and a widower who are neighbours. They have parallel lives as both are trying to recover from the loss of their spouses.

No matter how old our children get, we will still drop everything for them and for our grandchildren. Eily’s life revolves around her family and her church. She spreads love and kindness wherever she goes.

Sometimes within families rifts develop. The reader sees the huge chasm that opened up following loss. The years have not bridged the hurt. The past must be faced and the hurts healed.

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Something I Am Not by Cher Gatto

Jul21

The Anchor Of My Soul

Something I Am Not by Cher Gatto is a Christian contemporary allegorical story. It is absolutely heart-breaking and beautifully written. The love and pain reach from the pages and lodge in the reader’s heart.

You cannot help but love and admire the main character who is lost but in his lostness, he still tries to rescue another. He does not want the innocent to have to walk in his footsteps.

The main character clings to hope. It is a hope that God sent following a prayer. It is a hope that he clings to even though life looks so very dark. “Don’t believe the lies that threaten to shake and destroy you… you have a God who loves you.”

The novel has the main theme of fathers and truth. Our heavenly Father loves us unconditionally and will never leave us to suffer alone. In contrast our earthly fathers may be abusive and not treasure the gift of life. The abused think they deserve the behaviour they receive and it is heart-breaking as they excuse the behaviour. “Even now I defended him.” The father of all lies wants to separate us from God. He wants us to believe the lie that we are unloved and worthless. The truth is we are loved and Jesus paid the ultimate price for each and every one of us. We must tune into the voice of God.

How we view God is often coloured by our experiences. “Maybe He wasn’t scowling down from His throne, watching and waiting for me to mess up so He could knock me across the room. Maybe… God was more like this man.”

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Vow Of Justice by Lynette Eason

Jul18

Revenge Or Justice?

Vow Of Justice by Lynette Eason is a nail-bitingly good Christian contemporary thriller suspense that I just could not put down. It is the fourth book in the Blue Justice series. I have thoroughly enjoyed following the St John family as they work together to defeat corruption, murder and greed.

In this book the past catches up with the present. Things pushed down deep inside need to surface and be faced in order to move freely into the future.

There are always choices to be made. We always have the opportunity to choose to do the right thing.

Revenge or justice? This is the question explored within the novel. We need to make sure it is justice that we seek and not revenge that we plan.

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