Archive | November 2020

Return To Virgin River by Robyn Carr

Heart Warming

Return To Virgin River by Robyn Carr is the most delightful contemporary novel about love, loss and community. It is the nineteenth book in the Virgin River series but can be read as a stand-alone.

The novel is about dealing with the loss of a mother. The pain is tangible as a character tries to motivate themselves to live again. There are some beautiful words from the mother, “I’ll always be with you, but I’ll be watching from a new perspective.” Loss hurts. Loss cuts to the core but we need to live and to smile again.

A hurt heart still has a huge capacity for love. An orphaned kitten and an abandoned mother dog and her pups all need love and care. Refocusing on the needs of others helps the healing process. For the reader, the addition of animals turns a house into a home. We ‘feel’ at home in the novel.

The community of Virgin River always offers a warm welcome. Strangers soon become friends. Identified needs are met. The town provides Christmas parcels for those most in need. Thanksgiving, tree decorating and Christmas are very much community events.

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The Forgotten Gift by Kathleen McGurl

Legacies

The Forgotten Gift by Kathleen McGurl is a marvellous dual timeline that had me gripped from the start.

The novel is set in present day and in the form of a diary from 1861 as we follow two main characters.

A desire to explore one’s family history and to seek out the two names in an old will leads to uncovering age old secrets as we explore what really does constitute a family. Family is not always bloodline. Family is made up of people who love us. We see different types of family within the novel.

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To Steal A Heart by Jen Turano

Of Pooches, Disguises And A Parrot

To Steal A Heart by Jen Turano is an exciting Christian historical novel that will certainly entertain the reader. It is the first book in The Bleaker Street Inquiry Agency series which promises to be fabulous.

The novel has some highly amusing scenes as we follow some very modern and forward thinking women in 1880’s New York. They are far from conventional as they disguise themselves to solve crimes. The reader is delighted by their antics.

A couple of pooches and a parrot with a fetish for shiny things all add to our entertainment.

The basis of the novel is from Genesis 50. What others meant for harm, God used for good. We may feel far from God at times but He is never far from us. He watches over our every movement protecting us from harm.

There is the theme of fathers. In God we have our perfect father. Even if our earthly fathers abandon us, our heavenly Father will never leave us nor forsake us. To Him, we are never an ‘inconvenience’. We are His and we are loved.

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Love On The Fly by Kerry Evelyn

Brighten Your Day

Love On The Fly by Kerry Evelyn is a delightful contemporary Christian romance and the fourth book in the Crane’s Cove series. It can be read as a stand-alone.

I am loving this series. The characters are wonderfully drawn, warm and welcoming. It is good to be able to follow the characters through and witness their growth and development.

It is important to have the correct work-life balance. We witness that health suffers if workaholics do not make time to switch off.

We are not destined to become our parents. We may inherit some of their traits but we can always learn from their mistakes.

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