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A Time To Bloom by Lauraine Snelling with Kiersti Giron

Aug19

Trusting In His Timing

A Time To Bloom by Lauraine Snelling with Kiersti Giron is a most delightful Christian historical novel that I adored. It is the second book in Leah’s Garden series but can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend reading book one first as book two starts where the former book ended in 1866.

As the novel opens, the four sisters are settled in the ever-growing frontier town. A wonderful community pulls together but the town is not without its’ problem element. An alcohol tent attracts those looking drown their sorrows as well as those who just like drinking. We see the dangers of alcohol as it changes characters, blighting the lives of others.

Prairie life is hard. Crops face the elements of nature and natural pests. Farmers and their families have to be built of firm stuff, able to pick themselves up and start again.

The church is important and the building is already built. It shares its space with the village school but the teacher desires her own building. She is persistent with her wishes.

We see that the church is so much more than bricks and mortar. The church is the people. It is people who serve each other and God.

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The Seeds Of Change by Lauraine Snelling With Kiersti Giron

Aug19

Safe In His Shadow

The Seeds Of Change by Lauraine Snelling with Kiersti Giron is a most charming Christian historical novel that will swell your heart with love. It is the first book in Leah’s Garden series which promises to be fabulous.

The action is set in 1865 as we follow a family of four sisters as they journey westwards across America in search of a new life and safety. The girls have a pioneering spirit and are not afraid to muck in where needed on the wagon train.

We see the fragility of life as characters are struck down with illness or accidents. Medicine is primitive, often relying on herbs and natural remedies to help to heal. It is important to trust God. “I trust Your healing.”

Everyone grows up quickly on the wagon train. It is a community that must pull together if they are to survive. There is strength in numbers. They travel six days a week, knowing the importance of rest and a day for the Lord.

Knowing God and putting Him central to our lives is important. “You got to think and ask God for guidance.” God knows us better than we know ourselves and we can trust Him. “I choose to trust You. Peace eased out tension.” When we know God, we can experience a supernatural peace despite our circumstances.

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The Map Maker’s Promise by Catherine Law

Aug18

Secrets

The Map Maker’s Promise by Catherine Law is a comprehensive dual timeline novel that entertained me from the start. The story is fiction but is grounded in fact.

The action is set during the 1940’s and in 1985. The two time periods alternate as the setting moves from London and the south, to Invernesshire. Scotland is a peaceful location, with its’ fresh air, beautiful scenery and isolation. The residents of a small community function as a family, offering support to each other.

War-torn London is stifling. Friendships and work colleagues are not always supportive. Those who should set examples, take advantage of the young and innocent. A life is ruined forever after a character abuses his position.

During the 1940’s, unmarried mothers were viewed as a disgrace. We follow a young woman who is shipped off to Scotland rather than subjecting the family to gossip and shame. The character always feels ‘less-than’ and is ashamed of her situation. She keeps quiet about one awful night that will haunt her forever.

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Embers In The London Sky by Sarah Sundin

Aug7

Searching & Sacrificial Love In Action

Embers In The London Sky by Sarah Sundin is an absolutely wonderful Christian historical wartime suspense. It captured my imagination from the start, engaging me till the very end.

The novel opens in Nazi-occupied Holland in 1940, continuing to London and finishing halfway through 1941. Sarah Sundin waves actual events into the novel. We ‘see’ the total devastation caused by the Nazis in central Europe – lives and dwellings broken or disrupted by the Nazi war machine. We ‘witness’ the evacuation from Dunkirk in May 1940. “Soldiers plucking cheer and courage from the cauldron of defeat.” Many lives were lost.

The reader follows the lead character, Dutch born Aleida as she travels to London in search of her young son. Aleida speaks up for those whose voices are unheard. Whilst her personal search continues, she researches the lives of the evacuated children. Prejudices raise their ugly head as foreign-born children are given to institutions and not families. Their stories need telling. We see that though humans may forget others, “God would never forget her.” God sees all. His heart breaks for injustice and war. “Surely His [God] heart broke at the suffering and destruction Hitler caused.”

There are those within the novel who suffer from disabilities. These are hidden away for fear of being treated as ‘less-than’, or in the case of a cruel father, for embarrassment or disgust. The reader’s heart breaks for a young boy and his mother, both of whom are subject to domestic abuse.

A grown man hides his asthma for fear of being seen as a label. “When people know, they no longer see me, only the asthma. They treat me as an invalid.” His fears are unfounded. People see him and they care.

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