Tag Archive | Revell Books

This Is Where It Ends by Cindy K Sproles

Apr1

True Riches

This Is Where It Ends by Cindy K Sproles is a beautiful Christian historical novel that will wash over you like a river, cleansing you as you read, and leaving you feeling peaceful.

This is a love story, not a conventional one, but a love story nonetheless. It surrounds Minerva, a ninety four year old woman who has missed out on love her whole life. Only now, as she nears the end, does she find a love that fulfills as the arms wrap around her. This is a love that reaches beyond the pages to envelop the reader. This is a beautiful love that time will not destroy.

We also see the love of a faithful dog. He guards. He protects. He mourns.

All her life Minerva has wanted a family. We learn that “kindness, caring, love makes a family. You don’t have to be blood to be the perfect fit.” Family look out for each other.

Secrets, burdens and guilt weigh heavy. We witness a soul that has been burdened pass this heavy load onto another, so it is carried beyond the grave. The reader’s heart breaks for a character when the secrets are unearthed and she realizes that her marriage was a sham and a lie. She has never felt ‘good enough’ and this has saddened her.

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Second Time Around by Melody Carlson

Mar31

Absolutely Charming

Second Time Around by Melody Carlson is an absolutely charming contemporary Christian novel that warmed my heart.

The book is about second chances – we see houses and interiors getting make-overs and a second chance to shine. Likewise, we witness lives with a second chance at happiness. God is not finished with us yet. While we are still breathing, God has plans for us. We can trust Him. Others may try to thwart His plans but if God has ordained it, it will come to pass.

God is the God of the impossible. “What’s impossible with us is possible with God.” Nothing is ever out of His control. All things are possible if we would just let God be God, and stop trying to take control.

Prayer is vital. “She silently prayed begging God to direct her path.” Prayer builds a relationship with God. We are to pray about everything and worry about nothing.

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The Secret Keepers Of The Old Grocery Depot by Amanda Cox

Feb10

Delightful

The Secret Keepers Of The Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox is the most delightful Christian dual timeline novel that filled my soul with love.

The novel is set in present day and from 1965 working forwards. It is a story of family and love and life.

A character has been grieving her whole life for a boy who went to Vietnam and never returned. Life still kept turning and she had to learn to live again in spite of her grief. Grief never leaves us. We just need to find our way through it.

We witness the horrors of war in the lives of those who return. “How could they find normal after that? Love when they’d been baptized in hate.” Some lives buckle with PTSD and they escape through alcohol and drugs.

There is the theme of guilt. A character is drowning in it, carrying burdens that were never meant for her. “I’d become so tainted by darkness that I couldn’t feel the warmth of the sun anymore.”  It is time to let go and let God.

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The Extraordinary Deaths Of Mrs Kip by Sara Brunsvold

Jul12

Hidden Warriors

The Extraordinary Deaths Of Mrs Kip by Sara Brunsvold is the most charming and heart-warming Christian novel that will sink into your soul. Every now and again a novel comes along that just completely swamps you with love and beauty – and this is that novel. It overwhelmed me with its love, care and beauty.

The novel shows us that “so long as we have breath, the Lord calls to our hearts.” There are no retirement plans in the kingdom of God as demonstrated by the leading lady, seventy nine year old Clara Kip. Her outlook is friendly and chirpy. Her spirit is alive with the love of God. As her body fades, her spirit becomes more alive than ever.

Age has no boundaries to friendship as we view the beautiful bond between Mrs Kip and a young newspaper reporter. Time is short but friendship runs deep.

Much of the setting is in a home for people dying of cancer. It is far from gloomy as Mrs Kip injects life and love. As she enters, “she clung to the belief that the Lord had something for her here.” We are called to serve the Lord wherever we are.

We see the dream to help those who cannot help themselves. The desire is to show the love of Jesus to all. “Show me how I can serve you today among these people.” Mrs Kip had a huge capacity for love which she spread everywhere.

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