Tag Archive | Rhoda Hardie

The Sands Of Sea Blue Beach by Rachel Hauck

Dec8

Immanuel, God With Us

The Sands Of Sea Blue Beach by Rachel Hauck is the most delightful contemporary Christian novel that I savoured and never wanted to end.

The novel is about family and love; and the love that God has for His children. The action is seen through the eyes of the two lead characters, mainly in ‘now’ but we also glimpse ‘then.’

There is a wonderful air of love pervading the whole novel. The lead characters offer delightful banter as they tease each other, producing smiles from the reader.

There is a pain in love associated with loss as a character feels rudderless and afraid to love, as she never wants to experience loving and losing again. “Love is a bit scary. You never know when the one you love could be ripped away from you.” This fear follows her from childhood and into adulthood. “I can’t go through life fearing the people I love will die.” She remembers her mother, “Mom always chose to love.” Love is always worth the risk.

A character withdraws from God. “God didn’t feel near when Mom was dying.” Even if we do not see or feel God, He always walks alongside us.”

In Sea Blue Beach there is the story of Immanuel, God with us. God is very much at the heart of the town. He needs to be at the heart of our lives too. “I didn’t need music to feel worthy because I’d found the One who made me worthy.” We find out who we are, by knowing whose we are.

Continue reading →

Until Leaves Fall In Paris by Sarah Sundin

Dec2

Extraordinary Acts Of Bravery

Until Leaves Fall In Paris by Sarah Sundin is a powerful Christian historical novel that I loved.

The action is set in Nazi occupied Paris as we follow two Americans who are both working against the Nazis in their own individual ways. Both guard their lives as they work in secret.

Factory owner, Paul, appears to be a Nazi collaborator but he holds a secret. His outward appearance earns him hostilities from his Parisienne neighbours. In contrast, God sees his heart and knows that he is working for the greater good. We need to be ware of making judgments on what we can see because it could be far from the truth.

Ballerina, Lucie, fights a very different war. She surrounds herself with books. Her bookshop is the perfect cover for her resistance work.

People have prejudices against others, even within church but “the church needed all the different gifts working together.” If we have not walked a mile in their shoes, we should not criticise the lives of others. We have no idea of the inner battles that are raging.

Four-year-old Josie is shunned as she is judged by her father. This is wicked as she is an innocent in all this. “The poor little thing shouldn’t suffer because her father was a heel.”

Continue reading →

The Bitter End Birding Society by Amanda Cox

Nov12

His Eye Is On The Sparrow

The Bitter End Birding Society by Amanda Cox is a powerful and heartfelt dual timeline Christian novel that I never wanted to end.

The action is set in present day and 1959. The young girls in the earlier period are now old ladies. For almost a lifetime they have been estranged. Guilt and secrets have weighed heavy. Instead of building a treasured friendship, they chose to tear it down.

In contrast to their daughters, we witness fathers who practice sacrificial love. Family first, no matter the personal cost. Outsiders may judge motives but God knows their hearts. Silence is kept in order to preserve and protect the innocent.

Characters are struggling with guilt that they were never meant to carry. “I need to step outside the walls I’ve built and remember who God created me to be.” When we erect walls around our hearts for protection, they have the opposite effect and they imprison us. We then lose sight of who we were created to be.

We see that a character who is actually behind physical walls, is living in greater freedom because his heart belongs to God and he, therefore, knows just whose he is.

Characters have huge hearts for people, and go where God calls them to be. “Lord willing, I’ll pastor a church someday and play a small role in bringing hope to weary souls.” We all need hope. Without hope, the people perish.

Continue reading →

An Honorable Deception by Roseanna M White

Nov3

Truth. Family. Love.

An Honorable Deception by Roseanna M White is a powerful historical Christian novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is the third book in The Imposters series but can be read as a stand-alone.

I enjoyed meeting up with familiar faces, not only from earlier in the series but also from a previous series. This all helps to thoroughly immerse the reader within the tale.

The novel is set in 1912 in both Northumberland and London. The City is a grimy place full of dubious morals and entitled characters. In contrast, the air in Northumberland is fresh, and there is a lightness and freedom to be found. Kindness is the order of the day. The family help those whom society has marginalised. This care extends to widows and orphans too.

I loved the inclusion of the circus animals. Penelope, the monkey is adorable. They too, are saved from cruelty or worse.

There are the difficult themes of trafficking young girls and redundant ayahs into prostitution for the elite. This is sensitively tackled by Roseanna M White. We meet characters who are quite rightly outraged, and who will fight for those without a voice.

We see the importance of listening to the voice of God. “You’re too weak… It was mother’s voice in her head, reciting the phrase that had become her mantra.” Other voices speak lies to us. God’s voice speaks truth.

Continue reading →