The Heroes Welcome by Louisa Young

Jul27

The Impact Remains

The Heroes Welcome by Louisa Young is a powerful historical novel that consumed me from the start. It is the sequel to My Dear I Wanted To Tell You. The books need to be read in numerical order or this book will not have such an emotional impact or connection.

The first book told of the horrors of World War I. This book is set in 1919 as peacetime is now faced. Lives must learn to adapt to what is a ‘new’ normal for them.

Young men returned from war. Some were physically injured. Others left their minds on the battlefields of Europe. “Peter was wounded and crippled by the war as much as any one-legged man.” For some, as soon as they closed their eyes, they were back in the mud and muck of the battlefields. Others, didn’t need to even close their eyes as the battlefields never left. There felt like nothing to live for. Even the love of family and friends couldn’t pull their minds back home. They retreated into whatever dulled the pain.

We learn that “everyone gets damaged by war. You don’t have to be in it to be damaged.” The women who greeted their returning menfolk were also damaged by war. Some tried to inject love and light into their lives. Others ran away – either physically or mentally.

There is the bravery of the couple whose soldier husband had his jaw blown off in France. He is forever physically scarred but makes the decision: “I’m not going to spend my life just surviving the war and my injury. I’m going to live my life.” For him, life is for living.

War is not glorious. “War is your friend’s blood on your face and his dead body in your arms.” And this didn’t just happen once; it happened again and again over a four-year period.

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Grace For The Broken by Philippa Cleall

Jul26

God At The Centre

Grace For The Broken by Philippa Cleall is a powerful contemporary Christian novel that I just could not put down.

It is beautifully and sympathetically written whilst dealing with the difficult topics of domestic abuse and judgment; counter balanced by restoration and the goodness of God.

Domestic abuse is not just punches thrown. It is voices raised and words that tear down. We meet characters who have been broken by the very men who were supposed to love them. We witness lives being rebuilt with love and support.

We also meet the men who have been the abusers, who have to learn to repent and to make better choices in the future. “Accountability says: I did this. And now I choose to do and be something else.”

In order to rebuild relationships, trust must be earnt. It starts with baby steps. “God’s grace is free. Trust… is earned.” God’s grace covers us all.

We learn that “our calling is grace, not judgment.” Our job is to extend grace and to reach out in love. It is God’s job to judge.

God never sleeps. “Remember, God is never away on holidays.” God is always just a prayer away.

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The Bookshop Of 99 Doors by Jaime Jo Wright

Jul26

Seek The Light

The Bookshop Of 99 Doors by Jaime Jo Wright is a powerful and compelling Christian dual timeline novel that consumed me from the start.

The action is set in 1888 and in present day in an old house with 99 doors but there is rumoured to be a hundredth door with a portal to another world. Where is it? And what lurks behind it? The narrative in both time periods is similar but different.

Spirits walk amongst us. Characters are searching for answers. They need to put their faith in God and not dabble with the spirits. “Isn’t it safer to reach out to God? Isn’t He the one who created everything? Why give them [spirits] the power over my curiosity when God could have it?” We need to put our trust in God for He is good. Spirits can be meddlesome, and once we open the door, there is no telling who will come in or what they will do. “Even God warns us not to summon the spirits.”

Pray against the spirits, and pray to God. “Her prayers were stilted, her faith uncertain, but when she finished, Millie felt better.” Prayer connects us with God. He renews our minds when we focus on Him.

We meet troubled minds within the book. They have been dabbling in medication which is addictive. Terrible things were seen in the American Civil War. “The war may be over… but it is not silenced.” Minds were broken. “He had seen enough evil… to convince him that if God existed, then God had turned a blind eye to humanity and given them free reign to war against one another.”

It is easy to believe that God has abandoned us but God walks beside us whether we ‘feel’ Him or not. “When you have nothing left… He [God] is all you can rely on.” We can trust God at all times.

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Coming Home To Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen

Jul26

Very Charming

Coming Home To Bellbird Bay by Maggie Christensen is the most charming second book in the Bellbird Bay series which is heartwarming and welcoming.

The book can be read as a stand-alone. I am always delighted to meet up with familiar characters and locations.

The story is about second chances and new beginnings. Both lead characters have lost their partners. One has coped for years as a single parent. The other has nursed her husband through dementia. The man he was, died piece by piece. The memory of him remains. “Russ will always be with me, wherever I am.”

A well-meaning sister tries her hand at match-making. The attempt is obvious but the couple prove to be perfectly capable of making their own alliances.

The leading characters are in their sixties, still with plenty of life to live. Some of the grown-up children cannot believe that their mother could actually have a life outside of their needs. “Don’t let our kids stand in your way. It’s your decision, not theirs.” We will always want to help our children but we do not want them to dictate our pathways.

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