Christian Historic Book Reviews - Christian Blog and Women's Ministry

The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers

Megan Kelly Botha — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 17:36:01 +0000

Francine Rivers has returned to her romantic roots in her latest book, The Masterpiece, which follows two main characters named Roman and Grace. Roman is an artist with a troubled past who uses anger as a weapon and builds walls to make sure he doesn’t get hurt again, while Grace is a struggling single mom who tries hard to please others even if that results in harming herself.

In the beginning, you might think that this is a simple girl meets boy story, but just like Redeeming Love surprised me, you soon find that there is so much more to this story! Francine Rivers does an incredible job of giving all her characters great depth by focusing on their individual struggles and the role God plays in their lives. Francine Rivers is great at adding mystery to each of her stories, in a way that encourages you to keep turning the pages, often leading me to put everything off until after I finish the book (I have had to put a strict rule on myself to get work done before I can read anymore, as I just wasn’t getting anything done!).

It is worth mentioning that a lot of people have mentioned that this particular book felt well-researched, as it covers sensitive topics like childhood trauma, drug use, single motherhood, as well as exploring what the life of a graffiti artist is like.

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Megan Kelly Botha

I’m a coffee-wielding mood reader and romance book collector who may or may not have a slight addiction to buying books. I read a variety of sub-genres within romance, including rom-coms, dark romance, and fantasy. I love sharing my thoughts on books, whether it’s through book reviews, quotes, or recommendations inspired by my current reads. Through my romance book blog, Literary Inspired, I aim to provide in-depth book reviews, curated reading recommendations, and exclusive author promotions. I’m passionate about supporting indie authors and sharing my latest book discoveries with others. When I’m not reading, you can find me cheering on my favorite football team and F1 drivers, crafting, baking with my kids or playing with my pets.

literaryinspired.com/

The post The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers appeared first on Cup of Faith.

Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers

Megan Kelly Botha — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 06:00:24 +0000

After falling in-love with Redeeming Love, I was eager to tuck into another book by the outstanding Francine Rivers, and thanks to my collaboration with Luchae from My Spreadsheet Brain and CUM Books, we settled on Bridge to Haven as our next read. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to finish the book yet (we were travelling when mine arrived, and since getting back have been drowning in work!) So, instead of writing a full review, I figured I would share a little preview of what the book is about, what I am looking forward to and what other’s had to say about it. Don’t worry though, I will be sure to update my review once I have had the chance to finish reading the book.

Bridge to Haven seems to have the same theme as Redeeming Love, where the main character Abra, has faced continuous struggles right from the day she was born. Abandoned by her birth mother under a bridge, Abra’s life was saved by Pastor Zeke who adopts her but following the death of his wife, Pastor Zeke sends Abra to live with family which leads to Abra feeling dejected, confused and alone. She is then enticed by a man to run off to Hollywood where she pursues life as an actress – but at what cost?

The story is based on ‘The Return of the Prodigal Son,’ which fills me with all sorts of excitement. I really like how Francine Rivers takes Bible Stories that we THINK we know and then retells them in a way that is easily applicable to life today, and adds little details that we might never have considered.

Personally, reading her books has been a great way of opening my mind when reading The Bible, as previously, I feel like I almost put a bit of distance between me and the stories we read in the Bible, as I sometimes struggle to process the significance of each retelling and see how the same stories might play out in life today. Francine Rivers paints with words in a way that makes me really look at the lessons in each story, which I have come to appreciate and love about her books.

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Megan Kelly Botha

literaryinspired.com/

The post Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers appeared first on Cup of Faith.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Megan Kelly Botha — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 06:00:41 +0000

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers came highly recommended by Luchae from My Spreadsheet Brain, and was the first book to start me off on a new obsession with reading every Francine Rivers book that I can get my hands on. Luchae’s enthusiasm for sharing Francine Rivers books is what inspired us to collaborate with CUM Books to review 3 different Francine Rivers’ books over the next month, and the best part? We’re giving away 2 hampers for you to enjoy too!

Redeeming Love is a historical romance novel set in the 1850s Gold Rush, in California and is inspired by the Book of Hosea from the Bible. Sold into prostitution as a child, Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal, even when she’s confronted by a nice man named Michael Hosea, who only wishes to obey God’s call to marry her, and to love her unconditionally. What I personally loved about this book, is the realness of Angel who is stubborn, hurt and lost. Slowly, Michael manages to break through her walls, despite her resistance. Only, she’s left confronted by her overwhelming feelings of unworthiness, shame and fear. So, she runs back to what she knows and away from her husband’s pursuing love, until she learns her healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael does…the One who will never let her go.

This book is very raw and real, there are parts that had me giggling at her sheer stubbornness to fight Michael’s determined love (often, it made me think of my own stubbornness to accept God’s love) and I was left entertained by the dialogue and banter between the friends that Angel makes. But then there are parts that had me swallowing back the tears, especially when Angel is confronted by her past and the feeling of being unworthy.

Francine Rivers does an incredible job of painting with words, from the way she describes the Gold Rush and the simplicity of life back then, to the interactions between the characters. She is also exceptional at detailing the emotional baggage that Angel carries with her and the snowball effect that it has on her life.

It’s a beautiful and captivating read, and one I struggled to put down. Seriously, I found myself looking forward to load-shedding because it meant I could lie down with my book for a few hours without any interruptions. There are not enough nice words in the world to describe how much I love this book – it’s one that I will definitely reread in a few years, knowing that I am bound to continue to fall in love with the many different messages and lessons about God’s unfailing love that this book captures so well.

If you’re looking for a romantic novel that’ll hit you in the feels (like Me Before You) while also being left gobsmacked by God’s compassion and grace, then this is a read you’ll love!

It is also worth mentioning that there are two versions of the book, the earlier version (1991) is said to be very graphic, so it was later republished in 1997 to remove certain scenes and foul language (regardless, this book might be triggering if you’re sensitive to rape, depression or thoughts of suicide.)

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Megan Kelly Botha

literaryinspired.com/

The post Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers appeared first on Cup of Faith.