Fiction

Review of My Foolish Heart by Susan May Warren

Standard

Genre: Christian Romantic Fiction

Series: Book Four of the Deep Haven Series

Recommended.

This is more than a typical romance novel! Isadora Presley is an agoraphobic radio talk show host still dealing with the pain of an accident, which took her mother and debilitated her father. Caleb Knight is a young disabled veteran back from Iraq hoping to coach high school football and blend into the small town of Deep Haven. Of course they fall in love–it’s a romance after all–but in the process they work through pains, insecurities and fears, and discover God’s overwhelming grace. There are a couple other main characters as well, whose stories accentuate and compliment the hero and heroine.

This is a lighthearted, easy read, which excellently portrays God’s love, redemption, and grace within the hurts and struggles of life. The characters are well developed and the plot is only as predictable as it needs to be–that is, there are enough surprises to keep it interesting, while still allowing for the story to develop in the way every romantic hopes. My Foolish Heart is also part of Warren’s Deep Haven Series, so the reader who enjoys this book, will likely enjoy the others as well; I have only read the one, and it felt complete in itself.

I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of the Tyndale Blog Network.

facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterest

Review of Possession by Rene Gutteridge

Standard

Genre: Fiction/Suspense

Highly Recommended.

What a talented storyteller! Possession was delightful, suspenseful, lighthearted and soul changing all in one! It reads almost like a screenplay and could be easily adapted for film or theatre.

A family that is already relationally on the rocks is put to the test when a moving truck service holds all their possessions at ransom. But as the story escalates into a mysterious turn of serious events, the possessions themselves lose all value compared to the lives at stake.

I was instantly caught up in this story and felt more encouraged than ever to run my race of faith with more purity and intensity. The Christian overtones are subtle, but the message of the story is not: we must have our priorities in order!

I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of the Tyndale Blog Network.

facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterest

Review of the Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers

Standard

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Recommended.

The three part Mark of the Lion series (A Voice in the Wind, An Echo in the Darkness, and As Sure As the Dawn) follow the stories of a Messianic Jewish slave girl, an aristocratic Roman family, and a German tribesman taken into slavery as a gladiator.  The setting is decadent Rome in the era of the destruction of the temple and the persecution of Jews and Christians, so THERE IS SOME GRAPHIC SEXUALITY, VIOLENCE AND PAGANISM.  I found this hard to read at first and stopped reading for nearly a year before giving it another go.  The second time I couldn’t put it down.  The pagan worship, violence and sexuality of the book, I believe, does help the story, and is written in such a way that the readers have a healthy indignation for the sin being displayed. That said, it’s not a book for everyone.

But overall, I loved the books–especially the first one.  The first two stories, especially, impacted the way I think about serving other people and the Lord, brought depth to my understanding of radical Christianity, and even gave me insight into eschatological scriptures by revealing portions of the past.

The Christian message was a bit cliché in some parts, but encouraging nonetheless.  And I was also a bit bothered by the way Rivers portrayed some of the biblical characters who were woven into the story.  It would have been better just to leave them out or to rename them, but that’s the artistic risk of giving fictitious portrayals of real-life people, and I respect her for trying.

facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterest

Review of The Twelfth Imam by Joel C. Rosenberg

Standard

Genre: Apocalyptic Fiction

Series: Book One of the Twelfth Imam Series

Recommended: A riveting story of high stakes and affronted faiths.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Twelfth Imam, the story of an Iranian born CIA agent working to find and disrupt the secret Iranian nuclear weapons program in the midst of catastrophic global events, personal tragedies, and the questioning of his personal faith as a non-practicing Shia Muslim.

Although it is very much a work of fiction, the style of the writing and the sincerity of the characters make the story appear as a glimpse into an apocalyptic reality.  I especially appreciated the depth of the character’s faiths (it’s not often that a Christian writer would show those of other faiths to have so genuine a passion for their beliefs) and the appearance of the supernatural realm alongside the physical.

Being a Christian work, I found it interesting that the book does not have any “Christian” characters–that is, some characters come to know Jesus Christ as Lord, and faith is at the forefront, but there were no evangelical Christians going around making converts, and I found this somehow refreshing (and more believable).

From a theological perspective, I found this scenario much less dramatic than the prophetic illustration of the last days–not that the stakes weren’t high, or that the plot wasn’t exhilarating, but that it only portrayed a small piece of the prophetic story and even then, only as one possible outcome (of course, there’s nothing wrong with that, so long as readers read fiction as fiction and the Bible as the authority on biblical mysteries).

My only complaint is that the ending was surprisingly abrupt–I considered that perhaps part of it was missing before discovering that this book is the first in Rosenberg’s newest series.  Even so, the book ending felt incomplete (not mysteriously, romantically or suspensefully incomplete, but like the story was chopped off mid-sentence); and since it was so enjoyable to read, this was especially disappointing.

I received a complimentary Advance Reader Copy of this book as a part of the Tyndale Blog Network.
facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterest