Title: Redeeming Love
Author: Francine Rivers
Age: Adult
Genres: Christian Fiction, Biblical Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publication Date: August 4, 2009
Publisher: Multnomah
Source: eBook
Synopsis:
A Story of Love That Won't Let Go - No Matter What!
California’s gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep.
Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.
Then she meets Michael Hosea, a man who seeks his Father’s heart in everything. Michael obeys God’s call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel’s every bitter expectation, until despite her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw.
But with her unexpected softening comes overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband’s pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael does…the One who will never let her go.
A powerful retelling of the story of Gomer and Hosea, Redeeming Love is a life-changing story of God’s unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love.
My Rating: 
Oh my goodness!!!! Francine Rivers has such a way with words and gripping a reader by the heart. I just love the detail and imagery she puts into her "re-telling" of biblical stories. This is my first read from her and I am so looking forward to reading many more from her. This is an 1800's take on the story of Hosea and Gomer and it was PERFECTION.
Michael Hosea is a farmer and hard working man. Everything about him was amazing. He was patient, kind, loving, a true man of God and still human. He had his moments of weakness when he let his anger or lust overtake him, but he always went back to God for forgiveness. His relationship with God was by far amazing! I loved the closeness he had with Him and I loved seeing him grow as a man.
Sarah aka Angel/Amanda is a woman that's been scared for years. Since the age of 6 her father was naught, her mother was lost, she was sold (by accident) into prostitution at 8 and her view of love had been twisted for years. With a broken soul and trampled heart she felt that all men were evil and that love wasn't real. Sarah was a piece of work: sassy mouth, used her body for everything and also a coward. I truly loved her brokenness because it reminded me that God loves all His children no matter how broken or soiled they may be. Watching Sarah grow through the years into this beautiful woman at the end was so heart warming.
The romance was absolutely frustrating at first, but as Angel learned to love it became more interesting. I loved seeing her wall break down, I loved seeing her get close to Michael. I enjoyed seeing Michael love her no matter what she threw at him and it was a lot. The love between them, though quick, was genuine and real. It was a true godly love that made their relationship last through the storms.
Paul, Michael's brother-in-law, was a piece of trash to me, but those last few chapters I grew to like him. I still can't stand his stupidity, but better late than never that he apologized to Angel. Miriam was a joy! She was a bold, sassy and talkative girl. The opposite of Angel in so many ways. I felt like she was a good balance for Angel and also a great friend/sister for Michael to have. The romance between Paul and Miriam was absolutely darling as well.
The Altman's, Joseph, Susanna and all the "good" secondary characters were phenomenal! They added to the growth and depth of both Michael and Angel. Duke & Duchess were the devil in disguise. I seriously could not stand them!!
Overall, this is such an inspiring historical fiction Christian novel that truly brings the story of Hosea and Gomer to life. The lessons learned, the Word of God that is read and the love of God shown was so touching. If you're a Christian I would 100% recommend this book. I read this book in about 22 hours and I mean I cried, I laughed and I got angry. This is book will melt the heart.
I LOVED THIS !!!!
Go grab a copy!
Comments
Post a Comment