Love in a Broken Vessel, book #21

Be still my heart.  I have found my new favorite book.  Maybe it's because I just finished two not so stellar books.  Maybe it's because I liked the cover. Maybe it's because there was a message for me in it.  Maybe it's because it's the first time I get the deeper meaning in a book.  But this is it.  My new favorite.  And I think everyone should read it.

As you know, I am not a big fan in general of fictionalized Bible stories, unless Francine Rivers writes them.  They just always make me nervous about how much "liberty" they are taking.  I read another book by Mesu Andrews and did not like it.  I wasn't even going to read any more by her, but my friend insisted I read this one so I gave it a shot.  I cannot thank her enough!

This is a rendition of the book/love story of Hosea.  Naturally I was a bit skeptical because who can top Redeeming Love?  Funny thing is, Mesu actually acknowledges this right off in the Note to the Reader: 

When you think of reading the story of Gomer and Hosea, what novel comes to mind?  Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, right? I think I've read it at least four times.  It's tied for first place in my all-time favorites, and Francine Rivers is hands down my favorite author.  So why would I dare write a novel that might be compared to such a classic?  Because Love in a Broken Vessel is biblical fiction, and Redeeming Love is a biblical story set in a prairie romance.  Trying to equate the two stories would be like comparing apples and oranges--both are fruit, but very different yummy flavors.  My hope is that readers wil enjoy each one for the unique story it is.

So right off you know the author is not trying to "beat" Redeeming Love, but do a different spin.  You had me at "Hello."  

I think the thing that just resonated over and over with me is how God/Hosea keeps on loving me/Gomer, even when I/she feel(s) so unworthy.  Even when I/she fight(s) back, not wanting or feeling like I/she deserve(s) the love.  Not even being able to accept the gifts God/Hosea gives me/her.  It's like after I had children I kept seeing that parent relationship played out time and time again as I try to discipline my children, hearing God say the same words to me as I am saying them to my children.  

Hosea is a hard book to understand.  Even after reading Redeeming Love I still didn't feel like I understood the book.  THIS book really brought it more to life, the loving her despite the fact she runs away time and again, loving her children born of different men, waiting so patiently on her and rejoicing in the end when she does turn to him.  I had tears at the end, even knowing it was going to work out but having no idea how it would!!!  Needless to say, this book gets all my thumbs up!!


Hosea has been charged by God with a difficult task--marry a prostitute in order to show God's people the nature and depth of his love for Israel. When Hosea goes to Israel to proclaim God's message, the prostitute God tells him to marry turns out to be his childhood friend Gomer. He finds her broken and abused, unwilling to trust Hosea or his God. But when marrying Hosea becomes her only choice, Gomer does what she's good at--she survives. Can Hosea's love for God and God's love for Israel heal Gomer's broken spirit?

With her potent combination of in-depth research and masterful storytelling, Mesu Andrews brings to life a complex and fascinating biblical story of the power of love and forgiveness in the face of utter betrayal. (picture and description from Amazon.)

Happy Reading!

O:)
Melissa

Lock, Stock and Over a Barrel, book #20

Sigh, here we go again.  Another book, another series, another author who leaves us hanging.  At least this time she did wrap up some things, as compared to the last.  We Some people  I read this for book club and then we didn't even end up meeting because there was this little Tennessee hurricane that blew through right before the meeting.  And lots of people were just busy that night.  So now I read this book for no reason.  Alas .... 

That said, while I was reading the book, I did enjoy it.  It was a light, funny book (as compared to the last one!) with a little romance.  If you don't mind books that don't have closure and leave you wondering with baited breath what on earth will happen next, then you may like this book. 

With high hopes, Dorothy Ballinger lands her dream job at The New York Times. But it's not long until writing about weddings becomes a painful reminder of her own failed romance, and her love of the city slowly sours as well. Is it time to give up the Big Apple for her small hometown of Appleton?

When her eccentric Aunt Dot passes away and leaves a sizeable estate to Dorothy, going back home is an easy choice. What isn’t easy is coming to terms with the downright odd clauses written into the will.

Dorothy only stands to inherit the estate if she agrees to her aunt's very specific posthumous terms -- personal and professional. And if she fails to comply, the sprawling old Victorian house shall be bequeathed to . . . Aunt Dot’s cats.(picture and description at Amazon)


So I decide maybe I will invest in the next book, only to discover it also is apparently a cliffhanger with no resolution either.  And the third book isn't even out yet.  It could be considered a fail, but you could also say, "Well, at least I know now ..."


The good news is the book I am now reading is NOT in a series, which means there will be closure and I am thoroughly enjoying it!!

O:)
Melissa

Born of Persuasion, book #19

My response to this book? 

I don't THINK so!!!

So, this book was one that was on my bedside for a very long time.  I am not even sure how it got there, whether it was a donation that I thought sounded good and I wanted to read, one a bought at my beloved BAM! on sale, from my mom, who knows!!  In the mean time, as it collected dust, I learned the author is the wife of someone Roger knew who worked at LifeWay.  Since I got the Paperwhite, I was trying to whittle the books on my bedside by adding them to my Amazon WishList.  Also in the meantime I sort of stumbled on how to get books from the library on my Paperwhite.  Long story short, this is the first one I read via R.E.A.D.S. for free!  But, I only had seven days to read it and it has 450 pages!!  (Again, I have been working on this all week, not just since I last posted.)

Well, I get into the book and decide I really didn't like it.  At all.  But, I am also of the nature that no matter how horrible the book is, unless there is excessive language or other worldly topics, I'm gonna finish it.  I have to see if it gets any better or if there is any hope for these pathetic characters.  (Remember The Chance?) Well, this book kept me so stinking confused I could never tell which way was up!!  Who was good and who was bad. Apparently there were all sorts of secrets that everyone knew except the main character and some people would begin to tell her some of them, but would then decide it wasn't time.  There were lots of flash-forward moments (beginning with paragraphs like, "Later, when the whole story came out, I would see how important this truly was..." or "In hindsight the teaset really didn't matter" ... ) which seemed to occur every chapter at least once.  Are you kidding me?!?  I don't remember a one that was actually fulfilled, unless I took the time to actually buy the book and go back and hunt for each flash-forward and see if I could find where it came true.  But do you honestly think I am wasting any more time on this book?  No!!!

This is the beginning of a series and while I kept holding my breath for the end, well, don't hold your breath.  I'm all about series books, but not when you have an ending that demands you read the next one immediately.  That, dear authors, really ticks me off.  And I think it is selfish of you, like giving a child one bite of an ice cream cone and then taking it away and eating it all yourself while the child watches.  Like, purposefully withholding secrets to make you want to read the next book and spend another $10+ on it.  Or, even worse, when it is a new series and you get to an end like this and have to wait another 6 months to a year to find out what happens.  (This actually happened once to me and I actually threw the book across the room.  When the next book finally came out there was an author's note at the front that revealed I was not the only one who felt that way.  And the author actually apologized!)

Ok, enough about that soap box.  But I will tell you I'm not clamoring for finding Book 2 in the series.  I could care less what happens to Julia and if she and Edward ever end up together.  There are too many others "fish in the sea" to waste my time on them!! And, I haven't started the book for Book Club next Tuesday which promises to be considerably better!

The year is 1838, and seventeen-year-old Julia Elliston’s position has never been more fragile. Orphaned and unmarried in a time when women are legal property of their fathers, husbands, and guardians, she finds herself at the mercy of an anonymous guardian who plans to establish her as a servant in far-off Scotland.

With two months to devise a better plan, Julia’s first choice to marry her childhood sweetheart is denied. But when a titled dowager offers to introduce Julia into society, a realm of possibilities opens. However, treachery and deception are as much a part of Victorian society as titles and decorum, and Julia quickly discovers her present is deeply entangled with her mother’s mysterious past. Before she knows what’s happening, Julia finds herself a pawn in a deadly game between two of the country’s most powerful men. With no laws to protect her, she must unravel the secrets on her own. But sometimes truth is elusive and knowledge is deadly.  (picture and description from Amazon.)

O:)

Melissa