WHEN THE MOUNTAIN CRUMBLED by ANGELA K COUCH

Publication date 1/9/24

WHEN THE MOUNTAIN CRUMBLED by ANGELA K COUCH is the beautifully told story of a historical disaster that struck the mining town of Frank in Western Canada on the 29th  April 1903, when the Turtle Mountain collapsed and a huge landslide crushed the town. The novel forms part of the A Day to Remember series and is true to history, with the addition of fictional characters that enhance rather than take away from the story.

It is a story about love, hope, forgiveness, and new beginnings, and is strongly based on the words of Psalm 46:11, “Be still and know that I am God.” I like to see how Nathan Stanford, of the North-West Mounted Police, not only takes on his brother’s orphaned children and a prim schoolmarm, but has a notebook in which he records the many miracles that are taking place in spite of the disaster………

Schoolteacher Samantha Ingles is reminded of her own deep loss. Her sad and lonely upbringing have not prepared her for what she must face in looking after three little girls…….

I cannot recommend When the Mountain Crumbled highly enough.

I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Barbour Publishing. The opinions in this review arecompletely my own.

RAHAB Rediscovering the God who saves me. By SHADIA RICHI

RAHAB Rediscovering the God who saves me. By SHADIA HRICHI is an in depth study of Rahab and God’s faithfulness towards a pagan woman who had only heard of the God of the Israelites and yet her actions show her great faith in Yahweh. “Rahab’s story is our story”. I love the author’s honesty and friendliness as she leads us on a journey through Rahab’s life which lines up with ours. She has done incredible research but there is nothing at all heavy in her writing - it is cheerful and easy to understand, and I also like the way we are invited to take part in the study, which I will do when I read the book again over six weeks. The Bible verses she uses back up everything she says.

Even though this is not a Christian novel I have decided to include my review in my blog as  it is one of the best teaching books I have read

I cannot recommend the book highly enough.

I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Abilene Christian University Press and Leafwood Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

NO FORGETTING PROVIDENCE by LEE WIMMER

Publication date 3/9/24

NO FORGETTING PROVIDENCE is the second novel in the Obsessed Intentions series by LEE WIMMER. The book is a must read for anyone who enjoys a gripping political thriller with a fast paced plot and great characters. 

We are made aware of the sickness in a society where child trafficking and murder are covered up, and the courage of DR Ray and his friends who risk their lives to save the stolen children. There is also a strong Christian message running through the story, as the battle between good and evil rages, and the various characters struggle with their beliefs, and we wonder when DR will recognise what his dreams about Providence really mean……..

I am not going to tell you any more for fear of spoiling things for you.

I cannot recommend No Forgetting Providence highly enough, and I am looking forward to the next novel in the series.

I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Hightower Publications. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW by MICHELLE SHOCKLEE

Pulication date 1/10/24

ALL WE THOUGHT WE KNEW by MICHELLE SHOCKLEE is a beautifully written novel with unforgettable characters and a  strong Christian message.I particularly like the way the author shows how the Jews were treated by the Nazis, even in the prisoner of war camps in America. With Anti-Semitism so entrenched in society it is important for us who profess to be Christians to stand for the Jews as never before.

The two timelines, 1942 and 1969, flow really well together as we follow the lives of Ava Delaney in 1942 and Mattie Tayler in 1969, both taking place on Delaney’s Horse Farm in Tullahoma.

Mattie is an angry young woman, blaming her father and her brother’s best friend Nate McCullum for not stopping her twin Mark from joining up to fight in Vietnam. She leaves home a week after Mark’s funeral trying drugs and free sex…..

She is called back home by her father when her mother is dying. She finds Nash, who has lost an arm in the war, working with her father on the farm. She finds it hard to get over her anger, although she feels guilty for running away when she should have been there to look after her mother. 

There are a lot of secrets in this family which she is gradually learning - things are definitely not as they seem - especially when she reads the letters in her mother’s shoebox…..

In 1942 Ava Delaney’s husband Richard dies at Pearl Harbour and she is left living on the Delaney farm with his angry and disapproving mother, Gertrude. In order to get out of the house she takes on a job at Camp Forrest working for Dr Colonel Hew Foster. …..

Gunther Schneider, a medical student at Columbia’s Medical School, is arrested and sent to Camp Forrest where he starts out as an orderly in the hospital and is promoted to the clinic when he saves someone’s life…..

We are caught up in the characters’ emotions as the various secrets unfold. I like the hope and unconditional love that comes through so strongly

I specially like the part horses play in the story….

I am not going to tell you any more for fear of spoiling things for you.

I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Tyndale House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

THE FORGE by CHRIS FABRY

Publication date 6/8/24

THE FORGE by CHRIS FABRY is a beautiful story of redemption, full of life and Scripture that fits in,  not only with  Cynthia and Isaiah Wright’s problems, but will minister to the readers. I really enjoyed the story and the characters, and was pleased to come across the indomitable prayer warrior, Miss Clara, and the Jordan family from War Room.

Cynthia works hard at her hairdressing salon and keeps her lazy, game playing and drinking husband and their son Isaiah going. She is terrified of Isaiah becomibg like his father,  and when Darren walks out on them it looks like her worst fears are coming true. She tries very hard to be both mother and father to her son…..

Joshua Moore, owner of Moore Fitness, sees something in the angry young man who comes looking for a job and becomes a father figure to Isaiah. Joshua and his friends meet twice a month at The Forge which is a place of discipleship, where the mascot is a sword, bringing to mind the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, which destroys rhe works of tge enemy…..

This is a story about choices made, overcoming fear with faith, the importance of forgiveness, dealing with rejection, unconditional love and the importance of never giving up in prayer. In fact it is about living life God’s way.

I cannot recommend this encouraging and inspirational read highly enough.

I was given an ARC copy of the book by NetGalley from Tyndale House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

THE SISTERS OF CORINTH by ANGELA HUNT

Publication date 21/5/24

THE SISTERS OF CORINTH is the second novel in the Emissaries series by ANGELA HUNT and it is a fitting sequel to A Woman from Lydia. 

 The author has written a beautiful love story that takes place in Corinth in AD 60 between a follower of Yeshua and an idol worshipper.

When Marianna, the stepdaughter of the chief magistrate,  is chosen by Marcus, the son of  Servius Memius Lupis, the  new governor of Achaia, to be his wife, she is not sure what to do. She seeks wisdom in the letters of Paulos (Paul) as she is afraid of displeasing Adonai by marrying an unbeliever, although she is attracted by the kind and gentle young man.  She says, “I would rather die than allow love for a man to  overshadow my love for Yeshua.” and then when they are married she prays,  “Adonai, let me be a servant to this man, and may I lead him to the truth.”

We see the hatred and treachery of her stepsister who does all she can, even invoking  the power of Aphrodite, rto bring trouble into the marriage and claim Marcus for herself.  Although Marcus has said to Marianna, “I have met a hundred women like your stepsister,  but I have never met anyone like you,” will he be forced to give in to Prima’s demands? …….

I love the way the author uses scriptures, especially from Paul’s letters and stories from the Old Testament, as a basis for her book, and also how she shows us what life was like for early believers in Yeshua.

I am not going to tell you any more as I do not want to spoil things for you.

I cannot recommend The Sisters of Corinth strongly enough and am looking forward to the next novel in the series.

I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

FINDING YOU by ROBIN PATCHEN

FINDING YOU is the third novel in the Wright Heroes of Maine series by ROBIN PATCHEN, but although I like reading the series in sequence,  it can easily  stand alone.

The story is exciting, the characters unforgettable and the Christian message strong. I guarantee you will not be able to put the book down.

The story starts with Muslim terrorist Hasan Mahmoud breaking into Sophia Chapman’s apartment in Munich to look for clues to the whereabouts of a stash of weapons that Saddam Hussein had hidden in Germany. There is an exhibition of Babylonian artifacts about to take place at the Munchen Meisterwerke Galerie where Sophie works designing art exhibits, and one of the exhibits is thought to contain a clue to show where the weapons have been hidden. Sophie also works at a mission where Muslim refugees are led to Christ and families are helped with food and clothing, which is another reason for Hasan to hate her…..

Bryan Wright meets Sophie in Shadow Cove where she is visiting her best friend Leila, Bryan’s brother Michael’s fiancee. Michael, the undercover CIA agent, has heard of something going down at the exhibition and asks Bryan, the antiquities professor, in absolute secrecy, to go back to Munich with Sophie and look through the exhibits for anything suspicious, not realising the danger he is putting them in…..

I like the way both Bryan’s and Sophie’s characters are developed throughout the story and how they bring out the best in each other.

I am not going to tell you any more for fear of spoiling things for you.

I cannot recommend Finding You strongly enough and am looking forward to the next book in the series.