#COLLABOREADS: A Familiar Favorite
If you're new to #COLLABOREADS, welcome!
Amber and I started this fun little online book club back in May 2015, and after a summer without it, we're bringing it back to life again this month! We pick a theme every month, you pick a book that fits (we all read different books! it's fun that way!) and then all link up and share our thoughts (with a handy-dandy R.E.A.D.S. acronym usually--see below!) and link up and become BFFs. You can read more about this whole thing here.
PS: Amber's taking a break from her blog at the moment (we miss her, but so support her!) so it's just me hosting today, but I'm still excited to connect with all of you book-loving friends!
This month's theme was: A Familiar Favorite
I chose: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
“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 come 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.”
Riveting.
What part of the book could you NOT get enough of? and then the way this book brings that story to life in an even more personal, relatable, and real way with characters that you can't help but see yourself in just blows me away no matter how many times I read it. I never thought I would ever read (much less LOVE) a book that's categorized as Christian fiction, but this one just shatters every stereotype I had about the genre and makes me almooooost want to read more of it. I'm just not sure any other book could live up to how much I love and connect with this one!
Elements.
How did you relate to/care for the characters? What's your thought on the plot line and twists and turns? Oh man, you can't help but absolutely adore and feel for Michael in his relentless pursuit of a wandering woman, and you can't help but see yourself in Angel as she runs from the very man who loves her and desires intimacy and a relationship with her. Every time she flees and fights back, I see myself in her. Every time Michael chases after her, I see the Lord and how He loves my restless, distrusting heart. I couldn't love these characters more.
Associate.
What other books are like this one? If none, did it remind you of a particular TV or movie with it's themes and characters? Does it serendipitous-ly line-up with things going on in your life or the news right now? This book is the only one like it that I can think of, but I literally have NEVER read another Christian fiction book besides this one! Anybody else know of other books that are similar and not cheesy or weird or unbelievable? I mean, this obviously relates to the book of Hosea in the Bible, but no other fictional books that I've read!
Design.
You know you judged this book by the cover. What did you think of it? How did it relate to the contents of the novel? And the font and layout of the pages? The cover isn't necessarily a work of art, but it does relate to the story. If covers like this make you think it's some gushy, fluffy romance novel, let me assure you, it isn't, so read it anyway.
Stars.
How many out of five do you give this book? Would you recommend this book to a friend? All the stars. All 5, and more if I could. I've recommended this one to SO many, and will never stop.
LET'S LINK UP NOW.
FOR NEXT MONTH:
January's theme is Same First Name. Find a book by an author who shares your first name and see what it's all about!
ALSO. We have a new co-host! SO EXCITING! Kristin from Taz + Belly is joining the party in 2017 and we are stoked about it!