Review: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 Hosea 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 can no longer deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael Hosea does…the One who will never let her go.

Not being familar with the story of Hosea I was intrigued enough to know more about it when I read the back cover blurb. All in all this book was excellent and has a permenant residence on my Keeper Shelf. Like you hope to have in any good book there were places where I cringed( like every single time Angel left Michael)and others where I felt my heart would leap from my chest(can’t give those away or you won’t read the book).

What I liked:

Michael’s relationship with God. He’s so full of faith that God has a plan for him, bumps and all. It really made me think about my own faith and if I let God take control enough. I love books that make you think about them days or weeks after you’ve read them.
This might sound a little strange, considering my previous paragraph, but I did like the touchy subject of Duke and child prositution. Not that I agree with it all, but it was refreshing to see an author,especially a Christian author, make such a risky move and actually talk about it and have it be a major part of the heroine’s character. Those scenes weren’t feel good moments at all but the book really wouldn’t have been the same without them.
Something else I like was Angel and Michael’s budding relationship. It was very realistic and believable. Angel didn’t instantly “see the light” and change when Michael came into her life and that was a good thing because we were able to see her grow as a person.

Things I didn’t like:

The story seemed to sag a little when Angel/Sarah ran off to San Fransisco and lived with the Axles. It was good for Angel to have that relationship with that family and have a friend in their daughter but drug on a bit.

Rating: A

Published:2005

Price:$14.99

Favorite books by author: This is my first one but it’s definitely on the list now.

Author’s website: http://www.francinerivers.com/

Happy Sunday!

I am stuffed. The hub, son and I just returned from our weekly Sunday lunch with my parents. I am full of grilled corn and turkey legs. I momentarily forced myself to forget that by eating just one turkey leg I was consuming a whopping 1,000 calories. I didn't eat the entire thing but but a good four hundred calories worth. And indulged in sugar free chocolate pie. I can pretty much guarantee I'll be Sweatin' to the Oldies tonight. And going to the gym next week. Treadmill here I come!

Anyway, I wanted to give everyone a heads up about a few things that are going on...

First, as of next week I will no longer be posting my reviews at Reading Romance Books. The webmaster is shutting down the site. Until I can find a long time home for my reviews I will post them here. I'm still going to try a weekly thing but with a seven month old there's no telling if it'll happen. I really did enjoy my time reviewing for them. It gave me a major sense of accomplishment so that's why I am going to continue. I hope you'll come back to check out my reviews. I'm also thinking about throwing in some movie reviews in there, too, just to spice things up.

Speaking of reviews, a few months ago I reviewed a fantastic book called Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl. There wasn't anything I didn't like about it. Please be a dear and check out her website www.victoriadahl.com . She has four more releases coming out in the next four months so pick them up. I'll post my review for those who are interested.

That's the end of my updates for now! Maybe the next one will be that I finished my manuscipt.

Dreams...

Every wonder if the things you want to do with your life are what you're really supposed to do? I have.

Being a Christian, I wonder if some of the dreams I have are my own selfish wants and desires or if God has placed them in my heart because they are part of His plan for me. This was the topic of yesterday's sermon. I was excited because I have been questioning if my aspirations to be a published writer were from God or not because I've been pursuing it since 2o02 and nothing has come of us. Granted, I haven't been actively pursuing it but it's okay. Today is a new day. Now, I truly believe this is the plan God has for me.

Here are a few ways to tell if your dream, whatever it may be, is planted inside you by God:

-it feels right
-it excites you
-it keeps you up at night because you can't stop thinking about it
-it's fulfilling
-it makes you feel like you were made to do it.

Hearing all of this got me extremely motivated to write again. I know I can do this. If I couldn't, God wouldn't have placed he desire in me in the first place.

Thursday, yet again...

I'm really not trying to make it a habit to only post on Thursdays, it just happens that way.

Well, I'm feeling a bit of accomplishment at the moment. Wrote an entire scene, give or take a paragraph or two, today and sent it to my CP. That sounds like pretty small potatoes, doesn't it? Well, if you haven't written an entire scene, much less a paragraph, this year it's a big deal. I am working my way up. I know that if I jump into promising myself "You're going to write 2k(which is 10 pages)today" I know I will fall flat on my face. So, I am starting small. Scene by scene.

Emily, my brilliant CP, helped me by holding me accountable. I do need a push every now and then. More like every day.

Maybe since all of my television shows have ended for the season I'll make more time to write this summer. You would think since I have DVR that I would write while they're on and watch them later. You would think.

Speaking of which...Castle was renewed for season two! YAY! I'm glad ABC didn't cancel such a great show. All of my other favorites are coming back, too: House, Bones, and Supernatural. I almost typed Prison Break out of habit but quickly remembered that it's no more.

Thursday!

Not that my Thursday was exciting enough for an exclamation mark but it seemed like a good idea.

Well, since my CP, Emily, is feeling better about writing, I thought I would write about my own good fortune. Nothing spectacular but it's still neat. Last night I had just crawled into bed and was getting all comfy when I shoved off the covers and headed to my office. Why? A part of one of my characters' backstory came to me and I feared I would forget it if I didn't rush to write it down right then. Successfully, it's all written down and ready to be added to the story. We will see how it goes.

Now, it's time to watch the season finale of Bones...

Sluggish Mondays

Why do Mondays always drag you down and make you want to stay in bed? Sadly, I could not stay in bed past 6:30 because of a hungry six month old. Who would have guessed that babies have to eat? Other than waking way earlier than I would prefer life with my son is great! I can have a horrible day and it all disappears when he smiles at me.

Apparently, Mondays aren't the only sluggish days for me. Everyday is sluggish where my writing is concerned. I am slowly but surely getting back into it. I'll look at a scene here, write a few lines or character description here. I have yet to find my niche and that bugs me. Maybe one of these days I'll find it. Maybe my Muse Faries can find it for me. For those of you who are unfamilar with muses. Everyone has an idea of what their muse is. Mine are the three faeries for Sleeping Beauty. Why? Because I change stories so often. Think of the scene where they keep changing the color of Aurora's dress. Make sense?

I'm not quite sure how I trailed down the rabbit hole by talking about Sleeping Beauty but if nothing else it will help you get to know me better. That sounds like a good excuse, right? I think so.

Anyway, I am determined to make 2009 "the" year. If nothing else I will submit to an agent and publisher. That's a hefty goal, I think.

Happy Hump Day!

Sorry, for the radio silence lately. I've just been busy and the rest of the week isn't looking to slow down any. Maybe I'll be able to slip in some time to read. Well, considering I have a review due tomorrow I better find time to read.

I had to take my kiddo to the doctor yesterday for his six months shots. Not a fun experience. It kills me everytime he does that heart wrenching cry. All I can do is comfort him, I can't make the pain go away. Good news is he's right on as far as growth goes and we don't have to go back for three months. YAY!

I'm still in a funk as far as writing goes. Within a span of five minutes I had two different scenes pop into my head. Having scenes come to me is a good thing but when they aren't related to the same story it's frustrating. But I'll take scenes anyway I can get them. All I need to do is write them down! What a concept!

Oh and just because I can here's some inspiration for me and everyone else in the form of Nathan Fillion:

P.S. I have to plug Castle which is Nathan Fillion's new show. It's on Mondays at 9pm on ABC. the season finale is the 11th. It's such a great show with some witty dialogue. Let's hope it's picked up for next season.