Book Review - A Hope Fulfilled

There is a beautiful thing about biblical fiction: it always sends me digging into the Bible with fresh eyes in light of the context. A Hope Fulfilled is April W. Gardner’s contextual imagining of the book of Obadiah. The 21 verses of the minor prophet’s Old Testament prophecy are easy to skim over, but don’t be fooled by the book’s length. And don’t be fooled by the novella’s length, either. Gardner sets the stage with a Jewish servant in the household of an Edomite official who despises her the way Edom despises Judah and is more than happy to treat her poorly. With the Babylonian army at the gates, Tikvah must decide if she is willing to help one enemy with a task that ultimately fulfills part of Obadiah’s prophecy against another enemy. And because we all love the thread of hope of a happy future for the heroine, there is a surprise hiding within the Babylonian armor. As a novella, this story moves at what I call “novella’s pace.” It can feel rushed if you are settling in for a novel length exposition, but packs a lot of story in a few hours’ read. Kind of like the book of Obadiah, to which the author refers, so it seems fitting.

Not to be overlooked are Gardner’s companion books, which together with A Hope Fulfilled complete the A Fire and a Flame series. Knowing Obadiah is her commentary on the Old Testament book and But in Mount Zion is a Bible study of the book. It seems at first glance like the second shortest book of the Bible needs little explanation, but with context and study come understanding of the prophecy that calls down warning and judgement on a nation that has despised and abused the nation of Judah, while promising hope for God’s people.

A Hope Fulfilled, Knowing Obadiah, and But in Mount Zion by April W. Gardner are available online from Amazon. You can find more information on the A Fire and a Flame series on the author’s website.

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - Trust The Stars

In her latest release, Trust The Stars, Tricia Goyer intertwines the stories of an Italian princess captured by the Nazis, an Allorian prince with heart, and broken American humanitarian with the unfailing love of the Father who never leaves any of them. Goyer takes us down a carefully crafted path to show how these seemingly unrelated individuals come together in a tapestry that could only be woven by a Maker with a beautiful plan to overcome their individual struggles and create something so much better for themselves and for the ones they love. The “average girl meets prince and doesn’t know he is royalty” trope is one that is old and golden; there is a reason it doesn’t go away and never should. But Goyer does it in a very special way in Trust The Stars. Don’t miss this one; it is delightful fiction with a gift for the reader in the lessons learned along the way.

Trust The Stars by Tricia Goyer is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

Tricia Goyer’s Shop                    Barnes & Noble                        Amazon

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - Letter from Belleau Wood

Letter from Belleau Wood is the seventh Covington Chronicles book by Mary Lou Cheatham. I read it as a standalone book and feel like Ms. Cheatham crafted her details carefully to fill in any blanks I might have missed by jumping straight into the end of the series. This story is told through the eyes of a young woman named Trudy who grew up loving the neighbor boy and he grew up loving her. The days of childhood with Trudy, her brother Will, and Jeremy together from sunup to sundown are a thing of the past as the three go separate ways for school. But if love was as easy as knowing, that distance would not have led Trudy and Jeremy apart. As they come of age on the cusp of the Great War, it is letters that hold them together with their loved ones. And it is one letter from Belleau Wood that changes everything. Cheatham explores these interactions as the youths grow through war and the Spanish flu pandemic to find who they are and who they are meant to be.

There is a certain level of comfort to the locations in Letter from Belleau Wood, sprinkled throughout the state of my childhood. Though things had changed by the time I attended camp at The W and 4-H events at A&M (now State) I felt a special bit of connection to those places. I couldn’t help wondering if Trudy and her roommates ever saw Mary, the Callaway ghost who kept my camp mates and me awake and always alert. Trudy’s stop at the country store with her papa reminded me of going with my daddy for Coke & peanuts and Moon Pies. Even those who don’t have a strong connection to Mississippi will feel swept into the setting.

Thank you to the author for granting me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine. 

Book Review - The Warsaw Sisters

It takes only a few chapters of Amanda Barratt’s latest release, The Warsaw Sisters, to see how last year’s release earned Christy Book of The Year. Barratt’s research is remarkable, her world building impeccable with the help of details one might never stop to consider otherwise. The Warsaw Sisters is a particularly visceral experience; you will feel the pull of the heart as Tata leaves his twin girls to go fight for Poland against the incoming Nazi invaders and break for the sisters as war tears them apart. Barratt writes a beautiful tribute to the determination of the citizens of Warsaw.

Spanning six years of Poland’s World War II fight and the return of Varsovians to their home, The Warsaw Sisters is the story of twins Antonina and Helena. Their mother sent their father off to war before the girls were born, but she is not here to see him off to fight the encroachment of the Nazis. Tosia and Hela continue to cling to each other among the chaos and toil for each day in their beloved city. As war ravages their home and tensions mount, the twins and their world are torn apart. Passions drive each sister to do what they must to survive this horror with honor intact.

The Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barratt is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

Baker Book House        Christian Book     Walmart     Amazon

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.