Until We Find Home / by Cathy Gohlke. 3.22.2019
Tyndale ISBN 9781496410962
Adult Rating: 5
Claire Stewart has no intention of shepherding Jewish-French refugee children to England in order to escape the ravages of WWII in Until We Find Home. She plans instead to rendezvous with her French boyfriend and continue their resistance and rescue work in France. However, when he doesn’t arrive at their meeting place on time, no choice remains but to accompany the children. Since her boyfriend is the one with the contact in England, Claire must come up with a plan for the children. The only person that comes to mind is Claire’s estranged aunt. When Claire meets her aunt for the first time, she finds her grieving her son. What do two, grieving American women have to give to children displaced from home and everyone they know and love? And what are they to do with the men who are complicating their emotions?
Cathy Gohlke brilliantly paints entire scenes with a few well-placed words. Her characterization pulses with authenticity, especially that of Claire. Claire seems completely human as she struggles through her faults and starts allowing God’s grace to work in her heart. A somber tone carries through the book as characters deal with the ugliness born of grief, war, separation, rejection and prejudice. However, the story is far from dark, because David Campbell and Dr. MacDonald share light, bringing both the love of God and love of their own to a place that desperately needs it. The children bring humor in the midst of their struggles. Tension in the tale comes mostly in the form of relational struggles as the plot gently unfolds, but moments of physical danger add momentum. Though rife with important, though non-preachy, lessons, the most important theme driving the characters and plot is discovered by Claire:
The great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference. God loves us because we are a self, because He is love and that love pours out onto us. (p. 388, in a letter from C. S. Lewis to Claire – may or may not be all C. S. Lewis’s words as per note on p. 411)
Kristina Wolcott, CLJPosted in Books for Adults, CLJ Book Reviews
The Bride of Ivy Green / by Julie Klassen. (Tales from Ivy Hill, 3) 3.21.2019
Bethany House ISBN 9780764218170
Adult Rating: 4
Award-winning author Julie Klassen concludes her Regency series set in the English village of Ivy Hill.
In The Bride of Ivy Green, the ladies of Ivy Hill face changing circumstances in their lives. Mercy Grove resigns herself to a spinster’s life after her school closes. Jane Bell must decide whether to give up her inn to marry Gabriel Locke. Miss Brockwell is being pressured by her mother to marry a certain nobleman in an arranged marriage. But what happens when circumstances change, bringing about the possibility of cherished dreams being fulfilled?
Klassen has written a fitting conclusion to her series; each book continues the story of the friends and village life. She presents endearing characters in her inspirational Regency novels. While The Bride of Ivy Green could be read as a standalone, it is recommended that one reads all three books in order. The faith elements are light-handed, as the characters face their new challenges in their lives and learn to trust God in all situations. Readers will appreciate the nod to Jane Austen, as well as the depth of the historical details, as they return to Ivy Hill, where “friendship endures, romance triumphs, and mysteries are revealed (back cover).”
Recommended for public and high school libraries. Her novels appeal to adults and high school readers alike. Fans of Julie Klassen, Sarah E. Ladd, Carrie Turansky, and other historical fiction writers will be delighted to read this series.
Carol R. Gehringer, CLJ
EarlierSeriesTitles Reviewed by CLJ: The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill (Jan/Feb/Mar 2017); The Ladies of Ivy Cottage (Jan/Feb/Mar 2018).Posted in Books for Adults, CLJ Book Reviews
The Space Between Words / by Michele Phoenix. 3.20.2019
Thomas Nelson ISBN 9780718086442
Adult Rating: 4
Jessica is a victim of a mass shooting in Paris, France, and when she regains consciousness is confused and disoriented. Her friend Patrick seems to continue to be the rock he has always been for her, but is he really? Staying at a rural French B&B, her new friends help her regain some semblance of normalcy as well as assisting in her research to translate some very old documents she finds in a beautiful antique sewing box. Could these stories of Huguenot Protestants and their persecution help her to understand her own search for trust in a loving God?
The Huguenot accounts are inspiring and bring about a spiritual change in Jessica who is questioning why God would allow this type of massacre to happen.
The story is beautifully told with a rather unusual plot, but this reviewer did have some trouble keeping track of the Huguenot characters in their writings. The author could have made that a little easier to follow.
Ceil Carey, CLJPosted in Books for Adults, CLJ Book Reviews
Wait for Me / by Susan May Warren. (Montana Rescue, 6) 3.19.2019
Adult Rating: 4
Best-selling author Susan May Warren concludes her Montana Rescue series by portraying the turbulent relationship of Peter Brooks and Jess Tagg–and solving the mystery behind Esme Shaw’s disappearance.
In Wait for Me, Pete Brooks has been waiting almost a year for Jess Tagg to return to Montana–and to him. Has Pete finally learned to stop trying to be in control and let God be in control? Now he finally is ready to move on, and she returns to Montana, but is it too late now?
Meanwhile someone discovers Esme Shaw is witness to a long-forgotten crime. Jess and Esme are injured in an automobile accident in the isolated wilderness. Then they’re taken captive by that same person who wants to silence the only witness to his crime. Will they be rescued in time by Pete and the PEAK Rescue Team–or will a vengeful man’s actions cost Pete the life of a woman he still loves?
Warren takes her readers on an edge-of-your-seat-adventure as she tells Jess and Pete’s story. Characters from earlier books make an appearance, continuing their storylines. As always, the romance is clean, the faith is light but evident, with the tension building until its gripping conclusion. Wait for Me is filled with backstory which could be confusing because there is so much of it. However, it fills in the gaps if a reader hasn’t read the earlier books. Grace and forgiveness are interwoven through the storylines in this book. This is an action-filled romantic suspense the reader will not forget, and a fitting conclusion to this series.
Recommended for adult collections in public libraries.
Carol R. Gehringer, CLJ
Earlier Series Titles Reviewed by CLJ: Wild Montana Skies (Oct/Nov/Dec 2016), Rescue Me (Jan/Feb/Mar 2017), A Matter of Trust (Jul/Aug/Sep 2017), Troubled Waters (Apr-Sep 2018), and Storm Front (reviewed above).