Redeeming Love

At church we just started a bookclub, and our first book selection was Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. When the initial idea for this bookclub came to me I was incredibly excited and set a plan for the whole year, the closer it got to starting this adventure it just seemed like too much. One of my friends volunteered to spearhead it and I am excited to see where it goes. I won't be able to be at each one or even read each book, but I have always wanted to read this book ever since I first heard of it, I just hadn't had the time. I don't tend to be a fast reader but this one didn't take me very long because I couldn't put it down. I absolutely loved it.

This story is a fictional story based on the book of Hosea in the Bible. The prophet Hosea marries a prostitute because God tells him to. The prostitute continues to fight against his love and she runs away continuously. This resembled how the Israelites continually ran away from God's love and went back to the life of sin they knew before.

This version is set in the gold rush time period, and is the story of a prostitute named Angel and the man who saves her name Michael Hosea. The story starts when she is young and she learns her father never wanted her, and then after her mother dies she is sold into prostitution at the age of 8. It isn't until Michael comes along and takes her away that she starts to see a different way of life. She fights it, she can't understand how someone as good and holy as Michael could possibly love her. He has to go and bring her back from a life of prostitution once, and then he brings her back a second time, but she hadn't returned to her previous life. She leaves a third time and falls in love with God and finds her purpose in life. I won't ruin the ending, because I was know I was on edge the whole time hoping the author ended it the way I wanted (She did).

This book had me from the first chapter, and it has been awhile since that has been the case. I love books that are based on a Biblical story but fictionalized, and believable. I felt with these characters and I couldn't wait to see where they were going and how it was going to play out.

This is a story of love, redemption, grace, God, and faith. I highly recommend this book.

The picture of the book is a link to Amazon, where you can purchase this book.