Redeeming Love

don't have much time to post but wanted to share this book with you. i am not one to read a ton of fiction - much less romance novels - but this book was recommended to me by a few close friends mature in the Lord when we would happen to be in casual conversation about 'good reads' ~ you know....books that catch your attention yet are substantive & redeeming. in my opinion, this is one of those. i loved it. the last few pages (including the author's testimony at the back!) are a bit wrinkled in places from falling tear drops. it's an allegorical romance based on the Old Testament book of Hosea and is also a picture of us & Jesus. that's all i'll say.

disclaimer: 1) since this book reflects the mature situation of Hosea & his prostitute/adulterous wife, these themes do comprise a better portion of the book. it is done very tastefully but due to the sensitive nature of Redeeming Love, i would recommend it strictly to married women (who find themselves in struggling or thriving marriages), previously married women healing from past wounds, or in some unique cases, single women whom the Lord has redeemed from a sexually sinful past but are still struggling with humbly receiving the full forgiveness & cleansing of the Savior. Although excellently written and tastefully composed, I would venture to say it is not suitable to just all single women - only the scenario mentioned above. I'm reminded of the verse in Song of Solomon, "Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires...." 2) i make it my personal practice to never read romance novels - even Christian ones - since they can be a snare/temptation for me to put myself in the place of the main character and then be tempted to have romantic feelings toward the male character in the book. just gonna throw that out there and be very honest. perhaps, many of you are stronger than myself in that area and this would totally not be an issue for you. but I can remember reading a slew of Christian romance novels as a teenager - they were very clean & positive but even still i struggled as a result and had to stop. i made an exception for this book based upon the good opinion of my godly friends & doing some personal research on the author and her books prior to reading one of them.