Tag: Forgiveness

Posted on

Back on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber, 2007, MIRA (Harlequin)

Back on Blossom Street
Back on Blossom Street

Another heart-warming story about Lydia and the friends she makes in her knitting classes. This time they are knitting prayer shawls. Each person is participating for a different reason and plans to use the shawl for a different purpose.

As they knit together, bonds form between them. Gradually their stories emerge and develop. They support one another in their struggles.

Chapters alternate between three Points of View: Lydia, Alix, and Colette. I met Lydia and Alix in the first book of the series. Although I haven’t read books 2 and 3, I didn’t notice anything missing as I picked up on their lives. This may be partly because of Macomber’s writing style. She ensures each story stands alone by subtly filling in bits of backstory. Colette is going through a complex period in her life, lending some intrigue to the story.

Macomber expertly integrates spiritual life lessons into the raw events of life like they happen, without glossing over actions, thoughts, feelings, and words. This is what I love about her writing. Plus, Blossom Street is in Seattle, not too far south of Western Canada where I live, so I can relate to the west-coast climate and culture she describes. Women of all ages are included among the characters, as well as the men in their lives. Themes are secrets, pregnancy, weddings, accidents, forgiving, bonding, death, and trust, interspersed with joys of life such as tea, seafood, and ocean breezes.

To learn more about Debbie Macomber and her novels, visit www.DebbieMacomber.com.

To learn more about the book or to order, tap on this link: https://amzn.to/3pa8F8D. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

To read other reviews on Goodreads, click here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5630440775.

Posted on

The Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles, 2021, Simon & Schuster Canada

Authentic History Portrayed in a Dual Timeline Novel

The Paris Library

The Paris Library is based on the actual American Library in Paris. The author worked there as Programs Manager in 2010. She now divides her time between Paris and Montana, the other setting in the book.

The story is effectively written as a dual timeline novel. Young Lily, growing up in smalltown Montana, is fascinated by the mysterious Odile, the widow next door. They become fast friends, and Odile’s story of working in the Paris library during WWII emerges. Amazingly, the dedicated staff and volunteers kept the library open throughout the war. The Author’s Note at the end of the book fills in more details about the real people she based the characters on, plus other facts about the library that she didn’t include in the story.

The Personal WWII Within Each of Us

The Paris Library is about so much more than history, though. It’s about relationships–family, friends, lovers. Coworkers and community. Betrayal and forgiveness. The power of the tongue, for good and for evil. Most of us reading The Paris Library have not lived in the centre of a major war. Although the blatant evils of war are obvious, we often fail to see the evil in ourselves, caused by just a few words of betrayal that slip out of our mouths unintentionally. The war opened Odile’s eyes to her own guilt, and she is able to pass on the awareness to Lily before she ruins her own relationships.

I was lucky to find The Paris Library in a little free library on the roadside. Thank you to whoever left it there. Such a worthwhile read.

This website is a participant in the Indigo Affiliate Program which allows it to earn commissions from Indigo if you make a purchase on indigo.ca after linking through this website. Get the book here https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/home/search/?keywords=the%20paris%20library#suggest=1&internal=1 by clicking on the link.

Learn more about the author at JSkeslienCharles.com.

Posted on

The Forgiving Hour, by Robin Lee Hatcher, ebook edition 2016, Robinsong Inc.

Forgiveness–a theme of humanity

Forgiveness has always been a human theme. From the story of Adam and Eve on, the need of forgiveness has been central. The moment we err, that little elf called ‘conscience’ whispers in our ear. When we ban him from our presence, we suffer consequences. So does everyone around.

As humans, we crave to be forgiven, but we also have to learn to forgive. It’s a two-way street. Hanging onto resentment makes a person miserable, and also affects everyone around.

Can she find freedom from the stranglehold of bitterness?

Forgiveness is a human theme.Robin Lee Hatcher expertly plays out the theme of forgiveness in this novel of the lives of a woman and her son. They have been betrayed. They suffer years of resulting consequences and misery. Have they been permanently trapped in bitterness, or will they rise above it?

What do you feel about forgiveness?

What would be the hardest thing for you to forgive? How would you be able to forgive? The Forgiving Hour reflects some of the author’s own path to forgiveness. Not at all easy to forgive some things, but so emancipating.

Why I chose this book.

I received a free copy of this book via a one-day promotional Kindle e-book offer that the author gave her Facebook friends. Thank you, Robin! I loved it. Not only is the theme universal and vital to changing lives, the writing is beautiful. Emotions are felt and settings are seen through the views of characters. I love your writing style.

The plotline begins with the inciting incident when the main character is an adult, then goes back to where it all began years before in her teens. At the end we see the final result of the storyline. Readers see through the points of view of several characters, each of whom have subplots. It works very well. There is a prologue, seven parts, and an epilogue, totaling a little over 300 pages.

The author had previously referred me to this book to show me an example of the plotline of one of her most successful books. The reason she told me about it is because the novel I’ve been working on myself has a similar plotline. So glad to see how well it played out in The Forgiving Hour. Now to emulate her vivid writing style! Thank you for this bit of mentoring. It means a lot to me as a greenhorn novelist.

To learn more about the author and her books, visit www.robinleehatcher.com.

This website is an Indigo.ca affiliate. If you click on the above link and make a purchase, with no extra cost to you I may receive a small kickback to help defray the cost of keeping my website running. Thank you, I hope you enjoy browsing indigo/chapters. Don’t forget to look up The Forgiving Hour under the books section.

Posted on

Firstborn: A Novel, by Robin Lee Hatcher, RobinSong Inc. ebook edition, 2018.

Ebook Edition

Firstborn, by Robin Lee Hatcher, was a free ebook download. I read it on Kindle with a free app. Normally I prefer to read traditional paper books because I like flipping through the pages. This was my first time reading on this Kindle app, and it was okay other than the annoying features of the page jumping ahead or going black on me.

Themes of Teen Pregnancy, Secrecy, Adoption, Family and Forgiveness

Robin Lee Hatcher is one of my favourite authors, and this book is on a similar theme to my work in progress, so I wanted to learn from her approach. It centres around a young woman who, although she mostly lives by Christian values, makes a mistake and becomes pregnant in her teenage years.

The storyline alternates between Erica’s adult present life in the story, and her younger years in the ’70s. Hatcher uses month and year dates on some of the chapters to notify the reader of the timeline. I like this because as a reader you are not left guessing where you are in the story. Knowing what year it is also helps you understand the setting of the chapter.

The author explores thoughts and emotions in depth from the point of view of each character, especially at certain pivotal times in their lives. In this story the main character keeps her teenage pregnancy a secret, but it resurfaces into her ‘perfect’ adult life, causing untold disruption. The superficial perfection is shattered. Disaster looms, but in the end each character goes through much soul-searching and come out better for it.

I would consider this more of a Women’s Fiction than a Romance because the turmoil eclipses the elements of romance, although there is a sweet ending involving decisions of love. The story would be viable even if it ended differently, as it likely would in most real life situations.

The topic is relevant, exploring teen pregnancy, adoption, secrecy, family relationships, friendship, and spirituality. Life isn’t perfect, even for Christians. Acceptance and forgiveness are central to true Christianity, not superficial perfection. God doesn’t stand in judgement; it is people who do this to each other, ruining lives in the process.

Jesus Christ gave his life to bring forgiveness. Until the church embraces this gospel, it is a sham of destruction. Hatcher does a good job of bringing out this hypocrisy as each character in the story faces their own pride and unforgiveness and with God’s help is able to forgive the others, resulting in a satisfying ending.

holiday sale

https://www.kindle/Firstborn: A Novel

Affiliate links help me keep my site running, so thank you for exploring them.