Stephanie Sullivan: Review

February 20, 2022

TITLE: Redeeming Love

RATING: ★★★★★

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Summary (from Goodreads): California’s gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep.

Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.

Then she meets Michael Hosea. A man who seeks his Father’s heart in everything, Michael Hosea obeys God’s call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel’s every bitter expectation until, despite her resistance her frozen heart begins to thaw.

But with her unexpected softening come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband’s pursuing love, terrified of the truth she can no longer deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael Hosea does…the One who will never let her go.

A life-changing story of God’s unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love.

REVIEW: What a beautiful story! I had never heard about this book or author until I saw the preview to the movie a couple of weeks ago. I was intrigued, so I decided to give Francine Rivers a try. I'm SO GLAD I did! First of all, anyone who thinks this book is about Angel and Michael's love story is mistaken. Yes, in a roundabout way it is about them falling in love, but the most important fact you take away from this book is the power of God's redeeming love. Angel learned through Michael that God truly loved her, even if her past made her feel that she wasn't worthy of love. Michael's unyielding faith and his devotion to her made me cry. No, actually, I WEPT. Please read this book, especially if you need a reminder of just how much God loves YOU too.