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mrs_faith_owens's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Redeeming Love is a beautiful story mirroring the story of Hosea from the Bible. While it is very dark and deals with several sexual themes, it is less explicit than most romance written today. Two of the themes that I think were handled very well in this book are religious bigotry and the idea that one’s Savior must be God and not another person. Instead of siding with the judgmental churchgoers, this book focuses on the redemptive power of God. When Angel begins to see Michael as her savior, God pulls her away to find Him. All that being said, this is a fantastic book, but take the content warnings seriously.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Slavery, and Child abuse
Moderate: Rape, Death, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Sexual content, Suicide, Infertility, Incest, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Sexual content, Rape, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Pedophilia
Also contains: Prostitution: minor and moderate Childbirth: minor and moderatekierasreadingjournal's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
“She destroyed his dreams, and he made her wind chimes.”
I’m going to be completely honest here; I have no idea what to think of this book. I always claim I learn something with every book I read… I look between the lines and see the personal lessons that apply to me as a reader. And while I definitely did learn things with this book, I can’t help but think it could have been so much better executed.
I finished this book in six days. It’s almost 500 pages long.
And while this sounds like it would be a positive, I think the majority of that time was spent searching for and trying to understand the deeper meaning that the author obviously intended.
This story is inspired by the story of Hosea – a story where a God-fearing prophet is told to marry a prostitute who continuously attempts to return to her old ways. It’s designed as an allegory of the relationship between God and His people. (I actually binge-read the whole story last night in an attempt to find any similarities I missed). As such, Hosea is intended to be a representation of God and His love in the story as, I initially assumed, Michal Hosea was to be in Redeeming Love.
And while many people, according to reviews, were able to see God’s love shining out through Michael’s character, I couldn’t see much more than a walking red flag until almost halfway through the book.
And while that may have just been my own fault – my own expectations crumbling around me – that caused that section of the book to be unrelatable and frustrating (and not a few times to think that if I wasn’t already a Christian reading this book, I would want nothing to do with Christianity altogether if it was represented as it was in this story), it still stands to reason that others, knowing the inspiration behind this story, would have gone in with those same expectations.
Surprisingly, even after all that’s said and done, this was the book I was needing at the time.
It came at a perfect season in my life, and while yes, it is full of some less-than-agreeable content and ideology, it still made a positive impact on me and my personal journey.
If only for the quote above and the first time she said his name…
“Michael.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Murder, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Death, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Trafficking, Abortion, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
While most of it isn’t in-detail, I will admit I was SHOCKED at some of the content that was in it — especially for a Christian novel.hunnybee30's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Pedophilia
Moderate: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Grief
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Slavery
jamiejanae_6's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Abortion, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Torture, and Trafficking
allisonshewfelt's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Francine Rivers has crafted such a beautiful and inspiring work of art. I really can't wrap my head around how this romance is unlike anything I've ever read. In redeeming love we follow Angel and Michael. Angel is sold into prostitution at 8 years old and it's all she knows. She despises it but is stuck there and can't do anything about it but she also puts on a mask of feeling when in reality her work has erased every part and emotion of her. Then we meet Michael, a Christian farmer who asks God for a wife. Not coincidentally he spots Angel and God tells him that he must rescue her from this life and teach her how to love.
This book is really deep and has a lot of trigger warnings but it's really powerful. It's a perfect example of how God's unending love can redeem anyone no matter how dire their sins are. Love can overwhelm any evil or darkness and always results in pure happiness.
Angel does run back to her life a few times because of her demons and she's confused on why someone like Michael is rescuing her. She had deep feelings of unworthiness and shame. Michael goes back for her twice similar to how God always comes back for us and forgives us no matter how bad the situation is. It also shows that you really need someone that knows how to forgive multiple times because I don't think she would have changed if he hadn't gone back for her.
My favorite scene is when Angel leaves him for the third time, not because she's confused but because Michael wants children and unfortunately, she can't have them. She runs away in the best interest of him which really shows how she's grown to love his good natured demeanor. I also love her interactions with the Altman family especially the children. Once Angel realizes no one's going to hurt her anymore and all Michael wants to do is love her, her personality really comes out and she's so sweet and silly. I love her and Michael so much.
I think some people gave this one star because of all the heavy topics but keep in mind this is based off a book in the bible and, unfortunately, there was a lot of prostitution during that time so I think the book is just trying to be as realistic as possible to portray the true message and I think she really wanted to show the dirtiness of sin. I didn't mind the sex scenes between Michael and Angel. I'm not sure why people had a problem with it because usually when you get married you copulate your marriage and married couples in general have sex. It's not bad and it's a gift from God.
The movie was soo good. It portrayed the intensity of the book very well as this is very intense for a christian book. The casting was amazing for Angel and Michael. Even though the movie is heavier there was still some moments of laughter. I still recommend it even if you're not Christian. If you're going to read any book from my reviews, please read this one. It's so impactful and really worth the read.
This book is really deep and has a lot of trigger warnings but it's really powerful. It's a perfect example of how God's unending love can redeem anyone no matter how dire their sins are. Love can overwhelm any evil or darkness and always results in pure happiness.
Angel does run back to her life a few times because of her demons and she's confused on why someone like Michael is rescuing her. She had deep feelings of unworthiness and shame. Michael goes back for her twice similar to how God always comes back for us and forgives us no matter how bad the situation is. It also shows that you really need someone that knows how to forgive multiple times because I don't think she would have changed if he hadn't gone back for her.
My favorite scene is when Angel leaves him for the third time, not because she's confused but because Michael wants children and unfortunately, she can't have them. She runs away in the best interest of him which really shows how she's grown to love his good natured demeanor. I also love her interactions with the Altman family especially the children. Once Angel realizes no one's going to hurt her anymore and all Michael wants to do is love her, her personality really comes out and she's so sweet and silly. I love her and Michael so much.
I think some people gave this one star because of all the heavy topics but keep in mind this is based off a book in the bible and, unfortunately, there was a lot of prostitution during that time so I think the book is just trying to be as realistic as possible to portray the true message and I think she really wanted to show the dirtiness of sin. I didn't mind the sex scenes between Michael and Angel. I'm not sure why people had a problem with it because usually when you get married you copulate your marriage and married couples in general have sex. It's not bad and it's a gift from God.
The movie was soo good. It portrayed the intensity of the book very well as this is very intense for a christian book. The casting was amazing for Angel and Michael. Even though the movie is heavier there was still some moments of laughter. I still recommend it even if you're not Christian. If you're going to read any book from my reviews, please read this one. It's so impactful and really worth the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, and Trafficking
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, and Violence
Minor: Abortion, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Incest
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