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A review by meezcarrie
Grace Restored by Toni Shiloh
4.0
Grace Restored takes us back to Freedom Lake & the circle of friends we first met in Returning Home. While we certainly get lots of page time with Jo, Evan, Chloe, and Darryl the focus of this second book is Michelle and Guy. And boy do they have a story to tell!
I was very curious about their story because, of the six friends, Michelle has been the most closed-off toward a relationship with God (although that’s a toss up with Guy) & Guy has the most emotional story. Or so I thought. As Grace Restored progresses, we get more insight into each of these character dimensions and put together details which reveal a powerful & moving layer I wasn’t expecting. We see real people struggling with real questions, wrestling with honest faith, affected by the consequences of sin and the pain of a broken world. Yet at the same time, Shiloh meets their brokenness with the One who brings restoration, grace and healing.
Despite the heavy topics that Shiloh addresses in Grace Restored, it’s not what I would consider a heavy story. She knows exactly when a lighter scene is needed, when Guy’s precocious little girls need to have a ‘tea pawty’, when the reader’s heart needs to be lifted. But in doing so, she also doesn’t take away from the poignancy of the restoration that is taking place in her characters’ lives. Shiloh stays sensitive to that balance throughout the story, leaving you examining your own heart in the weightier scenes even as you are warmed by the lighter moments.
Bottom Line: Toni Shiloh writes with grace and heart, and it’s perhaps never clearer than in Grace Restored. Her characters are allowed to ask tough questions and hear some tough answers – answers which are, however, wrapped in grace and mercy. The weekly Bible studies and natural conversations between the circle of friends lead to organic faith discussions, and the personal pain experienced by the characters leaves room for Jesus to bring healing to the readers as well. If you are seeking diverse characters who go through real-life struggles and ask honest faith questions, then you need to be reading Toni Shiloh’s books!
(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)
first seen at Reading Is My SuperPower
I was very curious about their story because, of the six friends, Michelle has been the most closed-off toward a relationship with God (although that’s a toss up with Guy) & Guy has the most emotional story. Or so I thought. As Grace Restored progresses, we get more insight into each of these character dimensions and put together details which reveal a powerful & moving layer I wasn’t expecting. We see real people struggling with real questions, wrestling with honest faith, affected by the consequences of sin and the pain of a broken world. Yet at the same time, Shiloh meets their brokenness with the One who brings restoration, grace and healing.
Despite the heavy topics that Shiloh addresses in Grace Restored, it’s not what I would consider a heavy story. She knows exactly when a lighter scene is needed, when Guy’s precocious little girls need to have a ‘tea pawty’, when the reader’s heart needs to be lifted. But in doing so, she also doesn’t take away from the poignancy of the restoration that is taking place in her characters’ lives. Shiloh stays sensitive to that balance throughout the story, leaving you examining your own heart in the weightier scenes even as you are warmed by the lighter moments.
Bottom Line: Toni Shiloh writes with grace and heart, and it’s perhaps never clearer than in Grace Restored. Her characters are allowed to ask tough questions and hear some tough answers – answers which are, however, wrapped in grace and mercy. The weekly Bible studies and natural conversations between the circle of friends lead to organic faith discussions, and the personal pain experienced by the characters leaves room for Jesus to bring healing to the readers as well. If you are seeking diverse characters who go through real-life struggles and ask honest faith questions, then you need to be reading Toni Shiloh’s books!
(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)
first seen at Reading Is My SuperPower