Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

12 reviews

beklovesbooks's review against another edition

Terrible book. Hard to like characters. Soft porn for people deceiving themselves that they’re reading something Biblical.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, Gore, Rape, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

sarah_zaffiro's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

I know some of the church ladies in these reviews are clutching their pearls over the sexual content - which honestly isn’t even graphic - but I think the only truly offensive thing about this book is the casual racism that (unfortunately) tends to come along with historical Christian novels. The multiple references to the “heathen Indians” is just super problematic and SHOULD be out of place in a story that is otherwise about love & acceptance. I understand we’re reading a story about white people, but Native Americans were literally being slaughtered for land that was rightfully theirs at this time & that’s all the author could say about them. not very Christian, if you ask me. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Murder, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Infertility, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Incest, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

rhythmofryn's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-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

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide and Antisemitism

harmshoney's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ohh my.. I have so many words & yet none at all. I am completely & utterly wrecked, changed, & overwhelmed. this is the most beautiful, encompassing, lovely book I have ever read. I am so grateful I can't even begin to explain 🖤

this book is about a woman named Sarah, sold into prostitution at 8 years old. she grew up embracing this life, becoming the most sought after in the industry & called Angel. until Michael.. Michael Hosea saw her & heard God tell him that Angel was going to be his wife. he didn't understand, but he obeyed.

the rest of the story is full of heartbreak & so, so much love. Michael is slowly breaking down Angel's walls with his relentless pursuit & his mighty love. being an example of Christ & his compassion, patience, forgiveness, kindness, gentleness, & more. Angel discovers her healing can only come from one place.. the Father Michael worships.

this story just wrecked me. I really don't even know how else to describe it. it inspired me to pursue the Lord & to pray for my husband. it inspired me to love people & that God's opinion is the only one that matters. it pierced me down to my very core in such an aggressive, beautiful way. I'll never be the same. dramatic? yeah. true? also yeah.

when I finished, I watched several interviews with the author, Francine Rivers 🖤 basically, she's become my biggest inspiration. her testimony is beautiful & she seems to just radiate the Holy Spirit & peace that surpasses all understanding. I wish I could sit with her & let her pour into me. Redeeming Love has also become a tool to help women out of human trafficking. she's spoken at events & donates to this cause with the proceeds.

she's had many women come to her & say, "I want a man like Michael Hosea!!" & she says, "Jesus is the man!!" 🥹 this changed my perspective of the book & I am just so incredibly inspired & grateful. Michael is meant to be an allegory for Christ, & Angel is a reflection of all of us in our own ways.

I'm not exactly sure why - but it seems many people have some misconceptions about this book. Michael is nothing but gentle & loving towards Angel. some seem to think there are moments when he is being abusive, but I didn't see that at all!!

One of my favorite parts of this story, was how Francine covered intimacy so delicately. she was able to explain the intimate scenes in the most beautiful, appropriate way. there was nothing raunchy about it! Truly, it opened my eyes more to how much of a gift sex is within marriage. I'm so grateful she included it in this story!!

I want to reread this book over & over & yet never see it again 😆 it's just so much & I'm feeling so deeply. Redeeming Love is the most powerful work of fiction I have ever read. I am beyond grateful that Francine wrote it. I finished with a hunger to dive into the Word & know my Savior. thank you, Lord, for your redeeming love!! 🙌🏼✨

"𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅, 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓?"

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Alcohol

amhall11's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Trafficking, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder

kierasreadingjournal'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: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Incest, Trafficking, Abortion, 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.

meihessen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

the_annia's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Incest, and Abortion

risseandshine'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

4.5

4.5 stars for taking my heart out, ripping it apart, and putting back together again.

This is not your typical boy-meets-girl romance book. This romance book touches on all forms of love: romantic, familial, between friends, spiritual, and self-love. It's a beautiful story that doesn't hesitate to bare all the ugliness one can experience to be able to realize true unconditional love. 

My reading experience with this book was so real and raw that there were a lot of times when I had to put the book down for me just breathe and process all the emotions coming in all at once. It was painful and frustrating at certain points, yet ultimately felt so rewarding and reassuring.

While I loved this book so much, I hesitated in giving this a full 5 stars because I felt like some parts of it did not age well. I was especially uncomfortable with the term the author used for Native Americans and the general picture painted of them in the story. I was also uncomfortable with the romantic subplot with a 16 year old girl and a 20+ year old man.

Nonetheless, this book was one of the best I've read when it comes to talks of love in general. It was well executed that the messages it aimed to convey definitely shone through. 

Props to mood reader self for choosing to spend my Good Friday and Black Saturday with this book. It was worth every second

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Infertility, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

jacobina's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape