rachellouise_y's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ctayloe2's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
tense
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
egbella's review against another edition
5.0
Okay, I've heard stellar reviews of this book for YEARS. And while I do think highly of Francine Rivers, and have enjoyed some of her previous works (like the Lineage of Grace series), I was always just a bit wary of the fact that Redeeming Love is so popular. Add the more adult subject matter and the fact that it's a romance (a genre I rarely read), and it just didn't seem like it'd be the book for me.
However, after hearing more and more good things about it recently, I decided to just give it a try so I'd know what everyone was talking about. And I am so glad I did! This is definitely not a book for young readers (while Rivers never goes into descriptive detail with intimate or violent scenes, there are still plenty of scenes and enough context to be disturbing) and if you're uncomfortable with even reading about things like prostitution and abuse, this is probably not a good book for you. However, what changed it all for me was that none of those things were glorified AT ALL. Rivers gave a gritty, realistic, and heartbreaking portrayal of how sin affects lives, and I think because she didn't shy away from showing the darkness, the light of Christ shines all the brighter.
I know Rivers' writing style isn't for everyone, but I personally found myself so engrossed in the story itself that the few oddly-worded sentences I caught didn't bug me. The characters were realistic and nuanced and sympathetic, the truths woven into the story touched me deeply, and I put down the (substantial!) book finally understanding why so many of my friends and family call it one of their favorites.
So again, while it's not an easy read, it was a very worthwhile one for me, and left me newly inspired to write the kind of fiction that can touch others as much as this touched me.
However, after hearing more and more good things about it recently, I decided to just give it a try so I'd know what everyone was talking about. And I am so glad I did! This is definitely not a book for young readers (while Rivers never goes into descriptive detail with intimate or violent scenes, there are still plenty of scenes and enough context to be disturbing) and if you're uncomfortable with even reading about things like prostitution and abuse, this is probably not a good book for you. However, what changed it all for me was that none of those things were glorified AT ALL. Rivers gave a gritty, realistic, and heartbreaking portrayal of how sin affects lives, and I think because she didn't shy away from showing the darkness, the light of Christ shines all the brighter.
I know Rivers' writing style isn't for everyone, but I personally found myself so engrossed in the story itself that the few oddly-worded sentences I caught didn't bug me. The characters were realistic and nuanced and sympathetic, the truths woven into the story touched me deeply, and I put down the (substantial!) book finally understanding why so many of my friends and family call it one of their favorites.
So again, while it's not an easy read, it was a very worthwhile one for me, and left me newly inspired to write the kind of fiction that can touch others as much as this touched me.
bookshopbree's review against another edition
3.0
Good, easy read. The story really beautifully parallels to God's love for us. It makes it personal. I thought I wouldn't be able to relate much to the story, but more than once found myself challenged.
kgshore22's review against another edition
4.0
My original review as shown below was quite the raving one. I absolutely loved this book. Looking back now, though, I can definitely see some issues with it. I’m going to update my rating to 4 stars for now but I’m hoping to reread this one sometime soon to see how my opinion has changed :).
————————————————————————
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers has taught me many things.
Here is a brief list. The book showed me:
- how much God truly loves us
- how to love difficult people well
- how to be the hands and feet of Jesus
- how to understand that sometimes people hurt others because they themselves have been deeply wounded
- how the evil one works in our minds
... and so much more.
My only warning is to be careful if you are an emotional person like myself; I felt that I could not properly function while reading this book.
I pray that God would bless you and allow you to comprehend how He loves you more than you can imagine; if you want to know more about that love... read this book :).
————————————————————————
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers has taught me many things.
Here is a brief list. The book showed me:
- how much God truly loves us
- how to love difficult people well
- how to be the hands and feet of Jesus
- how to understand that sometimes people hurt others because they themselves have been deeply wounded
- how the evil one works in our minds
... and so much more.
My only warning is to be careful if you are an emotional person like myself; I felt that I could not properly function while reading this book.
I pray that God would bless you and allow you to comprehend how He loves you more than you can imagine; if you want to know more about that love... read this book :).
sarahj1994's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jazzyjan94's review against another edition
3.0
Redeeming Love is one of those books that I remember reading multiple times in high school. But I don't think I've read it since then. I've been wanting to revisit it for a while, especially once I heard that there is a movie coming out this year. I finally got a chance to pick it up and I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you.
Redeeming Love is an allegorical (I think) of the book of Hosea in the Bible. It is set during the Gold Rush in California and we are introduced to a young prostitute named Angel. All she has known is life in a brothel and has accepted that that is her life after her first attempt to escape from that life failed. One day, a young farmer, Michael Hosea, sees her in the streets and is told by God to marry her. He then tries to get to know her and try to convince her to leave her life at the brothel and marry him. She is then badly beaten by the brothel's body guard and in order to save her life, Michael marries Angel and takes her back to his farm to nurse her back to health. Michael refuses to take advantage of Angel, determiend to prove to her that there are some good men in the world, however she constantly fights his love for her. She runs away to try and get her money back from the mistress of the brothel, but discovers that the building as burned down in a fire. She starts to go back to her old lifestyle, but Michael sweeps in a takes her back home. As she adjusts to life on the farm, she starts to change, however she ends up running away several more times, especially when she realizes that due to events in her past she probably can never give Michael children.
This summary does not give the book justice, I tried to do my best to summarize it without giving away too much.
While I write this review, I am still trying to figure out my thoughts and feelings about Redeeming Love. It should be noted, I don't think this is a bad book, it is a very compelling read, especially when you read why Francine Rivers wrote this book. I think it's hard for me to determine how I feel about this book has more to do with this fact that there are some really gritty and horrible things that happen in this book. I would definitely caution against reading this book if you have experienced some sort of sexual abuse in your past, unless it won't trigger you. Even for others, I would caution against reading this if you are looking for something light and fluffy, this is defintely not that kind of read.
As I mentioned before, Redeeming Love is based on the book of Hosea, which is one of the minor prophetical books in the Bible. In Hosea, God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute (although there is some debate on whether she was a prostitute when he married or if that happened later one), who then runs away from him several times and has children that are from other men. God used this as an illustration to show how He loved the nation of Israel, but they kept turning their backs on Him and worshipping idols. This is just the Cliffnotes version, I encourage you to read the book of Hosea for yourself if you want to read more.
Francine Rivers did a good job of adapting this "story" (for lack of a better term, because it is something that did very much happen), especially with changing the time period it was set in and even the cast of characters. I felt like Michael Hosea was a great character, and he is definitely potrayed as someone who is both godly and flawed. Then there is Angel, who when we first meet her as an adult she is definitely hardened from the life she had been forced to live, but over time we see how love, and the Lord, can help soften a heart of stone. Then there is Michael's brother-in-law Paul, who is just awful until the last 50 pages...but then again, I felt it was a good depiction of those who claim to be righteous but are actually hypocrites, if you've read the book you know what I'm talking about.
There were some fantastic supporting characters in this book and they definitely helped make up the story.
Overall, while Redeeming Love is considered to be a favorite Christian fiction for many people, I just don't know if it is one of my favorites any more. I don't know if it is because I've matured since I read it back in high school, where I am in my life right now, or if it is just covers a heavy subject matter that I needed to be in the right mood to read. I don't know. There wasn't anything particularly bad about it and it was captivating enough to keep me reading, but I didn't love it and I'm not quite sure what about it made me not love it, except the issues it covers. 3/5 Stars.
Redeeming Love is an allegorical (I think) of the book of Hosea in the Bible. It is set during the Gold Rush in California and we are introduced to a young prostitute named Angel. All she has known is life in a brothel and has accepted that that is her life after her first attempt to escape from that life failed. One day, a young farmer, Michael Hosea, sees her in the streets and is told by God to marry her. He then tries to get to know her and try to convince her to leave her life at the brothel and marry him. She is then badly beaten by the brothel's body guard and in order to save her life, Michael marries Angel and takes her back to his farm to nurse her back to health. Michael refuses to take advantage of Angel, determiend to prove to her that there are some good men in the world, however she constantly fights his love for her. She runs away to try and get her money back from the mistress of the brothel, but discovers that the building as burned down in a fire. She starts to go back to her old lifestyle, but Michael sweeps in a takes her back home. As she adjusts to life on the farm, she starts to change, however she ends up running away several more times, especially when she realizes that due to events in her past she probably can never give Michael children.
This summary does not give the book justice, I tried to do my best to summarize it without giving away too much.
While I write this review, I am still trying to figure out my thoughts and feelings about Redeeming Love. It should be noted, I don't think this is a bad book, it is a very compelling read, especially when you read why Francine Rivers wrote this book. I think it's hard for me to determine how I feel about this book has more to do with this fact that there are some really gritty and horrible things that happen in this book. I would definitely caution against reading this book if you have experienced some sort of sexual abuse in your past, unless it won't trigger you. Even for others, I would caution against reading this if you are looking for something light and fluffy, this is defintely not that kind of read.
As I mentioned before, Redeeming Love is based on the book of Hosea, which is one of the minor prophetical books in the Bible. In Hosea, God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute (although there is some debate on whether she was a prostitute when he married or if that happened later one), who then runs away from him several times and has children that are from other men. God used this as an illustration to show how He loved the nation of Israel, but they kept turning their backs on Him and worshipping idols. This is just the Cliffnotes version, I encourage you to read the book of Hosea for yourself if you want to read more.
Francine Rivers did a good job of adapting this "story" (for lack of a better term, because it is something that did very much happen), especially with changing the time period it was set in and even the cast of characters. I felt like Michael Hosea was a great character, and he is definitely potrayed as someone who is both godly and flawed. Then there is Angel, who when we first meet her as an adult she is definitely hardened from the life she had been forced to live, but over time we see how love, and the Lord, can help soften a heart of stone. Then there is Michael's brother-in-law Paul, who is just awful until the last 50 pages...but then again, I felt it was a good depiction of those who claim to be righteous but are actually hypocrites, if you've read the book you know what I'm talking about.
There were some fantastic supporting characters in this book and they definitely helped make up the story.
Overall, while Redeeming Love is considered to be a favorite Christian fiction for many people, I just don't know if it is one of my favorites any more. I don't know if it is because I've matured since I read it back in high school, where I am in my life right now, or if it is just covers a heavy subject matter that I needed to be in the right mood to read. I don't know. There wasn't anything particularly bad about it and it was captivating enough to keep me reading, but I didn't love it and I'm not quite sure what about it made me not love it, except the issues it covers. 3/5 Stars.
mackenziefaye's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
christina2005's review against another edition
5.0
This story is my favourite book that Francine Rivers wrote.
It is so beautiful, and it will have you in tears on multiple occasions.
I would recommend this book to anyone - believer or not.
It is so beautiful, and it will have you in tears on multiple occasions.
I would recommend this book to anyone - believer or not.