Saturday, December 1, 2018

Rutabaga's Reads 2018: Part 11

It’s true. I do read a healthy amount of inspirational fiction, though I still read more YA (young-adult) novels. I don’t just read inspirational fiction titles direct from publishers. I do purchase them as well (including every Amish fiction title that Beverly Lewis writes, as part evidenced in this post). This compilation is a second round of such that I have purchased.
Dead Drift (July 3, 2018) by Dani Pettrey.
*This is the final novel in a series.*
Years have passed since Luke Gallagher was with his closest friends in Baltimore. He has been working as a CIA black ops operator. He reminds himself that he’s been working to help save his country from a major terroristic threat, especially when his actions, under orders, involve morally gray areas. Following the threat takes him back to Baltimore where reside his family and friends. He essentially went off the grid, but he’s kept track of those he cares most about, including Kate Maxwell. He’s never stopped loving her, but the years have changed him, and he can’t be sure she’ll accept the man he’s become, for it’s not always been good.
            Though she won’t admit it right away, Kate hasn’t stopped loving Luke, and she never gave up on her search for him. He’s suddenly back and now the threat he’s trying to stop is a threat to her, too. They will have to work together to unravel the tangles of a terrorist and his twisted mind before a grand biological disaster is released and innocent lives are taken. Working with Luke stirs deep feelings and former hurts and reminds Kate why she closed her heart off after he left. Will she let him back in? Is he here to stay?
            It’s okay for others to disagree, but to me, Dani Pettrey is a powerhouse when it comes to inspirational romantic suspense. The last in her Chesapeake Valor series has showcased this with protagonists and antagonists that are both distinct and dynamic on a timeline like ours but with a plot that could shatter a city’s population if the threat is not stopped. There are no downtimes in this book, as the action is continuous and tension rises as the danger intensifies. This has been a satisfying literary thrill ride, and I look forward to her next series.
            Book One: Cold Shot (did not review)
            Book Two: Still Life
            Book Three: Blind Spot
The First Love (Sept. 4, 2018) by Beverly Lewis.
*This is a standalone novel.*
In 1951, Maggie Esh is going on 18 years old. While still technically in Rumschpringe, she is attending baptismal classes. She occasionally participates in Singings, but is tempted to quit despite her younger sister, Grace, encouraging her to attend. Everyday life is not as easy for Maggie as it once was. She has a cane handy when she needs it and is sometimes in such excruciating pain that it’s hard just to walk across a room due to what she’s been told is juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Because she does not live as easily as other youth in her district and therefore sees herself as undesirable, she is convinced that no man would want her as his wife.
            Her cousin, Lila Witmer, asks her to attend a revival tent meeting, and her excitement is so genuine that her curiosity is piqued and she goes. Attending opens up in her a closer relationship to the Lord, and she also hears stories of healing. She cannot understand why He would heal some and not others (such as herself), but her faith is strengthened. She does worry some of her father’s quiet disapproval of the revival meetings, but she reassures him she will be baptized this year. Maggie has also noticed that handsome Jimmy Beiler has been seeking her out. Presupposing that he only feels sorry for her, she tries to keep him at arm’s length, but that’s hard to do when she’s liked him for awhile.
            The “First Love” referred to in this story is not, perhaps, the first love you might be expecting. Lewis has portrayed Maggie as a wonderful character of faith with conviction. She isn’t faithful only because she’s been brought up that way, but because she truly believes in it, and her faith is only strengthened after the revival meetings. It is in our nature to question, and Maggie does, but she also accepts that her life may be filled with the pain of rheumatoid arthritis where no treatment – prescription or homeopathic – will help long-term. Maggie shows us that we can persevere despite the struggles in our lives, large or small or somewhere in between, and create an even stronger bond with God through it. This inspirational, contemporary fiction novel is uplifting and full of promise and hope.
The Road Home (Apr. 3, 2018) by Beverly Lewis.
*This is a standalone novel.*
When a jarring tragedy befalls the Schwartz family, Lena Rose and all of her siblings find themselves displaced, Lena most of all, as she is the only sibling to move outside of Leacock Township, Michigan. And she’s not just in another county, but another state. She moves in with Harley and Mimi Stoltzfus; Harley is a cousin to her father. Lena, an able seamstress, assists Mimi with her seamstress work. Though homesick, Lena is moved by the care of Harley and Mimi and the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, community. She befriends Rebekah Petersheim, who’s got a history to talk about, though Lena Rose doesn’t push it, Lydia Smucker, sweetheart-gal to Eli, Harley’s and Mimi’s youngest, and Arden Mast, a handsome fella with a good soul. Lena has made it known that she has a beau back home. But talking with and spending time with Arden is far more effortless than spending time with her Hans. Unfortunately, it would not do to be involved with a fella in Pennsylvania when she plans to return to Michigan as soon as a family there can take her in.
            “The Road Home” is another sweet story of Amish fiction from Lewis. I continue to be impressed by the storylines she comes up with time and time again. Like her other inspirational fiction novels, Lewis’ books are heartfelt and inviting. They invite us to a warm hearth to get to know new characters and want to know them, though, like any hearth, it can get cold when the embers have burned too low and those characters you’re now rooting for are dealing with tough stuff and obstacles in their paths. Dedicated fans of the author have long since added this novel to their bookshelves, but for anyone looking for Amish fiction literature, this standalone novel may suit you.

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