TITLE:  A Desperate Hope
AUTHOR:  Elizabeth Camden
DATE:  2019
PUBLISHER: Bethany House
STARS: ****
Eloise Drake's prim demeanor hides the turbulent past she's finally put behind her—or so she thinks. A mathematical genius, she's now a successful accountant for the largest engineering project in 1908 New York. But to her dismay, her new position puts her back in the path of the man responsible for her deepest heartbreak.

Alex Duval is the mayor of a town about to be wiped off the map. The state plans to flood the entire valley where his town sits in order to build a new reservoir, and Alex is stunned to discover the woman he once loved on the team charged with the demolition. With his world crumbling around him, Alex devises a risky plan to save his town—but he needs Eloise's help to succeed.

Alex is determined to win back the woman he thought he'd lost forever, but even their combined ingenuity may not be enough to overcome the odds against them before it's too late.

A Desperate Hope weaves romance and hidden pasts with authentic historical details, one of my favorite combinations. It should have been a five-star story. But the pace dragged at times, and Eloise and Alex both kept shy of my heartstrings. The contrast in their personalities certainly added interest, and the supporting cast added depth. In spite of some issues, I enjoyed the story. There were enough mysteries here and there to keep me reading, and the ending was quite satisfactory.
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I received a copy of this book courtesy of Graf-Martin Communications Ltd. and Baker Publishing Group. All opinions are my own. A Desperate Hope earns four stars from me.
 

Did the Father turn His face away?

For a long time, but especially through this season of Lent, I have wondered about one assumed part of the Easter story. Please understand that I am not a theologian, but I am a sincere child of God, a child who asks questions.

This is one that has troubled me: Did God the Father turn away from His crucified Son?

Why is this scenario so troubling? Because if, as I was taught from childhood, God cannot look upon sin, even when borne by His beloved Son, how could He ever see me in my unrepentant sinfulness?

How could He live up to His beautiful name, El Roi, the God who sees me?

The entire time He lived on earth Jesus enjoyed unbroken fellowship with His Father (e.g. John 14:9-11). But then came that horrible moment on the cross, when beaten, stripped and mocked, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”

Does your heart not break at those words? Mine does. There is Jesus, God’s obedient Son, fulfilling His purpose—to die in our place, paying for our sinfulness with His perfection.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Oh, the great, great love of Jesus! He willingly went to the cross, because of His great love for us. And on that cross, as the weight of all our sin broke His heart and His body, He cried out in anguish, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
But the conclusion that God the Father turned His back on His Son has always bothered me.

Can Love turn away from Love?

Perhaps it is at this moment when Jesus’s humanity is most palpable and most identifiable. From His perspective, under the burden of our guilt, He cannot see His Father and feels forsaken, abandoned, alone. I know that feeling; do you? He experienced that sorrow for us.

Is there any Biblical backup for my supposition? Psalm 22 is widely considered to be a Messianic psalm of Jesus speaking to His Father. Look at verse 24: For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.”

My tentative conclusion is that God the Father sees us always, but unrepentance keeps us from seeing Him. He waits in love for us to repent, to turn to Him, and Jesus’s agonizing death made it possible.
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Thanks be to God for His amazing grace!

TITLE:  When You Look at Me (A Pleasant Gap Romance Book 2)
AUTHOR:  Pepper Basham
DATE:  2018
PUBLISHER: Woven Words
STARS: *****
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When Julia Jenkins' great aunt dies and leaves her a Victorian mansion with decades of secrets, Julia never expects to unearth a World War 2 espionage mystery. Struggling with her own past since an assault left her pregnant, her future as a solo parent leaves her dreams uncertain. The inheritance from her great aunt gives Julia the ability to take a step back into her future, but also sends her into the discovery of a love story she’d never anticipated. As she goes through her aunt's treasured possessions, Julia uncovers some oddly written piano music with a musical code she can’t decipher on her own. Not to worry, introverted Englishman and composer, Henry Wright, is thrust on the scene by a pair of homespun matchmakers who know the ‘right’ man for Julia’s wounded heart. 

Henry arrives in Pleasant Gap with the task of composing the soundtrack for his best mate’s newest film. The Jenkins’ family’s southern welcome and gregarious personalities set his reticent nature on edge, but he’s inexplicably drawn to his gentle and music-loving hostess, Julia. Uncertain how to build a friendship with the wounded woman, and rather hopeless in communicating well through words, the bond of music becomes a bridge between her uncertainty and his awkwardness. 

But her broken past and his families’ expectations build a wall much greater than the cultures that separate them. As they work together to solve a musical mystery from the grave, will an unlikely romance from the past inspire their hearts to trust in a God who’s written the perfect melody for their lives?

How could I not love a story of two awkward introverts who think in music? I adored both Julia and Henry, as well as Julia’s family of extroverts—including her intimidating father, Nate. Watching these two deal with their private pain while moving forward toward their dreams created the best kind of romance.

Faith is a huge part of When You Look at Me, showing God’s grace through trials and joys. The mystery of Julia’s aunt Amelia added an extra layer of intrigue and romance, a golden thread in this gorgeous tapestry.
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When You Look at Me is a wonderful story and easily earns five stars. Highly recommended!

TITLE:  All in One Place (Holmes Crossing Book 2)
AUTHOR:  Carolyne Aarsen
DATE:  2015
PUBLISHER: Misty Ridge Publishing
STARS: *****
She has sass. She has spunk. She has a devastating secret.

Terra Froese likes to keep people at arm's length and change her address regularly. It keeps life simple and uncomplicated. But when an abusive boyfriend forces her to make wrenching choices, she flees the city and across the country.

Terra takes her emotional baggage on her trip to her sister, Leslie, hoping to discard it along the way. But when forced to stay in Holmes Crossing, Terra has to face her past and decisions that still haunt her. She also has to figure out what to do about Jack DeWindt, a cop who would like to convince her to stay around awhile. Can she stay and face her past? Or will she move on, carrying her guilt and fears alone? Again.

All in One Place caught my attention—and my heart—from the beginning. Actually, I think my heart may still be in Holmes Crossing, where faith is not only discussed, it is lived. Out loud, with grace. Terra’s flight from abuse and threats of even worse brings her to the only family she has left, her sister Leslie. Terra is unprepared for the changes in Leslie’s life and attitude, but her need prepares her to watch and listen.
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I love this story of atonement and redemption. All in One Place reveals truth about mistakes, sin, and their consequences. It also shows clearly the wonderful hope available through Jesus Christ. It easily earns five stars. Highly recommended!

TITLE:  The Erie Canal Brides Collection
AUTHOR:  Christina Miller, Johnnie Alexander, Lauralee Bliss, Ramona K. Cecil, Rita Gerlach, Sherri Wilson Johnson, Rose Allen McCauley
DATE:  2019
PUBLISHER: Barbour Books
STARS: *****

Seven romance stories take you back to the building of the Erie Canal and the opening of the Midwest to greater development.

Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal connected the Great Lakes to the Hudson River, and soon other states like Ohio created canals linking Lake Erie to the Ohio River. Suddenly the Midwest was open to migration, the harvesting of resources, and even tourism. Join seven couples who live through the rise of the canals and the problems the waterways brought to each community, including land grabs, disease, tourists, racism, and competition. Can these couples hang on to their faith and develop love during times of intense change?

I don’t always read historical novels, but when I do, I truly enjoy ones that teach me something. This collection, with seven stories of different sections of the Erie Canal, from its beginning to after completion, taught me a great deal. From the work of agents hired to convince their neighbors to sell their land for the canal, to the dangerous health hazards for those building it, and the prejudices stirred up by the arrival of builders and returnees, this collection holds a wealth of real history. I appreciated learning about the Separatists, a sect I hadn’t heard of before, and I cheered for brave Abolitionists, especially in the face of the dangers brought by the despicable Bloodhound Law, as well as heroes who returned to a home where they’d experienced heartbreak.
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The Erie Canal Brides Collection taught and entertained me, and it earns five stars. Recommended.