Review: An Exceptional Romance, Full of Heart & Truth!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2014
This book is undoubtedly one of the best I’ve ever read. It has certainly made my top ten classic reads list. My favorite fictional hero has always been Michael Hosea of Francine River’s Redeeming Love. Now I can finally say that after so long, I’ve found my number one fictional heroine—Monica Scott of Sandra Leesmith’s Love’s Promises! Perhaps it’s because Monica is like me in a lot of ways? I saw truth, honest struggles and realistic growth in this character. I could see that God dealt with her in ways that He deals with me—patiently, subtly, lovingly, fervently, and firmly, too, until His work in me on a particular matter is finished/satisfied.Greg, the hero, stole my heart! If every guy were like him the world wouldn’t be a bad place at all! The way he handled Monica broke me (and her too!)—no pushing, no probing, no lies or games, just the right dose of seriousness, a lot of laughing (my goodness, those crinkles weren’t for nothing!), such patience, sweetness, zest for nature, honesty, and a boatload of other wonderful things! I’m not saying the guy was perfect—nah ah! He was just really sweet! Could a girl ask for more? *happy, dreamy sigh* Nope!Also, Sandra delicately, but honestly dealt with a lot of issues that many authors wouldn’t dare venture on for fear of public criticism. And you know me—I love it when an author does that! I strongly believe that one of the callings of a writer is to tell the truth, whether bitter or sweet, hard or soft—Sandra did this in a subtle but daringly unapologetic way. Throughout the course of the story she exposed what it means to truly and selflessly love within the confines of marriage. The place of a husband and a wife was gradually unveiled in a way that one would not only understand what/why Scripture instructs, but will also see the beauty of God’s plan in making it so. This, of course, was not without letting us know the damage that one could cause on oneself because of lack of trust in God’s plan.The key lesson here is trust that God’s design for marriage is perfect. Your spouse or choice of a future one may not be perfect, but God’s plan is. Submitting yourself to God’s love and authority will teach you to love each other better, and uphold one another higher thereby building each other up. It truly is a bold and well written book. Character shines/flaws were exposed at the right time, dialogues/monologues were crafted to let out just enough of what was needed at each turn so that the final theme wasn’t thrust on the reader prematurely, and the scenes were very well paced so that nothing sprung up too soon.The setting was truly breathtaking. Lake Tahoe sounds like somewhere I’d truly like to visit someday. Sandra wove in the environmental issues of this place within this romance story so that a reader can understand the value of nature in our lives and how the beauty of it can add to the riches of human living/existence. Suddenly, I could see why people left the city to Lake Tahoe not just for a holiday, but as a way to recuperate from a noisy world. This shows that the better we take responsibility for, and take care of environment, the healthier we’ll be in mind, body and spirit. Nature is a gift given to us by God for our wellbeing if only we’ll let it be so.Might I also add that I totally nailed deciphering the book cover in my reveal post? Yes, I did! Everything the picture told us is true. You can read all about it here. I have to applaud Lena Goldfinch because of this. I really don’t know how she does it. She truly has the unique gift of listening to not just the words, but also the heart of an author so that she brings to life the story she hears in their heart. It’s truly amazing! Well done, Lena!!