Skip to main content

Love Gently Falling







Love Gently Falling by Melody Clarkson

Rita is out on the West Coast realizing her dream of becoming a great hairstylist, a vision which was set in her early years working in her mother’s salon.  Suspense sets in as her mother falls ill and is on the road for a long recovery.  Rather than drop in and help her mother back to health, Rita also begins the long process of updating her mother’s salon.  Along the way, Rita meets up with her old nemesis Zinnia, runs into Johnny, Zinnia’s close friend, and this begins the tense relationship between the three, including a promising relationship between Johnny and Rita. 

The narrative weaves through the story of Rita’s family, coming together under the weight of Donna’s illness and bringing Rita into a new phase in life.  With the budding relationship between Rita and Johnny, the story unfolds in a unexpected but exciting way.  This kind of story is not one I’m accustomed to reading but one with a good ending.  I did think one thematic element of the book was hinted at; namely, the desire to branch out and make a name for oneself (fulfilling one’s call) while knowing that family issues need to be acted upon with compassion.  The connective tissue that this story provides is fulfilled by Rita putting her skill and passion to work in revamping Donna’s salon, but also being a part of the family’s care for Donna.

Secondly, the story kept us aware of how past hurts often don’t fade away with age but rise to the surface as we see those people.  Thankfully, the past doesn’t come to bite Rita in such a way as to force her to not move forward.  Zinnia’s and Rita’s relationship was built on past hurts but there was healing in finally dealing with the wrongs that had happened.

Overall, I think the book kept my attention and was a good but predictable story about a young lady being torn between her passion and her family.  Ultimately, the story turns out to benefit both her and her family.


Thanks to Center Street and Katie Connors for the copy of this book in exchange for review.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saving Casper

Saving Casper: A Christian and an Atheist Talk about Why We Need to Change the Conversion Conversation by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Casper-Christian-Conversion-Conversation/dp/1414364881 Many readers will quickly know the authors of this book from their previous release Jim and Casper Go to Church.  Jim and Matt’s new book entitled Saving Casper focuses on the way we talk about conversion in the church and the devastating ways we have pushed away atheists and other non-believers by our posture.  Both Jim and Matt traversed the national landscape, meeting in churches and asking hard questions about faith, conversion, and life. The basic premise of the book and travel is laid out here in their words, “Part of what Casper and I are trying to achieve when we speak to a group of Christians is to help people move a little bit on their “judgment meter.”  This capacity, while intellectually and often theologically uncomfortable,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Essential Christian Doctrine

  Essential Christian Doctrine , General Editor John MacArthur Pastor John MacArthur has for years been teaching the Word of God in both pulpit ministry, books, and conferences with an aim to displaying God’s revelation to his listeners in a winsome and foundational manner.  This new book, Essential Christian Doctrine takes an entire life of teaching and preaching and encapsulates the main contours of the Christian faith for its readers.  John in a systematic way highlights the most necessary teachings from Scripture including God’s Word, the Trinity, while also including sections on Man and the Future. One of the most helpful ways the authors bring to light biblical truth and theology is the way in which they group together particular themes.  In the section on the Holy Spirit, instead of a complex discussion of personhood, word pictures of the Holy Spirit are introduced in a discernible and profitable manner.  The metaphors for the Holy Spirit include fir...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wisdom for All

Interpreting the Wisdom Books: An Exegetical Handbook by Edward Custis Among the many wonderful books on the OT wisdom literature, this fine new book helps the reader interpret, exegete, and apply God’s Word to his people in succinct and helpful way.  The book is laid out nicely with bolded words that emphasize necessary themes in the study of the wisdom books and short chapters that get to the point of the biblical books.  This series of exegetical handbooks is a great treasure for students and pastors because it synthesizes much of the academic work on a biblical book into digestable portions helpful  for preaching and teaching. The opening chapter on the wisdom books brings out a helpful grid for understanding wisdom literature.  Custis writes, “Biblical wisdom, in contrast to Israel’s neighbors, reflects “Yahwistic theology” through its regular use of terms like “fear of the Lord,” its affirmation of God’s providence, and its recognition th...
Post a Comment
Read more