Welcome to my Featured Favorites! As an avid reader, I love sharing a good book with my friends, and when I come across a great new book I think you guys will love, I’ll be sharing it here!
These are going to be both Christian book reviews and book reviews from a Christian perspective if I read something more ‘general market’ that I think you’d want to know about.
The Latest Christian Books I’ve Read and Loved
So my summer reads have been a real variety platter, and I am so happy to share some new book reviews with you all!
Historical Fiction: Freddie and Grace
Pepper Basham’s newest novel, THE HIGHLAND HEIST is hilarious, as usual. But it’s also packed with faith and truth gems just waiting to be scooped up. If you haven’t yet read a Freddie and Grace mystery, you should definitely read them in order, starting with The Mistletoe Countess.
In The Highland Heist, Freddie takes Grace to visit her family, in time to discover several bits of traumatic news, and of course, a fresh mystery to solve.
Grace is one smart (well-read) cookie, and has a unique, unexpected, and frequently dismissed perspecive on things. But it’s very insightful, and Freddie has quickly learned to value her contributions, even when they terrify him.
Watching Freddie and Grace learn to trust each other a little more in each book is so cool. Their relationship is so sweet. The very unusual circumstances around their marriage and the challenges they face almost daily draw them both to Christ for hope and encouragement. That’s the key that so many miss. When their insecurities rise up, their trust and faith in Jesus does too.
Biblical Fiction Series: During the Exhile
Tessa Afshar’s THE HIDDEN PRINCE and its sequel, THE PEASANT KING are so good! I’ve been listening to them on Audible, and I think I’ve listened to each one 3x.
The focus is adjacent to the Bible, with infrequent interactions with Daniel being the anchor point. So if you’re one who gets nervous about reading Biblical fiction and getting it mixed up with the actual Scriptures, there’s no cause for concern here.
In The Hidden Prince, Keren is a young woman in difficult circumstances, serving in Daniel’s household (but not in a typical role) and then in even more foreign lands. She is learning how God works in the midst of messy situations, using good and bad things to position us for opportunities we never would have imagined.
[Eph 3:20 NLT] Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Also, that sometimes we have to choose action even when fear is shutting us down. The reason for our fear can be completely valid, but we, like Keren, will come to a point where we have to act despite the fear and high stakes.
These lessons resonate with me in my personal life lately, and spending time following Keren and Jared on their adventures through Babylon, Media, and Persia has been very encouraging.
Then, The Peasant King follows the natural progression of the story, with Keren’s daughter Jemmah on a rescue mission, while battling imposter syndrome and childhood trauma while putting others first time after time.
Her story is handled so well, the trauma is misunderstood by some, but validated by others, one in particular who helps her learn present safety when past trauma is triggered.
This story continues the thread of noticing how many things God arranges in advance of a particular event, whether that’s the fulfillment of a prophecy or the answer to a prayer, which requires things in place before we even pray about it sometimes.
New Book For Kids: Educational
Tricia Goyer and Sherri Seligson’s new book WONDERS OF THE OCEAN REALM is quality ‘deep dive’ into 5 sea creatures and the way God designed them. The art is beautiful, and and info inserts are very informative, answering many questions that may pop up from reading the main story.
I love when nonfiction topics can be addressed in narrative style, and this author does a wonderful job of that. We follow an individual sea creature’s life for a time, with all the adventures and dangers they would encounter. This forms a connection, making each animal seem more real to us.
Learning about Astrid, Maximus, Dexter, Wendell, and Luna is more engaging than a textbook overview of sea creatures. And the way she clearly shows the link between cool features of each creature and the God who created them really resonates with my kids, who, as much as they love Wild Kratts, still get annoyed at them for ignoring that.
Overall, this makes an excellent family read-aloud. I, as a parent, enjoyed it every bit as much, if not more than my kids.
That’s All The Reviews For This Reader Report
I’m off to read something new. Debating between a couple of titles: Missionary to Mars and The Fifth Avenue Story Society… They both sound fascinating!
Until Next Time, Love God, Love Books, Shine The Light!!