"A Voice In The Wind" Book Review and Giveaway!

It is time to play a Wild Card! Every now and then, a book that I have chosen to read is going to pop up as a FIRST Wild Card Tour. Get dealt into the game! (Just click the button!) Wild Card Tours feature an author and his/her book's FIRST chapter!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Francine Rivers

and her book:

A Voice in the Wind

Tyndale House Publishers (March 1, 1998)(Re-released June 2008)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Francine Rivers began her literary career at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Journalism. From 1976 to 1985, she had a successful writing career in the general market and her books were awarded or nominated for numerous awards and prizes. Although raised in a religious home, Francine did not truly encounter Christ until later in life, when she was already a wife, mother of three, and an established romance novelist. Shortly after becoming a born-again Christian in 1986, Francine wrote Redeeming Love as her statement of faith. First published by Bantam Books, and then re-released by Multnomah Publishers in the mid- 1990s, this retelling of the biblical story of Gomer and Hosea set during the time of the California Gold Rush is now considered by many to be a classic work of Christian fiction. Redeeming Love continues to be one of the Christian Booksellers Association’s top-selling titles and it has held a spot on the Christian bestseller list for nearly a decade.

Since Redeeming Love, Francine has published numerous novels with Christian themes – all bestsellers-- and she has continued to win both industry acclaim and reader loyalty around the globe. Her Christian novels have been awarded or nominated for numerous awards including the Rita Award, the Christy Award, the ECPA Gold Medallion, and the Holt Medallion in Honor of Outstanding Literary Talent. In 1997, after winning her third Rita award for Inspirational Fiction, Francine was inducted into the Romance Writers’ of America Hall of Fame. Francine’s novels have been translated into over twenty different languages and she enjoys best-seller status in many foreign countries including Germany, The Netherlands, and South Africa.

Francine and her husband Rick live in Northern California and enjoy the time spent with their three grown children and every opportunity to spoil their four grandchildren. She uses her writing to draw closer to the Lord, and that through her work she might worship and praise Jesus for all He has done and is doing in her life.


Visit her at her website.

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:


The first chapter is really long, but a great set-up for the book and you can click on the WildCard logo at the top of the post to read it there, I decided to give you my review here instead. I had always wanted to read this series, but hadn't taken the time so when this one was offered to review I knew I wanted to do it. I am very glad I did. It is a long book, but I managed to read it in 2 days, I was working hard to make sure I was done in time to review it and I finished it about 20 minutes ago. I had to stop crying long enough to be able to see the computer screen though...

MY REVIEW:
I have read some of Francine River's work before and have been impressed by how her writing has a way of pulling you into the world she creates. Some of the books I've read include "Redeeming Love", "A Scarlet Thread" and "And The Shofar Blew" - they are all unique, stand alone books that deal with very different issues and situations. "A Voice In The Wind" is a very different setting, situation and time period than any of those books though. Francine takes us into Rome as Jerusalem has been destroyed and shows us life through the eyes of Hadassah, a young Jewess / Christian slave girl whose family was killed during the destruction of the city. We follow the family she is eventually led to serve and the effect she has on them and the world around them in that time. We meet Atretes, a German warrior who is captured and sold into becoming a gladiator and we see how his life crosses with Hadassah as well. I was enthralled yet again by Francine's gift of storytelling and am looking forward to reading the next two books in this series. I won't say why I bawled through the end of the book, but I will say that this book was an eye opener into a time and place that we don't think about.

I will be doing a drawing for a copy of this newly released edition of "A Voice In The Wind" so leave a comment with an email address telling me why you would like to read Francine's book or what your favorite Francine River's book is and I will enter you in the drawing - good luck!