My Top 10 Reads for 2018

By Iola Goulton @iolagoulton

What are your Top Ten Reads for 2018?

Every year I volunteer to write a Top Ten post ... and every year I regret it. How can I possibly condense a year of reading into ten books? Last year I decided to cheat a little, and posted only my top ten contemporary Christian romance reads.

I'm cheating again this year. I've already posted my five favourite new-to-me authors, and my top five romance read. So today's post (which is cross-posted on my website) is my top ten Christian reads, excluding romance.

Strategem by Robin Carroll

An excellent thriller with a unique hook: a woman dies playing an escape room-type game designed by her husband, which makes him the prime suspect. He didn't do it, so who did?

Click here to read my review.

Shadows of Hope by Georgiana Daniels

An infertile woman working in a pregnancy support clinic is counselling the woman pregnant to her unfaithful husband ... only none of them know it. A gripping novel which explores those problem areas where there are no right answers.

Click here to read my review.

Grace in the Shadows by Christine Dillon

Grace in the Shadows is a poignant and thought-provoking novel from Australian author and missionary Christine Dillon, one that is designed to challenge our thinking at the same time as giving us a good story with great characters.

Click here to read a review by Fiction Aficionado.

Life After by Katie Ganshert

What would you do if you were the sole survivor of a train accident that killed twenty-two people ... but you can't remember it? That's the premise of this gripping and emotional novel.

Click here to read my review.

The Heart Between Us by Lindsay Harrell

The recipient of a heart transplant meets the donor family, and is challenged to get out and live the life she has been gifted ... by ticking off the donor's bucket list, the 24 things she didn't get to do before she died.

Click here to read my review.

Hidden Among the Stars by Melanie Dobson

A powerful dual-timeline stories connecting a rare book, a second-hand bookstore, and pre-World War II Austria as Hitler comes to power and begins his persecution of the Jews. Plenty of twists and tragedy.

Click here to read my review.

Send Down the Rain by Charles Martin

Charles Martin novels always pack an emotional punch, and send down the rain is no exception. Yes, there's a slow build, but the payoff is more than worth it in this exploration of love, loyalty, and family, a story of sacrifice and second chances.

Click here to read my review.

No Less Days by Amanda G Stevens

David Galloway can't died. He's tried, but he can't. He's always thought he was alone, but he's watching TV one day and realises that he isn't alone ... Yes, No Less Days isn't your typical Christian fiction. It's more like Forever meets Highlander, part science fiction and part urban fantasy.

Click here to read my review.

Where Hope Begins by Catherine West

Savannah's husband of twenty years has left her for another woman, the children are in boarding school and college and don't need her, so she does what any sensible woman would do: she runs away. It's a tough yet touching story about what women do when life disappears.

Click here to read my review.

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

I seem not to have reviewed this (probably because I bought it, and I'd already filled my reviewing schedule with review copies). It's a dual timeline story, with the past timeline telling the story of a family that is broken when the five children are stolen, shipped off to an orphanage, and adopted out. It's a compelling story, made all the more compelling and horrifying by the knowledge it's based on the real-life scandal of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society.

Conclusion

As I was compiling this post, I realised what all these novels have in common: a great hook.

Yes, they all also have great characters, a strong plot, and excellent writing, but so did a lot of the novels that didn't make the list. These are the novels that have lived in my memory long past reading them and writing the review ... and that's because of the hook.

Characters placed in unusual and often difficult situations, and being forced to work through issues and problems most of us will never face. Because that's the attraction of fiction: the way story can teach us how to deal with things in the real world.

So what's the hook for your work in progress? What challenges do you give your characters?

What about you? What are some of the best novels you've read this year? Do your choices have a theme, like mine did?

About Iola Goulton

Iola Goulton is a New Zealand book reviewer, freelance editor, and author, writing contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist. She is a member of the Sisterhood of Unpronounceable Names (Iola is pronounced yo-la, not eye-ola and definitely not Lola).

Iola holds a degree in marketing, has a background in human resource consulting, and currently works as a freelance editor. When she’s not working, Iola is usually reading or writing her next book review. Iola lives in the beautiful Bay of Plenty in New Zealand (not far from Hobbiton) with her husband, two teenagers and one cat. She is currently working on her first novel.

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Book Review: The Things We Knew - by Catherine West

Review by Andrea Grigg

One thing I love about a Catherine West story is that she never disappoints and her latest contemporary Christian novel is no exception. Not only does ‘The Things We Knew’ have plenty of romance, it’s also full of mysteries and family secrets. I loved it!

The story begins in Nantucket, Massachusetts, with twenty-four-year-old Lynette Carlisle, childcare worker and closet artist, who is at her wits end. She suspects her father has Alzheimers, the family home is falling down around her, and there’s no money to fix it. None of her four siblings are taking any of her concerns seriously, and to complicate things, Nick Cooper, the boy next door, has arrived home, dredging up feelings Lynette never quite buried.

One by one, Lynette’s four siblings (David, Liz, Ryan and Gray) arrive home and that’s when the story amps up. Although written from only three points of view (Lynette, Nick, and Gray) a plethora of family dynamics and secrets are skilfully revealed as the siblings and Nick confront each other with their realistic and sometimes heartbreaking issues.

Overarching all of this is the mystery surrounding the death of their mother, Diana Carlisle, twelve years earlier. The police called it an accident, but no one seems to know exactly what happened or why. As Lynette attempts to unlock her memories, she is plagued by nightmares. Intriguingly, these come out in her paintings, which even she can’t interpret.

Strand by sticky strand, the mysterious knots unravel, and there’s more than one happy-ever-after to satisfy my romantic heart. I loved the conflict between the characters and the continually deepening complexities of both circumstance and relationships.

Interestingly, while ‘The Things We Knew’ sits comfortably in the Christian arena, a number of the characters are not believers, which I found refreshing something I’ve come to expect from Catherine West.

Did I mention I loved this story? ‘The Things We Knew’ gets five stars from me.

Thanks to Catherine West and Harper Collins Christian Publishing for a free e-book for review.

 Andrea Grigg lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland, and is a writer of two contemporary Christian romances, ‘A Simple Mistake’ and ‘Too Pretty’. She would love to connect with you via: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.andreagrigg?ref=hl

Twitter: @andreagrigg https://twitter.com/andreagrigg

Email:    andreagrigg@live.com

Book Review ~ Bridge Of Faith by Catherine West

Review by Catherine Hudson 

 

I received Bridge of Faith as a gift from Andrea Grigg, who knows my love of difficult topics handled well in a fictional setting.

The book opens with a hook that sets up the rest of the story:

He only needed to survive one more day.

Reid Wallace’s comfortable, successful life as the attractive journalist and TV reporter is blown apart, and he finds himself back in his small home town of Bridgewater, despite self assurances he would not return. Here he is forced to face past mistakes, the old Reid — and whoever the new Reid will be. The reason for all this personal introspection and day by day living quickly becomes clear. Julia Hansen.

Julia has returned to Bridgewater with a survival story of her own and the cost has been high—one that continues to take its toll on new relationships, her family, and her two children. Julia and Reid must be in the same physical location—even talk to one another—to get to the bottom of their secrets and grievances.

Something they both loathe, and want to do. Talk about tension.

I found these characters compelling and likeable with an electric attraction that made you want to shift time and sort out their issues for them. I had no trouble turning the page, hoping for healing and the release of truth that they both needed. At each turn it seems almost impossible that these two damaged individuals will find the courage to recover from their past traumas and find a future.

The writing style had slight deviations and there were some short, sharp scenes of unusual lengths, but this did not detract from my enjoyment and I was still drawn into the story. The black moments for this couple were many, but the depth of plot and character meant that I was eager to finish the book. Near the end I encountered one last black moment from Julia that looked set to derail the romance, one that frustrated my suspension of disbelief as a reader and somewhat lessened my enjoyment of an otherwise fantastic ending.

Overall I recommend this book as the story and characters are compelling and the story themes powerful.

Thanks Andrea for another great read.

*****

Catherine Hudson writes Historical and contemporary fiction for the CBA market. She was a finalist in the MARA fiction from the heartland contest 2014 and resides in beautiful New Zealand.