Showing posts with label Islam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Islam. Show all posts

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Book Review - Mercy Triumphs: A Contemporary Novel by Jana Kelley

Photo Source - Amazon
Mia and her family are American Christians who are living in Sudan under Islamic law. They face harassment, persecution and danger as part of their everyday life. Halimah and Rania who were formerly Muslims were forced to leave Sudan if they wanted to continue practicing Christianity.  Together the trio search for God's mercy to help guide them.

The last novel in the trilogy, Mercy Triumphs is about tying up lose ends in each character's stories and development. While leaving out religion in my assessment in this book, I found this book unnecessary. I felt like the author stretched the story out without actually adding anything to it. I felt that this portion of the book could have been added to the first two books to make the story meatier for the other two novels. I definitely felt that there could have been more to this book and was disappointed that there wasn't more. While I did enjoy reading Kelley's novels, I am not sure I would go out of my way to read more if the last novel is just going to be fluff pieces.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**


Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Book Review - Door to Freedom by Jana Kelley

Photo Credit - Amazon
Mia and her family are Christians living in the Islamic country of Sudan. Christians are being persecuted and ostracized for their beliefs. The Weston family try to spread their faith among their friends and neighbors while trying to avoid scrutiny. The daughter of wealthy Sudanese Arab, Rania seeks to find the answers after her older sister's disappeared. Mia and Rania cross paths but will Mia be able to provide Rania with the answers she needs? What answers does the book Rania's sister left behind contain? Will the Weston family be able to share their faith?

This is the sequel to "Side by Side" and can be read alone. I actually own both books but decided to read this one forgetting the other book came first. The story is split between the Weston family and Rania. While, the book was enjoyable I found Rania's story more enjoyable and wished it was a greater focus of the story. There are some elements of the story which is vague, like we are never told why the Weston family moved to Sudan and what  Mia's husband, Michael does for the Keller Hope foundation. I do love, how this book gives a wonderful glimpse of Islamic culture, beliefs and customs. A decent book but I don't see myself ever rereading this book but I would be open to reading other books by the author. 

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**