Monday, July 24, 2017

Lead Me Home by Amy K. Sorrells #BookReview





From the Back Cover:

Amid open fields and empty pews, small towns can crush big dreams.
Abandoned by his no-good father and forced to grow up too soon, Noble Burden has set his dreams aside to run the family farm. Meanwhile, James Horton, the pastor of the local church, questions his own calling as he prepares to close the doors for good.

As a severe storm rolls through, threatening their community and very livelihood, both men fear losing what they care about most . . . and reconsider where they truly belong.



My Thoughts:


This book is not my usual review genre, but has the same title as one of my own early manuscripts and deals with similar themes, so I thought I'd give it a try. Also, I was curious to read a story taking on the plight of small congregations struggling under the pull of megachurches that draw members--and therefore fellowship and finances--away from the little churches. Not everything about the story sat well with me, but in the end, I was glad to have read it. If only to have another person’s view on issues I’ve lived through and that are close to my heart.

The characters and their struggles were relatable and kept a down-to-earth feel, so appropriate to the tone of the novel. The agrarian setting, the raising of cattle, brought back memories of my being raised on a farm. Issues of a small church and struggles of the pastor and daughter eased off the page to sit alongside me as I read nodding my head and smiling in several places.

Since this was a literary type novel, the first couple chapters were paced slow with lots of backstory and character reminiscing. The theme and spiritual message of this book were a tad cloudy in my opinion, but I don’t expect to agree with the message of every book I read. The author has a skill for painting vivid and unique descriptions on a gentle, emotional canvas, and I would enjoy reading more of her work.


***I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley and have stated my honest opinions.

2 comments:

  1. I really liked this book. It was interesting to see how the author brought the past into the forefront.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi, Dianna! Yes, that was very interesting. Did you have a favorite character? Besides the mains, which were beautifully human, I loved the secretary!

    ReplyDelete

Let's chat!