Angel, sold into prostitution as a child, survives by keeping her hatred for men alive. Then she meets Michael Hosea who loves her unconditionally. Day by day, he defies Angel’s every bitter expectation until, despite her resistance, her heart begins to thaw. But with her unexpected softening come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. So Angel runs…
My favorite novel by my favorite inspirational author.
This is a beautiful depiction of the book of Hosea set in California in the 1850s. It is a solid portrayal of God’s complete love for us.
BEST BOOK EVER
I read this book over 20 years ago before I was an author and can still tell you everything about it. It is the book that inspired my Haven House series. I would have to say this is my favorite book of all times. So touching. A book that never leaves you.
I love this book. I have read it twice, and I am going to read again. I could read the book from front to back in less than 3 days. This book is just plain AMAZING.
I’ve read Francine’s Redeeming Love many times through the years, and I’m always swept away to 19th century California and to Angel and Michael’s struggles. But even more, I’m overwhelmed with the depth and breadth of the love of Jesus. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Love the message of this book. Unconditional love. So beautiful!
This is the book that prompted me to write inspirational historical romance. It is an emotional roller-coaster, powered by a magnificent love story of forgiveness and redemption. It has all the grit and glamor of San Francisco during the gold rush. Its tough reading in some parts, but the lead characters get there in the end, and I wanted to stand up and cheer.
This book had me on an emotional rollercoaster! It was very hard to put down. It is an excellent example of how God loves us unconditionally.
My best friend gave me her favorite book as a gift. Even though I don’t read much romance I went ahead and read it. It was excellent! Now it’s one of my favorites too and I’ve given it as a gift more than once.
Imagine the Biblical book of Hosea – a man actually commanded by God to marry a prostitute – and then set that story in the midst of the California gold rush. A little girl named Sarah is abandoned by her father. When her mother dies, young Sarah is left on her own and is quickly forced into a life of selling herself and pleasing others. She takes on the new name of “Angel”, but she is anything but. Angel nurses the hatred and hardness that has grown in her heart.
A prospector named Michael rescues Angel from a brothel and takes her as his wife. Yet, she has her own inner demons to fight; her lack of gratitude or reciprocation of Michael’s love hurts him – as well as the reader. Who is this girl? Is she Angel, the prostitute? Is she Tirzah, the Biblical love of Michael’s life? Is she Amanda, the name by which the new neighbors know her? Can she ever go back to being Sarah, the innocent?
This book will tug at your spirit as they struggle with themselves and responding to God’s will and love. What do we do when God asks us to do the impossible? How does God call us to treat those who hurt us again and again? Is there anything you can do that is unforgivable – by a spouse or by God? This story will break your heart and ultimately give an amazing witness of God’s unfailing and unconditional love for us, his sometimes-wayward bride.
Redeeming Love is a retelling of the story of Gomer and Hosea. Set during the 1850s in California’s gold country, Angel is a prostitute who sells her body to survive. Though she sells herself to men, she hates them and believes they are incapable of anything other than betrayal.
She meets Michael Hosea, a godly, Christian man who seeks God’s will in everything. God has told Michael to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Angel does not trust Michael and returns to her life as a prostitute. Michael, following God’s will finds his wife and returns her to their home.
Until Angel can accept the love of the One who loves her above all else, she also will be unable to trust and love her husband, who is following God’s will and, like God, has offered her a redeeming love that wipes away the sins of the past.
This was a wonderfully told story and one that has stuck with me long after I finished the book. Life isn’t always fair and men and women are hurt by betrayal, but God can take the mess and make it into something incredibly beautiful.
I read this book a long time ago and was fascinated and drawn into this allegory of Gomer and Hosea transplanted into the American West of the late 1800’s. I decided I needed to read it again and time has not faded the truths of this story or its impact. You will become sympathetic to the plight of Angel even as you admire the patient faithfulness of Michael.
Francine Rivers is such a talented writer and with this story has created a true Christian classic.
This is the number one book I recommend to people. It is by far one of my favorites. It is also the first book to ever have me so emotionally involved that I got so angry with the female character that I actually threw the book across my living room 3 times. Only to go pick it up and keep reading. This story will hit you where it counts in more ways than one and I cannot recommend it enough.
Not many books like this one. It’s like reading Dante’s Inferno, double meaning all over the place. You will fall in love with the story but the story will help you see something on a deeper level most people don’t ever see. I hope you do… look hard.
I even wrote a poem about it, I was so inspired about the character’s story…
https://www.michellegilliam-writer.com/poems/
This is my all time favorite love story tied with Austen’s P&P.
My most favorite of all time! Happened upon it by accident and read it during a most difficult time. It began my road back to God. Wish I could give it 10 stars
A wonderful author..I love her books. This is a great retelling of the story of Hosea! Highly recommend.
This is the book that made me want to become a romance author.
Angel is a tortured, tragic, and sympathetic character, and her characterization is among the deepest and best I’ve ever read. Her journey to wholeness is relatable, powerful, and realistic. Michael is a genuinely good, kind, sweet man with the patience of a saint and probably about as close to a perfect hero as one can get. His love for Angel never falters no matter how bad things get or how bleak
their future may seem. A one-of-a-kind, meaty story full of depth and complexity that expresses the genuine power of love in all its many forms, whether friendship love, romantic love, or divine love, to help heal a person and turn their life around.
Incredible story and writing!