Product Description

Can God’s Love Save Anyone?

Bestselling author Francine Rivers skillfully retells the biblical love story of Gomer and Hosea in a tale set against the exciting backdrop of the California Gold Rush. The heroine, Angel, is a young woman who was sold into prostitution as a child. Michael Hosea is a godly man sent into Angel’s life to draw her into the Savior’s redeeming love. This remarkable novel has sold over a million copies and is among the top twenty on the ECPA fiction bestsellers list for four years running. A six-part study guide, suitable for individual use or group discussion, is included in this bestselling novel.

ALSO AVAILABLE: Now own this beloved classic in the keepsake hardcover edition!

California’s gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep.

Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.

Then she meets Michael Hosea.

A man who seeks his Father’s heart in everything, Michael Hosea obeys God’s call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel’s every bitter expectation until, despite her resistance her frozen heart begins to thaw. But with her unexpected softening come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband’s pursuing love, terrified of the truth she can no longer deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael Hosea does…the One who will never let her go.

A powerful retelling of the book of Hosea, Redeeming Love is a life-changing story of God’s unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love.


Story Behind the Book

“Writing Redeeming Love was a form of worship for me. Through it, I was able to thank God for loving me even when I was defiant, rebellious, contemptuous of what I thought being a Christian meant, and afraid to give my heart away. I had wanted to be my own god and have control of my life the way Eve did in the Garden of Eden. Now I know to be loved by Christ is the ultimate joy and fulfillment. Everything in Redeeming Love was a gift from the Lord: plot, characters, theme. None of it is mine to claim.”

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3593 in Books
• Published on: 1997-05-09
• Released on: 2005-05-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 479 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781590525135
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
In this splendid retelling of the biblical story of Hosea, bestselling author Francine Rivers pens a heartbreaking romance between a prostitute and the upright and kind farmer who marries her; the story also functions as a reminder of God's unconditional love for his people. Redeeming Love opens with the Gold Rush of 1850 and its rough-and-tumble atmosphere of greed and desire. Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a child, has learned to distrust all men, who see her only as a way to satisfy their lust. When the virtuous and spiritual-minded Michael Hosea is told by God to marry this "soiled dove," he obeys, despite his misgivings. As Angel learns to love him, she begins to hope again but is soon overwhelmed by fear and returns to her old life. Rivers shines in her ability to weave together spiritual themes and sexual tension in a well-told story, a talent that has propelled her into the spotlight as one of the most popular novelists in the genre of Christian fiction. This is one of her best. --Cindy Crosby

From Library Journal
Rivers has rewritten a secular historical romance of the same name (Bantam, 1991) for the Christian market, and it is a splendid piece of work exploring both physical love and a love of God. Angel, a young, hardened prostitute sold into "the life" as a child, has no interest in God or religion. Then she meets Michael Hosea, a devout Christian who tells her it is his mission to save her. After being badly beaten, Angel decides to take Michael up on his offer of marriage. Eventually, she learns not only to love Michael but to love God as well. There is not one false note in this wonderful novel. The publisher's foreword rates the book "PG" for its adult themes and subplots of rape and incest. However, these are handled with great sensitivity and are very much a part of the story's development. Very highly recommended for most libraries.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"The truth that ran through that story [Redeeming Love] absolutely took me to my knees. And I was a changed person when I finished reading that book. "
- Amy Grant, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, quote sited from an interview with Ted Koeppel, ABC News

"A splendid piece of work exploring both physical love and a love of God...There is not one false note in this wonderful novel."
- Library Journal

"Simply put, Redeeming Love is the most powerful work of fiction you will ever read."
- Liz Curtis Higgs, best-selling author of Thorn in My Heart

"The timeless biblical themes...are beautifully portrayed and brought to life through her unforgettable characters."
- Stephen Arterburn, best-selling author of The Everyman Series and founder of New Life Ministries

"My heart and soul were profoundly shaken as I realized anew the lessons portrayed through the stories of Hosea and Gomer, Michael and Angel. This may be the single most moving book you will read this year - or in your lifetime."
- Angela Hunt, author of Magdalene


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

This book grabbed me by the collar and would not let me go!
The first day I bought this book, I sat on my desk and told myself I'd just read a chapter before I go to bed. That was 9pm. No matter how hard I tried, I could not put the book down. I found myself teary eyed, reading the ending, at 5am the next morning. Intending to read just the first few pages, I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting (with one bathroom break!).

Everytime Angel would run away from Michael's love, I would say, "you stupid, ungrateful woman!" But as I was reading, God reminded me of all the times when I myself would backslide from my faith, thinking that I could make it on my own without Him - and of how unconditional His love is (like Michael's) when I come to my senses and ask for His forgiveness. After I finished the novel, I couldn't help but thank God for His forgiving, faithful, redeeming love.

I definitely recommend this book. But don't read it like I did - Don't read it in one sitting until 5am when you need to be at work at 7am.!!

At least 10 starts and should be required reading in schools
I have read very widely, and rarely if ever, has a fiction book held my attention and deep emotions as this book did. Francine Rivers shows the life of children sold into prostitution and the traps they seem to stay in forever. She shows what real married love looks like and the contrasts between good and bad, sweet and bitter, happiness and sadness, truth and lies, all are a major part of this very, very excellent Christian fiction book! It should be required reading in all high schools, private or public and I will recommend this books to all the homeschooling groups I can find. Congratulations Francine, you have done to my heart, mind and emotions what few if any authors have managed to do!

A moving picture of the unshakeable love of God
What a joy to be able to share my thoughts about this book with whomever may read this. This is the first book Francine Rivers wrote after coming into her relationship with Christ. Because of that, it has a rawness and a fresh fascination with the incredible love of God. The characters are real and believable, especially Angel, whose life experiences have left her bitter and angry, certain that there is no hope for redemption or love. The story that unfolds is so much more than the "sappy" romance-novel cover depicts (I wish the publisher would redesign it). Even for me, a Christian for 15 years, it was deeply moving and humbling to read of how unshakeable God's love is, and also His discipline. I have reccomended this book to so many people, all of whom have had similar responses to mine, and I would suggest it as a way to show God's amazing love to anyone you may know who doesn't know Him. Praise God for servants who are gifted in such unique ways as Mrs. Rivers - may she continue to glorify Him with her stories!