Joanne Bischof

When Gideon and Lonnie are forced to marry, their married life begins badly until they meet Jebediah and Elsie Bennett, who offer a steady example of what a marriage can be.

A Novel

Be Still My Soul

Mary Horton

My goodness, Joanne Bischof. You certainly know how to rip a person's heart out, don't you?

This story was P O W E R F U L. It dealt with hard topics like addiction, abuse, regret, and bitterness. It made me cry multiple times and pierced my heart straight through. It hurt to read this, and I honestly didn't know if I could finish it due to the despicable way Lonnie was treated in the beginning. And yet . . . somehow, Joanne took that pain and transformed it into something beautiful and meaningful. 

Honestly, I loathed Gideon for the first half of the book. I didn't see how he could ever redeem himself after the things he did. (Like seriously, I had a MAJOR case of righteous anger.) But believe it or not, Joanne did the impossible: she made me root for his redemption.

He completely changed, and my heart towards him completely changed as well. I mean . . . this is a FEAT. Once my mind is made up on a character, it's rare that I will change my mind about them so dramatically. BUT THIS BOOK DID IT. And that's a sign of an amazing & powerful story.

As usual, the themes and characters and setting are so vivid & tangible. Joanne Bischof knows how to tug your heartstrings. She makes you fall in love with the world she paints and the characters she molds. I will forever count her as one of my favorite authors. Her stories touch my soul in a way very few books can. <3

I will say, I have a few qualms about this book that keep me from rating it five stars. For one, I noticed the writing was weaker in this one. It didn't have the magic and richness of her later works, which is understandable since it's her very first novel. As I mentioned earlier, I also spent a significant portion of the book loathing one of the main characters so that made it harder to enjoy the book. The plot also seemed fairly simplistic, without very many plot twists at all. (It works for the story, but it did make this story less interesting than the other ones of hers that I've read.)

All in all - a heartrending, soul-fulfilling novel that will stick with me for a long time. <3

4 stars!

Be Still My Soul A Novel

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