Ruth's Redemption by Marlene Banks, c2012

"When you come to know the Lord, it will all make sense and be more real than even living in this world is now."

    --Ruth's Redemption, page 89

MY REVIEW:
So much wisdom in this book. Not comparing yourself to others. Not measuring by the memory of another. So wise. Trusting the Lord with your life. Listening and paying attention. Forgiving. 

Choice of names; Ruth, Naomi, Bo, Mara - bitter. Bo buys Ruth from a slave auction to set her free. Ruth sees her freedom as bondage. She has not been loved and does not recognize what love is. Bo's life is shattered until he realizes the love he has received is what he can give. Turbulence overcome. Naomi is a strong character in the advice she gives within her losses. I really liked that the novel includes an epilogue telling what happened as the "rest of the story."

In 1820, Bodine Peace is given his freedom and a parcel of land following the Will instructions upon the death of his master. Other freed slaves live on Bo's land. As he can, he buys slaves to set them free after one year of servitude when they receive their freedom papers.

The research places the characters within historical events/happenings between 1830-1835 in Southhampton County, Virginia, and how their lives were affected resulting from slave catchers and the Nat Turner slave rebellion of 1931.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marlene Banks resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition to being a prolific writer she has an associate degree in Theology from Rhema Bible Institute in Keysville, Virginia, and is currently pursuing studies to initiate a Christian counseling ministry. Marlene is a member of Bethel Deliverance International Church in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. Her work resume includes forty years in nursing and business.
A divine gift of storytelling with her unique voice and love of Christ creates engaging and inspirational novels. She considers her fiction writing an avenue to communicate the Gospel and Christian principles. It is also Marlene’s goal to bridge the gap between faith-based and secular literature. RUTH’S REDEMPTION is her first release and SON OF A PREACHERMAN is her second.

Thank you to Moody Publishers for this copy of Ruth's Redemption in exchange for a review in my own words; a very well-written story.

I would like to read and review Son of a Preacherman:

"A historical romance novel set in the 1920s in Tulsa, Oklahoma, depicting the segregated life of African Americans in Northern Tulsa and the tensions leading up to the Tulsa Race Riots."