Mama bit her lip and reached out a hand toward Papa, then stopped suddenly. She looked afraid again. Sarah looked from one parent to the other, struggling to understand. What had she done wrong? Wasn’t Papa pleased that she liked his presents? Alex bent down to Sarah. “I want you to go outside and play,” he said quietly. “I want to talk to your mother alone.” He smiled and patted her cheek. She smiled again, glowing with joy that Papa listened to her so carefully. He even smiled, though Sarah wasn’t sure she liked his smile. It was small and tight. Describe the changes in actions and thinking that took place after Angel was rescued a second time by Michael. What do you think caused the changes?

He has no personality, nothing that sets him apart from other men other than he's on the "good" side of the line that ALL characters in this book could be categorized by. Seriously, this really is like an Atari game in that you could easily divide the characters into two camps: good guys and bad guys. Michael, the main guy, couldn't me more flat if he were digitally rendered for the Atari 2600. All this guy does is listen to god, and then forgive his wife for everything. Relationships have to be about forgiveness to some extent, but I don't think you should forgive your wife for banging your brother on the side of the road for no apparent reason. Or your brother, for that matter (unless, as we discussed earlier, your brother happens to be Lloyd Dobler, in which case who can blame them?). I mean, if my brother banged my wife, I think this would warrant, bare minimum, a heated discussion over a dinner that I don't even finish because I'm too busy being mad at my brother and wife equally.This book is based on the love story from the Bible of Hosea and Gomer. Gomer is a prostitute and Hosea is a Godly man told to marry her. It's their struggle (she finds it hard to turn away from the life she has always known and basically born into).

And as she grew up, her beliefs were reinforced time and time again. She lost any hope she had of love and happiness in her life. She’d had to trade those frivolous needs for mere survival. And she knew deep down to the bottom of her soul that those things were not meant for her.She remembered Michael’s hands, large and strong, clearly used to hard labor. They were callused and rough. His hands had looked so cruel and yet been so gentle. His touch had healed her body and opened her heart. I know that this book is practically worshipped in Christian fiction circles but I there were a couple issues in it that really angered me - hence, the two star rating. If you love this book, you'll probably want to skip my review...but if you enjoy a thoughtful negative review (like me, lol)...read on! Sarah bit her lip at the coldness in Papa’s voice, but before she could speak, Mama touched her shoulder gently. “Darling, be a good girl and go outside and play now.” Read this book about 10 years ago. Re-reading it now! (March 14th, 2013) I finished and this book is still my all-time favorite book! Deserves more than 5 stars.*

It's a retelling and retellings are (usually) awesome. I did find the fact that Michael's last name was 'Hosea' to be pretty on the nose (along with Michael drawing direct parallels between the book of Hosea and his situation. *eye roll*). But I still enjoyed the retelling aspect. This book does nothing more than subjugate women. In my own opionion, so do gods and religions, but that's a different story for a differnt time. What positive message is there in this for anyone? Be a good wife and devote all your time to making babies. I think we all know there is more to life than that. Its a historical romance set in mid 1800's gold country region of California. Angel is a damaged young woman working a brothel and struggling with many horrors from her past. Michael is a devout Christian who believes God wants him to marry Angel - a soiled dove. God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”Mama was very pale, her eyes dull and red rimmed. There was a blue mark on the side of her face. She had tried to cover it with powder. She smiled, but it wasn’t like her usual smile.