Wow!! She WENT there.

Gosh! What an incredible book!

Please allow yourself to get past the lacklustre cover (I did!) and delve into the richness of this story.

Having now finished my fourth Kim Cash Tate novel, she is my new favourite Christian author! I was keen to continue following the characters of Stephanie London and Janelle, but I was met with so much more as I listened to this compelling narrative.

Kim Cash Tate is not shy!! The issues that this book handles will have you staring aghast and open-mouthed in shock at some of the actions of her characters; shaking your head in disbelief; feeling real anger - but more than anything, they will make you centre your attention on the reality of the human heart. Like Jeremiah 17:9 says, the human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked; who can know it?!

The tragedies and scandals which occur in Hope Springs do not feel like fiction. They feel very real. Though I am British and not American, I could absolutely relate to a lot of the key incidents which occur in this novel. It brought up racial tensions and prejudice, misogyny, mental health struggles and all sorts of REAL-LIFE matters that you might be surprised to find in a Christian novel - but Cash Tate marries these themes together effortlessly. I also appreciated the fact that many of the characters who behave appallingly are part of 'the Church' - forcing us to acknowledge and reflect on the actions of those who profess to be Christians but act in ways that fall far short of being Christlike.

I have to say, following the fairly light-hearted beginning, I really did not see some of the much more serious elements coming! Yet, notwithstanding these aspects, this book really does make you smile. It makes you wish the best for the characters. And it makes you pray for change in our world.

The story was brilliantly narrated by Machelle Williams. I love the differences she enacts between varying characters, done so convincingly that I could often recognise many of the characters even before their names were given. Only, I did find two voices kind of annoying - Libby's and Trina's!

That didn't stop me from giving this listen a five-star rating, though. I would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone checking this title out. I truly don't believe you will regret investing your time and your heart in it.

Thank you, Kim Cash Tate, for this seminal work! The colour of hope truly does run red, for all of us...

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