All in all, this was a very encouraging and good Christian fiction novel. Mary Bridget's journey back to faith and the McPherson family's journey to healing interested me most. I love how Mary Bridget (Bridie) came in and helped them change things for the better. Her relationship with Samantha was sweet. I also liked several of the side characters very much, including Lorna and Carmen and Newlee.

The romance was underwhelming, not only because there was so little of it, but because when there was any "romance" it was just kind of annoying. :P But thankfully the romance WASN'T the main focus, which helped make this book as impactful as it was. This story was about facing the past and accepting God's grace and forgiveness. And it was beautiful. <3

PS. One thing that really annoyed, me though: Can someone please tell the author that when writing from the 13 year old girl's POV, using "like", "really," "lame" etc. in the narration about a billion times is.....like, really lame. :P

This book surprised me. I thought it would be "Christian romance," that odd genre that doesn't really belong anywhere, in my opinion. Instead, I found in Not a Sparrow Falls a story that could be mine, or your's, or any number of people's. The depth of character development and emotion is staggering, and the mystery weaved through it all keeps you speeding along.

As far as theology goes, I disagree with the author's opinions on suicide. However, I felt that I could overlook this because it is a small section of the book.

All of the characters were so well done and the plot so interesting. A beautiful book.

Uplifting book

Loved this book: so refreshing to read a simple story with a good measure of God's word included. I look forward to reading more by this author.

Enjoyable read.

Once I started reading this book I realized I had read it before, years ago. I'm super glad I found it again. I've thought about this book and its stroy off and on since I read it the first time.
This is a beautiful story of redemption - God's way. Mary Bridget has made some poor choices and knows it. She sees a chance to start fresh and takes it but it puts herself at risk and ends up putting others that she comes to care about at risk as well. But as God does it all works together to bring new life, redemption, and hope to not just Mary Bridget but the family God places her in.
I love this book, I highly recommend it. Checking to see what else Linda Nichols has authored...

Excellent book - not your typical "Christian romance."

This was a book that once I started, and got into the gist of it, all I wanted was to find out the rest of the story and finish it. To be honest, the first chapter almost made me totally skip reading it, but fortunately, I went past it and delved into the next few chapters. From there, I was hooked. At the end of the book, I understood then the purpose of the first chapter. But at the time, it distracted me from reading.

Essentially the story is of Bridie, also known as Mary. She’s been drawn into the meth business, but finds that she wants out. Eventually she makes her break, and over a series of experiences, finds herself working as a nanny in the home of a pastor who is having difficulties with his church. It goes on to talk about the struggles he is facing, along with the death of his wife and problematic children. There were some areas that made me wonder, such as Bridie given full rein to basically redo the house, but I opted to ignore that, knowing it was for the best of the children.

The story of Bridie captivated me. And then how she was slowly able to draw in Samantha. It wasn’t your typical religious fiction book, it was better. It had depth.

The only part that threw me off was the Presbyterian talk. I’m not affiliated with the faith, so it almost felt as though I was reading a denominational book fiction book for their members. However, despite that, I was able to get around it and thoroughly enjoy the book.

I’d recommend giving it a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.

A Beautiful and at times heart wrenching story of a young woman running from her past and the poor decisions that she has made, when the Lord puts her where he wants her to be. The McPherson family are holding on by a thread - Rev. McPherson is struggling, his teenage daughter is acting out and the two year old twins are emotionally neglected little souls. The Lord has a powerful plan for all their lives.

There are two main storylines here--Mary Bridget is on the run from her old life (she purchased supplies to make meth; she didn't actually make the meth herself--that was Jonah, her scary boyfriend) and eager to start over; she gives herself the name Bridie (after Bridget--her mom's name and her middle name). And Alisdair is at loose ends with his three children (teenage Samantha and twin toddlers Bonnie and Cameron) after his wife and their mother died two years ago, shortly after the twins' birth. He's a pastor and his church isn't happy with him because he's focusing more on his radio show than on leading the congregation. And the children are largely being neglected--until a nanny is found. Guess who? :)

This is Christian fiction (this novel was actually a Christy award finalist) and there is God talk. But it's also just a fantastic, heartwarming story. Bridie is a fantastic character and I fell in love with pretty much every character in here. (Except, of course for Jonah, the scary, meth-making ex-boyfriend.)

I hope to read more of her books.

Although this was somewhat enjoyable, I would call it a religious harleqiuin romance. Decent story and writing but just felt it could have been a long short story. If you want a light read and escape read this predictable "long novelette."

A little slow to get going but I enjoyed it as whole.

A Young woman fleeing from a life with an abusive drug dealing boyfriend ends up on the run after turning him in. She assumes a new identity as "Bridgie" and manages to get a job as a checkout girl at a supermarket. An encounter in a church and at the market ends up with her losing her job and working for the family of a local minister. It turns out the ministers family is in dire straights--after his wife died his overbearing sisters took over and his teenage daughter is on the verge of rebellion. Bridgie, despiter spiritual doubts of her own, feels that she has been called to help this family, especially the daughter out. Predictably, she is able to turn the situation around and also develops a romance with the widowed minister. [return]The characters in this nover were engaging and it has a message about God not overlooking any of his sparrows. I'd say it's a cut above the typical romance.