Mighty to Save by Caryl McAdoo

MY REVIEW:

“Mighty to Save” is one of those story within a story kind of books. Evelyn Nightingale is an author who as best as I can tell is working on two separate books during the course of this narrative. One is the story of Julius and Pearl and the other is a retelling of her own history with her evangelist husband Nathaniel. Readers get a pretty good dose of both those stories as the book progresses.

More than anything, the purpose of “Mighty to Save” seems to be a testimony to the power of God in the lives of the characters. Their tale is documented through both good times and bad times, triumphs and tragedies. Even when life seems to be at the lowest, the author encourages through Evelyn and Nathaniel to praise God anyway. McAdoo does not shrink from portraying real-life situations and tends to use them to illustrate the grace and redemption available to all who seek it.

I have loved many of this author’s previous novels but I am having a bit of difficulty knowing how to rate this one. I would happily give it five stars for its spiritual content. I have absolutely no complaints in that. The writing style is fairly simplistic but I nevertheless often got off track and was uncertain whether I was reading about Evelyn and Nathaniel’s present life or whether I was caught up in one of their reflections on the past or if I was reading from one of the novels Evelyn was working on. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed by all that was going on. Perhaps I was just having a bad day.

Overall, “Mighty to Save” was a pretty good book so please don’t let my own experience deter you from reading it. Many others have thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m sure many more will. Like I said, I usually enjoy this author’s books.

I voluntarily reviewed a digital copy of this book that was provided by Celebrate Lit. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

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Contrary to her parents’ wishes, Evelyn married a nonbeliever, but it all works out . . . or does it? Not only did the love of her life accept Christ, Nathaniel got baptized by fire and became a minister of the gospel. Woven into the breathtaking tale of love and redemption are two additional stories, Evelyn’s novels of faith, family, and forgiveness.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Caryl McAdoo loves writing stories for all ages that glorify God and is thrilled Christian fiction fits her life purpose so well. Bold not bashful, she’s quick to share the Bible principles she lives by through her characters and hopes each title ministers His love, mercy, and grace. Known as the “Singing Pray-er”—with a YouTube channel to prove it—the prolific hybrid author also loves praising Him with new songs He gives her. Her high-school-sweetheart-husband moved the family from the DFW area—home for fifty-plus years—to the woods and seat of Red River County. After Ron, Caryl counts four children and sixteen grandsugars life’s biggest blessings. The McAdoos live a few miles south of Clarksville in the far northeast corner of the Lone Star State with two grandsons.

GUEST POST FROM CARYL MCADOO:

Mighty to Save, book nine, is unlike all the other stories in the Texas Romance family saga as the heroine, Evelyn Eversole—you’ll remember her as little Evie in book eight, Covering Love—and hero, Nathaniel Nightingale, are already married in Chapter One. Where’s the romance, Caryl? You may ask. But I think you’ll see that Mighty to Save is brimming with all the stuff love is made of!

The depth of the Nightingales’ love is revealed and tested, and because Evelyn is a novelist like her MayMee (May Meriwether), we are privileged to experience the love of another couple whose progeny is intertwined with the Nightingales’ lineage. (knowing the characters of the next novel Chief of Sinners that was written over twenty years ago and served as the foundation of the Texas Romance series, it’s been a labor of love, tying all these characters together.

And while a very few have remarked that it’s a little hard jumping back and forth in time, the majority of readers have expressed their satisfaction and appreciation for getting to know the backstories in such a fun way. This tale deals with imperfect people—as we all are. I hope my characters come across as real, someone in your family or who might live next door.

In this world, we will have tribulation . . . but being of good cheer isn’t always so easy. Sometime those trials knock us off our foundation, and we find ourselves in an ocean of mire, like trying to swim through jello . . . weary of it to the point where only God can save us. And so we cry out to Him. And He does.

Should that mean what waylaid us no longer has any effect on our lives? Not every time.

I pray that you will enjoy Mighty to Save. This story is another reason why I’m so blessed that God led me to publish independently of the traditional houses, as I’m most certain it would definitely not fit their pigeon hole titled Christian Romance. Life offers hills and valleys. Could we truly appreciate one without the other?

Fair warning, don’t be expecting same-O same-O!

Thank you so much for being a part of my Celebrate Lit Blog Tour Launch! Bloggers, readers, reviewers, and visitors all—everyone at the awesome Celebrate Lit Tour Company, too—y’all are such blessings to me! So much so, I could never repay your kindnesses, encouragement, and support. But my Father can, And I pray He will send every blessing back to you a hundred fold!