Customer Reviews

Grounds to Believe (Elect Trilogy #1) (Steeple Hill Women's Fiction #6)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had started reading Shelley Bates' "Grounds to Believe" a few days ago and got only a little ways into the book when I had to stop. I took it up again when I was eating a solitary dinner tonight, and it was so riveting that I finished dinner and kept reading.

This is a bit different from the normal fare from Steeple Hill, in a good way. The author never writes about body parts or sexual innuendos, but the chemistry between the hero and heroine is almost tangible. What a rush to read some of their scenes. This is a hero I can swoon over (don't let the pastor-lookalike on the cover fool you, the hero is rough-and-tumble and sexy as sin . . . well, in a Christ-like way. LOL).

The heroine is a bit like Jamie from "A Walk to Remember," sweet and innocent. But Julia is also real--struggling to understand the paradoxes between the teachings of her "Shepherd" and the Truth in the Bible.

The topic of cults and toxic churches is very appropriate in these days when many churches deviate from the Bible and follow man-made rules. Julia's church talks "church speak" but doesn't act as Jesus would, and the members ultimately care only about themselves while professing to be sacrificing the world for God. There is no room for grace, no service for others. It is all appearance, not Christ's love. It's frighteningly like the modern world.

The prose flows seamlessly and I got sucked into the story. The writing is masterful--each character is unique and distinct, there are no clichés or stereotypes here. Despite Julia's sheltered upbringing, I found myself liking her and relating to her as she fought to gain her self-esteem, her identity in God.

I have already pre-ordered the author's next book, "Pocketful of Pearls," which also discusses toxic churches and other tough issues. This is totally refreshing Inspirational Romance.

Grounds to Believe is the best inspirational romance I've ever read. Shelley Bates creates characters that draw the reader completely into the story. The heroine's struggles to find a true faith are both believable and compelling. The hero is strong in his faith--and yummy as well! I found the description of the cult particulary sensitive and balanced. This truly is a wonderful book.

Grounds to Believe captivated me from page 1. I read the story almost straight through, looking for opportunities to sneak away and read a little more until I finished. I wish all stories were as unique and egaging. The hero was awesome and the heroine was a very well-developed character. I liked the way the author took something complex like a cult and peeled the layers of the onion off very slowly, showing how real people were active members, usually because they knew nothing else. And the dysfunction in the heroine's family was portrayed very well. Having worked for 18 years with child abuse cases, the details involved with the nephew's near-demise were unfortunately all too true. Very realistic and well done. I can't wait for Shelley's next novel to be released.

Its refreshing to me to read a Christian romance where a man is the main character. I also appreciated that 'The Elect' weren't all just a bunch of robots. Each character from the group was treated as an individual. I look forward to reading Shelly's next books in this soon-to-be trilogy!

I just finished reading GROUNDS TO BELIEVE and I loved it!!! I have been an avid reader of fiction for many years and had believed I'd grown cynical of finding good thought-provoking interesting novels. Everything I read seemed to be the same old boring storylines just rearranged. Not so with GROUNDS TO BELIEVE. For one thing, Ms. Bates grabbed my attention by bringing me into the cult believing system and giving me an idea of what that kind of life is like. I really liked both Julia and Ross. They were believeable sympathetic characters and I felt like I really knew them. My heart went out to Julia as she struggled to go against all that she'd been brought up to believe. The only thing I found hard to believe was how quickly Kailey accepted Ross back into her life. But overall I thought this was a wonderful book and I recommend it to everyone!

I guess I'll have to be the lone dissenter on this book. But I won't let that bother me--I've been a cheeky non-conformist all my life. This book, on the positive side, was fast-paced and well written, with an intriguing premise. On the negative side I found the "message" of the book appallingly bad. Within the first three pages, I knew I was going to hate it when the hero of the story began to pontificate on the merits of the all-benevolent and just government institutions; and the evils of the religious cult he was investigating. You would think by the author's pointed disdain at these groups that there had never been any government sanctioned persecution on the citizens of this country before. Does Ruby Ridge or Waco ring any bells? It seems that all the justification a government agency needs to violate a person's civil rights is to accuse them of being in a cult. And who decides the definition of a "cult" anyway?? This wasn't the only instance that set my teeth on edge: the continual condescending remarks by our hero and his self-righteous ridicule of her brand of christianity was nauseating. He hounded her on her beliefs, but what did he offer instead? What nuggets of spiritual wisdom did he impart besides the suggestion that she watch Star Wars or buy a pair of jeans. This, compounded by the author's pointed references to worldliness (the long hair, leather jacket, movies, and yes--lying)left a very bad taste in my mouth. The whole premise that a vaunted man of the law insinuates himself into a group by concocting a fictitious story about himself, and callously uses the heroine to advance his cause by feigning a romantic interest is despicable. This book also contained plenty of unscriptural ideas as well. I'll mention two I can remember right now: one, the end of the world is just some sort of kooky idea advanced by cultists who don't know any better (Zechariah, Daniel, Revelation anybody?)and two: that reading the Bible and praying isn't as important as what she euphamistically terms "the relationship". It's no wonder she doesn't understand end-times prophecy when she doesn't study the word. But give her credit; she does mention that one must go to a church to have fellowship and learn from more enlightened teachers. Sounds remarkably the same as a "cult" to me. This author may want to spend a little less time watching the pseudo-spiritual buddhism and pantheism advocated by Star Wars and spend a little more time reading the word. And here's something to keep in mind: most atheists in this country believe that Christians--all christians--and not just the ones who choose to separate themselves, are cultists. It was the same in Christ's time. Paul, before his Damascus Road encounter, and working (mark this!)--within the bounds of the law, was responsible for ruthlessly hunting down and murdering members of a subversive, one might even say dangerous cult, called followers of The Way. In case you don't know, that was what the early christians called themselves. The sanctimonious tone that pervades this novel is both alarming and ham-fisted. What right do we have, as true christians, to hate what we do not understand, or to charge as dangerous or evil, beliefs and values to which we dislike or disagree? Note to the author: the second amendment to our constitution provides us with the right to keep and bear arms. Being a former Canadian mountie, maybe you're unfamiliar with this provision, but I assure you it exists. And unless these isolated groups use these weapons unlawfully, stockpiling them is no crime. Your politically correct view of government and ignorance concerning christianity are an insult. Perhaps your next book should be about the psychological abuse of homeschooling.