I received a free copy of Cherished by Kim Cash Tate from Thomas Nelson. It was a Women of Faith novel that continues with characters from the setting of St. Louis, MO. This time the story centers on Kelli London, younger sister of Cedric and Lindell who were in Tate's novel Faithful. Kelli has grown away from the Lord while living in TX. Song lyrics used to come to her in the past, and she shared a special relationship with Brian Howard. Now Brian is a Christian rapper, and while attending a songwriter's conference she came face-to-face with Brian again, and all her hurt feelings when their relationship ended come flooding back. Brian never dreamed of having a future in Christian music like Kelli did. He was interested in pursing science to the highest academic level. Yet, he feels God has called him into the ministry for a special purpose. They learn the importance of forgiveness and how to use their spiritual gifts to help others. A subplot in this novel includes the continuation of Heather Anderson's story. In Faithful, Heather had an affair with a married man from church, and she is on a downward spiral, farther away from God. While at the songwriter's conference she has a one-night stand with a drummer from a Christian rock band. Cedric's wife Cyd begins a Bible study together with Heather and Kelli to help them see that God loves and cherishes them, and has made them a new person when they committed their life to him and turned from their sin. I absolutely loved this book! I loved that it continued with characters from Kim's first novel. And it is about real modern day life! So many people can see themselves in Kim's characters, and how she shows that God cherishes each one of us and reaffirms that nothing can separate us from His love is amazing! I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone!
