Review: Love's Fate (Fate Series Book 3) by Diane Yates

 

Review: Love's Fate (Fate Series Book 3) 

by Diane Yates

To Deborah who lost her sister, Aliyah, to a Christian cult, the only thing worse than a Jewish Christian is an Arab Christian. But Amir, banished from his Arab-Israeli family, falls in love with the sad, beautiful, Jewish Deborah at first sight. A bond forms between them despite their religious and ethnic differences. After Deborah’s sister left, her parents Yosef and Esther loathed each other, and nothing can ignite feelings of love between them. While David Drake and Aliyah return to her homeland of Israel as missionaries, David’s sister, Melissa, tries to reach teenagers in the USA with the message of abstinence, but her own marriage threatens to derail her mission. Little do they all know what the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has planned for them and the Fate of their love.

My Take:

Deborah Zimmerman leads a somewhat cloistered life, sheltered in her Jewish home with little freedom to even pass the front door. After all, her big sister Aliyah had been spirited away by an American Christian, and was considered dead to her mother. But on her first venture to the marketplace as a late teen, she is waylaid by a woman who hands her a small velvet bag with a Christian manger scene in a snow globe - a gift by her missing big sister. As she ponders the meaning behind the small baby in a manger, she arrives at the market only to be harassed by a devilishly handsome young Arabic man named Amir. A converted Muslim Christian, outcast by his own family. He falls desperately in love with the beautiful Deborah, who finds him dangerously attractive and adamantly off-limits.

Though she keeps running into (and over) Amir, she rejects him and the feelings he stirs in her. After all, he's Arabic, and worse, a Christian. But when Deborah is kidnapped by Islamic terrorists, only Amir can save her.  

Content:

Drug Content:
G – There is very little alcohol in this novel, and no substance abuse. 
 
Violence:
PG – The kidnapping scene and rescue are somewhat violent, and imminent death is threatened, but there's no blood-letting here..
 
Language:
G – Nada.
 
Adult Content:
G – There's a bit of kissing but nothing further. Good clean romance.
 
Christian content:
There's quite a bit of Christian material here. The characters pray fervently, and God answers prayers miraculously, though it's revealed more as acts of Providence and guidance than overt direction. The powers of darkness are evident here, too, though the spiritual realm is kept behind the scenes. Characters pray for guidance and submit to parental and holy authority, and work for the furtherance of the kingdom.

  
Final Analysis:
I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Love's Fate. I was fully invested in the characters and was on the edge of my seat through much of this fast-paced entertaining romance. It's always refreshing to read something clean and positive, with pain and sacrifice counterposed with hope and love. Well-written, entertaining, and encouraging. Five Stars!

About the Author:

Yates writes award-winning inspirational romantic fiction and nonfiction with endearing characters who find courage to overcome obstacles and emerge victorious. Her Fate Series, published by IHeart Publishing, begins with Melissa's Fate and continues with Impossible Fate. The third book in the series will release in the near future. Diane is the author of two biography/memoirs, Pathways of the Heart and All That Matters. She served two terms as President of Ozarks Writers League and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She teaches writing workshops and has spoken at various organizations. She and her husband Rick have served years in youth and adult ministries. She has three children and eight grandchildren. Follow her at www.dianeyates.com or her blog at www.dianesponderings.blog