Colors of Truth by Tamera Alexander Review

 Happy Monday Friends and Happy 2021!

I'm sure a lot of you have noticed that I've been pretty absent from my blog and my social medias the last couple of months, and I am trying to work on changing that.

I've been through a lot in the last few months, and quite frankly, I felt I needed to make some major changes in my life. I've been feeling really discouraged from the way our world has been changing, and it saddens me the most to see how many Christians seem to see nothing wrong with so many of these changes.

I've really felt a conviction in my spirit to change a lot of the ways I've been living my life that weren't lining up with God's Word, and one of those changes was the type of media I was allowing into my mind. I'm extremely embarrassed of some of the secular books, shows and music I was letting myself be entertained by, and I've decided that enough is enough. I'm going into 2021 with much stronger standards for the type of materials I allow myself to take part in, and I greatly apologize to any of my fellow brothers or sisters that I may have caused to stumble in their walk with Christ through any of the secular content I was recommending that I shouldn't have been. 

I will still continue to read some secular books, but they must be clean! The primary focus of my blog will be Christian fiction, with secular books included that live up to my standards. I've already faced some backlash from my stricter standards for reviewing, including have a fellow Christian reader tell me that I don't have to right to judge Christian books by the standard of content they contain. However, I feel like this is what God is calling me to do, and I plan to listen to His voice despite any persecution or negative feedback that comes my way. 

My time on this earth is short, and I want to make sure that I'm doing my best to live each and every day as much as possible for Him. I've been struggling with the enemy attacking me with horrific lies the last few months, and partly why I've taken a break from blogging is because I felt like I wasn't good enough to be associating with other Christians when I was going through such a horrible attack on my faith. However, I now know that if the enemy can isolate me, he can also influence me, and I want to do my best to stop letting him have a control on my life. That being said, I'm probably going to start back slowly, as I've also been dealing with many health complications, but I'm going to try my best to become more involved in the book community once again.

The book I'm going to be sharing with you all today is an excellent read, but it had a bit of a strange history towards publication. I had received it from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley, who later decided to delay the publication and then changed to canceling it. The author later on ended up self publishing it herself, so it is definitely still available for purchase, just most likely not from the usual retailers.

Colors of Truth by Tamera Alexander:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (no longer published by this publisher)

Publication Date: October 10th, 2020

Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction

Series: Carnton 

Synopsis:

Based on the real history of Carnton, an antebellum home that served as a Confederate hospital, Colors of Truth follows the journey of an Irish immigrant arriving in a country where her kind isn't wanted, and of a former Federal soldier returning to the scene of a battle that almost destroyed him.

In 1866 Catriona O'Toole arrives in the town of Franklin, Tennessee, searching for her younger brother, Ryan, who, according to his last letter, was headed for Franklin only days before the catastrophic Battle of Franklin. Ryan's last note contained a stack of cash--enough money to bring his entire family across the ocean from Ireland. But after disease and illness tear through County Antrim and the O'Toole family, only Catriona and her seven-year old sister Nora are left to make the journey.

Wade Cunningham, one of ten operatives in the newly formed United States Secret Service Agency, is on the hunt for counterfeiters. A tip leads him to Franklin and to Carnton, the home of wealthy Tennessean John McGavock. The recent murder of a fellow agent mandates that Wade keep his true identity hidden, as well as his past service in the Federal Army. But when he receives a note bearing only the name of the deceased agent, he realizes someone in town already knows who he really is.

As evidence in the case mounts, it eventually points to Catriona, but Wade is slow to want to believe it. Because his heart is swiftly becoming hers. However, Catriona's sole focus is to find her brother and to provide a home and safety for her sister. In doing that, she somehow finds herself part of a burial committee for the over two thousand Confederate soldiers who were hastily buried in a field following the Battle of Franklin--and her deepest fear is that Ryan's body is among those shallow graves.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

After having had some bad experiences with some recently published Christian titles, it was such an amazing treat to read another beautiful, faith filled story by the lovely Tamera Alexander. Every single time I read one of her books, I end up learning more and more about parts of history I had no clue about, and I always end up feeling like my faith has received a much needed boost. I think readers everywhere are going to love this historical romance that speaks of the importance of faith, friendship, family and love despite any circumstances that might be thrown our way.

Catriona and Wade's story is one of many ups and downs; with her being a recent immigrant from Ireland with her little sister in tow, and him an undercover agent who's been sent to Franklin and Carnton to try and uncover the truth behind a tip of a counterfeiting ring. Catriona's main concern is locating her brother who immigrated to America ahead of her, and righting the wrong that was done to her family by the McGavock family of Carnton plantation. However, her circumstances soon leave her in a mess out of her control, and finds her a lead suspect in Wade's counterfeiting ring. Wade is sure she's innocent, but how can he possibly prove it when she refuses to trust him enough to let him in.

Told through both Catriona and Wade's point of views, Colors of Truth was everything I've come to love and expect every time I pick up a Tamera Alexander novel. Her stories always speak to the truth that no matter how far gone we may think we are, or how turbulent the circumstances may be that we find ourselves currently in; we are never past the point of being able to be redeemed through the unfailing mercy and grace that Jesus is always ready to extend towards us. I loved Catriona and Wade's romance, and how it starts out with them not being able to stand each other and eventually moving into a beautiful friendship. Catriona's little sister was an absolute hoot, and I loved getting another glimpse into the McGavock family and their many staff members I've come to know and love from the previous stories. 

I also have to comment on the fact that I ended up being surprised how the mystery all wrapped up at the end, and actually hadn't managed to piece any of it together. I love when an author can keep me guessing right through until the end.

I personally ended up loving this one, and it was the perfect read to finish out 2020 with. I definitely recommend this one to anyone who loves faith filled historical fiction, and I will be looking forward to reading more from Tamera Alexander in the future.

Final Rating: 4/5.

I received a complimentary copy advance reader copy of this novel to read and review from NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)