A Review of Confessions of a 'Fraidy Mom: The Sugar-Coated Truth, Christian-Style

I like to read. Honest, I do. It's just rare that I go out and purchase a book nowadays. I am so busy with all of the responsibilities that I have to juggle-- and I don't even have kids yet. Things are crazy here. Something I love to do, however, is enter contests. I've won all sorts of things. Most recently, I have been winning books.

Mother of Prevention: Confessions of a 'Fraidy Mom by Lori Hopeland is one of the books that I won. The fine people at Steeple Hill Press sent me two novels from a drawing that I won during the summer. Never, in a million years, would I have selected this book as something for me to read. However, I will read any book that is sent to me, regardless of genre.

GENRE
Steeple Hill Books is an imprint of Harlequin that is called "inspirational fiction." Basically, these books are for people that like to read about how women turn to God with their problems, and trust in Him to lead them down the right path-- usually to romance. Steeple Hill Cafe is an imprint of Steeple Hill, which is what Mother of Prevention was released under. Steeple Hill Cafe releases "Hip, fun and smart fiction for savvy women of faith."

Here's the thing, though: It's the Christian faith. Now, I have absolutely nothing against Christianity. I'm a Roman Catholic myself. However, I find it irritating when the belief is set forth that there is only one "faith". I work at the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center and the Solomon Schecter Day School. It just seems to me that this genre really ostracizes a large group of potential readers. However, as long as you know what you are getting into when you start reading one of these books, you shouldn't have a problem.

I have never read Inspirational Fiction. To tell you the truth, I kind of liked it. Granted, I'm not ready to turn my back on Nora Roberts and Stephen King, but Mother of Prevention was a nice way to open the door to this genre for me.