The saying goes, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” But nothing could be further from the truth about The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers. The cover is stunningly beautiful and every word inside equally so.

I am not much of a fiction reader and I will admit, I chose this book solely because of the cover. I admired the colors and the feel of the book in my hands. The story is riveting and kept me up long after I should have gone to bed. This was a story difficult to put down.

Roman Velasco is a successful artist with everything he could have wanted in life but his life fell short. Grace Moore, a new mom, takes a job as his personal assistant and is grateful for an opportunity to provide for herself and child.

Only when their lives intersect are they both able to realize there are secrets in each of their lives which need to be settled. The pain in each of their lives is vastly different yet fit together like puzzle pieces to form a complete picture.

The story beautiful conveys the grander story of God’s grace and redemption in the most broken of lives. Recently the author answered this powerful question:

You often say that each of your novels is prompted by a faith-related question. What question inspired The Masterpiece? Were there particular Scripture verses or stories that guided your writing of this novel?

The question that came up for me was whether two people from severely dysfunctional backgrounds could have a healthy relationship. Grace and Roman both come from abusive childhood experiences and developed different coping mechanisms to survive. The past often intrudes and sometimes blocks people from moving forward, but we are all ultimately responsible for the choices we make. Each of us must decide who Jesus is. That choice decides where we spend eternity. It also makes a difference in our life in the here and now. When abuse occurs, a child’s view of God is twisted. That raises other questions. What might need to happen to open the door to the true God and faith in Him? What if someone grows up knowing nothing of God other than as a curse? I had questions enough for several books, and wallowed around in the mire through several drafts. Hence, so did my characters. Grace and Roman are each on different journeys. What brings them together and what keeps them apart? I was well into the project before I knew which Scripture God was showing me: Ephesians 2:10 — “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” This is the heart of the book.

(question and answer provided by Tyndale Publishing)

*I received this book from Tyndale in exchange for my honest review. The views expressed in my review are all my own.

Today I am joining … Trekking Thru the Week and #RaRaLInkup and Teaching What Is Good .