Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Space Between Words by Michele Phoenix. At the first few pages, I had a difficult time deciding whether or not I wanted to read this book as I don't enjoy historical pieces from 1600's France related to the Edict of Nantes and Huegenouts. However, I persisted and got into the story of Jessica, who survived the attack at the Bataclan nightclub in Paris, and how she eventually dealt with that traumatic event. I did end up finding the story of the Ballaird family's trials and endurance to be more interesting than I expected. Jessica and her new friend Grant's search for the family's descendants was healing for her. Refreshing to read that one can heal after experiencing a horrific trauma.

I was quite surprised to find that I really enjoyed this novel. It definitely went beyond my expectations and I loved that the author had a historical aspect for this story. I really knew nothing about the Huguenots until this novel, so that was a huge revelation for me. It is always a sad thing to hear about people being persecuted for their beliefs, and the fact that this still happens to this day is just terrible. I liked how Jessica goes on this journey to understand the Baillard's continual belief in their faith, while also figuring out what happened to them. Jessica became invested in finding out their truth, and so I as the reader became invested in it, too. I always love reading about documents that start a journey, and this one was no exception! In fact, I think the author did a great job of making the journey progress the way that it did. As expected from a novel in this genre, there is a focus on faith and religion, but it is really quite mild and it is presented in a way where people of all different religions can enjoy and appreciate the message. I will admit that I was more intrigued by the historical aspect than what Jessica was going through, but the author did a good job of showing how PTSD can traumatize a person and shake their identity. Overall, this was a really solid novel, with good writing and a good journey!

This is two stories set three centuries apart. It’s about a present time woman learning how to heal, live and love from a woman in the past.

The story is well written and well plotted. With that being said, some of the details seem a bit questionable. The historical backstory of the Huguenots (French Protestants) fleeing from France to avoid persecution was quite interesting, and has made me want to research that piece of history. There is a bit of a mystery, and I have to say that there is quite a twist that I never saw coming.

This book was easy to put down, and hard to pick up again. But… every time I read it, I enjoyed it. I really like this book, and I would recommend it to everyone. It is a great story of friendship, healing and hope. It is also considered a Christian Fiction novel, but it isn’t preachy by any means. There is a bit of romance thrown in, but that does take a backseat to the mystery.

Received ARC from Thomas Nelson publishing via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this was strong and the parts about the shooting were vivid. However, the historical aspect of the persecution of the French Huguenots was weakly executed. A fair read with some highs.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

I have to be honest that I didn’t finish this book. It started out great but I got confused part way through. I am sure it will be appreciated by other readers.

Space between words is mostly set in France and switches between the present time and 1695. It is about grief, persecution of Huguenots, terrorists, friendships and faith.
Jessica and her friend Patrick are in Paris prior to travelling around France looking for items to stock Patrick's gallery. Picking in old attics, barns and flea markets.
Jessic is injured in a terrorist attack at a music concert. After she recovers they start their journey and stay for a while in Southern France. Jessica finds an old sewing box on her first day picking. Later she discovers the sewing box has a hidden compartment concealing a letter and other items.
With the help of new friends Jessica sets out to find out more about the person who wrote the letter.
I liked the unexpected twists and the way the small boy interacted with Jessica and revealed what he saw.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a heavy read. I am not sure if it was something I should have read at this time. It is well written and I couldn't help but feel for Jessica. She is shot during the Paris attacks and she wakes to find her life and outlook has changed. I enjoyed her journey. Grant and Mona were wonderful characters. Good story, but just a little too close to reality at this time.

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Jessica is suffering from PTSD after surviving a terrorist attack in Paris. She finds tantalising clues to the life of Adeline who lived centuries before—her faith condemned, her life endangered, her community decimated by the Huguenot persecution. Her mantra "Endure with courage, resist with wisdom, persist in faith" is a constant theme throughout the book, and Jessica soon adopts it as her own.

As with most stories told in dual timelines, I better liked the older story. But, Jessica had an important part because she unearthed Adeline's story while learning how to live with what happened to her.

3.25☆

The Space between Words by Michelle Phoenix is a story of where the past meets the presents and helps offer healing to a deeply wounded woman. The story opens in 1695, France as the Baillard family is being persecuted. Why? For being Protestant and not converting to the king’s religion. Fast forward to the morning of November 13, 2015 where Jessica Jackson wakes up in Paris with her friends, Patrick and Vonda. They are trying to decide what to do on their last night in Paris. The next thing she knows, Jessica wakes up in the hospital, wounded from the terrorist attack at the Bataclan theatre. As she recovers, her friend Patrick, convinces her to continue with their plan to travel through France. They arrive in Balazuc of the Ardeche region of southern France where Jessica finds an antique sewing box. Soon she is on the path to discover what happened to the original owner, Adeline Baillard. Will she discovered what happened to the Baillard family? Will she truly find peace and renewal from her terrifying experience? Can she find the good in the bad?
The Space between Words is a powerful story weaving one woman’s recovery from the Paris attacks and one family’s attempt to flee persecution and certain death in 17th century France. There were some great quotes in the story that many of us read to remember. One of my favorites is “Life goes on and people forget.” So true with the speed at which life goes. Many of those who do not experience the events soon forget. The story is also a reminder of what Christians in history and power have done to other Christians simply because they differed over doctrine. It is always what Christians have done to non-Christians, but a reminder of what they have done to each other. I highly recommend The Space between Words.

The Space between Words
is available in paperback and in eBook

I loved this story and the way it was told. Jessica is like so many of us, broken and wanting to be fixed, but not sure of where or how to start. I felt for her and I love the story she uncovered and the places it took her as she searched for the truth and the end of the story.

I was unable to finish this book due to PTSD and recent events. However, what I did read was well written.

Each person deals with death of a loved one differently. This book offers another method that the brain uses to continue to exist, if not perfectly, at least exist.

I think I don't like modern fiction?

The idea of this book was better than the execution for me. Framed by the tragic events at the Bataclan Concert Hall, this is the one woman's story, that led to a mystery that honestly....did nothing for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a dual-timeline novel, moving between the present, and the somewhat recent attacks in Paris, and the past, about the Huguenot persecution and their flight out of France. I really enjoy this type of story, but this one did not quite live up to my expectations. In part, there is far more of the contemporary angle then I anticipated.

At the core, there is a tale of grief, loss, and survival. Jessica is a well-drawn character, and her struggles are realistic and sometimes painful to read. Adeline’s story provides a lot of information about the Huguenot persecution, which may be unfamiliar to some readers. PTSD is addressed in a tactful manner. Some plot points felt a bit contrived. I did enjoy the mystery elements and the historical aspects which were woven in.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley, but I was not required to provide a positive review.

As I finished this book, stories started coming out of Las Vegas about the concert shooting there. I highly recommend this book to those of you who can't imagine what the aftershock of being involved in one of these random shootings can be like. Jessica is in Paris and is enjoying a concert with her friend when a terrorist starts shooting. Wounded she wakes up in a hospital with another friend, Patrick, by her side. Physically, she will heal, but mentally? Emotionally? This is the story of her quest for healing...and finding herself taken to the past for that healing to begin.

I couldn't finish this book. I was starting to like the main characters but the relationship between the two main characters started to get on my nerves. It felt like it was taking over the story and I wasn't enjoying the book any longer. This book just wasn't for me.

A riveting story.
Learning to live again after a tragedy.
The underlying belief that good can be found in, or in spite of, very bad things.
Jessica survived a terrorist attack in Paris. She finds an ancient diary and learns the story of Adeline, who lived centuries earlier, in the midst of horrific persecution.
This quote "I want to believe that there's a force for good in this world, and that that force won't let the bad have the final word. It doesn't explain or undo the darkness, but...I think somehow it covers it with light."
This is a story that will stick with me for a long time.

The Space Between Words

by Michèle Phoenix

Thomas Nelson--FICTION

Thomas Nelson
Christian , General Fiction (Adult)

Pub Date 05 Sep 2017

I am reviewing a copy of The Space Between Words through Thomas Nelson and Netgalley:

The day after the attacks on Paris, Jessica regains consciousness in a French hospital, images of the carnage she saw playing in her head. She is relieved to find her friends Patrick and Vonda were okay, but every time she closes her eyes to sleep the images played over and over again.

Patrick Sticks by her side, and encourages her to go ahead with the trip they had planned, before going back home.

But was Patrick really there?

A find at a local flea market, a faded document hid in an antique leads Jessica to discover the story of Adeline Balliard whose faith was condemned her life endangered and her community deciminated by Huguenot persecution. With the help of some of her friends she will learn about this brave woman.

This is one of those novels, that pulls you in and doesn’t let go.

Five out of five stars.

Happy Reading.

Intriguing story about a young woman caught in a Paris terrorist attack in a nightclub and the adventure she sets out on to deal with the after-effects of the attack. This book is obviously a Christian title - there was a tad too much God in it for me, but the story itself was great and the writing strong. Huge reveal about a third of the way in hooked me and I had to finish it.

The Space Between Words has everything I love in a book; Several mysteries, characters with both depth, conflict and room for growth, intriguing historical settings, effective pacing, and reflection over the big Life Questions.
I knew almost nothing about Huguenots. The opening paragraph pulled me in quickly. “1695, Gatigny, France. My name is Adeline Baillard, and my life may end today. Or it may stretch its final throes into another dawn. Existence is a flimsy thing. I savor its fragility with every breath I take.” Michele Phoenix artfully shifts the story to present day France and we are left hanging, wanting to learn more.

The modern story flashes and implodes from the start. I tried to piece together what happened, along with Jessica, the main character. “There were moments when the beauty we encountered (in the French countryside) brightened the edges of the darkness that consumed me. But I couldn’t seize the light that glimmered out of reach while my strength was still held hostage by the burden of surviving.”
After that, Jessica finds an antique sewing box. The false bottom is pried up, along with a foundation in her life. (Never saw that coming!) “There were seconds – just seconds – as my eyes opened after sleep when the world felt unshrouded again. Then memory maimed.” As Jessica’s story unwinds, so does that of the family who hosts her in their tiny B&B. As Jessica tells her story, she knows they have ‘kindness she can count on and courage she can borrow.’

Phoenix’s writing is striking. French Huguenot, Adeline, writes, “When the mere threat of reprisals failed to extract enough Huguenot abjurations the king ordained that we be made more miserable yet and enlisted his dragoons as hammers sent to shatter us.” Adeline teaches the children in a secret loft. “Sometimes we forgot about the danger that lurked outside our walls and Serge (the blacksmith) had to remind us to keep our laughter down. So we muffled the freedom-giving sound with hands over our mouths and let our joy of living and believing become silent.” I could feel the passion of these believers through their simple and kind ways. Adeline’s family is so strong in their faith that some make life-changing plans to escape to England. Some felt called to stay despite the persecution and terrible grief of bidding loved ones adieu.

Adeline writes, “Story is sacred, and I will tell mine...I have no illusion of safety. Our end feels inescapable. Our courage stretched taut. Our faith firm, but weary.” Yet despite the circumstances, she continues, “For all its scars and strife, this world still speaks the beauty of its Maker…In simple ways, I see him moving in Creation with serenity and grace…Though our lives have been dismantled by the cruelty of man, God in his faithfulness has scattered flecks of gold amid the debris of our loss.”

Lastly, Phoenix peppers simple wisdom and faith into The Space Between Words without ever preaching. Modern day survivors question, ‘If he’s really God, why didn’t he stop it/them?’ as do Phoenix’s characters. Being human, there’s a lot we just won’t understand, but “God layers good over the bad. It’s what he does. And the more of the bad life dishes out, the more good God dishes out too.”

Jessica’s friend Patrick love beauty. “Creating it, finding it, sharing it… he was luminous.” These words also apply to The Space Between Words.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for granting access to an arc of this book for an honest review.