This book is excellent because the author has such a heart for sharing the essence and power of love. He wants us all to get that passion, to receive all the love that Christ has to offer us and live each day being fully aware of how much we are loved. Berteau has learnt that love really does change everything and he outlines why love is such a force.

Berteau uses the Hosea/Gomer story as a way of demonstrating God's love for us all. But the book doesn't really go into their story in any great depth so don't buy this if you're looking for a detailed insightful perspective on Hosea.

Certainly, the book has some shortcomings as many of the other reviewers have outlined. Yes, it is a little repetitive and it would have been an even better book if it provided some practical ideas about 'how to' live a life of love. Getting the message is essential to discovering the wonder of love but then we need to know how to live it everyday. And sharing some ideas from other 'greats' on love would have added to the depth of insight and provided a useful reference guide for readers to further explore some of the concepts.

I received a complimentary early ebook draft from the publisher via NetGalley with no expectation of a favourable review.

In the classic youth group movie “Princess Bride” we find a scene where Wesley is mostly dead and asked what he has that’s worth living for. His answer is love.
Using the scripture of Hosea and Gomer this books shows us how we too often follow in Gomer’s steps. We forget who loves is and what he did for us. We seek after false love and fulfillment.
But when you are captured by the Love that is our God you begin to find that love really does change everything.

I wanted to like this book. My husband and I named our 105 year old house after Hosea’s wife because of the lengths he went to in order to restore her. I love the story.

This felt like a poorly retold sermon filled with Christian clichés. I raised an eyebrow at some of the points given and how he was relating the story to Gomer. It felt like a cheap observation of the story.

I wanted to like it. I looked past the title and the fact that I did not know the author hoping to love the story because I love the original story, but sadly did not. It was hard to read and felt scattered. There are some good points in the book, but it was hard to follow.

Berteau is concerned that “real love is not being taught and grasped to the extent Christ calls us to.” (Loc 2013/2189) It should be a hot topic in our sermons and relationship conversations. “Love wants to rearrange your life and challenge your priorities.” (Loc 2022/2189) He has written this book to draw our attention to love.

He points out the kinds of love the world offers and reminds us that only the love of Jesus will satisfy. He encourages us to keep our eyes and thoughts on Jesus. “We must wake up daily and desperately pursue [the] special love of God.” (Loc 1011/2189)

I appreciate his clarifying that God's love for everyone does not mean God approves of or accepts everyone. (Loc 993/2189) Nor does God's love tolerate everything. God's love, in fact, “will kick out all that does not belong.” (Loc 993/2189)

This is a book with good teaching on the importance of God's love and how it can and should impact our lives. It loosely looks at the story of Hosea and Gomer, developing spiritual truths from it. Berteau tells lots of stories and has written a very readable book, even adding in a little humor from time to time. I do think there could have been additional editing, however. For example, the first sentence in a paragraph reads, “Love is a choice.” (Loc 355/2189) The rest of the paragraph has absolutely nothing to do with choosing to love.

Food for thought: “Love that lasts is only found in the One who has lasted from generation to generation.” (Loc 1641/2189)

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review. (Note: I read an uncorrected galley of this book and quotes I list may have changed in the final edition.)

As the book description says, we all crave love that doesn't fade and doesn't fail. We try to fill the void, seek validation, thirst for compliments, change who we are. If you're tired of trying so hard to be worthy of someone else's love, lost in what's fake, or drawn to live in the temporary, discover the good news--there is a better way to live and love.
With a conversational style and humor, Micah Berteau details how love changes everything. This book isn't about human love or feelings, though. It's about God's love, the deep, unchanging, never-ending love of God. Pastor Berteau argues that we are made to experience depths of love designed by the One who created us, and this love will change every aspect of our lives, including our perceptions of the past, projections of the future and way of living in the present. We can even expect love, and it will show up in our attitude toward ourselves, others and life.
I enjoyed the conversational writing style, which makes this book easy to read. And the humor adds fun to a topic that could otherwise be overwhelming. I think the book's description is a bit off since it does discuss Gomer and Hosea but does not exclusively focus on that Scripture and includes information that's way broader than this singular relationship.
Overall, this book is an important one to read. I will add it to my "read again" list because I find myself often longing for love and forgetting that the Source of love is waiting with open arms for me.