“God told us to go. He didn’t promise that we would come back.” 

― Brother Andrew, Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe in Christ

In "Secret Believers: What Happens When Muslims Believe in Christ," Brother Andrew tells compelling real-life accounts of Christians residing in Islamic nations.  The book explores the spiritual, cultural, and emotional difficulties these Christians face following their conversion from Islam to Christianity.  The narrative style of the writing weaves together the lives of several persons who, because of their faith, encounter life-threatening circumstances.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Open this book and meet Christians who are courageous in the face of persecution. Butros, a Christian man with a heart for the church. Ahmed, Mustafa and Hassan, devout Muslims until their hearts are changed by the Truth of Scripture. Salima, a rich young woman who loses everything when she falls in love with Jesus. How can Christianity flourish in the face of Sharia law? How can Christ's love win Muslims? What price will these believers pay for their faith?

My reaction to this novel...

From the very first chapter of Secret Believers, I was completely hooked. The way the authors told the story felt so real, emotional, and full of heart that I couldn’t stop reading. It’s not just a book, it’s an eye-opening journey into the lives of people who risk everything for their faith. The storytelling is powerful, and it instantly pulled me into a world that many of us don’t often think about. The world where being a Christian can cost you your life.

The book follows several Muslim-background believers who secretly follow Jesus in a place where their faith is dangerous to confess. What struck me most was the raw honesty of each story. You can feel the fear, the struggle, and at the same time, the strong hope that keeps them going. Brother Andrew and Al Janssen did a beautiful job showing the human side of faith under pressure and how belief can both comfort and challenge you in the hardest moments.

What I love about this book is how it mixes true events with deep spiritual lessons. It made me realize how blessed we are to worship freely, and how easy it is to take that freedom for granted. The stories made me reflect on my own faith and how strong (or weak) it might be if put to the test. Each chapter feels alive, like you’re sitting beside the characters, watching them face danger yet hold on to Jesus with all their hearts.

The writing is simple but powerful. It doesn’t try too hard to impress but it just speaks the truth plainly. The message is clear: faith is not always easy, but it’s worth everything. I also liked how the authors didn’t make it overly dramatic; instead, they let the reality speak for itself. You can tell that this book was written with love and respect for the people whose stories are being told.

Reading Secret Believers gave me a mix of emotions like sadness, admiration, hope, and conviction. It reminded me that Christianity isn’t about comfort; it’s about courage. The book asks the reader to reflect: what would I do if I were in their place? Would I still stand firm in my faith? It’s a humbling question that stays with you even after closing the last page.

This is not a light read, but it’s one that will definitely move you deeply. If you’re looking for a story that strengthens your faith and opens your eyes to the reality of believers in other parts of the world, Secret Believers is worth every minute. It’s the kind of book that makes you thankful, prayerful, and more aware of how powerful faith can be when it’s tested by fire.

For me, this book is a strong reminder that believing in Christ isn’t just a title but it’s a daily act of courage. And through the stories of these secret believers, I saw what true faith looks like in action. 

This book is deeply touching, honest, and full of faith.

“He says, you have to study and learn so that you can make up your own mind about history and everything else but you can’t make up an empty mind. Stock your mind, stock your mind. You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace.”

― Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes

The Irish-American novelist Frank McCourt's 1996 book, Angela's Ashes: a memoir, contains a number of anecdotes and tales from his early years.  Although the book mostly concentrates on his youth in Limerick, Ireland, it also describes his early years in Brooklyn, New York.  It also covers his father's alcoholism and his battles with poverty.

Synopsis from Amazon...

So begins the luminous memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to recent Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank’s mother, Angela, has no money to feed the children since Frank’s father, Malachy, rarely works, and when he does he drinks his wages. Yet Malachy—exasperating, irresponsible, and beguiling—does nurture in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can provide: a story. Frank lives for his father’s tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and of the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies.

Perhaps it is story that accounts for Frank’s survival. Wearing rags for diapers, begging a pig’s head for Christmas dinner and gathering coal from the roadside to light a fire, Frank endures poverty, near-starvation and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors—yet lives to tell his tale with eloquence, exuberance, and remarkable forgiveness.

My reaction to this novel...

When I first picked up Angela’s Ashes, I honestly thought the title meant Angela (Frank’s mother) was going to die. But as I kept reading, I realized the title was more symbolic. It wasn’t about her actual death, but about the ashes of her life. The hardships, the poverty, and the deep sense of loss she had to carry. And wow, this book hit me in so many ways.

This memoir is Frank McCourt’s story of growing up in absolute poverty in Ireland, and it doesn’t hold back. The writing style is simple and straightforward, almost like you’re listening to someone tell you their life story. That’s what made it powerful for me. It wasn’t overly fancy, but it carried so much weight.

What stood out to me the most was how brutally honest this book is. It doesn’t sugarcoat what it feels like to live in hunger, to lose siblings one after another, or to deal with a father who would rather drink away the little money they had instead of buying food for the kids. It’s raw, and at times, it’s painful to read.

Angela, the mother, became the center of it all for me. I could feel her struggles through every page. She was constantly trying to keep the family together, even when life gave her nothing but ashes. It’s heartbreaking because you can sense her exhaustion, her broken spirit, but also her resilience. She lost so much children, dignity, peace of mind and yet she kept going because she had to.

Another thing I appreciated is that even though the subject matter is dark, Frank McCourt tells his story with bits of humor. There are moments when I found myself smiling or laughing despite the sadness, and that balance made the book easier to get through.

But let me be honest here, this book isn’t for everyone. It’s heavy, it’s sad, and sometimes it feels like the pain never ends. There were chapters where I had to pause because the suffering was just too much to take in one sitting. Still, I think that’s the point. McCourt didn’t write this to entertain; he wrote it to show the reality of growing up in desperate circumstances.

It’s moving, unforgettable, and worth reading, but it’s not the kind of book you just fly through casually. It demands emotional energy, and at times it can feel draining.

In the end, Angela’s Ashes left me with a lot of reflection. It made me grateful for what I have, and it reminded me how powerful storytelling can be when it comes from a place of truth. If you’re someone who appreciates raw, honest memoirs and you’re ready for a book that will tug at your emotions, this is definitely one you should pick up.

My Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐(4/5)

 "Youth is the season of courage, where love feels like a leap into the unknow, fearless, hopeful and beautifully brave."

--Unknown

In If I Fall, every step feels like walking over broken glass which is uncertain, trembling, but necessary. With raw emotion and haunting honesty, this story pulls you into a world where love and fear collide, and the only way forward is to risk losing yourself.

Synopsis...

If I Fall is a heartfelt story that dives into the complicated emotions of love, trust, and the courage to face heartbreak. It follows the journey of two people whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways, reminding us that love is not always a fairytale—it can be messy, painful, and filled with uncertainty. The characters struggle with choices that test their strength, showing how hard it can be to hold on when life keeps pulling them apart. At its core, the novel paints a raw and emotional picture of how fragile yet powerful love can be.

But beyond the heartbreak and the tears, this book also offers hope. It shows how falling—whether in love or in life—doesn’t always mean failure. Sometimes falling is part of learning, of finding yourself, and of growing stronger than before. Through its emotional highs and lows, If I Fall reminds readers that even in the darkest moments, there is light waiting at the end of the journey. It’s a story for anyone who has loved deeply, lost painfully, and still found the courage to believe in love again.

My reaction to this novel...

I recently finished reading If I Fall by ShirlengTearJerky, and I have to admit, this was a very different reading experience for me. I don’t usually read Tagalog romance books. In fact, it’s a genre I tend to avoid because I often find them too cheesy or cringey for my taste. That’s why when I started this book, I wasn’t sure if I would even make it to the end.

True enough, there were moments where I felt exactly what I expected: a little cringey, overly sweet, and dramatic in ways that I’m not really used to. But to my surprise, there were also several parts that made me smile without even realizing it. That, for me, was unexpected. The playful banter between characters, the little acts of love, and even the more emotional scenes managed to draw me in, even though this isn’t usually my kind of story.

The plot itself follows some of the familiar tropes that we often see in romance: misunderstandings, tension, reconciliations, and of course, the “kilig” factor that Filipino romance novels are so well known for. On paper, it may not sound unique, but the way the author told the story had a certain sincerity. It was written in a way that clearly aimed to touch the hearts of readers, and in that regard, it succeeded.

One thing I really appreciated was that the book didn’t try to be anything else, it was a straightforward love story that embraced everything people enjoy about the genre. It had the right mix of lightheartedness, drama, and those sweet little moments that make you root for the characters. Even when I felt that familiar sense of awkwardness with some overly romantic exchanges, I still found myself turning the pages, curious to see what would happen next.

As someone who isn’t a fan of Tagalog romance, this book felt new to me. It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. There were times I thought about how different it was compared to the kinds of stories I normally enjoy, but I also realized that sometimes it’s good to read something you wouldn’t usually pick up. The cringe was there, yes, but so was the charm. And it’s the charm that ultimately made me keep reading.

In terms of rating, I honestly don’t know where to place it. On one hand, it’s not a book I would rave about because it’s not my preferred genre. On the other hand, I can’t deny that it entertained me and even made me smile, which means it did exactly what a romance novel is supposed to do. For that reason alone, I’d say it deserves some recognition.

Would I recommend it? If you’re someone who loves Tagalog romance, then absolutely! You’ll probably fall in love with it even more than I did. If you’re like me, someone who doesn’t usually go for this type of story, then I’d still say give it a try. You might be surprised by how a simple, sweet story can make you feel something, even when you least expect it.

Overall, If I Fall is a surprisingly cute and heartfelt read. It may not have completely changed my mind about the genre, but it gave me a fresh experience, and that’s something I value as a reader. Sometimes, stepping outside your usual reading preferences can give you small, unexpected joys and that’s exactly what this book did for me.

My Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨(3.5/5)