I feel like I’ve discovered something new, and I can’t wait to tell you about it. Well, maybe you’ve already heard of the Sisterchicks series by Robin Jones Gunn — and I’m a bit late to the party. Why didn’t someone tell me? I’ve recently decided I want to branch out from reviewing nonfiction, and so when the opportunity to review this novel came up, I jumped on it. And I feel like I’m just starting a grand adventure!

Venice … as Gunn says, is “the city that Italy wears proudly like a diamond-studded broach on the cuff of her tall boot.” From the very first page of this book, I felt like I was whisked away to the land of canals and chilled Italian gelato ice cream. It was almost comical how I could actually hear the sweet sounds of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” being played by an Italian violinist every time I opened the book. I hope I didn’t start waving my arms around like a conductor while I waited in my kids’ pick-up line (the best spot for reading).

The setting in the jewel of Italy is magnificent, and the characters captivated me as well. Jenna and Sue have been sisters-in-law for almost 30 years, yet their friendship has become tightly knit only in the last five. In exchange for cooking for a group on a retreat, the women are invited to stay in a 15th-century restored palace on a quiet Venician canal. The descriptions of this palace are breathtaking.

What’s even more fun is that Sue and Jenna decide to sleep on the roof of the palace, since the other guests need all the bedroom space. And we’re right there with them. Jenna narrates for us:

Once we managed to heave both mattresses onto the rooftop, I stood back and caught my breath. The evening air swirled with the scent of salt air and garlic. Accordian music floated our way from one of the alleyways where I could picture an Italian musician playing his or her heart out for locals who were making their evening commute on foot.

Not only do readers get to enjoy the scenery, we’re also gently pulled along into the author’s deep Christian faith. While on the rooftop, Jenna ponders her relationship with God. She remembers how He comforted her years ago when her husband left her, when her daughter was only a few months old. Even though she’d prayed fervently for her marriage to be restored, she was left alone, as a single mom. Yet God carried her through the years.

He didn’t give me any of the solutions I begged and bargained for. All God gave me was Himself. His presence. And even though I didn’t recognize it at the time, the grace of His presence was sufficient. His abiding Spirit was like the moon. A sliver of comfort and light rising even on the darkest night. This night, on the Venecian rooftop, His presence was more than sufficient. He filled heaven and earth.

I couldn’t get enough of this wonderful, faith-driven writing. And it’s laugh-out-loud funny too! Native Texan Sue brings humor to their excursions through Venice as she pronounces Italian words with her Southern drawl. I found myself picking up certain words and phrases from my reading and teaching my children how to pronounce grazie and prego. (I never knew the word Prego on all those spaghetti sauce jars means “you’re welcome!”)

I’ll keep the plot a secret so you can read it for yourself, but this trip is a season of awakening for these two women. Both have been through deep valleys — Jenna’s brother (Sue’s husband) has recently been through a horrific accident and will never fully recover. But their trip to Italy is the perfect salve to their wounds, and you can sense their refreshment as they both enter a new season of their lives. One that will be full of joy cut from the grooves of sorrow.

Now I’ve become a new Sisterchicks fan, and I can’t wait to read the other books in this bestselling series. They’ve sold more than three million copies worldwide (see — I am late to the party!). Other titles include Sisterchicks Say Ooh La La!, Sisterchicks Down Under, Sisterchicks in Sombreros, and Sisterchicks Do the Hula. Don’t they sound fun?

There’s no bad language or smut in these books. Author Robin Jones Gunn is the mother of two and has been married for 28 years. She makes her home in Portland, Oregon, and has written over 60 books in all genres! I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to discover Christian fiction. It’s so refreshing to read! I’m absolutely SICK of reading novels that have bad language — I bought a paperback at the grocery store a year ago in my ninth month of pregnancy — in complete desperation for a light-hearted distraction. I won’t say who — she’s a topselling author — but the language and immorality left me feeling defeated. In contrast, Gunn’s books inspire me and encourage my faith.

Sorry, I just discovered you’ll have to wait until May for this book to come out! But if you happen to read any of the other Sisterchicks novels, let me know what you think! Y’all know I love my armchair traveling these days. (sigh) Click here to see a cute picture of the author riding a gondola through a canal in Venice.

— Reviewed by Heather Ivester