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Tested by Fire
Tested by Fire by Kathryn Springer released on Jul 23, 2004 is available now for purchase.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 2004
4 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Kathryn Springer
60 books493 followersKathryn Springer grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, where her parents published a weekly newspaper. As a child, she spent many hours sitting at her mother’s typewriter, plunking out stories, and credits her parents for instilling in her a love of books – which eventually turned into a desire to tell stories of her own.
After a number of busy years, when she married her college sweetheart and became a stay-at-home mom, Kathryn rediscovered her love for writing. An unexpected snow day from school became the inspiration for a short story, which she submitted to Brio magazine. She went on to publish over a dozen more short stories for Brio, but it wasn’t until her youngest child started school that she decided to pursue her dream to write a book. In August 2004, her Love Inspired® debut novel, Tested by Fire, was published.
Fast forward to today and Kathryn has written over thirty novels. She lives on a lake in northern Wisconsin where she enjoys long walks in the woods and the change of seasons (although sometimes she wishes the "change" between winter and spring didn't last quite so long!) When she isn’t at the computer, you’ll find her spending time with family and friends, paging through cooking magazines or sitting in the sun. A really, really good day includes all three! If you want to know more, follow her blog Table Grace. . .thoughts and musings on living a life with nothing artificial added.
After a number of busy years, when she married her college sweetheart and became a stay-at-home mom, Kathryn rediscovered her love for writing. An unexpected snow day from school became the inspiration for a short story, which she submitted to Brio magazine. She went on to publish over a dozen more short stories for Brio, but it wasn’t until her youngest child started school that she decided to pursue her dream to write a book. In August 2004, her Love Inspired® debut novel, Tested by Fire, was published.
Fast forward to today and Kathryn has written over thirty novels. She lives on a lake in northern Wisconsin where she enjoys long walks in the woods and the change of seasons (although sometimes she wishes the "change" between winter and spring didn't last quite so long!) When she isn’t at the computer, you’ll find her spending time with family and friends, paging through cooking magazines or sitting in the sun. A really, really good day includes all three! If you want to know more, follow her blog Table Grace. . .thoughts and musings on living a life with nothing artificial added.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 1, 2021
3.5 stars
What I liked:
*The friendship between John and Chief Kelly that has endured through many things and over many years.
*That the Averys and the Kellys persisted in trying to pull John into friendships even though he seems resistant.
*That Finn prays (and reads her Bible) and that she talks to John about faith (as does her brother Ryan)
What I didn't like:
*How Finn was treated at work. Quite a few chauvinists on the police force--even the one she thought she could trust.
*How they found John's sister wasn't very realistic. Can God bring long lost siblings together that way? Sure. But it's rare that it happens this way in real life, so it seemed a bit deus ex machina. (That said, I never thought of the possibility she could be his sister even knowing her name prior to her becoming a character in the book.)
What I liked:
*The friendship between John and Chief Kelly that has endured through many things and over many years.
*That the Averys and the Kellys persisted in trying to pull John into friendships even though he seems resistant.
*That Finn prays (and reads her Bible) and that she talks to John about faith (as does her brother Ryan)
What I didn't like:
*How Finn was treated at work. Quite a few chauvinists on the police force--even the one she thought she could trust.
*How they found John's sister wasn't very realistic. Can God bring long lost siblings together that way? Sure. But it's rare that it happens this way in real life, so it seemed a bit deus ex machina. (That said, I never thought of the possibility she could be his sister even knowing her name prior to her becoming a character in the book.)
July 5, 2018
Wow! I recommend this book to anyone who likes mild suspense with a good story and powerful message. The whole testing by fire thing is a tough lesson, but it is one that brings us closer to the Lord. I love how God can change someone, knock down their walls and put their trust and focus where it belongs. Very very good!
February 9, 2024
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
I read this book as a teenager, and it has stuck with me. I reread it, and it did not let me down.
Reading it as an adult added so much more to the book. It was genuinely beautiful and has crazy as it sounds, relatable despite all the unique aspects of it.
Another win for the Christian fiction romance world.
I read this book as a teenager, and it has stuck with me. I reread it, and it did not let me down.
Reading it as an adult added so much more to the book. It was genuinely beautiful and has crazy as it sounds, relatable despite all the unique aspects of it.
Another win for the Christian fiction romance world.
October 23, 2013
Love 'Inspired', yet again... but this time? I enjoyed it.
It wasn't a stellar book. The plot was predictable. The 'finding' of John's sister so preposterous, the secondary characters were formula, at best... but it was *GOOD*. Because of who the people in the story are. And because for the first time in the history of EVER, the Bible was an intricate part of the story. Verses weren't just platitudes, they were LIVED, they were woven into the characters, they meant something. It was... okay, I really, really needed this book. It was perfect, for me.
John was a cop, until he saved his superior officer's life in a fire, and was badly burned in exchange. He's been working in internet crime with a private investigative company ever since. The superior officer is now retired, but there's a cop in every generation... and this generation's cop is Finn - a little girl with red-hair who puts violets in her iced tea and wears sundresses on her day off. She *had* to be a cop, because her brother blew out his knee in high school, and someone had to do it. But the guys in her precinct call her 'milkmaid' and someone is sabotaging her, trying to get her thrown out at the end of her probationary period.
Her grandpa knows something is bothering her, that something's wrong at the cop shop. But Finn won't disturb him (he's had two heart attacks this summer) with her problems, so he asks John to come in and try to befriend Finn and find out what's going on. And okay, the old man wants John to fall for his granddaughter.
It's a delightful story. I loved Diane/Neil, I loved the way Finn primped in the mirror at corners and the way John was secretly training her police academy drop-out dog. I liked the honesty and directness of the characters. It was a FANTASTIC book. I may have to buy this one!
It wasn't a stellar book. The plot was predictable. The 'finding' of John's sister so preposterous, the secondary characters were formula, at best... but it was *GOOD*. Because of who the people in the story are. And because for the first time in the history of EVER, the Bible was an intricate part of the story. Verses weren't just platitudes, they were LIVED, they were woven into the characters, they meant something. It was... okay, I really, really needed this book. It was perfect, for me.
John was a cop, until he saved his superior officer's life in a fire, and was badly burned in exchange. He's been working in internet crime with a private investigative company ever since. The superior officer is now retired, but there's a cop in every generation... and this generation's cop is Finn - a little girl with red-hair who puts violets in her iced tea and wears sundresses on her day off. She *had* to be a cop, because her brother blew out his knee in high school, and someone had to do it. But the guys in her precinct call her 'milkmaid' and someone is sabotaging her, trying to get her thrown out at the end of her probationary period.
Her grandpa knows something is bothering her, that something's wrong at the cop shop. But Finn won't disturb him (he's had two heart attacks this summer) with her problems, so he asks John to come in and try to befriend Finn and find out what's going on. And okay, the old man wants John to fall for his granddaughter.
It's a delightful story. I loved Diane/Neil, I loved the way Finn primped in the mirror at corners and the way John was secretly training her police academy drop-out dog. I liked the honesty and directness of the characters. It was a FANTASTIC book. I may have to buy this one!
October 4, 2012
I liked this book. It was clean and romantic. I like the characters. The story line was very interesting to me.Ex-cop John Gabriel was asked to do an old frien a favor and investigate his Grandchilds issue at the police station, John was shocked and angry to see that Finn wasn't a boy, but a beautiful woman.
October 26, 2011
Favorite quote: "Faith is a fit that God helps you open."
June 28, 2010
Quick read. I enjoyed several of this author's other books so I was glad to read the first!
September 10, 2014
Superb! Man caught in a fire is later hired to find out who is sabotaging a woman's job. Intense and well-plotted.
March 1, 2016
Very good Romance with a Christian basis.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews