First Line Friday Review: The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady

First Line Friday Review: The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady

Welcome to my First Line Friday Review of The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady by Sharon J. Mondragon. This is a Contemporary Christian Women’s Fiction story published by Kregel Publications. I started and finished the book in one afternoon.

First Line of The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady:

“On the fateful Wednesday morning the final battle was engaged, Pete McIlhaney, rector of Hope of Glory Community Church, dressed himself with a sense of adventure and derring-do.”

My First Line Friday Review of The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady:

I almost put this book down before giving it a chance. While I knew she was struggling with something, she is set up as the main character after all, Margaret was written almost too perfectly as the controlling, pessimistic, in-charge-of-the-world-and-all-that-is-in-it type. However, I’d just purchased the book, and I’m not a quitter. So, no matter how much I didn’t enjoy this main character, I wanted to give the book a chance. I’d heard wonderful things about it, after all.

I’m so glad I kept reading. Very quickly, the main character was graced with an ensemble cast of equally main characters. These women, who all faced their own struggles, were easier to read about. They  gave me a measure of grace to extend to Margaret. Ranging from forties to eighties, these aren’t the women represented in most of the books I read.  I found that refreshing.

Besides, these knitters are creatives and crafters. Even though I don’t knit, I share the crafting spirit. And I love the idea that they’ve turned their love of knitting into a ministry. Though, they spend the story learning what that ministry really is about.

In addition to this wonderful cast of main characters, several side characters meandered onto the pages, sometimes for a brief period, others for an extended stay, some only on napkins tucked away in a purse. Each of these side characters bring depth to the struggles and successes of the main ensemble. The few that stay in the story from close to the beginning become almost like family to these women knitters and we readers accept them in with the same warmth.

I don’t want to get into spoilers, though the author doesn’t keep much from the reader from the beginning. Readers will have at least a general idea of each person’s struggle, if not the necessary details, right from each character’s introduction, with the exception of a couple big surprises.

Without spoilers, this book is about women who come together in ministry only to learn about themselves, find hope for their struggles, and realize God wants their ministry to be more than they ever imagined. And the women of Heavenly Hugs Prayer Shawl ministry come to this as they connect to the varied lives around them.

I give The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady five stars and look forward to reading the sequel.

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