Month: October 2012

Posted in Historical

Joanne Bischof’s Be Still My Soul

Posted on by remaininhislove

About
Night’s chill tickled her skin. Lonnie pressed her hands together and glanced up. He was even more handsome up close. Having grown up the shy, awkward daughter of Joel Sawyer, she’d hardly spoken to any boy, let alone the one who had mothers whispering warnings in their daughter’s ears and fathers loading shotguns.

Pretty Lonnie Sawyer is shy and innocent, used to fading into the background within her family, and among the creeks and hollows of the Appalachian hills. Though her family is poor and her father abusive, she clings to a quiet faith. But when handsome ladies’ man and bluegrass musician Gideon O’Riley steals a kiss, that one action seals her fate.

Her father forces her into a hasty marriage with Gideon—a man she barely knows and does not love. Equally frustrated and confused by his new responsibilities, Gideon yearns for a fresh start, forcing Lonnie on an arduous journey away from her home in Rocky Knob.

Her distant groom can’t seem to surrender his rage at the injustice of the forced matrimony or give Lonnie any claim in his life. What will it take for Gideon to give up his past, embrace Lonnie’s God, and discover a hope that can heal their two fractured hearts?

Review

I thought this novel was full of originality. It took place in the Appalachian Mountains and I haven’t read many books in this area, the hero was not a hero for most of the book, and it focused on marriage more so than romance. But back to Gideon, the non-hero, there were quite a lot of times in the novel that I thought to myself what a loser. But this guy grows on you. To be perfectly honest, he was a realistic portrayal of a young man who got married too young and with bad examples of marriage before him. But once he has that good example, his character begins to slowly develop into a good man. He was definitely the most interesting person in the novel and I felt the novel was more geared to his growth than to the romance (though you see some of that as well). Spiritually, Gideon has to realize that he is not in control and Lonnie learns to hold on to God’s promises in regards to her marriage. This is certainly an interesting novel! Recommended.

Posted in Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense

Kristen Heitzmann’s The Breath of Dawn

Posted on by remaininhislove

About
Morgan Spencer has had just about all he can take of life. Following the tragic death of his wife, Jill, he retreats to his brother’s Rocky Mountain ranch to heal and focus on the care of his infant daughter, Olivia. Two years later, Morgan begins to make plans to return to his home in Santa Barbara to pick up the pieces of his life and career.

Quinn Riley has been avoiding her past for four years. Standing up for the truth has forced her into a life of fear and isolation. After a “chance” first meeting and a Thanksgiving snowstorm, Quinn is drawn into the Spencer family’s warm and loving world, and she begins to believe she might find freedom in their friendship.

The man Quinn helped put behind bars has recently been released, however, and she fears her past will endanger the entire Spencer family. As the danger heightens, she determines to leave town for the sake of the people who have come to mean so much to her.

Fixing problems is what Morgan Spencer does best, and he is not willing to let Quinn run away, possibly into the clutches of a man bent on revenge. But Morgan’s solution sends him and Quinn on an unexpected path, with repercussions neither could have anticipated.

Review
When I finished this book, my first thought was, what a way to bring in the month of October! But, I’ll get back to that statement later. When I first saw what this book was about, I could not understand why Ms. Heitzmann wanted to put poor Morgan Spencer through the wringer again. I felt so sorry for him. That said, this book is a keeper. There is something about Ms. Heitzmann’s character development that seems effortless, I want to keep reading just to know her characters more. I enjoyed Quinn’s character, loved Morgan’s throughout the series, and was glad to hang out with Rick and Noelle again. They mystery was interesting, but not overpowering the story, the romance made sense, and the writing was on point. Now back to the October comment, there was a layer of creepiness in the story that had me looking over my shoulder and jumping at every creak in the house. Perfect for the month of Halloween. Spiritually, Morgan is going through a test of faith which is not surprising if you’ve read the previous novels and we learn that there is power in the name of Jesus. Thoroughly satisfying, highly recommended!

**I recieved this copy from Netgalley. My opinion was not affected in any way.**

Posted in Personal

Monday Musings…Why Books Should Have Happy Endings

Posted on by remaininhislove

The idea for this post came out of a book I recently read. I loved the storyline, the romance was on point… and then a main character died at the end of the novel. To say I was disheartened doesn’t quite cover it. So it got me thinking, should books always have happy endings? My answer is unequivocally yes and here’s why:

1) It’s called fiction for a reason. There’s a relatively old movie called The Breakup, and I remember my cousin told me she didn’t like it because it was too much like real life. And that got me thinking. If I want real life, I can read newspapers. In my opinion, a novel is supposed to pick you up and set you in places you’ve never been and introduce you to people you’ve never met. In other words, it is escapism not reality, so although it makes sense for a main character to die after doing xyz, it’s fiction. Let ’em live.

2) I want to be entertained. I saw the movie Million Dollar Baby and I can barely remember the plot or whether or not the acting was good. What I do remember is my dad handing me wrinkled napkins and sobbing into his shoulder. Hated that movie. I have a rule and it’s called I don’t pay to leave depressed. The same rule applies to books. I want to be entertained. I want to feel like I’m glad I bought that book instead of wanting to throw it across the room.

3) I need closure. Has anyone seen Gone with the Wind? I have (book is better!) and let me tell you, never has there been a more annoying character on the face of the earth than Scarlett O’Hara, but still, that ending gets me every single time. Did it make sense for Rhett to leave? Yes, but my romantic heart was like that’s it! That’s how it ends! I think readers need closure and unhappy endings leave me feeling like the book isn’t finished and then I feel like I’ve wasted my time.

4) Unhappy endings have me questioning the purpose of the book. Titanic. Everyone has seen it, I’m sure. I have no problem with books that deal with tragic circumstances. If the director had allowed the Titanic to reach America that would have been a problem. And for that fact, I’m not saying no one can die in novels. I just have a problem with endings that leave me thinking what the mess? After Jack died (hope I didn’t give it away), I kept wondering what the point of the movie was exactly. Are you trying to make me cry?

5) I don’t want to have to pray myself to sleep. Ever see a movie that just disturbs your spirit? It’s not scary, but there’s just something about it (I’m not going to name the one I’m thinking of) that makes you want to leave the light on at night? Please don’t do that to me as a reader. Don’t make me put down your book and realize I now have to pray myself to sleep and not in a good way. This kind of praying is please Jesus don’t give me nightmares praying. I fail to comprehend why that is ok.

6) It gives the reader something to hold onto. I love to know the endings of books and movies, but I don’t want to know the details. So how does this translate exactly? Sometimes, when I pick up a new author, I’ll flip to the last page, try to ignore names and just make sure it ends with two people in love with each other. That way, when I start the novel, no matter how much drama there is, or whatever is thrown the couple’s way, I know in the end they will get together. That means a lot to people (chick flicks anyone?). When I have no clue as to what will happen cause it’s just one of those movies where lots of people are dying (Hotel Rwanda), I can just feel my blood pressure rising and my heart skipping beats. It’s like being on a roller coaster, and I don’t like roller coasters. I can take the bad stuff in books and movies better, if I know the main characters will come out good in the end. Yes, it’s a cop out, but that’s how I’m wired.

So anyone disagree? Anyone love sad endings? Anyone feel they’re necessary? Thoughts?