Roseanna M. White’s Giver of Wonders

A miracle once saved her life ~ will another give her a future?

Cyprus was little more than a child when a fall left her paralyzed…and when the boy known as the wonder-worker healed her. Ever since, she has wondered why the Lord spared her, what he has in store for her. But her pagan father thinks she was spared solely so she could be introduced to the wealthy wonder-worker, Nikolaos.

Nikolaos has never questioned that his call in life is to dedicate himself to the church and to God. Never, that is, until he and his cousin Petros meet the compelling Cyprus Visibullis. For years he struggles with the feelings she inspires…and with the sure knowledge that Petros loves her too.

Petros knows he will never be good enough for Cyprus’s father to consider him as a match for his favorite daughter not as long as Nikolaos is there. But when tragedy strikes the Visibullis family, he will do anything to save his beloved. Unfortunately, his beloved is determined to do anything to save her sisters ~ even at the cost of herself.

As the festival of lights bathes their Greek city in beauty, Cyprus, Petros, and Nikolaos celebrate the miracle of their Savior s birth together one last time. And in remembrance of their Lord’s greatest gift, one of them will make the ultimate sacrifice for the others…and a centuries-long tradition will be born.

Review

I was hesitant to read this book because the premise screams ‘love triangle,’ but I picked it up anyway because White’s books mean trustworthy characters + drama+solid plot + deep faith in God=fun reading. This book was no different. My thoughts:

What I liked:

Spiritually, God is a main character in her books. There’s quite simply no other way to describe it. His presence is literally felt throughout the book. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, her books let you know she’s been with God and furthermore always make me want to spend some time with him myself.

Cyprus. She’s strong, fearless, and yet often vulnerable. She comes across as one of those heroines you can trust to do the right thing even if they make a wrong decision.

The romance. A part of the romance happens offscreen, in the sense that almost from the beginning the hero is in love with Cyprus due to his past interactions with her. We don’t get to see it much as a reader, but you certainly see the effects of it. As I’ve stated before, I was nervous about the love triangle thing, but it’s handled well. That said, Cyprus falls for her hero gradually. At times it did feel as though he was doing everything in the world to get her attention while she wasn’t doing much, but overall a solid romance built on a foundation of friendship.

The angst. It’s not a White book unless there’s drama. I was so nervous reading this book, but in a good way.

The ending. You will read the ending and then be like ‘Oh I get it.’ It’s a wonderful feeling and I learned something new.

What I didn’t like:

There was probably one plot point that had me confused. I don’t want to say too much, but, it all wraps up nicely in the end.

Romantic scale: 8

Overall, a very enjoyable book. Read it!