Friday, June 25, 2010

Sixteen Brides

I don't know where to start with this review of Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson. I guess I will start with the title. The title scared me at first. How in the world was I going to keep up with sixteen different people in one book? Thankfully, the "brides" were narrowed down to only 6 that I had to keep straight. I am a mother to three young children, so several days might go by without picking up a book. This made it challenging to keep up with even just 6 women. The "brides" were taken to Nebraska on the pretense of homesteading. When they discovered they had been deceived and were intended to be brides, several of them decided to go no farther. They chose to homestead as they originally intended. I enjoyed the story line, but I think it was a bit too much for one book. I found myself having to reread in order to keep everything straight. When I read a book I want to be able to remember and follow the story line even if it is a couple of days since I last picked up the book. I appreciate the fact that God's provision, watch care, and forgiveness is evident throughout the book. The ending seemed rather abrupt to me. The women had just finished setting up their homestead and now most of them are going to get married. I don't know how it could or should have ended. There were just too many loose ends to tie up. I felt like I was left hanging. All in all I'm really not sure about this book. It was an interesting read but awfully confusing.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for sending me a free copy of this book to preview.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Hearts Awakening

It has been awhile since I have read anything by Delia Parr, so I was looking forward to reading the book Hearts Awakening. I was not disappointed! A young woman becomes housekeeper for a man and his two young sons, and is presented with a marriage proposal after only a couple of days. Scandal surrounds this man, Jackson, and Ellie has no hope of another proposal. Her age and looks have determined her status, so Ellie accepts his proposal. Life is not easy for Ellie, but her faith in God's Word and His promises guide her steps and decisions. Her faithfulness is rewarded when Jackson surrenders his life to Christ, and offers Ellie his heart. This is a story full of laughter, tears, anger, and love. It will challenge and inspire the reader. I will be happy to recommend this book to others. Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for sending me a free copy of this book to preview. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

She Walks in Beauty

I finished the book, She Walks in Beauty, by Siri Mitchell. I have never read anything by this author before and enjoyed reading her book. This book is about a young girl preparing to enter society with the intention of finding a husband. The husband she is to find has already been determined by her aunt and father, and she is to win him at all costs. At first I thought the book seemed a bit overdone, but as I continued to read I decided that I just didn't realize what all went into preparing a girl to debut. However, I still think that some things could have been told with fewer words. There was just the right amount of humor scattered throughout the book that added to the enjoyment. The plot was simple and allowed me to read without having to think. Having said all that I am also very disappointed in this book. A christian author publishing through a christian publisher has such a huge opportunity as well as a responsibility to present the gospel or a christian theme very clearly. Although the main character questions her worth to God the idea was not developed or resolved using God' Word. In fact, on page 340 the author writes, "In fact, I now suspected, her entire theology had been taken from the hymnal." Now I am not against good hymns, and I know that they can be a blessing and an encouragement, but why would the author throw away such a perfect opportunity to present God's Word the Bible as the ultimate authority for our "entire theology?"

I do want to thank Bethany House Publishers for sending me a free copy of this book to preview. I did enjoy reading it.