In the Field of Grace Book Review

In the Field of Grace

Tessa Afshar

Rating (out of 5): 4

Genre: Inspirational Historical Fiction

Release Date: July 1, 2014

Series: None

Series Volume:N/A

Profanity: None

Violence: None

Sexual Content: None

Age Recommendation: 12+

Author Website:http://www.tessaafshar.com/




Summary:

Destitute, grief-stricken, and unwanted by the people of God, Ruth arrives in Israel with nothing to recommend her but Naomi's, love. Her loftiest hope is to provide enough food to save Naomi and herself from starvation.

But God has other plans for her life. While everyone considers Ruth an outcast, she is astounded to find one of the most honored men of Judah showing her favor.  Long since a widower and determined to stay that way, Boaz is irresistibly drawn to the foreign woman with the haunted eyes. He tells himself he is only being kind to his Cousin Naomi's chosen daughter when he goes out of his way to protect her from harm, but his heart knows better.

Based on the biblical account of Ruth, In the Field of Grace is the story of a love that ultimately changes the course of Israel's destiny and the future of the whole world.

Review:

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this book. This is is first time I've read a fictionalized account of a book from the Bible so I was both curious and excited when I got this book. In the Field of Grace is a well crafted book that stays true to the book of Ruth. The author does a wonderful job of balancing fact and fiction and paints a beautiful picture of what Ruth may have gone through on her journey.

The book started out feeling a little slow, but the pace picked up as I continued reading through it.The story, as I've said, stays true to the book of Ruth. The author adds in a good amount of detail about the character's surroundings and paints a vivid picture of what life was like for Ruth and her family. I never felt lost or confused by an aspect of their culture, everything was explained or written in a way that the reader could understand what was going on.

Tessa Afshar does a great job of pulling us inside Ruth's mind even while writing in third person. I really enjoyed reading from both her and Boaz's perspectives throughout the book, though sometimes it was hard to distinguish when the perspective changed. Each of the other characters were well written and stayed true to their historical counterparts. The fictionalized characters were fully fleshed out and I really enjoyed getting to know them. 

I really enjoyed the way the author went through the entire book of Ruth instead of simply stopping at the marriage and giving us a summary of what happened next in an epilogue. I found it both surprising and interesting that she chose to do it this way. I didn't expect a full chapter on Ruth and Boaz's lives after their wedding much less the 3-4 more chapters that we got. It was a great passage of the book that wrapped up any and all loose threads of the story.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was the epilogue. It seemed random and it really pulled me out of the story. I can understand why the author put it in, but the fact that we jumped so many years into the future with little to no explanation was jarring. 

Overall the book was a good read. It was a wonderful chance to re-visit one of my favorite books of the Bible and I really enjoyed getting a glimpse into what life may have been like for Ruth and her family. I would recommend it to anyone in need of a good historical, inspirational, or romantic read. 


Note: I received an electronic copy of this book from Netgalley for my fair and honest opinion as I have stated above. 


~Dawn 

 

Full Steam Ahead Book Review

Full Steam Ahead

Karen Witemeyer

Rating (out of 5): 5

Genre: Inspirational Historical Romance

Release Date: June 3, 2014

Series: N/A

Series Volume: N/A

Profanity: None

Violence: Mild

Sexual Content: None  

Age Recommendation: 13+

Author Website:http://www.karenwitemeyer.com/





Summary (found on Author's Website): Nicole Renard returns home to Galveston and finds her father deathly ill. Though she loves him, he's only ever focused on what she's not. Not male. Not married. Not able to run Renard Shipping.

Vowing to secure a suitable husband to give her father the heir he desires before it's too late, Nicole sets out with the Renard family's greatest treasure as her dowry: the highly coveted Lafitte Dagger. But when her father's rivals come after the dagger, she's forced to change her destination.

Darius Thornton has been a man obsessed since the fatal boiler explosion aboard the Louisiana that nearly took his life. He will do anything to stop such disasters. Even hire a female secretary. Sure he can ignore the distraction of her pretty face, he's not sure how to proceed when drawn to her clever mind.

Nicole is determined not to let her odd employer scare her off with his explosive experiments, yet when respect and mutual attraction grows between them, a new fear arises. How can she acquire an heir for her father when her heart belongs to an unsuitable candidate? And worse, when her father's rivals discover her hiding place, she will have to choose between that love and her family's legacy.

Review:

Karen Witemeyer does it again with Full Steam Ahead. This is her newest book and I've found it to be her best so far. The writing is quick and witty and the story is very well rounded out and put together.

Full Steam Ahead is an engaging story about the feisty Nicole Renard who in an effort to find an heir for her ailing father's shipping company sets off for New Orleans to find a husband. Events however send her off course to a little town in Texas where she must find a way to earn enough money to make her way to New Orleans. Fortunately she finds work for Darius Thornton a man obsessed with finding a way to make travel on steamships safer. He is an unconventional scientist who has little time for anything other than his experiments, let alone love, and  just may turn out to be the perfect man Nicole set out to find in the first place.

As always Karen Witemeyer is a very creative and cleaver author. Her writing flows well throughout the story and there were no major plot holes in the story. Full Steam Ahead wasn't as funny as some of her other books but it still had moments where I found myself giggling at a paragraph or conversation going on in the book.

Karen Witemeyer's books may be romance's but they are never dull. She always manages to add suspense and danger in her books and her latest is no exception. After reading the summary I was expecting the Jenkins brothers to show up more often than they did, but after meeting them I'm glad that expectation wasn't fulfilled. They are great villains who cause more than their fair share of trouble for both Nicole and Darius. I found myself on the edge of my seat often, eager to see how things would turn out.

From the main characters to the one's who only show up once or twice all of the people who show up in this book are very well written. Nicole and Darius were both very endearing with personalities that made me like them instantly. Their successes and flaws were well rounded and I never found just one thing about either of them overpowering. The minor characters were all very delightful as well. I would have liked to have seen a little more of Nicole's parents, because they seemed like they could have added quite a bit to the story, but I also understand why they were absent for most of the story.
One of my favorite things about Karen's books is the spiritual aspect of them. Her books always deal with issues or questions Christians face daily and she always does a great job writing about these things. Full Steam Ahead was no different. I found myself moved as I read about how Darius struggled with forgiving himself for the Louisiana steam boat accident and inspired when Nicole helped him to see through his struggle and rely on God's love, forgiveness, and grace. This book has come at a moment where I needed to read the words that Nicole told Darius almost as much as he did and I hope that they have a similar effect on others who read Full Steam Ahead.

There are however a few things that I didn't like while reading through the book. About halfway through the book the romance began to really build and heat up, which was good. What wasn't was the fact that Darius' personality seemed to change almost instantly. There are a few events that push this happening, but I felt that he lost a little too much of his personality in his sudden rush of emotion for Nicole. He was still Darius, there was just something missing. Another thing that is nagging at me is the fact that closer to the end a lot of effort is put into letting the reader know about a ring, this ring does show up, but it is immediately forgotten and never brought up again in the book. This isn't a major issue, but it would have been nice to have a final mention of it somewhere at the end.

Full Steam Ahead was an excellent read, one that I would read again. It's historical setting is lush and beautiful and well written. It will lift your spirits and hopefully inspire you to trust in God a little more. I give it 5 out of 5 stars and would most certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a good historical read, romance, inspirational book, or all of the above.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for my fair and honest review which I have stated above.

~Dawn

Stravaganza: City of Masks Book Review

 Stravaganza: City of Masks 

Mary Hoffman

Rating (out of 5): 5

Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction/Fantasy

Release Date: February 1, 2011

Series: Stravaganza

Series Volume: 1

Profanity: None

Violence: Mild

Sexual Content: None 

Age Recommendation: 8+

Author Website: http://www.maryhoffman.co.uk/

Summary (found on Amazon):

Lucien is very sick with cancer and struggles with his parents' worry every day. But each night, through a magical gift from his father, his mind is transported to an enchanting city, Bellezza, a parallel city to Venice of our world. In Bellezza, Lucien discovers that he is a Stravagante, a rare person able to travel through worlds while sleeping.Befriended by a local girl and protected by an older Stravagante, Lucien uncovers a plot to murder the city's beloved ruler, the Duchessa. But to save the Duchessa and the city Lucien risks his only chance to return home to family and his real life. The well-paced, thick-with-plot story will hook the reader immediately and not let go until the superb, unexpected end. City of Masks is the first in the acclaimed Stravaganza series from the gifted Mary Hoffman.

Review:

This is my second time reading this book, and I enjoyed it just as much this time as I did the last time I read it. This is one of my favorite Historical Fiction/Fantasy series and for good reason. Mary Hoffman does an excellent job of reproducing the feel of a historical Italy while at the same time not having to be completely accurate, since it is in an alternate form.

Lucien is a young man who has cancer. While he is recovering from his latest bout with the illness he is given a journal by his father. This journal is more than a way to communicated with his parents when his throat is too sore for him to talk, it is a talisman that allows Lucien to travel to an alternate form of Venice. What follows is a tale of adventure and excitement, with a little history mixed in.  

The world Mary Hoffman builds in this book is so wonderful. It's a delightful step back in the past, but at the same time a step into another world. Bellezza is a beautiful city that makes me want to go visit Venice just to get a feel for what things are like for Lucien and his friends. The magic, or shall I say science, is delightfully woven into the story and done in such a way I almost want to look for a talisman myself. And the bits of historical information are a delight to read about. 

The characters are live and engaging and Hoffman does an excellent job of displaying Lucien's situation in a way that we are sympathetic and get a feel for what he's going through, but his illness doesn't rule the story. Each character, main and minor, feels like they have a real personality. Most of them jump off the page and stand out making them easy to distinguish from one another. And I can't help but love the good guys and the bad in this book.

I love the way this is told from third person, YA isn't often written in this POV and I really enjoy getting to read it. It could be because I prefer writing in third person myself or I just prefer the way third person reads. The reader is allowed to get into the characters heads, but we don't have to live there for the whole book. It helped me to get to know each character, and not only the main ones, but the minors as well. I liked the wide arching feel that it gave the book.

The pacing in City of Masks is very good, it's never too fast and rarely feels slow. The story goes a lot of places and covers a good deal of time but every scene feels like it belongs. I enjoyed the back and forth between Bellezza and the modern world and the transitions were very well done. It was interesting to see how Lucien reacted to each one, and how the two of them affected one another. There aren't many shockers in this book, but when you get to them they do surprise you. Even reading through this a second time I was still on the edge of my seat at certain points waiting and hoping to see what happened to some of my favorite characters.

City of Masks is a fun engaging historical read that will take you further than the past and make history fun. The other books in this series are also all very good and I highly recommend the entire series to anyone needing a good historical fiction, story about Italy, light fantasy, or just good read.

~Dawn

Stealing the Preacher Book Review

Stealing the Preacher

Karen Witemeyer

Rating (out of 5): 5

Genre: Christian/Historical Fiction

Release Date: Jun 1, 2013

Series: None, but one related book: Short Straw Bride

Violence/Profanity/mature content: Mild violence, none of the rest

Age: Young Adult +

Author’s Website: http://www.karenwitemeyer.com/

Book Summary (from author’s website):

On his way to interview for a position at a church in the Piney Woods of Texas, Crockett Archer can scarcely believe it when he’s forced off the train by a retired outlaw and presented to the man’s daughter as the minister she requested for her birthday. Worried this unfortunate detour will ruin his chances of finally serving a congregation of his own, Crockett is determined to escape. But when he finally gets away, he’s haunted by the memory of the young woman he left behind—a woman whose dreams now hinge on him.

For months, Joanna Robbins prayed for a preacher. A man to breathe life back into the abandoned church at the heart of her community. A man to assist her in fulfilling a promise to her dying mother. A man to help her discover answers to the questions that have been on her heart for so long. But just when it seems God has answered her prayers, it turns out the parson is there against his will and has dreams of his own calling him elsewhere. Is there any way she can convince Crockett to stay in her little backwoods community? And does the attraction between them have any chance of blossoming when Joanna’s outlaw father is dead-set against his daughter courting a preacher?

Review:

This is the third book by Karen Witemeyer that I’ve read and I must say that she hasn’t let me down yet. Stealing the preacher is a delightful read that captivates you (literally) from the very first chapter.

It doesn’t take long to see where the title comes in to play in this book as Crockett Archer, on his way to a new preaching position, finds himself kidnapped from the train and hauled off as a birthday present for the outlaw’s daughter. Joanna Robbins has been praying for a preacher to come and is more than a little surprised when one shows up in the most unconventional of ways. The two of them end up working together to both unite their community and lead Joanna’s father into the faith.

There is more to this story than just the main characters (as delightful as they are) and every one of the characters in this book add life and depth to the story from Joanna’s grumpy but loveable father to the rambunctious neighbor Jackson. And as I learned more about each character especially Joanna’s father, I fell more and more in love with the book.

Karen’s writing style is another thing that I enjoyed. I can be picky when it comes to an author’s voice or style, but no fear with Ms. Witemeyer. Her descriptions are delightful, weather it’s a picturesque church service or a thunderous rainstorm each scene is written in a way that makes the words come to life as I’m reading them. As for the book’s third person point of view her switching between the characters never left me jarred or confused as sometimes happens in books. Her style kept me engulfed in the story and never faltered keeping my attention solely on the book.

My only discrepancy was the way Crockett handled the situation with Holly. I won’t spoil it for you, but it just reaffirms to me that when doing ministry with the opposite gender always have a third person with you to back up the situation.

This story is one that balances, fun, laughter, faith, and redemption with a flair of action and danger to keep one turning page after page until the book is done. 

~Dawn