Recent Reads {The Pelican Bride}

The Pelican Bride by Beth White - I don't think I would have found this delightful historical romance on my own, so I'm glad that a couple of book blogs I follow happened to mention it. The cover and title were enough to spark my interest! This is the first in a series, with the second book planned for release in spring of 2015.

I haven't seen many historical novels that deal with this particular setting - the French colonies of the Gulf Coast, so that made it quite intriguing. The main character is Genevieve Gaillain, a young Huguenot Frenchwoman who travels with her younger sister and a number of other young French ladies to the Louisiana colony, agreeing to marry one of the French men establishing the colony. The twist is that the colonists are expected to be staunch Catholics (by order of King Louis - and the persecution of Huguenots is going on in France at this time, the year 1704), so Genevieve must keep her faith a secret. She catches the eye of Tristan Lanier almost immediately, and it seems he has his own secrets. Tristan is a cartographer who wants to keep his distance from the French colonists and especially the soldiers in the fort, and initially declares that he has no intention of taking a wife. But as is the way of romance novels, he and Genevieve do marry and there is a growing and genuine affection between them that is threatened by the dangerous times in which they live and by those who are plotting against them and the entire colony and would betray them all.

From the first chapter, I was drawn into the story and found the book hard to put down. It is well-written with complex characters and layered plots that sometimes took unexpected twists. I did have trouble keeping some of the characters straight near the beginning of the book, when they were referred to with only a first name and I had to remember which last name it went with. As I got further into it, the characters got settled in my memory though. The only other thing that puzzled me was near the end - there are a couple of sections in which the narrative focuses on the point of view of the Indian woman Nika, and the names were written in the narrative and in the dialogue as the Indian character pronounced them (Marc-Antoine was referred to as Mah-Kah-Twah). Although this did reinforce that the action was being described as Nika would have perceived it, I found it a little odd to see a French character addressing another as Mah-Kah-Twah, or to see the Indian pronunciation used in the narrative, even though the narrative was still in third person.

I will be looking forward to next installment in this series!

(Book #21 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

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Recent Reads {Sticky Faith}

Sticky Faith by Dr Kara E. Powell & Dr Chap Clark - Truth is, I've read this through at least a couple times now. I first read it sometime last year, but over the past three months, I've been leading a small group at church that has been watching the accompanying video lessons, reading the book, and discussing it.

In a nutshell, the FYI team looked at polls and interviews focusing on young adults that had been involved in their church youth groups as teens, and tried to determine if there were any patterns or insights as to which of those kids stuck with the Christian faith they'd been raised with, returned to it after drifting, or walked away. As Christian parents, we definitely want our kids to have "sticky faith" - the kind that is their own (not just borrowed from the parents or youth pastor) and will sustain them through the difficult decisions and circumstances they will face in college and beyond. This book highlights the kinds of interactions, relationships, and attitudes that make the most positive impact on kids - and suggests and encourages ways to guide kids towards making their faith solid and lasting. Of course, we can't do that for them, but we can live out our own faith as an example; we can help our churches develop healthy and vibrant ministries to youth; and there are many things that we can do that make it easier for kids to work through the inevitable questions and growing pains in ways that build their budding faith.

Some of the research findings may surprise you or challenge you. The value of teen missions trips was one that sparked quite a bit of discussion within our group. You may also find, as we did, that there are many things you're doing right as parents and as a church, and be encouraged by that.

Each chapter includes several questions to help the reader apply the information, or for getting group discussion started. In our group, we also used the available video with five teaching sessions. There is also a youth worker edition of the book (which I also have read) that shares much of the same information, but presented for the benefit of youth pastors and directors of youth ministries.



(Book #20 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

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WWW Wednesdays - May 14, 2014

Should Be Reading hosts this weekly update on what we're reading, what we recently finished reading, and what's next.

• What are you currently reading?  I'm a short way into The Shadow Lamp by Stephen R Lawhead, and have started on Voyager by Diana Gabaldon. One of my holds at the library came in a little sooner than I expected, so I started working on that one too - The Pelican Bride by Beth White. Meet the Skeptic by Bill Foster is still open on my Kindle, but I don't think I looked at it this week.

   

   

• What did you recently finish reading?  I finished The Truth About Mr Darcy by Susan Adriani. It was better than a lot of JAFF, but certainly not fantastic. (Read my thoughts on this book.)

• What do you think you'll read next?  When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert is next for non-fiction. Fiction? Who knows! 

What are you reading? Anyone can join in this link-up by answering these three questions. Visit Should Be Reading to find out more.

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {The Truth About Mr Darcy}

The Truth About Mr Darcy by Susan Adriani - I have to say that this was a book that had a lot of promise, but disappointed me in some ways as well. Adriani tells her version of the Darcy and Elizabeth love story by having Mr Darcy decide to enlighten Elizabeth about George Wickham's character almost immediately after seeing them together in Meryton. This has the advantage of cautioning Elizabeth against becoming interested in Wickham, but also alerts Wickham to Darcy's interest in Elizabeth and gives him a weapon to use against Darcy. As a result, Darcy also makes his first proposal to Elizabeth very early on, and although she does turn him down (because she is still taken very much by surprise that he admires her at all), she agrees to allow him to court her. Their relationship moves from tentative courtship to passionate love (and inappropriate intimacy) very quickly. 

I was actually impressed with the quality of writing, and even enjoyed some borrowed pieces of dialogue and phrases from Austen's original work being inserted into new contexts. However, I think that Adriani has cheapened her otherwise fine writing by resorting to graphic bedroom scenes, and in so doing has also sullied the characters of Darcy and Elizabeth. It's unfortunate that she could not have told this story without reducing these beloved characters to being so driven by lust that they lose all sense of propriety, courteous manners and self-control. While Darcy loves Elizabeth unreservedly and will go to great lengths to convince her to accept his proposal and to protect her and her family, he also acts thoughtlessly regarding her reputation and is generally quite unable to curb his lust for her. Elizabeth shows signs of being the witty and teasing young lady we remember from Pride and Prejudice, but also succumbs to tears and headaches and distress more often than I would believe of the character Austen created. She also acts as if satisfying their physical cravings takes precedence over morality and good manners. 

Also, I am still trying to figure out how the book title and cover relates to the story told within. Rather than "There's never a perfect time... to bare your soul..." a more appropriate tagline might be "There's never an appropriate time... to engage in lust in public..."

(Book #19 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

WWW Wednesdays - May 7, 2014

Should Be Reading hosts this weekly update on what we're reading, what we recently finished reading, and what's next. I am late this week!

• What are you currently reading?  I'd barely started The Shadow Lamp by Stephen R Lawhead when something caught my eye at the library, so I started that too - The Truth about Mr. Darcy by Susan Adriani. Meet the Skeptic by Bill Foster is still open on my Kindle.

   

• What did you recently finish reading?  I finished Falling In Love Again by Marie Higgins (Read my thoughts on this book.) and Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick. (Read my thoughts on this book.)

   

• What do you think you'll read next?  When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert is next for non-fiction. And I just received the third in the Outlander series from the library, so Voyager by Diana Gabaldon is my next choice for fiction.

   

What are you reading? Anyone can join in this link-up by answering these three questions. Visit Should Be Reading to find out more.

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {Lady of the English}

Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick - The historical novels by Elizabeth Chadwick have been on my to-read list for quite some time, as she is known as an outstanding author of medieval era historical fiction. At last I managed to grab a book from the library and introduce myself to this author. I chose Lady of the English, which tells the story of Matilda, daughter of King Henry I. Matilda was a forceful and determined character, and her fight for the throne of England after her father's death is perhaps not a well-known piece of history. She is usually not presented in a very favorable light either, at least not that I've seen. The other prominent figure in the story is her stepmother, Adeliza, wife of Henry I. Adeliza was Henry's queen at the time that he died, but she was childless, which led to the upheaval as conflict as to who would inherit the throne. Henry had had his nobles swear allegiance to Matilda and to her son (who would become Henry II in due time) on three different occasions, but one of the nobles claimed that while Henry was on his deathbed he had absolved the nobles of that oath, preferring his nephew Stephen of Blois as his successor. Doubt among many of the nobles and Matilda herself led to war, and Stephen's reign was marked by the conflict.

Chadwick develops the characters of Matilda and Adeliza, with a bond of friendship between them, and brings these two women to life in the pages of the novel. She fleshes out distinct personalities and weaves together the relationships, struggles for power and love, and the highs and lows of their lives and loves in a very believable way. The Author's Note at the end reminds the reader that many of the details in the novel were from the author's imagination, spurred by research.

Although Matilda was not always a likable character, she had an admirable strength and perseverance, and this novel does a lovely job of telling her story and imagining more about what she and those around her were like. I sometimes got sidetracked and was willing to take a break from reading, but overall I enjoyed the book and I certainly will be putting more of Chadwick's work on my to-read list.

(Book #18 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

 

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Recent Reads {Falling In Love Again}

Falling in Love Again by Marie Higgins - Once again, the mention of a pirate tempted me to read a book I may not have noticed otherwise. This is actually the second in a trilogy of Colonial Romances by Marie Higgins, but was certainly able to stand alone as well, since I had not read the first installment.

The story is about a pirate turned highwayman that is trying to uncover secrets from the Royal Navy. Marcus Thorne lives a double life, going back and forth between his shipping business in New York and leading his gang of highwaymen. As the story opens, his gang has taken a group of travelers prisoner, including Isabelle Stanhope. Marcus recognizes her as the daughter of an enemy and decides to exact his revenge through her. Some Stockholm Syndrome thing happens, and the two begin falling in love - after she has tried to kill him, no less! Isabelle even determines to win the highwayman because she prefers hopes to marry him rather than the suitor her father had planned for her. Happy ever after is interrupted when Marcus suspects that Isabelle is actually a spy.

In the next twist, Marcus finds himself pretending to be his recently deceased twin brother, hoping to uncover the identity of spies and his brother's connection to the Royal Navy. In so doing, he also finds that it was his brother who was Isabelle's betrothed. He goes through with the marriage, hoping that Isabelle doesn't recognize him through his disguises - at least until after he has found the spies. And won her love.

Overall, this was fairly enjoyable light reading, even though the writing isn't of the highest quality, and the plot had elements that stretched credulity, and that didn't quite make sense. Marcus's motives in trying to find out who is spying are unclear, the only explanation being given is that it somehow is tied to his desire for revenge against his father. The secret plot is never explained at all. The undercurrent of what would become the American Revolution is used vaguely as a backdrop for the romantic storyline, but to be honest it took me until almost halfway through before I was clear that the author intended this to take place somewhere in the colony of New York in the mid-1700s. The highwayman aspect of the story read more like Marcus was a stagecoach robber in the Old West, despite frequent references to his past as a pirate and to the Royal Navy. The cover art is also misleading, as the young lady in the picture is certainly not dressed in colonial style! I did find that the editing errors increased in the last third or so of the book, with incorrect word usages (except rather than expect, etc), grammatical errors, and awkward sentences. Some of these I can attribute to formatting errors rather than poor writing or editing, but certainly not all. 

In summary, this is a relatively clean and slightly fluffy romance, with interesting plot twists; but be willing to ignore inconsistencies in the details of the plot and setting.

(Book #17 in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge)

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/