Recent Reads {Whence Came A Prince}

Whence Came a Prince by Liz Curtis Higgs - I'm not gonna lie - these books are next to impossible for me to put down!  This third in the series kept me turning the pages at least as much as the first two.  The story picks up shortly after Fair is the Rose left off - Rose is now married to Jamie, and within a short while discovers to her great joy that she is expecting.  Meanwhile, Leana is living with her Aunt Meg and finds that she too, is expecting a child.  Leana returns to her home, thinking that Jamie and Rose have already departed for his family estate, and when she finds them still in residence she tries to keep her own pregnancy a secret.  Just like the Biblical story, eventually Jamie has had enough of his father-in-law's trickery and packs up to leave with both his "wives."  My own perception of Rose softened quite a bit during this story (I was not at all a fan of hers during the previous installment!) and I was struck again by the Leana's strength and graciousness, and the way she always thought of others' needs before her own.  Another beautiful story full of rich historical detail and  insightful parallels to the Biblical story.

By the same author:  Thorn in My Heart, Fair is the Rose

Recent Reads {Fair is the Rose}

Fair is the Rose by Liz Curtis Higgs - After thoroughly enjoying the first in this series, Thorn in My Heart, I was eager to read the next installment, and wasn't disappointed. This picks up where the first left off, but focuses on Rose's point of view. Although I loved the book and was kept turning pages all the way through, this was harder for me to read than the first. And that is because I developed a bias against Rose early in this book. It didn't sit well with me that someone so selfish and so heartless towards those she claimed to love should get what she wanted. My heart broke for Leana and for Jamie in the difficulties they faced, ever more so as the story neared its conclusion. By the time I reached the end, I had softened somewhat towards Rose again, and had even more admiration and sympathy for Leana than before, and I am all anticipation for what Higgs has in store for me in the third book, Whence Came A Prince.

By the same author: Thorn in My Heart

Recent Reads {Thorn in My Heart}

Thorn in My Heart by Liz Curtis Higgs - I'm not sure how long I've had this on my to-read list, but it's been awhile. And now that I finally picked it up and read it, I wish I'd done it so much sooner - it's a wonderful book, and I immediately grabbed the second in the series and got started on that. This is a historical novel, set in Lowland Scotland in 1788, but is based on the Biblical story of Jacob. The description on the back cover only hints at that connection, but readers familiar with the Old Testament patriarchs will not be able to miss it after about page 3! Jamie is the Scottish character that manages to trick his father and claim the family's inheritance rather than have it go to his twin brother. Then he escapes his brother's threats by going to an uncle who has two daughters. Of course Jamie immediately falls for the younger daughter, but it is the older who falls for him. The uncle is quick to take any advantage he can of the situation in order to get free labor from Jamie for as long as he can, and doesn't scruple at bribery or threats or even pitting his daughters against each other in order to turn his own profit. Jamie and the two daughters, Leana and Rose, are all victims and deceivers in turn. In the Biblical story, both daughters were married to Jacob, but clearly that part of the story wouldn't be culturally "possible" in eighteenth century Scotland, so one of the things that kept me turning pages was the anticipation of how Higgs would manage that part of the parallel story. No spoilers here - but it was incredibly well done! I was hard-pressed to put the book down once I got started.