This book…
…was magical.
Melissa has outdone herself with this story, an enchanting
read from cover to cover. I’m even grateful for the summer cold I caught while
reading this one, so I could read with fewer breaks. It takes an excellent
novel to make me appreciative of a cold. :)
The Hero:
Let’s start this review with Nicholas Lowe. Hero material
down to the core. Why? Because however misguided and flat-out wrong he may be
in other areas, he is seeking God’s will above anyone else’s and is actively
pursuing God’s calling on his life. He’s not a missionary or a preacher or even
a Sunday School Teacher—indeed, the ministry he’s called to is unconventional
and broadly misunderstood by those around him. But he’s actively and
passionately reaching out to the lost with the love of Jesus, doing his best to
become a world-changer for God, and that, dear readers, is incredibly
attractive. As for other facets of Nick’s character, I love the undercover hero
aspect—evidently a lot, since I was not only delighted to find the thread in
this book, but the story I’m currently writing contains that angle as well. Yay
for disguised crusaders!
The Heroine:
Lydia King is one of those heroines I related to on the very
first page. Her love of books, her desire to help people and make a difference,
and yes, even her myriad flaws, mirrored many of my own tendencies.
The Romance:
The love story was beautiful. I especially liked how the hero
and heroine got to know one another while doing ministry work together—a very
intriguing sort of ministry I must say. And the way the hero risked rejection and
became vulnerable enough to show the heroine his interest with no guarantee of
her returned admiration... *sigh* ...though he waited forever and a day to bare his
heart, even after he knew he loved her—so long I wanted to whop him over the
head with his shiny new copy of Mark Twain’s Roughing It. However, seeing he was hurt so deeply in the past
makes that detail forgivable—and the ending that much sweeter. The snow, the
garden bench, the wounded knight beseeching his lady to love him in return…
Such is the stuff of fairy tales. The characters certainly have to slog through
their share of troubles, doubts, and failures to get there, but watching two
imperfect characters learn to forgive, grow, and love selflessly gives this
book-lover’s heart cause to patter.
The Setting:
Kansas, 1905. I love the historical details Melissa has
included and the world she creates visually and with sensory descriptions, as
well as social attitudes fitting for the times. She delves into some
less-featured characteristics of life in a small Kansas town during the turn of
the nineteenth century. If you like the historical era of Hallmark’s fantastic “When
Calls the Heart” series, you’ll like this book.
The Characters:
The smooth, subtle graduations in each character’s learning
arc delighted me as the story unfolded. Then to watch these characters I liked
turn into characters I could love… Bravo! And of all the host of characters in
this sprawling cast, none of them fell flat. That is a great feat in itself.
The Spiritual Message:
The spiritual threads convicted me. It isn’t often a work of
fiction searches out and spreads light on our standing with God such as in this
novel. Melissa Jagears writes with great depth of insight and a sensitive counselor’s
soul. The truths in this book are lived out (with no small struggle) in the lives of the characters and
discussed from several points of view, with scripture as a basis. Would make a
great book club pick for those sincere in wanting to become more like Christ.
The Plot:
This story is different from others I’ve read from Melissa
in that the main story action starts much sooner in the plot—which kept me
turning pages into the night. Several twists had me alternately smiling and
blinking wide eyes. One thing I just realized about this plot—usually I’ll
start grinning about halfway through a book, seeing how the author is leading the reader's emotions, guiding them right where s/he wants them.
With this novel, I forgot everything except the characters and their plights. I
so wanted to help Lydia, and help Lydia help Sadie, and my heart broke for Pepper, Angel, and
little Robbie. I was incensed at the gall of some characters who paraded
spotless reputations while secretly profiting from and supporting wickedness. A
great read with a few red herrings that kept me guessing for a while. Fun
stuff, y’all. If you haven’t picked up a copy, I have a giveaway of this book going on through the 29th.
Comment with your email address either on this post or my character interview with Nicholas and Lydia, and you’ll be entered in the draw!