“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” ― G.K. Chesterton

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Review of Dawn in My Heart

     Dawn in My Heart is an Inspirational Regency by Ruth Axtell Morren.  This book is very refreshing from many other Regencies in that the main characters have a lot more depth. The two main characters, Tertius and Gillian, start out as non-Christians, who agree to a marriage of convenience, each for their own selfish reasons. Ms. Morren portrays how each character lives according to their sinful desires.
     I feel that the whole book is very clean and nothing is done without taste. Some things are alluded to, such as “producing an heir," but very tastefully. The hero and heroine start to have a thread of attraction for the other, but it easily falls apart when tested. It is a good picture of how without a foundation in Christ, human love is often selfish and needy and easily falls apart when trials come.
     The hero, Tertius, has previously spent time in the Indies. A lover who he previously spurned has put a curse on him. I especially liked the portrayal of the grip the curse has on him, showing how real spiritual warfare is. God is the only power stronger than the curse that grips Tertius. Then Tertius faces another test where he must remain patient and loving with his wife while she continually treats him unkindly. This is the same way he used to treat others. Finally, in God’s time, our heroine is brought to the Lord as well, and she and Tertius become the man and wife God intended them to be. 
     Again, this book is sold under the genre of inspirational Christan fiction, but some Christian readers may find it a little more "edgy" (for the reasons mentioned above).  I did not find anything to be offended by in the book and would thoroughly recommend the book.  I give it four and 1/2 stars!


The Perilous Gard Book Review

    Here is the back cover description of the The Perilous Gard: "In 1558, while exiled by Queen Mary Tudor to a remote castle known as Perilous Gard, young Kate Sutton becomes involved in a series of mysterious events that lead her to an underground world peopled by Fairy Folk—whose customs are even older than the Druids’ and include human sacrifice."

     My review: The Perilous Gard has the feel of an old fairy tale.  It contains references to King Arthur and the Tam Lin legend, but is very unique as well. It includes the right elements to keep fairy tale lovers satisfied. There are the fairy folk, who are evil. The heroine, Kate, is tempted by the fairy folk, but in the end she does not take the easy way out.  Instead, Kate stays true to herself and is rewarded. Good wins out against evil.  The ending ties up with a very satisfying romance where the reader can heave a big happy sigh of contentment. I would heartily recommend this book to young adults and up, as one of the subjects deals with human sacrifice (it never actually happens and there is nothing gruesome; but it still may be too much for young readers). It is a clean read.  I give this book five stars.          
     As I state in my welcome paragraph, I used to pick up a book, get halfway through, and then get to a really graphic part.  Needless to say, I have stumbled across many books that were not "clean" reads, just to chuck them across the floor in frustration after having invested many hours of my time and emotions into the book and characters.  But being a Christian, I remember Philippians 4:8 when considering my reading material:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  
     That is why I rejoiced when I discovered Goodreads, because I saw that others would write in the "review" section whether a book was "clean" or not.  Because let's face it, if someone loves Regencies, there is not a ton of Regency Christian fiction out there.  (Luckily there has been a whole lot more that have stemmed up recently though!)  Now those of us who desire to have integrity in what we read can help one another out.
     I also love reading Christian fiction, which is the majority of what I read.  It is great to read reviews of Christian fiction to see what is good out there and I really appreciate those who write those reviews.  I hope to help others by doing the same!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Reading

G.K. Chesterton“Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
G.K. Chesterton

The quote says it all and is one reason why I love reading so much.  Books teach us so many lessons about real life, even "faerie stories."  Plus, it's just so nice to get lost in a good book once in awhile, isn't it?