An Homage to Strong Women of Faith--"Castle on the Rise" by Kristy Cambron--Review

 

Castle on the Rise

By Kristy Cambron
Published by Thomas Nelson 

“Castle on the Rise” by Kristy Cambron is the second book in the “Lost Castle” series.  It ties in with the first book in the series, ”The Lost Castle,” but can easily be read as a standalone.  “Castle on the Rise” takes place mostly in Ireland and involves three separate stories in three different time periods, all centering around one castle.  The time periods are the revolutionary late 1700s, the 1916 Easter Rising and present day.  Ms. Cambron weaves stories of faith, love, family and women rising amidst hard times into a cohesive tale.

My o my!  I barely even took notes for this review because I was so caught up in Ms. Cambron’s beautiful and at times heart-breaking story!  She sweeps readers to the streets of Dublin, to the cozy pubs and the windswept shores of a castle’s ruins and an estate in the Wicklow Mountains!  She is the queen of setting and now I want to visit Ireland.  She also did her research well and I learned a lot about Ireland’s history and its fight for freedom.  It’s so amazing how she can connect such different periods in time so well.  I admit I was a little confused with the events surrounding the Easter Rising in 1916, just because I really knew nothing about it, but it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the story. 

Ms. Cambron’s stories are so moving and poignant.  Each story features families that are broken in some way; by war, prejudice or the past.  These families must move from hatred to acceptance and forgiveness.  I love especially how the women from each story must pull from a strength they didn’t know they had and rise up amidst very difficult and seemingly impossible situations to establish peace.  They can only do this through faith.  I must warn you to keep a tissue box handy.  This is a story that will resonate with you long after you read it and might even help you in your own story.

Content: I give this book a PG-13 rating.  Some examples of the content are: a woman is pregnant without being married and has been raped; a man is drunk; mentions of alcohol and pubs.

Rating: I give this book 5 stars.

Genre: Christian fiction; Historical; Romance

I want to thank Kristy Cambron, Thomas Nelson and BookLook Bloggers for the complimentary copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR 16, Part 255.

About the Author:

KRISTY CAMBRON is an award-winning author of historical fiction, including her bestselling debut The Butterfly and the Violin, and an author of Bible studies, including the Verse Mapping series. She's a Women's Ministry Leader at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, KY, and a passionate storyteller who travels to speak at events across the country, encouraging women to experience a deeper life in the Word through verse mapping. Her work has been named to Publishers Weekly Religion & Spirituality TOP 10, Library Journal Reviews' Best Books, RT Reviewers' Choice Awards, and received 2015 & 2017 INSPY Award nominations. Kristy holds a degree in Art History/Research Writing, and has 15 years of experience in education and leadership development for a Fortune-100 Corporation, working with such companies as the Disney Institute, IBM/Kenexa, and Gallup. She lives in Indiana with her husband and three sons, and can probably be bribed with a coconut mocha latte and a good read.

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An enchanting story you won't want to put down--"The Lost Castle" by Kristy Cambron Review

“The Lost Castle” by Kristy Cambron is one of those rare books that I am still thinking about days after I've finished reading it!  I had heard so many good things about this author, so when I saw she was writing a story centered on a ruined castle I had to read it!  I love castles—my wedding took place in a castle-like building and my dream vacation was to Scotland to see castles, of course!

"The Lost Castle" by Kristy Cambron is the first in the "Lost Castle" series.  The beginning immediately draws the reader in with questions and enchantment.  Ms. Cambron wows with breathtaking settings and landscapes.  She has an eye for detail and includes lavish descriptions of the setting and food (I became very hungry while reading this book!). 

The reader is transported from a castle ball, to revolutionary Paris, to French vineyards, to a French chateau and back to present day.  There are three different stories going on in this novel, all set in different time periods.  It is a bit confusing at times keeping all the storylines and characters straight at first, but by the end Ms. Cambron does an amazing job of weaving all the stories together.  The ending is so amazing, with many plot twists and surprises!

Ms. Cambron presents a story that points to the ultimate Story.  She shows us through these tales that life is a story we are writing and a gift from God which we cannot waste.  We must live each moment to the fullest because we are never guaranteed tomorrow!

Content: This is a clean read.  I would give it a PG rating for some violence related to war and a few other things.  Some examples are: references to a "dame" and a woman being a "kept" woman, violence related to war, mention of a man drinking himself to death, and a man assesses a woman's figure.

Rating: I give this book 5 stars.

Genre: Christian Fiction; Historical; Romance; Multiple Timelines

I want to thank Kristy Cambron, NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the complimentary copy of this book for review.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR 16, Part 255.

 

About the Author:

KRISTY CAMBRON is an award-winning author of Christian fiction, including her bestselling debut The Butterfly and the Violin, and an author of Bible studies, including the Verse Mapping series. She is a passionate storyteller who travels to speak at ministry events across the country, encouraging women to experience a deeper life in the Word through verse mapping. Her work has been named to Publishers Weekly Religion & Spirituality TOP 10, Library Journal Reviews’ Best Books, RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards, and received 2015 & 2017 INSPY Award nominations.
Kristy holds a degree in Art History/Research Writing, and has 15 years of experience in education and leadership development for a Fortune-100 Corporation. She lives in Indiana with her husband and three sons, and can probably be bribed with a coconut mocha latte and a good read.
The most important thing? Jesus is everything— let her tell you about Him sometime.

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