Friday, November 30, 2012

Back in Time

Sometimes I realize that I forget how ideas have changed over time.  Today, many families have adopted children in our country.  Their skin color is often different from one another, but it doesn't change that they are a family in any way.  In the 1800s, who your parents were had a huge impact on how you were seen.  The family you belonged to was of great significance.  


I was reminded of this detail when I read a Christian fiction book yesterday titled Every Perfect Gift by Dorothy Love.  This book is the third and final in her Hickory Ridge series.  It stands on it own and can easily be read without having read the first two.  I actually didn't realize there were two other books until the very end.  

In this story, Sophie Caldwell has returned to Hickory Ridge to restart the town's newspaper.  She once lived in the orphanage there.  A new tourist resort is being built by Horace Blakely and being overseen by Ethan Heyward.  They both are troubled by their family backgrounds.  Sophie's origins are unknown, which has always made her feel as if she was looked down upon.  This is because when she was young, people of the town were prejudiced against her.  Ethan has no family to speak of, though there is something about his past he keeps hidden.  The story centers around her efforts to get the paper up and running and Ethan's efforts to get the resort going.  Their stories intertwine.  From the first time they meet, they are attracted to one another.  That attraction develops as the story goes along.

Writing?  It's fine.  I was thankful she didn't elaborate in the "harlequin" style about what Sophie and Ethan looked like.  I have seen many Christian romance writers do that.  The plot moves along and the dialogue is engaging.

Plot?  I did find myself wanting to know how it ended.  It is very predictable, but not entirely so.

Historical facts?  The writer includes several events and current developments in the printing trade.

If you enjoy Christian romances, you'll enjoy this one.  It's better than many I've read.  I still have ones that I favor more, but Dorothy Love is a competent writer.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Thomas Nelson Publishing.   

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