Shades of Morning is one of those books that is so filled with bits of wonder that it wakes the soul to all the possibilities that we so often miss. Then there are the characters – Marnie with her box of regrets that she can’t let go, Taylor who has become stuck in a hum drum life so different than the one he planned, and Emmit whose Down’s syndrome makes him both difficult to live with but irresistibly lovable. Although Marnie is the primary focus of the story, it is told through both her and Taylor’s viewpoints in present tense and through flashbacks.
Several themes run through the story which deals with guilt, unforgiveness, and ultimately the fact that no matter how hard you try, you cannot run from God. A strong message of love and redemption permeates this book.
I loved Shades of Morning, even the surprise ending that many reviewers had problems with. I can think of other suitable conclusions that would have worked as well but ultimately that choice belongs to the author and I gladly leave it to her. I do hope that others will not allow their opinion of the ending to take away from their enjoyment of the book as a whole. I personally recommend it.
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Marnie Wittier has life just where she wants it. Quiet. Peaceful. No drama. A long way away from her past. In the privacy of her home, she fills a box with slips of paper, scribbled with her regrets, sins, and sorrows. But that’s nobody else’s business. Her bookstore/coffee shop patrons, her employees, her friends from church—they all think she’s the very model of compassion and kindness.
Then Marnie’s past creeps into her present when her estranged sister dies and makes Marnie guardian of her fifteen-year-old son—a boy Marnie never knew existed. And when Emmit arrives, she discovers he has Down syndrome—and that she’s woefully unprepared to care for him. What’s worse, she has to deal with Taylor Cole, her sister’s attorney, a man Marnie once loved—and abandoned. As Emmit (and Taylor) work their way into her heart, Marnie begins to heal. But when pieces of her dismal past surface again, she must at last face the scripts of paper in her box, all the regrets and sorrows. Can she do it? Or will she run again?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Marlo Schalesky is the author of several books, including Beyond the Night and Empty Womb, Aching Heart. A graduate of Stanford University, Marlo also has a masters of theology with an emphasis in biblical studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. Married over twenty years, she lives with her husband, Bryan, and their five children in California.
Diane Noble is a former double finalist for the prestigious RITA Award for Best Inspirational Fiction, a finalist for the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and the Reviewers’ Choice Award, and a three-time recipient of the Silver Angel Award for Media Excellence.
With more than a quarter million books in print, Diane feels incredibly blessed to be doing what she loves best—writing the stories of her heart.
For the last three years Diane has been honored to be lead author for the popular Guideposts series, Mystery and the Minister’s Wife (Through the Fire, Angels Undercover), and has recently returned to writing historical fiction. She is currently writing book two of her new historical series, The Brides of Gabriel. Book one is The Sister Wife.
Diane’s hometown is Big Creek, California, a tiny village nestled in the rugged Sierra Nevada back country. As a child, Diane’s older brother Dennis fueled her creative streak by entertaining her with his own gift of storytelling. Growing up without TV and iffy radio reception, Diane became an avid reader, inhaling more than one hundred novels—both YA and adult—in a single
year by the time she reached seventh grade. Her passion for reading continues to this day.
Now empty nesters, Diane and her husband live in the Southern California low desert, near a place known for the lush and beautiful gated communities of the rich and famous.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
What if the man you loved told you God wanted him to take another wife? What if that woman was your best friend?
Set in the heart of the earliest days of a new nineteenth-century sect known as the Saints, The Sister Wife is a riveting account of two women forced into a practice they don’t understand, bound by their devotion to Prophet Joseph Smith.
When Mary Rose marries Gabriel, neither of them could foresee how quickly the community would turn to the practice of plural marriage. Devastated when Gabe is faced with an order from the Prophet to marry her best friend, Bronwyn, Mary Rose tries to have the faith to carry through with the marriage.
But can she really be married to the same man as her very best friend? Can Mary Rose and Bronwyn face betraying both their husband and their God to do what they feel is right?
If you would like to read the Prologue and first chapter of The Sister Wife, go HERE.
Watch the book video!
MY REVIEW:
Written with the skill and style I have come to expect from Diane Noble, The Sister Wife presents an inside view of the life of an early Morman wife. This novel presents the practice of polygamy and its effects through the thoughts and emotions of a first wife who is forced to accept another wife into her household. Many aspects of the religion are examined honestly and fairly while subtly pointing out some of the inconsistencies of its belief system.
While I enjoyed the book, I was disappointed with its ending. I realize that it is the first of a series so I can accept that the story is to be continued. I had hoped that some of the characters would admit to the errors of their religion before the story ended. But based on the title of the series “Brides of Gabriel”, I assume that there will be more sister wives added to the household before that happens. I can only hope that those details will be resolved in later installments of this series.
I usually enjoy a story with a spunky heroine (probably because I’m not) so I found Touching the Clouds to be right up my alley. In fact, I would say that Kate Evans is probably way past spunky for a young woman during the 1930’s. I cannot imagine setting out on my own to fly to Alaska in a small plane, especially with no guarantee of a job waiting for me. But Kate did just that, leaving everything she knew and loved behind her because she wanted to do something meaningful. Taking a job delivering mail in the Alaskan wilderness and sometimes transporting sportsmen to the back of beyond, Kate did so with the awareness that even more experienced pilots never made it back home.
For the most part, I found Touching the Clouds to be an excellent story that kept me engrossed until the end. I enjoyed reading about life in Alaska during that time frame as well as all the interesting characters who inhabited the area. The narrative contained plenty of action to keep the plot moving along and an understated romance to keep things interesting. I look forward to the next book in the series.
Available July 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
This book was provided for review by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
NEW SERIES EXPLORES LOVE AND ADVENTURE
IN THE 1930’s ALASKAN WILDERNESS
Author Bonnie Leon takes readers to new heights in her latest book, Touching the Clouds, the first book in the new Alaskan Skies series.
Leon introduces readers to Kate Evans, an adventurous and independent young woman with a pioneering spirit. When she leaves her home in Washington State to follow her dream of being an Alaskan bush pilot, she knows it will be an uphill battle. But she never expected it to be quite like this. As the lone woman in a man’s world, she finds that contending with people’s expectations is almost as treacherous as navigating the wild arctic storms.
When she crosses paths with a mysterious man living alone in the forbidding wilderness, she faces a new challenge. Can Kate break through the walls he has put up around his heart? And will fear keep her from realizing her dreams?
Book 1 in the Alaskan Skies series, Touching the Cloudswill draw readers in with raw emotion and suspense, all against the stunning backdrop of the Alaskan wilds during the 1930s.
Bonnie Leon is the bestselling author of more than ten historical fiction novels. She stays busy teaching women’s Bible studies and speaking at writing seminars and conventions. She and her husband, Greg, live in Oregon.
J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota.
Mark has been arrested for a crime he didn’t commit, was the foreman of a hung jury in Houston, and after relocating served on the jury that acquitted Vinnie Jones of assault. In 1972, he won an honorable mention in a child modeling contest, but pursued writing instead. Besides his personal website, visit his Crime Genre website at http://www.crimegenre.com/.
The next book in this series, Pattern Of Wounds will come out in the summer of 2011.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Det. Roland March is a homicide cop on his way out.
A missing girl. A corrupt investigation. They thought they could get away with it, but they forgot one thing:
Roland March is BACK ON MURDER…
Houston homicide detective Roland March was once one of the best. Now he’s disillusioned, cynical, and on his way out. His superiors farm him out on a variety of punishment details. But when he’s the only one at a crime scene to find evidence of a missing female victim, he’s given one last chance to prove himself. Before he can crack the case, he’s transferred to a new one that has grabbed the spotlight–the disappearance of a famous Houston evangelist’s teen daughter.
All he has to do? Find the missing teenage daughter of a Houston evangelist that every cop in town is already looking for. But March has an inside track, a multiple murder nobody else thinks is connected. With the help of a youth pastor with a guilty conscience who navigates the world of church and faith, March is determined to find the missing girls while proving he’s still one of Houston’s best detectives.
Battling a new partner, an old nemesis, and the demons of his past, getting to the truth could cost March everything. Even his life.
Back On Murder tells the story of a discouraged, disinterested, has-been detective who finds himself at the scene of a murder that sparks his interest and a determination to prove that he still has what it takes to be a top homicide cop. Unfortunately, his unwelcome ideas about the case do not sit well with the other detectives who have lost faith in his abilities and he finds himself shuttled off to work on an unrelated case (or is it?).
Back On Murder explores the private life of Roland March, his dedication and near obsession with his job, his uncomfortable marriage, and the memories that haunt both him and his wife. The reader is taken on a twisted journey through apparently unrelated clues that cannot possibly come together enough to solve the case. As the narrative reaches its conclusion, not only do the facts begin to mesh but Roland finds some peace and redemption in his own life.
Both the characters and events ring true in Back On Murder. It is a story where good guys are flawed and make mistakes and where sometimes a bad guy can change his life. It is a gritty story that reveals some unpleasant facts of life and may not be suitable for younger readers. But for those who enjoy this genre, Back On Murder is a must read. I highly recommend it.
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Marnie Wittier has life just where she wants it. Quiet. Peaceful. No drama. A long way away from her past. In the privacy of her home, she fills a box with slips of paper, scribbled with her regrets, sins, and sorrows. But that’s nobody else’s business. Her bookstore/coffee shop patrons, her employees, her friends from church—they all think she’s the very model of compassion and kindness.
Marlo Schalesky is the author of several books, including Beyond the Night and Empty Womb, Aching Heart. A graduate of Stanford University, Marlo also has a masters of theology with an emphasis in biblical studies from Fuller Theological Seminary. Married over twenty years, she lives with her husband, Bryan, and their five children in California.
