From a Distance

Title:From A Distance
Author: Tamara Alexander
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publisher Address: 11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
Url: www.bethanyhouse.com
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0389-3, Price $13.99 Publication Date: 2008
Reviewed by Bethany L. Canfield for Reader Views (8/08)

Yearly Count: 54

From a Distance, is a tale of hope, of dreams and the road to accomplishing them.Elisabeth is a budding journalist.Society may think that she is past her prime, that she should just worry about getting married, but she sees a dream that she is about to capture and cannot rest until she does. Elisabeth dreams big, and she will do whatever it takes to get her to her desired goal. Is it all fair game? Are there things that are not acceptable in our pursuit of what we want, or is it every woman for herself? Decisions made in the past will impact the future, however there is grace to forgive. Will it be enough?

This is a five star read for sure. It is believable, well thought out, well written, and intriguing. I could not put it down because the story line was a dream to read, and as I read the only thing that I didn't like was that the end was coming! From a Distance is filled with interesting topics from that day: female rolls, corsets, male-female relations, propriety, the wild west, slavery, racism, mistrust, civil war, healing from lives lost in the war and much else that I am always interested to read about.

All humans are flawed, and in From a Distance the flaws are not smoothed over, and they are not made pretty. Flaws are evident and they cause guilt to surface. I admire the way Tamera Alexander portrays loss, life, but especially her take on forgiveness. This book contains so many relationships, and they feel completely real mainly because they are deep, deep enough to have times when forgiveness is necessary. Forgiveness is something that is either given or not. I loved the realness of the problems and the distances formed through hurt and pain in From a Distance. It felt so real, so relateble, and through the flaws of the characters I was able to really feel a bond. A great read all around!

Deep in the Heart of Trouble

Title:Deep in the Heart of Trouble
Author: Deeanne Gist
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publisher Address: 11400 Hampshire Avenue South, Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
Url: www.bethanyhouse.com
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0226-1, Price $13.99 Publication Date: 2008
Reviewed by Bethany L. Canfield for Reader Views (8/08)

Yearly count: 50

What is life worth if you don't get down and dirty? Well, as far as Essie is concerned, life that is not lived is not life at all. She is not content to sit and watch the men do the hard work, or ride bicycles, catch snakes, go fishing or own oil companies. She sets it clear from the start that she is a woman who does not have the need to fit into the social standards of that day. Deep in the Heart of Trouble is a historical romance novel that engaged me and kept me wanting more the whole way through. I have actually never read this genre before, but this book was a great introduction into the scene. I enjoyed the writing, simple and straightforward, not flowery and over dramatic at all. I felt the pace was speedier than expected in a historical romance novel.

Deeanne Gist does and excellent job with character development, each character becomes alive and feels like a whole person, not just a made-up one dimensional book being. Through the character development the reader is brought to trust, hope and enjoy each person described filling the pages of Deep in the Heart of Trouble with an honesty and sensitivity that will not be forgotten.

Life, morality, trust and integrity are traits that shine through the entire book, it is easy to be captivated by their luster.It is fully enjoyable to read a book that does not threaten my moral standpoints over and over. I wish there were more books out there like this, creative and captivating because of the writing and characters, and not the steamy sex scenes and over extended violence. This was pure joy to read, it really was.