The cover of this book made my husband groan. . . for two reasons:
- He knew I would stay up late reading
- I was reading another supposedly “Christian romance” novel
And he was correct on both accounts.
Here is a little ditty (summary) provided by Waterbrook Press:
While growing in confidence as a photographer, eighteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele’s personal life is at a crossroads. Hoping she’s put an unfortunate romantic longing behind her as “water under the bridge,” she exiles herself to Milwaukee to operate photographic studios for those owners who have fallen ill with mercury poisoning.
Jessie gains footing in her dream to one day operate her own studio and soon finds herself in other Midwest towns, pursuing her profession. But even a job she loves can’t keep painful memories from seeping into her heart when the shadows of a forbidden love threaten to darken the portrait of her life.
This book is easy reading. Vacation reading. But I was surprised by two things:
1. There was a mention of God but not much actual Scripture. God always seemed to be somewhat present throughout the book, but the characters didn’t seem to allow Him to reign fully . . . or at least that was not a focal point in the main characters lives.
Probably what bothered me most was that there was no climax or “crisis of belief” that showed a 180 in the lives of these pretend people.
Author Jane Kirkpatrick dealt with a very real issue of habitual sin and the struggle to overcome those sins we don’t want to do but keep on doing. Yet, I don’t feel she fully disciplined her characters and made them obedient to the Word of God. I guess I kind of felt like our culture seeped into this book, though it took place in the early 1900’s.
2. Jessie Ann Gaebele, the main character, was a photographer. I love photography. But for some reason . . . I just couldn’t connect with her.
I don’t know what my deal was with this book. I did enjoy reading it. I don’t feel it was WRONG to read it. But I am not sure that it was profitable for me. Like I said, a great vacation book.
Want to win it? I have an extra copy . . . and seriously try to win it. Surely you have a vacation coming up?
How to Enter (and yes my friends and family can enter . . . I use www.random.org to pick the winner . . . and you aren't friends with Mr. Random. No one is. So enter to win ON MY BLOG NOT through a FACEBOOK COMMENT.)
Mandatory: Tell me where you would like to go to on a dream vacation.
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Giveaway Ends: Thursday, April 15, 2010
Sorry US residents only!
