I think I might have mentioned once or twice that since I started blogging nearly a year ago I have only read two or three books—and that was when I was in bed too sick to blog (yet strong enough to hold a Stephenie Meyer tome aloft. Apparently.) So, when I was asked by Annette Lyon to review her book, Tower of Strength, I felt trepidatious (probably not a real word but it sounds all historically and TOS is an historical book so it’s staying). (Okay, I looked it up—it WAS a real word but isn’t anymore. Meaning, it is no longer in the dictionary because it’s old and archaic--just like me.)
Also, I don’t read LDS (Mormon) fiction even though I am, indubitably, a Very Nice Mormon Girl. Since I know, to my intense personal sorrow, that a review from a reader not familiar with a book’s genre can be very ugly indeed, I fretted about reading and reviewing it to the point that I came to think of this book (completely unconsciously, I might add) as Tower of Terror. In point of fact, I was so terrified to read it that I didn’t actually do so until after church yesterday (instead of blog-reading. Who knew I could read an entire book in the same amount of time I blog? EVERY day?)
However, now that I have read it, I can say that Tower of Strength has quite a bit in common with Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind, a book that is amongst my favorite ever (and not just because I wrote it). Let me explain: both books have a tight-in-the-mind narrative which us allows us to know, first hand, what the characters are thinking and feeling. I love this! Also, this book has a cravat in it. And a heroine who is strong and a bit ahead of her time who values her intergrity above the opinions of others and who doesn’t know how to tell a male horse from a female horse. Other things this story has in common with Miss D: a run-in with chicken pox and the use of the phrase “to boot”, one of which I am quite fond.
Also, I don’t read LDS (Mormon) fiction even though I am, indubitably, a Very Nice Mormon Girl. Since I know, to my intense personal sorrow, that a review from a reader not familiar with a book’s genre can be very ugly indeed, I fretted about reading and reviewing it to the point that I came to think of this book (completely unconsciously, I might add) as Tower of Terror. In point of fact, I was so terrified to read it that I didn’t actually do so until after church yesterday (instead of blog-reading. Who knew I could read an entire book in the same amount of time I blog? EVERY day?)
However, now that I have read it, I can say that Tower of Strength has quite a bit in common with Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind, a book that is amongst my favorite ever (and not just because I wrote it). Let me explain: both books have a tight-in-the-mind narrative which us allows us to know, first hand, what the characters are thinking and feeling. I love this! Also, this book has a cravat in it. And a heroine who is strong and a bit ahead of her time who values her intergrity above the opinions of others and who doesn’t know how to tell a male horse from a female horse. Other things this story has in common with Miss D: a run-in with chicken pox and the use of the phrase “to boot”, one of which I am quite fond.
As a bonus, my great great great great grandfather ran a newspaper in Beaver, Utah right about this same time period so it was extra fun to read about that aspect of the story. As another bonus, the Manti temple, the temple featured in this book, is one of the few Utah temples I have been inside and it is gorgeous!
This book was not written strictly as a romance novel, however it is satisfying as one. The truth is, a book about a temple can’t be without a romance, if you know what I mean. If you don’t, you probably ought to skip this one unless you are way into learning about the life of the Utah Pioneers and the beliefs of the Latter Day Saints (also known as Mormons) in general. (If you DO know what I mean, then you should just go for it.)
This book was not written strictly as a romance novel, however it is satisfying as one. The truth is, a book about a temple can’t be without a romance, if you know what I mean. If you don’t, you probably ought to skip this one unless you are way into learning about the life of the Utah Pioneers and the beliefs of the Latter Day Saints (also known as Mormons) in general. (If you DO know what I mean, then you should just go for it.)
Coming Wednesday: My thoughts on "Big Love"
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