Tamara LeighRezensionen
Autor von Splitting Harriet
Rezensionen
I read the whole of the series and I liked them but may places I skimmed or skipped due to sexual content, fade to black scenes, or too many details.
I read the whole of the series and I liked them but may places I skimmed or skipped due to sexual content, fade to black scenes, or too many details.
I read the whole of the series and I liked them but may places I skimmed or skipped due to sexual content, fade to black scenes, or too many details.
I’m looking forward to more Wulfrith family saga!
There's a bit of that 'you're not like other girls' mindset, where all the defining things about the heroine are her (typically) masculine qualities and interests. (Also, for a large part of the book she successfully passes as a young man, but she's still described as being petite, with large eyes, and a pert little nose, and a curve to her hips, etc., so that we know that she's a 'cute tomboy' and not actually just a bit masculine...). And the heroine, and kinda the book itself, seemed to have a dim view of more traditionally female traits and pursuits. Like they're genuinely 'less than'. Which I didn't care for.
The historical details seemed well researched though, and I appreciated that. Overall I'd say not bad, and I would consider reading another by this author. (Steam is 'fade to black').
To see my full non-spoiler review: https://christianlovingbooks.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-redeeming-review.html
This is a charming story, but I don't quite "get" the title other than it was chosen to fit with the pattern of other titles in the series. Harri (short for Harriet) does have somewhat of a "split" in her life between her old rebel self and her current responsible self--but I'd hardly deem that splitting. Likewise the push and pull between traditional and contemporary forms of church service which can cause a church split doesn't seem to happen with regard to Harri in this book, though I do sympathize with her on being resistant to change (though we're not always concerned about the same things). Perhaps the title was supposed to be a play on the saying "splitting hairs", but even so, it didn't quite gel for me.
At 16, preacher's kid Harri experiences a church issue that splits the church her father pastors. Some people that she had thought were friends attacked her family. When Harri's father refuses to give up the church he feels called to, Harri starts acting out in the hopes that her parents will see how hurt she is and how much what is going on is affecting the whole family. Unfortunately, the rebellion backfires on her and she ends up going quite wild until she's found in a bar by two church members who rescue her from a bad situation there and take her "home".
Harri worries that any actions she enjoyed in her rebellious life might send her swaying back into it. She takes a part-time women's ministry position and a part-time waitressing job (where she plans to buy the business once she's saved up enough money). She lives in a trailer park the church owns which is supposed to be mainly for seniors (and apparently one set aside for guest speakers etc.). Unfortunately, this proclivity of thinking of those older than her as "safe" means that most of her programs seem more geared toward the older women in the congregation. Programs that don't seem to be helping the church to "grow".
Meanwhile, Harri's father decided to retired. He brought in a successor and worked with that man for a while, but now has decided to do missionary work to allow his successor to make changes without interference.
It seems some changes were being contemplated already--a gradual phase-out of the organ in favor of a worship band (with drums and guitars); a move to a more contemporary service/style of worship. Changes that upset some of the seniors; changes that upset Harri. For whatever reason, the new pastor decides to bring in a consultant to help grow the church.
Having gone through the decline of a number of churches in my lifetime, I sympathize with the church that is experiencing it. It seems this church has a number of things going for it--the community around it is growing so they do have people willing to come check out their church, they seem to have caught the decline early enough to be able to reverse it. In my life, all the churches that were in decline either closed or merged with another church. Nothing they tried seemed to turn around the decline.
I do like that this church was committed to keeping the Gospel message true and not diluting it or dulling it down or changing it to what people want to hear (think prosperity gospel--which is NOT what the Bible teaches). I do like that the church did try to keep its older members in mind too--warning them that changes were coming, phasing in the changes. But I also like that once they made a decision, they didn't let the naysayers sway them back.
I didn't like that so many of the changes just seemed to be sprung on the church leadership. It was hard to remember that there was a "growth committee" (that we didn't see meet-possibly because Harri wasn't a member of it) and a "church leaderhip" meeting (that we did see, because Harri as the Women's Ministry leader is part of church leadership). So the changes the vision committee voted on seemed sort of "sprung" on the church leadership without any previous discussion. (Either that or Harri was closing her ears to things she didn't want to hear.)
I've also experienced the resistance to change--both in myself and in others. I do agree that at times having one traditional service and one contemporary service does tend to separate the congregation into those that attend each one--kind of like having two different churches within the same building. I see value in both types of worship music. I like the messages that the old hymns impart, but I also like the more upbeat style of contemporary. Sometimes there is a way to take the older message and update the tune--which is one way to blend the two. Other times there can be a mix of older hymns and newer worship songs with a similar theme uniting the two.
I like that Harri tried to keep herself away from things that she felt might tempt her back to an ungodly life. I do think she went a bit overboard on it at times--not trusting herself or God that she's changed or that God can keep her on the path that He wants her on.
I do think it was a good idea for Maddox to push Harriet to open up the women's ministry in a way to bring in more age groups. The movie idea contrasting a classic with a remake sounded fun (if long) and the door prize idea probably did help to bring women in for the first time. I also liked the idea of opening the quilting group up to other crafts (they chose scrapbooking--one I dearly love).
I admired Gloria's sticking to her agreement with Harri rather than taking the higher amount that the church offered. I also liked that someone (not sure who) orchestrated a trade in properties so that the seniors wouldn't have to worry about their homes being taken away by the church again--at least not in the near future once Harri released Gloria from their verbal agreement. I didn't like that Harri viewed it all as a sacrifice on her own part--a sacrifice for the good of others. I get the disappointment of a dream going off track, but the word sacrifice seemed a bit too harsh for me in this context.
If you like historical romance, especially set in the medieval period, I recommend Merciless. The audiobook’s narrator had a pleasant voice and navigated the Norman and Saxon names well. If you would rather read this book, it is currently 99 cents on Kindle!
Recommended.
Audience: Adults.
(I purchased this book from Audible. All opinions expressed are mine alone)
Great story, lots of layers. I do enjoy Tamara Leigh.
This is the first that I have read by Tamara, and I plan to read more books by her, my next one on my list by her will be 'Perfecting Kate'. I really enjoyed the humor and reality of this book and I give it five stars.
I received a free copy of this book for review from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, for my honest unbiased opinion.
This is the first that I have read by Tamara, and I plan to read more books by her, my next one on my list by her will be 'Perfecting Kate'. I really enjoyed the humor and reality of this book and I give it five stars.
I received a free copy of this book for review from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, for my honest unbiased opinion.
Watching the characters make their transformation was amazing and seemed so effortless! Starting the story, I wondered how in the world two such opposed characters could ever learn to love each other, but their relationship progressed with a natural subtlety that never once felt forced. This author possesses amazing talent.
I love the girl-in-disguise stories, and this one is handled perfectly. I couldn't put this book down. I took it everywhere, neglected housework, food, sleep... It's that good!
I couldn't find a single cliched character or situation in this story. Fresh, authentic, transporting writing.
Clean romance. Would recommend to 18 and up because of some personal situations and historically accurate-yet-crude realities of medieval life.
The irreverent use of God's name and swearing by his "teeth" or "blood" made me cringe.
Now, the positive:
Once again, Tamara Leigh has created a fascinating plot in an immersive medieval story world. This is the second of Tamara's works I have read. While I personally enjoyed The Unveiling better, this book has its merits, and Leigh is a skilled storyteller. Looking forward to reading more of her work.
Truthfully, I did enjoy it in parts especially with the rich descriptions of some of the settings like the fortress where Wulfrith’s mother lives, and the some of the period details did seem well done. Also, the historical backdrop allowed for tension and drama which could add to the story. The first half may have been better, before the ‘unveiling’ with some interesting descriptions of military training, though the second half had its moments.
As to the characters- well the main ones were interesting, with Wulfrith the strong, commanding and aloof trainer of knights, and the tomboyish Annyn, intent on avenging her brother’s death on the man she believed killed her brother. Both seem well drawn and believable, but I had one major issue with Wulfrith. This was that though he was meant to be a man of intense faith and devotion, prayed regularly and tried to behave with honour, where his personal life was concerned he came across as a total lecher.
Other reviewers have referred to the mention of him having visited prostitutes, but for me it was more than that. He seem totally preoccupied with women, and unable to be keep his hands off Annyn if they were alone for more than a few minutes, or indeed his mind off her. Also he didn’t seem to think that visiting harlots was in any way contrary to his Christian convictions, and his excuse for his snogging Annyn that he ‘had been too long without’ a woman just made him seem all the worse.
Nor were his brothers much better as they liked to partake of such pursuits as him with harlots, or common serving girls in the stables (which nobody seemed to have a problem with). I can understand that Mrs Leigh didn’t want her characters to be perfect as that isn’t realistic, but I really don’t think all the men have to be promiscuous.
Then again, Annyn wasn’t always entirely innocent either, going from being afraid of Wulfrith touching her, to snogging him and then slapping him when he wanted to stop, at one point she even asks him to go all the way and fornicate with her-which he would not do as he thought it was sinful (but not to do so with prostitutes).
I understand that this novel was ‘romance’ and I think their behavior was better at the end, but do characters in romantic fiction have to be totally consumed with ‘passion’ and virtually unable to control themselves? Although nothing immoral actually happened before their marriage, the some of the scenes with Annyn and Wulfrith came across as being in bad taste or too much.
The only other issues I had were that whilst the author clearly tried to make the language seem authentic, there definitely seemed to be an influence of modern ideals, especially on Annyn’s part who didn’t like sewing or womanly pursuits, preferring sword fighting.
That worked sometimes, but for a girl to step into the middle of the practice field when the men were busy, and demand Wulfrith cross swords with her seemed a little unrealistic and clichéd, and really a woman doesn’t’ have to be good with a sword to be strong. She also generally thought it unfair that men didn’t have to wear wedding rings or swear to ‘serve and obey’ their wives in their wedding vows.
Something of an unrealistic expectation methinks.
Finally there was the way the characters kept referring to Annyn’s brother’s death as having happened ‘at Lincolnshire’, which seemed a little odd geographically. Normally one would say something happened or a person who saw it was ‘at’ a specific town, city or other place, but Lincolnshire in none of these, it is a county and a reasonably large one at that. Thus to say someone was ‘at Lincolnshire’ doesn’t entirely makes sense and English person might be left thinking ‘yes but where in Lincolnshire?’.
Overall, The Unveiling is a good story, and seems quite well researched, but I think it could have been better done, especially where the romantic content was concerned.
The name of the male protagonist, Bayard, really did not work for me. I read recently that it was a popular name given to horses on the Middle Ages- so I thought of as a horses’ name rather than one suited to a person. Aside from that, my main issue was that I considered a lot of the major details to be implausible and historically inaccurate. I have said many times before (and may say many times the future) that forced marriage WAS ILLEGAL under church law from about the 1100s onwards, so I have a real issue with it being such a central feature of so many Medieval Romances.
This book was no exception. The forced marriage demanded Bayard by the King was something that featured prominently, and was often complained about. Yet, it was entirely inaccurate- not least in the scene when the marriage ceremony takes place and the priest asks Elianor if she willingly makes her vows. He responds for her by saying ‘She has no choice’. NO NO NO! That would be like announcing in the public square that your marriage was invalid and illegal- the church clearly taught and enforced the rule tha BOTH parties had to give their free consent for a marriage to be considered valid.
Considering that the validity of the marriage was so important, this just seemed totally illogical. It was stated (wrongly) that the marriage just had to be consummated with the free consent of both parties for it to be valid- but this seems like nonsense. Furthermore, the King could not technically force anyone to marry- he could encourage them, even pressurize them into marrying the person he wanted, but he could not make them if they were against it. To do so would be openly defying church law, and few Kings would have dared to do such a thing.
Also, the simple fact is that there exists evidence of noblewomen who did refuse to marry the person the King wanted, and chose to wed someone else.
I also didn’t agree with the vilification of King Edward III for using the noble families as ‘pawns’ by forcing them into marriage alliances. Medieval Kings HAD TO keep the nobility in check, those who did not usually came to a very bad end. What was the King supposed to do- just let them do what they wanted and let the anarchy and feuding continue? This seems suggested a lack of understanding for the socio-political background of this period, and a very modern, individualistic outlook on the part of the characters. Their circumstances also seemed a little- extreme- I notice that many of the female protagonists in Mrs Leigh’s medieval stories seem to be the victim of some kind of abuse- whether at the hands of a spouse or relative. I understand that there must be drama, and tension in the background of the characters to make things more interesting, but does it have to be made out that rape and domestic violence were simply normal and acceptable at this time and there was nothing any woman could do?
There was some good characterisation, the story did seem to improve about halfway through from the characters initial preoccupation with avoiding or having sex (though this still persisted to some degree). Yet t I am almost incline to think this would have been better as fantasy- i.e. not set in a real country or time period but an invented one, rather than historical fiction.
It was readable and enjoyable some level, and I found myself flitting over the non-graphic bedroom scenes. It should be stated that nothing was described in detail- but the characters just seemed to preoccupied with sex – with it consuming much of their time, thought and conversation in some parts of the book- and I really did not want to read about it.
Too many clichés and inaccuracies, a little hard to follow at times, and the changes of heart with some of the characters seemed too quick and easy. It seemed like one moment Bayard’s ex hates him, and the next she is asking for forgiveness- yet it did not seem genuine- more self-serving. Another reviewer has said that the books in the Age of Faith series by the same author seemed too melodramatic, and I am inclined to agree in this case.
Far too much ill-circumstance thrown at the characters before they could get their happy ending. What's wrong with a little more of the ordinary difficulties and challeges posed by everyday life?
There was a meaningful Christian theme about forgiveness and overcoming bitterness and mistrust, but, this story was really not my cup of tea, and I fear the message did not redeem to shortcomings of the story entirely.
I loaned a copy of this book for free and by personal request. I was not given a copy and was not required to write a review.
So I was rather disappointed to see a mention of this at the beginning. The Wulfrith girls get into trouble when they run away from thier home to escape the King's command that one of them has to marry a neighbouring Lord whose family has long been thier enemy.
I did feel the characters' attitude towards command this was very modern and- frankly rather selfish. At one point Geanor and Beatrix mother complained about her daughter's feelings not being considered.
Come on! King Henry II of England had more important things to worry about then hurting the feelings of a teenage girl, and to be honest, I think a marriage between two feuding families- even an unwanted one is the lesser evil then allowing that feuding to continue.
Yet more often then not, the Kings who give these commands are portrayed as evil incarnate for doing so. Essentially the feelings of X and her not wanting to marry Y is more important then ending a feud which which causes the death of many people and the destruction of property.
Sorry, but I find such ideas atrociously selfish and irresponsible.
After this, the story involved of Beatrix getting into trouble, getting accused of murder and ending up in her enemies' castle, and then being pursued by the brother of the man she is meant to have killed. Its the two characters who initally hate each other discovering thier love and mutal respect formula. As is typical, one is a sweet Christian, and the other a virtual heathen with a lot of emotional baggage and abuse in thier past.
As is also fairly typical from this author, the story was largely plot driven with a lot of drama, action and intrigue occupying much of the book- sadly this usually involves some mention of abuse of women, both physical and sexual. As if this were normal for the times, when I beg to differ especially were noblewomen were concerned.
Frankly, I'm not sure how accurate the whole thing is. Some of the aspects of knights and their dealing with the families who they served or were fostered with ring true, but not other detials or situations, which often result in the whole story coming across as rather Over The Top.
For instance, Michael the hero was called a physician, yet there was no indication that he had any kind of formal training. His training was for knighthood, not medicine, so how could he be a physician?
Towards the end the story did seem to improve slightly, and I was genuinely interested in the sub-plot involving Baron Christian Lavonne, who was torn between loyalty to his increasingly vindictive father and doing the right thing. He reminds me a little bit of Boromir in Lord of the Rings.
The relationships and interactions between the characters were well written and interesting, notwithstanding that the romance got very mushy towards the end. As for Beatrix's behaviour, well it took a total U-turn towards the end which seemed very out of character, and in no way true to her convictions.
Since I purchased the last four titles in this series as audiobooks for knockdown prices I will listen to the rest, and look forward to hearing Christian's story in the next installment. I just don't think I care much for stories that rely on drama, non-stop action and playing to the audience's emotions by throwing every bad thing imaginable (and sometimes implausible) at the characters.
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I read the whole of the series and I liked them but may places I skimmed or skipped due to sexual content, fade to black scenes, or too many details.