Losing Graceland: What Would Elvis Be Like If He Were Alive?
For the life of me, I cannot explain exactly why I read Losing Graceland: A Novel. I know why I picked it up - in part because it is a fictional story about what Elvis might be like if he had faked his death and was still alive and in part because I have always been interested in Elvis Presley.
Of course, you cannot and probably should not judge a book by the cover and in this case sandwiched between the two covers was some content that I was not comfortable with. That's your warning. This book has sexual content that might make you uncomfortable. It did me. And did I mention violence? There is some of that, too.
But still, I read it right through to the end. Something compelled me to keep reading. I wanted to know what would happen to the aging Elvis impersonator (who might really be Elvis) and the young man he hired to help him find his granddaughter. The adventures were entertaining. Along the road there was a fight with biker gangs (and befriend them), a visit with an oracle and a battle to save a hooker from her pimp.
At first glance, this book is a light read but it also deals with two interesting lives: that of an old man whose body is unwell, who has an addiction to pain killers and who lives with an incredible legacy and that of a young man who is heart broken and unemployed.
Reviews of this book are a mixed bag with most people saying they enjoyed reading it. Take one old man with a lifetime of regrets, add a young man with his future before him and what do you have? An emotional story, perhaps a bit too short. If you're a fan of Elvis, the consensus of the reviews is that this is an enjoyable lightweight fictional story. It will make you think about what Elvis Presley might be like today if he were still alive.
What would Elvis Presley be like if he were alive?
I want to close by telling you about a scene in this book when Elvis takes the stage at an impersonator contest and the crowd really goes wild just as though they were seeing the real Elvis. A lady faints. A young mother hardly knows her child needs her. Another woman screams that she cannot breathe. Two men have a fist fight. A young girl vomits. Hands grope on stage for Elvis. The crowd screams. The announcer begs people to be calm. Elvis leaves the stage and says to his travelling companions, "Heartbreaker still breaking hearts. You like my show?" I did like your show, Elvis, and I will admit, you gave me goosebumps.
If Elvis was still alive, he would be 82 today. I think that it would be interesting if he were still alive, although not so much if he was in the condition of the impersonator in Losing Graceland. I cannot help but wonder what it must have been like to have seen Elvis Presley in person. What was it like to be Elvis Presley? And finally, what would he be like today if he were still alive?
What do you think Elvis Presley would have done with the rest of his life if he had lived past the age of 42?
Brenda
Treasures By Brenda
More Elvis Presley Reading
The Best Elvis Presley Movies
Elvis Presley starred in 31 movies and 2 concert documentary films all of which were released in movie theatres. On this page, we celebrate the three of the films that are considered his best...
Elvis Presley Christmas Duets
In 2008, long after his death, Elvis Presley released this album, Elvis Presley Christmas Duets on which he could be heard singing Christmas songs with some of today's top female vocalists. Learn more...
Copyright 2011 Treasures By Brenda
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I do not typically read non-fiction which is odd seeing as how I am a bit of a history nerd. Killing Lincoln was suggested for my reading list by my husband who rarely reads fiction. He was so enthused by this book that I finally followed his urging and read the book.
I have to tell you that I was not disappointed and am actually glad that I did read this historical account of the tragedy that our nation suffered when Abraham Lincoln was shot in Ford's theater by John Wilkes Booth.
I thought I knew quite a lot about that fateful and tragic day in April of 1865 but this book proved how much I did not know. As Bill O'Reilly so eloquently states, "It is important for us to know our nation's history. To understand the lives of our heroes and to also understand the villains of our history."
I am very impressed with the research that Mr. O'Reilly and Martin Dugard (the co-author) put into this book. I also was impressed to learn that Bill O'Reilly was a history teacher before he entered the world of political commentary and hosting television shows.
Typically, I find non-fiction books rather difficult to read. I usually find them a little on the droll side and have a difficult time keeping my mind from wandering. Not so, with this book. At times it almost reads like a fictional story but the difference is the facts are accurate.
While reading this book, we do not just find out about our 16th President, we also find out about the days leading up to his assassination. We learn about the last few battles of the war and the people involved in those days. We learn quite a bit about General Grant and General Lee and how their lives had intertwined before the civil war. We are given the background of many of the central figures in Lincoln's life during his Presidency and that helps to understand what was really going on in our nation at the time.
The book reveals much about the villain of the story, John Wilkes Booth. We find that he was considered quite handsome at the time and was quite the playboy. We also learn about what drove him to his actions at the Ford Theater in April 1865. We also find out that he did not act alone and had not for quite some time.
I found myself stopping every once in a while and shaking my head, uttering, "Wow, just wow!" My husband and I would sit at the dinner table and discuss my progress through the book. We both found it fascinating, interesting and thought provoking.
I am really glad that I took my husband's suggestion and read the book. Admittedly, I was reluctant because I knew the ending, our President was fatally shot. There was so much more to the event that I did not know and did not understand. If you are a bit of a history nerd like me or prefer non-fiction over fiction; I truly believe that you will love this book. It would also be a wonderful gift for someone who you know loves to learn about history. The wonderful thing is that it comes in so many formats: hardcover, paperback, digital and audio cd.
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I do not remember how old I was when I first heard the story of The Velveteen Rabbit but I do know that after having it read to me; it became my favorite story of all time. I do not know for sure which I relate to more the child in the story or the toy rabbit. Truth be told, probably a little of both.
I will fast forward in time to the day that I found out that I was expecting my first child. Do you know what I did just after hearing the news? I went straight to the local book store and purchased a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit. Once purchased I went straight to the car, took the book out of the bag and proceeded to read the story to my growing baby. I had no idea whether I was reading to a boy or a girl at that moment but what I did know was that I was going to love that child with as much love as the boy did his toy rabbit.
As time passed, I read that book to both of my children over and over again. We will fast forward again to the day that I found out that I was to be a Grandmother. The very first thing I bought for that baby and all of the grandchildren since is the book, The Velveteen Rabbit.
What is it about The Velveteen Rabbit story with me?
I guess in a nutshell it is that powerful message of love. I am not sure why as a child it resonated so strongly with me but it did. It still does. The magic of love is about the most powerful thing we experience as humans. The giving of love and the receiving of love. I believe it is what makes us "real".
Imagine being a new toy in the room and wondering what all of this is about. Imagine hoping that the child will pick you up and play with you. Imagine that at night when the child is sleeping all of the toys come alive. Some of them are rude to you and some even make fun of you. Imagine there is one toy that seems wiser than the others. It shows you kindness and shares wisdom with you. It is the Skin Horse. The tattered old horse tells you that the goal of all toys is to become "real" from the love of a human. This confuses you so the Skin Horse explains....
"Real isn't how you are made. It is a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."
I encourage you to share this book with a child in your life. Perhaps you will remember it from your own childhood. It has been a classic since 1922 when it was first written by Margery Williams. The story transcends time with the message of love. As the Skin Horse says, "It does not matter what we look like or where we are from; what matters is to be loved." Well, that is paraphrasing a bit but it really is the message. We become our real selves when we receive love and I believe give love to each other and the world we live in. Isn't that an important message that every child should learn at a very early age? Perhaps, I identify more with that old tattered horse who knows what it feels like to become "real"from the love of a child....
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The Remains of the Day is set in the 1950s and deals with the changing world of a man who had totally dedicated himself to being the best English butler he can be. Yes, picture that upright, serious, effective, totally dedicated, courteous, loyal gentlemen butler that we are used to seeing in period drama movies. The mini-series Downton Abbey hinted at the changing world for people who worked in service but never quite made it to the time when a butler would no longer be needed at all, which is what is happening in this book.
With the permission of his new American employer, butler Stevens sets out on a road trip to meet with a former female colleague whom we believe he loved although he may not know that fact. The road trip gives Stevens (and us) plenty of time to reflect back on his choices over the years and to ponder whether or not he made the right ones. Author Kazuo Ishiguro meant the book to be a metaphor, representing most of us who labour through life in one way or another and do not really know what the outcome of our efforts will be.
Would I Recommend This Book?
A few members of my book club really enjoyed reading The Remains of the Day. However, it was not a page turner and I was slow to warm up to it but in the end I did enjoy it. It was interesting and thought provoking and I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys period drama movies and historical fiction but not because of how those books flow but because of their subject matter.
By way of further recommendation, you should know that Remains of the Day won the Man Booker Prize in 1989 and that it is a very highly regarded post-war British story that sits at number 146 on Stanford University’s list of the best twentieth-century English novels.
Author Kazuo Ishiguro says that ''What he is interested in is not the actual fact that his characters have done things they later regret...but how they come to terms with that fact.”
I came away thinking that one should live for today and not let life pass you by. Stevens gave up too much in his pursuit of excellence and in the end wound up with nothing.
I will be watching the 1993 movie version of The Remains of the Day, which was more familiar to me than the book before it was added to our book club reading list. The movie stars Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson and was nominated for eight Academy Awards and sounds like a worthy follow up to this novel.
How about you? Will you be reading or watching The Remains of the Day? Or perhaps you have already done so? If you have not yet read the book and are interested, you can find your copy on Amazon by clicking right here.
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Do you enjoy a good detective story? How about reading fantasy stories involving the fae? If you happen to be like me and enjoy both then I think you will enjoy the series Hank Mossberg Private Ogre by Jamie Sedgwick. You might already be familiar with Mr. Sedgwick from my previous review of another of his works.
Imagine the present day world only with a difference. In this world we humans are also living with creatures once only found in fairy tales. In this series of books there is an entire civilization of elves, dwarfs, hobgoblins, fairies and a variety of other non-human creatures that we don't even notice. Kind of cool, right?
The books take place in modern day San Francisco with the main character being Hank Mossberg. In the world of the fae, Hank is unique. You see he is the last of his kind. As far as he can tell he is the last living ogre. For centuries an ogre has always been selected as the Steward. A steward in the world of fae is basically the law enforcement. Since Hank is the only ogre the job has fallen upon him. One might say he was born into his position.
One of the reasons that the Steward needs to be an ogre is that the magic of the other creatures does not work on ogres. They can see through any spells, they are not stopped by enchanted weapons nor does a security shield of magic block them from entering an area. If you remember your fairy tales, ogres are huge and powerful. That is another reason that they are good for keeping the others in line.
Hank, who in my opinion, is a lovable ogre, has opted to work in both the fae community and the human community as a private detective. Humans can see Hank. Because we humans typically only see what we want to see, we see him as a large man with a slight skin condition. Remember ogres usually have a green tint to their skin.
This series involves cases where Hank needs to solve a case or two in each book. He might be working simultaneously with a fae case and a human case. I find the stories easy to read with just the right amount of mystery and a welcome touch of humor. There is a little bit of violence scattered within the stories but not so much that it is off-putting. Overall the books are an enjoyable reading experience.
I like the mingling of fantasy and reality and the creativity of the author in the fae community. As in any culture there are good people and bad people. There are rules to follow or disobey. Jamie Sedgwick has created an engaging world of plots and mysteries for us to solve as we turn the pages of the books in this series. I have certainly enjoyed following Hank, the last living ogre, as he solves the crimes presented to him. I think you might, too.
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Aboard The Great Iron Horse is a book series that continues the story line from another series that I introduced to you back in November which began with the book The Tinkerer's Daughter. I so thoroughly enjoyed the story of Breeze the half human and half Tal'mar in the first set of books and was thrilled to find that the story continued in a different series.
I do not normally like to ruin a story for anyone but in the first set of books Breeze eventually has a daughter that she names River. That is as much as I will spoil for you if you have not read the Tinker series of books. I do advise that for the most enjoyment of Aboard The Great Iron Horse series that you first read the first set of books. You wouldn't have to but, you will understand the continuation of the plot if you do.
River (Breeze's daughter) is one of the main characters in the Iron Horse series of books. After, an event in Sanctuary that is certain to have life changing results for this fantasy world; River embarks on an adventure in a great steampunk style train. The expedition is led by Socrates who is a machine of sorts. I find Socrates most fascinating and a wonderful addition to the story line and a most imaginative and mysterious creation by the author.
Socrates is considered an automaton which we would define as a robot or an android. Oh my goodness he is so much more than that! I often think of C-3PO in Star Wars except that Socrates was made to look like a gorilla. There is no other machine in this fantasy world that can compare to the ape with the blue fur. He can function very much like a human. He thinks, reasons and it sometimes appears even feels emotion. He knows the history of the world, has been around for centuries and leads the small crew on a most incredible journey. He runs on steam power along with a mysterious energy source called Starfall. Part of the expedition entails finding more of this energy source or Socrates and the other machines will eventually cease to function.
On the journey Socrates, River and the rest of the crew encounter other civilizations that they were not aware even existed. This makes for a most interesting and entertaining reading adventure.
If you enjoyed the first of the steampunk fantasy set of books by Jamie Sedgwick; I think you will also enjoy reading the continuation of the story in Aboard the Great Iron Horse. I have enjoyed it, myself!
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I just finished reading the first book in a three book series written by Jamie Sedgwick that I found quite enjoyable to read. The first book is called The Tinkerer's Daughter and introduces us to Breeze the main character of the book. I loved the premise of this book that was labeled as a steampunk fantasy book but it turned out to be so much more than that.
Breeze is unique in her world. She is what we would term as a mixed race child; the difference being that her father was human and her mother was an Elf (called a Tal'mar in her world). I loved that the author touched on the difficulties that any child encounters when they are the result of a match by two people who are from different races, cultures or religions. It isn't always easy for these children. Often, they are not truly accepted by either side of the family. In the case of Breeze, she is looked at as an abomination by both the humans and the Tal'mar. That really isn't fair to any child because honestly, they had no say in the matter of being born.
We first meet Breeze as she is being taken to an unknown location by her father. She is only four years old and is confused and instinctively knows that something is not right about this trip. Her father takes her to a valley where an eccentric man lives alone. It turns out to be Tinker's home where he invents all sorts of unusual items including a steam wagon and more. Breeze's father leaves her with Tinker as he departs to report back to the war. The war of over 1,000 years is between the humans and the Tal'mar. What Breeze doesn't understand is that her father feels she will be safest with Tinker; all she knows is that she feels abandoned.
As Breeze grows, she and Tinker become as close as father and daughter. She learns so much from the brilliant loner who accepted her into his home. He introduces her to all sorts of interesting theories and concepts that he makes into reality.
I don't want to go too far into the plot of this book because I hate for stories to be ruined by spoilers. What I will tell you is that I loved the character of Breeze and of Tinker. I remember when my girls were small; I wanted to instill in them that they should never feel at a disadvantage because they happened to be born a female. My oldest daughter had a poster in her room for years that was of Smurfette and it said: "Girls can do anything." I tried to never miss an opportunity to remind both girls of this truism...they could do anything that they set their minds to. The author has Breeze grow up with that same promise with a bit of a twist. Not only could she accomplish things that weren't necessarily done by other females but also she could do things that she wasn't supposed to be able to do with her mixed races.
I enjoyed this book enough that I have now begun to read the second book in the series. I applaud the author for coming up with a story that is slightly different and that has a main character that is an intelligent, capable and lovable female. I like that he touches on the ugliness of bigotry and how sometimes someone special comes along to change the racist thoughts of the masses. The ending of the first book was really touching and I love who he insinuates Tinker really is.
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The women wives in this book arrived from around the world. They came from different lifestyles, backgrounds and situations. Their average age was 25. Their educational backgrounds varied from those with doctorate degrees to stay at home moms to dancers. Most did not know exactly where they were going or what awaited them when they arrived in Los Alamos, New Mexico. These women were forced to come together to create a life for their families in New Mexico.
TaraShea Nesbit's The Wives of Los Alamos is the story of the women who supported the men who worked on one of the biggest research projects in World War II. Unknowingly, these families would be tied to a huge development that changed the course of history.
Their lives during the time they spent in Los Alamos were tough but they had even bigger challenges ahead when their experience was over and they had to weigh their contribution to the creation of a hugely destructive development of the 1940s known as the Manhattan Project.
Is The Wives of Los Alamos a True Story?
Here a 9 minute video in which Nesbit shares a bit of the real story which she writes about in the book:
Would I Recommend This Book?
The story is told by all of the women together in one voice. That is, the book is written in the first person plural a method that I personally did not care for. Here's an example from the beginning:
"We were European women born in Southampton and Hamburg, Western women born in California and Montana, East Coast women born in Connecticut and New York, Midwestern women born in Nebraska and Ohio, or Southern women from Mississippi or Texas, and no matter who we were we wanted nothing to do with starting all over again, and so we paused, we exhaled, and we asked, What part of the Southwest?"
That voice was okay for the first while but eventually I would rather have had the story told by a single individual. I can, however, see how this voice allowed many viewpoints to be expressed in each situation but there are many who could not get past the author's style. Others, however, really enjoyed this book and the style it was written in.
At the end of the book, I was left with a lot of thinking to do. How did those individuals cope with knowing they had made such a horrific contribution to the war effort? How would you cope? How would I?
Yes, I would recommend this book because it is a novel about a very significant scientific development in world history that takes place in the United States. You might want to read it for that fact alone and you never know, you might enjoy the style, too.
You can buy your copy from Amazon by clicking right here. If you do read it, be sure to come back and let us know what you think about the style and the story.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
As I have started to read the book Maids of Misfortune, I thought it might be fun to review the book here on Review This. M. Louisa Locke wrote this book as the first in a mystery series that seems pretty promising for those of us who like a good mystery and enjoy historical fiction.
In this first book of the series, we find ourselves in San Francisco, California during the Victorian Era. Our main protagonist is Annie Fuller who isn't exactly like most ladies of her time. She isn't amoral or anything but not quite up to those strict standards of social behavior of her time. Instead of doing needlework and delicate hobbies, Annie has to make a living on her own. Having been raised by her father she has skills in business and finance that just isn't deemed proper for females in the 1870's.
Annie inherited a house in San Francisco from her aunt and has made it into a boarding house. Her husband left her penniless after having committed suicide and so the house was really a godsend. In order to make ends meet and to keep the boarding house in business Annie has a side job. Because she is a woman she can not open a business as a financial adviser, men just would not support her business. So, to get past that she disguises herself as a gypsy and pretends to be a clairvoyant. She calls herself Madame Sibyl and wears a dark wig and pale makeup to hide her true identity. Oddly, men and woman take her business advice (especially for the stock market) as a psychic but wouldn't consider taking the same advice if she offered it as a business woman. Oh the Victorians!
Annie has built up a pretty steady clientele as a psychic and has become fond of several of her regular patrons. Matthew Voss has been a weekly client for quite a long time and has done well with the advice that Annie/Madame Sybil has given him. Annie feels that he has also become a friend. So, when Mr. Voss is found dead in his home from poisoning something doesn't seem right. The police have deemed it a suicide but Annie just knows that can not be right. When Annie as Madame Sybil is questioned by Matthew's attorney she finds out that it seems that Matthew was pretty close to insolvent.
Annie knows that the information about Mr. Voss is incorrect and that something is very wrong. She knows that he owned several successful stocks and had just sold quite a few of them in order to buy his partner's share of the furniture business that they owned together. Where are the stocks? Why is there no money in the bank or cash to be found? Annie and Nate the attorney begin to try to figure out who killed dear Mr. Voss.
This has been a delightful book to read. Annie is a woman before her time and I love how she and Nate work together under the Victorian social restrictions. I definitely will read more books in the series.
You can purchase this book in paperback form but you can also order it in digital form. Currently, the digital version is free for the reading. That may change in the near future but right now you can download it at no expense. Fun, huh?
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
Imagine if you were given a chapter of a seventh Jane Austen novel. A novel, that is, which she never finished. Then imagine being asked to finish the book for her and you will have a basic understanding of what this book is all about.
Georgina Jackson, a struggling but published American author living in England, is given Jane Austen's unfinished novel to finish and the only problem is that she has never read a single solitary Jane Austen novel. She knows nothing of Jane Austen's work or her time period.
"You don't understand! I've never read an Austen novel in my life. Not a single one. And what's more, I don't intend to start now..." cries Georgina early on in the book and it is a cry which I could have echoed at least before I read this book.
I've literally just put down Writing Jane Austen: A Novel and I must say that I truly enjoyed it. It is another light and entertaining book with some interesting Austen elements thrown in. You will learn a bit about the much loved author, her books and the setting of her books, all from a modern perspective.
And if, like me, you have never read a single of Austen's books, fair warning that reading WRITING JANE AUSTEN may have you at least momentarily interested in reading them but that's not a bad thing, is it?
Plot Summary
The story in Writing Jane Austen revolves around an acclaimed young author by the name of Georgina. However, Georgina is stuck on the first chapter of her second book and her agent is on her trail. It turns out the agent is offering her the job of finishing an unfinished manuscript by Austen that has only been recently discovered.
Georgina knows nothing about the author and is only stopped from going home to America by her roommate Henry and his teenage sister, who happens to be a serious Austen fan. Knowing that she has to pay the bills, Georgina signs the contract but finishing the book is another issue altogether.
"Readers will be entertained by the quirky humor of Georgina's dilemma, charmed and annoyed by the well-crafted supporting characters and surprised by the eventual outcome. However, if you are expecting a drawing room drama punctuated by romance..."
Reviews of Writing Jane Austen on Amazon include comments like those from bkc327 who says she'll need to re-read the book again to revisit the characters and I agree, I need to do so, too. This book will do that to you. TeensReadToo said that this is an entertaining book, which takes a humorous look at the difficulties of writing including those employed by Georgina in the book - the need for a lot of breaks, what methods to employ to avoid writing, how to hide out from unwanted visitors. Finally, a reviewer writing as Austen Lover said she enjoyed the new direction this book takes set, as it is, in modern times. She calls it a light and easy read and it is. Lovely.
Does Writing Jane Austen sound like a book you might enjoy? You can read more about it or order your copy on Amazon by clicking right here.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
Murder. Mayhem. Fire. When I proposed Windigo Fire by M.H. Callway to my book club a year ago, they were instantly taken by the action-packed storyline, which goes as follows:
Native Canadian Danny Bluestone, takes a job for some easy money at a kid's retreat in Red Dog Lake in Northern Ontario. A local offers him the chance to be a scout for wealthy tourists and hunters. Danny realizes that this business is a cover-up for a grow-op but he takes the job anyway and it turns out that he has been recruited for a bear hunt that is illegal. However, he awakens and finds all of the tourists except one dead. The two survivors have to join together to escape even though the other might be the murderer. He uses his shaman knowledge to survive in the bush and from the Windigo, an evil spirit.
Little did I know that when I read this book I would be vacationing on a remote and isolated lake in Northern Ontario not far from Timmins where this story is set. I was lucky though that I did not experience any murder, mayhem or fire. I did, however, encounter the beautiful wilderness outdoors that is part of Canada's north. There were other cottages on the lake but we could not see a single one of them from my sister's cottage. We spent many hours swimming, canoeing and yes, reading Windigo Fire.
It is rare to have a consensus at my book club, especially one that is positive. This time everyone, bar none, enjoyed the book. It is an action packed book that was hard to put down. Perfect for an entertaining summertime read and for time spent in the wilderness.
Do not get me wrong though. This book was not perfect. Members of my group found a few inconsistencies or missing points in the book, and decided that it seemed almost like little bits had been removed, perhaps to make this story "book size."
In terms of what to be aware of, know that this book has drugs, alcohol, sex, a strip club, language, fighting, murder and fire. However, I have certainly read many books that are worse. It definitely has an interesting variety of characters that range from vulnerable to flawed to incorrigible and leaves you with a few puzzles to decipher at the end.
Is Windigo Fire recommended? Yes, it is by me and by the other members of my book club. I will be passing it around to all of my family members some of who live in the north, others who love camping in the wilderness or at least the campgrounds of northern Ontario.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
The Time of Grace Christian
romance series is different than most I've read. Its overall theme
is that God himself is the great lover of the men and women who
live their lives from day to day. The secondary theme is the
difference Christians can
make in the lives of those who live in despair because they have not
experienced God's grace and have no hope.
Most Christian
romances I read have two main characters who fall in love but
encounter obstacles on the path to marriage. These are often due to a
misunderstanding on the part of one or both of the characters. Maybe
they overheard some gossip they accepted as fact, or saw something
that was different than it appeared to be. The main action in these
romances is getting the two people together and married so they can
live happily ever after. We don't usually see what comes after.
The three books in
the Time of Grace Series are not like that. The main
character, Jesus, is never seen except in the lives of his people and
their efforts to reach out to those have not yet accepted his free
gift of grace and salvation. We see God dealing with the main
characters as families and as individual members of those families.
The three Christian
historical romance novels in this series are set during the
depression years in Rhode Island. Book 1, The Fragrance of Geraniums,
begins in 1934. In it we first meet fifteen-year-old Grace Picoletti,
as she auditions for the school chorus, humiliated because the rubber
band holding the sole of her saddle shoe has burst, and her shoe is
flapping. Her family is destitute. We also meet her teacher, Mr.
Kinner, who is conducting the auditions. He and his wife, Emmeline
live in a lovely home and Emmeline grows geraniums from hanging pots
on her porch. Grace looks forward to seeing the beauty of these red
geraniums every day as she comes home from school. We also meet
Paulie Giorgi, one of Grace's classmates, son of a prominent doctor.
The Picoletti family
is destitute. Grace's mother Sarah lives in despair. Her husband
Charlie is unfaithful and abusive. As the book opens Grace's oldest
brother Ben makes a surprise visit. He tells Grace
their father is planning to bring his latest mistress home to live on a cottage on their property. He reveals he has fought with his father about this and has just punched Charlie out because of it. He tells Grace he
has to leave again.
The other four
children are minor characters in the book. Sarah finally sends her
favorite, Evelyn, to live with her wealthier sister so she can have a
better life. Grace's two older sisters leave home to get jobs and
live on their own to get away from the violence. Then they get married and we don't see much of
them after that. Cliff, the younger brother, is out of control and
often gets into trouble.
The author focuses
mostly on Sarah and Grace, both of whom have little hope. There is
not enough to eat, Charlie publicly humiliates them with his blatant
infidelity, and they can't afford decent clothes or shoes. Sarah has
let herself go physically, since Charlie pays little attention to her
anymore except to demand she cook, clean, and take care of his
laundry – or else. The family is Catholic, but they don't connect
what happens in church to their daily lives. They have no notion of a God that loves them personally. They have no hope of improving their lives.
Grace is highly
intelligent, but Sarah is expecting another baby and insists Grace will
need to quit school to help her. The baby is born 85% of the way through the
book, and Emmeline, who has become a friend to Sarah, stays to help
her. Charlie shows no interest in the baby and wants no part of him.
This crushes Sarah. Charlie's mistress Gertrude leaves him and takes
everything of value that was in the room they shared. Charlie goes to
town, gets drunk, and is killed in an accident. He leaves Sarah no
source of income and much debt, since he has not paid the bills or
the mortgage in months and the bank is about to take the house. She
sees no solution except to move in with her brother in New Jersey,
taking Cliff and Grace, and leaving friends and her grown children
behind.
The Kinner Family
Geoff and Emmeline
Kinner attend the First Baptist Church. They are a middle class
family and economically well off enough to share what they have with
others. They are kind to all. Geoff is Grace and Paulie's teacher, is truly interested in his
students, and prays for them.
To outsiders, Geoff and Emmeline appear to have an ideal life. But they want to start a family, and Emmeline has
never been able to carry a child to full term. At the beginning of
this book she has told her husband she is four months pregnant, and
they are ecstatic, since Emmeline has never carried a baby this long.
But when Emmeline sees the doctor the next day, he dashes her hopes
and tells her she probably will lose this baby, too.
Doctor Samuel Giorgi
and his son Paulie, seventeen, live in a mansion with a staff of
servants. Samuel's wife, Julie, Paulie's mother, died of an aneurysm six years ago, and Samuel and Paulie miss her terribly. They also
attend First Baptist Church.
After Julie's death,
Samuel hired Mrs. McCusker as a house keeper to run his household and
help out with Paulie. Sam is a prominent obstetrician who often has
to leave to deliver babies at all hours of the night. In the last
chapters of The Fragrance of Geraniums we learn that Samuel had once
been engaged to Sarah before he left for college. His family had
disapproved of her, and said if he married they would not pay for his
education. He had intended to get get through medical school and then
come back and marry her. She had felt betrayed because he had chosen
his education over her, and had married Charlie. Sam later met Julie
and fell in love with and married her.
Three Books, One
Story
After reading what's
above, you can probably guess a lot of the plot. Paulie and Grace are
classmates and fall in love despite their different economic
classes. Emmeline and Grace become friends, and through that
relationship Emmeline also meets Sarah and reaches out to her. When
Charlie badly burns his face badly in the last quarter of the book,
he comes to Sarah for help. She sends Grace to get the regular
doctor, but he's away at a conference. They can't afford the hospital
or an ambulance, and even though Grace is trying to avoid Paulie, she
sees no option but to run to his house to see if his father will
come.
Mrs McCusker answers the door and says the doctor cannot be
disturbed, but Paulie hears the conversation and gets his dad. Mrs.
McCusker treats Grace shabbily. Sam and Paulie drive Grace home. As
Sam treats Charlie, Sarah is holding his head. Sam and Sarah
recognize each other. She did not know he had returned.
By the end of the
first book, Grace has finally understood that Jesus does love her and
has given her life to him. Sarah has been listening at home in her
darkest hours to a Protestant radio station, mostly for the music.
What she hears conflicts with much she has believed as a Catholic,
but she wants to believe that Jesus loves her and can change her. She
just isn’t sure how to approach him. Emmeline has shared her faith
and how Jesus helps her through her grief over the loss of her child.
The book ends with
Charlie's funeral. All three families are there. We have seen God's answer to the prayers of Emmeline and Geoff. The reader is left
hanging as to what will happen to the Picoletti family. Will Sam and
Sarah renew their relationship now that Charlie is dead? Do Grace and
Paulie have a future together? Those questions are answered in the
last two books, which I had to purchase because I couldn't stop
reading until I reached the last page of the last book.
The Books' Themes
Several themes
play out in this series. First is God's unconditional love. This
theme pervades all the others. Christians need, by God's grace, to
forgive those who hurt them physically and emotionally, in order to be whole themselves.
Love is sacrificial.
This theme comes to a climax near the end of the last book. God's
love is redemptive. Sam shows us this in the last book very vividly.
God's love
persistent. Both Paulie and Sam persist in reaching out to members of
the Picoletti family even when their efforts are rejected.
God seeks and saves
those who are lost in despair and bitterness. He uses his people to
help, as he used Sam, Paulie, and Emmeline in this book. They prayed,
and they shared their faith, but first they listened and helped
physically with unspoken needs.
An example: Emmeline initiated a
relationship with Grace just because she knew Grace always paused at
her house to look at something on the way home from school. She used
that knowledge to reach out to Grace and get acquainted. She
suspected Grace didn't get enough to eat, so she made sure there were
fresh cookies and milk whenever Grace visited. She suspected that
Grace was ashamed of her home so she invited Grace and Paulie to have
their tutoring sessions at her kitchen table, along with refreshments.
The author shows
that only people who get their sense of worth from the knowledge that
God loves them are secure enough to be who they really are. Since
they know God accepts them, they do not need to live for the approval
of or fear the judgment of others.
A good part of The Fragrance of Geraniums consists of passages from the Bible that the characters share with each
other or encounter in radio or church sermons. This might be a bit
much for some people, but each passage is relevant to the themes.
The characters share their reactions, not always positive, to these
passages.
Overall, the series held my
interest because from the beginning I cared about the characters. I
empathized with Sarah and Grace. I wanted Paulie and Grace to
straighten out their friendship when it became strained. I wanted
Sarah and Grace to experience the grace of God. And I wanted Ben to
surrender his bitterness and false pride and answer the nudging of
the Holy Spirit. I wanted to see how God would accomplish his plan in
each life.
I felt there were
some weaknesses that we see in many Christian novels. Although there
was a lot of showing in the lives of the characters, there might have
been a bit too much telling. It was preachy. Sam and Paulie were so
godly they were unrealistic. I loved them, but they were almost too
Christlike. They were both very good at turning the other cheek and
praying for those who hurt them when most people would at least say
something hurtful back and ask forgiveness later. They did sometimes have thoughts that weren't loving, but they hardly ever gave voice to them. I can't think of one example where they really lost it, even though they were tempted.
The author was good
at foreshadowing future events. She dropped enough clues to enable the
reader to predict why there was a problem between Grace and Paulie in
the last book. To say anymore would be a spoiler.
The relationship
between Paulie and Sam was one any father would envy. It contrasted
with the terrible relationship between Ben and his father Charlie.
Emmeline and Geoff showed Grace that all men were not like her father
and that a marriage could be healthy and loving.
Unlike most
romances, the books in this series are serious and deal with heavy
subjects like abuse, bereavement, and rebellion. The marriages are
not always the “live happily ever after” kind – even when the
man and wife are Christians. Even forgiven sins have consequences
that make life hard. God works his plan out even in these marriages
that aren't ideal. The main love is between God and the characters,
and until they are rightly related to him, the human love affairs
don't go very smoothly.
As you read the looks, you may find yourself grappling with issues instead of escaping into a pleasant world with a happy wedding at the end. There are plenty of dark valleys to walk through before you see a rainbow. It's still a journey I'm glad I took -- realistic or not. Book 1, The Fragrance of Geraniums, is free for your Kindle as I write this. I hope it will hook you and that you will want to read the other two books, as I did. I would suggest you get all three books at once. Just click on the book covers above.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
We meet Kate Evans, protagonist of Touching the Clouds, on the day that was supposed to be her wedding day. A week before, she had told Richard, the man she was to marry, that she feels a need to move to Alaska to become a bush pilot. Richard is hurt and not ready to give up on marrying her. Her parents don't completely understand, either, and it's hard for Kate to explain. She likes Richard a lot. She doesn't enjoy hurting him. She just doesn't think she loves him enough to marry him.
Kate wants to get away from all that reminds her of the awful day she "killed" her best friend Alison. Kate was seventeen then. She had talked her friend into flying with her in her father's plane. The weather had been fine, with clear skies, when they started out. But when they got to Rimrock Lake it was foggy. She didn't turn back even though she knew she should. They had crashed into the lake, which sucked the plane down into the icy waters. For seven years Kate has blamed herself for Alison's death and is sure everyone else in town blames her, too. She want to go where no one knows about the accident.
Image in Public Domain Edited with Text from Touching the Clouds by Bonnie Leon.
Created on https://getstencil.com/app/
Right after the accident, she was afraid to fly again, but her dad, an excellent pilot who had taught her to fly, helped her to get back in a plane and resume flying once again. Now she is 25 and wants to do something she believes matters -- something more than just getting married and having babies. Her mother warns that she can't let her past rule her present. She replies,
As long as I stay here, everything is about the past. I need to start over in a place where I can prove myself, a place where I'm free to live without shadows of that horrible day dogging me.
Now, as she's about to get into her Bellanca Pacemaker and head for Alaska, she leans against her father Bill -- the one who taught her to fly and has always understood her. Her feelings are mixed as she prepares to leave her parents and the apple farm in Yakima. The angry roar of Richard's truck as he left moments ago, after one last attempt to keep her home, still sticks in her mind. She wonders if she will regret her decision.
She climbs into the plane. Her father cranked it for her, she pulled on her helmet, and checked the gauges one last time, and took off. The year was 1935.
When Kate landed in Anchorage, she spent the first night in a hotel she could not really afford. The next day she applied for a job at the local mercantile. She knew she probably wouldn't get a job as a pilot right away and meanwhile she would need to support herself.
When Albert Towns, the owner of the store, interviewed her, she admitted she really wanted to be a bush pilot, but recognized that probably would take some time. Albert and his wife Helen were OK with that, saying that if she found work as a pilot, she could work part-time around her flying hours. The couple also said she could stay in a room at the back of the store. The arrangement worked well for all of them. They became close friends.
One of the first customers Kate helped in the store was Paul Anderson, who lived in Bear Creek in a rather isolated cabin. He came to town a couple of times a year to stock up on supplies. He had come from San Francisco but no one knew much about why he came to Alaska. The reader learns his wife back home, Susan, had died. No one knew how he had earned his living in California. In Bear Creek he was trapping animals for their meat and fur.
The reader can sense that Paul finds Kate fascinating, and Kate admits to herself he is handsome and intriguing. One wonders if this is the beginning of a possible new romance.
When Paul learns that Kate wants to work as a pilot, he suggests she try the new airfield at Lake Spenard. She had already tried Merrill Field with no success. They didn't need any more pilots. Kate applies at Lake Spenard. Although the interview was tough, Sidney Schaefer tests her in the air, and hires her part-time for a mail run. The current pilot filling in for the mail run, Mike Conlin, was to train her the next Monday.
Kate Begins Taking Passengers
This is the terrain of the Chugach MountainsKate flew over near Anchorage.
Kate soon got used to the mail run, and looked forward to giving people their mail, especially Paul and his neighbors -- Patrick and his wife Sassy and their daughter Lily. Paul felt uncomfortable with Lily because he knew Patrick and Sassy wanted him to marry her and he didn't want to. Sassy was always sending Lily over with food, or to help. Paul was polite, but he didn't want to encourage her.
Paul was fighting his attraction to Kate because he didn't want to give his heart away again. Falling in love would make him vulnerable to hurt again. He knew Kate's work as a pilot was dangerous, and he could lose her, just as he'd lost his wife.
Kate proved herself capable on the mail run, and Sidney began to let her carry passengers. Her first opportunity was a rescue flight to check on hikers at McKinley Park who should have gotten in before the sun went down. She was called in early morning to go search for them. She found them just before her fuel got low enough to necessitate turning back. That made her more sure than ever that she would not return to Washington and Richard, who was still writing and begging her to come back. She knew she belonged in Alaska, flying as a bush pilot, fulfilling her dreams.
Kate got to play Santa Claus before Christmas. She flew to Kotzebue, 549 air miles northwest of Anchorage, to bring Christmas packages to that small town. She had made friends with the owner of the airfield Joe Turchick and his native wife Nena on her first visit. She had arrived on Halloween and Nena invited her to go trick or treating with her and her children. Since then she'd stayed overnight with them on her trips there. It was like her home away from home in Kotzebue.
Nena was afraid to fly. After the Christmas trip, though, she asks if Kate will take her to visit her sister in Candle, who is about to have a baby. She overcomes her fear when she sees how beautiful it is to look down at the scenery. She decides she actually likes to fly.
Flying Wasn't All Fun
Most of Kate's trips were uneventful, but some passengers put her and everyone else on the plane at risk. It's hard to handle drunk hunters bigger than you are and fly a plane at the same time, especially when the drunkest one opens the door in the back of the plane . One woman lied about about how far her pregnancy had advanced and actually gave birth in the plane. Kate knew nothing about bringing babies into the world, but she had to find a place to land and deliver the baby.
Kate had many close calls. On one occasion she left on a mercy flight with a nurse to pick up a miner in Hatcher Pass who had fallen, was seriously injured, and needed to get to a hospital. The weather conditions were so bad that Jack, the other pilot there on call refused to go and called Kate a fool for going.
Kate wound up agreeing with him when after flying in the fog she discovered she was off course. Her compass was malfunctioning. She had to find a safe place to land and wait for the fog to clear. Meanwhile, everyone at home was worried. Unfortunately, when the fog cleared they found that the miner had died. None of the pilots could afford radios in their planes, so when pilots had trouble, there was no way to contact anyone to report their locations.
After each close call, Mike, who was getting to be a close friend, comforted Kate. His interest in her was obvious. Paul's reaction to Kate's close calls was to withdraw. One of Kate's fellow pilots, one of the best, crashed and did not survive. The loss hit Kate and the other pilots hard.
Nena finally made it to Anchorage. She had a wonderful time. As Kate was taking her back home to Kotzebue, they passed Mt. Susitna, also known as the "sleeping lady." Kate veered from the flight plan a little to give Nena a closer look. That's when Nena smelled something, and Kate saw a drop of oil on her windshield. Memories of Rimrock Lake came rushing back. Below is a photo of Mt. Susitna from Cook Inlet, the location Kate was flying over when this happened. You will have to read the book to find out what happens next.
The first decision, the one Kate had already made, was to stay in Alaska and fly. She had learned that she did not want to live an ordinary life. She had told Richard she would not be coming back to him. She knew he would not want to live in Alaska.
Kate had been dating Mike, her fellow pilot. He was protective of her and a good friend, but she did not think she was in love with him. She was eager to know Paul better, but although he sometimes seemed attracted to her, he would keep withdrawing. They had some great experiences together, but then he would avoid her again. She knew she was attracted to him.
She is pretty sure Mike wants to marry her. He has given her plenty of hints, but she just isn't ready. She knows she needs to decide soon, because she doesn't want to lead him on if she knows it won't work.
Recommendation
I found it hard to put his book down. The characters were well-developed, and every one of them was necessary to the plot. I appreciated that I had time to get to know them in small batches instead of having too many being introduced at the beginning and having to try to keep them straight. I enjoyed learning more about Alaska and aviation in 1935.
I enjoyed getting to know Kate. She is the sort of person you can imagine having as a friend. She is brave, kind, and stubborn. She is willing to take risks, and sometimes takes foolish risks that land her in trouble.
The characters are realistic and complex. Kate and Paul individually have guilt and fear to overcome in order to become whole again. Kate trusts in God. Paul has given up on God. Even minor characters, such as the drunk hunters, and the pregnant woman come alive through Bonnie Leon's words. So do the other pilots, Jack and Frank.
One of the mysteries in the book is Paul. No one knows why he came to Alaska. No one knows much about him. Patrick knows his wife died. Paul eventually also shares that information with Kate under duress.The author gives the reader enough clues to get close figuring out who he really is.
The author is very good at foreshadowing what will happen without really telling the reader. An alert reader is able to pick up the clues and be on the alert for what will follow.
I would recommend this Christian novel to anyone who likes adventure stories, aviation, strong women, Alaska, and/or a touch of romance. I am anxious to read the rest of the series. I hope I've been able to interest you in these books, too. I would suggest you get the set so you can just keep reading after you finish Touching the Clouds. I don't think you will want to stop. Just click below if you want to buy them.
Here's one last photo that's designed to Pinterest specifications if you'd like to pin it.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
