Book review ~ Heiress of Winterwood

Book: The Heiress of Winterwood
Author: Sara E. Ladd
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Date of Publication: April 9, 2013

Type of Book: Historical Inspirational Fiction.

I received this book: for free through www.netgalley.com from the publisher for an honest review

Ideas expressed/message/plot:  Darbury, England, 1814. This story is about two people coming back to a renewed life of faith with God. Not that they ever truly departed from it, but I think every Christian hits those spaces in his/her faith where God's involvement in life is not what it was at the beginning. 

Favorite Characters, quotes/lines: Amelia is cute. I like her. Perhaps I'm a bit like her. Loving people, seeking out the best for others over my own personal desires. Yet, God always works it out and I am completely satisfied. This was a good read but, in all honesty, there are no quotes or lines I can give you that stood out to me--at least dialog wise.

When I finished this book I felt: Oh...I hate to even say it! ... I closed the book, perplexed look on my face, and sighed. "What really just happened in the last 1/4 of this book?" The beginning and middle were fantastic. The climax felt...dramatized? I guess it's to be somewhat expected based on the movies we writers compete with. I felt that the ending could have been rewritten a couple times to refine the emotions and action. A couple of times I stopped to ask why a character was doing something; I didn't feel their motivation. You really don't want the reader to stop and think during a story. Don't you want them to just be so caught up that once they finish the book they let out a satisfied sigh that they didn't even know they were holding in? 

One thing I LOVED about Sara Ladd's book: her faith. Ladd's faith is beautiful and she has a great ability to share that through her characters and story. I was fully satisfied by the level of faith in this book. Too many Christian authors water down their faith in order to make a story and that did not happen here. THANK YOU, Sara! Your depth of faith will inspire others to reach toward God and their relationship with Him; and is that not our purpose in this craft of writing? In art in general? I pray God continues to deepen your relationship with Him and that it pours forth as a beacon of light to all who read your stories. I truly enjoyed it and was inspired to regard my own faith level in areas of challenge in my life.

Overall: I do have some pages with highlights but there are because of Sara Ladd's writing style; the way she had a character notice something or the way she described something. Ladd has a beautiful talent and I look forward to reading her works, especially as she advances as a writer. 

Bookshelf worthy: for some it will be, for some it may not be. I still give it 4 stars (3.8?) and look forward to more from this talented author.