Review: Sixteen Brides

Title: Sixteen Brides
Author: Stephanie Grace Whitson
Genre: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction
Pub Date: April 2010, Baker Publishing Group
Format: e-Book
Source: Downloaded as a free feature from BN.com

Synopsis

From BN.com: Sixteen Civil War widows living in St. Louis respond to a series of meetings conducted by a land speculator who lures them west by promising "prime homesteads" in a "booming community." Unbeknownst to them, the speculator's true motive is to find an excuse to bring women to the fledging community of Plum Grove, Nebraska, in hopes they will accept marriage proposals shortly after their arrival!

Sparks fly when these unsuspecting widows meet the men who are waiting for them. These women are going to need all the courage and faith they can muster to survive these unwanted circumstances--especially when they begin to discover that none of them is exactly who she appears to be.

My Thoughts

Though the synopsis has no mention of it, this book would qualify as Christian fiction, in my opinion, though it is certainly far from some of the "over-the-top" Christian fiction that I have read. There are strong references to God, prayer, and the Bible, so if Christian undertones are a deal-breaker, you have been forewarned.

While the story may be called Sixteen Brides, we are ultimately following the stories of about six of these women, which lessens the confusion a bit. Whitson admirably rotates through each woman's point of view throughout the book and once I really got into the story, I didn't find it too difficult to keep everyone straight, despite the fact that we are following so many different storylines. Each woman's background is unique and each woman has to face her own challenges and struggles.  I found that I felt a connection to many of them as their stories unfolded. How Whitson was able to successfully manage so many prominent characters is beyond me. Perhaps they were not as fully fleshed out as they could have been, but I'm willing to forgive that, given the sheer number of "main" characters we are talking about.

Each woman's story is heartwarming in its own way and I enjoyed watching the various romances unfold, some more quickly than others. In fact, by the end of the book, one of the romances has barely begun, leaving you wishing for more. Yet at the same time, knowing the young woman the way you do by the end of the book, it's just enough to leave you happy knowing what her future holds in store, even if you don't get to read about it. I also found there to be quite a few humorous scenes and exchanges that kept the book moving quickly for me.  All-in-all, while not perfect, I thought Sixteen Brides was a charming story without being overly preachy: a win-win in my book, and at the time I read it, it was just what I was looking for.  If you like historical fiction that is set in the western frontier and you can live with some underlying Christian themes that won't overwhelm you, I'd say it's worth giving Sixteen Brides a shot.

My rating:


If you have reviewed this book, please feel free to leave a link in the comments section.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, as well!

DNF: Fear by Michael Grant

Well, folks, it's true. I have hit my wall with this series and could not finish Fear. It finally just became too gruesome for me. There are so many other books I would rather be reading right now that I just couldn't force myself to continue slogging through this one.

I know many of you loved Fear and love the series. I think for me these books have just carried on for too long. I would have been satisfied if the series could have ended after the fourth book.

I have to admit -- it's pretty liberating to just give it up and move on!

The Sunday Salon: Book Hype - To Read or Not to Read?

We see it all the time: books that come seemingly from out of nowhere to find their way on practically everyone's shelves and become bestsellers almost overnight. I've often wondered how others react to this phenomenon. Do you immediately run out to grab your copy and devour it? Do you wait awhile until some of the hype dies down (or until you get a positive review from a trusted source) to give the book a try? Or do you write it off altogether because of the hype?

I'd say that I fall pretty consistently into the middle category. It is rare that I will run out to get a copy of a book the moment it starts appearing everywhere I look. I didn't start reading the Harry Potter series until the fourth book was out.  In fact, I distinctly remember holding my nose up at the books, eyeing them with disdain. Ha! What did I know? The turning point for me was seeing an interview with J. K. Rowling and I had to admit, I was tempted... those books sounded like they would be right up my alley. So, I swallowed my pride, went way out on a limb, jumped in with both feet, however you want to call it,  bought all four books, and promptly devoured them within a week's time.

Most recently, I stuck to my "wait and see policy" with The Hunger Games, which I mentioned in my "musings on a re-read" post a few days ago. Not surprisingly, I was very skeptical when I kept seeing that book appear on blog after blog. All I could think at the time was: is everyone getting this book from the author/publisher and feeling obligated to tout it as the best book they'd ever read? Seriously, I couldn't go to a book blog without seeing some kind of post about this book -- it was in someone's mailbox, teasered on Tuesdays, given 5 out of 5 stars, and on and on. It took me awhile to give in -- I think after breaking down and buying a copy it still sat on my shelf for quite some time, mocking me. Of course, wouldn't you know by the time I gave it a chance I loved it? And gave it my own freakin' 5 star review? And so I promptly found myself with everyone else, anxiously waiting for the remaining two books to be published.

I swear, if I was smart, I'd just wait to start reading a series once all of the books have been published and do away with this whole "waiting impatiently for the next book" business. But if I haven't learned my lesson yet, I doubt I ever will...

In general, I have to admit that I have ended up enjoying most of the hyped-up books I have eventually come to read. Probably the most notable exception are the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris.  I tried to like them, I really did. I gave the series three books, dammit. The whole experience probably should have ended with a DNF on the first book. It's like I thought there must be something wrong with me for not liking these books.  Well, the third time wasn't the charm, so I threw in the towel and just admitted what I probably knew in my heart after the first book: these books are just not for me. I'm sure there are other hyped-up books that fell flat for me, but it's late and right now I'm coming up with a whole lot of nothing.

I suppose what got me pondering this topic to the point of writing about it here is the recent craze over the Shades of Grey books by E. L. James. For awhile, I waffled back and forth over whether or not I'd ever read these. This time, I don't see myself buying into the hype, though. Oh, I've read my fair share of romance novels, so it's not like I haven't been exposed to sex scenes, but somehow the way these books are portrayed, they just seem so unappealing to me. It doesn't sound like romance to me and if I'm going to read about sex, there has to be a good romance behind it for me to enjoy it. I'm not even going to get into the whole topic of the books originally being written as Twilight fan fiction. (Yes, I gave into the Twilight hype and I confess I did enjoy reading those books for the story that was told, but let's all be honest here, we aren't talking about books that are going to win any major literary awards, am I right?)  OK, I guess I lied and did get into the Twilight fan fiction subject a little bit, but that's it, I promise. I've seen enough reviews of Shades of Grey that bemoan the writing and other niggling points, so I really don't think that all the gushing reviews about the story and the sex will weaken my resolve not to read these books at this point. (Of course, if that changes, feel free to call me out and remind me about this post, I would totally deserve it.)

What about you? How do you react to these books that explode in popularity?

Saturday Snapshot

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky at Alyce's blog At Home With Books.

This is my first time participating in this meme, but I have to confess I like it because it takes some of the pressure off of always having a book-related post.  Not to mention, I can share pictures of my little sweet pea from time to time.  This picture was taken by my dad while they were watching her for a few hours yesterday, which happens to have been her 11-month birthday.  Yes, I'm in total denial that in less than a month, she will be a year old!!

Musings on a Re-Read: The Hunger Games Trilogy

So, as is my habit with books adapted into movies that I plan to go see, I set out to re-read The Hunger Games a few weeks ago, in preparation to go see the movie.  I finally had the opportunity to go with my husband this past Sunday.  He had not read the books, nor had any interest in reading them, but he did end up enjoying the movie.  I, too, enjoyed the movie and actually thought it was quite well done.  The vast majority of the underlying themes and plots weren't changed, though a good bit of detail was left out.  There were really only two parts that were substantially changed from the books that bothered me a little, but I won't go into detail so as not to spoil anything for those of you who haven't yet seen the movie.  But back to the re-read...  Naturally, after I closed The Hunger Games, my immediate desire was to jump right into Catching Fire because I could this time, no waiting for the next book in the series to be published.  However, I managed to keep from moving forward in order to keep The Hunger Games fresh in my mind before the movie and I'm very glad I did.

As I came up with the idea for this post, I decided to go back and read my reviews for the original books.  (If you care to do so, too, just click on the book covers and they will link you to my reviews.)  I found some interesting things.  Firstly, I was reminded about my reluctance to read the series when The Hunger Games first came out.  I had a similar reaction to Harry Potter, in fact.  Thankfully an open mind prevailed and I have the privilege of knowing just what everyone was raving about and continues to rave about when it comes to these books.  Later, in my review of Mockingjay, I mentioned that these books would benefit from being read straight through, something I didn't do when each book came out simply because I didn't have the time.  Boy, I think I was dead right on that point.  I absolutely appreciated the books much more this time around, and actually changed my opinion about two of them.  Originally, Mockingjay was my least favorite of the three books, but now I would have to say that dubious honor goes to Catching Fire.  Oh, I still devoured all three books, but I had a much greater appreciation for Collins' conclusion to the trilogy than I did the first time around and actually found myself very satisfied with the end and epilogue, which is apparently not at all the way I felt the first time around.  This story of a dystopian future world that Collins has created is certainly thought-provoking and thoroughly gripping from start to finish.

All of this being said, I think that much about these series changed for me because I am reading these books from an entirely new perspective -- that of a parent, a mother.  I had to check the date of my review of Mockingjay to be certain, and sure enough, I hadn't even known I was expecting at that point, though I would find out in just days' time.  But I found my emotions were very different reading these books as a mother now.  Not only was my reaction to the story perhaps more emotional because of what was being done to mere children, but I also gave serious consideration as to when I would want my daughter to read these books for herself the first time.  I'm not sure I've figured out the answer to that question, yet, and truly, I think the answer will simply depend on her maturity level down the road.  Obviously, I have a while before I have to worry about that.  But it was interesting how differently I approached the story this time around and it makes me wonder what other books I have read will change for me if I re-read them again at this point in my life.  Having finished the series again also makes me realize what incredible movies the next two could be -- particularly Mockingjay, in my opinion.  Definitely not for the faint of heart.

The bottom line is, if you haven't given these books a chance yet because of the hype (or whatever the reason may be), throw caution to the wind and read The Hunger Games.  Sure, it may not be for you, but what if it is?  Now is a great time to at least give it a shot, because you don't have to wait months for the next book to be published should you get sucked in like so many of us did...