Night’s chill tickled her skin. Lonnie pressed her hands together and glanced up. He was even more handsome up close. Having grown up the shy, awkward daughter of Joel Sawyer, she’d hardly spoken to any boy, let alone the one who had mothers whispering warnings in their daughter’s ears and fathers loading shotguns.
MY THOUGHTS:
I haven’t read too many stories set in Appalachia, but, the few that I have, draw me in right from the start. I’m not sure if it’s the hills, the foggy mornings, or the bare feet, but I enjoy the Christy/Walton-ish style that’s different than most Christian fiction out there.
Be Still My Soul starts right off with a shotgun wedding and keeps rolling from there. Lonnie is such an easy character to love and empathize with. You will alternately cheer and pity her throughout the entire book. Gideon, who obviously needs to grow up, was hard to fully dislike, despite his ladies’ man reputation.
The book leads you through more than the average first-year ups and downs of this thrown-together couple, and dear Jeb and Elsie round out the story to perfection. Joanne’s writing is smooth and placed me right on Elsie’s porch snappin’ beans.
Lonnie is described as having a ‘quiet’ faith, so a scriptural theme isn’t really as developed as it could be when Gideon ‘wakes up’ to his responsibility and realizes what is important, but I still really enjoyed the story.
Be Still My Soul was definitely one of those I-wish-there-was-more kind of books. Not in the-story-wasn’t-finished kind of way, but wishing I could see how the characters continue growing and changing... and what might happen next. Apparently, Be Still My Soul is the first book in The Cadence of Grace series, so I wonder if we’ll hear more of Lonnie and Gideon... I hope so! Book 2, Though My Heart is Torn, is slated for publication in April 2013.
Great job on your first book, Joanne!
AND FOR YOU, a peek into the book:
You can read an excerpt of Be Still My Soul HERE.
Thank you to Joanne and Blogging for Books for sending me a copy to read and review!
Also reviewed on Amazon and Christianbook.
**DISCLOSURE: I was given a free product in exchange for an honest review. Please read my full disclosure policy HERE.**
