Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Before the Season Ends

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I SO enjoyed this first book in the Forsythe trilogy, and am SO looking forward to book 2! 
It's rare to find Christian regency novels, and sometimes -when you do- the spiritual aspects of the story seem shallow or nonexistent. Linore Burkard had a great way of bringing Christ into her story without being shallow, but also without seeming "preachy". I really appreciated that the Gospel was given clearly, and leaving no doubts that Burkard believes what she is writing. 

I really enjoyed the style of writing- especially when it came to the points of view in narration. I get frustrated when two (or more) characters are having a conversation but you only know whats going on in the thoughts of one, and so the other characters aren't easy to read or understand; Linore writes in a way that she can- in the narration- jump from one persons thoughts/perspective to anothers without the reader getting confused, and it's nice to have all the facts and know what each character is thinking and then, if the other characters are confused, you can rest assured and know a bit beforehand what to expect from each. ;) This, written by some people, could be annoying or predictable, and Burkard is the first author I've read where this ability really stood out to me. Well done. :)

The plot was great! It moved along quickly yet coherently, and it never lagged. There wasn't too much "extra" narration around conversations and scenes, and everything ran along smoothly. 

The added mystery towards the end (hinted at throughout, but addressed later on), though rather short-lived, added to the story well, and I liked it not being drawn out. :) 
Ariana's Philip's aunts' were both really great characters! And I also loved Lavinia- Ariana's best friend. Mr Pellham was pretty awesome and threw in some great laughs.

The book was super clean- once Ariana is betrothed there's quite a few mentions of kissing upon greeting/farewell, but these were never dwelt on or narrated ;)- and I highly recommend to all regency/Jane Austen/Georgette Heyer fans! There was intrigue, mystery, romance, comedy, misunderstandings, faith, parties, tree climbing dilemmas, and a sweet ending due to two loving and protecting fathers- earthly, and Heavenly! :)


Sincerely,

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