It’s Throwback Thursday! That means it’s time for me to revisit a review of an older book I enjoyed. Today I’m resharing my review of With Every Breath by Elizabeth Camden, one of my favourite Christian historical romance authors. I especially love the way she weaves real-life historical events into her stories.

Elizabeth Camden has done it again

Elizabeth Camden is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. She’s won well-deserved RITA and Christy awards with her previous novels, and she just keeps getting better.

Kate Norton lost her chance to go to college in 1879 when Trevor McDonough won the scholarship they were both competing for. She has worked as a statistician at the census bureau since then, but is now offered a new opportunity working for Dr T M Kendall at Washington Memorial Hospital, analysing data and predicting trends in health. She is shocked to find Dr Kendall is her high school nemesis, but soon finds there is more to him than she knew.

Trevor is attempting to find a cure for tuberculosis, an infectious and misunderstood disease.

He’s convinced that rest, good diet and sunshine are key, but a series of malicious newspaper articles bring the project under scrutiny, and he and Kate have to work together.

I thought everything about With Every Breath was excellent—the characters (especially the brilliant but socially awkward Trevor), the plot, and especially the writing, which was a masterful exercise in restraint in the way so much was happening beneath the text. With Every Breath is Christian fiction, although the faith elements are understated.

The information around tuberculosis gate a poignant and bittersweet note to With Every Breath, because I knew Dr Kendall wasn’t going to discover the cure. My great-grandfather, a postman, died of pulmonary tuberculosis and exhaustion on Christmas Day 1925, and Her Daughter’s Dream by Francine Rivers (and based on her family history) featured a character suffering from the disease in the early 1950’s. Reading this made me thankful for the men and women like Kate and Trevor who have dedicated their lives to finding cures for horrible diseases over the years. Recommended.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Elizabeth Camden

Elizabeth Camden is a research librarian at a small college in central Florida. Her novels have won the coveted RITA and Christy Awards. She has published several articles for academic publications and is the author of four nonfiction history books. Her ongoing fascination with history and love of literature have led her to write inspirational fiction. Elizabeth lives with her husband near Orlando, Florida.

Find Elizabeth Camden online at:

Website | Facebook

About With Every Breath

In the shadow of the nation’s capital, Kate Livingston’s respectable life as a government worker is disrupted by an encounter with the insufferable Trevor McDonough, the one man she’d hoped never to see again. A Harvard-trained physician, Trevor never showed the tiniest flicker of interest in Kate, and business is the only reason he has sought her out now.

Despite her misgivings, Kate agrees to Trevor’s risky proposal to join him in his work to find a cure for tuberculosis. As Kate begins to unlock the mysteries of Trevor’s past, his hidden depths fascinate her. However, a shadowy enemy lies in wait and Trevor’s closely guarded secrets are darker than she ever suspected.

As revelations from the past threaten to destroy their careers, their dreams, and even their lives, Trevor and Kate find themselves in a painfully impossible situation. With everything to lose, they must find the strength to trust that hope and love can prevail over all.

Find With Every Breath online at:

Amazon US | Goodreads | Kobo | Koorong

Read the introduction to With Every Breath below:

And click here to check out With Every Breath and other great Christian fiction in my Amazon shop.

#ThrowbackThursday | Hidden Among the Stars by Melanie Dobson

by Iola Goulton

29 August 2019

It’s Throwback Thursday! Today I’m resharing my review of Hidden Among the Stars by Melanie Dobson, a powerful dual timeline story—one of the best books I read in 2018.

The past story begins in Austria in 1938, just after Adolf Hitler has annexed the country.

Anyone who knows anything of twentieth century history suspects this isn’t going to end well. Max is the only son of a well-off Vienna banker. Luzi is the Jewish violinist he loves, and Annika is the daughter of a family servant … who loves Max.

The present story is that of Calisandra Anne Randall.

Callie is the half-owner of a children’s bookstore in small-town Ohio. The bookstore has been Callie’s refuge since she was a child. Now she’s making it a place where the next generation of children meet and come to love some of her favourite fictional characters.

Callie sells both new and secondhand books, and often finds things hidden in the books she sells. But Bambi is different. It’s not just the photograph hidden inside the book that captures her attention. It’s the German words written between the lines of the book. Callie’s attempts to find the story behind the book lead her to Austria and a mystery that’s almost eighty years old.

There were so many things that impressed me about Hidden in the Stars.

The way the two plot lines intertwined and intersected. The characters. The writing. The excellent historical research. The faith aspect. It all adds up to a lot more than the cover promised. And I was equally invested in the past and present stories, which is rare. (Yes, I’m one of those readers who usually wants to skip forward and read only half the story.)

The writing was excellent. My writer/editor self I was especially impressed by the way the author combined first person present tense for the contemporary story with third person past tense for the historical story. Mixing first and third person is not a technique for beginners. Mixing present and past tense is even more impressive. That Melanie Dobson managed to do both seamlessly is outstanding writing.

The historical research never overwhelmed the story. It was good to read a novel set in Austria rather than the more traditional Germany. And it was wonderful to read a story that didn’t have any obvious historical inaccuracies yet managed to share new information. (The author’s note at the end explained a couple of things I’d wondered about.)

I was also impressed by the way the Christian elements were woven into the plot.

The first half had very few religious references—Jewish or Christian. The second half brought out many truths about the nature of God, and the nature of good and evil. Unfortunately, World War II taught us a lot about evil … if we care to learn.

Recommended for fans of dual timeline stories with a hint of romance from authors like Kristy Cambron, Heidi Chiavaroli, and Cathy Gohlke.

Thanks to Tyndale House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Melanie Dobson

Writing fiction is Melanie Dobson’s excuse to explore abandoned houses, travel to unique places, and spend hours reading old books and journals. The award-winning author of twenty novels, Melanie enjoys stitching together both time-slip and historical stories including Catching the Wind, Enchanted Isle, Beneath a Golden Veil, and the Legacy of Love novels.

Chateau of Secrets received a Carol Award for historical fiction, Catching the Wind’s audiobook won the 2018 Audie for Inspirational Novel, and The Black Cloister was ForeWord’s Book of the Year for Religious Fiction. Her next time-slip novel, Hidden Among the Stars, comes out in September.

Melanie and her husband, Jon, have two daughters. After moving numerous times with Jon’s work, the Dobson family has finally settled near Portland, Oregon, and they love to travel and hike in both the mountains and the cliffs above the Pacific. When Melanie isn’t writing, she enjoys exploring ghost towns and dusty back roads, dancing, and reading stories with her girls.

Find Melanie Dobson online at:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Twitter

About Hidden Among the Stars

The year is 1938, and as Hitler’s troops sweep into Vienna, Austrian Max Dornbach promises to help his Jewish friends hide their most valuable possessions from the Nazis, smuggling them to his family’s summer estate near the picturesque village of Hallstatt. He enlists the help of Annika Knopf, his childhood friend and the caretaker’s daughter, who is eager to help the man she’s loved her entire life.

But when Max also brings Luzia Weiss, a young Jewish woman, to hide at the castle, it complicates Annika’s feelings and puts their entire plan—even their very lives—in jeopardy. Especially when the Nazis come to scour the estate and find both Luzia and the treasure gone.

Eighty years later, Callie Randall is mostly content with her quiet life, running a bookstore with her sister and reaching out into the world through her blog. Then she finds a cryptic list in an old edition of Bambithat connects her to Annika’s story . . . and maybe to the long-buried story of a dear friend. As she digs into the past, Callie must risk venturing outside the safe world she’s built for a chance at answers, adventure, and maybe even new love.

Find Hidden Among the Stars at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Read the introduction to Hidden Among the Stars below:

Click here to check out Hidden Among the Stars and other great Christian fiction at my Amazon shop.

Bookish Question #123 | What’s the strangest destination you’ve ever travelled to in a book?

by Iola Goulton

27 August 2019

Armchair travel is one of the reasons I love reading.

My husband loves watching travel shows or actually traveling (well, I love actually traveling as well, but that costs a lot more money that armchair travel). In fact, we’re traveling this week, visiting the South Island.

And while I’ve travelled to some unusual and exotic foreign locations in my reading, most of them were just that: Exotic. Foreign. Foreign and exotic is different, but it’s not strange. And many of these foreign and exotic locations are places I’ve either visited (e.g. Israel) or would like to visit (e.g. Iceland).

Calling armchair travelers: What's the strangest destination you've ever travelled to in a book? Is that somewhere you'd like to visit in real life? #BookishQuestion #BookWorm Share on X

Then I remembered Betrayed by Jeanette Windle. Windle is a brilliant writer who loves writing about unusual and exotic settings such as South America or the Middle East. But Betrayed had the strangest setting:

A rubbish dump in Guatemala City.

Here’s the book description:

Fires smolder endlessly below the dangerous surface of Guatemala City’s municipal dump. Deadlier fires seethe beneath the tenuous calm of a nation recovering from brutal civil war. Anthropologist Vicki Andrews is researching Guatemala’s “garbage people” when she stumbles across a human body. Curiosity turns to horror as she uncovers no stranger, but an American environmentalist—Vicki’s only sister, Holly.

With authorities dismissing the death as another street crime, Vicki begins tracing Holly’s last steps, a pilgrimage leading from slum squalor to the breathtaking and endangered cloud forests of the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere. But every unraveled thread raises more questions. What betrayal connects Holly’s murder, the recent massacre of a Mayan village, and the long-ago deaths of Vicki’s own parents?

Nor is Vicki the only one demanding answers. Before her search reaches its startling end, the conflagration has spilled across international borders to threaten an American administration and the current war on terror. With no one turning out to be who they’d seemed, who can Vicki trust and who should she fear?

Yes, that’s definitely the strangest—and most foreign—location I can think of. And one I have no desire to visit in real life. I’ll stick with my armchair travel, thank you.

What about you? What’s the strangest destination you’ve ever travelled to in a book?

Throwback Thursday | I Always Cry at Weddings by Sara Goff

by Iola Goulton

22 August 2019

Ava Larson is a lapsed Christian who’s about to marry her long-term boyfriend.

His family has planned what they hope will be the New York wedding of the year when she realises the relationship is over. That you can’t marry someone “for the guests and the gifts”. Or for his mother. But disestablishing an over-the-top wedding is expensive, and Ava is left with bills even her high-end fashion job can’t pay for.

Now alone, Ava has to decide what she wants out of life, which leads to her making new choices, some good and some bad. It’s an edgier plot—Ava hasn’t lived the perfect Christian life—but that’s what makes it real. She’s an excellent character because she doesn’t make all the best choices and she doesn’t know all the answers.

I Always Cry at Weddings isn’t “typical” Christian fiction.

There are no Amish, no almost-perfect characters, no people living in happy-happy land, and the only church is the home base of a soup kitchen ministering to Manhattan’s down-and-out, not more pot-luck dinner in a small-town family fellowship.

I Always Cry at Weddings isn’t “typical” Christian fiction. But it’s real. Excellent characters and a strong plot from an author who brings the location and the people alive. Recommended. #ChristianFiction #ChristianRomance Share on X

But it’s real. Excellent characters with plenty of growth, a strong plot from an author who brings the location and the people alive, and an understated Christian message. Excellent reading, recommended for fans of Sally Bradley, Beth Moran and other authors of atypical Christian fiction. I’ll be watching for Sara’s next novel.

About Sara Goff

Author Sara Goff spent seven years as a New York City fashion designer and merchandiser before leaving her career to make a difference in the world. She founded the global educational charity Lift the Lid, Inc. in 2010, which supports underprivileged schools and encourages young people to exercise their creative expression through writing.

Sara attended Sewanee Writers’ Conference and received two fellowships to Summer Literary Seminars in St. Petersburg, Russia and Nairobi, Kenya. While living in Manhattan, she especially loved her work as a writing instructor for Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen Writers Workshop, founded by author Ian Frazier, and for The National Arts Club’s creative writing program for students. Sara is a public speaker and bipartisan contributor for Fox Business.

After seven years living in Stockholm, Sweden and then London, England, Sara is back in the States, enjoying the seasons in Connecticut, with her Swedish husband, their two sons, and sweet little girl…a Yorkie named Pia.

Find Sara Goff online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

About I Always Cry at Weddings

Ava is ready to set Manhattan abuzz with her wedding. At least until she realizes her fiancé wants marriage for the wrong reasons, and maybe she does, too. In a move as daring as a red satin dress, she does the unthinkable–she calls it off, taking on more debt than she can afford and returning to the single life.

When Ava loses her job in fashion and her mom succumbs to cancer, she decides to revamp her life entirely, taking a vow of chastity and going for her dream of becoming a professional dancer.

Change brings trial and error, and she’s inching closer to financial ruin, but an undercover cop promises a new romance…and an unexpected friendship with the homeless guy beneath her stoop brightens her days.

When her carefully balanced life teeters out of control, weddings aren’t the only thing to make her cry. Ava has to figure out what life she really wants to live and what in the world love–unconditional love–means.

Find I Always Cry at Weddings online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

You can read the beginning of I Always Cry at Weddings below:

Bookish Question #122 | When does a contemporary novel become historical fiction?

by Iola Goulton

20 August 2019

When do you think a contemporary novel becomes historical fiction (or vice versa)?

This question came up in a Facebook group recently. An author wanted to know if a novel set in 1979 would be classified as contemporary or historical. That got me thinking … and searching.

Who gets to decide whether a novel is contemporary or historical? It could be:

Libraries (if they classify by genre)
Bookstores (who usually classify by genre)
Writing organisations (especially those with genre-based contests)
Authors (especially when they’re self-publishing)
Readers

Most libraries I’ve visited organise fiction by author surname, not by genre, so that’s no help.

Bookstores often classify by genre.

But each store has different classifications, and it’s not always easy to tell what’s what. It doesn’t help that bigger stores usually classify a Christian historical romance as Religious rather than Historical (and if a book featured an African-American character or was written by an African-American author, it might be classified as African-American fiction, not Religious or Historical).

I checked Amazon, but couldn’t find any definition of historical.

That’s not to say it doesn’t exist. I just says I couldn’t find it. If you know where Amazon has a definition of contemporary vs. historical, please add it in the comments!

Amazon use the BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) codes, and I couldn’t find any definition of historical on their site either.

Amazon also isn’t helpful in that publishers self-classify—which is how we find novels in the nonfiction categories, and The Tattooist of Auschwitz in the Australia and Oceania category. (I can only assume someone mixed up Austria and Australia …)

What about writing organisations?

American Christian Fiction Writers have Contemporary and Historical categories in their Genesis and Carol Awards. They define Historical as “up to and including the Vietnam era”. The Vietnam war ended in 1975, so I guess that’s ACFW’s current definition of “historical”.

In contrast, the Romance Writers of America RITA Award and Romance Writers of Australia Ruby Award both classify “historical” as set before 1950. If you’d asked me, I think this is what I would have said—but I’m equally happy with a 1975 or even 1980 date.

With more recent historical fiction, I expect the time setting to be deliberate. For example, Pamela Binnings Ewen has written several legal thrillers set in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She’s writing about things like women’s rights and women in the workplace, so the 1980s setting is important. They would be different stories if they were set in the 1990s or 2010s—no matter whether the stories were labelled “historical” or “contemporary”.

In general, I expect contemporary stories to be set today—this year (or last year).

I expect characters in contemporary novels to have smartphones and Facebook and GPS and the Uber app (unless they’re philosophically opposed to smartphones and Facebook and GPS and Uber … which could make for a fascinating story).

If the novel is “contemporary” and doesn’t have these things, then I need to be clued in pretty quickly that the novel isn’t set today.

When does a contemporary novel become historical fiction? Is there a fixed date? Or is it up to the publisher (or reader)? #HistoricalFiction #ContemporaryFiction Share on X

I’ve recently reviewed West of Famous by Joni M Fisher, which was set in 2010. That worked for the story, but also worked because the opening made it clear the story was set in 2010. (And yes, there were a couple of plot points that wouldn’t have worked as well in 2019). In that respect, the story was actually historical … even though 2010 is hardly a long time ago.

But what about a story written and published in 2010 that I’m only reading today? Personally, I say that’s a contemporary story. Why? Because it was contemporary when it was written and published.

Using that same logic, Jane Austen was a contemporary novelist, because she was writing about the issues of her day. So were Charles Dickens and Agatha Christie.

So I consider a contemporary story as one that is written and published in the time in which it is set (whether that’s today or two hundred years ago). And a historical story is any story where the author is consciously looking back in time.

What about you? When do you think a contemporary story becomes a historical story (or vice versa)?

Book Review | Fire Storm (Kaely Quinn #2) by Nancy Mehl

by Iola Goulton

19 August 2019

Fire Storm is the second book in Nancy Mehl’s Kaely Quinn Profiler series.

Mind Games introduced us to Kaely Quinn, daughter of a notorious serial killer and now a talented FBI profiler specialising in profiling and catching serial killers. But she’s a damaged person, and most of her colleagues find it difficult to work with her and her unconventional methods.

In Fire Storm, Kaely’s mother is dying of cancer, and her brother has persuaded her to visit their mother in her new hometown of Darkwater, Nebraska. Kaely and her mother don’t have the best of relationships, as her mother basically checked out of motherhood when she found out her husband was a serial killer. In Marcie’s defence, I can’t say I’d be all rainbows and unicorns if I found I was married to a serial killer and had two children with him.

But Kaely hasn’t even arrived at Marcie’s house before she discovers all is not well in the town of Darkwater. There have been a few recent fires, which the fire chief says were caused by cheap space heaters. But Kaely immediately sees a pattern in the locations.

Kaely believes there is a serial arsonist at work.

It’s not a spoiler to say that the fire chief doesn’t believe her … and that the fire chief is wrong. Kaely’s challenge is to get the fire chief or police or FBI to believe her before there are more fires and more people die.

I have to say that the first chapter of Fire Storm isn’t gripping (although the Prologue certainly was). Chapter one has a lot of backstory, describing Kaely’s history and her personal problems. As such, those who haven’t read Mind Games will have no trouble picking up Fire Storm. (Those who have read Mind Games may well find themselves skimming this first chapter).

But the story soon picks up, and turns into a white-knuckle ride with lots of twists and turns.

There’s plenty of conflict in the arson story, and there’s also plenty of conflict at home. Kaely and her mother have never been close, which provides an added layer. And there’s the nice vet and volunteer fireman next door to consider.

I found Fire Storm a quick and fact-paced read, perfect for any time when you’re worried your nails might be getting too long. Recommended for fans of Carrie Stuart Parks, Terri Blackstock, and other Christian thriller authors.

Thanks to Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Nancy Mehl

Nancy Mehl lives in Missouri, with her husband Norman, and her very active puggle, Watson. She’s authored thirty books and is currently at work on a new FBI suspense series for Bethany House Publishing.

All of Nancy’s novels have an added touch – something for your spirit as well as your soul. “I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing,” Nancy says. “It’s a part of me and of everything I think or do. God is number one in my life. I wouldn’t be writing at all if I didn’t believe that this is what He’s called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan especially for your life, and there is nothing you can’t overcome with His help.”

You can find Nancy Mehl online at:

Website | Suspense Sisters | Facebook

About Fire Storm

When FBI profiler Kaely Quinn’s mother is diagnosed with cancer, Kaely takes time off work to go to Dark Water, Nebraska, to help her brother care for their mother. Upon her arrival, she learns of a series of fires in the small town, attributed by the fire chief to misuse of space heaters in the frigid winter. But Kaely is skeptical, and a search for a pattern in the locations of the fires bolsters her suspicions.

After yet another blaze devastates a local family, Kaely is certain a serial arsonist is on the loose. Calling upon her partner from St. Louis, Noah Hunter, and her brother’s firefighter neighbor who backs Kaely’s suspicions, Kaely and her team begin an investigation that swiftly leads them down a twisted path. When the truth is finally revealed, Kaely finds herself confronting a madman who is determined his last heinous act will be her death.

You can find Fire Storm online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

And don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday | Week 106 | An Agent for Kitty by Nerys Leigh

by Iola Goulton

16 August 2019

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m sharing from An Agent for Kitty by Nerys Leigh, one of the Pinkerton Matchmakers series:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About An Agent for Kitty

To find her happiness, she’ll first have to find her courage.

Kitty is the first to admit that she is far from brave, and applying to the Pinkerton Detective Agency to become one of their new female agents is the most daring thing she’s ever done.

Her fragile resolve almost fails her when she discovers she must marry her training agent for the duration of her first case, but Ben Riley turns out to be caring and fun, and outrageously flirtatious. And even though she knows he’s not serious, she can’t help enjoying his attention.

On the case of a stolen dinosaur skull in the Utah wilderness, her confidence grows. But so do her feelings for Ben.

And Kitty begins to wonder if what she should really be afraid of is a broken heart.

You can find An Agent for Kitty online at

Amazon | Goodreads

Click the button to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books

You can then click the link which will take you to the master page of all this week’s #FirstLineFriday posts.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

And don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

#ThrowbackThursday | One Thing I Know by Kara Isaac

by Iola Goulton

15 August 2019

Rachel Somers is the bestselling author of series of relationship books … except the whole of America thinks her aunt, Dr. Donna Sommerville, is the author. Now, lots of published books are actually written by ghostwriters, so that’s no big deal. But Rachel is more than the author. She’s also the voice behind a lot of the interviews.

Lucas Grant is the host of a late-night radio talkback show. It’s supposed to be a sports show, but people keep calling him about their relationship problems. He is not amused when the powers-that-be decide he should join forces with relationship guru Dr. Donna. On the plus side, it does bring him into contact with Dr. Donna’s attractive assistant, Rachel.

It’s a relationship built on half-truths between two people seeking fame and fortune for opposite reasons.

If you’re looking for a novel with a strong and overt faith thread, then One Thing I Know isn’t the novel for you. But if you’re looking for well-written fiction with a set-up ripe with misunderstanding and understated Christian themes, then One Thing I Know might be just what you’re looking for.

Thanks to Howard Books and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Kara Isaac

Kara Isaac is a RITA® Award winning author who lives in Wellington, New Zealand where she writes contemporary romance with heart and humor. Her supportive husband has not read any of her books because they contain “way too much talking and not enough gunfights”. When she’s not chasing three little people or working her “real” job, she spends her time writing horribly bad first drafts and wishing you could get Double Stuf Oreos in New Zealand.

Find Kara Isaac online at:

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

About One Thing I Know

She has the whole world fooled. But the one man who just may see through her holds not only the key to her success, but also her heart…

Rachel Somers is America’s #1 relationship coach—America just doesn’t know it. Rachel writes the books, but her Aunt Donna plays the face of the operation. Living in fear of their secret being exposed, Rachel has no choice but to keep up the charade or lose the big money required to care for her father. With the deadline for their next book closing in, Rachel finds herself out of inspiration and running out of time. The last thing she needs is her aunt and publicist concocting a harebrained scheme to join forces with some radio star in the hope it will help deliver the elusive next book idea.

Lucas Grant is a star of late night radio—though it’s come with an unexpected price of hoards of women who keep calling his sports show to ask him for relationship advice. They make his ratings look great, but they also mean he has to waste hours talking to people like Dr. Donna Somerville about feelings instead of his first love: football. When a big-time producer calls, it looks like his hard work is about to pay off. But the offer comes with a catch—the producer is convinced Dr. Donna is not what she seems and he wants Lucas to discover her secret. To do that, he needs to win over her tight-lipped assistant who holds the key to his success and—he begins to suspect—his heart. Can love find a way through the lies that force them apart?

You can find One Thing I Know online at:

Amazon US | Amazon AU | ChristianBook | Goodreads

Read the introduction to One Thing I Know here:

And click here to find One Thing I Know and other great Christian fiction in my Amazon store!

Bookish Question #121 | What’s your favourite point of view?

by Iola Goulton

13 August 2019

What’s your favourite point of view? First person, third person, or doesn’t point of view matter to you?

Let’s start with a couple of definitions:

First person point of view is when the story is narrated by the viewpoint character, and uses the “I” personal pronoun. For example, here’s the opening of Belinda Blake and the Snake in the Grass by Heather Day Gilbert:

We soon find out (if we hadn’t worked it out from the title) that our narrator (“I”) is pet sitter Belinda Blake.

Third person uses “she” and “he” (although there will be the occasional “I” in the dialogue). It’s much more common. Here’s an example from An Agent for Kitty by Nerys Leigh:

We soon find out that the narrator is Kitty Denton, who wants to become an agent with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.

I know some publishers—and some readers—don’t like first person.

Personally, I love it. I love the sense of immediacy first person gives, the way it takes me straight into the mind of the main character.

Having said that, third person can do the same—if it’s done well.

Third person can range from a distant point of view to a very close (aka deep perspective) point of view. I’m a definite fan of close third person. It allows me to get inside the heads of the main characters (as in An Agent for Kitty), to see what they’re seeing and feel what they’re feeling.

What's your favourite point of view? First person, third person, or doesn't point of view matter to you? #ChristianFiction #BookishQuestion Share on X

What I don’t like is badly written omniscient point of view. Done well (e.g. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), it’s fun. But for every Douglas Adams, there are dozens or hundreds of writers who are writing bad omniscient which reads more like third person with headhopping in every other paragraph.

So while I like third person, I love first person. What about you? What’s your favourite point of view? And why?

Book Review | State of Lies by Siri Mitchell

by Iola Goulton

12 August 2019

It’s been a while since I’ve read a novel by Siri Mitchell. Her first novels were contemporary Christian romance, and I enjoyed the writing and the humour. She then moved into Christian historical romance. I read a couple and enjoyed Flirtation Walk, but didn’t enjoy the other—I didn’t like the characters, and found the language bloated when compared with her contemporary reads. However, after reading the other reviews, I see mine was a minority opinion.

I then read and enjoyed The Miracle Thief, the first of two general market historical novels released under the pen name of Iris Anthony. I thought it was a wonderful story, and was pleasantly surprised to find it actually had more Christian content than many of the Christian novels I read (and I’m not sure what it says about the publishing industry that the Christian publishers weren’t prepared to publish a novel featuring miracles, but a general market publisher was).

And now Siri Michell is back, and writing in a fourth genre: romantic suspense.

State of Lies is published by Thomas Nelson, part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, and is like many current Thomas Nelson books: well-written with a great plot and characters, but no overt Christian content. Despite that, it’s a great read.

Georgia Brennan is a physicist in Washington, DC. She’s married to Sean, a historian, is the mother of six-year-old Sam, and the daughter of a US Army general who might just be the next secretary of defence. Life is great.

Sean is killed in a car accident on his way to pick up a part he needed to fix the kitchen sink.

Months later, when Georgie goes to fix the sink, she realises Sean was lying. That starts Georgie following a trail of lies and leaves her questioning everything she knows to be true.

The novel is Georgie’s story, written in first person point of view. She is an intelligent woman, which is something I always like to see in fiction. She is a strong character with a strong voice, a voice which drives the narration forward without slowing the pace.

State of Lies is a brilliant thriller, with political and military links as befits the Washington DC setting. It’s well-written, with excellent characterisation, and just the right balance between red herrings and genuine clues … along with plenty of surprises. I like to be able to figure some things out when I read a thriller or suspense novel, but I also like to be wrong occasionally.

I hope this is the first of many suspense novels from Siri Mitchell. Recommended for fans of the Criss Cross series by CC Warrens, and the If I Run trilogy by Terri Blackstock.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Siri Mitchell

Siri Mitchell is the author of 14 novels. She has also written 2 novels under the pseudonym of Iris Anthony. She graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and has worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she lived all over the world, including Paris and Tokyo. Siri is a big fan of the semi-colon but thinks the Oxford comma is irritatingly redundant.

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About State of Lies

The secrets of those closet to us can be the most dangerous of all.

Months after her husband, Sean, is killed by a hit-and-run driver, physicist Georgie Brennan discovers he lied to her about where he had been going that day. A cryptic notebook, a missing computer, and strange noises under her house soon have her questioning everything she thought she knew.

With her job hanging by a thread, her son struggling to cope with his father’s death, and her four-star general father up for confirmation as the next Secretary of Defense, Georgie quickly finds herself tangled in a political intrigue that has no clear agenda and dozens of likely villains. Only one thing is clear: someone wants her dead too.

The more she digs for the truth, the fewer people she can trust.

Not her friends.

Not her parents.

Maybe not even herself.

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