Category: Bookish Question

Bookish Question #254 | What’s your favourite book with a two-word title?

I find these questions difficult, because I tend to remember books based on the author or the genre or the main characters, not the number of words in a title. But I took a look at my bookshelf, and several favourite titles did jump out at me.

(So apologies to the hundreds of ebooks I’ve read. Searching for a two-word title on a Kindle isn’t as easy as scanning a physical bookshelf.)

The titles were all by the same author, Tamara Leigh. Tamara Leigh curently writes Christian historical fiction/romance set in around the 1300s (I think. I haven’t actually read any, because it’s not a period of history I have a lot of interest in).

She actually started her author career writing historical fiction for the general market. But between her two historical phases, she wrote several contemporary Christian romances which perhaps could be better considered as rom-coms.

All were written in first person point of view with only one point of view character. All had interesting, intelligent heriones. All were funny, yet also managed to cover some serious issues.

And all had two-word titles: Saving Adda, Perfecting Kate, Splitting Harriet, Faking Grace.

My favourite was Faking Grace, where unemployed Maisy Grace decides to fake being a Christian to get a job with a Christian company. I liked Grace, I liked her boss (the “English hottie” she falls for), and I liked the lighthearted redemption story. I’d re-read it, except I loaned my copy to someone and never got it back.

Maybe it’s time to invest in the ebook version …

All she wants is a job. All she needs is religion. How hard can it be?

Maizy Grace Stewart dreams of a career as an investigative journalist, but her last job ended in disaster when her compassion cost her employer a juicy headline. A part-time gig at a Nashville newspaper might be her big break.

A second job at Steeple Side Christian Resources could help pay the bills, but they only hire committed Christians. Maizy is sure she can fake it with her Five-Step Program to Authentic Christian Faith. If only Jack Prentiss, Steeple Side’s managing editor and British hottie, wasn’t determined to prove her a fraud.

When Maizy’s newspaper boss pressures her to expose any skeletons in Steeple Side’s closet, she must decide whether to deliver the dirt and secure her career or lean on her newfound faith, change the direction of her life, and pray that her colleagues—and Jack—will show her grace.

What’s your favourite book with a two-word title?

Bookish Question #253 | Have you ever re-read a book and had it impact you two different ways?

Have I ever re-read a book? Yes, of course I have.

(Although not so much lately, as I have so many books in my to-read pile. I have found myself accidentally re-reading books, because I find them on my Kindle, start reading, and don’t remember that I’ve read them before.)

I’ve actually had that happen a couple of times this year: I only realise I’ve already read the book when I go to add it to my Goodreads list and find it’s already on my Read shelf.

In one case, I thought the book was average and forgettable, so the fact I’d already read it didn’t surprise me (especially when I read my review, which essentially said the book was forgettable).

But the other did surprise me, because I enjoyed it much more the second time around.

That book was The Edge of Mercy by Heidi Chiavaroli.

I’d put off reading it several times because while the book was described as dual timeline, the cover made it look like a historical. That gave me the impression it was set in two historical timelines.

That didn’t interest me because I’ve been going through a contemporary phase (I can’t be the only person who goes through reading phases). Yes, I could have read the actual book description which would have made it clear the book was a contemporary, but that is one of the disadvantages of reading on Kindle: there isn’t a back cover with a book description.

Anyway, once I started it (again), I realized The Edge of Mercy is actually a contemporary story that has flashbacks to the past through a diary.

Here’s the Amazon description:

Two women, three hundred years apart, must face the devastation of all they hold dear…

Suspecting her husband is having an affair, Sarah Rodrigues fights to appear unbroken while attempting to salvage her family. Though distracted by her own troubles, Sarah is summoned to an elderly friend’s deathbed for an unusual request—find a long-lost daughter and relay a centuries-old family story.

Determined not to fail her friend, Sarah pieces together the story of her neighbor’s ancestor, Elizabeth Baker, a young colonist forced into an unwanted betrothal but drawn to a man forbidden by society.

While Sarah’s family teeters on the edge of collapse, her world is further shaken by the interest of a caring doctor and a terrible accident that threatens a life more precious than her own.

Inspired by the unconditional love she uncovers in Elizabeth’s story, Sarah strives to forgive those who’ve wounded her soul. But when light shines on the dark secrets of her neighbor’s past and the full extent of her husband’s sins, will looking to a power greater than herself rekindle lost hope?

The Edge of Mercy reminded me of The Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers.

The heroine married young, and focused on raising a family while her husband built a successful business. Now her husband has now left her for another woman.

As with The Scarlet Thread, the writing in The Edge of Mercy was excellent, and the story focusses on the woman: on her reaction to being suddenly single, on an external event (her neighbor dying) that pushes her to look beyond herself, and on her eventual (but subtle) reconciliation with God through the story. It’s also a story of the main character, Sarah, as she tries to find her identity now her marriage has ended. As she says on the first page:

I … couldn’t imagine who I was without Matt to define me.”

I think that’s what got my attention this time: a main character with a mistaken view about her identity. We should not identify ourselves purely in relation to those around us. We are more than someone’s daughter or wife or mother or colleague or friend.

As Christians, our identity is in Christ.

And I wanted Sarah to discover that …

What about you? Have you ever read a book a second time and had it impact you differently?

Do you pre-order books?

Bookish Question #252 | Do you Pre-order Books?

Do you pre-order books? What would make you pre-order a book?

I often pre-order ebooks, but almost never pre-order a paper book. Because I’m mostly an ebook reader, I tend to only buy nonfiction in paperback, or novels I want to gift or loan to other people.

So what entices me to pre-order an ebook?

If it’s cheap.

If I see an advertisement for a book I’m interested in and it’s on pre-order for 99 cents, I’m likely to click on that pre-order button. My rationale is that it supports the author, I’m not likely to get it cheaper, and I’ve only lost a dollar or so if I end up not enjoying the book (although I’m less likely to click on pre-order next time if I don’t enjoy the book).

I may even pre-order at $1.99 or $2.99, but then it will depend on how much I have liked the author’s previous books. If it’s any more expensive than that, I’m more likely to wait until after it’s released so I can check the sample before buying.

If it’s a favourite author.

I’m more likely to click the pre-order button if a book is by a favourite author, especially if the pre-order is the sequel to the book I’ve just read (and even more so if there is a short sample to whet my appetite).

This has been known to backfire. I recently pre-ordered the third book in a series from a favourite author, then realised I hadn’t read the first two books in the series. As it happened, I already had the second book, and the first book was currently free, so I downloaded it.

I started the first book, but didn’t like the main character. I started the second book, but didn’t like either of the main characters. So I cancelled the pre-order. I now see it has 100+ 5-star reviews, but I’m not tempted. I’m glad a lot of people like it, but it’s not for me. And that’s okay

So what makes me (or entices me) to pre-order a book?

Basically, it’s price, genre, and author … author if I’ve read their books (or especially that series) before, and price if it’s a new-to-me author.

What about you? Do you pre-order books? If so, why?

Do you ever find yourself taken out of a novel because of a character's name?

Bookish Question #251 | Do you ever find yourself taken out of a novel because of a character’s name?

Yes.

One thing that brings me out of a novel is when I can’t picture the character.

So if a character has a gender-ambiguous name and their gender isn’t immediately clear, it pulls me out of the story. (And I mostly read Christian fiction, so the characters are all male or female. The author isn’t trying to be ambiguous, as might be the case in general market fiction.) I don’t need a lot of character description.

I just need to know if I’m in the head of the hero or the heroine.

It could be that the authors know their characters so well that they assume everyone will know Hunter and Cameron are male characters. But the first Hunter I met in real life was a teenage girl, and the Cameron I “know” best is the female doctor on the famous TV series, House.

Then there are the names which can apply to either gender:

  • Ashley/Ashleigh
  • Lesley/Leslie
  • Billie/Billy

Those last two are all the more confusing as the “ie” ending is male for Leslie, but female for Billie (well, I’ve never met a male Billie).

Then there are non-English names, like Iola (which is Welsh, and means “valued by the Lord”). My sister’s name means “fair maiden”, so she was somewhat surprised to meet a male with her name. (There is a traditional masculine version, but that’s spelled differently. This boy definitely had the female spelling).

Another reason is when I’ve seen the character’s name in a novel by another author in the same genre.

I’ve seen this a couple of times. In one, it was made clear that the characters were the same, and that the author had “borrowed” the character with the permission of the other author.

The shared character was Gwen Marcey, from Carrie Stuart Parks’s Gwen Marcey series. I liked that, and it made sense. Gwen Marcey is a forensic artist, the books were set in the same part of the USA, and it made sense that the characters mentioned Gwen in the context of the story.

But I read another novel where a character shared an unusual name with a character from a novel by one of the author’s mentors. It was never clear whether they were the same character or not, and that detracted from my enjoyment because I was wondering about the character, not the story.

I’ve also read multi-author series where the different authors share some of the same characters. This doesn’t bother me, because it’s been established all the authors are writing in the same series, so it makes sense that they’d share some characters.

So yes, I have sometimes found myself taken out of a novel because of the character’s name.

What about you? Do you ever find yourself taken out of a novel because of a character’s name?

Is it more important for you to like the hero or heroine in a Christian romance?

Bookish Question #248 | Is it more important to like the hero or heroine in a Christian romance?

Is it more important for you to like the hero or heroine in a Christian romance?

Umm, both?

Seriously, I think the hero and heroine are equally important.

If I don’t like the hero, then I’m secretly hoping the relationship will fail.

I’m waiting for the heroine to see whatever red flags I’ve spotted, and for her to wise up and move on. (That goes double when there is a male character I think would be ideal for her.)

If I don’t like the heroine, then I wonder what the hero sees in her.

Perhaps he’s focussed on her looks or her money or something equally fleeting. Perhaps it’s not clear what attracts him to the heroine.

Either way, if I can’t see a real and credible attraction, I’m happy to close the book and allow the two of them to go on to their inevitable miserable and shallow ever after.

If I can see a real and credible attraction, I’m likely to question the hero’s intelligence, judgement, or both. Again, I’m happy to close the book and let them have a miserable time together.

On that basis, I guess it’s actually more important for me to like the heroine.

After all, the heroine (and therefore the reader) may often have a false initial impression of the hero. After all, a false impression could provide some great conflict and tension. But we, the reader, still need to be able to see the characters as they really are in order to buy in to the relationship.

What about you?

Which character is it more important for you to like in a Christian romance – the hero or the heroine?

What's your view on epilogues where the couple get engaged or married?

Bookish Question #247 | What’s your view on epilogues where the couple get engaged or married?

Christian romance novels often feature an epilogue with an engagement or wedding scene.

What’s your view on such epilogues?

I was tempted to give my usual “it depends” answer, using the rationale that some stories will need to include the engagement or wedding scene in order to feel complete, but others will be complete without the engagement or wedding.

But then I reconsidered.

If the story needs an engagement or wedding scene to be complete, that scene should form part of the main novel. It shouldn’t be tacked on at the end.

If the story doesn’t need an engagement or wedding scene, then that scene could be rated in one of several ways:

  • It could be excluded. If it’s not needed, why include it?
  • It could be moved to the next book in the series, to show the reader how the first couple are moving on in their life together.
  • It could be included as an epilogue.

I think epilogues work best when they are doing one of two things:

  • Setting up the next story in a series (e.g. introducing the next hero and heroine).
  • Following up the characters after significant time has passed since the end of the book e.g. an epilogue at the end of a series which shows where the main characters are months or years later.

I have seen engagement or (more commonly) wedding scenes which successfully set up the next book in a series e.g. by having the new hero and heroine meet at the wedding. I like these: they provide a sense of closure while whetting the reader’s appetite for whatever comes next.

I do think epilogues should be set many months after the conclusion of the novel.

First, because I do wonder if some fictional characters will marry in haste and repent at leisure. Second, because if the engagement or wedding follows the end of the novel too quickly, why not simply include it in the actual novel?

I have heard of authors who use an epilogue as an enticement to get readers to sign up for their email list. I can see the logic behind this, but I also know it annoys those readers who believe the novel should be complete as it is published, i.e. no cliff-hanger endings and no vital epilogues.

A better enticement night be a “bonus scene”.

This could well be a combination engagement or wedding with introducing the next couple. But it could also be a prequel scene or short story, or a deleted scene.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.

What’s your view on epilogues where the couple get engaged or married?

 

What's your view on sex or rape scenes in Christian fiction?

Bookish Question #246 | What’s Your View on Sex or Rape Scenes in Christian Fiction?

I’m not a fan of rape as a plot point in any fiction, Christian or otherwise.

It’s become an overused way of showing a female character’s tragic backstory (and it’s always a female character). I’m especially not a fan of on-the-page rape scenes as they generally come across as voyeuristic and violent, as though they are there for the cheap thrill rather than to move the plot along.

People who have experienced sexual violence don’t need the reminder, and people who haven’t don’t need to have the details spelled out in order to understand that the character is going to be negatively affected.

I’m even less interested in Christian fiction that will show rape (which is nonconsensual and unlawful) but won’t show consensual sex in marriage. I’m not saying I want to read explicit sex scenes in Christian fiction (I don’t), but I do see it as hypocritical if sex is only described when it’s the unlawful, undesireable kind.

What about you? What’s your view on sex and rape in Christian fiction?

Who is your favourite character in Christian fiction?

Bookish Question #245 | Who is your favourite character in Christian fiction?

This is a tough question.

I’ve read hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Christian novels, and while several characters spring to mind, they aren’t necessarily “favourite” characters. They are memorable characters, and there is a difference.

  • For example, Angel in Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is a memorable character. But she’s not always likeable, so can’t be called a favourite.
  • Mrs Clara Kip in The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs Kip by Sara Brunsvold is another memorable character. But while she is the character in the title and the person with many life lessons to share, she’s the mentor figure. Not the main character. Shouldn’t the favourite be the main character?
  • Some characters are memorable and interesting for reasons they have no control over. An example of this is Libby in When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer, who literally lives two lives separated by more than a century.
  • And some characters are memorable for their circumstances, like Marissa Moreau in Shadows of Hope by Georgiana Daniels, a crisis pregnancy counsellor who can’t get pregnant, and discovers her new client/friend is her husband’s mistress.

But if we’re going to talk about my favourite character, it probably has to be a character that features in a series I’ve read over and over: the Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke. It’s an oldie, but a goodie. The series centres around Marty and Clark and their children. There was a later spinoff series that featured one of their grandchildren, Virginia.

My favourite character is Drew, who married Marty and Clark’s youngest daughter, and who is Virginia’s father.

Drew is an inspiring example of a Christian man, husband, and father. He’s a bitter young man when we first meet him, but over the years he matures into a strong man of God, a man who wants to care for and protect those around him with the skills he has. He’s also a man who overcomes trials that could have broken him, but he chooses to be the survivor and victor, not the victim. And that’s why he’s my favourite.

What about you? Who is your favourite character in Christian fiction?

What's your view on billionaire romances?

Bookish Question #244 | What’s your view on billionaire romances?

Good question. I have mixed feelings.

On one hand, I’m not a fan of billionaire romances, especially in Christian fiction, because of the underlying unstated assumption that money will fix any problem.

On the other hand, I’ve read too many books where the plot centres around money troubles (often caused by medical issues), and it’s refreshing to read a novel where money troubles aren’t part of the plot.

When I do read a billionaire romance, I’m a little fussy when it comes to how they have made their money.

I’m not interested in family money or in people who have made their millions and billions by treating others badly (if you’re a billionaire, you can afford to pay more than minimum wage).

I prefer stories where the person has made their money honestly and without subjugating others, which is why I prefer sportspeople or (even better) tech billionaires. Tech billionaires are also good because it’s more believable that they make their money relatively quickly.

I’m currently reading and enjoying Elizabeth Maddrey’s Billionaire Next Door series about a group of friends who all won big on the stockmarket.

What I would like to see is a story about a female billionaire … do you have any recommendations?

What about you? What’s your view on billionaire romances?

What’s your view on novels with cliffhanger endings?

Bookish Question #243 | What’s your view on novels with cliffhanger endings?

What’s my view on novels with cliffhanger endings?

This is an easy question.

I loathe cliffhanger endings. They feel like cheating, as though the author

I especially loathe cliffhanger endings in novels that are billed as romance. Tip: romances have to have a happy-ever-after ending, and a cliffhanger doesn’t meet that criteria.

My view is that a novel is like a movie: it has a start, a middle, and an end, and they all happen between the first and last pages. A cliffhanger ending feels like the author has cut the novel in two so they can sell more copies because they’ve hooked the reader.

Yes, a novel that’s part of a series can have a few loose ends that will be picked up in the next novel in the series, but each novel in the series should be complete.

In romance, this will mean that the hero and heroine get their happy ever after ending, but the novel might have an over-arching plot question that isn’t answered, or it might introduce the hero and heroine of the next book in the series.

That’s okay.

What isn’t okay is leaving the hero and heroine on opposite sides of Berlin as the Wall goes up (#TrueStory) or having them break up in the final chapter only to reunite and marry in the gap between the first and second books in the series (also #TrueStory).

So no, I don’t like cliffhanger endings. Do you?