Tag: France

In our fast-paced life, it is often easier to push God into a tight schedule with the rest of our day rather than take time to truly hear him.

Book Review | The Promised Land by Elizabeth Musser

The Promised Land is the story of three Americans who each decide – for reasons good and bad – to walk a portion of the Camino de Santiago, from the village of Le Puy in southern France to the Spanish border (the full walk ends in Santiago, and covers a thousand kilometres or more, depending on where the pilgrim chooses to start: Rome, or somewhere a little closer).

I’ve been interested in the Camino since I saw the Martin Sheen movie, The Way. Based on the book description, I was expecting the characters to start their Camino pilgrimage at the beginning of The Promised Land, and for most of the story to be set on the Camino (as it was in the Way).

That was not the case. The first part of the story is spent introducing the main characters: Abbie, the housewife whose well-organised life is unravelling; Bobby, her oldest son, who wants to be an artist even though his mother wants him to go to college, and Caro, a sometime photographer for the online paper where Bobby interns in photography and graphic design.

Abby is a strange combination of annoying and endearing. She’s a complete control freak, something which has driven her husband and sons away. And she’s endearing in that it’s hard to feel any ill-will towards her, because she’s always acting out of love. She just doesn’t realise she’s been smothering her husband and children, and that’s effectively pushed them away.

Bobby is a typical teenage boy in many ways, but his heart is in the right place and he has good motives. He’s likeable and responsible, even when his mother is annoying him and everyone else.

Caro was probably the most complex character. The story flips between her present and her past, back to a time where she made a bad judgement call over a relationship that had far-reaching effects, effects she hasn’t been able to forgive herself for.

As with all Elizabeth Musser’s stories, there are deep spiritual truths hidden in the pages, particularly with Abby’s personal journey (or perhaps I thought that because she’s the character who best represents my stage in life). The challenge with deep spiritual truths is to show them in a way that feels consistent with the characters, as opposed to preaching to the reader. Musser achieves this with a seeming ease.

The Promised Land is a standalone story that includes characters from several of Elizabeth Musser’s earlier novels: The Swan House, The Dwelling Place, and The Long Highway Home. Recommended for those looking for Christian fiction that will both inspire and challenge their faith.

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

About Elizabeth Musser

Author Photo Elizabeth MusserElizabeth Musser writes ‘entertainment with a soul’ from her writing chalet—tool shed—outside Lyon, France. Elizabeth’s highly acclaimed, best-selling novel, The Swan House, was named one of Amazon’s Top Christian Books of the Year and one of Georgia’s Top Ten Novels of the Past 100 Years (Georgia Backroads, 2009). All of Elizabeth’s novels have been translated into multiple languages.

From an interview with Publisher’s Weekly, “Elizabeth Musser likes to say she has two part-time jobs. Not only is she an award-winning novelist, but she and her husband serve as missionaries at a small Protestant church in Lyon, France. In both lines of work, she avoids preaching and simplistic answers, choosing instead to portray a God who cares in the midst of life’s complexity…”

Elizabeth adds, “My desire is to offer the best literature I can write, drawing the reader into a story that is compelling, believable and sprinkled with historical detail. I seek to give a realistic picture of what faith lived out in this world looks like, and, as always, I hope that my stories can be appreciated by all audiences, not just those readers who hold my same religious beliefs. It is a delight to receive confirmation of this through reader letters.”

For over twenty-five years, Elizabeth and her husband, Paul, have been involved in missions’ work in Europe with International Teams. The Mussers have two sons, a daughter-in-law and three grandchildren who all live way too far away in America.

You can find Elizabeth online at:

Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter

You can read her Friday Fifteen here.

About The Promised Land

With her oldest son taking a gap year in Europe, her aging father losing his sight and his memory, and her husband of twenty years announcing that he’s leaving her, Abbie Bartholomew Jowett is surrounded by overwhelming loss.

Desperate to mend her marriage and herself, she follows her son, Bobby, to walk the famed Camino pilgrimage. During their journey they encounter Rasa, an Iranian woman working in secret helping other refugees, and Caroline, a journalist who is studying pilgrims on the Camino while searching for answers from her broken past.

Each individual has their own reasons for the pilgrimage, but together they learn that the Camino strips you bare and calls you into deep soul-searching that can threaten all your best laid plans.

You can find The Promised Land online at:

Amazon | BookBub | 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

First Line Friday | Week 157 | The Promised Land by Elizabeth Musser

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 The Promised Land by Elizabeth Musser. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

I have spent twenty years carefully stitching my family's life together, so when it suddenly starts to unravel I find myself in a tangled knot of anxiety.

Elizabeth Musser is a must-read author for me, and the fact this novel features the Camino brought it to the top of my to-read pile!

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

 

About The Promised Land

With her oldest son taking a gap year in Europe, her aging father losing his sight and his memory, and her husband of twenty years announcing that he’s leaving her, Abbie Bartholomew Jowett is surrounded by overwhelming loss.

Desperate to mend her marriage and herself, she follows her son, Bobby, to walk the famed Camino pilgrimage. During their journey they encounter Rasa, an Iranian woman working in secret helping other refugees, and Caroline, a journalist who is studying pilgrims on the Camino while searching for answers from her broken past.

Each individual has their own reasons for the pilgrimage, but together they learn that the Camino strips you bare and calls you into deep soul-searching that can threaten all your best laid plans.

You can find The Promised Land online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

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

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!

Quote from The Lost Castle

Book Review | The Lost Castle by Kristy Cambron

The Lost Castle is a split-time romance with a difference. I’ve read several dual-timeline romances, but this is the first with three timelines, all three centering around a mysterious lost castle in the Loire Valley, France—an area famous for wine and chateaux.

The oldest timeline is set amongst the French nobility in 1789, the eve of the Revolution. Aveline Saint-Moreau is about to be married when the castle is stormed and the nobility flee for their lives. She remains at the Chateau des Doux-Reves in the care of the master vinter, recovering from her injuries. She is the Sleeping Beauty, the origin of the legend of the ruined castle.

The middle timeline is set in the same location towards the end of World War II, shortly before D-Day (well, I knew D-Day was coming even though the characters didn’t). This is the story of Viola Hart, an English woman escaping from the Nazis in France. But how did she get there? Her story unfolds as the novel progresses, but ties together both the past and the present story.

The modern story is that of Ellison Carver—Ellie (although I did a double take when I first read the name, as I’m a James Bond fan and Elliot Carver was a James Bond baddie). Ellie was raised by her grandmother, Lady Vi, who is now confined to an Alzheimer’s unit, but who has a request for Ellie: go to France, find the Sleeping Beauty castle, and discover the significance of the castle and the handsome man in the photograph.

The writing is spectacular, especially the descriptions of 1789 France—the clothes, the chateau, the social inequity. This was definitely my favourite of the three timelines, because it’s a less common period to read about. I also enjoyed the Christian theme of God’s faithfulness woven throughout the three timelines.

Kristy Cambron’s first stories were dual timeline, and both had World War II settings (and in both, I thought the historical portion of the story was more compelling than the present). Her later novels have been straight historical fiction, in American settings. Personally, I prefer her dual (and now triple) timeline stories.

The Lost Castle takes Cambron’s talents in writing and researching, and brings the French Revolution and D-Day France to life. Recommended for readers looking for Christian fiction that’s a little out of the ordinary.

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

About The Lost Castle

Broken-down walls and crumbling stones seemed to possess a secret language all their own.

What stories would they tell, if she finally listened?

Ellie Carver arrives at her grandmother’s bedside expecting to find her silently slipping away. Instead, the beloved woman begins speaking. Of a secret past and castle ruins forgotten by time. Of a hidden chapel that served as a rendezvous for the French Resistance in World War II. Of lost love and deep regret . . .

Each piece that unlocks the story seems to unlock part of Ellie too—where she came from and who she is becoming. But her grandmother is quickly disappearing into the shadows of Alzheimer’s and Ellie must act fast if she wants to uncover the truth of her family’s history. Drawn by the mystery surrounding The Sleeping Beauty—a castle so named for Charles Perrault’s beloved fairy tale—Ellie embarks on a journey to France’s Loire Valley in hopes that she can unearth its secrets before time silences them forever.

Bridging the past to the present in three time periods—the French Revolution, World War II, and present day—The Lost Castle is a story of loves won and lost, of battles waged in the hearts of men, and of an enchanted castle that stood witness to it all, inspiring a legacy of faith through the generations.

You can find The Lost Castle online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

About Kristy Cambron

Kristi CambronKristy Cambron has a background in art and design, but she fancies life as a vintage-inspired storyteller. Her debut novel, The Butterfly and the Violin, was named to Library Journal’s Best Books of 2014 and nominated for RT Book Reviews’ Choice Awards Best Inspirational Novel of 2014 and for the 2015 INSPY Awards for Best Debut Novel. Her second novel, A Sparrow in Terezin, was named Library Journal’s Pick of the Month (Christian Fiction) for February 2015 and a Top Pick for RT Book Reviews. Kristy holds a degree in Art History from Indiana University. She lives in Indiana with her husband and three young sons.

You can find Kristy Cambron online at:

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