Search This Blog
April Reviews Link-Up
May Reviews Link-Up
June Reviews Link-Up
July Reviews Link-Up
August Reviews Link-Up
September Reviews Link-Up
October Reviews Link-Up
November Reviews Link-Up
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (2)
- North Carolina (2)
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont (1)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (2)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (7)
- France (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (1)
- Italy (1)
- Scotland (2)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Friday, March 22, 2013
Faith-Promoting Historical Falls a Little Flat
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
When Sarah Carr's husband drowns, the 17-year-old widow is left penniless and alone. She has no family to take her in, no one at all—except for the babe growing inside her. Throwing herself on the mercy of a brother and sister-in-law she barely knows, Sarah hopes for the best. But it's not to be. Sold into slavery, she's herded aboard a rat-infested ship and taken from Cornwall to the American Colonies to be an indentured servant. With no means of escape, she puts her life in God's hands, praying to Him daily for deliverance.
In the midst of her struggles, Sarah meets Alex Hutton, a handsome doctor whose kindness stuns her. Never has she had a man treat her the way he does. But, she's a lowborn servant girl and he a gentleman doctor. It's ridiculous for her to imagine building a life with him. And yet, she does. When Alex declares his love for her, Sarah's joy is complete. He's her savior, her love, the man she wants to marry. If only she were free to choose him. She's not—as a woman and a servant she has no rights at all.
Soon, Sarah's torn from Alex, but she can't give up hope. Once again, Sarah must give herself over to God's will. He won't let her down again. Will he? Armed only with her faith, she will face every danger, risk everything, if only for one more chance at love—at life.
I've read plenty of books about slavery, but none featuring a young, white woman sold into bondage. Any human being treated so cruelly is abominable, of course, but it does make for an intriguing subject for a novel. Unfortunately, Beyond the Valley by Rita Gerlach just doesn't live up to the potential of its premise. Part of the problem is Sarah herself. While she spends lots of time reacting to the things that happen to her, she doesn't spend more than a few pages acting to change her situation. Already a rather flat character, Sarah's also a weak heroine—not good things in a character-driven novel. Gerlach's dull prose doesn't help matters. It's just not strong enough to make the story really come alive for the reader. I do appreciate the fact that Beyond the Valley is a clean, gentle, faith-promoting novel, I just wanted more from it.
(Readalikes: Hm, I can't really think of anything.)
Grade: C
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for violence, scenes of peril and mild sexual innuendo
To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of Beyond the Valley from the generous folks at Abingdon Press via those at Pump Up Your Book Promotion. Thank you!
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)
Reading
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
The Widow of Falbrooke Court46 minutes ago
-
-
The Cultist’s Wife by Bj Sikes2 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
The Humans: Matt Haig14 hours ago
-
-
-
Magical Nostalgia Tour1 day ago
-
Books from the Backlog #91 day ago
-
-
-
-
Bookish Quote of the Day!!2 days ago
-
-
-
Audiobook: The Mango Tree3 days ago
-
-
-
-
Final Cut by Marjorie McCown5 days ago
-
-
-
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth6 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
Reading as a retreat from reality1 week ago
-
Reading Recap March 20243 weeks ago
-
-
March Monthly Wrap-up4 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?6 months ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra10 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ▼ 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)