Monday

Jillian Dare

If you ever saw that movie Au Pare which was good, you've got a pretty good picture of what this book is like. Although, the story is not the same at all, it has the same premise. Young girl gets nanny job, faces aversity from some unknown person and falls in love with handsome father of child. Now, if you have ever read the book Jane Eyre (which is an absolute must read because it is so very good), you've got the idea of the story line of this book.
Honestly, Melanie M. Jeschke did not do a great job of moderizing Jane Eyre, in my opinion. The old story was darkly romantic and heavy with mystery. This novel is not. While the characters are fairly well developed, and you do notice within the first 10 pages or so that this is the retelling of Jane Eyre, (the cover tells you that, too) it does not live up to expectations. The supporting characters are not developed well. They don't have much depth and this detracts from the story, making the reader want to fill in a hole somewhere but you don't know where the hole is.
I have a strong feeling that this is an editing problem, not the author's problem because publishers these days don't want to publish books with more than 97,000 to 100,000 words. Jane Eyre had 200,000 words or more and every single one of them was needed to progress the feel of story which is what Jane is all about.
Jane went to work in a dark and brooding household, whereas Jillian goes to work in a bright and airy mansion of a place. Jane feels closed in and almost oppressed by the mystery, and Jillian is merely puzzled. Jane is frightened and timid, but perserveres, Jillian is bold and health conscious, which is fine, but is a bit incongruous to the Jane Eyre tradition.
I know, Jeschke did not want to do a story exactly like the old one. I think she did a terrific job of creating a unique enough novel, which was definitely inspired by the old classic. I just think the atmosphere of the old would have lent itself very well to modernization, in fact it would have been even more gothic than gothic. I give this one two stars. It is mildly interesting.

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Jillian Dare: A Novel

Revell (May 1, 2009)

by

Melanie M. Jeschke



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Melanie Morey Jeschke (pronounced jes-key), a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and graduated from University of Virginia as a Phi Beta Kappa with an Honors degree in English Literature and a minor in European and English History.

A free-lance travel writer, Melanie contributed the Oxford chapter to the Rick Steves’ England 2006 guidebook. She is a member of the Capital Christian Writers and Christian Fiction Writers as well as three book clubs, and taught high-school English before home-schooling most of her nine children. Melanie lectures on Lewis and Tolkien, Oxford, and writing, and gives inspirational talks to all manner of groups, including university classes, women’s clubs, young professionals, teens, and school children.

A fourth generation pastor’s wife (her father Dr. Earl Morey is a retired Presbyterian minister), Melanie resides in the Greater Washington, D.C. area with her children and husband Bill Jeschke, a soccer coach and the Senior Pastor of The King’s Chapel, an non-denominational Christian church in Fairfax, Virginia.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Jillian Dare leaves her Shenandoah Valley foster home behind and strikes out on her own as a nanny at a large country estate in northern Virginia. She is delighted with the beauty of her new home, the affection of her young charge Cadence Remington, and the opportunity for frequent travel to the Remington castle in England.

She is less certain about her feelings for her handsome but moody employer, Ethan. In spite of herself, Jillian realizes she is falling for her boss. But how can a humble girl ever hope to win a wealthy man of the world? And what dark secrets from the past is he hiding? This contemporary story, inspired by the well-loved classic Jane Eyre, will capture readers' hearts.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Jillian Dare: A Novel, go HERE

Wednesday

Miserly Moms-


Jonni McCoy has got a handle on all things frugal. I just thought I knew all the tricks, growing up in a very frugal home with a very frugal Mom. Jonni has taught an old dog lots of new tricks.
Even though the title says Moms, everyone should have this book and should study it because there is something in it for everyone.
For the longest time, I have hated how grocery prices keep going up an up. After the price of gasoline topped $4.00 a gallon, I knew it wouldn't be long before we'd see a reflection of it at the grocery. It really isn't their fault, diesel prices haven't gone down much and trucking is what moves the food from Pacific Coast to Atlantic Coast.
I highly recommend this book. It has loads of excellent advice with menus and some recipes, too, just to prove that it really can be done. We do not have to live on two incomes!
Did you know that coupons really do not save you as much as you think? That house brands are usually just as good and cheaper than the name brands with the coupon? I knew that. I had figured that out. But, what I did not know was that you should not do all your shopping at the same store.
Take the time to find the deals at each store and shop just for the deals. I've always known not to shop when hungry, but I didn't realize how much I could save if I went to several different stores for my weekly shopping. Jonni tells me that I should plan my meals around the weekly specials on meats, rather than plan meals and then hope to find cheap.
Oh, yes, definitely everyone needs this book. It'll make your pocketbook fatter.

According to Their Deeds by Paul Robertson

Paul Robertson has created the most charming characters in Charles and Dorothy Beale, and don't forget the formidable Angelo. This is quite possibly the best novel of the year. I could not put it down and even though I had to be up early, I read deep into the night. I loved it! I want more of it!
Robertson is an expert wordsmith. His play on words, sophisticated puns, and corny puns keep this murder mystery moving at a very fast pace. There is not one yawning page in the whole book. These days, that is quite an achievement. One of my favorites is this line: "He was a teapot of a man, short and stout..." and there was something about him coming steaming and whistling into the room, but I've forgotten the exact wording so I won't butcher the quote here.
Let's talk about Charles for a moment. He is a rare book store owner and drops $27,000 on 13 books at an auction without the least drop of sweat. Nevertheless, the running of this most amazing book store does not plug the storyline flow. Anytime he breezes in or out of the store, he asks his faithful sales clerk, Alice, what did we sell this morning? They always have sold something and it is amazing how it has something to do with what is going on. Fascinating. Charles is also a most wonderful romantic. He celebrates with his wife, Dorothy, by handing her one book at a time and the title of it recalls a moment of their life together. It is blissfully charming.
Robertson has an excellent command of suspense as well. He plays the story out in a satisfying way; we learn as Charles learns, we are mortified when Charles is mortified, we are joyful when Charles is joyful. However, the very end is a pleasant surprise, not jolting, not discovered long before the last page. The story is enhanced by the ending, not stretched into impatience or yawning boredom. Robertson gives the reader just enough to figure it out just before it is revealed who is behind all the turmoil and murder so the reader feels a great deal of satisfaction. If it had been done any other way, it would not have matched the pace and charm of the story.
Only one thing that mars this delicious experience and that is the conversations between Charles and the dead man. Some of it lends quite well to the story and some of it bogs it down. It is a most highbrow discussion and if you want more insight into the murdered man and why he was murdered, then you can study those conversations if you like that sort of thing. Or... you can skip through them. I did both and it did not subtract from the enjoyment or the understanding.
Simply put, job very well done, Paul Robertson. I want more of this fare!

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

According To Their Deeds

Bethany House (March 1, 2009)

by

Paul Robertson



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:




Paul Robertson is a computer programming consultant, part-time high-school math and science teacher, and the author of The Heir. He is also a former Christian bookstore owner (for 15 years), who lives with his family in Blacksburg, Virginia.



ABOUT THE BOOK

A Deadly Game of Justice Versus Mercy Charles Beale lives outside the shadow of Washington, D.C. Politics and power matter only when a client crosses the Potomac to visit his Alexandria Rare Books shop.

But that all changes when a former client--a man deeply connected in the Justice Department--is found murdered after a break-in gone bad. When Charles reclaims at auction the books he'd once sold, he quickly discovers he's bought more trouble than he could have ever imagined.

Inside one volume are secrets. A collection of sins that, if revealed, could destroy reputations, careers--even lives. Charles soon learns he isn't the only who knows. Going to the police means ruining a multitude of lives. But staying silent puts a target on his shop, his wife--and himself. Charles must decide: Should one mistake really cost you everything?

If you would like to read the first chapter of According To Their Deeds, go HERE
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