Once
again Kristy Cambron has proven herself to be a stellar writer. She
has never failed to pull me out of my present day circumstances and
fully immerse me in another time and place. Castle on the
Rise is set largely on the
Ashford Manor Estate in Ireland in 1798, 1916, and present day.
Cambron masterfully weaves together the stories of Maeve Ashford,
Lady Isolde Byrne and Laine Forrester. Each lady's story is linked to
Ashford Manor, each holds both heartache and victory. Their stories
help readers to see that God is not absent in our pain, nor is He
indifferent to our questions. Our trust in Him in spite of our pain
and questions both pleases Him and brings us peace. While our own
stories may not include castles, like these three ladies we do not
have to wait for a fairy tale ending before we experience joy. Joy
can be found as we walk in faith with God and with those whom He
places in our paths through whatever life puts before us.
Cambron's
diligent research and personal experience with the setting of this
story take us to periods in Ireland's tumultuous history that
demonstrate the chasm that existed between Protestants and Catholics
and between the English and the Irish. We meet both men and women
that are willing to make great sacrifices for what they believe in,
willing to dig in and do the hard work of standing up for what they
believe is right. Cambron develops characters that readers will hold
dear, will root for, and may even cry for. Her dialogue was not only
well written, but I found it impossible to read without an Irish
brogue playing mentally in my head.
I
highly recommend Castle on the Rise
and, for those who have not read it, The Lost Castle, the
first book in the series. I received a complimentary copy of Castle
on the Rise from Thomas Nelson
through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely
my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment