Come Spring: A Parable of Love and Faith [Hardcover]

Tim LaHaye (Author), Gregory S. Dinallo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2005

Dylan Cooper has begun a new life in Boston, where the winters are as unforgiving as in the windswept Scottish Highlands he left behind. In that bustling city, Dylan hopes to achieve recognition for his photography, but convincing others that his images are works of art in their own right is proving impossible. Stark, simple, and filled with the wondrous beauty and spirituality of everyday life, Dylan's photographs are his calling and his only love - until he meets Grace MacVicar, a young Scottish woman working at a distinguished Boston gallery. In Grace, Dylan discovers a soul mate and a champion, someone with unshakeable faith in his talent and a sure, steady determination to help him succeed. Grace knows Dylan's photographs are truly extraordinary, and with her guidance, Dylan finds new inspiration and faith in his abilities. Their friendship deepens as winter wanes, blossoming into a love that neither expected to find in their new homeland. But Dylan's creative gift may be the very means to tear them apart...unless faith and hope can bring him back to the woman he swore he would love forever...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This disappointing first installment of a trilogy by LaHaye (Left Behind series) and television producer Dinallo offers little to excite faith fiction or general fiction fans. Dylan Cooper is a poor Scottish photographer capturing the faces of immigration in Boston in 1918, even as WWI continues its devastation overseas. Playing the classic starving artist role, Cooper falls hard for lovely gallery assistant Grace MacVicar (who "carried herself in a way that did justice to her name"). Her overprotective brother, Colin, seems bent on keeping Grace and Cooper apart, and tempers flare between the two men. Light on plot and character development, the novel features more "telling" than "showing." Some scenes, such as a slugfest between Cooper and Colin, feel made-for-the-screen. A few phrases ("Grace could hardly contain her excitement at the sight of it, which raised her pores") will puzzle readers. Scottish dialect comes and goes, and verb tense problems trouble the text. Historical romance readers will find the plot line familiar: lovers are separated in wartime, and one is believed to be dead. LaHaye's core fans will be disappointed with the few nods to faith, which include Colin's letter-of-the-law approach to Christianity and two pages of Easter Sunday sermon text. The story ends abruptly, leaving readers dangling until the second installment (due in October).
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Left Behind architect LaHaye and coauthor Dinallo tell a short, unexceptionable tale, the first in a planned trilogy set during World War I. Two Scots immigrants, Dylan Cooper and Grace MacVicar, meet in Boston in 1916. Dylan is a photographer trying to establish his work as art. Grace works at a studio and is able to help him. After a few difficulties, Dylan shows pay dirt, and he and Grace marry. They buy a house by the sea and practice "tender and considerate lovemaking." Exciting! Still, the two don't live happily ever after, at least not in this installment. The doughboys are pouring into France, and Dylan, who, unaccountably, is fiercely patriotic, wants to help. The novel gives short shrift to his training and takes him straight into the hazardous work of aerial photography. Meanwhile, there are unhappy developments in Boston, and when Dylan returns, it's to the cliffhanger that sets up part 2. It's hard to imagine fiction blander than this, but, of course, the LaHaye brand name makes it news. John Mort
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 137 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp. (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075821099X
• ISBN-13: 978-0641693113
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,768,787 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Tim LaHaye (www.timlahaye.com), who conceived the idea of fictionalizing an account of the Rapture and the Tribulation, is a noted author, minister, and nationally recognized speaker on Bible prophecy. He is the founder of both Tim LaHaye Ministries and The PreTrib Research Center. He also recently cofounded the Tim LaHaye School of Prophecy at Liberty University. Presently Dr. LaHaye speaks at many Bible prophecy conferences in the U.S. and Canada, where his current prophecy books are very popular.

Dr. LaHaye holds a doctor of ministry degree from Western Theological Seminary and a doctor of literature degree from Liberty University. For 25 years he pastored one of the nation's outstanding churches in San Diego, which grew to three locations. It was during that time that he founded two accredited Christian high schools, a Christian school system of ten schools, and San Diego Christian College (formerly known as Christian Heritage College).

Dr. LaHaye has written over 50 non-fiction books and co-authored 25 fiction books, many of which have been translated into 34 languages. He has written books on a wide variety of subjects, such as family life, temperaments, and Bible prophecy. His most popular fiction works, the Left Behind series, written with Jerry B. Jenkins, continue to appear on the best-seller lists of the Christian Booksellers Association, "Publishers Weekly," the "Wall Street Journal," "USA Today," and the "New York Times."

Another popular series by LaHaye and Jenkins is The Jesus Chronicles. This four-book fiction series gives readers a rich first century experience as John, Mark, Luke, and Matthew recount thrilling accounts of the life of Jesus. Dr. LaHaye is co-author of another fiction series, Babylon Rising. Each of the four titles in this series have debuted in the top 10 on the New York Times best seller list. These are suspense thrillers with thought-provoking messages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good book to read at Easter time!, April 10, 2005

By 

Tonya Speelman "Hoarder of books" (Goldendale WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Come Spring: A Parable of Love and Faith (Hardcover)

A very short, inspiring book about love and also about why we celebrate Easter. Very cute, fast love story to be told in this book. I would love to hear what happened when they went back to Scotland!

It starts out when Cooper is down on his luck and takes a chance stepping into an art gallery hoping they will want to sell his photographs. They love them, however with the war raging and people not being used to photography as art, NOT ONE sells!

But a romance is budding and what happens in Spring?? Cooper finally gets his dreams answered but they are taken away all too quickly.

Read the book and find out how Cooper and Grace fare.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well written, October 20, 2005

By 

M. A. Ramos (Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Come Spring: A Parable of Love and Faith (Hardcover)

I have to disagree with the editors review above from Publishers Weekly. On the contrary I would have to say this is the first book with Tim LaHayes name on it that is actually well written. And the first book formatted in standard typeset to show the true size of the book. I hope this is a sign of things to come. And that Mr. LaHaye has finally become a true novelist. You will be able to read this in one afternoon.

This small book is about an immigrant who is new to the USA and is trying to follow his dreams and make something of him. The time frame is 1918, and the USA has declared war on Germany. Our protanganist is trying to succeed in the new field of photography, which he views as an art. Of course he fails to get anyone to agree with him that would be a potential customer of said art. And seeing the art they were purchasing at the time, I can understand the hesitation.

Our photographers name is Dylan Cooper, and he so happens to find a love interest that comes from his exact same county in his home country. She has the typical over protective brother. Yet the two still manage to get together. Of course whether it is because he has no money or truly feels patriotic, he enlist in the army. Alas, we learn he is too old and is rejected. And a new magazine called, National Geographic is interested in buying his photos. So he and his love plan to wed and live their lives.

And just when all seems right in the world, the Dept of the Army calls Dylan to duty. And of course being the good man he is he answers the call. We get a very quick sentence on his training and then his wartime experience. Which is in the first and only aerial reconnaissance squadron. The only reason I did not give the book the fifth star it should have out of five. Is that some sad developments happen at home while he is at war. And the book ends in a way that in order to have closure, you must read the next installment.

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing for author of LaHaye's caliber, July 19, 2011

By 

Weezie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Come Spring: A Parable of Love and Faith (Hardcover)

I have to confess, I purchased this book at a dollar store for...you guessed...one dollar, and I guess I got my money's worth. There was one page in the book that I felt was more than worth the buck and that was the telling of the Easter story. The rest was nothing close to what I would call good Christian fiction. The one character who professed to be a Christian was not much of an example. I held out to the end hoping to see some improvement, but none was found. Way too predictable ending, and too many mugs of ale for my taste. My only consolation is that it was a quick read and not a lot of time was invested.