Customer Reviews

A Gown of Spanish Lace (Women of the West #11)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sixteen-year-old Ariana Benson loves her new job as the schoolteacher in her small frontier town. But her whole life changes one snowy day when she is kidnapped by two outlaws and taken back to their hidden camp, where she is held as a prisoner. Her guard is Laramie, the son of the outlaws' leader. But Laramie is not like the other outlaws. He finds himself struggling with his duties as Ariana's guard, and knows in his heart it is not right to hold an innocent young woman prisoner. And Ariana finds herself strangely trusting him. Laramie comes up with a daring plan to help her escape, even though it means separating himself from his father forever. But will the plan work?

This was a decent historical western adventure, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the other book I read by this author. This was mainly due to the ending of the book. Toward the end of the book, the author threw in a plot device that seemed to be there in order to place one more obstacle in the path of the characters so that the book would be a bit longer. I still enjoyed this book overall, I just wish the ending had been less contrived. I would recommend this book to fans of the author, but new readers looking to try a Janette Oke book would be better off reading a different one instead.

Although Oke wrote a suburb series in Love Comes Softly, her breakout into smaller series and one book stories no doubt was the springboard for this awesome book.

It is part of the Women of the West single book stories, and I believe, the best. The storyline was conceived forty years earlier by the author, but for some reason she didn't explain, it never made it to print until 1995.

Ariana was an orphan, adopted by loving parents and the one and only link she had to her biological parents was her wedding dress. However, all her hopes of being married in this dress, and teaching plans were changed during her horrible, violent kidnapping by two rowdy men.

While she was held hostage in a camp controlled by bandits, her faith and trust were severely tested. She had to hold fast to God and her trust that He would control her destiny even when it seemed the rowdy outlaws were in charge of her life and future.

The exciting (and surprising) conclusion to this book makes it among the top of the bunch. I plan to read it again and again. Thank you, Janette Oke, for finally putting this story in print!

This was a great book. I LITERALLY COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!! Anyway, Ariana Benson is a sweet and beautiful little school teacher. She was adopted by a minister, for her parent's were killed in an indian raid on the wagon train. Meanwhile, Laramie Russel is a handsome young man who doesn't fit in with the gang of desperadoes he lives with. He was also adopted; his parents were killed in an indian raid to. Well, Laramie's father, "the boss," is upset with his son because he has never killed anyone, which is a shame to the life of a desparadoe. See, Laramie is the best gunman, but he doesn't shoot to kill. The Boss decides that a woman is the only way to get Laramie to kill, so he kidnaps Ariana, and orders Laramie to be her prison guard. Well, over time, Laramie discovers a Bible and begins to read it. He realizes how wrong his life in the gang is, and decides to escape, and take Ariana home. Throught the ordeal, the two fall in love, but later on, discover a secret that threatens to tear them apart. Can the ending hold a happiness for them?? READ AND ENJOY!!

I really enjoyed this book.

My mom read it to me when I was three or four and recently

She recomended that I read it myself.

I am really happy that I did. It is about

a sixteen year old girl named Ariana who is a schoolteacher.

one day two men come to the school house and kidnap her during a blizzard.

She is taken far away to an old, small, dirty cabin and locked in. When she gets a new guard, Laramie, at first she is afraid of him, but then she starts to enjoy his company. He does not mistreat her and he buys her food and soap and all she needs. one day he decides to help her escape. It is a dangerous and risk, but Laramie is willing to take it and liberate her out of camp. Will they survive?

see for yourself. I think that you should definatly buy this book It has many twists that I did not mention. 5 STARS!

I'm a fanatical fan of Janette Oke's books. I've read almost all of her books, and immensly enjoyed nearly all of them. Usually I pick one up and am done with it by the next day, this one took me a while. I just couldn't get into it. It just didn't have the same quality as many of her other books. Usually I'm sobbing by the last 3/4 of the book, but on this one I felt like the task of getting it done was more important than the ending.

If you are as big of a fan as me, still read the book. I just is not the best one to start on.

This was my first foray into the genre of Christian historical romance. I must confess that I wasn't expecting much. What do you expect from an author who has filled bookshelves with titles like "Love Comes Softly" and "Love's Enduring Promise"? Rightly or wrongly, I was expecting a sappy secular type romance with a superficial Christian sugar coating. I was pleasantly surprised.

Not surprised about the romance. In fact the romance is a key aspect of the plot. Most of the suspense revolves around the romantic developments in the relationship between Ariana and Laramie. Ariana is a young Christian girl who is orphaned by an Indian raid, leaving no connection with her birth parents aside from a wedding dress inherited from her mother. But the likelihood of her ever wearing this dress becomes remote when she is kidnapped by a bunch of Wild West outlaws (oh yes, be prepared to read dialogue in the language of the old West!) Laramie is the son of the gang's boss, and is commissioned to guard Ariana. Laramie's father is concerned that his son doesn't have the makings of a true outlaw because he shoots only to wound, and is convinced that Laramie will learn to shoot to kill when he is forced to fight over a woman - Ariana (p.24-27). But the anticipated showdown (p.125) doesn't eventuate, because Laramie decides to spirit Ariana off to freedom instead. The reader is left to beg the burning question: how will the relationship between Laramie and Arian develop, and what will be the consequences? And just when the outcome appears to be clear, a sudden twist in the plot unravels a surprise by launching the story in an entirely different direction, not just once, but twice!

But even though plot hinges on romance, the romantic element never becomes offensive or unbearable. Here I was surprised. Oke's treatment of the love relationship is markedly different from the way secular writers and even some Christian writers deal with romance. Thankfully, we are spared graphic details about impossibly good looks, sickening physical attraction and burning passion. This romance is definitely Christian: loving, but sober.

In fact, the whole intention of Oke with this book is to convey a solidly Christian message. As she states in the preface, her aim is "to honestly present the ruthless mind-set of the outlaws ... as to show the hopelessness and helplessness of those who choose to live without law - without compassion - without God." (p.8). In this sense, Oke certainly portrays that the pioneer Wild West was not all romance, but that it was inhabited by wild characters who recognized only destructive emotions. "Hate - bitterness. Envy and greed. Those were the passions he had grown up with." (p.173). Oke effectively shows the destructive effect of such sin and lawlessness - "The whole camp was like a powder keg - about to explode. Given time they would all destroy one another - and the girl too." (p.124) But Oke also shows that redemption from such a destructive lifestyle is possible - through Jesus Christ. The change experienced by her characters is one that can also be experienced by her readers in the same way - by the power of the gospel of Christ.

Weaknesses? Maybe a few. Oke appears to present Laramie as a pure victim of circumstances, and I wondered whether she is rather too optimistic about sinful human nature (p.185,196). Furthermore, towards the end of the book, Oke presents it as a duty for a Christian to right his wrongs, and thus sends Laramie off to apologize to his father and beg his forgiveness (p.202-4). The theology is correct, but the application is incorrect - it plainly contradicts the first part of the book, where Oke presents Laramie's plan to free Ariana as an obvious "right", not as a "wrong." If it was right, surely no apology was necessary!

But these minor ripples aside, this is an enjoyable book, full of surprises. Before reading this book, I didn't think the Christian historical romance genre had much to offer. Oke has shown me otherwise. No it's not literary fiction like Frank Peretti, Francine Rivers, or Randy Alcorn, where the theology carries the plot. This is primarily entertainment fiction, where the plot carries itself. But as such it is a successful execution, and a good read. And as a bonus, the theology that does accompany the plot is warm, upbuilding, and not superficial or unnatural. Oke has surprised me in more ways than one - and pleasantly so. Expect to be surprised! I was!

This book is really good. It's really entertaing, and it isn't just a fairy tale. I rate it 5 stars!!!

This is my favorite Janette Oke book. I read it when I was 21 and couldn't put it down. I bought it for my best friend and she loved it too. Ariana's faith in God's mercy and power was so comforting and inspirational.God totally used this book to help keep my eyes on him and his word when I was going through a situation just as scary as Ariana's. I loaned it to my grandma and she adored it. too. I think it's appropriate for age 12 and up. One of the reasons I love J. oke so much is that her books appeal to people of almost any age. She is not ashamed of presenting the gospel and standing on the unchanging word and character of God. If you haven't read it, buy a copy from amazon. You can share it with others if you trust them not to keep it!

This has to be Mrs. Oke's best book ever! I've read many of her books but this one is my personal favorite. The characters are realistic and you can't help but get excited when Ariana and Laramie fall in love. But my favorite part is when Laramie gives his life to the Lord!

If you like Mrs. Oke then you definitely need to read Leigh Ann Roberts' books! I just discovered her and am truly thrilled by her new and refreshing story lines!

A Gown of Spanish Lace is the story of Ariana, a sixteen year old schoolteacher. She is abducted from her school right before a storm. She is taken by her captors far from her home. There she loses track of time but never loses her faith in God to take care of her. She is befriended by Sam, one of the outlaws who abducts her. Sam is in charge of guarding the prisoner but then things change. Laramie, son of The Boss, is put in charge of Ariana. This is all part of The Boss's plot and reason for taking her. After Laramie is put in charge of Ariana things take on very interesting turns. People begin to realize they aren't who they thought. I can't say anymore without giving the story away.

This book was a wonderful read. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I had to find out what would happen between Ariana and Laramie. I found myself feeling sympathy for not only Ariana for being in the situation she was in but also for Laramie. He was also in a situation he wasn't comfortable or sure about.

Janette Oke writes such wonderful books. Her characters are so real one almost believes they really did live in the past. Though her books are set in the prairie times the messages in them will be current for all of time. This book is so well written. Events happen at such a pace the reader doesn't have time to catch their breath or stop for a break. You simply must read ahead to find out what happens. I loved this book and was so sorry it ended. I must say I was beginning to get a little worried toward the end when things weren't looking good for Ariana and Laramie. This is a must read book.