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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Higher Hope by Robert Whitlow, April 16, 2009
This review is from: Higher Hope: Tides of Truth, Book 2 (Paperback)
Higher Hope by Robert Whitlow is a legal thriller in the style of John Grisham, and his second book in the Tides Of Truth series. Set in beautiful Savannah, Georgia, it tells the story of Tami Taylor, a summer law clerk for the Braddock, Appleby and Carpenter law firm. Because of her strict religious upbringing, she is assigned to a case involving a caustic preacher-turned-prophet, who goes by the name of Sister Dabney. This poses a huge moral dilemma for Tami. Will her conscience allow her to take part in a case against one of God's anointed? In addition to this quandary, she has not one, but two honorable Christian men vying for her attention--Zach Mays, an associate with the firm, and Vince Colbert, another summer intern. Several chapters near the beginning of the book cover the experience of Tami taking Zach to Powell Station, Georgia, a rural community where her parents, two sisters and two brothers live. These chapters are tense and full of conflict since Tami's parents have raised her to respect their religious views concerning relationships with people outside their church. Even though Zach is a Christian, his own upbringing in a California communal-type church (and the length of his hair, which he wears in a ponytail) stand in sharp contrast to her parent's beliefs. These opening chapters also serve to help us understand why Tami is the way she is, which helps us understand her behavior and reactions in later chapters of the book. This was an enjoyable read by a gifted author. I found the story interesting and fascinating, especially the character of Sister Dabney in relationship to the main character, Tami Taylor. The connection between them can only the explained by God's Spirit indwelling each of them.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Higher Hope, June 15, 2009
This review is from: Higher Hope: Tides of Truth, Book 2 (Paperback)
I wish I had known this was a series before I requested the book to review. I felt like I was walking into a movie halfway through. I did not enjoy this book because of that. This is one of the most frustrating things about series books, most authors (not all) assume you've read all their books and so they don't tell you what went on before. There was a reference to a Moses Jones repeatedly in this book and at first I kept flipping back the pages to see if I missed something and then I saw the fine print: Tides of Truth Series Book #2. Oh, well I thought...I'll see if it makes a difference to this story. It didn't, but it was annoying when the author kept bringing it up as an example. Tami, the summer law clerk in this series was a very confusing character because again, the author assumed the reader knew who she was. He kept talking about her religious views, but never explained what they were. I'm still not sure if she is Mennonite, Amish, Pentecostal or somewhere in-between (is there an in-between?). Suffice it to say, she had a very strict upbringing that worked against her conscience in matters of Law. The author did create a unique character in Sister Dabney, unfortunately he introduced and then forgot about her until so far along in the book that I had to re-read the first few chapters to find out who he was talking about. I would have preferred hearing about her than about Tami's troubled love life, which was - well...boring to say the least. I want to mention something positive about this book, because I don't want everyone to think it was horrible. It wasn't - it had a good plot in regards to a young Christian woman struggling with what her job requires her to do and what God would expect. Something I'm sure we've all struggled with at some time or another in our jobs or daily lives. Robert Whitlow did an excellent job of taking us into Tami's struggles in this regard, eventually pointing his readers to God's mighty power. If you have read the first book in this series then I'm sure you will have an entirely different opinion of this book than I did and I'd love to hear them. Maybe you can convince me to give the author Robert Whitlow another chance!
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, April 25, 2009
This review is from: Higher Hope: Tides of Truth, Book 2 (Paperback)
I really wanted to enjoy this book--I just didn't. I will admit I have not read the other novels that Robert Whitlow has written, so maybe I'm missing something. Many people seem to enjoy his novels, comparing them to John Grisham works; this one just never grabbed my attention. I found myself setting it aside after every few pages. It was like a movie that takes forever to really get started. In "Higher Hope," a summer law clerk, Tami Taylor, is assigned to a libel case against a preacher with prophetic abilities. You really don't get into the case until Chapter 7, and then when you do, the legal side of it all just wasn't very engaging. The main character seemed quite cold in personality and I never could connect with her. Most of the book was overwhelmed with subplots that weren't descriptive enough to keep my attention. They seemed like aimless events that were just flat out boring. The main character struggles with her faith being challenged and ultimately stands up for her convictions, but it just wasn't interesting. I had really hoped this novel would be one I'd be soaked up into for many weeks to come, but I was disappointed.
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