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45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Highland Blessings" by Jennifer Hudson Taylor, May 26, 2010
This review is from: Highland Blessings (Paperback)
My Review:
When I first agreed to read Highland Blessings by Jennifer Hudson Taylor, I was a little apprehensive about the book because of the country setting and brogue issues. I am so glad I chose to read it! It was engaging the whole way through the book, and the whole storyline flowed naturally, particularly for the time era and country setting and clan rules, keeping me intrigued.
Akira had been jilted at the altar, kidnapped on her wedding day, and forced to wed another man from an opposing clan, one that had been feuding with her side of the family for a half-century.
Akira's character was humble and yet strong and steady when necessary, dealing with all the emotions of the circumstances. She relied on the Lord to help her through each situation, and there were many intense moments from beginning to end! Bryce's character was just as compelling, with his deep loyalty to promises he made and his tenderness amidst the tenacity and decisiveness needed for his clan position and enemy threats and murders.
Upon reading the book, I found some similar analogies of Akira to Esther and Joseph from the Old Testament, with testings and trials to bring out Akira and Bryce's characters. The storyline will impress you! Jennifer is one fine writer! I highly recommend her book!
This book was provided free by Mark Yeh at Abingdon Press for my honest, personal review. I consider it a privilege to recommend good novels for your reading delight.
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45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Lacks Depth, July 7, 2010
My main problem with Highland Blessings is that is lacks depth. There is very little character development, certainly not enough to make the reader feel invested in the main characters until well into the novel. I was over halfway through the novel before enough was known about the characters for me to want to continue reading to find out what would happen in the end.
I felt as if I was reading a Reader's Digest version of the story with all the details stripped from what could have been a great novel. The story jumps from one event to another without explanation: explanation of either the situation, the characters' thoughts and feelings or why the story was jumping to the next event. For example (warning: slight spoiler): One of the main reasons that Akira trusted Bryce was because he did not force her to consummate their marriage, yet there is no discussion of when she finally decided to allow the consummation...they are kissing, they say they love each other,then at the end she is pregnant.
I also felt that the story was fairly predicable with a Romeo and Juliet storyline (without the death scene). The traitor in their midst was exactly who you were led to believe. So many hints are given, that there is no surprise when you find out who it is. There was no misdirection to make the reader think for a moment that it could have been anyone else. My only surprise was the lack of misdirection.
After making it two thirds of the way through the story, I finally was caught up enough in the story and characters to make me stay up late in order to finish the story. I just wish that there was more depth and detail in the storyline and characters; it so easily could have been a 4 or 5 star novel if a little more time would have been put into the development of the story. Jennifer Hudson Taylor has promise as an author, but needs to work on creating more depth to her characters and storyline.
Considering I got this as a free Kindle download, it was worth reading. If you are looking for substance in your reading, you may not want to purchase this novel...unless you are able to get a hold of a free copy.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I'm confused?, August 20, 2010
Spoilers
How is she pregnant? When did she decide to consummate the marriage? I wasn't expecting a sex scene but I think it was an important fact to be mentioned for us to understand the true turning point in the level of trust and love. Other than that, it was a nice story. I liked the constant reference to the Lord at the beginning of the book because it truly set the stage for the mindset of the characters. However, I felt that the religiousness got heavy handed in the middle and it felt less like part of the story and more about educating the reader on Christianity.
Bottom line:
Would I read it again? No, there was not enough depth to feel I could gain better insight with a second pass.
Was it worth the time to read it once? Yes, it is stylistically well written even if the story itself has a few flaws.
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