Customer Reviews

A Place Called Bliss: A Novel (The Saskatchewan Saga) #1

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

 

 

This is the first book I've read by Ruth Glover; I can't wait to see what else she has written. She doesn't just tell a story - she describes it in flowing language that made me feel like I was right there. Was the story predictable? Perhaps, but I enjoyed the ride as she brought me to the end.

Contrary to other reviews of this book I have to say that I was very disappointed in it. I was so excited when I first found it considering I have family in Saskatchewan and love the beautiful northen landscape, and had high hopes for the book. I've found it to be a very dull read, with poor dialogue and one dimensional characters. It reads more like a narrative and the author never delves deeply enough into each individual character to really get to know them. You feel more like a bystander instead of being swept into the story for the lack of beyond the surface visual descriptions concerning the rugged and beautiful landscape and the experiences that you never actually get to share with these people. After reading excellent series such as the Balled of the Emerald Isles by B. J. Hoff and T. Davis Bunns' Heirs of Acadia this book just doesn't measure up. I'm hoping that book 2 is significantly better. If you want a book that keeps you turning the pages in anticipation and touches you deeply with well developed characters, this one's not for you.

I love this series. I have read 6 of the books so far and I hope there are more to follow...
Ruth writes so wonderfully. You feel as if you are present in the lives of the characters. She takes you back in time and fills your heart with so many emotions.
I love that her novels are Chritian based. I get so much inspiration from each book that I do not want to put them down. I feel lifted up and sooo enjoy her lessons taught :^)

I enjoyed this first book tremendously, and loved reading the next ones even more... what makes them extra special is you get tidbits of information on past characters as the series goes on. We never loose touch with our beloved characters.

Mrs. Hickman

A Place Called Bliss is the tale of two families intertwined through love and loss. Sophia Galloway marries Hugh and together they travel from Scotland to Canada to start a new life since Hugh is the second son and will not inheriet his ancestral home. They are accompanied on the trip by Angus and Mary Morrison, former caretakers of the Galloway estate, now traveling to Canada to stake claim and homestead in Saskatchewan. On the difficult sea voyage tragedy occurs to both families, but neither truly knows the impact of this event on their families. Follow the lives of the children and fall into the difficult but fulfilling life in the Canadian wilderness. If you like the Mitford books, you should enjoy these...it is the first in a series and I can't wait to read the rest. I will also be looking for additional work by Ruth Glover.

Let me start out by saying that I read quite a few books. I have one of those jobs where I can sit and read for five hours everyday and get paid for it. Someone gave me a huge bag of books and, since I'm a big fan of historical fiction, it was one of the first ones I read.

I can't believe I finished it. It was that boring. It was that predictable. Seriously.

I guessed early on what was going to happen and it happened almost exactly as I guessed it. No surprising plot twists at all. I actually went as far as to skip pages because everytime Glover would get into the whole Jesus saves talk she'd go on and on and on. Serious overkill. Also, the fact that you couldn't tell it was a Christian based novel until about 100 pages in really bugged me, too. The plot takes a turn into a "who's saved, who's gonna be saved, who's not saved" and becomes a central theme. There's probably a little forshadowing, but nothing major. I felt duped into reading a preachy book.

If you're looking for a book about Saskatchewan or a good historical fiction book, then definitely skip this one. If you're looking for a quick Christian read, I'd probably bump it up to 2 stars. The plot is really thin and transparent, but most Christian books are (I have read a few). The characters aren't believable and you really don't care what happens to them. I just wanted it to be over so I could see if I guessed the entire plot.

Ruth Glover manages to catch you up in a story filled with incredible events. The awesome trek into Canada's "new land of freedom" to end in a frontier town in the wilds of Saskatchewan in the 1890's. And the secret that is kept will confound you to the end. I truly enjoyed this story and the moral dilemma imposed.