Customer Reviews

Winter is Past (Regency Series #1) (Steeple Hill Women's Fiction #3)

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4 star:		(1)
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Althea Breton comes from wealth but lives with the poor, lower class. Simon Aguilar is a Jew who publicly renounced his faith to become a Christian for the sake of his political career, yet while he no longer embraces his Jewish heritage, neither has he embraced the Christian faith. He is a man of two worlds, but also of none.

And while Althea has fully embraced her faith, inasmuch as her father is a wealthy Lord, yet she lives as a nurse and a servant, neither is she of either the world of privilege or peasant, so she, too, is of two worlds, but also of none.

Both Simon and Althea are at loose ends, though neither is fully aware of exactly what they lack in their lives. But when Simon hires Althea as a nurse and companion for his seriously ill daughter, Rebecca, Simon and Althea begin to see a glimpse of what each needs to find happiness and fulfillment.

Love, tenderness, understanding, and acceptance begin to grow in the Aguilar household, but is that enough? Doesn?t the Bible caution against becoming ?unequally yoked? and isn?t a relationship with Simon a classic example, Althea worries? How can she fall in love with a man who doesn?t truly believe and have the passion for Christ that she does?

Morren weaves an intriguing tale of love into a fabric of faith and creates a garment that will bless readers with its timeless message.

Reviewed by: Tina L. Miller, author of "When A Woman Prays" (also available at Amazon.com)

Winter is Past
Ruth Axtel Morren has created her first compelling master piece. Winter is past an inspirational- historical novel that will captivates every reader's heart. After being raped Althea Breton renounced to her life of wealth and social position to serve the Lord. She lived her life working t at children orphanages and nursing the sick.
Simon Aguilar needed a trustworthy woman to care for his seriously ill daughter: Rebecca. Althea accepted to work for him as a favor to her brother even though she didn't want to do anything with a converso (as men like Aguilar were known) were more common in nineteenth-century England. Simon Aguilar, a Sephardic Jew who has made a nominal conversion to Christianity in order to realize his goal of a political office. The author herself descended from Shaphardim which makes the novel credible.
When Althea Breton arrives to act as Rebecca's governess she certainly has no idea what Simon is like. Althea hopes that when she is no longer needed in the Aguilar household, she can return to her life in service to the poor, never knowing of what would happen between them. The love between them grows and they acknowledge it, but they are wary because of their individual backgrounds and secrets.
Winter is Past is a very touching novel which captures the essence of time. This well crafted story gives great description of the living conditions in London and Sephardic culture in England at the time. Morren brings a lot of historical background, making the novel a success. I took great pleasure reading her novel; it is a great piece of writing which I personally can connect with. I recommended it to all Christian fiction readers, it will make you rejoice.

Maria A. Cervantes

Ruth Axtell Morren is a wonderful writer and one of my favorite authors, and I agree with the other reviewers that this is an excellent book.

However, I do take exception to one of the underlying ideas in the novel---that is, the repeated assertion (by the Methodist heroine to the Jewish hero) that Judaism and the Church of England are "dead religions" full of "meaningless ritual." I think such claims are offensive to readers who might be part of liturgical/sacramental Christian churches (Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopalian, Lutheran, etc.). The implication is that one cannot truly encounter Christ in those churches and that people in those churches are just practicing a "works-based" sort of useless faith, which is an unfair generalization.

I had the opportunity to dialogue with Ruth Axtell Morren herself about this novel, and she explained to me that at the time she wrote the book, she was an "on-fire pentecostal" and that the Methodist church of the early 1800s was the closest thing she could find to the sort of church she felt most at home in. She also said that she has since grown a lot, as a Christian and as a writer, and that she now has a more generous view of Christian churches as a whole.

Originally, though I liked the story very much, I was rather disappointed in the novel because of the prejudice I felt was being demonstrated towards liturgical types of churches. But now that I've heard the author's side of the story, I can understand better and forgive the mistake.

Readers should enjoy this novel, but take care not to absorb the notion that one must be a Methodist (or belong to some other non-liturgical Christian church) in order to truly worship the Lord. There are a great many vibrant, Christ-centered liturgical/sacramental churches; the rituals are only meaningless if you refuse to see the meaning in them or to let the Holy Spirit work on your heart.

For my part, I am looking forward to reading more novels by this fabulous author!

First, I would like to make mention that while this is the first book published in this series, I highly recommend reading "Dawn in My Heart" first. It clearly happens before this story on the timeline and gives you a good background on Althea, the main character. Although this truly is the better of the stories, references to the events in the other are made throughout this book.

That said, this book was a wonderful story, truly romantic. The characters are extremely likeable. Conversions are believable (which usually seem unrealistically abrupt in most books of this genre) and romance buds BEFORE it blooms (another thing rushed in other books). Everything about this story unfolds in such a subtle and wonderful way. Modern day struggles in faith are faced in this book and are faced in such a realistic and wonderful way. The emotions and feelings of Morrens characters are so well described you can feel what they are.

This is such a wonderful book. I recommend reading all of Morren's books. They are all spectacular.

This book far exceeds most writing that I have been witnessed to, and I most heartily recommend it to others. Not only was it well written and well-researched, but delved beyond the cliches and the far fetched plots. It was real, the characters, the plot, everything. It is deep, far beyond the shallowness of Christanees that plagues the American church, and delves into the issue of God's true plan for His church. I am glad to see an author take the high ground, and actually move beyond our Gentile Christianity, and look into our Hebrew roots. The heroine's realization of her heritage from the Old Testament is what moved me beyond words. I say, Bravo, and recommend this to a person who can truly appreciate the art of writing.

I loved Winter Is Past. A historical inspirational set in Regency England, the book?s hero was a jew who had converted to the Church of England in order to be a PM in the House of Commons, thus helping to further his family?s ambitions, and the heroine was the illegitimate daughter of a lord who left the comforts of the ton to practice Methodism and help the poor. Simon, the hero, hires Althea, the heroine to be a nurse to his dying daughter. The book had very original characters with a well-researched background you don?t often see in romance books today. There are no miracle cures for any of the events in this book, but the uplifting message of the healing power of faith in the face of overwhelming tragedy and despair is certainly uplifting and appealing.

I agree this book is very well written. The characters are very believable and well developed. Althea, the main character, will challenge you in your own walk as a believer. Simon, the male counterpart, is a Jewish man who is really in some ways is the family's "sacrificial lamb" to acquire their representative in the English government. This really is a very profound book for a first time author, or any author! My only complaint is that in giving Althea's traumatic past the author gives a more graphic description (I'm talking one line) than I think is appropriate for a Christian Novel. It compares to Christy by Catherine Marshall. My concern is not the married woman that read it but the unmarried Christian women. But other than that this book is superb!

Winter Is Past was probably the best historical book I read last year. The plot was quite unique. Simon Aquilar was a Sephardic Jew who joined the Church of England so he would be able to serve in Parliament. In the foreward the author states that she is of Sephardic descent, and the scenes of Sephardic culture were very interesting. This book is not your typical romance book and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

well written .... wonderful characters and captivating story ... hope another book is on the way.

Winter Is Past is a book that is so full of love that it is actually a tangible experience in reading this book!This author definitely has the writing skill to draw her readers into the scene and cause them to feel what the characters are experiencing.

The story is extremely engaging,and the characters very well developed. I found the historical info about the Sephardic Jews very interesting,as well.

I finished this book last night,but the blessing and the emotional high I got from reading it will be with me for some time.

Highly recommended!