Through the Perilous Fight

10 10 10

This is the very best series I have ever read. I felt a little hallow when I finished it. I will miss the characters, their wisdom, strength, and growth. And I will forever have a deep respect for those who lived through the trials of the civil war on both fronts.

It was sobering and educational. I would recommend this series to anyone!

To Make Men Free

Pg 14 "It was ironic, he supposed, to be looking for peace while going to war, but the peace he sought was internal."

Wow. This series is easily one of the best I have ever read. Now I have only finished book 2 of 4 so that is a little premature, but wow.

When Lance and I sold pest control in New Orleans, LA several years ago, we went to tour a beautiful plantation home called Oak Alley. At the time, I was fascinated by the architecture and the perfect restorative condition of the main house. I remember reading a little about the slaves and viewing some of the outhouses, but now I would love to visit again with the history and viewpoint of this book in my mind. I know I would have an entirely different visit after reading this novel.

Allen, the author, spent much time reading personal narratives, journals and accounts of people who lived through the ever changing, dramatic years of the civil war and it is as if those people come alive again through her thoughtfully constructed characters. She is so devoted to historical accuracies that when, for the sake of the story, she changes events even slightly she notes the chapter and the actual history in the back of each novel.

I can't get enough of these novels and the second I finished this one was back to the library to pick up the third book.

Allen's eloquent and descriptive writing at times leaves you holding your breath, angry, tearful, shocked, proud, hurt, dismayed, downright gleeful and on and on.

The Sound of Rain

This is a fast cozy read that at times is a little to highschoolly and scripted. The authors favorite line between the two main characters is "Oh, Jayson" "I love you." And it never does get deeper than that. At times it moved so slowly that I found myself just reading the dialouge and skipping large portions of text.
With that rant out of the way, however, I did find myself liking the book in the end. I know I would have loved it in High School. The story was predictable and that is what made it cozy. One thing I loved about the book was Jayson's mother had an uncaning ability to talk her son through some of life's biggest trials with such maturity and strength of mind. I found myself thinking when Calista is in Highschool I might read this again and committ some of her advice to memory.
Although this is an LDS Author, there was only one mention of the LDS church and it was quickly dismissed. This is the first book of five in the story of Jayson Wolfe and my guess is the next book will delve into religion a little more.

I interupted the Faith of our Father's series to read The Sound of Rain bcause I couldn't get my hands on the second FOOF book for about a week. So I probably won't pick up book two of the Jayson Wolfe series untill I have finished the FOOF which is compelling and deep and very good.

Faith of Our Fathers A House Divided

Coming