(taken from my blog)
Synopsis: (from Amazon)
A stranger’s life hangs in the balance. But to save him is to risk everything.
The war is drawing to a close, but the Nazis still occupy part of the Netherlands. After the losses she’s endured, war widow Cornelia is only a shadow of the woman she once was. She fights now to protect her younger brother, Johan, who lives in hiding.
When Johan brings Gerrit Laninga, a wounded Dutch Resistance member, to Cornelia’s doorstep, their ives are forever altered. Although scared of the consequences of harboring a wanted man, Cornelia’s faith won’t let her turn him out.
As she nurses Gerrit back to health, she is drawn to his fierce passion and ideals, and notices a shift within herself. Gerrit’s intensity challenges her, making her want to live fully, despite the fear that constrains her. When the opportunity to join him in the Resistance presents itself, Cornelia must summon every ounce of courage imaginable.
She is as terrified of loving Gerrit as she is of losing him. But as the winter landscape thaws, so too does her heart. Will she get a second chance at true love? She fears their story will end before it even begins.
My Rating:
I have to admit, I was extremely disappointed in this book. I received this book from NetGalley, and I assumed from the blurb I was getting a piece of historical fiction that centered around the Nazi-occupied Netherlands and the Dutch Resistance. I was not expecting an incredibly preachy, evangelical style romance. That kind of fiction is not my cup of tea, but I do understand that there is a market for it. I feel incredibly misled by the blurb about the book, however. Don't get me wrong- I don't mind a little romance, and this blurb clearly indicated there would be an element of it, and that is fine, but not what I was expecting. I expected it to be more weighted towards the historical than the romance and I certainly was not expecting the religious theme because to be honest, I would not have picked the book up had I realized that was what it was.
So... that aside and a note saying that my rating is not reflective upon the subject matter, although it is not my cup of tea. I still wanted very much to enjoy this book and take its historical offerings, but I could not, based on the writing alone. A couple chapters into this book, I assumed that this was a translated tale, and poorly translated one because the phrasing was awkward. I was shocked to find that the author was from the United States.
Then there was the frequent use of Dutch and German words, scattered throughout. I can understand using some to set the tone, but I found the frequency of such words to be too much. It took away from the story, rather than adding to it. Add to that, there was to much 'telling' in this book, rather than 'showing' what the characters were going through in their actions throughout the novel.
I give it Two Dragons, mainly because I wanted to like this book, more than it being deserving of Two Dragons.
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