Must-read inspys: 'The Story Keeper,' 'All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes,' 'Thief of Glory'
The Story Keeper by Lisa Wingate
What it's about (from publisher Tyndale House):
Successful New York editor Jen Gibbs is at the top of her game with her new position at Vida House Publishing — until a mysterious manuscript from an old slush pile appears on her desk. Turning the pages, Jen finds herself drawn into the life of Sarra, a mixed-race Melungeon girl trapped by dangerous men in the turn of the century Appalachia. A risky hunch may lead to The Story Keeper's hidden origins and its unknown author, but when the trail turns toward the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a place Jen thought she'd left behind forever, the price of a blockbuster next book deal may be higher than she's willing to pay.
Why you should read it: If you've never read one of Lisa Wingate's novels, you are missing out on rich storytelling, layered tales-within-tales, and subtly told romances that are full of hope. And if you are a fan of Ms. Wingate's books, The Story Keeper will be a fantastic addition to your collection.
As Jen chases after the man she believes to be the author of the mysterious manuscript, she becomes almost obsessed with learning the end of the tale, never expecting to find herself drawn to the man who wrote it — or back into the tumultuous and abusive backwoods family she worked so hard to extricate herself from. As family dynamics battle against the life and identity she has created for herself, readers will easily empathize with her vacillations between hope, despair and acceptance.
To call this novel a 2-for-1 romance seems to cheapen its beauty, but beauty — and two romances in one — is exactly what you get. In The Story Keeper, two separate love stories intersect and overlap with such tender elegance that the reader becomes invested in both outcomes. Fans of contemporary and historical romance, women's fiction and light literary romance will find plenty with which to fall in love in The Story Keeper.
All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant
What it's about (from publisher Zondervan):
Kat inspected rows of the same old cupcakes. They seemed to blink back at her, as if they knew she was capable of so much more.
Kat Varland has had enough of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.
At twenty-six years old, Kat is still living in the shadows of her family in Bayou Bend, Louisiana. Still working shifts at her Aunt Maggie's bakery. Still wondering what to do with her passion for baking and her business degree. And still single.
But when Lucas Brannen, Kat's best friend, signs her up for a reality TV bake-off on Cupcake Combat, everything Kat ever wanted is suddenly dangled in front of her: creative license as a baker, recognition as a visionary ... and a job at a famous bakery in New York.
As the competition heats up, Lucas realizes he might have made a huge mistake. As much as he wants the best for Kat, the only thing he wants for himself — her — is suddenly in danger of slipping away.
The bright lights of reality cooking wars and the chance at a successful career dazzle Kat's senses and Lucas is faced with a difficult choice: help his friend achieve her dreams ... or sabotage her chances to keep her in Louisiana.
Why you should read it: In many contemporary romances and romantic comedies there is a sense of one character chasing the other toward romance, but Betsy St. Amant differentiates this sweet story from many of its shelf-mates by showing the love, loyalty, hope and fear both Kat and Lucas feel about the possibility of adding romance to the comfortable flavor of their longtime friendship.
Kat and Lucas are both afraid of rejection and neither can imagine a future without the other, but they are hindered by knowing that if a romance is tried and fails, they can never go back to the way things were before. Using a passage from Song of Solomon as an anchoring theme, St. Amant pours sweet hints of romance into the friendship with long looks, an acceptable (and endearing) bit of co-dependence, gentle comfort, several near-kisses and a couple of accidental — but all-encompassing! — kisses, too.
In Lucas and Kat, Betsy St. Amant has created two very human, likable and empathetic characters, taking what could have been a cutesy, reality-TV rom-com and giving it the depth and heart needed to make readers reserve a spot for this sweet story on their keeper shelf. A tender romance frosted with fun, All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes is quite pleasing to the romance lover's palate.
Thief of Glory by Sigmund Brouwer
What it's about (from publisher WaterBrook Press):
A boy coming of age in a time of war … the love that inspires him to survive.
For 10-year-old Jeremiah Prins, the life of privilege as the son of a school headmaster in the Dutch East Indies comes crashing to a halt in 1942 after the Japanese Imperialist invasion of the Southeast Pacific. Jeremiah takes on the responsibility of caring for his younger siblings when his father and older stepbrothers are separated from the rest of the family, and he is surprised by what life in the camp reveals about a woman he barely knows — his frail, troubled mother.
Amidst starvation, brutality, sacrifice and generosity, Jeremiah draws on all of his courage and cunning to fill in the gap for his mother. Life in the camps is made more tolerable as Jeremiah's boyhood infatuation with his close friend Laura deepens into a friendship from which they both draw strength.
When the darkest sides of humanity threaten to overwhelm Jeremiah and Laura, they reach for God's light and grace, shining through his people. Time and war will test their fortitude and the only thing that will bring them safely to the other side is the most enduring bond of all.
Why you should read it: If you are looking for an easy read that won't uncomfortably stretch your heart, you probably should just skip this one. There is nothing easy about the life Jeremiah leads or the love to which he has committed himself. His love for Laura is both childlike and fierce, but like coal on its way to becoming a diamond, life exerts increments of pressure upon Jeremiah, chiseling away at his childhood to reveal the depth of his loyalty and his uncommon brand of resilience; but also like a diamond, those facets are carved within an otherwise abject beauty that might be mistaken for something less worthy when viewed with the incorrect lens.
Sigmund Brouwer's Thief of Glory is so much more than a romantic coming-of-age tale in a time of war. This novel is a violently heartrending literary romance that clasps a fist around your soul and squeezes you dry. I highly recommend reading this book with a box of tissues nearby and following it with a good cry — but I do recommend it. Highly.
A writer, performer and accomplished partaker of dark chocolate, Serena Chase lives in Iowa with her husband and two daughters. Her Eyes of E'veria series — The Ryn, The Remedy and The Seahorse Legacy — is out now. You can find out more about her at serenachase.com.