Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Review: Mine Is the Night (Here Burns My Candle #2) by Liz Curtis Higgs

About this author:
Liz Curtis Higgs has been telling tales since she attempted her first novel–handwritten in a marble notebook–at the tender age of ten. Successful careers in broadcasting, public speaking, nonfiction writing, and children's books honed Liz's storytelling talents, bringing her back to her first love–writing fiction–at the turn of the 21st century.

A gifted speaker, Liz Curtis Higgs has presented more than 1,500 inspirational programs for audiences in all 50 United States as well as Germany, England, Canada, Ecuador, France, and Scotland. In 1995, Liz received the highest award in professional speaking, the "Council of Peers Award for Excellence," becoming one of only forty women in the world named to the CPAE-Speaker Hall of Fame by the National Speakers Association.

Feature articles about Liz have appeared in more than 250 major newspapers and magazines across the country, and she has been interviewed on more than 600 radio and television stations, including guest appearances on PBS, A&E, MSNBC, NPR, CBC Canada, BBC Radio Scotland, Focus on the Family, and Janet Parshall's America.
Liz is the author of 22 books, with 3 million copies in print. Her fiction to date includes two contemporary novels and three historical novels…
• Mixed Signals
• Bookends
• Thorn in My Heart
• Fair Is the Rose
• Whence Came a Prince

Her best-selling nonfiction books include…

• Bad Girls of the Bible
• Really Bad Girls of the Bible
• Unveiling Mary Magdalene
• Rise and Shine: A Devotional

Three of the above titles have corresponding VHS videos and companion workbooks.
And she has written five books for young children…
• The Pumpkin Patch Parable
• The Parable of the Lily
• The Sunflower Parable
• The Pine Tree Parable
• Go Away, Dark Night

Her children's Parable Series was awarded the ECPA Gold Medallion for Excellence in 1998, and her book Bad Girls of the Bible received the ECPA Gold Book Award in 2004 for sales of more than 500,000 copies. Her first novel, Mixed Signals, was a Romance Writers of America 2000 Rita Award Finalist for both Best First Novel and Best Inspirational Novel. Liz's second novel, Bookends, was a 2001 Christy Award Finalist for Best Contemporary Fiction. Her third novel, Thorn in My Heart, was a #1 historical fiction Christian bestseller, followed by Fair Is the Rose, which reached best-seller status days after its release. Whence Came a Prince, the final novel in the series, published in March 2005. In addition, Liz is the editor of an annual newsletter, The Graceful Heart, with 20,000 readers world wide, and is a columnist for Today's Christian Woman magazine with her popular back page feature, "Life with Liz." More than 2,000 churches nationwide are using her 2004 video Bible study series, Loved by God.

On the personal side, Liz is married to Bill Higgs, Ph.D., who serves as Director of Operations for her speaking and writing office. Liz and Bill share their 19th-century farmhouse in Kentucky with their two teenagers, Matt and Lilly, and too many cats. For more about Liz, visit her Web site: www.LizCurtisHiggs.com


Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs (Chapters 1 & 2 Excerpt)


About Book:
Stepping from a battered coach on a rainy April eve, newly widowed Elisabeth Kerr must begin again, without husband or title, property or fortune. She is unafraid of work and gifted with a needle, but how will she stitch together the tattered remnants of her life? And who will mend her heart, torn asunder by betrayal and deception?
Elisabeth has not come to Selkirk alone. Her mother-in-law, Marjory Kerr, is a woman undone, having buried her husband, her sons, and any promise of grandchildren. Dependent upon a distant cousin with meager resources, Marjory dreads the future almost as much as she regrets the past. Yet joy still comes knocking, and hope is often found in unexpected places.
Then a worthy hero steps forward, rekindling a spark of hope. Will he risk his reputation to defend two women labeled as traitors to the Crown? Or will a wealthy beauty, untainted by scandal, capture his affections?
The heartrending journey of the Kerr women comes to a glorious finish in Mine Is the Night, a sparkling gem of redemption and restoration set in eighteenth-century Scotland.

My Thoughts:
This book picked up right where book one, Here Burns My Candle left off. Elisabeth Kerr, no longer Lady Kerr steps off the coach along with her mother-in-law Marjory Kerr. They are on their own now seeking the meager home and hearth of their cousin Anne Kerr. Anne agrees to give them shelter. Since they have no money or husband they will have to provide for themselves by Elisabeth seeking work with a friend of Anne's that has a Tailor's Shop. Elisabeth is skilled with a needle but Micheal the Tailor can not take a woman for a partner and ends up hiring a man. So she is forced to seek work with at the residence of Admiral Lord Jack. Elizabeth is to sew dresses for the thirty female workers of Lord Jack's home. He becomes her hero finding out that she and her mother-in-law are penniless and he intends to make life easier for the two widows. They work hard to rebuild a life for themselves, while growing closer to God and His will.

The author did an outstanding job writing this book. The first book was tragic with loss of love and faith. But this book picks them up and leads them to a new beginning. This story is of healing and redemption. It was a beautiful book to read. The way the author worked in the history of Scotland made the story believable like you were there with Elisabeth and Morjory. The author gave these women so much strength and determination to survive while they gave each other love and comfort in such trying times. They were constantly watching and avoiding contact with the King's Dragoons, they feared being arrested. God's will was at work and they chose to have faith in Him and follow the path he set before them.



I highly recommend this book.

I rate this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:
I recieved a copy of this book for review from Blogging for Books/WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing. I was in no way compensated for my review. It is my own honest opinion.

No comments:

Post a Comment