About this book:
“A volunteer for the newly established Weather Bureau, Sophie van Riijn needs access to the highest spot in her village to report the most accurate readings. Fascinated by Dierenpark, an abandoned mansion high atop a windswept cliff in the Hudson River Valley, Sophie knows no better option despite a lack of permission from the absent owners.
The first Vandermark to return to the area in sixty years, Quentin intends to put an end to the shadowy rumors about the property that has brought nothing but trouble upon his family. Ready to tear down the mansion, he is furious to discover a local woman has been trespassing on his land.
Instantly at odds, Quentin and Sophie find common ground when she is the only one who can reach his troubled son. There's a light within Sophie that Quentin has never known, and a small spark of the hope that left him years ago begins to grow. But when the secrets of Dierenpark and the Vandermark family history are no longer content to stay in the past, will tragedy triumph or can their tenuous hope prevail?”
Series: Book #1, has a connecting novella which is considered #0.5. Review Here!)
“A volunteer for the newly established Weather Bureau, Sophie van Riijn needs access to the highest spot in her village to report the most accurate readings. Fascinated by Dierenpark, an abandoned mansion high atop a windswept cliff in the Hudson River Valley, Sophie knows no better option despite a lack of permission from the absent owners.
The first Vandermark to return to the area in sixty years, Quentin intends to put an end to the shadowy rumors about the property that has brought nothing but trouble upon his family. Ready to tear down the mansion, he is furious to discover a local woman has been trespassing on his land.
Instantly at odds, Quentin and Sophie find common ground when she is the only one who can reach his troubled son. There's a light within Sophie that Quentin has never known, and a small spark of the hope that left him years ago begins to grow. But when the secrets of Dierenpark and the Vandermark family history are no longer content to stay in the past, will tragedy triumph or can their tenuous hope prevail?”
Series: Book #1, has a connecting novella which is considered #0.5. Review Here!)
Spiritual Content- Matthew 5:8 at the beginning; Prayers; Scriptures are quoted, mentioned & remembered; Many, many talks about God, Jesus, atheists, Heaven & holy places; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; A couple mentions of missionaries; Mentions of prayers; Mentions of church & pastors; Many Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Many mentions of (& talks about) those in the Bible & Biblical symbols; Many mentions of religions, Christians & faiths; Sophie has a strong faith; Quentin doesn’t believe in anything he can’t see and says he’s an atheist (*Spoiler* Near the end he becomes open-minded to the thought of God, and at the very end he surrenders to God. *End of Spoiler*);
*Note: All about a curse; Many, many
mentions of séances, voodoo, ghosts, gods, demons and other things of the likes;
A mention of Adonis; A mention of evolution.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: three forms of ‘stupid’ and six ‘idiot’s; Mentions of curses said not written; Sarcasm; Lots of Pain & mentions of vomiting & bones (semi-detailed to detailed); Many mentions of a dead body, suicide, murders & drownings (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths; Mentions of a kidnapping; Mentions of stealing & prison; Mentions of gangs & prizefighters; A few mentions of parents separating & divorcing; A couple mentions of war; A couple mentions of hunting.
Sexual Content- a hand kiss, a
forehead kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, a semi-detailed kiss and a
detailed kiss; Wanting to kiss; Mentions of kisses; Touches, Blushes, Hand Holding
& Nearness (semi-detailed); Noticing & Attraction (up to
semi-detailed); Jealousy; Sophie says her spirit longs for a man’s touch; 19 year
old Quentin was looking forward to the physical side of marriage with his new
wife, but she was dreading it & said it would be like sharing a bed with
her brother & mentions of the marriage bed and enduring it; A mention of
King Solomon’s seven hundred wives; A couple mentions of shirtless men; A
couple mentions of an affair; Mentions of a labor (borderline
barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of illegitimate children;
Love, falling in love & the emotions.
-Sophie van Riijin, age 26
-Quentin Vandermark
P.O.V. switches between them.
P.O.V. switches between them.
Set in
1898-1899
346 pages
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346 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High
School Teens-
Older High
School Teens-
My personal
Rating-
This book is challenging to rate. I definitely
could have done without the marriage bed mentions, but it wasn’t above
barely-above-not-detailed, which was good, but still I wasn’t a fan of those parts.
Elizabeth Camden did it again with all the history and info she pours into her
books. Lots and lots of historic information, but told in a non-boring way. ;) I
enjoy creation debates and there was a couple in “Until the Dawn”. All of Sophie’s witnessing was really nice,
Quentin got a bit annoying, though. :} The ending was a bit intense though and
I did not see it coming! I do have to add that I’m highly disappointed in the
cover, spine & back-cover artwork for this book. “Beyond All Dreams”, the author’s last released book, had a
beautiful cover and spine like all her previous books. This one has the girl’s
head cut off (as does the prologue novella), the spine is very plain and doesn’t
match the look of the author’s previous books at all. :(
See
y’all on Friday with a fun post & giveaway!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for
free from the Publisher (Bethany House Publishers) for this honest review.
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