“It’s not just Ellora Lockwood’s home that’s being emptied as she prepares to sell—her heart seems to be empty too. Since the mysterious disappearance of her beloved Grandma June and separating from her husband, Alex, Ellora has felt adrift. Then comes an invitation from Alex to teach history at a summer program at Alnwick Castle in England. He’s even found information about the location of a medieval manuscript that was her grandmother’s obsession before she vanished.
Warily, Ellora accepts Alex’s offer. Surrounded by lush English countryside and captivating history, she pieces together clues about the manuscript’s whereabouts—and uncovers new questions. Could someone have been sabotaging her grandmother’s work? Anonymous threats lead Ellora to suspect she too may be in danger, but as she and Alex work together, she’s finding strength, new purpose and the courage to see this quest through, wherever it may lead…”
Series: As of now, no. A stand-alone novel.
Spiritual Content- Scriptures are read, quoted, remembered, & discussed; Prayers, Crying out to God, & Thanking God; Church going & a hymn; Many talks about God, trusting Him, His plans, grief, & those in the Bible; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Ellora feels awkward going to church in the beginning, thinking that everyone will be able to tell about their near-divorce and that she isn’t speaking to God; Ellora feels like God abandoned her; Both Ellora & Alexander have difficultly talking to God and praying *Spoiler* but start to think that it’s their faults rather than God towards the middle of the book and starts praying *End of Spoiler*; Many, many mentions of religious persecution, the Lindisfarne Gospels, Psalters, a Celtic cross, the Christian Crusades, monks, monasteries, priories, cathedrals, & abbeys; Many mentions of God & trusting Him; Mentions of Bibles, parts of the Bible, those and lessons in the Bible, & Bible reading; Mentions of prayers, praying, & Thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going, services, & hymns; Mentions of Christianity & others in history converting to it; A few mentions of illustrations/paintings of those and events in the Bible; A mention of being martyred;
*Note: Mentions of a rumored ghost story & places said to be haunted; A couple mentions of a rumored curse; A couple mentions of Pandora’s box; A mention of the witch in Hansel and Gretel.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blah, blah, blah’, two forms of ‘dumb’, four forms of ‘idiot’, and eight ‘stupid’s; Eye rolling & Sarcasm;Almost drowning, Being held at gunpoint, Seeing someone shot, Pain, Injuries, Blood/Bleeding, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Recalling seeing deaths & the body of a loved one after an accident (barely-above-not-detailed); A nightmare (including a “faceless evil” chasing her, barely-above-not-detailed); Alexander’s parents blame him for his brother’s death and his mother is especially bitter towards him; After Alexander left, Ellora sent him divorce papers (she feels like he abandoned her) & there’s many, many mentions of divorces (their possible divorce and others who have been affected by a divorce, up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of a missing loved one & the possibility of the person being murdered (up to semi-detailed, *Spoiler* It’s revealed at the end, that the person was accidentally killed *End of Spoiler*); Many mentions of deaths & grief and guilt (for a unborn child, a grandmother, a brother, & a marriage); Mentions of wars in history, slaughtering, & kidnappings (including by the Vikings); Mentions of a store robbery, gunmen, being held at gunpoint, deaths, & blood (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of drunks, drinking, drunk driving, & deaths (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of fires & assumed deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a near-drowning (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of guns, being held at gunpoint, someone being shot, injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of stealing & thieves; Mentions of threats; Mentions of drugs, drug addicts, making drugs, an explosion, & jail sentences; Mentions of a man’s a gambling problem, alcohol, & drinking; Mentions of rumors; A few mentions of violent husbands & their abuse; A few mentions of lies, lying, & liars; A couple mentions of vomiting; A mention of a child dying from leukemia; A mention of bullies; A mention of jealousy;
*Note: Mentions of a manuscript being written by a woman (in an era where that was unheard of) & some men from then and current day not wanting it because of that fact; A few mentions of singers & songs; A few mentions of movies, books, & fictional characters (Titanic, Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins, The Secret Garden, Little House on the Prairie, & Jekyll and Hyde); A mention of a car brand.
Sexual Content- A bit of staring at someone’s lips; Three hand kisses, two cheek kisses, three head/forehead kisses, an almost (semi-detailed) kiss, four barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and three semi-detailed kisses; Recalling kisses (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Heat, Electricity, Smelling, & Nearness (including Alexander pulling Ellora’s into his lap, up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (up to semi-detailed); Blushes, Winks, Butterflies, & Flirting; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Ellora almost climbs into Alexander’s bed with him, but does not; Mentions of kisses, almost kisses, & kissing; Mentions of dates & dating; A mention of infidelity; A mention of a man being called a “hunky professor”; Some love, being in love, & the emotions;
*Note: Shortly into the book, it’s revealed that Ellora had a miscarriage & we see a lot of grief from her about it (details will be put under a *Spoiler* section but please know that it’s a topic often mentioned and discussed throughout the book: *Spoiler* During a store robbery, Ellora was kicked in the stomach which caused her to lose the baby; Alexander did not know she was pregnant as she wasn’t far long and she hadn’t told him because he always said he didn’t want to have children; Alexander not wanting children is discussed somewhat often as Ellora used to have that opinion as well, but changed her mind when she found out she was pregnant; Alexander doesn’t want to be responsible for a child because of the what if’s of something happening to him or the child (he does not have a good relationship with his parents and that’s greatly affected his view on him being a good parent)) *End of Spoiler*; A few mentions of a father leaving the mother of his child when he found out she was pregnant; A mention of a mother-in-law making a comment about a woman’s biological clock; A mention of there being “legitimate [reasons] for some people to not want children. Not everyone was called to be a parent.”.
-Ellora Lockwood, age 31
-Alexander Lockwood
P.O.V. switches between them
368 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
Trigger Warning: miscarriage, divorce, & extreme grief
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, especially after reading the author’s debut book “The Bookshop of Secrets” last year and while enjoying it, that book was a more serious—albeit very bookish—read. “The Lost Manuscript” is very similar in the same regard that it deals with some possibly triggering topics but does not heavily focus on details of all of it. Human trafficking in the other book and a miscarriage, divorces, and grief in this one. It’s a more solemn read because of these topics and makes me mark this book more for older teens because of the content that comes with those territories.
I was really hesitant about reading this book because it follows a married couple—which typically means added sexual content and not the best read for teens, but I really appreciate this author keeping it on the cleaner side.
Because we only have Ellora’s point of view for the first bit of the book, when Alexander’s point of view entered in, I wasn’t a fan of him at all. But as they started communicating and being around the other about a third of the way in, I started to like them both a bit more.
Communication. It’s important and both of the main characters needed to work on it—including on being open with their spouse—instead of just walking away when it’s hard. They both become aware of their faults in the past and both struggle with different things. Their reactions and thought process all felt very realistic and timed well, but I just wanted them to get the show on the road and happiness for both of them. There’s a lot about their marriage, choices, and if they can possibly be together again. It wasn’t so raw that I felt uncomfortable reading those scenes (discussions and fights/arguments) like I was in the middle of a conversation I shouldn’t be listening to (now whether that’s a good thing or not, take your pick), but I do wish they would have quit being distracted by the manuscript—which felt like an easy out at times.
On the manuscript stuff: They are both such history nerds. I was just along for the ride. The manuscript stuff bored me at times, personally, because I’m not interested in those time periods or items. Because of that, I will say that I started to get frustrated that right when they would try to talk through important relationship stuff, something happened with the hunt of the manuscript and their focus was switched to that instead. (I guess I thought that their relationship should be way more important than a dusty old stack of papers?) Despite being bored at times about all the history parts that frankly didn’t interest me, I did enjoy some of the treasure hunt parts of it because who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt? (I was suspicious of the villain, but I can’t tell you why as there wasn’t many hints. Just a gut feeling, I suppose.)
The faith content was definitely a strong part of this book, especially at the ending, which I liked seeing. I was glad to see discussions and thoughts on God and trusting Him, especially after what Ellora and Alexander have been through. Sometimes it felt a little too “what-a-powerful-Pinterest” quote (in the sense it was a little to wisdom filled or deep for the character thinking it, in my opinion), though, and made it feel a little awkward—well-meaning by the person saying it, but a little squeezed into a conversation.
The ending was decent, but if they were a real-life couple that I knew, I think I would be concerned for them. They truly need an honest to goodness strong-in-their-faith Christian couple to counsel them and encourage them in their personal walks with God. They both had a lot happen to them prior to their marriage and during their marriage as well (let alone within this book) with lots of anger, pride, selfishness, and many other emotions that were quick to explode during these pages. The epilogue was sweet and, again, I liked the faith content and realization, but I don’t know, I’m still worried for them and honestly feel a bit heavy after finishing this book.
**I know that some might think that me mentioning a miscarriage is a spoiler but 1.) it’s revealed very early in the book and 2.) is a major trigger for many and I’m disappointed that the back-cover doesn’t even allude to it especially with all the grief shown that could be so hard for those who have had to walk that path to read.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*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 (Love Inspired Trade) for this honest review.
