Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Book Review & GIVEAWAY: Here Burns My Candle

Here Burns My Candle Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs

From the back cover: Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.

Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.

His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.

One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.

A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My review: Very good book. Very. So, why only four stars? It was too sad. Too much loss, too much crying, too little happiness. I know it reflects the time period during which it occurs, but add to all that this book clearly was written with a sequel planned. The end isn't much of an end, and after finishing I found an advertisement for the next book – coming next spring! I hate that! So, while it was a VERY well-written story with very good characters, I just couldn't give it the full five stars. Four and a half would've been my preference, but Goodreads doesn't allow! ;-)

Source: Sent by the publisher for review.

Get your own copy: One lucky reader will win a FREE copy of this Here Burns My Candle! (Entry details are below.) For the rest of you, it can be purchased HERE.

View all of my Goodreads.com reviews >>

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GIVEAWAY
The publisher has graciously sent me an extra copy of this book to give to a lucky reader! It was VERY good, and I'm very excited to be sharing one with you!

To enter: Submit your entry using the MckLinky below (you can leave the first box, labeled "entry content," blank). Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (Central) Friday, April 9. A winner will be chosen randomly with the help of random.org. I will send the lucky winner an e-mail notification. If I do not get a response within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Unfortunately, this giveaway is only open to readers in the U.S. No P.O. boxes.



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4 comments:

denise said...

I'm not a big fan of this author for exactly the reason you mentioned - I find her stories to be too sad (and even frustrating) to read.

Appreciate your reviews!

ham1299 said...

Her other stories are sad, too? Bummer. I agree on the frustration - there were things in this book that had me quite frustrated, too. (I'm not saying what, b/c I don't wanna spoil the book for anyone!)

Diana D said...

I would like to read this. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway.

dianad8008 AT gmail DOT com

ham1299 said...

Thanks, Diana! I added you to the MckLinky above! :-) Good luck!

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