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05 April 2012

Review by Teresa Mathews of Naomi Rawlings' Sanctuary for a Lady

Sanctuary for a Lady
By Naomi Rawlings 

(Love Inspired Historical, 2012)

Reviewed by Teresa Mathews

5 Stars *****

Naomi Rawlings takes us back in time to 1784 France to the middle of the bloody Revolution.It is a time when the people of France decide to take back their country and rid themselves of the greedy, uncaring rulers. 


During this time of unrest Michel Belanger stumbles upon the badly beaten body of a beautiful young girl, who by the looks of things is an aristocrat. Michel fights with his conscience about helping her because if caught his life would surely be ended by the   cold blade of the guillotine. Just when Michel has persuaded himself he should leave her to die, Scriptures from his childhood spoken by his favorite priest ring through his mind and it is then that he knows he cannot abandon her.

Isabelle de La Rouchecauld, only living family member of the Duke, has been fleeing for her life for almost five years. Just as she is a few miles from the freedom she has been seeking she is overtaken by a band of bloodthirsty soldiers. After the leader decides she is not worth dragging back to stand trial, he gives the word for her to be killed. Isabelle is unmercifully beaten and left for dead.

It is two long weeks before Isabelle awakens from her injuries, and she is terrified when she sees Michel. Could he be the leader of the band of soldiers that tried to kill her? She can still see his leering face in her mind and she quickly realizes Michel is not that monster. As the weeks go by Isabelle finds herself wanting to stay with this wonderful, hard working man but she knows she cannot stay and risk him being killed because of her. Michel cannot bear the thought of losing Isabelle so he persuades her to stay at least one more week. Will this be a fatal mistake?

Just when Isabelle starts to believe God really does love her and there may be a chance for her and Michel to find happiness, the very man who ordered her death is back and this time he will personally make sure she is delivered to the executioner. Has Isabelle brought death to the door of the man who saved her life and stole her heart?

Naomi Rawlings is a powerful writer, I was hooked from the very beginning, frantically turning pages and I’ll have to admit there were some twists I did not see coming. Naomi brings to us a story of love and forgiveness in the midst of insurmountable odds, and that to me made this book Vrai la perfection!

20 comments:

  1. Just what I expected and only makes me more anxious to read this book!
    Thanks Teresa, and congratulations Naomi!

    Waving to Carrie and Diana -

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  2. Waving back, DEBRA! Great review, Teresa!

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  3. Oh, this sounds like a good read! Thanks for the review!

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  4. CHRISTINE, I know you will enjoy reading it. Naomi is a terrific author. :)

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  6. Thanks for stopping by, everyone. And a special thanks to you, Teressa, for another fabulous review!

    I hope everyone enjoys the story. :-)

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  7. Well TERESA, that sounds like a wonderful book! You did a good job on this review. :)

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  8. Thanks NAOMI! I really enjoyed it! Can't wait for another one! :)

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  9. Teresa, When is your anniversary and it's 25th, right? Are you going to spill the beans on Diana and Paul because I have not heard what they did for anniversary besides Diana over here on the blog lol!

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  11. CARRIE a little birdie told my hubby they had a quiet evening at home. :)

    And yes our anniversary is next Wed. the 11th. Which also happens to be the 16th anniversary of my dad's passing. So I have a time of celebration and a time of remembrance of the greatest dad in the world! :)

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  12. CARRIE, my hubby treated me to a beautiful card, some perfume, AND a giftcard to a place TERESA can tell you all about, if they don't have one in VA. No, not Kohl's, TERESA, but CATO'S! I love their tops and sandals. I mean they actually have clothes for ladies that don't want to show off their belly buttons and all of their other stuff, but they are still fashionable. And they have jewelry to match everything you buy.

    I fixed Paul his favorite meal(since I didn't feel like going out to eat), sweet and sour meatballs. I make the meatballs homemade, and simmer them in a sauce made with pineapples, brown sugar, bell peppers, vinegar, soy sauce, and alot of other good stuff, then you put them over slightly twisted noodles. And I got him a card, and a new pair of jeans. And it was a wonderful day, added to the fact that I did get to spend time on the blog with so many lovely friends! So there's the scoop, CARRIE, and much more than you wanted to know I'm sure. lol!

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  13. DIANA, perfume and Cato's...COOL! I was just in there yesterday day "window" shopping! :) You have to hurry and feel better so you can see all the beautiful spring colors. SO PRETTY! The only thing I bought was a necklace/earring set. So you're safe to buy something and not have to worry about me having one also! :) Glad you had a grand anniversary celebration!

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  14. That place sounds great Diana and Teresa! Hope Diana feels good enough soon to do some shopping. :) Let us know what you got then.

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  15. DIANA, TERESA, NAOMI, and MARIAN, we need to pray in agreement for Diana's complete healing so she can get out and about more. Have a blessed Good Friday!

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  16. AMEN! THANK YOU LORD JESUS that the stripes that were placed on your back were for DIANA'S healing!

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  17. Thank you, ladies! You are all so dear to me. I'm agreeing with you. Have a very blessed Easter weekend!

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