Guest Review by Debra Marvin: Wings of a Dream by Anne Mateer

Wings of a Dream

Wings of a Dream by Anne Mateer
Bethany House, 2011

Reviewed by Debra Marvin

                                                         

Wings of a Dream, from Bethany House Publishing is Anne Mateer’s debut novel. I consider it historical fiction with romantic elements.

I didn’t know what to expect from this book other than I knew Anne was a wonderful writer and skilled editor. I had no doubts as to the quality of writing.  But these are often not enough, because it all comes down to a compelling storyline and characters we are eager to explore, bond with, and hate to part from.

Rebekah Hendricks is a dreamy nineteen-year-old when the story opens. The Great War rages in Europe and she is at odds with her small Oklahoma world. Her caring father and domineering mother are both wrapped up in concern over their son off in Europe and Rebekah is anxious to leave.  Nothing makes this more clear to her than her boyfriend’s decision to join the service, and leave her behind.

I wasn’t sure I was going to be like or be able to invest in Rebekah. It’s been a long time since I was a teenager and her focus on what she wanted made her a little selfish and all too realistic. But Anne’s beautiful writing carried me through chapter after chapter. When Rebekah’s plan for a new life in Texas completely fails, her life couldn’t have been more frustrating--and that’s when I found I’d completely invested in this character. She became precious to me.

I’ve read the two or three 3-star reviews for this book (and a few of the over forty 5-star Amazon Reviews) and the biggest complaint was Rebekah’s selfishness. It’s there but I disagree that it takes away from the book. If she’d been unselfish at nineteen-years-old, when the ‘wings of her dream’ were clipped I would have probably put this book aside as lacking credibility.

Rebekah’s life changes dramatically over the course of the book, and rather than give away plot points, I will just strongly recommend Anne’s book. It is a look study of a very difficult time in American, and world history, and exquisitely paints life in a small town during a war.

Anne brings us into the world of Spanish Flu long before Downton Abbey showed us. And yet neither could really teach us the impact of the world’s largest pandemic of death. It’s a wonder we didn’t lose an entire generation from the Tuberculosis and Spanish Flu carried home with servicemen and women after the Great War.

Rebekah’s story is one of maturity and growth. Rather than let her youthful selfishness breed resentment, Rebekah opened her heart and kept moving forward even after repeated emotional wounds by her young man, loss of her family, and the domineering, thoughtless treatment by her mother. Rebekah found joy again and optimism for the future, through situations few would have handled so tenderly. Wings of a Dream’s romance runs beautifully smooth and realistic, and I might add, did not run the obvious route but gave us a lot to consider.

I had high expectations for this book and I was not disappointed. It was in my top ten books of 2011, and I’m glad to recommend it to readers of historical fiction, historical romance, and women’s fiction, yet it is completely appropriate for male readers as well because of the vivid portrayal of this period of history. Also appropriate for the YA market.

I was sorry to see this book end and look forward to more from author Anne Mateer.

Anne's books can be purchased through Amazon, CBD, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores.

GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week's contest. Drawing will be late Saturday. Your choice of Anne's books and choice of format*. Void where prohibited by law. *International winners will only receive the book in ebook format, not as a paperback.

Friend on Friday

The Colonel's Lady


by Laura Frantz


Published by Revell 2011

A review by Debra E. Marvin

Thank you, Carrie, for the opportunity to share my thoughts with your readers.

The Colonel’s Lady, Laura Frantz’s third novel, brings us back to the colonial frontier where we lingered with The Frontiersman’s Daughter and Courting Morrow Little.

Should I give you some hints to the story as any decent reviewer would? I’d rather tell you that by the end of the first chapter, my eyes had filled with tears. Was it the compelling new storyline unfolding before me? Laura’s descriptive prose, or just the pure joy of having a new Laura Frantz book in hand? Probably all three.

I cried then. I cried later. Finished the book with a damp pillowcase.

I can’t guarantee your readers will love Roxanne Rowan and Colonel Cass McLinn as I did.

But I think they will.

This is Laura’s first use of the hero’s Point of View in her Revell books and I was thrilled to learn she’d used the life of George Rogers Clark as part of the inspiration for Colonel McLinn. I’ve been a fan of author James Alexander Thom’s fictional stories of the frontier, most notably his multiple books on the Clark family of Virginia. If Laura’s books leave you wanting more of this era, I’d suggest you check into his work.

Laura’s settings are so real that days later, I’m missing life at Fort Endeavor, the Stone House and all their inhabitants. Seriously.

Can you believe I looked online to find their location? I’m ready for a road trip to say I stood where they stood.

Oh, that’s right. They’re fictional characters.

Roxie and Cass have a horrid truth lying between them, but two people could not be better for each other as we watch them grow in each other’s company. This of course is the ultimate goal of a romance thread in any book. And, I don’t know if any female reader can help but fall in love with Cass McLinn. He’s up there with Rhett Butler, Jamie Fraser, Fitzwilliam D’Arcy and Mr. Thornton for me.

Roxie’s faith holds firm in the face of losing every bit of security in her life, including constant threat of imminent attack at the fort. Cass has a faith he grew up with, but chose to ignore as too unreliable and instead relies on himself. Only when he’s completely disgusted by his failures can he release control and again desire to have Roxie’s kind of peace.

I love a book that makes me talk to the author while I’m reading. I had plenty of those moments. “Oh, Laura, this is brilliant” “Oh, Laura, you’ve got to be kidding me. This is too amazing.”  Example: Enter a mute child, named Abby, into the lives of two broken adults.

My anticipation for Laura’s next book is already building (hint: she took a trip to Philadelphia this summer). I have to admit, as a reader, I’m thrilled. As a writer, well . . . If the next book is better than the last three, my own writing will be irrevocably damaged. Ahh, but it’s a chance I’m willing to take. 




Thanks Debra for visiting with us!  
Debra E. Marvin tries not to run too far from real life but the imagination born out of being an only child has a powerful draw. Besides, the voices in her head tend to agree with all the sensible things she says. Debra likes to write, weed and wander and is blessed to have the best family and friends in the world. She has decided she needs to live closer  to her grandchildren. She’s thankful each day that God is in control, that He chooses to bless us despite ourselves and that He has a sense of humor.    Her work has finaled in the TARA, Great Expectations, Heart of the Rockies, Maggie, Rattler and most recently, the Daphne DuMaurier. Not too bad considering she’s trying a mashup of gospel and . . .  gothic. Any day now, she'll be submitting her novel. Catch her pretending to be social at: 

www.inkwellinspirations.blogspot.com/
www.facebook.com/debra.e.marvin
www.debraemarvin.com    and...twittering @DebraEMarvin

Giveaway:  Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of this amazing new book by Laura Frantz!