daybreak1012 's review for:

Too Long a Stranger by Janette Oke

1.75

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I have long been a fan of Janette Oke's Love Comes Softly series. There are a couple other series that I have also liked. I haven't had as much luck with her Women of the West series, though, which has been decidedly hit or miss for me. They have run the gamut from forgettable to moving, mediocre to downright disliked -- for any number of reasons. I don't know if it's that I am more drawn to her character development in a true series, while this "series" is just a group of standalone novels with a similar theme but otherwise unrelated or what.

What I liked about Too Long a Stranger:
The peripheral characters - Boyd and the rest of the Galvans. Alex Murray. Seth Oliver. I enjoyed the scenes where these characters made an appearance. They were easy to root for -- decent, solid people, with kind hearts, and worthwhile lessons to contribute.
Decent premise and message - I could see the scaffolding of a good story, both in the circumstances and in the lessons to be learned. I wish they could have come to fruition, but I will still give some credit for potential, especially since it was that potential that kept me turning pages despite gritting my teeth.

What I didn't care for:
The two main characters - I honestly never grew to like either Sarah or Rebecca. Sarah was stubborn, prideful, callous, and had an unhealthy obsession with her child. Rebecca was a thoughtless, prissy brat. What made it worse is that whatever redemption there was came so late that I couldn't really appreciate it and see its rewards.
An abrupt ending that held little resolution - Along that line, I almost felt like just at what might have proved a turning point, the book simply concluded. After enduring all the character flaws, I got virtually no payout for either of the leading ladies. This might have held some redeeming value for the book itself, but instead it fell flat.
The speaking dialogue - It's been a long time since a book actually made me cringe nearly every time a person spoke. There was this stammering, broken cadence to the speech that made me want to light my hair on fire. I understand that Ms Oke was attempting to catch the pauses in the way people talk when they are thinking as they speak, but it was literally nearly every exchange, with not just pauses but repeated words, and with that degree of overuse, it lost its effect. As a result, I found myself skimming anything in quotation marks.
The banker - Expanding on the dialogue issue, the banker also interspersed his speech with randomly interjected 'ah's. On top of that, he was a slimy, squirmy, gross character. I wasn't sorry when we stopped having to endure scenes with him.  

Worth noting:
Without a doubt Christian historical fiction - This is a subgenre that I am sure will only appeal to some. It's very clean, for those who require that in a novel, and while it doesn't preach in your face, it isn't isn't ashamed to speak the Gospel truths.

Thankfully, this book was easy enough to read, so that prevented me from getting bogged down. I am going to feel ambivalent about this series going forward, given my track record, but there have been times that Ms Oke delivers some incredibly edifying messages in her books. This just was not one of them.