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A review by english_lady03
The Proposal by Lori Wick
3.0
I like Regencies and Victorian novels so I purchased all 4 books in this series on Kindle a couple of years ago when they were on sale. I've just finished listening to the Audio of this first one on Scribd.
Its not the worst novel in the world, and the concept was interesting- but- I didn't care for the execution. To say its preachy would be an understatement. Indeed, I felt that the synopsis is misleading to some extend.
Much of the second half of the book read like an extended sermon, or as it if was written as a teaching tool for a church group.
The characters at times seemed to be unable to commit to any action without 'praying about it' first and some chapters were taken up mostly by extended discussions a sermon they'd heard in Church or a Bible passage they'd read.
I understand that the author wanted to write a story about the Christian life, but it wasn't subtle at all. Maybe the author didn't intend it to be, but I really don't think this worked as a historical or a Romance novel. In fact, there was very little romance, and at times not much storyline. It would have been better off as non-fiction, perhaps.
There's also some assumptions about the non-Christian characters that I found rather absurd. The idea that someone raised in Victorian Britain would have not known that the Holy Trinity was, but not even heard of the concept almost beggared belief. Seriously, just because a person is not a believer it does not mean they have no grasp of Biblical teachings or theology whatsoever.
I mean Jane Austen was a vicar's daughter, and her faith was important to her life, but this is NOT Jane Austen by any measure. Its really a bit dull, to be honest.
The other thing which annoyed me were the Americanisms. I don't mind a few of them, but they really stood out in this novel, and they gave the impression that little attempt was made to make the character's language authentic to the setting of Victorian Britain. Among them were 'baking cookies' (Brits would call these biscuits), 'eating too much candy' (what Brits call sweets) talking about 'fall term' at school and characters saying 'okay' several times. A term that was coined in Boston a couple of decades after this was set.
I may read or listen to the other books in the series at some point, and I understand that many people have found them beneficial. I won't disparage them, and by all means read this book and pass it on. It just wasn't my cup of proverbial tea.
Its not the worst novel in the world, and the concept was interesting- but- I didn't care for the execution. To say its preachy would be an understatement. Indeed, I felt that the synopsis is misleading to some extend.
Much of the second half of the book read like an extended sermon, or as it if was written as a teaching tool for a church group.
The characters at times seemed to be unable to commit to any action without 'praying about it' first and some chapters were taken up mostly by extended discussions a sermon they'd heard in Church or a Bible passage they'd read.
I understand that the author wanted to write a story about the Christian life, but it wasn't subtle at all. Maybe the author didn't intend it to be, but I really don't think this worked as a historical or a Romance novel. In fact, there was very little romance, and at times not much storyline. It would have been better off as non-fiction, perhaps.
There's also some assumptions about the non-Christian characters that I found rather absurd. The idea that someone raised in Victorian Britain would have not known that the Holy Trinity was, but not even heard of the concept almost beggared belief. Seriously, just because a person is not a believer it does not mean they have no grasp of Biblical teachings or theology whatsoever.
I mean Jane Austen was a vicar's daughter, and her faith was important to her life, but this is NOT Jane Austen by any measure. Its really a bit dull, to be honest.
The other thing which annoyed me were the Americanisms. I don't mind a few of them, but they really stood out in this novel, and they gave the impression that little attempt was made to make the character's language authentic to the setting of Victorian Britain. Among them were 'baking cookies' (Brits would call these biscuits), 'eating too much candy' (what Brits call sweets) talking about 'fall term' at school and characters saying 'okay' several times. A term that was coined in Boston a couple of decades after this was set.
I may read or listen to the other books in the series at some point, and I understand that many people have found them beneficial. I won't disparage them, and by all means read this book and pass it on. It just wasn't my cup of proverbial tea.