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A review by whiteraven191
Holding the Fort by Regina Jennings
3.0
I'll start with what I liked. I adored the characters in this book. Normally, I can't stand stories where the plot hinges on characters not communicating properly, but all the characters felt so real that I could totally see this sort of thing happening. I also appreciated how genuinely nice the romantic lead was. It's sad that I have to explicitly say he's nice, but such is the state of modern romance. Even the Christian themes (which I hadn't expected when I started the book) didn't feel too shoehorned in, or heavy-handed.
Actually, on the subject of the Christian themes, I actually really liked the main message. I was so afraid, when I realized that this was a Christian novel, that the message was going to be "performers are sinful strumpets, but you're not, Louisa, because you're now a Good Christian (TM)." What the actual message was was "God loves everybody because He's God and that's kind of His thing. Anyone who tells you you're going to Hell for performing at a dive bar is wrong." I'm kind of impressed; this Christian novel is way less slut-shaming than a lot of YA and NA books.
My one complaint was the setting. I know too much about how horribly Native Americans were treated, especially at Christian-run schools, to feel entirely comfortable reading this. I look forward to reading some of Jenning's other books, since this is the only one that should have that problem.
Actually, on the subject of the Christian themes, I actually really liked the main message. I was so afraid, when I realized that this was a Christian novel, that the message was going to be "performers are sinful strumpets, but you're not, Louisa, because you're now a Good Christian (TM)." What the actual message was was "God loves everybody because He's God and that's kind of His thing. Anyone who tells you you're going to Hell for performing at a dive bar is wrong." I'm kind of impressed; this Christian novel is way less slut-shaming than a lot of YA and NA books.
My one complaint was the setting. I know too much about how horribly Native Americans were treated, especially at Christian-run schools, to feel entirely comfortable reading this. I look forward to reading some of Jenning's other books, since this is the only one that should have that problem.