Lynn MorrisRecensioni

This was my first time reading one of the novels Gilbert Morris coauthored with his daughter Lynn Morris. I've read some historical ChristFic books by the former Morris before, and while I can't say I'm really into the author's writing style, I enjoyed the overall story in The Winds of God from his Wakefield Dynasty series. So when The Creoles series' book covers called to the period fiction lover in me, I went ahead and picked up Book One.

I didn't come in looking for the most accurate or in-depth historical details, and unfortunately, I'm not surprised that some of the parts involving different peoples in the book didn't sit right with me. For instance, there's an evening scene where the enslaved people on Chantel's plantation are singing from their quarters, and Chantel, relaxing on her porch, says, "I like it at night like this, sitting here and just listening to the singing" in a moment portrayed as lovely—when actually that moment and others in this book gloss over the ugly reality of humans being owned as property. This scene treats their presence and their singing like pleasant "entertainment" there for the privileged heroine's benefit.

Also, various aspects of the story feel melodramatic and/or underdeveloped, the word choice and descriptions can be repetitive, and in general, the characters have a fairly unnatural feel, often with stilted dialogue.

Nevertheless, one characterization I mostly liked is of the heroine's main romantic interest. It's refreshing when such male characters aren't always tall, strapping, and dashing, and this particular man has ambition driven by his convictions.

Now, the core of his conviction comes from his faith, and spiritual themes have a prominent place in this book. However, it isn't my preference when spiritual themes in fiction come in the form of sermons and sermonizing. And if the characters' religious discussions and whatnot aren't fresh for me and don't necessarily seem like they're wholly organic parts of a novel, I tend to skim past them—as I did with the several extended Bible lessons in this book. I wanted to get back to the story.

And on the whole, it's the story that I was into, as it kept me interested enough to see how the events would play out. Because I'm not looking for more of a focus on slavery, I'll be skipping the second book in this series, but I may give Book Three a try.½

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Interesting book, but the trilogy isn't finished. The publisher decided that the third book, Seven Golden Vials, wouldn't be released because of the overall sales of the first 2 books. I wish that the authors would find a way to make it available.

Between this & the JAG series that I'm watching, how do you trust anything that politicians are saying?

A very different take on the conspiracy theories!

The Prologue tells about beautiful bluish green lights. Dr. Niklas Kesteven had found them in a cave. There were 5 men with him who followed his orders and sealed the cave with a solar blanket. No one seemed to know which country the mountain was part of. Dr. Kesteven sent the co-ordinates from his Cyclops unit & requested several things be sent to them, including a full microbioassay kit. He then left instructions that the Cyclops not be touched but watched, & if there were any black dots they were to all get in the cave. After the Dr. left, men came & took samples and sealed the cave. None of them ever saw it again.

This is the eighth & final book in the Cheny Duvall, M.D. series.

In the prologue, Dr. Cheney Duvall receives a message from Siloh Irons-Winslow that he will pick her up when she gets off work at 7AM. The flowers he sent remind her of the sunrise from Mount Haleakala in Hawaii. She & Nurse Sisk make smaller bouquets to put in the wards. Cheney had come to realize that she loved Shiloh, but also that there were problems. When he come, she offered to let him see everyone. Cheney agreed to travel with Shiloh on the "Brynn Annalea", and Shiloh was honored that she had.

In the story, Cheney Duvall is traveling on the "Brynn Annaleah over the Tropic of Cancer. As she watched, the seamen were struggling to roll the mail royal sale around the yard. Captain Sloane informed her that she was in a dangerous position. As she moved down the ladder, her stomach started to roll.
When she awoke in Captain Sloane's cabin, she was sick to her stomach. She thought about how when she was ill, she wanted Shiloh to care for her.
When they first left San Francisco, neither she nor Nia had been ill since it was smooth sailing, but the second week the winds caused them problems & both of them were sick, and Shiloh took care of them. When they reached Panama City, both Cheney & Nia were carried to the train. In Aspinwall, where the Steen's clipper ship "Maid of the Caribbean" waited for them.
Nia commented that the color of Cheney's clothes made her look better. Nia thought Cheney looked lovely, despite her sickness. Then suggested Cheney use a rose-colored parasol to hide her paleness. Since the "Maid of the Caribbean" was a more businesslike ship than the "Byrnn Annalea", Shiloh had arranged a place where they could hide & not be in anyone else's way. Cheney commented that the last time she saw him he had been hanging from the rigging. Cheney allowed him to play with her fingers, something she didn't normally do. He reminded her that today was her birthday. Shiloh gave her a copy of "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens...they had been reading "Hamlet" & she was sure he was tired of it. They were dreaming in Shakespearean English! Shiloh started talking about his newly found family, something very different for Shiloh. Then he asked her to marry him. Although she said she was honored, etc, but... Shiloh was shocked that she turned him down! He felt that he was a good man. But Cheney knew that he wasn't a Christian. After she left, he took the ring & threw it into the sea.

Very exciting! Especially the volcano eruption!

Set in San Francisco, gives history of department stores that are discussed in this story. Is "Gump's" still there?

Very interesting

More about history than doctoring. Centers around Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest, C.S.A.

According to the back of the book, some of these events took place....historical fiction!

THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! Just so you know. ;)

I am having some very conflicted feelings on this book . . . there were a lot of parts I really enjoyed in this book, and storywise overall, I would say I really liked it. But there were also a lot of things I didn't like, or things that frustrated me.

Characters: Cheney was only about a 3 star character for me. She can be really sweet, but also tough and gruff, and even somewhat feministic at times, which I didn't like at all. I do like how the Morris' didn't seem to condone it though; it was just part of her story arc. Just kinda "meh". I do love her parents though! They were really sweet and supportive, yet still protective! They reminded me in some ways of my own parents. I also really like Dev! Okay, I REALLY would have liked it if she married him! Seriously! He's WAY better than Shiloh - Shiloh and Cheney are just . . . no. I wish his storyline had gone differently. I really liked how protective he was of her, yet not at all "in her face" or pushy. I liked that he was a gentleman. About the only one in this book, unfortunately - him and Cheney's father. Then there's Shiloh. He would have been a great character if he wasn't made into the love interest. It just made things complicated and annoying. He was hilarious and nice and kind in the first part, especially when you first meet him, although I did think he was too forward. Towards the second half though, he just made things complicated and oftentimes made me uncomfortable, especially when he was with Cheney.
Various characters on the ship were very sweet and nice; Anne was one of my favorites! And let's not forget Mr. Mercer! He's hilarious! And so nice! And sweet and . . . yeah. I am SO thankful the author didn't make him the love interest! Ugh! That would have been horrible! He married the perfect person!

The story was a very interesting premise, and the fact that the MC was a doctor was really what made me interested in the series. I really enjoyed the medical details and wish there were more!

All in all, I enjoyed this book, but am definitely not reading the rest of the series! Why? Cause it takes them EIGHT BOOKS TO FIGURE OUT THAT THEY WANT TO GET MARRIED! UGH! Why draw it out!?!? I am not even going to waste my time, for I know that I wouldn't like it! The one conciliation I do have, it that Cheney has a good reason for not wanting to marry Shiloh - because he's not a Christian. That makes it better, but I still don't want to read the rest of the series.

CONTENT NOTE: There was a mild amount of romance; somebody proposes, and various people get married and such. Nothing overboard. There were a few times a bad guy tried to take advantage of a young girl, and various other hints and such behavior. It made me uncomfortable, but not terribly so, and certainly not as bad as some things I've read. There were also a few racial issues, but nothing huge or terribly offending.

So, not really recommended. It was one of those okay books.

Fighting a deadly disease forges the bonds of their love stronger than ever.

Cheney & Shiloh series Book I

For starters, it was I think pleasant to find a Regency Romance story which does not rely on various plot devices such as espionage, political intrigue, or some kind of threat from criminal activities to crank up the drama. There was no mystery, no fast-paced action- no murders, kidnappings or treasonable plots. For some, that might be a bad thing- but I didn’t really mind it.

I could describe the story as a simple, plain, old fashioned Regency that is more character driven than plot driven, and does as it promised- focusing on the heroine’s attempts to find a husband in one particular season. In some ways, actually, I think some Regencies focus too much on the sensational or dramatic, and so it’s good to find one that just offers a simple story which was still enjoyable.
The downside for me, was that I sometimes found it a little hard to follow. I think perhaps that there were too many characters, and so it was hard to keep up with their interactions to one another and their activities. Sometimes I found myself forgetting who X and Y actually were and how they were related to other characters, which cannot be a good thing.

Also, alongside a few annoying Americanisms that intruded upon an otherwise solid and credible period setting (I’m fairly certain that nineteenth century Englishmen did not describe distances in urban areas in ‘blocks’), I think perhaps I had some issue with the heroine Mirabella. In some ways, she was everything a Regency heroine could be- but in other ways, she came across as very fickle, indecisive and rather priggish.
She seemed to lead men on, with her known intent of finding a husband, court them and seem keen on them- and then totally go off them for sometimes the most trivial of reasons, whilst still holding a flame for the distant hero. I mean, was she really trying to find a husband or not? As it seemed as if nobody but the guy she fancied all along could ever be good enough…..yet it was obvious that they would get together in the end.

Overall this was an enjoyable book, the Christian theme well delivered without being clichéd or too contrived, and the period details I felt added to the story. I would certainly recommend for fans of Regency and Romance.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher via Netgalley in return for review. I was not required to write a positive one and all opinions expressed are my own.

Once you get past the excruciatingly described clothing and furnishings, a decent romance.

Interesting concept with historical tie-ins