What do You think about Bamboo & Lace (2001)?
This book is so good the characters will stay in your heart even after you've finished it. Gabe and Lily are still tugging at my heart, wanting more of their story, and more than anything, to meet and know them in real life. I'm usually more of an adventure, fantasy fiction type girl, but despite the lack of action in this book, I never wanted to put it down! Once I'd picked it up, there was no way my hands wanted to cooperate by putting it back down. It was interesting and the land of Hawaii just drew me in. Guess what's top of my to-visit list now? Hawaii ;) I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read this book. It is definitely a keeper and a share-with-your-kids type of book. I will definitely be searching out for more Lori Wick stories and devouring them as I did this one!!
—Zoë
Lily Walsh is a 24 year old woman raised by her missionary father in Kashien. She was raised to be submissive to men and be meek and respectful. When she gets the opportunity to visit her brother in Hawaii, her controlling father has a hard time letting her go. Once in Hawaii, she is upset to learn that her brother has to go away on business and she ends up staying with friends of his. The Kapaia family takes her under their wing and shows her what America has that Kashien does not. Gabe Kapaia and Lily fall in love but have many obstacles to overcome - namely, Lily needs to learn how to see herself as important and to have a healthy relationship with a man, and they also need to deal with Owen, Lily's father, a domineering man who does not respect nor appreciate his daughter. With God's miracles, they overcome these issues and start life together.I loved "Sophie's Heart" by Lori Wick, and the premise for this book sounded promising, but it didn't deliver. It was set mostly in Hawaii, which I loved, but the characters, the dialogue and the plot felt a little forced and unrealistic. The main character, Lily, was a sweet girl but one who was naive and childlike due to her upbringing in a culture where women had to be submissive. She comes to Hawaii to visit her brother and has to learn everything from scratch...how to look men in the eyes, experience a grocery store, see a computer, chew gum, etc. The book was also ridiculously long and overdone. I did like the family dynamics of the Kapaia's and how their lives changed when Lily entered.
—Pamela Hubbard
Another fine example of Lori Wick's exceptional writing. Not. What is wrong with her? Can't she make her characters anything but perfect? Lily is a stupid, weak, and silly girl who is so "spiritual" but is so unbelievably perfect that you don't really care for her at all. Her problems (ha) brought no sympathy from me whatsoever and I was sickened by her character. The girl got majorly sunburned over her own "obedient" idiocy and then (after spending who-knows-how-long in the hospital recovering,
—AlixJamie
