I loved this book SO much when I was 14. The sweeping Victorian period, the romance between the staid Brandon and impulsive Sunny, the exotic locales of Darhabar and England, all of it. But 20 years later, after re-reading this book, my feelings have changed quite a bit. Honestly, this book is still entertaining. Maybe not for the right reasons, but in a snicker-at-a-B-move sort of way. For instance, read this excerpt about two 16 year old friends in the book. If you think it is fine, then you will probably enjoy this book:[Miles and Jordan] had been the best of friends since the time they were young, mainly because of the close proximity of their homes. Nothing had ever shaken the foundation of that friendship, but they were as different in appearance as any two friends could be. Both were handsome, but where Miles was broad and dark, Jordan was slim and blond ... their friendship was cemented by their mutual love of horses, reading, discussing Jesus Christ and His life on the earth, and, when they had time, courting some of the local girls. With conflicting schedules and serious studies, there was not much time for seeing each other or courting, but both boys were very interested in finding wives ..."My Issues with this Book:Many details don't ring true about the setting--the decidedly un-Victorian era names like Andrea, Brandon, Heather, the decidedly modern manner in which they speak, the sixteen year old boys thinking about settling down with wives, etc. Details don't ring true about the characters--the writing is clunky and the dialogue doesn't sound like real people talking. Everyone in the story is perfect, really weirdly perfect. Except Sunny, who is merely impulsive. And her Arabic family. They are definitely portrayed as wicked. (eye roll) Very unoriginal. Characters are flat and preachy, several characters are completely useless, servants have no presence whatsoever aside from being villains, the affluent family's faith does not seem to bear much fruit or have much to do with Christ except the family prays and God provides everyone mansions, spouses and well-behaved children. They essentially peer pressure Sunny into becoming a Christian. Details don't ring true about the themes--this book is a really strange mix of speaking for women's rights yet showing only completely traditional roles, including themes of male dominance, female fear, and men rescuing women. Women are repeatedly described as "feather-headed" and "henwits." And they are portrayed as such--conversations revolve around three things: 1. dresses, 2. men/romantic relationships, and 3. Christianity. Women are constantly bursting into tears in this story. Everyone is SO concerned about everyone else's romantic connections and who is everyone going to marry. It's creepy. No mention is given whatever to greater political happenings of the time. So needless to say, I don't think I'll keep this title in my personal library. Now that I've read great romances of the 19th century, this one just seems silly and fluffy. Tolstoy it is not. Austen it is not. Bronte and Hardy and Dickens it is not. If you are okay with that, you may enjoy this book. But if you're expecting more, you should skip it.
For a quick rundown on my opinion of this book, here were my updates while reading it:1)"Nothing says "wallpaper historical" like setting your novel in 1844 and then having your characters talk about gender equality."2)"Ermigerd nothing has happened for a hundred pages! Come ON, DO something, please! Bored bored bored." 3)"You know, it's really telling when your main thought while reading a book is, 'The BIBLE is less preachy than this.'"For the long version, read here:This is the second Lori Wick book I read on the recommendation of someone else, and clearly I need to stop. First, this is not set in the Victorian era, this is set in the Disney Princess version of the Victorian Era. Second, it's SOOOOO PREACHY. I thought The Princess was bad, but this is insufferable. Third, it's boring as all get out.The problem is the set up is really interesting: Girl gets shipwrecked off the coast of Arabia as a baby/toddler, and at 13 is sent back to her family in England and has to learn to cope with a culture she doesn't understand and a family she never knew. But instead of focusing on the difficulties of a 13 year old being uprooted to an entirely new culture, having to learn how to live with a family she doesn't know and doesn't understand, it's all just an excuse to proselytize at her heathen ways (using, of course, 1990s Evangelical arguments that in no way represent how real people talk now, much less in 1844), and to get her into a romance with her perfect Christian Disney Prince (Duke). Oh, it's not a spoiler, it's in the goddamn title.Nostalgia chick did a review of Kate and Leopold that almost perfectly describes the issues with this book -- except I can't own the guilty pleasure Nostalgia Chick finds in Kate in Leopold.Kate and Leopold Nostalgia Chick reviewSeriously, watch this review. If you're not crying with laughter, you have no soul.
What do You think about The Hawk And The Jewel (2004)?
(Genre:Christian historical fiction/romance) 2 1/2 stars--I liked it alright, but it wasn't a favorite that I will revisit. The focus of this book is 13 year old Shani who is being raised by a wealthy ruler in India in the 1800s. She is of English heritage, but knows nothing of her past, save that her biological father gave her to her stepfather to raise. Shani is a bit of a handful in her Indian household but she is her stepfather's favorite child and so she gets away with a lot. She has been nagging her stepfather for the chance to see on board an English sailing ship for a while now, and she is thrilled when he finally agrees. She has English style clothing made for her and she is prepared by servants to know how to act and speak while on board and interacting with the English. When the fateful day comes, she is taken by her father's trusted advisor out to tour the English ship. The advisor drugs her while on board and when she wakes, she discovers that she is being returned to England and everything she thought she knew about her family and her past was a lie. Her real father didn't give her away. He thought she had drown off the coast of India in a storm along with her mother (whose body was recovered at the time). Her Indian stepfather had essentially stolen her, and then, out of the blue, written to her family in England and asked them to come and retrieve her. Her real name is Sunny and she must now learn how to fit into a strict English society as well as her new family.Things that I liked: Lori Wick is a Christian writer and she keeps things clean. I really appreciate that. Her characters have admirable qualities and so it is easy to like them and root for them. She allowed Sunny to grow up before pushing the romance story and I really appreciated that, as well. And I did like the premise of the story--teenage girl having to deal with a complete culture change, including religious beliefs and family structure. I liked all the healthy relationships of the side characters. It was refreshing to not have major familial dysfunction written into the story. On the flip side, sometimes the story seemed too long--lots of daily life details without a lot happening. During the middle of the story I found the pace to be slower than I preferred and I had a hard time motivating myself to pick it up (hence the 2 1/2 star rating rather than a 3 or 3 1/2). I also felt like Wick selectively chose when she would enforce the cultural norms/habits of this time period. Sometimes they were considered important, yet at other times it felt like she disregarded them. I found that a little distracting. And while her writing style in regards to her Christian faith didn't bother me, others could find her a bit heavy handed with it.
—Darla
I read Lori Wick's English Garden series several years ago from our public library's Bookmobile service. I had students in my high school library request more books like Julie Klassen's and happened to remember Wick's series. I decided to order a couple of them. I'm sure they'll be very popular. Since it's Spring Break, I also decided to reward myself with some pleasure reading time. So I settled down with THE HAWK AND THE JEWEL one day and finished it last evening. About halfway through the book I thought to myself, "This is very predictable. Enjoyable, but predictable." Then, Wick threw a surprise twist into the plot involving some of the romances. Okay...changed my direction of thinking and read some more.Then, she throws another twist so it goes back to my original prediction. It kept me off-guard enough to enjoy the ending of the book. I will confess that the title gave it away, too. I loved the title and the cover, but it added to the predictability of the book.That being said, I still enjoyed this clean, wholesome, Christian book and plan on reading more by Lori Wick.
—Dee
All she knew was her life in Darhabar, but without Shani knowing what was truly happening her world was radically changing. Shani was from England, but as far as she knew her parents had both died from drowning, and she had been taken in as the emir’s daughter. The emir felt it time to let his daughter go and learn the ways of her true people, so he arranged her to tour an Englishman’s ship. When Shani awoke on the ship she felt a jolt and realized she was no longer on land. The captain, Brandon, was sent by her family to bring Shani home and teach her some English customs in order to prepare her for this new transition. Shani soon finds out her real name is actually Sunny. They reach England after months journeying, and Sunny begins her many adventures of living in a new country. Always searching for something new to preoccupy her, she finally realizes her need of a Savior and becomes a Christian. With much romance and adventure Sunny seems to never have a spare moment, but with her new found faith this turns to an unexpected path.
—Jennifer Dejager
