It is September 1961, and Gabriella Madison is on a one year Franco-American exchange programme in Castelnau, near Montpelier in France. The programme is headed by Mother Griolet, who Gabrielle herself has met before, as a child of six, even though the nun does not mention the fact. This gives us an early sense of hidden secrets and unsolved mysteries. And Mother Griolet is not the only one with secrets. It appears that the handsome young professor, David Hoffman, has some of his own, and these are about to involve Gabriella. David invites Gabrielle out socially (obviously student-teacher relationships are not an issue), and she begins to fall for him despite the fact that she is a strong Christian, the daughter of American missionaries in West Africa, and he is a half-Jewish atheist. Ophélie is the six-year-old daughter of Anne-Marie Duchemin, a pied noir, a French woman born and raised in Algeria. Anne-Marie is missing, and Ophélie finds herself in Castelnau, in the orphanage run by Mother Griolet. Like Gabrielle, Ophélie wears a Huguenot cross necklace, but doesn’t understand its’ significance.The background to Two Crosses is the Algerian war for independence from the French. The early chapters therefore have quite a bit of explanation of the historical context, which some readers might find slow or off-putting. Personally, I have always enjoyed history, and one of my personal bugbears is authors who set novels in a particular time and place but get the facts wrong. So while there was quite a bit of information in the opening chapters, I liked the fact that the author knew the time and the area. The story is very well plotted, and the disparate strands come together as the story progresses.One of the characters says, “The war is over independence, but still religion divides”. Rick Warren recently tweeted that church splits are less often about differences in doctrine than they are about a clash of egos. It seems that the same could be said of many wars. Are they really about religion, or are they a fatal clash of ego? Two Crosses would seem to confirm Rick Warren’s view.The writing style reminds me of Michael Phillips, particularly his 'Secrets of the Rose' series. Both cover a similar period of history, both feature American protagonists in living Europe, both have characters with a strong Christian faith and both are written with varying third person points of view. I particularly liked the character of Mother Griolet, the wise old nun who provides Gabrielle and others with practical and spiritual guidance.Two Crosses is not a light read, nor an easy read. But it is a worthwhile read. While telling a story about the recent past, the stories of the Huguenots’ reflect on the more distant past, and encourage the reader to think of the present and the future. As the old saying goes, those who do not learn the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them. Well worth reading, particularly for those who enjoy solid historical fiction.Thanks to David C Cook Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.This review also appears on my blog, www.christianreads.blogspot.com.
After picking up a few books which I didn't like I picked up this one. I was excited to begin reading it, but at the same time worried it wasn't going to be a good read either. But I must say I was wrong. 'Two Crosses' follow the life of Gabriella (Gabby), Madison, a South African missionary who is taking university courses in France. Little does she know what her Huguenot cross will bring her; joy, danger, and friendship. This story really captivated my interested, from well pretty much the first page. It has many wonderful characters such as David, Ophelia, Anne-Marie, and Mother Griolet. They all were a little mysterious, and had contrasting characteristics. I loved how their secrets were kept hidden, but still revealed little by little as the book went along. My favorite character in the book was probably David. Gabby battled with lots of feelings, there were so many things she discovered it was understandable. David was a stronger character, but still had many weaknesses. I really liked it when I found out was his mission really was, that he had a soft spot. The plot was great in the book, kept you on your toes, and was fast paced. There was never a boring moment in this book, yet it didn't feel like your head was being stuffed with information. This book was NOT predictable at all! It had so many things going on, that you would try to put them together, but it was just too hard at first. When everything was falling together though, it wasn't confusing as to what was going on. It all made sense at the end. This book did have too much romance for my taste, but still it wasn't the main plot. Almost, but not quite. I prefer books with no romance though. There were lots of characters whose stories were being told at the same time, so at some points I did get a little confused, especially one time when I confused Jean-Louis for Jean-Claude, that was probably just because I was reading to fast. Overall I would rate this book 4/5 and I would definitely recommend it. Now the ending of this book was a CLIFFHANGER so please excuse me while I go find the next book! :)
What do You think about Two Crosses (2012)?
The first thing I need to say is that I liked the book, and I feel a little guilty giving it three stars. It *is* better than average, and I'd probably give it almost four, if I could. But anyway. I enjoyed reading it, I cared about the characters and wanted to know what was going to happen next. I think the plot is clever, and it was a very entertaining reading. I had a few problems along the way with bits of characterization (there's a lot of melodrama here, with the heroine frequently bursting in tears, the hero shaking his fist to the skies, the villain cracking evil laughters) and the... ok, I'm not sure the independence struggle was too well-handled. At many points I had the feeling that we were supposed to be against them – the heroes were mostly innocent people caught in the villain's revenge scheme, so maybe this came from the fact that the villain was the only one openly pro-independence, and at many points his ideology overlapped with his evil regenge plot and with the rampant terrorism. Still, it left a slightly bitter feeling in my mouth. We also had some weird lines from David, one of the leading characters – at one point he's surprised to learn that Gabby had been in love with a black boy, and I'm still not sure what we're supposed to make of that. Is he racist? Is he surprised that she's not racist? Is that his idea of small talk? Waaat.So those were the problems. Now the good things. Like I said, the plot is really interesting, and the characters are endearing. Some bits could be better edited (some lines from Ophelie don't sound like something a child her age would say) and Gabby could cry 50% less, but they're both still interesting and fun to read about. I like how Gabby can hold her own against David in their discussions, and how she's annoyed by his... well, assholeness. She's atracted to him in spite of it, not because of it, and that's good. I also liked how the author handled their faith and God's action throughout the book. This is something hard to master, because you need to show God is there and in control, and still not give your characters an easy way out of the plot points. I think this really worked. The conversion scene was also sweet and touching, and it worked well for the character. All in all, it was a sweet, nice book to read. It could use a little edition, but I enjoyed it anyway, and I'm still planning to read the sequels. (File gently provided by Netgalley).
—Berseker
Wow. I was completely stunned by this book! It had everything you could ever imagine in a great book: lots of heart-racing action, beautiful thoughtful prose, extremely well-drawn characters, an amazingly creative plot, spiritual depth, poetry, off-the-beaten path historical detail, and a compelling romance story. Elizabeth Musser is now one of my favorite authors - I especially love the way that she weaves color, poetry, and art in and out of her stories, giving them a lovely and magical aura. The only thing that I hated about this book was that it has a cliff-hanger ending. (And the second book is not in my library system!!)
—Jennifer Nelson
Title: TWO CROSSESAuthor: Elizabeth MusserPublisher: David C. CookJune 2012ISBN: 978-0-7814-0500-3Genre: Inspirational/Historical/suspenseThe glittering Huguenot cross she innocently wears leads her deep into the shadows.Gabriella Madison goes to France in 1961 to complete her education. She is a missionary’s daughter, and out of place among all the rich socialites also attending there. But she also catches the attention of a professor—David Hoffman. Suddenly she is drawn into the secretive world behind the Algerian war for independence from France. And the further she delves into the war efforts, the more her faith is challenged. People surround her with a whirlwind of transforming forces—with a wise man involved in smuggling, a little girl carrying secret information, and a man with unknown loyalties who catches her heart. But then she discovers a long hidden secret about her past, a secret that has the power to destroy everything. TWO CROSSES is the first book in Ms. Musser’s Secrets of the Cross trilogy. It caught my interest from the very first pages, which surprised me as the blurb didn’t sound all that exciting. There were a lot of people introduced in the first few pages, that I found rather confusing trying to keep them all separate, but I eventually realized how the story came together. There is also a lot of description at first, causing me to skim through sections. All in all, TWO CROSSES is a book I enjoyed, with a heroine that readers just want to cheer for and a charming little girl who just captures your heart. Plus a host of other characters who are well developed and real. I highly recommend TWO CROSSES and look forward to reading the second book in the series Two Testaments which also released in June 2012. $14.99. 464 pages.
—Laura
