The Rose of Winslow Street, written by Elizabeth Camden, Publisher: Bethany House Publishers; Original edition (January 1, 2012)
This book was interesting and well written, but it did lack the emphasis on Christianity and a relationship with Jesus that I’m used to finding in other Christian fiction/historical fiction books. The two main characters did pray, and mention was made of God, but the most telling piece of the spiritual side was the reverence Michael Dobrescu had for what was discovered, near the end of the story. I’m thinking Elizabeth must be Catholic or Episcopalian.
Besides that, I did like the descriptions of the characters, I could identify with one or two of the persona, or at least comfortably imagine what they were like, if they had been real people. The romance between Michael and Libby was overboard as far as the proper boundaries of Christian fiction romance, and I did feel uncomfortable with some of the thoughts of Libby. It was a bit much, and I can’t really recommend this book for anyone under the age of 21, and not for anyone who isn’t married.
This book dealt with a very sensitive issue, and I wish Elizabeth had perhaps talked about the help available today for that situation, and compared it with the social ostracizing that surely occurred back in the time period of this story. There was another issue that was part of the main character, Libby, which was handled well, but not enough details were given, so I had to ask the author what this disability actually was.
All in all, MOST of the book was good reading, and well structured, but I am hesitant to categorize this under “Christian” fiction/romance.
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