The Hawk and the Jewel

Kensington Chronicles #1

by Lori Wick

The first in the newly repackaged Kensington Chronicles series, The Hawk and the Jewel  sweeps readers from the tapestried halls of Victorian England to the alabaster courts of Arabia. Everyone thought little Sunny had perished with Lady Gallagher in storm–tossed seas off the Arabian coast, but the beautiful toddler had been found, taken to the palace of Darhabar, and raised as the ruler’s own child. Now the emir, Ahmad Khan, is sending her home, and Sunny’s uncertain, new life is completely in God’s hands. This classic series, which has sold more than 375,000 copies, has a fresh, new look sure to please Lori Wick’s longtime fans and readers just discovering the treasure of a great story.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Christian, Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Christian Romance

348 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Lori Wick is known as one of the most versatile Christian fiction writers on the market today. From pioneer fiction to a series set in Victorian England to a contemporary novel, Lori's books (over 5 million in print) continue to delight readers and top the Christian bestselling fiction list. Lori and her husband, Bob, live in Wisconsin with "the three coolest kids in the world."

Reviews

[Hannah Linder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! I have read millions of books (not really...but a bunch!) and I'd have to say that this was probably the most romantic, touching, and amazing book I have ever read! Her characters grip your attention, pull you into their world, and find a place in your heart.

[MAP · Rating 1 out of 5]

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 review

Seriously, watch this review. If you're not crying with laughter, you have no soul.

[Carmen Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah. This book. 🥹 such a delight to return to it (for the 12th time 🤭) love love love this sweet story! 🤍

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing I really loved about this story is that Sunny was flawed... Wick has a tendency of creating flat, idealized, and one-sided characters, but such is not the case with Brandon and Sunny. The only thing I did not like was the fact that she did little or no research on the Victorian era. It is described as being almost like a fantasy, with women being swept off their feet by their lovers. That is not the case... The Victorian era was not exactly a good era for the glorification of women. They were treated as property and often, very often abused by their spouses. I think she also described many of the customs and attitudes as very American. They would nit have greeted each other with the word Hey. And generally, women were not allowed to be alone with men... It is a beautiful love story, but it is clear Wick is amateur, thus why I only rated this 4 out of 5 stars.

[Ashley Yoder · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Haylee Yoder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This just makes ya happy!!!🤗🥰

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost want to give this 2 stars, but what pushes me to three is that I enjoyed the story. Wick is a mediocre writer, and I was irritated at how perfect all of her characters were (besides the main character). There were times when I rolled my eyes at the language and actions of the characters. I didn't quit the book though, because I had to know the ending.

One of my gripes w the perfection of her characters is that they are Christians. Sunny, the main character, is not a Christian and makes a lot of mistakes. I think this could send a false message that accepting Christ somehow makes the Christian suddenly perfect. This is my main issue w Christian fiction--the goody-goody perfect person tries to convert the sinner, while somehow forgetting that even the Christian continues to sin.

Yet, I keep revisiting this genre. Go figure.

I probably won't read another book by this author.

[Brooklyn Esh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me screaming, yelling ,and staring at the wall it was so much fun and I loved it so much 🫶🏻🫶🏻 highly recommend 🤍

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great historical romance.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! I loved this novel so much!!
I've reread this countless times, and every time, I just fall more in love with the characters!
This novel follows the story of Sunny and Brandon. Sunny is sent back to England, and Brandon is the person chosen to bring her back.

I absolutely loved Sunny and Brandon. What I love about this novel, is that it doesn't just follow their story, but has so many other stories incorporated within. The secondary characters were all very well-developed and I loved reading about other romances in the book as well.
Sunny's escapades were a delight to read and it was lovely to see how she grow up and mature. I especially loved seeing her find Jesus.
Brandon was also super swoon-worthy and his protectiveness of Sunny melted my heart!
The various settings were charming, and there was never a dull moment.

A wonderful and charming novel; I would highly recommend it for all lovers of sweet romance.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. I've read it at least 3 times. As with all my opinions on Lori Wick books, my only two issues with her writing are as follows: 1. Even though I myself am a Christian, I wish her books were LESS Christian. In my opinion, way too much of her books are chewed up by one main character leading another main character to Christ, and I just think that's a little preachy. (2. Her odd language :p like really, how many times can one character say, "Oh Brandon!" before it gets old? :p

But I'd still name this as one of my top five favorite books of all time. The story line is flawless, the characters are fantastic and the romance is adorable :)

[Julie Gardner]

An old favorite, a silly little historical romance that I love to reread and remember.

[Haley S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love the story to this one!! AMAZING!!

[Dianelys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si te gusta Orgullo y prejuicio de seguro vas a disfrutar de este libro.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Jennifer Dejager · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Waterfall · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out interesting and then became boring. I was hoping for cultural conflicts and got very little, and the moment Sunny became Christian all her inner conflicts and doubt just disappeared. That was not only boring but also completely unrealistic, and it seemed to give the other characters license to treat her like a child and keep her in the dark 'for her own good' instead of explaining to her what was going on.

And someone falling in love with a young girl they have known since she was 13 does strike me as a little creepy, especially since romance novel convention signalled that it would happen from the moment they met in the novel. I would have been much happier with the other romances that were hinted at, also because that would have been a truly interesting and bold change to the standard romance novel formula.

Oh, and the author couldn't resist making the non-Christian into a bad guy in the end, when she had resisted that temptation very well in the beginning. That was disappointing.

[Leanne Cragun · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not finish this book. I read it halfway and got really tired of the trite and tireless story. It also bothered me that the story centers around a 13/14 year old girl and a 24 year old man. Does no one else find that a little strange? I have read other books by this author and liked them, but this one was very disappointing. I will not read the others in this series. I may try another series by this author, but if it is anything like this book, I'll give up on her.

[Sianne Morrison]

well...you definitely know its a Christian book. Whole sections of quotes and verses and if in doubt just drop to your knees and pray. I was disturbed by the pedophilic tendencies. ...13 year old girl who is loved at first sight by an adult. Underlyong grooming...can't live without you. On the surface all above board but it kinda got stuck in my gullet somehow. I would leave this alone. not the best for several reasons.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read another book in this series when I was a teenager and really liked it, so I had high hopes that I would like this book too.

I really, really disliked this. The writing feels wooden and there is so much telling rather than showing. I disliked the controlling, over-protective relationship between the two main characters, and felt that all characters were flat and boring. There were little to no details to evoke the time and place. It amazes me that so many people have given it five stars.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a romance reader, it takes a long time to get there. I remembered that from when I read it a lot two decades ago, but man, it's like only the last quarter, didn't remember it being that far back. 5 stars two decades ago, 3 stars now. So I'll split the difference. :)

[Katee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh...I loved this book as a tween. While I enjoyed the strong willed Sunny, I found it incredibly cruel and stifling how the male characters came across. The writing was horrible, and there was absolutely no character development or plot!

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just read this for the fifth or sixth time and will be reading it again:) One of my all time favorites.

[Sherilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple read and story. I read it because it was written by my favorite Christian fiction author but this was not my favorite book of hers. Not sure if I’ll read the rest of the series or not.

[Dannielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let the record show, this reader is extremely biased.

I first read this book probably 15ish years ago. I absolutely loved the series, so recently in curating my ideal “permanent” book collection, I decided to hunt this series down. After a successful eBay heist, they are mine.

My initial concern was that the book wouldn’t hold up over time. I was worried that I’d remembered it through the eyes of a high schooler whose preferences have changed, and that I would be disappointed.

This. Book. Still. Slaps. Probably not how Lori Wick would describe her writing, but man it is exactly as great as I remembered. Reading this again felt like a hug/blanket from the past. I was literally giddy while reading it.

Now. I did take the time to read a handful of the 1-2 star reviews to hear a more critical review of the book. Honestly, I can in fact see where multiple of the complaints come from. The female characters do kind of cry easily. Most of the characters are kind of perfect. Does it feel like the time period and setting were thoroughly and accurately researched and depicted? Absolutely not lol. But guess what? I DO NOT CARE. THOSE “FLAWS” MEAN NOTHING TO ME. This is a book for the soul.

[Dawn Livingston · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the book is well written, the story is interesting, the heroine is not two dimensional. But I could not get past the fact that the heroine was 13/14 and the hero meets her and knows her at that age and goes on to be with her. Her a child and him an adult in the beginning. Makes me squeamish. I just didn't like those aspects and could not get past them to read further. After thinking about it I suppose back in those days 13/14 was not as young as it seems now and a man with a woman significantly younger was not unusual but it makes a big difference when one of them is so young.

I recommend this book for those that don't have the issues I have with the book, those that like romance novels and especially ones with Christian elements. From what I read I think it was a well-written book and a good well fleshed out book with a good story and good characters. This book seems to have it all. Shame I couldn't past my issues.

[Martha · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is always different to read something you read as a teenager, as an adult, and not just an adult, but an older adult. This review would really be between 2-3 stars as I know some of it was the culture at the time.
For me though, the fact that writing a book where they "fell in love" when she was a child, even though they waited until she was older, when he was an older man was bordering on pedophilia. I know they were going by the culture where very young girls married older men, and that is the only reason that this is not reviewed lower.
This book romanticizes that type of relationship even though it is very clear to point out that he did think of her as a child and merely as his ward until she was older, but still when you are 26 and your ward is 16, you should not be noticing that you are passionate about her in a relationship sort of way. You should be angry anyone accused you of that.

[Jeanann Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good love story -- easy read -- enjoyed.

[Kristen Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Wick’s books, and this one was no different. Sometimes I felt like the plot moved slowly, but the characters and style of writing made up for that. I also love the biblical undertones and the consistent focus on the Lord; it challenged and convicted me!