Right after I complained about wishy-washy religious devotion in one book, I stumbled into one that was almost completely the opposite. It was *almost* overkill, but I'll get to that in a second.
First of all, I want to clarify that this was NOT the cover that I saw-- mine was a completely benign mountain valley. If I had seen this, I probably would have skipped it.
Second, one of my favorite series' is by this author, and I had read one of her other books, too, though it wasn't as great. And since those were all historical, I assumed this was too. But it's not and contemporary romance is usually totally gaggy to me, so that would have been another reason to skip it.
Anyhow, that being said, the story is a perfect comfort read-- interesting enough, but not ground-breaking, and paced and told well enough that you never even think about those kinds of details. You just sit back and take it in like a movie.
It's got some intense parts and some scary parts and some cutesy, lovey-dovey parts, but overall it's clean and wholesome (practically garnering the "Christian" label just from that).
But there are two things (or maybe it's really one) that set this apart from the majority of Christian Romance:
The characters actually practice their religion and truly try to live by it. It's the moral compass they use to direct their actions. It's more than a habit or a custom or social expectation or once-a-week-worship. They're really, truly, legitimate believers.
So, when times get tough and they start praying for help, it actually feels like they deserve it, because they do their part the rest of the time (notice I said 'deserve' and not 'earn').
But more than that, they live in such a way that others want to as well. They are joyful, hopeful, faithful, and charitable. It seems too good to be true to most people, and indeed to some of the characters, too, but it's not impossible or unheard of in real life. It's just unusual and uncommon (I'm kind of thinking it's probably more feasible in a remote, industrious culture like this one, though--less distraction, less time for non-essentials. But that could also be the cowboy romance element swaying me).
What it comes down to, though, is that the characters aren't the only things full of light, the story is too. The "Light of Christ" can be hard to explain, but it's very, very real. People who have it almost seem to glow. They radiate this sense that they are more complete, more whole, just full of something 'other'. Madeline L'Engle calls it "a light so lovely that [others] want with all their hearts to know the source of it." Nephi explains it as "having a perfect brightness of hope," which I think may be the most accurate way to describe it. It's trust and love and promise for the future so great that darkness just can't exist in the same place. So when I say that the book has it too, I mean that the 'good' in the story doesn't just outweigh the 'bad' or that it even chases away the 'bad'-- it flat out neutralizes the forces of darkness. It dissolves it, renders it inert, eviscerates it, whatever.
It's not just a feel-good story, or a bittersweet story with a happy ending, or a faith-in-humanity-restored type of deal. Those are all great, but rarely engender real change in the reader's life. I think this one does, though. A day later, and I still feel a glow from a story that isn't all that profound. It left me with something- an imprint, maybe?- that feels almost tangible. Like a spark, perhaps.
Ugh, I'm kind of just rambling nonsensically now. Look, it's no secret that the whole concept of "Christian" literature is sort of odd to me for a multitude of reasons. I believe in Christ, so I can call myself Christian, but good grief, how many variations are there of that, along with my own faith as a Mormon? As I mentioned before, sometimes just the fact that it's clean can sometimes give it that label, but how exactly is it defined and why. It's not like there's "Muslim Romance" or "Buddhist Romance" or even "Jewish Romance" categories (that I know of-my apologies if I'm being hopelessly ignorant here), because by and large, romance is romance and most faiths roughly agree on moral standards. So is it the belief in Christ, then, that makes it distinct, and if so, should that not be a central theme in the story? I guess the reason I take issue with it at all is because my personal beliefs are not just sacred to me, they are me, so naturally I want to protect them. And because Christianity is somehow more ridiculous to our society than other religions, I'm especially sensitive to derogatory implications. Because what I believe, what I know, is pure awesome and makes me so happy, that it shouldn't be dismissed because it falls under this huge umbrella of vaguely relevant notions that are thereby foolish by association. Does that make sense?
Not like anyone cares. Sometimes I make my reviews too much like a bloggy soap-box, but since I don't have a blog, and books make me think, this is where it all ends up. Sorry y'all.
P.S. Maybe you're wondering why, after all this, I only gave it 3 stars? Well, cause it was slightly vanilla (why do we say that- vanilla is amazing!) and even a little saccharine for my tastes. And because it was almost, ALMOST too pushy. If I wasn't a Christian, I can't promise that it wouldn't turn me off as being a bit preachy. And as close as it comes to meeting my expectations for the "Christian" aspect, I'm just still not all that fond of contemporary romances for some reason.