Castles by Tracie Peterson

Another Christian historical romance down… but this one was a bit different.  Since it was unusual, I thought I would share.

The Same

Same type of plot.  Same type of characters.  Four novellas connected through characters — same set up for the novella collections.

The Different

The setting: Most of the Christian historical romance that I have been reading is set in the United States in the 1800s.  They are usually set in a “wilderness,” a newly explored/settled area such as Alaska or Montana.  This one was set in Medieval times in England.  There were many references to the politics of the time, i.e. the church versus kings versus high and low classes.  I loved the little tidbits of information here and there about daily life in the castle.  The change was refreshing.

The content: Usually the books are very heavy handed with the sermon-like content.  Two characters get into a discussion about whatever, and it ends up that one character recites a sermon in the guise of a discussion.  Sometimes these “discussions” get a little over the top.  If they take up three pages, it’s too much.  This one was much lighter on the sermon front.  The characters still talked about their faith and attempted to sway another character, but it was much lighter.  The books focused more on the action and those of the characters.  I enjoyed the change.

Overall I really like this book.  I think my favorite novella was the first one — Arianne.  It felt the most “real.”  I hope I find more like this one.  Now, to move on to more “literary” fare…