Thursday, April 15, 2010

She Walks In Beauty


Title: She Walks In Beauty
Author: Siri Mitchell
ISBN: 978-0-7642-0433-3

From Goodreads:

For a young society woman seeking a favorable marriage in the late 1890s, so much depends on her social season debut. Clara Carter has been given one goal: secure the affections of the city's most eligible bachelor. Debuting means plenty of work--there are corsets to be fitted, dances to master, manners to perfect. Her training soon pays off, however, as celebrity's spotlight turns Clara into a society-page darling. Yet Clara wonders if this is the life she really wants, especially when she learns her best friend has also set her sights on Franklin De Vries. When a man appears who seems to love her simply for who she is, and gossip backlash turns ugly, Clara realizes it's not just her heart at stake--the future of her family depends on how she plays the game.

My Take:

This is one of those books I wanted as soon as I saw it listed. One of the reasons was because of the author. She always puts ... depth into her stories that make them even more beautiful than what they are if you don't notice that deeper message. Then there was that cover. I'm ashamed to admit it ~ but it has to be one of the most beautiful covers I've seen and I am guilty of being drawn to a beautifully decorated book.

Clara is a young woman who feels a little more like a beautifully dressed pawn being moved about in a game she isn't even sure she knows the purpose of. She knows she is supposed to catch the heir. Why ~ she isn't certain, the how she can't always abide and seems not to be in her best interest most of the time. Plus she is competing for him with her very best friend. She doesn't even like him.

When she does find someone who likes her for herself alone and doesn't make her uncomfortable, she is confused between what her head and heart tell her and what her family tell her is her duty to them. Add a mysterious newspaper column that seems to know her every move and makes accusations about her family and Clara is not sure what the right course of action is.

The author did a wonderful job of painting a picture of what these debutantes went through trying to achieve the fashionably beautiful look and how that could hurt their health. Clara not only was forced to endure these techniques, but she was used by those who should have loved her the most in order to achieve their own ends. This is wonderfully contrasted by finding someone who accepts her for who she is and tells her about God, who values and loves her just as she is because He created her.

Women today still struggle with whether or not they are beautiful. They have a hard time accepting it no matter what their loved ones say. Beauty is more than fashion ~ fashion changes. Beauty is knowing and understanding that you are loved by your creator - who makes no mistakes. Don 't accept anything less than that in your life.

This is a beautiful love story and one of my very favorites this year. I hope you enjoy it as well.

10 comments:

  1. Great review! :) Can't wait to read this one!

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  2. Loved the review Lee! Very informative and I loved how you put a
    message about true beauty into your review.
    Have you read A Constant Heart by Siri Mitchell? I think I liked it better then SWIB. But, only by the tiniest bit.LOL

    I hope you have a great week, Lee!

    Love Ya,
    Ashley

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  3. Hi, Lee!! Great review, this one looks soooo good! The cover really drew me in, and the time period is so intriguing.

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  4. Hi, Lee! Beautiful new look on your blog! I've missed you. My computer crashed a little while ago, so I've been out of the loop, so-to-speak. But I'm back and hoping to get back on track.

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  5. I am soooo excited for this! I just requested it from Bethany House to review and I'm pretty sure from your review I'm going to love it!

    XOXO~ Renee

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  6. Hi Lee,
    Haven't heard from you in a while. Hope you are doing well. Email me sometime and bring me up to date. Just wanted to let you know I have a Sunshine Award for you over at my blog. Stop on by and pick it up!
    Deborah M.
    deborahsbutterflyjourney.blogspot.com

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  7. First off, I gotta say...love, love, love the new decor!!

    Okay--so how are you? Doing well, I hope? :)

    This sounds like a great book--I can't wait to get my copy!

    It's so true what you said about feeling beautiful, Lee. Even though DH tells me that I am, most of the time I don't really feel like it. I've always been really self-conscious, but it has slowly gotten better since I got married.

    Thank you for sharing!

    {{hugs}}

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  8. wow!! i love the changes you have made!! it' s breathtaking!!!
    also, thanks for the review on this book, i will order it soon. i agree about the cover and she is also one of my favorite authors.
    thanks again, and i am grabbing your button, i love this blog. God bless.

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  9. I'm glad you all liked the review and the new look of the blog. :o)

    Thank you all for stopping by and checking out the blog. I'm sorry I haven't been keeping it up as much. We have been crazy busy and stressed - but it looks like my husband may have a job! We'll have to move and sell our house - which adds a whole new layer to this thing. So pray for all that - but we're about 99% sure that he has the job. :o)

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  10. WOW! That's awesome, Lee! Not that you have to move *UGH!*, but that he probably has the job. Keep us posted as much as you can. :)

    Any idea where you'll be moving? GA maybe? LOL

    {{hugs}}

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