Book description:
Escaping her shattered past is much more difficult than she imagined.
Julia Schultz has a reputation for being a storyteller, or as others see it, a liar. But with her dark and painful past, stories are all that have kept her company throughout her life. Longing for a fresh start and a second chance to earn real trust, Julia takes a job as a Harvey Girl at the El Tovar Hotel, where she's challenged to be her true self.
Learning the trade of a master jeweler is hard work, but Christopher Miller takes pride in running his family's small shop and earning the respect of the people around him. But when he discovers that he has six weeks to buy his building from his landlord before it is sold, he must find a way to save his grandfather's legacy.
United by the discovery of a legendary treasure, Chris and Julia find hope in each other. But when Julia's past catches up with her, doubt creeps into Chris's heart. Can he really trust her and her stories?
My review:
To me, this author has become synonymous with quality Christian fiction, and I have enjoyed every book of hers that I have read. My favorite genre' is mystery/suspense, but she is one author who has pulled me into the historical fiction genre'. Many of her books do have some kind of mystery or suspense element to it, as this one did.
A Gem of Truth, just like the book it follows - A Deep Divide - is set in the early 1900's at the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon. A hotel that I found out by Googling is still in business. (A fact I found cool).
Though the setting was the same as the first book, the plot was different. This one involved a legend, a treasure, and bad guys who wanted that treasure.
It also had two different main characters: Julia, a "Harvey Girl" waitress at the hotel.....and Christopher, a jeweler who lived in Williams, a town around 52 miles from the El Tovar Hotel. (Googled that also!)
One of the main themes of the book was honesty. To cover up her past, Julia had a bad habit of spinning elaborate stories that supposedly happened to her, but did not. On the other hand, Christopher valued honesty. Woodhouse always has spiritual lessons scattered throughout her books, and this was the most predominant one in The Gem of Truth. Using the medium of fiction, and using the Bible in that fiction, the author showed how important honesty is.
I enjoyed visiting the historical hotel again through this book, and learning more about the hotel, Harvey girls, and learning about lapidary. (Had to Google the definition of that one.) There is much one can learn from fiction, and especially historical fiction. I have found this author to be one who obviously does a lot of research before she writes a historical novel/trilogy, and she is one who I have learned some things from. All by reading a novel.
The book had a lot of mystery and suspense, and a few surprises....which I cannot give away, or they would not be surprises to readers.
And Julia ends up in a bit of hot water where her past dishonesty causes her some problems, a lesson for all.
Woodhouse has again penned a great historical novel that not only entertains, but inspires, teaches, and even convicts a bit.
I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.
About the author:
Kimberley Woodhouse (www.kimberleywoodhouse.com) is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 25 fiction and nonfiction books. Kim and her incredible husband of 30-plus years live in the Poconos, where they play golf together, spend time with their kids and grandbaby, and research all the history around them.
A Gem of Truth will be available September 20 from Bethany House Publishers, part of the Baker Publishing Group.
Thanks to Bethany House for the review copy.
Book #1
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