The Sound of Diamonds by Rachelle Rea | Novel Review + Book Birthday Celebration


Summary


Her only chance of getting home is trusting the man she hates.

With the protestant Elizabeth on the throne of England and her family in shambles, Catholic maiden Gwyneth seeks refuge in the Low Countries of Holland, hoping to soothe her aching soul. But when the Iconoclastic Fury descends and bloodshed overtakes her haven, she has no choice but to trust the rogue who arrives, promising to see her safely home to her uncle's castle. She doesn't dare to trust him...and yet doesn't dare to refuse her one chance to preserve her own life and those of the nuns she rescues from the burning convent.

Dirk Godfrey is determined to restore his honor at whatever cost. Running from a tortured past, Dirk knows he has only one chance at redemption, and it lies with the lovely Gwyneth, who hates him for the crimes she thinks he committed. He must see her to safety, prove to the world that he is innocent, prove that her poor eyesight is not the only thing that has blinded her but what is he to do when those goals clash?

The home Gwyneth knew is not what she once thought. When a dark secret and a twisted plot for power collide in a castle masquerading as a haven, the saint and the sinner must either dare to hold to hope...or be overcome.

My Review

Confession? Inspirational Fiction and Christian Romance are usually nowhere to be seen on my reading list or genre radar, however,  I love history, and my dearest friend, Rachelle Rea, is this debut novel's author. So, I just had to give this (inspy) genre another go, to support my best friend and the story of her heart. And I'm so glad I did. Because what I got was a brilliant schooling on the 1500's Low Countries, The Iconoclastic Fury, The Reformation Era, and how sometimes life must drag us from places of Hatred to Hope to Healing before we can truly see God's plan for our lives - His redemption and grace at work for us, us who are often blind, but wish to truly see unhindered. 

Rachelle is an incredibly skilled storyteller, weaving together smooth dialogue, a well paced story, gritty blind faith, two leading alternating protagonists, and an excellently researched history in this, the very first installment of her Steadfast Love Series published by WhiteFireI'm very much so looking forward to seeing what happens to Dirk (my favorite character) and Gwyn (the girl who started to grow on me), and their story of steadfast love, in the following two installments of The Steadfast Love Series, The Sound of Silver (October 2015) and The Sound of Emeralds (2016.)

Abduction. Blind Faith. Hope. Healing. Love. Honor. Mystery.
These are the places The Sound of Diamonds will surely lead you through.

If you love authors MaryLu Tyndall, Melanie DickersonDeeanne GistRachel Heffington, and Meghan Gorecki, you will be sure to love The Sound of Diamonds by debut inspy author Rachelle Rea


Author Bio

Rachelle Rea plots her novels while driving around the little town she’s lived in all her life in her dream car, a pick-up truck. As a freelance editor, she enjoys mentoring fellow authors in the craft. A homeschool graduate and retired gymnast, she wrote The Sound of Diamonds the summer after her sophomore year of college.

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