Mine is the Night Book Review.

Title: Mine is the Night.

Author: Liz Curtis Higgs.

Gene: Christian, Historical Fiction, Romance, Biblical Retelling.

Plot: Following the rebellion of Prince Charlie and his Scottish followers against King George of England in 1746, many rebels are rounded up and executed while their wives and daughters are left in terrible danger. Marjory Kerr and her daughter-in-law Elisabeth Kerr were unceremoniously kicked out of the former's estate upon the death of her sons Donald and Andrew who had supported Prince Charlie; stripped of their titles, homeless and out of money, the two women return to Marjory's hometown of Selkirk in the Lowlands of Scotland where Marjory's long-neglected cousin Anne Kerr lives. Anne proves to be of a forgiving and charitable nature and lets her tarnished relatives move into her tiny house with her. Elisabeth, a Highlander and a weaver's daughter, promptly finds work the Monday after they arrive and sews shirts for Michael Dalgliesh, a tailor and Anne's childhood crush.

Rumors travel quickly in the small town of Selkirk and it isn't long before everyone knows that Bell Hill, one of the local estates, has been bought by Admiral Lord Jack Buchanan, a favorite of King George's. Suddenly out of a job, Elisabeth considers her options and trots up to Bell Hill when said estate is hiring household servants and applies for a position as a dressmaker. Elisabeth receives a favorable reception from Mrs. Pringle, the housekeeper, when she does the work of three days' mending in one without complaining and sews a beautiful gown for her, finishing it just in time for Mrs. Pringle to wear it when the Admiral arrives. Unexpectedly, Elisabeth finds the Admiral to be a generous man who promptly hires her to sew dresses for all of his female staff and pays her well. As Elisabeth spends six days a week over the following summer sewing dresses, she and the Admiral befriend each other and then begin to fall in love; there is one major complication to their future and that is that Elisabeth is the widow of a rebel and needs the king's pardon before she can marry the Admiral.

Meanwhile, Anne and Marjory also have their own dramas going on and all three women lose sleep when their tales reach their climaxes, yet they never once lose faith in God's loving care and provision.

Likes/Dislikes: This is the sequel to Here Burns my Candle by the same author and concludes the Kerr women's exciting adventures. This is also the first book by Mrs. Higgs that I've read and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of writing and was very impressed with the book. I especially enjoyed that it was a 1746 retelling of the book of Ruth. However, there is one scene where Elisabeth finds herself in grave danger {though she is rescued of course} which reminded me that this isn't the kind of book young girls should read, however much I enjoyed it. Other than that, this book is highly recommended! To download the free first chapter, go to
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/2011/01/19/sneak-peek-mine-is-the-night-by-liz-curtis-higgs/

Rating: PG-14 or 15 and up for content and reading level.

Date Report Written: March 12, 2011.


I received a free copy of this book from WaterBrook Publications and was not required to write a positive review.