Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Angel Harp by Michael Phillips

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!


Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:


Angel Harp

FaithWords (January 26, 2011)

***Special thanks to Sarah Reck, Web Publicist, Hachette Book Group for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:





Michael Phillips has been writing in the Christian marketplace for 30 years. All told, he has written, co-written, and edited some 110 books. Phillips and his wife live in the U.S., and make their second home in Scotland.



Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Widowed at 34, amateur harpist Marie "Angel" Buchan realizes at 40 that her life and dreams are slowly slipping away. A summer in Scotland turns out to offer far more than she ever imagined! Not only does the music of her harp capture the fancy of the small coastal village she visits, she is unexpectedly drawn into a love triangle involving the local curate and the local duke.

The boyhood friends have been estranged as adults because of their mutual love of another woman (now dead) some years before. History seems destined to repeat itself, with Marie in the thick of it. Her involvement in the lives of the two men, as well as in the community, leads to a range of exciting relationships and lands Marie in the center of the mystery of a long-unsolved local murder. Eventually she must make her decision: with whom will she cast the lot of her future?


Product Details:

List Price: $16.99
Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: FaithWords (January 26, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 044656771X
ISBN-13: 978-0446567718

TO READ THE FIRST CHAPTER, PRESS THE 'BROWSE INSIDE THIS BOOK' BUTTON:







Dynamic Uno here:  Angel Harp is about Marie Buchan, a harpist, who decides that her life is passing her by and that she needs a dramatic change to get out of her funk.  Being widowed at thirty-four did not help matters, but she decided to plan a trip to Scotland so that one of her dreams would actually become a reality.

When she arrives in Scotland, she decides to travel around and sight-see a bit to take in the rich history of the country and see with her own eyes, the songs she plays on her harp brought to life.  While on her travels, she comes upon the town of Port Scarnose and realizes that this is the place to play her harp.  Falling in love with the town and making connections with its people, Marie decides to extend her stay in Scotland. 

Word gets around of Marie's harp playing abilities and she soon finds herself the object of attraction of two of the town's eligible bachelors.  In addition to the love triangle, Marie finds herself walking in the middle of a controversial mystery, whose origins lie with the very two men she's been seeing!  Will she find out the truth before it's too late, or will she get sucked into repeating history?  You'll have to read the book to find out!

While I felt a little bogged down by the history at the beginning of the book, I enjoyed reading about how it all tied together through what Marie learns about the people and the town of Port Scarnose.  I also enjoyed the mystery and romance aspects of the book.  It was hard for me to find out what happened at the end because I enjoyed the two "suitors" immensely and wanted to see where each relationship headed as it developed.  (She had a very tough decision to make and I'm glad I wasn't in her shoes.)  I was a littler surprised at the abrupt ending, but most of the details were wrapped up--not in a bow-styled package, but most of my questions were answered by the end of the book.

I would really like to read another story using some of the same characters, or even explore the story behind Findlater Castle and why it's now in ruins.  I also liked the map that was included of the area so I could look at the distances and the lay-out of the land.

If you like novels surrounded in mystery and have a touch of romance and history to them, then you'll definitely want to read Angel Harp by Michael Phillips.  Let me know what you think.  Happy Reading!

No comments: