Wednesday, February 27, 2008

'The Rogue's Redemption' by Ruth Axtell Morren--A book Review

I have discovered a new author, and I like her.
Ruth Axtell Morren. http://www.ruthaxtellmorren.com



Normally, if a story doesn't have a grisly corpse or two, a dapper English detective, and some thick Thames fog, I'm not interested. Romance alone just doesn't do it for me.

Until now that is. Morren caught me right away in her first few pages. ”

In her latest book ‘The Rogue’s Redemption’ she proves she knows Regency England like the back of her hand. She places me into that society and I see it, hear it, smell it. Her well-researched historical details are wonderful but never intrude on the continuous dream of Hester and Gerrit.

From the first chapter I liked these two characters and wanted them to be together for all time. But their obstacles are real. Though their story is set 200 years ago it is relevant today. Hester is a committed Christian, Gerrit is suffering the consequences of a life that indulged in self-centeredness. Only the haunting of war and the men he has killed begin to tug him out of his debauched lifestyle. Along comes Hester, an American girl portraying the freshness of her country that has recently fought and won its freedom, into the stodgy, hypocritical society of England at that time. Hester is everything that Gerrit is not. She’s pure, healthy, and has a purpose in life—a purpose Gerrit longs for. But the obstacles in their way are not just Hester’s father who will do whatever he can to stop such an unholy liaison between this rake and his beloved daughter. Gerrit himself does not feel worthy of Hester. Morren deals with the sensitive issue of Gerrit's sexual immorality and its consequences in a realistic yet delicate way. In no way is her addressing of this issue offensive. My hat is off to her for not brushing the reality of life under the carpet, and yet writing it in such a way that would not offend anyone's grandmother.

Morren weaves the inner healing of these two people along with the outward events in their lives to a very satisfying close, and she even threw in some thick English fog.

I heartily endorse ‘The Rogue’s Redemption.’