Good Morning Bookish Lovelies :)
It's another wonderful day, and I'm thrilled that I get to start my day by spending it with you all.
I love getting to chat about books, especially Christian fiction, and I'd love if it you'd drop me a comment at the end of the post if you've read this title I'm going to be talking about today and/or you're wanting to read this title.
This particular author is a new to me author, and I actually stumbled upon this title on the clearance shelf when I visited a certain Christian bookstore for the first time. I was intrigued by the synopsis, and I decided to go ahead and purchase it, and give it a try.
I hope you'll keep on reading down below to join me for today's full review.
The One True Love of Alice-Ann by Anna Marie Everson:
Source: Bought for Myself
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
Publication Date: April 1st, 2017
Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction/World War II Fiction
Synopsis:
Living in rural Georgia in 1941, sixteen-year-old Alice-Ann has her heart set on her brother's friend Mack; despite their five-year age gap, Alice-Ann knows she can make Mack see her for the woman she'll become. But when they receive news of the attack on Pearl Harbor and Mack decides to enlist, Alice-Ann realizes she must declare her love before he leaves. Though promising to write, Mack leaves without confirmation that her love is returned. But Alice-Ann is determined to wear the wedding dress her maiden aunt never had a chance to wear--having lost her fiance in the Great War. As their correspondence continues over the next three years, Mack and Alice-Ann are drawn closer together. But then Mack's letters cease altogether, leaving Alice-Ann to fear history repeating itself. Dreading the war will leave her with a beautiful dress and no happily ever after, Alice-Ann fills her days with work and caring for her best friend's war-torn brother, Carlton. As time passes and their friendship develops into something more, Alice-Ann wonders if she'll ever be prepared to say good-bye to her one true love and embrace the future God has in store with a newfound love. Or will a sudden call from overseas change everything?
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
The One True Love of Alice-Ann was my personal first experience with a novel by Eva Marie Everson, and since the World War II time period is one of my favorites within the historical fiction genre, I had high hopes I would end up enjoying this one.
Readers follow a young girl named Alice-Ann in rural Georgia in 1941. She's on the cusp of womanhood, she's finally decided to tell her brother's best friend that she's in love with him, and she has no idea just how much her life is about to change when the United States enters into the war. The story starts with a naïve sixteen year old whose biggest concern is whether she'll marry the man of her dreams, but life (and war) definitely throw curveballs, and Alice-Ann soon finds herself maturing and growing throughout the horrific circumstances about to come her way. The boy she thought was her one true love promised to write to her while he's deployed, and when his letters start coming, she's sure he's the right choice. However, she didn't plan on her brother's other best friend coming back from the war injured and needing her assistance, and she surely didn't plan on the feelings that start to emerge between the two of them. When tragic circumstances strike, Alice-Ann will have to dig deep into her heart to discover just who is meant to be her one true love.
While not a traditionally written love triangle story, I still didn't find myself loving either of the romance elements as I didn't think they felt believable. Alice-Ann's character was hard to root for, as I've never been a fan of someone stringing someone else along while they seem to still have feelings for someone else. I did end up feeling like her character showed real maturity towards the end, but it took a long ways to get to that point.
The writing style was slightly different and easy to follow along with, but I did feel the beginning dragged, and the ending wrapped up much too quickly. I was left feeling at the end that certain questions hadn't been answered, and I wish that hadn't been the case. It was sweet and clean with a bit of a faith element included, but the overall story felt like it was missing something, and the story was much too long for how little truly happened within it.
Final Rating: 3/5.
I enjoyed it, but it's not a favorite, and I don't think I'll be in a hurry to try another one of this author's books for awhile. A sweet story, but not really memorable, and while I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a clean, World War II romance, I don't think it's one of the better ones I've read within this genre, and I'm not too often a fan of stories with love triangles.
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
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