A Feeling of Home by Susan Anne Mason Review

 Hello Friends :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you decided to drop by The Preppy Book Princess.

I'm Kirby, and I love getting to share my love of literature, especially Christian fiction, with you all!

Thanks so much for joining me for another bookish chat today, and now let's jump right into today's review.

I personally hadn't read a lot by Susan Anne Mason before choosing to pick up her newest release, but I had loved her story The Brightest of Dreams, and I was looking forward to giving another one of her books a try.

I hope you'll all keep on reading down below for today's full review.

A Feeling of Home by Susan Anne Mason:

Source: Library

Publisher: Bethany House

Publication Date: July 5th, 2022

Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction

Series: Redemption's Light

Synopsis:

Within months, Isabelle Wardrop lost her parents, her fortune, and her home. With no options, she is forced to accept help from Dr. Mark Henshaw--the very man she blames for her mother's death. Mark has hopes of earning Isabelle's forgiveness and affections, but an unexpected incident may derail any hope they have of being together.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I hadn't personally read the first two titles in Susan Anne Mason's Redemption's Light trilogy before picking up this one, and perhaps that might have contributed to why I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to. I haven't read a lot of this author's books previously, but I have always enjoyed the ones I did end up reading. This one, however, ended up not being for me, and although reading the first two books might have provided a little more enjoyment, I still don't think this is a book I would have loved regardless.

What I Liked:

Susan Anne Mason has a wonderful method of storytelling that pulls the reader right into the story, and keeps them wanting to come back for more. I love the way each of her stories is dripping with historical detail, and I love coming away from reading them feeling like I've learned something new.

As a Canadian, I also appreciate that she's one of the few Christian fiction authors that sets her stories in Canada. It's always interesting getting to read within my favorite genre that takes place in my home country, and I enjoy especially getting to learn new to me historical bits.

I also appreciated that this one deals with the topic of pregnancy out of wedlock during the 1940's, and how it focuses around a home started by two women to help other women deal with the stigmatism that comes with this condition. It was handled beautifully and gracefully, and showcased all the more how much each of us need Jesus, and that none of us are ever too far gone for His grace to reach, despite how society might think otherwise.

What I Didn't Like:

I have to state that pretty much the finish for me with this one was the characters themselves. Other than Ruth and Olivia, I didn't care for any of them, and it's hard connecting to a story where you don't really care about the outcome for each of the characters mentioned.

Isabelle and Mark were so back and forth with their moods and their feelings, and I didn't think we saw enough maturity or growth in either one for the ending to be believable.

Likewise, their siblings Marissa and Josh weren't the easiest to read about, and I do think that Isabelle and Mark needed to focus on themselves and their dreams a little less to better handle raising the siblings that they'd been left to do so.

I found a lot of the plot to be slightly implausible, and one of the biggest plot twists I had guessed on quite early on in the story. It seemed like a bunch of hype that didn't have much follow through, and I left this story feeling like I must have missed something as I was expecting much more.

I have a feeling I probably won't go back and invest the time into reading the first two stories since I ended up not having the most positive experience with this one.

It may still be a book you might want to pick up for yourself if you enjoy Christian historical fiction and/or Christian fiction that takes place in Canada. 

Final Rating: 3/5.

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.