by Liz Curtis Higgs
A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.I like reading historical novels and getting a feel for how people lived in different times and different places. I found myself immediately sympathizing with Bess, the younger and less favored daughter-in-law. She may not have been the wife her mother-in-law, the Dowager Lady Kerr, would have chosen for her son, but she tried her best to fit in with the family. Then, bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh, and the family dynamic becomes even more strained. Betrayals are discovered. Forgiveness is extended. Hard choices are made, and the consequences sometimes seem insurmountable.
I found myself caring about what happened to this family and really enjoyed watching the relationships between them grow and change. I especially enjoyed watching the Dowager we met at the beginning of the book seeming to gradually disappear, 'and a real woman - with flesh and bone and heart - was slowly taking her place.' As everything else was stripped away, mother-in-law and daughters-in-law learned a few things about one another and what was really important. Overall, a really good book that kept me interested to the end and left me wanting more.
Download and read the first chapter of Here Burns my Candle, and get your own copy of the book here.
A copy of this book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.
