Free Books Online Love Letters

Particularize Books Conducive To Love Letters

Original Title:	Love Letters
Edition Language:	English

Love Letters

Mary Davis, Kathleen Kovach,Sally Laity, Jeri Odell

Audiobook | Pages: 255 pages

Rating: 4 | 4 Users | 1 review Reviews

List Regarding Books Love Letters

Title	:	Love Letters
Author	:	Mary Davis, Kathleen Kovach,Sally Laity, Jeri Odell
Book Format	:	Audiobook
Book Edition	:	Anniversary Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 255 pages
Published	:	December 2004
Categories	:	Romance. Christian. Fiction

Commentary Concering Books Love Letters

This one is a tricky one. I love romance, especially "clean" romance (i.e. no sex, no swearing, etc) and this definitely fits that, BUT this one is a bit preachy. I am a Christian, and while I don't mind the element of Christian faith in a novel, the whole "Oh, isn't life just perfect because we follow God and put him first in every thing we do!" thing just isn't realistic. I don't know anyone that's quite THAT rosy about life, and plenty of people in my life are VERY faith-centric. But they all have their ups and downs, too. So while I enjoyed the story lines, I could have related more if the language was a bit more "real world".

This book is comprised of 4 stories. We start with one generation and each story takes on the characters of the next generation.

Love Notes is the story of Laurel, whose father robs a bank in his desperation and ends up losing his life. At just 17, Laurel is an orphan and has nowhere to go and no one will give her work because they distrust her after what her father did. The town minister takes her in to help care for his pregnant wife, who doesn't trust her and tries her best to make Laurel's life miserable. Laurel earns money by playing piano for Sunday services at her church and plans to leave town as soon as she has enough money for a coach ticket. (It's 1910) Her only comfort comes from the music left on her piano at church by an anonymous stranger, who speaks to her through the sheet music they compose, line by line, each week.
The story line is pretty tragic, and very relatable, but the dialog is not. It is very flowery and idealistic. Even the internal dialog is just sugary sweet. No one really talks to themselves that way. "Poor Ethan, forced to kill to protect others. What torment he must be fighting within." And this because he was the one who shot her father. Even though she knew it was the right thing, that wouldn't be the ONLY thing going through her mind upon learning that he had killed her father. And no matter how much faith you have, that news would take some time to work through. But still, the underlying story is very sweet and the lesson of forgiveness is good, if not a bit over the top.

Cookie Schemes is the story of Prudie, Laurel's daughter. Prudie is not your typical 1955 woman looking for a husband to settle down with and become a stay-at-home mom. She has big career plans and a man doesn't fit into that plan. Fresh out of college, she encounters the stereotypical notions of the era when applying for jobs. Despite graduating with honors in business and having abundant ambition, the only jobs a woman is suited for are secretarial positions. But she's convinced that she will be able to work her way to the top. She and her roommates/coworkers often eat at a Chinese restaurant in their neighborhood, known for wrapping scripture in its special fortune cookies. Restaurant owner Alex chooses special verses to put in Prudie's cookies, trying to win her heart.
This one is slightly better in the dialog, though there are a few places where I thought "Oh come on!! Like anyone would ever really say it like that!" But again the story is sweet and the scripture verses are lovely.

Posted Dreams is the story of Prudie's daughter Bethany. Bethany is young and just started her first day as a receptionist in a real estate firm. She loves to read, is a strong Christian, and has not really fit in with girls her age because of it. She has a passion for quotes, having grown up with her father shoving fortune cookies with special messages for her under her pillow at night as she slept. One of her favorite things to do is place sticky notes in various places around town with quotes about love, faith, friends, etc. Then someone starts replying to the quotes at the library and she starts to feel a real connection with the person writing them. But then she overhears her coworkers making fun of the post-its they've been seeing all over town. They find it preachy and annoying and she resolves to stop leaving them, though she's upset that she will lose her "pen pal".
Again, this one has some pretty bad dialog. "What a pity. How unfortunate there's so much sadness in this world. We must remember to keep the man in our prayers, him and his little girl." The message is good, but the wording is a bit off. I would expect more like "Oh that's so sad! I can't even imagine how hard that must be. I'll have to add them to my prayer list!" But maybe that's just me.
I didn't like this story quite as much as the others, but I did love the quotes.

The last story, EBay Encounter, is my favorite. It's the story of Jonica, who has just gotten her Masters degree in Business and is well on her way to reaching her very last goal on the list, opening her own antique store. She's always been a planner and a classic over-achiever, setting the bar high for her younger brother to live up to what her parents have come to expect. But the antique store was never really her dream, just a practical way to make a living so she can do what she really wants to do...write music. When God seems to be closing every door in her face, she starts to wonder if opening an antique store is really the right path for her. She's outbid on every eBay auction she enters and she's too late with every possible location for her premises. And there's a rude man on eBay calling her "Darlin'" and telling her to stop driving up the auction prices. With the help of her roommates, she confronts him and they end up striking a friendship, but the roommates also discourage her from giving out any personal information to someone she has never met.
Anyone who knows me can understand why I relate to this story. It could almost by my own. Classic over-achiever, planner, and musician who decided to teach to feed the bills rather than make my own music, which is never a sure bet. And cue the internet romance, complete with friends who are convinced I would end up in a dumpster. And like Jonica, there were soul searching conversations and a conviction that my dream man was the real deal and not someone pretending to be someone else (commonly known as catfishing these days.). It's a beautiful story and the language is much more "this century" than the flowery, trying too hard language of the 3 preceding stories.

The overall theme is to trust God and to put him first in all you do and he will guide you in the right direction, which is a good message, but would be better if it were more of an underlying message instead of being so openly preachy. Chances are it would reach a wider audience if it were more subtle. Anyone who is already a Christian would pick up on the references and be inspired by the faith shown, and people who aren't already Christians wouldn't be so turned off by the over-the-top tone, and might also find themselves more inspired to read further and get to know the God introduced in the book. As it's written, I'm afraid non-believers would just want to wretch and would quit reading, and believers like me would just think it's out of touch. So it kind of does the opposite of what it is trying to do, which is sad, because the plots are great and could be so much better if they were written in a more realistic tone. It's all about the delivery, and in this case, a spoonful of sugar is a bit too much!

Rating Regarding Books Love Letters

Ratings: 4 From 4 Users | 1 review Reviews

Crit Regarding Books Love Letters