Featured book: The Sound of Emeralds

One year ago, "The Sound of Emeralds" was published.  I'd read "The Sound of Diamonds," the first book in the trilogy, a few weeks previously, and looked forward to finishing the story of Gwyneth and Dirk.  I didn't expect it would take me this long to finish reading the three, but my reading habits are notoriously moody and disorganized, and even when I love characters, I have been known to leave them in the midst of their trials for far too long while getting sidetracked on a different genre.

In this case, it was distinctly my loss.  My choice to pick up a bit of lighter fare instead of facing the deep, heartfelt troubles that Gwyneth and Dirk did in book two was the comfortable choice at the moment, but in no way do I have an excuse for letting the book sit longer once the comfort reading was out of the way.  However, it definitely played out well in the end, because in March I blazed through "The Sound of Silver" and  dove straight into "The Sound of Emeralds" without even pausing for another book in between.  Two benefits: getting to count this book in a March titles challenge, and having the story fresh in my mind just in time for the April anniversary blog tour.  

I really appreciated the view of marriage in this book.  Though it isn't all thorns or flowers, it's a balance of both.  Most newlyweds have nowhere near this amount of trouble to face, but the emotions of love and pain were so well balanced.  Wow.  I know very well that I wouldn't be brave enough to throw quite this many hurdles at characters I loved, though Rachelle pulls it off so well!  

I also truly loved the Christian message in the book.  What does it mean to trust in Jesus alone for salvation?  Where did that leave her Catholic friends?  Many people just show the conversion moment and not the struggles afterward to find out what this Christian life really means, and I appreciated that message in this book.

Well, friends!  Rachelle is hosting a giveaway on her blog for the trilogy, so if you live in the US be sure to head over and enter the drawing.  Also visit her page to read the other stops along the way for this super-exciting birthday blog tour!

And, before I go...Happy Resurrection Day to all of you!