Of Love And Lies

The English Proposal by Jenna Brandt is a Christian historical romance. In spite of being set in Victorian times, it very much had a Regency romance feel to it. It is the first book of a trio in the Window To The Heart series which promises to be an entertaining read.

The English Proposal is the story of a young woman’s awakening – both to God and to the world around her. The world is a harsh place that contrasts sharply to her sheltered upbringing. People are ruined by the love of money and power. Gossip destroys lives as old rivalries surface. Seemingly good people are turned by the promise of more – more power, more money, more greed. The world corrupts if we are not careful. The reader wonders who are the good people? Who can be trusted? And whose heart has turned black?

God is shown to be a firm foundation. We need to build our lives on Him. He is not the hell fire God but a God who loves His children and longs for a relationship with them. He will not be mocked however. It would be an awful thing to die without God. As a God of love, we are urged to imitate Him and love those we meet.

There is the theme of grace. God does not punish us or treat us as we deserve. He extends grace to all who believe and who turn to Him and confess their sins.

The novel has the theme of loss. Loss hurts and will either turn us to God or away from Him. “She had given up on God a long time back.” God does not take our loved ones away as punishment. He is a caring God who walks alongside us in our pain.

Loss is closely linked to guilt. “She felt guilty that she was trying to move on with her life.” Our loved ones would not want us to remain mourning forever, they would want us to live and love and laugh again. Knowing that our loved ones know Jesus, we can have comfort that one day we will be reunited.

The novel is a hotbed of truth and lies, scandal and gossip, duels, honour and romantic trysts. The reader finds it hard to keep up with the twists and turns of characters. The reader wonders who is of good character?

I enjoyed the novel very much. It was an old fashioned swash buckling adventure. The ending captures the reader’s attention and sets us up nicely for book two which releases in June 2017.

I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

JULIA WILSON