The Perfect Knight
The Pretender: A Blackguard In Disguise by Ta’Mara Hanscom is a marvellous start to the Caselli Family series and I really enjoyed it. It’s a retro series set in the mid 1970’s, with references to shows like Star Trek, it evoked memories from my youth.
The Pretender is an epic family novel with good Christian values. It’s a close knit family with members all looking out for each other. A time when life was seemingly simpler and safer.
The novel is not without its heartache which the reader feels keenly. I spent much of the novel with my heart in my mouth, anticipating the action to come.
It is a story of lives both interacting and near misses – hence the heart in mouth style of reading.
There are the hard hitting topics of drugs, alcohol and abortion. “It’s not a baby yet.” This sparks the whole debate of when does life begin? For me, it is at conception. Every life is planned by God and matters to God.
The theme of restoration is present – restoration of lives is mirrored in restoration of buildings.
Knights in shining armour and blackguards – sometimes it is hard to tell from the outside. God however sees our hearts and will not be mocked or duped.
Where is your treasure? “He is ambitious and I do not care for the worth he places upon his career and himself.” Real treasure is found in God and in others. We should put both before self.
Characters measure themselves against others. “You’re so nice and I’m such a monster.” We need to measure ourselves by God’s standard. We need to listen to God’s voice and not listen to the lies of the enemy telling us we are no good. We need to take every thought captive and listen to the life affirming voice of God.
A wonderful book to kick off what promises to be a fabulous series.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
JULIA WILSON
The Pretender blog tour on Litfuse
