Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Book "The Sister Wife" by Diane Noble

In the process of remaking our blog to a brand new domain, the archived post has been transfered to:




About the Book: What if the man you loved told you God wanted him to take another wife? What if that woman was your best friend? Set in the heart of the earliest days of a new nineteenth-century sect known as the Saints, The Sister Wife is a riveting account of two women forced into a practice they don't understand, bound by their devotion to Prophet Joseph Smith. When Mary Rose marries Gabriel, neither of them could foresee how quickly the community would turn to the practice of plural marriage. Devastated when Gabe is faced with an order from the Prophet to marry her best friend, Bronwyn, Mary Rose tries to have the faith to carry through with the marriage. But can she really be married to the same man as her very best friend? Can Mary Rose and Bronwyn face betraying both their husband and their God to do what they feel is right?
The Sister Wife is the first book in a new Brides of Gabriel historical series set during the formation of the Mormon edict of polygamy. Award-winning author Diane Noble explores the inner conflicts, emotions, and decisions of three women married to the same man. A moving tale of faith and doubt, love and commitment for fans of Big Love or those who devoured Carolyn Jessop’s Escape, The Sister Wife follows a budding family living in close community with the controversial Mormon prophet Joseph Smith as they are pulled deeper into the world of polygamy.




About the Author: Diane Noble is a former double finalist for the prestigious RITA Award for Best Inspirational Fiction, a finalist for the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and the Reviewers' Choice Award, and a three-time recipient of the Silver Angel Award for Media Excellence. With more than a quarter million books in print, Diane lives in southern California, with her husband. Diane Noble spent most of her first eighteen years in a small mountain village in the High Sierra back country near Yosemite National Park. Growing up among towering pines and rushing waterfalls provided Diane a rich setting in which to let her vivid imagination soar. Her first novel was published in 1994 under the pseudonym Amanda MacLean with four more following in quick succession. She began writing under her own name in 1998, with the publication of one of her most popular works of historical fiction, THE VEIL, which was re-released in the summer of 2009. Since the publication of her first book, she has written nearly two dozen novels and is currently working on book one of a new series, BRIDES OF GABRIEL, coming to bookstores June 22, 2010. For more information about Diane, visit her website at http://www.dianenoble.com/.



My Review: This is a very touching story of a young lady, Mary Rose Ashley, who is travelling by ship from Liverpool to America and in her journey she meets ship builder Gabriel MacKay. They fall in love and get married while still in the ship. When reaching America, they headed to Nauvoo, where Mormon prophet Joseph Smith preaches revelations he received directly from God. Among those revelations, the prophet says that polygamy not only is acceptable but also is encouraged. He orders Gabriel to marry Mary Rose's best friend, Browyn and that sets a spiritual conflict on Mary when facing this very difficult and unusual situation, that would shake her life and faith. Then there is Enid, who plans to become Gabriel's first wife regardless prior spouses...
The author was very successful and she had the sensibility to describe all the deep emotions of the characters involved in the story in a richness manner. We suffer with them, we joy with them, we learn with them. The historical aspect of this book shows a lot of research by the author on the early years of the Mormon church and how and why the concept of polygamy was introduced in the Mormonism. Without taking sides on what is right or wrong, Diane lets the reader thinks and reaches his/her own conclusions.
It is truly a magnificent romance and it deserves to be in the permanent library of any serious reader. And I am eager to read how this story will develop through the series "Brides of Gabriel".

This book was written by Diane Noble and was published by Harper Collins that were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing. 

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