My review of Sing by Lisa Tawn Bergren! Spotlight for B&B Media!

Can you run far enough to outdistance truth?

A story of prodigals chasing their dreams. Will they turn toward home before it’s too late?

How much are your dreams worth? Can wealth and fame satisfy your heart as deeply as family and faith? Award-winning author Lisa Bergren’s latest novel, Sing, explores the lives of two prodigals who must decide if they are willing to pay the price their dreams demand. Moira and Nic St. Clair have both defied their father’s desires for them and instead travel to the edge of their dreams and find themselves standing upon the precipice of decisions that will alter their lives forever.

Bergren first introduced the St. Clair family in the novel Breathe. Maintaining her strong and well-researched story line in Sing, she immediately transports readers to the end of the 19^th century and weaves the plot amid scenes from Europe, Brazil and Colorado. Moira St. Clair takes center stage in this dramatic saga, as the reader follows her on a treacherous journey across the Atlantic into a lifestyle that proves to be even riskier and more daring than her life upon the stage of the European opera. Believing the promise that she could become “the perfect specimen of modern womanhood,” Moira travels farther and farther away from her family’s heritage of faith. When she encounters a deadly nemesis from her past, she must quickly decide what she values most in her life, before it’s too late.

Bergren takes the reader on a suspense-filled and arduous spiritual journey as she weaves the lives of the three St. Clair children into an unforgettable prodigal story. Her award-winning prose is a strong voice showcasing God’s mercy and grace in the lives of defiant believers, and her characters and their trials will be remembered long after the final pages. Sing is a brilliant addition to Bergren’s Homeward Trilogy, and fans will be eager to learn what comes next in the lives of the St. Clair family.

Sing by Lisa Bergren (Book Two in the Homeward Trilogy)

David C Cook/April 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-4347-6707-3/400 pages/softcover/$14.99

www.davidccook.com ~ www.lisatawnbergren.com

 

About the book:

It’s 1886 and the St. Clairs are living out their dreams in three very separate parts of the world—Paris, Brazil and Colorado. And while each has found a measure of success and joy, each are haunted by past sins and secrets. As they face the biggest challenges of their lives—including facing off with an old enemy—each must discover the power of homecoming, and what it means to sing praises to God, even in the midst of loss.

My review:

I enjoyed the sequel to Breathe and am looking forward to the third book in the series, Claim. Bergren did a fantastic job of torturing her characters and making you care about them. The brother Nic and sister Moira messed up the worst. What I liked about this story was that Begren pulled no punches and had them make poor choices and suffer from their mistakes. I really ached for Moira who went through quite a transformation in this novel because of the many disappointments and hurts she suffered.

I also loved the conflict between Odessa and Bryce's brother. There was some serious tension there, and I loved how realistically it was portrayed. The temptation was well done. I'm curious to see if this plays out further in the next book in this series. I'm also looking forward to seeing what happens to Nic in the last book. He has gone through so much, and yet he survived. On the positive end, he lost some of his recklessness because of this. Both he and Moira learned that they could not control everything. I found it interesting how they were introduced to faith, and also touching when Moira experienced unconditional love.

Last, I adored that this book had a lot of edgy content. Again, Bergren lays the temptation and aftermath right out there. She shows how sin easily entangles and snares the victim. She also uses realistic dialog in many of the scenes and I cringed at the painful truth in those words. Bravo to Lisa for writing a daringly different historical romance set in 1880s Colorado. I would definitely recommend this series to people who like edgy stories within which the characters have realistic struggles they try to overcome.

Sing was published by Cook and released in April 2010. A copy of this book was provided to me to review by The B&B Media Group. My review was not influenced by this, but is my own opinion.