BLOGWORDS – Monday 18 January 2021 – TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY-on-MONDAY – BOOK REVIEW – EYE OF THE STORM by JANICE L. DICK
TUESDAY REVIEWS-DAY-on-MONDAY – BOOK REVIEW – EYE OF THE STORM by JANICE L. DICK
THE BLURB
As their lives are torn apart by world war, the Russian Revolution, and church and family conflicts, Katarina Hildebrandt and Johann Sudermann strive to maintain their faith in the God they have come to know.
Meanwhile, Paul Gregorovich Tekanin’s hope for Utopia has become a way of darkness and death. Will he remember the warnings of his childhood friend, Johann, or will the violence of revolution destroy him?
History unfolds as these young people look desperately for a source of balance and safety within the eye of the storm and ask: where is God when life betrays?
THE AUTHOR
Janice L. Dick has been writing since 1989. Her first two historical novels, Calm Before the Storm and Eye of the Storm, won first place in the historical fiction category of The Word Guild’s Canadian Writing Awards. The third novel in the series, Out of the Storm, was short-listed for the same award.
Besides historical fiction, Janice also writes long and short contemporary fiction, book reviews, blogs and non-fiction articles. Her first contemporary cozy is title The Road to Happenstance, which released February 2020.
Janice is the first winner of the Janette Oke Award, presented by InScribe Christian Writer’s Fellowship in 2016.
Janice writes from her farm home on the Saskatchewan prairies of Canada. She and her husband love farm life and enjoy their family of three married children and their spouses, and eleven grandchildren.
See more about Janice and her writing on her website at http://www.janicedick.com
MY REVIEW
“Oh, Lord God. How am I to forgive this man?”
“How are you not?”
I’ve long been fascinated with Russia and her history, but haven’t ventured to study about it. Ms. Dick has fed my fascination, prompting me to continue to learn more.
The assault of war, not only on military troops fighting at the front, but on friends and neighbors, and family, is brutal, and Ms. Dick portrays this in agonizing clarity. I felt the ache of the breach between friends, [SPOILER], and waited, page after page, to see if their reconciliation would ever happen.
I have to confess that I got lost at times, keeping some of the names straight, and the roles played by the Bolsheviks, the Cossacks, the Soviet, the White Army. I hadn’t realized, though, the role of the German army in the Russian Revolution.
I did connect with some of the characters, however—and love the names—Agnetha’s circumstances and her connection with Wilhelm, Katarina and Johann’s love story. And a particular fondness, the extended family and neighbors coming together.
As with the best of historical fiction, Ms. Dick has inserted vibrant fictional characters into the chronicles of the past, giving a better picture of history.
ROBIN’S FEATHERS
FOUR FEATHERS
I received a complimentary copy of this book, but was under no obligation to read the book or to post a review. I offer my review of my own free will. The opinions expressed in my review are my honest thoughts and reaction to this book.
robinsnest212 - stories by design 
Sounds like I would love to read. Thank you for sharing. Hugs