Today, I am reviewing the latest installment of Jeanette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan's series of books 'Return To The Canadian West,' called "Where Hope Prevails."
After I read the previous book in this series, my daughters and I watch the popular tv series based on these books. As usual the tv series has gone a different direction than the books, though I have not seen the latest season.
In the new book the main characters of Elizabeth and Jack get engaged, and in the end of the book married. In between Elizabeth struggles with setting up her apartment and keeping the fire going, struggles with a new teacher who believes in humanism, struggles with not being open with Jack about going back east after they marry.
I feel like there was so much more the authors could have done with the character of Elizabeth, and these struggles. I felt like the story was very simplistic. I liked Elizabeth very much in the last book, but this one her character seems childish in dealing with many of the issues she is faced with as she returns to Coal Valley. The ending of the book, when she has finally dealt with some of her attitudes is satisfying. She speaks up on behalf of the new teacher, she marries Jack. I just think the story could have been richer.
Frankly, it was a bit weird reading the new book, as the story line seems so different than the tv series. I guess with other book series that Jeanette Oke has written, and were made into tv shows, the books all came first and I had read them many years before.
I know some of you don't read much fiction, but for those of you who do, this series is clean, and while the main character is Elizabeth, I find Jack much more interesting.
I received this book from Bethany House to review, but the opinions are all mine.
1 comment:
Wow. That does sound very different than the TV series for sure.
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