Saturday, January 31, 2015

Book Review: "Miriam's Secret" by Jerry S. Eicher


"Miriam's Secret" had an interesting principle to it.  Miriam has been the caretaker for Englisha man, Mr. Brand.  When he dies, he leaves his farm to Miriam in his will--free and clear.  Her family has always scrapped by financially and her daett warns about the hold money has over you.  What will Miriam do when it appears the guy he has liked for  long time suddenly seems interested.  How will she trust he isn't only after  the farm?

"Miriam's Secret" didn't flow very smoothly when I read it.  It made me think of riding on a dirt road on a summer day after the rain.  I'm not 100% sure exactly why it felt jerky.  The way it was written was like older books used to be.  It used a lot of "tags" over "beats"    .  So it had quite a few sentences like this:  "Thank you," Miriam said nervously.  or "I've also written this down so you can refer to it if you need to," he said.  Maybe being a writer myself and reading up on the subject has "tainted" my view of the book.  They encourage authors to use "beats" which show who is doing the speaking by showing the actions they are doing instead of just saying "so and so said".   Another thing that is a big deal for writers is "Show don't tell".  Show the emotions instead of just telling the emotion.  This book had some "telling" as in this sentence:  Rose bowed her head for a short prayer, and Miriam felt relief.  The book also seemed to rehash the same things over.  The topics of Miriam keeping her money a secret and her doubts about if men were interested in the money or her, Shirley pinning over Jonas Beachy, and how evil money was, were repeated multiple times.

There were some formatting issues that I'm assuming will be fixed in the book once it is published as I had an advance reader copy.  There were a few other errors of small words like "or" and "was" being left out and Jonas was called Jason one time.  In another spot, it said, "Betty...she's Mahlon's brother."  The story wasn't horrid, but it wasn't spectacular, either.  The book seems to abruptly end.  Miriam gets engaged and then the book ends.  It doesn't resolve what Shirley is going to do about Jonas or what Miriam is going to do about the money.  I know that there are two more books coming in this series, but I'm not used to books in a series leaving things unfinished.  The series I've read before wrap up that book's storyline and subplots and sometimes give a little glimpse into what the next book is going to be right at the end.

I feel neutral about a recommendation.  I wouldn't push it, or say not to read it if you wanted.

"Miriam's Secret" is available for Kindle (on Feb 1, 2015):
  • ile Size: 616 KB
  • Print Length: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2015)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00RYB9NQU

and in paperback:
  • Series: Land of Promise
  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0736958797
  • ISBN-13: 978-0736958790
  • Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.5 x 8.5 inches

I received a free digital advance reader copy through netgalley in order for me to review this book.  All opinions are my own.

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