Book Reviews from Author Lori Wick

My sister Christine gave me a couple of christian books to read. It was unusual to read non-LDS books, but I did enjoy them. 

The biggest thing from the two books below was the understanding that the characters are born in sin - "Adam and Eve's sin". They were humble and undeserving of Heavenly Father's love because of the sin. That was a hard concept for me, because I know that Adam and Eve's sin was taken taken care of by Jesus Christ during the Atonement. I am not born with their sin. I believe I am a divine Child of God and He loves me. I also believe that I am responsible for my own sins. I am not perfect, but can be forgiven when I repent. 

I loved that they were righteous women, who loved to serve God. They always had a prayer in their hearts and their religion guided their life. I prefer LDS/Christian romance novels, because they have high standards. It was enjoyable to read a novel in a different religion perspective on life. 

Here is a quick overview of the book "Bamboo and Lace"

 Shy, lovely Lily Walsh leaves her rural homeland, the tiny Asian country of Kashien, to visit her brother Jeff in Hawaii. Everything is new and exciting to Lily: grocery stores that overflow with food, chewing gum, coffee makers, and the luxury of hot showers. Most thrilling of all is Jeff's best friend, the handsome Hawaiian Gabriel Kapaia, who teaches her how to play tennis and golf, and encourages her to become more assertive. Despite her conservative father's disapproval, Lily falls in love with Gabe and must choose between pleasing a parent and following the tug of her heart.

This book was a hard read for me. In this book Lily came from a foreign country and is regarded as a low human being. She was not allowed to look up with her eye's or look into a man's face. I would hate to be taught that way. Thank goodness I am American and am equal to a man. The book was slow. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it.  

An overview of this book:

After the tragic death of his wife, Alec Riley struggles to put his life back together. He and his three children are lost in their grief...until Sophie walks unexpectedly into their lives. Having left her native Czechoslovakia, Sophie has discovered the land which seemed so bright with promise is far from her dream. A highly educated woman, Sophie now finds herself keeping house for Alec and his family

How can Sophie find peace in her new job? Will God use her gentle spirit to help heal Alec’s broken heart?

I really did enjoy this book. Also a woman who came from a foreign country. She was very smart and spoke many different languages being a translator in Czechoslovakia. However, English was not one of her strong languages and people in America treated her like she was dumb because of her broken english. It made me think, if I treated  people with foreign accents like they were dumb because they can't speak english well. 


Sophie is a strong, loving, funny and God fearing woman. She had courage to move to America on her own without knowing anyone. She healed Alec's family and Alec's heart. I laughed out loud several times and cried too. It was a great story.

The religious references from the author's point of view were difficult for me with my knowledge of the gospel. But, I loved the morality and Christian theme. I loved that they were great missionaries and tried to spread the "word" to all who would listen. I do prefer LDS romantic novels - but these were a good read too.