Rating: 
Summary: I thought this was a great book
Review: After reading some of the bad reviews for this book I felt compelled to write a review. I thought it was a great book. It's loosely based on the story of Jacob, Leah and Rachel. It's not supposed to be an exact copy of it - if you want that, read it in the Bible. I thought it was very romantic and a very good read - that's what fiction books are for - to read and get lost in the story. The second book is even better - I was sobbing through most of it - heart-wrenching. This is a great book and I recommend it highly.
Rating: 
Summary: LCH Raises the bar of Christian fiction
Review: As a writer, I appreciate LCH's technique and style. She makes her characters believable. And proved that you don't have to be the pretty one to win the guy you love.As a reader she made a familiar story feel vibrant and new. She made TIMH such an enjoyable read that I wouldn't mind picking it up again. My only issue came with flipping to the back to read the glossary. I liked her finding the authentic words, but would have preferred the translation mixed in somehow.
Rating: 
Summary: Thorn in my side
Review: Here's the story: Jamie and Rose are in love and plan to marry. On their wedding night, Roses's sister Leanna takes her place as bride at the altar, sneaks into Jamie's bed, and spends the night with him, betraying her sister, her sister's soulmate, and breaking both their hearts. Now, Leanna supposedly was coerced into the trickery and is really a sweet girl, so we're supposed to feel sorry for her when Jamie treats her coldly because of her trickery. We feel sorry for all three of them: Leanna, the unwanted wife; Jamie, the one stuck in the middle; and Rose, whose soulmate is married to her sister. The story has us hoping that Jamie and Rose will find a way to be together and will please forgive Leanna and treat her nicely. What happens? Oh, all of a sudden Jamie is overcome with guilt, begs Leanna's forgiveness, and dumps Rose like last year's trash. Leanna's the angel, but Rose and Jamie are villains because God forbid they wanted to be together. Supposedly, he and Leanna were married in the eyes of God and Jamie dishonored her. So God views a marriage valid even if it was built on trickery and heartbreak? This shameful work was one of the biggest insults of love I've ever read. It's also an insult to the true story: Rachel was the love of Jacob's life and was perfectly deserving of his love. There is no evidence that he mistreated or even neglected Leah. The love between Jacob and Rachel was beautiful and Sacred; Higgs has done nothing but twist it and befoul it. This book was not true to the Bible story and Higgs made a first class fool of herself by twisting the story when the whole point was to portray it truthfully like the rest of her adaptations. Her other books were very good and truthful, which made this one all the more disappionting. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. Want a story about real love? Watch Titanic, read "The Notebook", or read the real story of Jacob and Rachel. DO NOT READ THIS!
Rating:
Summary: It Grabbed Me and Wouldn't Let Go!
Review: I have always known Liz Curtis Higgs as a humorist-having heard her on Christian radio a number of times. I had never read anything by her until now and what a fantastic read it was! Thorn in My Heart absolutely grabbed me and wouldn't let go. This story is so rich and layered with meaning. I understand why it took Liz so wrong to transfer this plot from her heart to ours. Her thorough research of the Old TEstament story as well as 18th Century Scotland makes this book real and believable. And not only is the historical setting accurate-it carries the reader into 18th century Scotland and the hearts and minds of these proud, but God-fearing people. You will laugh and cry at the characters on this stage. Liz brings out their real attributes every so slowly, not quick to make harsh judgments, but letting time and circumstance reveal them instead. And if you know the Biblical account, Thorn In My Heart provides more depth to the people you thought you knew. Deceit, when displayed in full color, casts a far blacker shadow. And yet, you're often examining your own heart and asking, "What Would I Have Done?" And the pithy quotes at the beginning of each chapter leave the mind wondering what is to come next. Thorn In My Heart doesn't shout the message-it allows for their subtle display in the good and bad choices of its human characters. There are no cookie-cutter heroes or villains, only sinners in need of God's redemptive grace. I salute Liz Curtis Higgs for writing an elegant literary classic that will be talked about for years. Add this book to the stack on your nightstand and you will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Liz hits a bases-loaded triple!
Review: I have enjoyed Liz Higgs's previous novels, and this one was a most engaging read, especially after I caught on to the Jacob-Leah-Rachel connection. The Scots dialect made for some difficult going at times, but the characterizations partook fully of the cultural flavor - stern, upright, demanding, principled - and echoed well their Old Testament analogues. I especially enjoyed the problems that loomed as the end of the story approached; after all, Jamie cannot marry both sisters - he's Presbyterian! The author's solution faces the problems squarely: The agonies and ecstasies of people in love, and the schemes that come back to plague the schemer, fill these pages. And the ending met my ultimate test: I found it satisfying and right. Higgs has set herself a daunting challenge and responded to it with style. For me, the novel was not quite a home run: Her amazing way with humor was not a real option for this story, so she rounded third and then had to hold up. But I've always found a triple more exciting than a home run anyway, and this book represents an impressive change of pace for her. Color me enthusiastic!
Rating:
Summary: What classics are made of.
Review: I have never written a review on a book before but I felt compelled to write one on this book. Because I think of lighthearted humor when I think of Higgs, I was surprised in the best sort of way as I got into Thorn in My Heart. Higgs really did her homework before attempting such a project as this story. Right down to the quotes of the old masters of literature at the beginning of each chapter, the story is rich in every way. I loved the book and hated to see it end. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's got depth, is colorful, entertaining and heart wrenching. It was fun to realize early in the book, the takeoff that it was on Jacob and Esau...right down to the same first initial of the characters as those in the story from Genesis. I can't wait until her 'Fair is the Rose' comes out and the opportunity to revisit Leana, Rose and Jamie.
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Summary: wow the best series I have ever read
Review: It has already been a month since I have read the second book in the series Fair is the Rose and I still can't not quit thinking about these books I cannot wait for the third to come out. I have read hundreds of books and up to this day I thought Sara Donita's series Into the Wilderness was the best but it doesn't even hold a candle to these.
Rating:
Summary: A zero would have been more appropriate
Review: There is nothing that frustrates me more than when a Christian book "dumbs down" the reader. This was the most boring, pathetic book I've tried to read in a long time. I love history, I love the Christina theme, but I couldn't even finish this book. I read 1/3 of it , but even reading that much was laborous. Don't waste your money on this dribble.
Rating:
Summary: Thorn in my side
Review: This story is based on the Biblical story of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah. The main character here is Jamie, a young man who's trying to escape his past and find happiness. After moving to a new town in hopes of starting a new life, he meets two sisters, Rose and Leanna. Both girls are interesting characters: Rose is free spirited and feisty; Leanna is sweet and softspoken. Jamie and Rose fall in love before long and plan to marry, unaware that Leanna has also fallen in love with Jamie. On Jamie and Rose's wedding day, things take a sudden turn: Leanna dresses herself in the bridal gown, conceals her face with the veils, and walks with Jamie to the altar, pretending to be Rose. Jamie marries her without having any idea that he's marrying the wrong sister; it's not until the next morning that he discovers the horrible deception and curses Leanna out of his bed. Naturally, he's determined to get rid of her and marry his true love. Until he founds out a way to annul the marriage, however, Leanna is his wife by law and he's stuck with her. Because of what Leanna did, all three of them are now miserable: Jamie and Rose are forced to meet in secret, the two sisters' relationship is all but completely destroyed, and Jamie coldly reminds Leanna every day that she's not wanted. Now, Leanna supposedly was coerced unwillingly into the trickery and is really still a sweet girl, so we're supposed to feel sorry for her when Jamie treats her coldly because of her trickery. We feel sorry for all three of them: Leanna, the unwanted wife; Jamie, the one stuck in the middle; and Rose, whose soulmate is married to her sister. The story has us hoping that Jamie and Rose will find a way to be together and will please forgive Leanna and treat her nicely because she is truly sorry for what she did and is now the most unhappy of the three. Near the end of the book, the story takes another unpleasant turn: one of the other characters (a jackass if ever I saw one) tells Jamie that he and Leanna were married in the eyes of God and Jamie dishonored her, then starts painting Jamie as some coldhearted villain and Rose as some silly vain girl that doesn't deserve his love. What happens, you ask? Oh, all of a sudden Jamie is overcome with guilt, begs Leanna's forgiveness, and dumps Rose like last year's trash. Oh yes, suddenly Leanna's the poor wounded angel and Jamie and Rose are bad because God forbid they wanted to be together. Are we expected to believe that God considers a marriage valid even if it was created out of deception and heartbreak? That Jamie's union to Leanna was honorable and she should be treated like a perfectly deserving wife? This shameful work was one of the biggest insults of love I've ever read. It's also an insult to the true story: Rachel was the love of Jacob's life and was perfectly deserving of his love. There is no evidence that he mistreated or even neglected Leah. The love between Jacob and Rachel was beautiful and Sacred; Higgs has done nothing but twist it and befoul it. This book was not true to the Bible story and Higgs made a first class fool of herself by twisting the story when the whole point was to portray it truthfully like the rest of her adaptations. Her other books were very good and truthful, which made this one all the more disappointing. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. Want a story about real love? Watch Titanic, read "The Notebook", or read the real story of Jacob and Rachel. DO NOT READ THIS!
Rating:
Summary: "Modern" day Biblical story a great read
Review: This story is the Biblical story of Jacob and his wives Rachel and Leah, but is set in 1700's Scotland. When I first picked up this book I thought I might have trouble believing this story in a more modern setting, and in a place like Scotland. But, Liz Curtis Higgs has an unusual talent to transport this Biblical story into another dimension. I was fascinated by how she could tell such a well known story and also make it her very own. I was also delighted to see this story through "Leah's" eyes, and to consider how she must have felt-her younger sister being chosen over her. It was a great read and I couldn't put it down. Would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in exploring the Bible in a new light.
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