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| Source: http://valiantheartsseries.blogspot.com/ |
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
In an earlier review on Chivalrous I addressed my issue with the sub-plot about Rosalind aborting her unborn child, and how it didn't seem to go anywhere. Later on I learned about this upcoming book, Courageous, and how it follows Rosalind. I'm grateful that Ms. Sleiman wrote this one, as one of the central plots of this story is Rosalind reconciling that choice in Chivalrous.
I actually didn't have too many issues with this story. Historical fiction/romance isn't my favorite genre, but I enjoyed reading about the adventure Rosalind and other characters go through on a Christian crusade in the Middle East.
There were a lot of characters to keep track of, which weakened the story a bit for me, but fortunately the author stuck most of the development to Rosalind and Randel Penigree. Rosalind goes through a gradual but believable self-healing process, learning more to depend on God. Randel has some PTSD after accidentally killing one of his own allies, which he deals with with Rosalind's help. One of the other characters tries to frame Randel for killing their brother, but fails miserably, showing that hate doesn't let you progress anywhere.
One of my few issues with the writing was using incomplete sentences to describe an experience or reaction. For example:
"Five fighters remained, but they were fierce. Swinging and slashing with the desperation of men who knew they were outnumbered."- Pg. 219
A good reader expects a sentence to be complete and properly punctuated, no matter how long or short. I actually had to read the bolded part of this sentence a few times to understand that she was progressing the action into a new but incomplete sentence. This made reading jarring and unpleasant. Fortunately there were only a few instances of this bad editing.
I really enjoyed the adventure aspect of this story. Our characters sail to Tripoli, and then travel south to find prisoners to free. The several different personalities present in the large group made for a dynamic read. The inspiration for their adventure is a visionary young woman named Sapphira, and she develops from being just one of the children to a source of leadership for her older sister and even a group of Templars.
Rosalind and Randel developed a romance throughout this story, even though they keep trying to convince themselves that they're destined for paths of celibacy. However, through their romance they come to understand that they need to follow the plans God has for them. Of course, this means that the two get together in the end.
Rosalind's redemption from her sins and self-deprecation was my favorite aspect of this story; I'm a sucker for redemption stories in general, and I appreciated the approach Ms. Sleiman took to Courageous.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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