Friday, February 13, 2015

A Fireproof Home for the Bride; Amy Scheibe

St. Martin's Press - 2015


In A Fireproof Home for the Bride, the protagonist, Emmaline (Emmy) Nelson was born into a strict, hard working religious family. Her parents are Lutherans, and her husband had been selected for her early on -- it's Minnesota in the mid-50's. Although Emmy wants to please her family, she also longs for her independence. It isn't until her fiance, a young man 10 years older than her, does something despicable, does she have the courage to break away.  She finds a job at a small newspaper, against her parents wishes, and meets a nice young man of a different faith--Catholic. His family is warm, kind and accepting, unlike her own family.

Working at the newspaper Emmy is hoping to have her skills recognized. She begins researching some fires back in her hometown and makes some shocking discoveries about some of the people closest to her. Her findings reveal the unimaginable evil done by people who profess to be religious.

I must say that this novel started off painfully slow for me, and I almost gave up.  Once the story got going though I found it more engaging. The characters are well developed and I enjoyed watching Emmy mature, becoming independent and her own person. The vivid descriptions of the land, harsh winters, and life in Minnesota and North Dakota worked well too. This book has a little bit of everything in it: coming of age, mystery, racism, and even romance.  Overall, a decent read.


3/5 stars
(arc)

8 comments:

  1. I'll have to remember to stick with this one if I try it. I'm pretty impatient with slow books these days.

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  2. I enjoyed this one, and found so many of the characters despicable, but I could relate to Emmy a little....and was happy that she finally managed to extricate herself from that horrible relationship with the fiance.

    Thanks for sharing....

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  3. The premise sounds so fascinating but the really slow start makes me nervous. I just don't feel like I have time these days to trudge through 50+ pages before I get hooked. Great review! I may have to look for this from the library.

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  4. Cute title, but the slow start is discouraging. Glad it ended up being a good read.

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  5. Diane, I'm glad you enjoyed this despite the slow start. It sounds like a good book to read during the winter especially.

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  6. A painfully slow start would have me nodding off.

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