A Modern and Historical Fiction: Two Great Reads

I wanted to put these two reads in a post together because although they are in different time periods, I enjoyed reading them both very much.

First, the historical fiction:

Nancy Moser's Masquerade was one of my favorite reads in quite a while. The story follows a wealthy girl and her maid in 1886 as they switch places to start new lives in America. Charlotte Gleason finds herself somewhere she never thought she would be and finds her heart and life changing as she finds out how the other half really lives. Dora, her maid, is living the dream of every girl - new clothes, lavish lifestyle, and everything whim granted, but finds it might not really be what her heart desires after all.

Although, the "prince and the pauper" story has been told many times, I really enjoyed how this gave a glimpse into the lives of people during the time period, especially how the immigrant society lived. It was heartwarming and sobering at the same time. Although this might not be a part of the story line, Moser gets huge props from me for adding illustrations of the clothing in her book in the back. I usually look up the time period on the internet when I read stories like this to get a better picture of what they were wearing, and I LOVED that the pictures were right in the book!

Thanks so much to Bethany House for a free copy of this book to review.

Next up, the modern fiction:

I have been kind of disappointed by the last few modern fictions I have read, but I thought this book was a really good one. A Rush of Wings by Kristen Heitzmann is about Noelle St. Claire who is running away from all she knows. Although she can't quite put her finger on what the problem is, she feels she is in real danger, surrounded by a mixture of terrifying dreams and vivid memories of recent events. She flees to the Rocky Mountains, where she is taken in by two completely different brothers. As she begins to let them past the walls she has put up to protect herself, she has to finally face the dangers she has been hiding from.

I have to say, that my favorite thing about this book was that the characters were so human. Romances, especially tend up idealize at least one person in the story, but even the most godly person in this story makes mistakes and has to deal with the consequences of those mistakes. I also enjoyed that the relationships took time to build, I didn't feel like it was rushed. Definitely the best modern story I have read for a while.

Thanks again to Bethany House for a free copy of this book to review.