Rosie the Reviewer {Candle in the Darkness}

There is always that special book that leaves its mark on you and sometimes makes you want to make a difference, or even reveals a calling from God that you didn’t see before. So many books have left their “fingerprint” on me and so many of them inspire my own work. It was recently that a book I read had so many parallels to my own novel I started over a year ago. I want to share with you some books and authors who have left their fingerprints on me; it may take a while for me to mention all of them, starting with…

Lynn Austin’s Candle in the Darkness, the heroine Caroline Fletcher is not annoyingly feisty or a shy little weakling. The way Lynn wrote Caroline’s character was outstanding. Her writing style is impeccable and truly unique. Caroline is a happy medium of a mild mannered Southern woman. Yet she is a brave and courageous heroine. One people can sympathize with her when she is in total desperation or cheer with her when she takes her stand against the evils of slavery and when she does whatever it takes to keep her family together.

Candle in the Darkness is the first in the Refiner’s Fire series and in my opinion (I’m a little biased since it’s my favorite) the best. The book doesn’t sugar coat how many Christians in the deep South had such prejudice against blacks and how so many of them excepted it. Lynn Austin knows how to touch a person deeply and I swear by the end of every one of her novels, I’m in tears. Sometimes even more than once. Candle in the Darkness is very edgy and Lynn Austin the queen of edgy historical fiction. And Caroline is a heroine people will love. Especially since Candle in the Darkness has won the Christy Award.

I hope the next time you go to the book store you pick up a copy of Lynn Austin’s Candle in the Darkness you will definitely not be disappointed.