I almost didn't read this. I had it in a stack of books that someone gave to me and I categorized it as "christian chick lit" when I glanced at it - nothing against that genre but I kind of grew out of it when I read Janette Oke's pioneer books when I was probably a preteen. Don't get me wrong - I love calico and being surprised by handsome lumberjacks with a smudge of dirt on your nose from gardening that doesn't detract from your loveliness.. but I'm just not so into that nowadays. My husband no longer thinks smudges of dirt and flour are that cute (or perhaps he does?). I don't wear gingham dresses (only because I can't find them and I don't sew.)
Anyway, what caught my attention is the Mormon element. This book is a fictional account of a young woman being swept into the Mormon community as they migrated from Missouri to Great Salt Lake. You could label it an expose of early Mormonism and a woman's conversion to Biblical Christianity after being tricked into plural wifehood and then almost executed by her husband who is seeking to redeem her by taking her life. No, not a very flattering portrait of Latter day Saints. I can't say I know enough about history and doctrine to say whether or not it is accurate. The biography of the author suggests that she's had first hand experience having grown up in Utah with her Mormon extended family and added on her own research.
I would be very interested to have a Mormon's perspective on this book. I'm sure there are plenty of Mormon apologetics out there that would perhaps deny or color this chapter of history differently. I can't say that I'm interested enough to do the research. Maybe they would say that the expression of the church changes over time through ongoing prophetic revelation? Anyway, Marian Wells does a fair job trying to make a purposeful book fairly entertaining although the reader is constantly aware of her didactic intent,
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