Normally, I like Lynn Austin's books but I found this one dragged along too much. It was very slow moving and I got about a quarter of the way through the book and I still had no idea what was really going on. A lot of it was flashbacks. I understand that it was to give depth to the characters and insight into how they were raised and who they were but I actually found it harder to get into the characters and follow the story. In complete honesty, I didn't actually finish the book because I wasn't enjoying it so it may have gotten better further into the book.

In all honesty, I could not finish this book. It seemed to drag on and on, with each character giving their version of the story. After a certain point, I just gave up. However, that said I did enjoy the characters to a certain extent. If it hadn't kept flipping back and forth between them I might have actually finished this book. So I was really surprised because I personally love Lynn Austin and her books. I think she just missed the mark on this one.

I have read and enjoyed several books by Lynn Austin and this one did not disappoint. By telling the whole book from each of the characters point of view gave a great perspective to the story. I especially appreciated the research and the background of the sisters who inspired the story. If you start reading this book be prepared to not put it down until you are finished!

What do ancient artifacts, camels, the Chicago fire, sisters, and romance have in common??? LYNN AUSTIN and Where We Belong!!! I have a confession...this was my first Lynn Austin book. I know, I know, put the pitchforks down. But when I saw the cover and the time period(Gilded Age)....I knew I just HAD up read it! What's even better, is that the sisters in this story were inspired by real sisters who travelled and did research and found incredible ancient artifacts...in the 1800s. These days it is far from unusual to have women scientists and archeologists, researchers and professors...however, in the 1800s, it was highly frowned upon and many doors to women were closed. And it is because of women like this who paved the way for us today.

The heart of the story is of course, Jesus. And how His forgiveness surpasses all of our mistakes. He is waiting for us to surrender the past to Him and let Him heal our hearts. We also take a little peek into the ancient manuscripts that have been found of the Bible and the proof that followed, that even though hundreds....thousands....of years have passed....God's word has not changed. The Bible we read today is the very same Bible that was originally written. 

There were several plot twists and I honestly had no idea HOW this was all going to end. But Lynn Austin did not disappoint. She did a fabulous job weaving the storyline with flashbacks and several different viewpoints. I loved seeing into the past of the main characters. It opens your eyes to why they are the way they are ultimately.
If you are longing for an adventure....this is the book for you! Negotiate with a Bedouin Sheik, overcome the challenges of the past, survive the Chicago fire, and above all, see Jesus work in the lives of normal, everyday people and as a result....see their lives travel down an extraordinary road as they find where they belong.

I received a complimentary copy of Where We Belong from the publishers through Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Where We Belong by Lynn Austin offers a solid lesson on waiting on God as he reveals your gifts, and where He intends for you to use those gifts for the glory of His kingdom. Lynn Austin never fails to offer her readers a well-researched setting that dives into a multifaceted plot line. Where We Belong is just such a novel. The history presented grants readers a glimpse into a previous era (as well as some details about Biblical archaeological pursuits). The story offers female characters who are determined to find their way in the world, rather than find themselves relegated to living a wealthy societal life and nothing more. Flora and Rebecca are appealing in the novel, similar in pursuits, yet individual enough to be believable as sisters. The ways they wrestle with circumstances during their "memories" ring true to life.
Where the story struggles (for me) is in its presentation. I found each of the four characters to be interesting and worthwhile, but framing of the individual stories felt klunky. There's one "present" story that is woven throughout the entire novel, but interspersed in that story are the memories of each individual. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, due to the time dedicated to each set of memories, we're first introduced to Rebecca's point of view - but then don't get to revisit her point of view until the end of the novel. Flora is presented after Rebecca - but we don't return to her. And by the time we get to Soren and Kate's memories, the story feels more like Rebecca and Flora's...with two tagalongs, rather than an equal partnership of four individuals.
I ended up wishing for more. For than just summary of a few memories. More from each character's point of view. And, as my friend Barbara alluded to in her own review, more than a pert "all's well that ends well" culmination at the end of the story.
In the end, Lynn Austin is a very talented writer, so don't shy away from this one. It's worth a read and you might love it (many have). But it wasn't my cup of tea.

Lynn Austin is one of those authors who crafts a unique story that draws you in. Here we follow sisters Flora and Rebecca over the span of years from their teen years to their 50-60s. It is set from 1850 – 1890 when women were expected to marry well and have children. These two independent souls defied convention to follow their God-led paths. Blessed with financial means, the sisters had a life’s calling to help others with their difficult circumstances and to make sure that the history of the Bible is protected. We also meet teenagers Soren and Kate who come into the care of Flora and Rebecca after difficulties of living on the streets.]
For those who have finished the book – wasn’t the wedding scene quite a hoot?
The author’s notes at the end of the book relay that she wrote about the Smith sisters who preserved ancient manuscripts. She took liberties with the Chicago setting and other details, but the idea behind the travelling sisters came from a slice of history.

The story starts in 1890 in the midst of a Sinai Desert windstorm that threatens to rip apart sisters Rebecca and Flora Hawes’ canvas tent. The middle-aged ladies, along with their recalcitrant ladies’ maid and taciturn (and very young) butler, have left luxury and civilization on a quest to an ancient monastery.

Austin weaves a rich tapestry of history, adventure, and pathos into a book that readers won’t want to put down. Will the sisters survive the night? What exactly do they seek at the monastery and why do they travel alone (highly unusual for the Victorian era).

Through the use of flashbacks and multiple points of view, Austin brings together the threads that chronical the colorful lives of two extraordinary women. She also raises the question of what does God require of us and how can we please him with our ordinary lives.

The non-traditional lives and romances of Rebecca and Flora will delight readers. As the sisters live out their lives in search of God’s calling, readers will cheer them on as they buck the status quo of their era. Once again, Austin has written a keeper (although, you’ll want to share it, too!).

Where We Belong is set in the 19th Century and focuses on the lives of two socialite sisters (not by today’s definition) who are eager to live beyond social dictates. Having lost his wife while the girls were still infants, Mr Hawes did not spare any expense in raising his daughters, Rebecca and Flora with the best things in life. But as they come into their own, they are keen on exploring the world and locating a Biblical manuscript. Along the way, they encounter Soren Petersen and Kate Rafferty who accompany them to Egypt to locate this manuscript but all four of them are each battling with ghosts from their pasts.

I loved that Austin created strong female characters in Rebecca, Flora and Kate in the way that they addressed pressing gender issues of the day: financial independence, education and marriage. She also did not shy away from addressing fundamental and highly controversial Christian beliefs such as the case for creation. Though I found Rebecca was not was as flawed as the other characters and was always keeping others in check which I mentally ruled out as the first-born syndrome since she had to be the responsible elder sister.

Ms Austin was inspired by the true story of twin Scottish sisters of Agnes and Margaret Smith born in 1843 who used their privileged background to self-educate and went on to contribute to historical findings. They were able to become remarkable scholars in an era when advanced degrees were not available to women.

The fictional and real characters gave me a lot to chew on. One phrase that stuck with me that Ms Austin borrowed from the Smith Twins’ motto: God knows when the end of our days will be. We have nothing to fear. For the sisters, they knew that where they belonged was within God’s will so they could focus on living their lives well despite societal pressures of settling down. This book would be a great conversation opener or a book club read on Biblical womanhood and its relevance for the times that we live in.

Where We Belong is a story where you have two sisters and the teenager they took in the off the streets, whom they are trying to turn around, and their 19-year-old Butler. Rebecca fell in love with the Professor and he her but she won't marry him unless he straightens everyone out on the trip or she will stays there like her sister for the rest of her life . This journey is to see Jesus this site are so very important to them. They are such a journey, you just won't believe it. There is much adventure on this trip . Will it work out for Rebecca? Will she be able to marry her professor or be a spinster for the rest of her life ?

Where We Belong, by Lynn Austin, is the narrative of two wealthy Chicago sisters, Rebecca Hawes and Flora Merriday, who find God's purpose for their lives, one exotic journey at a time. We are treated to enticing slices of life as we take part with the characters in the Chicago fire, over crowded orphanages in late 1800's, and Arabian culture surrounding sheiks.

The sisters are confronted with many trying circumstances. However, one of them is sure to remind the other to trust in the Lord and His faithfulness to deliver them from their problems. This is very inspirational. If God can help the Hawes sisters in their extreme predicaments,surelyHe can help any of us in any difficulty in which we may find ourselves.

The book is very informative; sometimes it is just a little bogged down by author's efforts to explain the gospel or theology.

Quotable: "This is where we belong, isn’t it? On the path that leads to serving God? Isn’t that the essence of faith—walking forward, trusting what you can’t see?”

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This in no way influenced my opinions of the book, for which I am solely responsible.

[Note:  This book was provided free of charge by Bethany House Publishers.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

I really wanted to like this book, but the author [1] ultimately made it impossible for me to do so.  First, there is the matter of the main characters of this book, a pair of wealthy and pampered women of the liberal set who believe that being rich and reasonably attractive and extremely bright and also devoted to community service absolve them from the need to be honest or likable people.  It is hard to remember ever reading about two more insufferable Mary Sues in my experience reading literature.  Then there are the side characters, some predictably gold-digging suitors related to the woman who narrowly avoided becoming their horrible stepmother, a sheikh obsessed with having a son, a penniless professor who ends up marrying one of the sisters, a young orphan whose abuse at an orphanage leads him to risk an attempted murder rap to try to get back at the man who separated him from his half-brother, and an unlikable thief who ends up being a rape victim--rather predictably so, unfortunately.  The end result is a paint-by-numbers novel that ends happily and hopes that the reader overlooks all of the unpleasant business that led to the denouement.

As a novel, this one is nearly 300 pages in the version I read and thankfully it was not too long of a novel.  It was, unfortunately, not very pleasant to read.  Admittedly, the author is clearly polished and knows how to structure her novel with multiple pov characters, and plenty of action.  There is suspense, there is the way that the novel at least is based on reality, even if it reads like a failed pitch for a Lifetime movie.  So if this was not a novel I enjoyed reading all that much, it was at least the work of someone who is competent in some aspects of writing, and who clearly is writing for an audience--specifically an audience of women who claim a belief in the Bible, have a high degree of romantic inclination, and who are not particular about godly practice in the service of liberal and humanitarian aims.  Unfortunately, I am not this book's intended audience, even if I can recognize that the novel has a certain amount of excitement and allure in its treatment of the Civil War, the dangers of traveling in the 19th century Middle East, the excitement of reading about liberated female protagonists, and the drama of the Chicago fire of 1871, all of which find their way being used as grist for this novel's message.

Unfortunately, while this book is not a complete waste of time or a completely incompetent novel, it ultimately has too many strikes against it to make it a novel I enjoyed reading or could recommend to others.  Not only does it have two main characters who are very difficult to like because the novelist seems to view them as basically ideal women and overlooks their many lapses in decorum and kindness towards others whom they deem to be greedy or somehow unworthy of their sympathy, as well as an uneven host of supporting characters who range from the fairly likable Soren to the extremely irritating Kate.  On top of the cliched characterization--it is especially offensive that I was able to tell from Kate's original feistiness and difficulty getting along with and trusting others that she had been sexually abused from her introduction as a character--the author also manages to offend the reader by calling the Civil War "The War Between The States," which is something that would only be done by a neo-Confederate or someone especially idiotic about history.  One would hope that someone who makes her living writing historical novels would not be that ignorant about history.  At any rate, if this is the best the author has to offer, maybe she should stop writing until she can write about characters a reader is going to care about in a positive way.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2015/10/28/book-review-on-this-foundation/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2014/10/21/book-review-keepers-of-the-covenant/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/03/27/book-review-miriams-well/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2012/04/02/book-review-zoheleth/

Another great read by Lynn Austin! Two very wealthy sister live their lives for God and show his love in everything they do. Lynn's books always have great stories with great teaching without being preachy.

Where We Belong by Lynn Austin is a marvellous Christian historical novel that I could not get enough of. It is based on fact. Lynn Austin has woven a fabulous tale that educates, informs and entertains.
The novel alternates between 1890 and 1860 moving forwards. The action is seen from four different viewpoints, with the result that the reader becomes intimately acquainted with the main characters. We understand their motivations as they explode from 2D into glorious 3D Technicolour in our minds.
The leading ladies are sisters, fearless, forward thinking young women. Pioneers of their time. Their hearts and lives are fully focused on Jesus. They present themselves as His hands and feet to a hurting world. "The Almighty has given us so much, and I have to try to make a difference." Their riches are not their possessions, their riches are their faith in God. "God gives us wealth so we can use it to build His kingdom, not our own."
A heart for the poor leads the sisters into some scrapes that both horrify and bring applause from the reader.
A social conscience and a heart for the lost and the hurting propel the sisters into action. "Someone had to try to reach these young people before they were lost forever."
There is an appetite for learning. Learning brings freedom and choice. The sisters risk isolation as they are not content with being social butterflies. With a desire to be educated, they risk being shunned by polite society which views educated women as 'bluestockings' and not attractive to men. Men at that time wanted subservient women. Women were expected to make marriage alliances for wealth rather than for love.
The novel has the themes of forgiveness and new life. We need to forgive and be forgiven because God tells us to. No one is ever too bad for God's family. We are all accepted by grace. We cannot earn it. We cannot lose it. Grace is a free gift. As we come to God, He gives us new life and a new name. Name changes in the story are important as they signify new beginnings.
There is a huge element of faith in the novel. "Trust Him and wait." There is a belief that God has a purpose for each and every one of us. We need to seek our purpose in Him. "She had found her purpose at last."
So strong is their faith, that no matter what happens the sisters put their trust in God. The reader is reminded of Daniel and the fiery furnace - our God will deliver us but even if He doesn't, we will still trust Him. Praise Him in the good and the bad. Have an attitude of worship at all times.
The reader travels from Chicago to London to Paris, Italy, Cambridge, the Holy Land - all from the confines of their sofa. We 'experience' historical events and see how ordinary lives are impacted.
Where We Belong was one of the best novels I have ever read - and I have read a lot! I was educated, entertained and inspired. I cannot wait to read more by the marvellous Lynn Austin.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

Where We Belong starts in 1890, in the Sinai Desert, with forty-five year-old Rebecca Hawes traveling to St Catherine’s Monastery to search for ancient copies of the Bible. It’s a start that hooked me immediately, both because of the historical setting, and because of the age of the heroine—it’s refreshing to read a novel where the heroine is out of her twenties.

I was also intrigued because I could relate to Rebecca’s thoughts about the desolate nature of the Sinai between Cairo and St Catherines. Her journey took seven days by camel. In comparison, mine took seven hours by minibus, but that was quite long enough to feel for the stubborn Israelites, condemned to spend forty years in the heat and dust.

It's one thing to learn a language and another thing to understand the people who speak it.But then Where We Belong left the Sinai in 1890, and travelled back to 1860 Chicago—and I wasn’t impressed. It was still Rebecca’s story, but now Rebecca was a pampered teenager in the days before the Civil War (which I knew was coming, even though she didn’t). Fortunately, it soon became apparent that Rebecca was no ordinary Victorian-era teenager, and nor was her sister, Flora.

The novel followed Rebecca and Flora from their teenage years in Chicago through to showing why they are travelling to the Sinai in 1890 with only a couple of young servants for protection. The most fascinating thing is that Rebecca and Flora are based on real-life adventurers, Agnes and Margaret Smith, born in Scotland in 1843.

This explains one of the strengths of the novel—the feeling of historical authenticity that can only be gained by extensive research (and then leaving out most of the detail of that research). The other strength was related, and that was the Christian element. Rebecca and Flora (like the real-life Agnes and Margaret) were women of deep faith. They were intelligent women who had the strength of character to choose to follow God, not society, and who had endless compassion for the poor.

Lynn Austin has yet to write a novel I haven’t enjoyed, but I do think this is her best yet. Recommended for Christian historical fiction fans, especially those who enjoy authors such as Elizabeth Camden and Jody Hedlund.

I’m a history fan, and I loved it from the first line to the last. (I don’t think I stopped in between). Even better, a recent article from the Smithsonian shows new manuscripts are still being discovered at St Catherine’s:

Lost Languages Discovered in One of the World’s Oldest Continuously Run Libraries

Isn’t that cool?
Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

What an inspiring read! This book excited my wanderlust, my love of history, and my love of apologetics, and it reminded me that even when you feel like a misfit for the society you were born into—in fact, even when you’re TOLD you’re a misfit for the society you were born into—God has a purpose for your life, if you only have the faith and courage to pursue it.

Sisters Rebecca and Flora most certainly had the faith and the courage! They firmly believe that ‘To whom much has been given, much will be required’ and they have spent their lives living out this belief. Flora has devoted herself to caring for society’s less fortunate, particularly establishing and teaching in local Sunday Schools so that children who are forced to work from a young age get the benefit of an education AND hearing the gospel. Rebecca firmly believes God’s purpose for her is searching for lost biblical documents and writing books that counter the faulty teaching of so-called scientists like Charles Darwin. It’s a purpose well served by her incurable thirst for adventure!

At the opening of this novel, all of these aspects of Rebecca’s life have converged into a very personal quest to convince the man she loves that God is real. Hence she and Flora are making their way across the Sinai Desert in order to locate Biblical documents that will prove the reliability of the Bible to Rebecca’s beloved skeptic. How’s that for commitment?! But as important as this journey is, it actually constitutes the smaller part of this book.

The larger part looks back over the sisters’ lives, starting in their teens and filling in the thirty years that have led them to this point, initially from Rebecca’s point of view (the first third of the novel) and then from Flora’s (the second third of the novel). The final third of the novel fills in the background story for their two companions on the journey: Soren Petersen (an orphaned teen they have taken in as a butler) and Kate Rafferty (a street urchin they took in to train as a lady’s maid after she tried to steal from them). While this may sound like a disjointed way to present their story, there was a very logical flow to the narrative, and it wasn’t long before I was completely hooked into the story and following Rebecca and Flora’s experiences, both past and present, with avid interest.

At least part of my interest was because I could so easily relate to Rebecca in particular. I’m a total bluestocking, and I often felt out of place for it when I was growing up (and sometimes still do). But it was also inspiring to watch these sisters apply their faith at each stage of their lives, both in the little things and in the life-altering ones.

If you're already a fan of Lynn Austin's writing, you likely need no encouragement to pick up this book, but if you haven't yet discovered her gift for weaving a compelling, faith-filled story, then this is a great place to start.

Open the cover and fall into the Sinia Desert, feel the sand beneath your feet, the sun beating down on your head, the sway of the camel. Step fully into the past as you become friends with Flora and Rebecca and journey with them from Chicago to the holy land. This is a wonderful book of sisters, friendship, and adventure that draws you along with the sisters as they seek for their purpose.

Very enjoyable story! It's always nice to read historical fiction based on real people. The sisters were a fascinating pair of ladies. They certainly had a way of getting their own way in their adventures. It's fun to read how the girls exasperated the uppity people around them. The message of faith and love shone throughout. I liked the way the author divided the book so that each of the main characters had their own voice and could share both past and present information. Highly recommended!

Where We Belong

by Lynn Austin

Bethany House

Bethany House Publishers



Christian

Pub Date 03 Oct 2017

I am reviewing of Where We Belong through Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley:

Chicago 1892, the rules for Victorian Women are free. Rebecca and Flora Hayes are definitely not typical Victorian ladies though. They have a love for adventure and a passion for God that has lead them into a sandstorm in the Sinai Desert.

Rebecca and Flora have travelled the world.

The sisters are accompanied by their young butler Soren Petersen, and Kate Rafferty a former street urchin who is learning to be the sisters lady maid while the sisters go on the hunt for an ancient Biblical Manuscript.

Will these adventurous sisters, ahead of their time, find what they are searching for? Find out in Where We Belong!

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

It’s hard to part ways with a beloved author. However, considering the experience I had reading Ms. Austin’s previous book (Waves of Mercy) and after finishing Where We Belong I’ve realized I will not be reading her future works. While her backlist has afforded me much joy, these latest novels have convinced me that we are no longer compatible.

Rebecca Hawes is a wealthy, privileged young lady who chafes against the restrictions placed upon her by society. She finds clothes, boys and the things other young girls are interested in beneath her. She has no patience for others who don’t share her intellectual pursuits and she has little tolerance for those who aren’t interested in travel. As our story begins, Rebecca gives vent to her adventurous spirit by talking her sister Flora into skipping school and exploring the city of Chicago. During their day off, they find out the cost of traveling about Europe and present it in a report to their widowed father. My kids would have found their thirst for such clandestine activity rewarded with manual labor and a firm grounding but their father is more open minded about such things and rewards the girls with a French tutor and a summer abroad.

On the journey home aboard an elegant ocean liner they meet a destitute widow whom they fear has designs on dear old dad. The lady lives in Chicago and insists on pursuing the relationship once they return to dry land. Rebecca soothes her worries by once more insisting on exploring rather than attending school. This time she drags Flora to the tenements of the Irish immigrants where they buy apples for the street children and Rebecca begins a campaign against the local factory which employs some of those urchins. This time, the report they present to their father is about the evils of child labor, the plight of the immigrants and other such wrongs in the world. And this time their father reacts a bit more normally. He asks the widow, Mrs. Worthington, to step in and help his staff supervise the young ladies more closely and also to take an active hand in guiding the girls’ conduct in order to help them comport themselves in a more appropriate manner. There are lessons in dress, manners and etiquette but of course Rebecca holds this all in deep contempt. Her interests, presented as clearly superior, include disdaining Charles Darwin and ungodly evolutionists and researching and proving biblical history. A marriage between their father and Mrs. Worthington now seems inevitable but fortunately tragedy strikes.

Their father dies unexpectedly and Rebecca celebrates buries her grief by dragging her sister on another trip, choosing the Middle East for their latest excursion. Here they encounter love in very different ways. Flora falls for a British scholar determined to research the history of the bible and Rebecca falls in love with biblical archeology. It is this trip that sets the course for the ladies’ lives throughout the many years this book covers.

While the prose is good and the story coherent, my struggles with this book were legion. The largest problem I had was that I felt like I was being told about the story rather than reading the actual tale. For example, there is no heart or heat in the portion of the book where Flora “fell in love” with Edmund. Her reasons – infinitely practical – are that he is a Christian, is as interested in schools that taught the gospel alongside reading and writing as she is, and he will allow her the financial freedom to do as she pleases with her vast wealth. Those are all valid points but possibly hundreds of men would meet that standard. I never got why she loved him.

A few other issues I had concern that vast wealth. I’m married to an accountant, I know how much time the management of investments takes and yet Flora handles huge amounts of money with little input of time or effort. That just isn’t possible unless she is relying solely on others to supervise her investments, but the book implies that’s not the case. Also, at a time when most means of earning great chunks of money involved the exploitation of the lower class, how was Flora able to carefully conduct her business so that her wealth wasn’t involved in firms that did that? Additionally, I was confused as to how much of that wealth was being spent on charity and how much was being kept. Typically, I wouldn’t care but since this book was so very judgmental of those who did not use their wealth in a meaningful way and folks who took advantage of working men and women, I felt it would have been relevant to address this.

Another problem was with how the characters are established. For each of them, we learn their lives almost exclusively from their faith perspective. The majority of conversations center around God or theological issues. Having attended church and bible study my entire life, which has spanned more decades than I care to admit to, I can assure you most Christians do not behave in this manner. Not only do we have the same practical conversations as other people, but the vast majority of our conversations mention faith in a much more natural way. The intense debates about evolution, biblical historicity, and theology aren’t in the least typical even in a church environment, much less in a home or social one. Added to that, by showing us only such limited aspects of the sisters the author failed to establish their personalities in any substantial way. They were more like allegorical characters than fictional ones, lacking the depth that would move them beyond caricature.

I struggled with the history of the tale as well. The current American evangelical movement – for which these characters served as a mouthpiece – espouses extra biblical doctrines which would have been the antithesis of what the vast majority of Christians at that time would have believed. For characters that speak so often about God and church I found it hard to reconcile the lack of historically accurate beliefs with their acceptance into a faith community. Also, that faith community is never clearly defined, which is another point of confusion for me. Given their charity work and schools, things which are typically done at and through church locations, their affiliation with a religious establishment should have been clear. I think this is because the real people the characters were based on were Presbyterian and were “affectionately affiliated” with the Greek Orthodox church and neither group would be popular with non-denominational evangelicals. I could also write an entire paper on the bad theology used here.

Like other fiction, Inspirational fiction books are stories. The adventure, the romance, the mystery – whatever the purpose of the narrative – should still be front and center to the tale being told. That isn’t the case with Where We Belong. Full of bad theology, questionable use of the scriptures and caricatures rather than characters, I would recommend readers avoid it and instead perhaps check out Ms. Austin’s older works.

Beautifully different!

Anchored in historical fact, this is the story of two sisters in the mid to late 1800s who are strong, intelligent and independent. Their mother died so they are raised by their father who is intelligent, no-frill and has built a fortune through good investments. The two girls are easily bored in school and set out on adventures that include travel to Europe – itineraries their father lets them plan themselves. Throughout they are completely grounded in Christianity and the desire to follow God’s plan for their lives.

Their adventures start at home in Chicago and become widespread including Egypt and the holy land. It’s a pleasure to learn more about the sisters and what they will do next, unselfishly sharing their wealth and caring for others as well as unearthing archeological treasures. The sisters made a significant contribution to the world with these discoveries. They get into some dangerous situations, but their strong faith sees them through each one. Nothing boring here!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Bethany House Publishers - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.