The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep
This has been one of the hardest reviews I’ve ever written and thus will be a little different than normal.
I have been a long-time fanatical fan of Michelle Griep and couldn’t wait to read this book. However, when I received it, I discovered she’d changed up her writing style, which for most people doesn’t matter, but for me made it impossible to fully enjoy. The heroine is written in first person present. I struggle with first-person in general, add in the present tense, and no matter how many times I tried, I couldn’t sink into the story. I spent several months revisiting and retrying, but in the end, I just gave up.
If first person present doesn’t bother you, this story will be another one of Michelle Griep’s great reads. Her depth of character, storyline, and spiritual aspect seemed spot on. (I did skim through the story to get an idea of the plot and understand all the praise that was being given for it.) I will always recommend Michelle Griep’s books, and she will remain my favorite author as far as her previous books go, and I will keep watching her new releases in hopes of the day she returns to the third person style I loved.
Because I bought an extra copy beside my ARC, I am doing a giveaway of the extra print copy so that you might have the chance to read the book and enjoy it. Just because it wasn’t my favorite doesn’t mean you won’t love it. 🙂 To enter, you must be a contiguous United States resident, leave a comment here on the blog (see the question below), and provide your email. I recommend using this format: name (at) someplace (dot) com. This giveaway will end Sunday, September 13th at midnight Eastern Standard Time. Winner will be announced on Tuesday’s blog post and contacted by email. 🙂
I apologize to my international readers, I promise another give away will be coming soon that will open to you as well.
ANSWER: What has been your favorite read this year? (Don’t forget to include your email.)
The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep
What Can a London Opera Star and an Escaped Dartmoor Prisoner Have in Common?
Opera star Maggie Lee escapes her opulent lifestyle when threatened by a powerful politician who aims to ruin her life. She runs off to the wilds of the moors to live in anonymity. All that changes the day she discovers a half-dead man near her house. Escaped convict Oliver Ward is on the run to prove his innocence, until he gets hurt and is taken in by Maggie. He discovers some jewels in her possession—the very same jewels that got him convicted. Together they hatch a plan to return the jewels, clearing Oliver’s name and hopefully maintaining Maggie’s anonymity.
I haven’t been able to read as much this year ((mom of littles, here 🙋🏻♀️)), but one of my favorite reads so far is one that I’m not even finished with, yet! It is called “A Basket of Summer Fruit” and it is a compilation of writings from Susannah Spurgeon, wife of “The Prince of Preachers,” Charles Spurgeon. She wrote these after her beloved husband had passed away, but her love for Christ never wavered! I would recommend it to anyone, but especially fellow Pastor’s wives. ❤
Michelle Griep is one of my all-time favorite authors, as well. I’m not a huge fan of first person, especially in the present-tense, so I would love to read this new release and see how I like it! I appreciate your kind and honest review. Thank you for this giveaway!
Email: casey (dot) elaine (at) Hotmail (dot) com
Thanks, Casey! And I’m a huge fan of Charles Spurgeon so I’ll have to check that out! Praying for you and your littles. 🙂
Hi Crystal, I have never read one of Michelle Grier’s books, but I actually love 1st person (present or past) POV, so I will definitely add this title on Goodreads. This year has been a crazy one, so most of my favorite titles have been audiobooks. One nonfiction I enjoyed was The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes. I have also been listening to all of Bob Goff’s books (read by the author) before I read his new one, Dream Big. I hope you share some of your favorites for the year! Thanks for the giveaway. (the bishop family 6 at gmail dot com)
Thanks for sharing, Nicki, and I think you’ll love this story if you are a fan of 1st person. I’ve done a mix of audio and print this year, and it has definitely been a crazy year for reading. So far my favorites have been Erica Vetsch’s Regency releases (The Gentleman Spy is my favorite), Amanda Cox’s debut The Edge of Belonging (review coming eventually LOL), The Spice King, and one by Kristy Ann Hunter (A Return of Devotion). Looks like I’ve been on a Regency kick this year. LOL My TBR pile is huge though so we’ll see what the rest of the year brings.
I enjoy first person, if it’s done correctly. It allows me to live the story in real life (almost) in a way that third person doesn’t. I’m right in the MC’s mind, I see through his (or her) eyes, I feel their pain, their joy, their reactions. Try reading “The Mountain Between” or “When Crickets Cry” by Charles Martin and you’ll see what I mean. I suppose personality enters into all of this. I enjoy digging into someone’s mind to see what makes them tick. I wrote an expository on Ecclesiastes once. I think Ecclesiastes gives an insight into Solomon’s mind that third person can’t quite do. But I’ve discovered that a lot of people like to take that step back and watch from a distance. 🙂
PS: I won’t bother with my email address since I’m one of the poor cousins living beyond the tracks. I’ll watch the online libraries in hopes they start posting her books.
Normally I work through Book Depository if I didn’t already own the book to mail. :-/ Sorry for this time, but I understand what you mean by diving deep into the character’s minds. I’m just weird and don’t think first-person even in my own mind.
No, not weird, just different :). [I’m still trying to decide who a person can have a third person mind. Are first person people more self centered?] This incident does show that it can be precarious for an author to make a major style change mid-career. More of her audience will struggle with that. On the other hand, some of the rest of us may like the change and come on board with her. It would be interesting to hear her take on the whole thing. I wonder what prompted the change. I’ve been experimenting with first person in a project I’m doing for relaxation. Chances are it’ll never be published. But I do feel at home writing from that perspective. It’s almost as if I were living the story myself and telling it to a friend.