The Bride of Thistleloch Castle

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The Sisters Book Challenge has taught me a few things about my previous reading habits.  On my own, I tend to shy away from classics, and the majority of the books I choose take place from the 1940s through the present day. In the list of ten books I gave to Kati, only two of them take place in an earlier time period:  Wonderland Creekby Lynn Austin which takes place during The Depression and Peter Pan which was written in 1911 (and is incidentally also a classic!).  

My sister Kati, on the other hand, reads classics and she reads from a variety of time periods. By reading the selections she chose for me, I've been stretched beyond my normal parameters.  That's a good thing because I've been exposed to authors I never would have chosen alone...and I'm enjoying books I would have never thought to try. 

The sixth book I picked from the list Kati gave me was Bride of Thistleloch Castleby Therese Stenzel. It takes place in the days of Scottish clan warfare.  Laren is an English woman who, by a series of tragic events out of her control, finds herself caught in the rivalry between two brutal Scottish clans, both of whom lay claim to her.  As she struggles to find a way back to her homeland, she must rely on the God she grew up believing has only a casual interest in the concerns of women. As her faith grows, Laren must reconcile her desires with what God desires for her. 

It took me a day or two to get into the story, perhaps because of my hesitation about the time period (old habits die hard), but as I went deeper into the adventure, the suspense,  and the love story, I found it hard to put down and I kept reading to find what would happen next. 

Do you ever read a books that are outside of your comfort zone? 

Next week, I'll share the list of books we've read aloud this summer and how my children are pushing me to read some things I never would have chosen on my own.