The Messenger by Siri Mitchell

About The Messenger by Siri Mitchell:

Hannah Sunderland felt content in her embrace of the Quaker faith

...until her twin brother ran off and joined the army and ended up captured and in jail. Suddenly Hannah's world turns on end. She longs to bring her brother some measure of comfort in the squalid, frigid prison where he remains. But the Quakers believe they are not to take sides, not to take up arms. Can she sit by and do nothing while he suffers?

Jeremiah Jones has an enormous task before him. Responsibility for a spy ring is now his, and he desperately needs access to the men in prison, whom they are seeking to free. A possible solution is to garner a pass for Hannah. But while she is fine to the eye, she holds only disdain for him--and agreeing would mean disobeying those she loves and abandoning a bedrock of her faith.

With skill and sensitivity, Mitchell tells a story of two unlikely heroes seeking God's voice, finding the courage to act, and discovering the powerful embrace of love.

My Review:

3 STARS

When reading one of Siri Mitchell’s books you expect to not only fall in love with the characters but also learn some things along the way.  She has such a way of weaving historical facts and believable characters in to a true love story that captures your mind and heart.

That being said, The Messenger is not even close to being my favorite book written by Siri Mitchell.  Maybe I wasn’t as invested in the concept of Hannah being a Quaker spy as I should have been but it took my quite a long time to read this book and get involved.  Most of the reason I didn’t really connect with this story was because of the character of Hannah.  She is a Quaker and believes she should never speak a lie, not even to save her own life or any others.  It wasn’t really that fact that was weird; it was how judgmental and annoying she was about it all.  For some reason she just rubbed me the wrong way.  But I have to admit that about 2/3 of the way through the book, she grew on me and by the end I loved her.  I loved her for when she stood up for what she believed in and held to her own.  She is passionate and stubborn, which makes her realistic, yet annoying at times!

Jeremiah was my favorite character of this book.  He is doubtful, careless and little bitter and that serves to show great growth as the story moves along.  You see him learning the truth of who is and what he believes in and it is a fun ride to see Jeremiah develop in to a lovable character!

This story is about these two complete opposite characters that somehow find each other to face the injustice of what is happening with the prisoners and war.  They clash at first and don’t have many similar beliefs but as the story develops they strengthen each other, and learn to trust each other with their very lives.  The romance isn’t over the top swoon worthy but it’s believable to the story and understandably sweet!

Like I said earlier, I didn’t really love this book but I didn’t dislike it either.  It was very well written and opened my eyes to some things I had never heard about before and for that I’m glad I read it! If you are a historical fan of the Revolutionary War, spies, and the struggles the citizens faced then this is a must read for you!

Thank you to Bethany House for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my personal and honest review and opinion.  All opinions are my own.

About Siri Mitchell:

Siri Mitchell graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she has lived all over the world, including Paris and Tokyo. Siri enjoys observing and learning from different cultures. She is fluent in French and loves sushi.

But she is also a member of a strange breed of people called novelists. When they’re listening to a speaker and taking notes, chances are, they’ve just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If they nod in response to a really profound statement, they’re probably thinking, “Yes. Right. That’s exactly what my character needs to hear.” When they edit their manuscripts, they laugh at the funny parts. And cry at the sad parts. Sometimes they even talk to their characters.

Siri wrote 4 books and accumulated 153 rejections before signing with a publisher. In the process, she saw the bottoms of more pints of Ben & Jerry’s than she cares to admit. At various times she has vowed never to write another word again. Ever. She has gone on writing strikes and even stooped to threatening her manuscripts with the shredder.

Her ninth novel, A Heart Most Worthy, follows prior Bethany House releases: A Constant Heart (October 2008), Love's Pursuit (June 2009), and She Walks in Beauty (Apr 2010). She Walks in Beauty won the inaugural INSPY Award for Historical Fiction in Dec 2010. Two of her novels, Chateau of Echoes and The Cubicle Next Door were Christy Award finalists. Love's Pursuit was a finalist for the ACFW Carol Award.