Faith * Love * Books: Wildwood Creek by Lisa Wingate

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Wildwood Creek by Lisa Wingate

Overview: With love and loss tangled together, how was she to know where her life would lead?

Allie Kirkland has always heard the call of her father's unfinished destiny. When she's offered a production assistant's job on a docudrama filming in the hills near Moses Lake, Texas, the dream of following in her director-father's footsteps suddenly seems within reach. The reenactment of the legendary frontier settlement of Wildwood is a first step into the film industry. A summer on set in the wilderness is a small price to pay for a dream.

But in 1861, the real Wildwood held dangerous realities. Town founder Harland Delavan held helpless residents, including young Irish schoolteacher Bonnie Rose, in an iron grip. Mysterious disappearances led to myths and legends still retold in the region's folk songs. Eventually, the entire site was found abandoned.

When filming begins, strange connections surface between Allie and the teacher who disappeared over a century ago, and everyone in Wildwood—including Blake Fulton, Allie's handsome neighbor on the film set—seems to be hiding secrets. Allie doesn't know whom she can trust. If she can't find the answers in time, history may repeat itself...with the most unthinkable results.

My Review: I absolutely loved how this book was written. Switching back and forth between Bonnie Rose and Allie Kirkland's point of view made the story more compelling. The mystery of what happened to Bonnie Rose was well written and captivating. The author chose her writing well because I did not want to put this book down.

The romance between Blake and Allie was downplayed, and I understand why. There were so many other, more important things going on in this book that the romance would have taken away from. It was clear that they would be a good fit for each other, so I'm glad the author didn't try to force the romance into the story.

I have mixed feelings about the character development, especially Allie. I feel like her journey of faith could have been played up a little more. There was a Christian theme to the book, but I feel it was a secondary theme to the mystery surrounding Wildwood Creek and Bonnie Rose. I would have liked to see that aspect developed a little more.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. Even though it is part of the Moses Lake series, this can absolutely be read as a stand alone novel. I look forward to reading more from this author.

*Thank you Bethany House for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

About the Author: Selected among BOOKLIST'S Top 10 of 2012 and Top 10 of 2013, Lisa Wingate skillfully weaves lyrical writing and unforgettable Southern settings with elements of women's fiction, history, and mystery to create stories that Publisher's Weekly calls "Masterful" and ForeWord Magazine refers to as "Filled with lyrical prose, hope, and healing.” Lisa is a journalist, an inspirational speaker, a reviewer for the New York Journal of Books, and the author of over over twenty novels and countless magazine pieces.

Her books have held positions on many bestseller lists, both in the U.S. and internationally. She is a seven-time ACFW Carol award nominee, a Christy Award nominee, an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, a Christianity Today Book Award nominee, an Inspy Award nominee, a two-time Carol Award winner, a LORIES Best Fiction Award winner, and a Utah Library Award winner. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.