A Wedding Invitation by Alice J. Wisler
Since her return from teaching in a refugee camp located in the Philippines, Samantha has been living a quiet, lonely life working at her mother’s boutique near the capital. A string of encounters ends with her face to face with the student she falsely accused and the man who broke her heart. She has a lot of choices to make.
With a past full of disappointment, a present with loneliness, and a future with question marks, Samantha’s character has many challenges to overcome over the course of the novel. Some of the issues seem to be glossed over in order to focus on the romance, a tangled web in itself.
Speaking of the romance, my feelings towards it were mixed. I spent a rather large portion of the book wondering whether I really wanted the characters to get together. Instead, the majority of my time was spent thinking about whether Samantha and Carson would be good for each other. It intrigued me, but I wasn’t rooting for it to happen.
Although I didn’t know it from reading the official summary, this book is set in 1993 with flashbacks to 1985. The details in the flashbacks are historically accurate and help paint an appropriate picture of the Vietnamese refugee camps, not a surprise since Alice J. Wisler actually did work in such camps during the time period. However, in the 1993 portions of the book, there were not enough things to make the era distinct, other than an offhand reference to Princess Diana.
This book lacks a clear focus. Although Samantha is undeniably the main character, a lot of time is spent on secondary characters. Just enough to get to know the reasoning behind their actions, without the opportunity to feel as if I really knew them. In the end, the forays into the secondary characters’ pasts served only to distract from Samantha’s story.
A Wedding invitation tends to stumble over itself and is a bit awkward. While Samantha’s experience in the refugee camp, as well as the overarching romance perked my interest, it wasn’t enough to endear the book to me.
This book was received for review from Bethany House .
2012 Blogging Goals
I’ve spent considerable time thinking about what I want to do with the Melanie’s Musings in 2012, especially because of the burnout that hit me during the latter part of 2011. Here’s what I came up with:
Blogging Goals
- Write one guest post a month*
- Write 12 movie reviews this year*
- Post one interview with an author/blogger/etc. each month*
- Let no more than 2 weeks go without a giveaway of some sort
- Keep up to date (but don’t freak out) about stats
- Host 12 guest posts this year*
Beyond the blog
- Use Goodreads- A social media site full of readers. Hello target audience.
- Figure out a focus for my Tumblr. It currently flounders.
- Comment back- This one is fun.
What’s your number one blogging goal this year?
*at least
Downton Abbey Highlights, Season 2, Episode 3
Sunday’s episode of Downton Abbey was the best of the season so far. There was movement in romantic relationships (finally!), tension from the war, and household changes, all leading to much excitement.
Here are my Highlights:
The Household
The tension between Cora and Isobel comes to a head, ending with Isobel moving to work with the Red Cross in France. Where is Matthew to play diplomat when you need him?
After Isobel leaves, her servants feel as if there’s nothing to do. When an injured soldier comes to the kitchen to ask for food, they initially rebuff him but then give him something to eat. Before they know it, they become a soup kitchen for injured and down on their luck soldiers, once a week. Mrs. Patmore and Daisy come across this when they take a trip into town and soon Mrs. Patmore begins to bring food from Downton. Mrs. O’Brien sees this and goes to Cora, attempting to accuse Mrs. Patmore of stealing food. Cora decides to investigate, and she ends up approving and even helps serve the food! O’Brien is made to help as well. Oh, the irony.
Grantham soon hears of Bates return to the area and goes to apologize to him. Grantham is such a good man. He offers Bates his old job back as valet, which Bates gladly agrees too. Most of the people are glad for Bates return, except for O’Brien and Thomas. They still hold a grudge. And Mosley, who was hoping to become Grantham’s valet. Anna’s glad to see him to of course. They’re still waiting. Still. These two poor people.
The War
Grantham was successful in getting William to be Matthew’s servant. They end up going missing for days and everyone worries the worst has happened. Through this, everyone really realizes how much Matthew has become part of the family. It’s touching and sweet, yet also heart wrenching, wondering if he and William have died.
The Romance
Sybil and Branson are talking (again!). Branson bravely declares he’ll stay at Downton until Sybil is ready to run away with him. Then Mary walks up and arranges to use the car. She’s immediately suspicious and later asks Sybil what’s going on. As the episode progresses, Sybil confesses to Mary that she and Branson have been talking. Mary, acting very much like a strict older sister, orders Sybil to put a stop to it. She threatens to tell Grantham. Sybil acqieses. Later that night, she tells Branson what she’s done, yet instead of being mad, he’s glad! He says it’s the first time he’s ever heard Sybil speak of “us.” Yet Sybil finally gets around to saying what she’s afraid of, leaving the only home and family she’s ever known. I’ve been waiting all season for her to admit to her fears.
Shock Value
I was so, so pleased with this week’s episode. It moved so quickly, I was surprised a full hour had gone by.
Sarah’s off at ALA this week. I can’t wait to chat with her about next week’s episode, which will be right here on Melanie’s Musings.