Knowing that she must leave the falsehoods of the Mormon faith and return to the Christian teachings of her childhood, Camilla flees her husband and two young daughters as the US is on the brink of war with Utah and the Mormon church. Intending to seek refuge with her sister-in-law, she is stranded in the cold and faces the dangers of frostbite. Thanks to a compassionate Army officer, Camilla gains a safe haven to plot her next move and recover. After several convincing arguments, she persuades Colonel Brandon to take her to Salt Lake City so she may beg housing from her relatives. After having the door slam in her face, she resigns herself to staying with the one woman that won't turn her away--Sister Evangeline. This charity does not come without a price, however, and betrayal becomes the next foe she must face.
With a contrast so stark you could touch it, Allison Pittman has masterfully created a character in this novel that has grown from her impetuous youth into a woman of considerable grace and strength. With the entire story told in first-person point of view, Camilla's thoughts and emotions were completely transparent, and as a reader, I could identify with her longings to give herself completely over to God and His plan for her life. Compared to the previous novel, For Time and Eternity, Forsaking All Others was less about the strange teachings of the early Mormon church, and more about the journey Camilla took both spiritually and physically. There were times when I wanted to weep for the heartache that Camilla was experiencing, and alternately, I wanted to rejoice in the hope that her future was going to be better than her past.
While probably a strange backdrop for some fans of Christian fiction, The Sister Wife Series shares something that is indeed a part of early American history. Sadly, many were deceived by it's teachings and the enthusiasm of it's members. I applaud Allison for tastefully creating a fascinating story that I will not soon forget. Highly recommended!
5 Stars
Southern? No
Sass? No
**Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of Forsaking All Others for review.
**Click here to read my review of book 1, For Time and Eternity.
**For more info about Allison and The Sister Wife Series, please visit her website.
I'll have to check out this book! When I first saw the blurb about this on Twitter, I thought you might be referring to Diane Noble's series on Sister Wives. I've only read the first book in that series but really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteDiane's series is great, too! Like you, I've only read the first book, but she has another stand-alone book that she wrote over 10 years ago called The Veil. It was re-released a few years ago by Waterbrook. Wonderful story!
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