To Honor and Trust
This inspirational romance is aimed at a conservative Christian readership who appreciates a gentle love story with few surprises and a strong emphasis, on the part of the protagonists, on following God’s will in their lives. It is set on the fictional Bridal Veil resort island in Georgia in 1913, and although there are some references to current events, the romantic and spiritual elements, rather than the historical setting, take center stage.
Callie is a governess trying to choose between several options for her life, including continuing in her privileged position as a tutor who is treated like a family friend or joining her parents in Africa as a missionary. Wesley is the son of a wealthy family unsure of his own path through life, to the point that he is willing to work as a golf pro for the winter season—thus paving the way for Callie’s misunderstanding of his identity.
An insubstantial plot is contrived to throw obstacles in the path of true love, but the plot lines are too predictable to offer much entertainment. At times the action looks promising—a mysterious nanny and a family argument near the end of the novel spring to mind—but these developments fall flat due to the characters’ tendency to do the right thing and conform to a worldview that has more to do with pious hope than reality. Overall, an unexciting read.
