Tag: love

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Counterfeit Love, by Crystal Caudill, 2022, Kregel Publications

Counterfeit love is worse than counterfeit money.

Cou;nterfeit Love
Counterfeit Love

Counterfeit love is an even worse farce than counterfeit money. It’s a crime against one’s own heart. Why would anyone do that? Perhaps for security?

Theresa finds she must question her motives and her heart when she realizes that the man she has promised to marry is not the man she truly loves. But the one she still loves has repeatedly told her there is no future for them. So, what’s a gal to do?

And WHY has God put her in this situation? If God truly loved her, would he have allowed her parents to die? And many more fates that befall her? Is there anyone at all she can trust? Must she fight all her battles alone? Can she still believe in God even if he continually seems to fail her?

Counterfeit money was common. If you need money, why not just print some?

This novel, on the surface, centers around counterfeit money–a real thing in 1884 Cincinnati, where the story takes place. Hidden danger and intrigue keep you flipping pages as characters escape one danger after another right to the end. But what really gets you pondering are the dangers of the heart.

And in case you didn’t take time while reading to consider such reflections, Crystal Caudill includes a list of discussion questions. They’d be perfect for a book club, or to sift through soul stuff during your own quiet meditations.

The writing

I love Crystal Caudill’s writer’s voice. It’s easy to follow and keeps the story moving. Her descriptions are unique, and she throws in good words, like ‘catarrh’ and ‘thwack’. “Catarrh or not, she could no longer delay the completion of her commissions.” “Something large thwacked her back…”

She appeals to animal lovers with Theresa’s odd menagerie, from Cordon Bleu the chicken to Tipsy the three-legged goat. However, though Theresa finds comfort in her animals, readers may not. I won’t give away spoilers by divulging their fate. It’s no worse, though, than the fate of some of the human characters. The story reads like a thriller movie. Verging briefly on horror before returning to scenes of tender, self-sacrificing protection between characters, and yes, even some swoony love scenes.

Crystal Caudill is a very personable author, who loves to connect with readers. Find out more about her and her writing at www.crystalcaudill.com/books.

My thanks for this beautiful paperback, which I had the good fortune to win through a give-away for Caudill’s newsletter subscribers. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and hope to read the other two in the series.

To preview or order this book, or the series of three, click here: Counterfeit Love. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Love Anthony, by Lisa Genova, 2012, Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster)

Free download

An offer of a free e-book from Simon & Schuster popped up on Facebook, and from the handful of choices I picked this one. Several years ago I read Still Alice, by Lisa Genova, which I really liked. So, I already had an appreciation of this author, but the blurb told me that Love Anthony was centred around an autistic child. I wasn’t so sure I was interested in reading about autism at this point in my life, as currently there are several other personal issues at the top of my list of concerns.

Qualified author

Lisa Genova is well qualified to write about brain disorders, as she holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard. Still Alice centres around dementia, and because her books are novels, they bring a more personal understanding of a particular disorder than a textbook does. She gets right into the heads and emotions of not only the person with the disorder, but also the family members and others in their lives.

It’s about so much more than autism.

So, between syrupy Hallmark movies and scaled down COVID-19 Christmas activities, I cozied down with a soft blanket in my lazyboy and started reading. The novel begins with two women who don’t know each other, but both live on Nantucket Island. I learned that Nantucket is in some ways similar to Vancouver Island, where I live. Dark drizzly gray winters that go on too long and bring on depression. But amazing sunny beach summers that bring boatloads of tourists with their hustle and bustle.

Needs in marriage

These two women have a few things in common. Both are newly separated from their husbands and facing up to that turmoil. Both had set aside their creativity and writing/editing interests for years while raising children.

Anthony’s story is woven in as his mother reflects on his short life and reads her diary. Then he tells some of his own story through the other woman, as she is inspired to write about an autistic child.

Understanding traits

The author cleverly gets across the point that autism is a wide, wide spectrum, and everyone has some of the traits. As I read I saw some of the traits in myself: the need to escape from noisy crowds, the preference for quiet preoccupation as opposed to human interaction. But the difference with Anthony is that such traits are extreme. He doesn’t speak at all or make eye contact. His life exists outside of social awareness.

Looking to God for answers

His mother questions her faith in God as part of processing her son’s autism. She prayed and prayed for answers, to no avail. She quit going to church a long time ago, but a priest tells her to keep trusting God and the answers will come to her.

As Anthony inspires the other woman to write his story, he speaks to her about love and acceptance, universal needs.

Simply ‘being’, in love, is the best thing in life.

I was very glad I read this book. It’s message will stay with me, helping me to understand love in a new way. The book is about so much more than autism or the lives of these two women.

Anthony’s mother, in retrospect, has the happiest memories of simple moments she spent with him, seemingly doing nothing, but oh so meaningful. Talking, doing, and accomplishing take a back seat after all, to simply being together. I totally relate; my most precious memories are of time spent with the people in my life in silence, enjoying the sunshine, the blue sky, ocean waves, fresh air, even cozied up in warm blankets looking out at a drizzly winter day.

Suggestions to the publisher

I would recommend this book to anyone. Unfortunately the title doesn’t give any clues to draw readers. I think I would change the book cover as well. After reading the book the title and cover make sense, but readers need something to draw them to the themes found inside. It’s like hiding your light under a bushel, as the Bible story goes.

Simon & Schuster offer a free download of the Glose app for reading. I found it very good. The only glitch was that a few pages here and there came up blank. I discovered that if you tap on the blank page the words appear.

https://glose.com/book/love-anthony

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