FROM THE PUBLISHER: Lori Wick is known as one of the most versatile Christian fiction writers on the market today. From pioneer fiction to a series set in Victorian England to a contemporary novel, Lori's books (over 5 million in print) continue to delight readers and top the Christian bestselling fiction list. Lori and her husband, Bob, live in Wisconsin with "the three coolest kids in the world."
Officially 5 stars solely because I rarely read a Christian fiction where I totally agree with the Christian Theology presented. 5 stars to hopefully encourage others to read a book with sound doctrine!
My personal rating: 3 stars. The setting and plot of the book were interesting, the characters sub par (I was not a fan of the "pup" part of pup), with very little development besides the main character. The writing itself was fine, boarderline cheesy, but not as cheesy as other Christian fiction.
The first third of the book was a page turner then quickly stalled to a snails crawl thru the second third, followed by half hearted reading thru the third section just to finish for book club.
To Know Her by Name is the first Lori Wick title I got. I have a thing for Christian fiction set in this time period, and since I had nothing else to read at the time and the book was hardback for less than $2 at a thrift store, I couldn't pass it up. The story is of the mysterious Callie Jennings. After her outlaw brother was killed in her own home, she was responsible for the decision to allow the agent who killed him to die untended or to try to save him. The decision to save him led to a journey of self-discovery that changed not only her life but the lives of others around her.
My experience with the Christian fiction genre is a bit limited. I'll admit that the spiritual side of it didn't draw me in as much as with other writers. Some of the decisions made and lessons learned by the characters seemed to happen in a way that felt odd to me, even a little unrealistic. Some of the spiritual-based dilemmas the characters found themselves in also seemed unrealistic to my thinking- though perhaps both the above issues I found actually have more grounding in real struggles and solutions than I give credit for. The storyline itself was enjoyable, though. Callie's quirks left the character an enjoyable one to read about, and seeing her grow throughout the story was fantastic. The action felt like it dragged a little in some scenes, but some of those scenes were good for giving more depth to the characters, and the action scenes were well-written enough that I actually dreaded the possibility of getting called away when in the middle of one of them.
All in all, To Know Her By Name is a good read. Some elements that I didn't care for, but those are mostly easy to overlook in the grand scheme of the story that Lori Wick provides to her readers.
SUMMARY: Who is this woman? McKay Harrington wondered. After chasing and killing an outlaw in the Boulder foothills, Harrington finds himself critically wounded and dependent upon a mysterious woman named Callie. When Harrington returns tohis job at the Treasury Department, an unexpected encounter reveals a dangerous masquerade…
Can McKay Harrington penetrate the wall of secrecy surrounding Callie’s true identity to share the saving love of Jesus Christ?
And what about the love growing in his heart for this woman of mystery?
REVIEW: This was by far my favorite of this series. Callie aka Pup is the most delightful character. Her adventuresome nature, ability to turn into any character, and strong desire to know more about Christ made her unique and intriguing. Her foibles when she wasn't in character added wonderful touches of humor. The story line was not just a romance but contained twists of mystery and adventure as well which kept the reader's interest. From start to finish, this was a great read.
FAVORITE QUOTES: "Is your heart humble before God? It is if you've given your anxiets to Him, if you're trusting Him completely for every aspect of your life."
"Camille was reminded for the thousandth time in their marriage that men and women simply didn't think alike. And to Camille's way of thinking, it was too bad. There would be so much more they could all get done if husbands would just go along with their wives' plans."
"What I battle with the most is the future. I worry about what's to come and how I'll handle it. Worry is a sin.... That's a hard one for all of us,...We're often tempted to try to do God's job. All He expects of us is to seek to know our own job and be very good at it."
This is the best Wick book I've read so far. It is from one of her earlier series. Others have said that Wick's early books are better than the later ones, and this book is evidence of that. The storyline, about a woman who masquerades as a man and works for the US Treasury Department in the 1870s, is more exciting than and the writing isn't nearly as stilted. None of the "this woman" problem shows up here.
The books in the Rocky Mountain Memories series don't intertwine much with each other, so you could read this book out of order without missing anything. If I were to recommend Wick to someone who has never read her stuff, this book would be at the top of the list.
I thought that the whole premise of the story was great so I'm giving it a 2 star! However, the author really has a hard time writing point of views! I'm giving that a 1 star! She was giving me whiplash going from Pup's point of view, to MacKay's back to an odd 3rd person all with in mere paragraph's of each other and then swapping back to another person! Yikes, I had to re-read things sometimes just to realize who she had shifted too again.
This is one of those books that has a lot of Bible study in it, so for me, it is Christian fiction as opposed to romance or adventure, etc. The pivotal people in this story are interesting and it was a good story.
great book. wished the Buchanans, Landleys and Fontaines(featured in books 1 and 2) were featured more in this one. Overall, a great book on finding faith and about God's omnipresence and ability to help anyone at anytime. Most importantly He does it in His time.
DNF for me on the first book in this series and although I own the rest of the series I will not be reading it. I could feel it putting me into a slump and so I've elected to put it down and move onto something else.
Too many anachronisms to keep me entertained; my suspension of disbelief was shattered every few pages. The plots, the characters' decisions, behaviour, conversations, the names...
Three stars because the doctrine is sound and the Christian growth add interactions wholesome.
Side note: I'm amazed (in a negative way) that Wick's editor didn't point out the danger of ripping off a significantly more famous/popular character's name: Jubal SACKETT from Louis L'Amour's world-famous family saga of the same name. She's lucky his estate hasn't noticed.
Master of disguise and clumsy in her natural state, Callie Jennings is actually Andrea May Hackett, but she chooses to go by Callie because her work for the Treasury Department was not without its perils. But at its base, the book is about a journey of faith for Callie and the chance to reach out to others once she knows more of what she believes. Lori Wick is known for Christian Historical Romance and does a masterful job weaving tales around journeys of faith like this one.
I liked this book on a number of different levels. The characters are interesting but especially Callie, because of the roles she is called to play verges on fantasy. There are plots and subplots to this book, all very interesting, that intertwine in good story telling. There is lots of family, faith, friendship, romance, and crime that propel this book. For me it was a very good read.
No one is more surprised than I am that there’s a Lori Wick book I’m not a fan of, but here we are. The pacing was odd, the story dragged, and I really didn’t care for any of the characters. The star of the book for me was the love for God shining through. Probably won’t even keep this one on my shelves. Lori Wick is still one of my favorite authors…just didn’t like this book.💔
Really enjoyed book 3 of this series. I like Lori Wick's writing style and have enjoyed this series. You will want to read these in order as it helps to know the characters when they appear in various books.
Taboo undertones for a Christian novel. The heroine is a cross dresser for much of the book. I can't be the only one who thought that was odd. She's a cross dresser half the book, then gets all religious and preachy the second half of the book. Lol, anyway. Moving on.
This story had a lot in it, but what was more important was these people learning to follow Jesus Christ. Having a story based around Him makes for better reading.
I loved how the characters were developed. Each had a well thought out role. It allows you to see it the different facets that one subconsciously feeds to.
I like this story. Many of Lori Wick’s heroines are teachers or don’t have a job, so it was nice to see a branching out into what was most typically a male profession.
I normally don't read stories from this era (1800s) but was surprisingly captivated. The shootout, undercover agent and spirituality pulled me in and kept me until the last page. Great story!