Please note that this is the second book in this series, and it follows on directly from the end of the previous book. This review will contain spoilers if you haven’t read the first book in this series. That said, I do not suggest you read this series unless:
1. You are fine with a hero whose professes to have faith in God, but whose music contains explicit and immoral lyrics (these are never detailed in the books, but his music is described several times in these terms);
2. You do not mind that the hero repeatedly blasphemes in Spanish;
3. You are fine with a heroine who, despite her Amish upbringing, does not see anything inconsistent with faith in God and writing/performing/singing such music;
4. You don’t mind watching a young Amish girl gradually compromising more and more in order to fit into the hero’s world;
5. You don’t mind that the hero and heroine have a limited understanding of the Bible and experience no spiritual growth;
6. You want a sensual and lustful romance where only one of the main characters believes you should wait until marriage and where you are regularly given glimpses into the bedroom once the characters are married;
7. You don’t mind that the bulk of the series is simply spent trailing our hero and heroine while they deal with the paparazzi, perform, pander to their fans, give interviews, and attend awards ceremonies and parties, and so on.
While the first book in this series was centred around Amanda’s life on her parents’ farm in the Amish community of Lititz, Pennsylvania, this second book takes us into the world of The Viper, Alejandro’s musical alter-ego. Having left her parents’ farm, Amanda is now touring and living with Alejandro (though they are not in an intimate relationship) and being introduced to Alejandro’s world and the media hoopla that entails.
Firstly, I will briefly say that I found many of the same basic writing errors here as in the first novel. There are point-of-view errors that jar the reader, there’s a lot of telling rather than showing, and a lot of explaining to the reader again, particularly in the constant comparisons between what Amanda is experiencing and what she is used to or familiar with. The comparisons became repetitive as the story progressed (like Amanda being too aware of everyone looking at her, being so innocent about what is going on, etc), and even began to seem a little over-done at times. I also began to pick up on some inconsistencies in the narrative, such as Amanda dancing with Alejandro and realising that she had never been held so closely by a man, despite exactly the same thing having happened in the previous book in the series, and Amanda getting upset about Alejandro seeing her hair down when she says nary a peep in the first book when it comes loose during their passionate kiss.
We also get annoying flashbacks all the way through this novel, most of which have little more significance than Amanda remembering a parallel experience from her childhood (and even then, the significance was often obscure). As a less obscure example, at one point Amanda is stunned by all the attention from photographers and fans and feels embarrassed because Alejandro had to prod her along like a child. Cue flashback to time when she was the object of similar attention from some tourists and she was embarrassed because her mother had to prod her to move along like a child. These really did very little for the story, and I was fed up with them by the end.
Still, when all is said and done, the primary responsibility for my low rating rests with the story itself. I simply do not see how a Christian novel can have a male protagonist whose whole lifestyle centres around writing and performing music about “things that were intimate and inappropriate” and “relationships with women that were as unchristian as could be” using “language that she (Amanda) had never heard spoken before”. And yes, these are exact quotes from the novel. 1 John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world.” Alejandro may be sincere in his belief that he loves God, but all I can see in this novel is love of the world. I assumed that Amanda would help him to see this, but again, the exact opposite seemed to happen.
Amanda certainly gives lip-service to her discomfort with various aspects of Viper’s lifestyle, but I really began to feel as though Amanda’s ‘Amishness’ was suppressed or enhanced as necessary to serve the story. Otherwise why would she describe Viper’s music during a radio interview as ‘spiritual’, saying, “At my church, we sing to God. We honor him through hymns. Our songs tell stories and teach lessons. It is a way to pass along our traditions. To connect with the Lord. To keep our community together. His (Viper’s) music is no different, ja?” I hope I am misunderstanding her meaning, because it seems blasphemous to suggest that there is no difference between hymns in praise of God and music that uses explicit language and glorifies ‘unchristian relationships with women’ (to use Amanda’s own words!) Personally, I find it hard to believe an Amish girl would so readily come to this conclusion, particularly when she continues to be shocked by the explicit and sensual nature of his music. The two just don’t add up.
Amanda also admires the way Alejandro gives so much of himself for others, which leads into one of those pesky flashbacks where she recalls a conversation with her younger brother about another man who gave up everything for others: None other than Jesus Christ himself. Again, everything in me revolts at such a comparison. Even Viper himself gives God the credit for his success, saying “I especially thank God, who led me down this path and showed me the way from the streets to the stage.” I just wanted to cry, not only because Alejandro truly seems to believe that God would use music glorifying the lust of the flesh to give him worldly success, but because Amanda obviously does not have the Biblical knowledge or wisdom to challenge this. How is this any kind of Godly example to aspire to?
The amount of sensuality definitely increases in this novel in comparison to the first, which is not surprising considering Viper’s image and lifestyle. At one point he admits that he has been avoiding Amanda because “I’m not used to waiting for and wanting someone the way I have waited for and wanted you.” Apparently he needs to remove himself from her vicinity in order to protect her. I suppose it sounds noble, and I applaud anyone for recognising and removing themselves from temptation, but this just felt like another example of how this series romanticises lust. Paradoxically, he is somehow able to keep this rampant desire at bay when he insists on being able to hold Amanda while they sleep, allaying her protests with a promise to respect her wishes not to take things any further than this. It all smells like author manipulation to me.
As inconsistent as Amanda’s character is beginning to feel, I had an even harder time with Alejandro’s character. Despite repeated assertions that he respects Amanda, it seems to me that this respect is limited to not sleeping with her (and even then, only in the intimate sense of the phrase), because she is forced to compromise on just about every other point, including clothing, shoes, alcohol, and dancing with Alejandro in public (and sensually, at that). Basically, if he says jump, she’s supposed to say ‘How high?’ and it’s all about his image, his needs. Any time Amanda expresses discomfort, she is persuaded to compromise. Whilst Amanda’s submissiveness is hardly surprising given her upbringing, and even a Godly quality in certain circumstances, Alejandro treats is as nothing less than his due. Never does he show the sacrificial love that Christ demonstrates towards His bride by considering Amanda’s needs and wishes before his own. I can’t help but feel that Amanda’s heading for heartache.
I am truly sorry to be so negative about a book but I have to be honest. There was all the potential here for Amanda to shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father, and I had to remind myself that she was just a character in a book because I found myself praying, as I read, that she would begin to do just that. Instead, we find her continually compromising in order to support Alejandro’s worldly image, whilst paying lip service to the values of her Amish upbringing. In essence, this is completely the opposite of what we should find in a Christian novel. A very disappointing read indeed.