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The Chastelayne Trilogy #3
To Grace Surrendered
He has learned to love her with all his heart. Now he must learn to let her go.
There is peace in the kingdom at last, and King Philip wants nothing more than to spend his days watching his children grow and enjoying the company of his beloved Rosalynde. Reghed, Lynaleigh's neighbor to the north, suffers greatly under the heavy hand of its king, the evil and demented tyrant Sarto. But Philip resists God's urging to bring aid to Reghed's people until the night Rosalynde is torn from his arms and carried into Sarto's dark realm. Despite the serious injuries he sustained trying to protect her from her captors, Philip insists on following after her and finds himself face to face with the suffering he has till now turned away from. Sarto eventually captures Philip, too, determined to kill him in order to fulfill his sinister plans. Can Philip free himself, Rosalynde and the people of Reghed? Or has his disobedience lost him the love and protection of God?
There is peace in the kingdom at last, and King Philip wants nothing more than to spend his days watching his children grow and enjoying the company of his beloved Rosalynde. Reghed, Lynaleigh's neighbor to the north, suffers greatly under the heavy hand of its king, the evil and demented tyrant Sarto. But Philip resists God's urging to bring aid to Reghed's people until the night Rosalynde is torn from his arms and carried into Sarto's dark realm. Despite the serious injuries he sustained trying to protect her from her captors, Philip insists on following after her and finds himself face to face with the suffering he has till now turned away from. Sarto eventually captures Philip, too, determined to kill him in order to fulfill his sinister plans. Can Philip free himself, Rosalynde and the people of Reghed? Or has his disobedience lost him the love and protection of God?
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
DeAnna Julie Dodson
50 books93 followersDeAnna Julie Dodson has always been an avid reader and a lover of storytelling, whether on the page, the screen or the stage. This, along with her keen interest in history and her Christian faith, shows in her tales of love, forgiveness and triumph over adversity. A fifth-generation Texan, she makes her home north of Dallas with four spoiled cats and, when not writing, spends her free time quilting, cross stitching and watching NHL hockey. Her first books, In Honor Bound, By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered, are a trilogy of medieval romances and have just been redesigned and freshly edited for Kindle. She is also the author of the contemporary mystery, Letters in the Attic, and has recently signed on to write another Annie's Attic Mystery: The Key in the Attic, due out in 2012. Her newest books, yet to be released, are A Dinner of Herbs, a Civil War drama, and a 1930s English mystery, Rules of Murder. Civil as an Orange, her current work in progress, is the sequel to Rules of Murder. You can find out more about DeAnna and her books, including sample chapters, at her website: http://www.deannajuliedodson.com/
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 23, 2017
I love this series so much. The characters were so real, the pain and suffering of these characters felt so realistic, and the messages will stick with me for a long time..
November 25, 2015
I found a copy of To Grace Surrendered at a thrift shop, so I haven't had a chance to read the first two books in the series, but it didn't seem to hinder the storyline any.
To Grace Surrendered was an intense story, filled with mystery and vicious attacks. It had a chilling touch to it, what with the madman king and his dead mistress and all... that I probably could have done without! Yet it was bittersweet and enjoyable to journey along with the two couples of this book, feeling their joy, sorrow, and fear. Although I think some things could have been altered a little in this book, it did point out some important messages of the Christian faith, and challenged the characters to surrender everything to God.
An interesting and unusual story... I have to say I liked it for the most part!
To Grace Surrendered was an intense story, filled with mystery and vicious attacks. It had a chilling touch to it, what with the madman king and his dead mistress and all... that I probably could have done without! Yet it was bittersweet and enjoyable to journey along with the two couples of this book, feeling their joy, sorrow, and fear. Although I think some things could have been altered a little in this book, it did point out some important messages of the Christian faith, and challenged the characters to surrender everything to God.
An interesting and unusual story... I have to say I liked it for the most part!
August 3, 2013
Another good read by Dodson. She knows how to convey the need for forgiveness, the need on the side of the one doing the forgiving!
October 15, 2011
A wonderful read.
October 31, 2020
Rose and Phillip now have 3 children...but Tom and Elizabeth are struggling to keep pregnancies. Elizabeth is far along, but after a horrid event where the king of Reghed, Sarto, kills a man while visiting the Chastelaynes.
Sarto is extremely creepy, and we later see how mentally unstable he is. It doesn't negate or excuse anything he does, but the man has some issues and needs help.
Or, as Elizabeth later notes, he needs the love of God and to recognize he is not alone in his pain. The parallels between him and Phillip are not extreme, but the obvious ones are a bit eerie. It truly is amazing to know that a single circumstance (like believing in God) can change one person's life and future so much.
Elizabeth is as wonky as ever, fearing everything and not taking a course of action even to save someone else. She irritates me. She also sends Molly to Tom, who doesn't give in at all, and Elizabeth feels like she's failing as a wife. Although I disagree, I understand that sentiment since that was often thought of in the past.
I think that her character development and change in mindset though is quite believable, as the story as a whole has been gradually working towards this.
Sarto sends mercenaries to capture Rosalynde and even calls her his deceased lover's name: Rosamund. He weeps over his deceased child with Rosamund, but cares nothing for his legitimate son.
Phillip is seriously injured when Rose is taken, but sets out after her anyway. I'm super glad Tom is there to help him out (and that Rafe tries to literally knock sense into him), and even that Molly tags along to get in the Reghed castle when others can't.
The state of Reghed is sobering and depressing, where Sarto forbids any change that brings them out of the time that Rosamund died. He has proclaimed that anniversary as a Day of Mourning, and mauls (and often kills) anyone who isn't depressed enough on that day. There is a rebellion against him, but so many people have lost hope of having positive change.
But the Chastelaynes keep praying. Phillip's prayers leads him to rescue Rose, and her prayers keep Sarto away from sexually assaulting her; Tom's prayers keep him strong in the midst of Elizabeth's worries, and her prayers allow her to trust in God.
And Joan may not visibly pray in the book, but she lets the male physician know what's-what with females!
Sarto is extremely creepy, and we later see how mentally unstable he is. It doesn't negate or excuse anything he does, but the man has some issues and needs help.
Or, as Elizabeth later notes, he needs the love of God and to recognize he is not alone in his pain. The parallels between him and Phillip are not extreme, but the obvious ones are a bit eerie. It truly is amazing to know that a single circumstance (like believing in God) can change one person's life and future so much.
Elizabeth is as wonky as ever, fearing everything and not taking a course of action even to save someone else. She irritates me. She also sends Molly to Tom, who doesn't give in at all, and Elizabeth feels like she's failing as a wife. Although I disagree, I understand that sentiment since that was often thought of in the past.
I think that her character development and change in mindset though is quite believable, as the story as a whole has been gradually working towards this.
Sarto sends mercenaries to capture Rosalynde and even calls her his deceased lover's name: Rosamund. He weeps over his deceased child with Rosamund, but cares nothing for his legitimate son.
Phillip is seriously injured when Rose is taken, but sets out after her anyway. I'm super glad Tom is there to help him out (and that Rafe tries to literally knock sense into him), and even that Molly tags along to get in the Reghed castle when others can't.
The state of Reghed is sobering and depressing, where Sarto forbids any change that brings them out of the time that Rosamund died. He has proclaimed that anniversary as a Day of Mourning, and mauls (and often kills) anyone who isn't depressed enough on that day. There is a rebellion against him, but so many people have lost hope of having positive change.
But the Chastelaynes keep praying. Phillip's prayers leads him to rescue Rose, and her prayers keep Sarto away from sexually assaulting her; Tom's prayers keep him strong in the midst of Elizabeth's worries, and her prayers allow her to trust in God.
And Joan may not visibly pray in the book, but she lets the male physician know what's-what with females!
August 29, 2017
Splendid end to this trilogy
I enjoyed reading this series of books very much. The continuing story of the Chastelynne family began with Phillip in book one, and his lives and losses, continued with Tom and his wife Elizabeth in book two, and in book three both brothers have struggles and triumphs.
There are many deep truths presented throughout the stories, the main one being Gods faithfulness and loving kindness. This is the second time I have read this series, and I imagine there will be a third reading!
I enjoyed reading this series of books very much. The continuing story of the Chastelynne family began with Phillip in book one, and his lives and losses, continued with Tom and his wife Elizabeth in book two, and in book three both brothers have struggles and triumphs.
There are many deep truths presented throughout the stories, the main one being Gods faithfulness and loving kindness. This is the second time I have read this series, and I imagine there will be a third reading!
July 19, 2014
3.5 Stars.
I very much liked the previous two titles in this trilogy, and wanted to `save' this one, but in some ways it was disappointing. This is not to say I didn't like it, I did, but it seemed weaker than the last two. For instance, very little seemed to really happen until about halfway through, and all the leading couples Phillip and Rosalynde, or Tom and Elizabeth just seemed to be pre-occupied with kissing or sex.
Not that there were any graphic sexual scenes (despite one or two references to exposed flesh), but every time adult married characters got alone, that seemed to be all they wanted to do. To me, such content cheapens stories, making the characters seem shallow and the plot silly and cliched.
Secondly, I noticed quite a few Americanisms in the characters speech, something which tends to ruin things for me, as, although fantasy the trilogy is meant to be set in a country that is based on 15th century England. These and the reference to potatoes and a crocodile, neither of which is indigenous to Europe annoyed me.
Perhaps I did not notice such things in the previous books, but to me there seemed to be more here, whereas the prequels seemed more faithful the setting. When the story finally did `get off the ground' it was exciting and compelling enough, though some scenes did not seem wholly plausible. Two people throwing themselves off the top of castles, and surviving largely unscathed?
As with the previous stories the Christian theme was generally good, well delivered and relevant, it was just the emphasis on romance could be distracting. Putting that aside, the messages about keeping the faith even when bad things happened and challenging circumstances arose was a useful one. The characters' struggle to forgive both others and themselves also provided a realistic edge.
The title was indeed very fitting. Altogether, to Grace Surrendered ended up as a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and the characters stories, but could have been better. I would recommend, but with reservations.
I very much liked the previous two titles in this trilogy, and wanted to `save' this one, but in some ways it was disappointing. This is not to say I didn't like it, I did, but it seemed weaker than the last two. For instance, very little seemed to really happen until about halfway through, and all the leading couples Phillip and Rosalynde, or Tom and Elizabeth just seemed to be pre-occupied with kissing or sex.
Not that there were any graphic sexual scenes (despite one or two references to exposed flesh), but every time adult married characters got alone, that seemed to be all they wanted to do. To me, such content cheapens stories, making the characters seem shallow and the plot silly and cliched.
Secondly, I noticed quite a few Americanisms in the characters speech, something which tends to ruin things for me, as, although fantasy the trilogy is meant to be set in a country that is based on 15th century England. These and the reference to potatoes and a crocodile, neither of which is indigenous to Europe annoyed me.
Perhaps I did not notice such things in the previous books, but to me there seemed to be more here, whereas the prequels seemed more faithful the setting. When the story finally did `get off the ground' it was exciting and compelling enough, though some scenes did not seem wholly plausible. Two people throwing themselves off the top of castles, and surviving largely unscathed?
As with the previous stories the Christian theme was generally good, well delivered and relevant, it was just the emphasis on romance could be distracting. Putting that aside, the messages about keeping the faith even when bad things happened and challenging circumstances arose was a useful one. The characters' struggle to forgive both others and themselves also provided a realistic edge.
The title was indeed very fitting. Altogether, to Grace Surrendered ended up as a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and the characters stories, but could have been better. I would recommend, but with reservations.
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April 19, 2015A Classic Christian Medieval Romance
Deanna Julie Dodson is a brilliant Christian Author! You must read the entire trilogy. It's a trilogy where the story characters continue on compelling to turn the pages and long with genuine excitement for the next book. Wonderfully developed characters a plots that will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Deanna Julie Dodson is a brilliant Christian Author! You must read the entire trilogy. It's a trilogy where the story characters continue on compelling to turn the pages and long with genuine excitement for the next book. Wonderfully developed characters a plots that will keep you on the edge of your seat!
March 8, 2016
This Trilogy Rocks!!!
Yet once again, Ms. Dodson has written an amazing story to keep us enthralled. Keep up the excellent story telling!
Yet once again, Ms. Dodson has written an amazing story to keep us enthralled. Keep up the excellent story telling!
November 16, 2016
A fitting conclusion to the trilogy
Though I much prefer the first two books, I enjoyed this book and have read it at least twice. It's a fitting conclusion to a thrilling series.
Though I much prefer the first two books, I enjoyed this book and have read it at least twice. It's a fitting conclusion to a thrilling series.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews