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Amelia's Prayer
Sebastian Lavalle is just 15 when he leaves home in 1934 to join the Navy. Seven years later, Sebastian unfortunately knows all too well about the horrors of World War II and what it is like to fear the unknown. When repairs forced his ship to the rugged shore of Newcastle, the young French naval officer is invited to a tea dance. He seizes the opportunity hoping to find comfort and a small taste of home. Amelia Sullivan, the daughter of Irish immigrant parents, is thrilled to be attending the tea dance. When Sebastian's eyes find her in the crowd, he drinks in here exotic beauty. Moments later as he draws her into his arms for a dance, there is no doubt in his mind that he has just met the woman of his dreams. Days later, Sebastian professes his love and marries her, sending them both on an unforgettable journey through betrayal, survival, and forgiveness. Their soul searching journey, not only will take the reader from England's coast to the French Riviera, but also to Tennessee. Their journey explores the many facets and depths of love leading to the realization of what true happiness means.
“the quality of the writing and the sweetness of the story. will carry readers to the poignant conclusion” —Kirkus Reviews
“will appeal to fans of family saga although it easily transcends the genre.” —Blue Ink Reviews
“elegantly written, a must read, one that begs to be enjoyed again and again.” —Clarion Forward Reviews
“the quality of the writing and the sweetness of the story. will carry readers to the poignant conclusion” —Kirkus Reviews
“will appeal to fans of family saga although it easily transcends the genre.” —Blue Ink Reviews
“elegantly written, a must read, one that begs to be enjoyed again and again.” —Clarion Forward Reviews
- GenresHistorical Fiction
422 pages, Paperback
First published December 18, 2015
6 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 10, 2018
I really wanted to like this book. I met the author while she was promoting the book and she was so genuine that I couldn’t say no. This book isn’t a genre I would ever ordinarily pick up, but in the vein of reading as much as I can this year, I’m trying to step out of my box. In some cases, it has worked incredibly and introduced me to some of my new favourites (here’s looking at you, Illuminae) but that wasn’t the case here.
Full disclosure: I did not finish this book. I was determined to get to the end, but by 150 pages in, I realised I was just reading for the sake of finishing and there was absolutely no enjoyment left, so I had to put the book down.
Based on the true story of the author’s own ancestors, I was expecting a deeply personal and realistic story with fully-formed characters, but I found none of that here. The characters felt flat and rushed, as though the author actually had very little information except a general story handed down through generations, and it was impossible to connect with them when every page seemed to bring about a new year and there was no hint of character development.
The book came off as a jumble of events poorly linked together, if at all, so it felt as though I was being lurched forward in a timeline before I had even realised where I was to start with. There was no consistency in the pace, or even the characters.
On page 1, we meet a fifteen-year-old going off to war. By page 19, he is married to Amelia, whom he met about five pages ago. By page 50, they have seven children already. By this point, we’re not even 1/8 of the way through the book and yet we have covered about 75% of the summary. If it felt like there was no structure before this point, that only got worse as the story went on.
The writing lurched between too many characters, which wasn’t aided by the crazy pacing. One minute, Amelia has just had a baby; a handful of pages later, the focus is on that child (now around six years old, if I was keeping track right) who is now living temporarily in some kind of orphanage, as Amelia and Sebastian keep having children they can’t cope with.
It’s hard to believe this is based on real life. Not because of the events – it’s easy enough to believe that a wartime couple would end up with nearly ten children – but because the characters felt as though they hardly had one dimension to them. The story lurches from Sebastian as a loved-up young man writing love letters to his wife, to screaming at her just a few pages (and children) later.
It felt as though the author didn’t know or couldn’t decide what was important, so she added a lot of filler in all the wrong places, and no filler at all where explanation was needed, which forced a lot of distance between the reader and the characters. By the point I reached, not quite halfway, the story was already veering into unknown territory with too many characters and no direction from the summary, with rushed writing and half-formed ideas.
I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn’t.
Full disclosure: I did not finish this book. I was determined to get to the end, but by 150 pages in, I realised I was just reading for the sake of finishing and there was absolutely no enjoyment left, so I had to put the book down.
Based on the true story of the author’s own ancestors, I was expecting a deeply personal and realistic story with fully-formed characters, but I found none of that here. The characters felt flat and rushed, as though the author actually had very little information except a general story handed down through generations, and it was impossible to connect with them when every page seemed to bring about a new year and there was no hint of character development.
The book came off as a jumble of events poorly linked together, if at all, so it felt as though I was being lurched forward in a timeline before I had even realised where I was to start with. There was no consistency in the pace, or even the characters.
On page 1, we meet a fifteen-year-old going off to war. By page 19, he is married to Amelia, whom he met about five pages ago. By page 50, they have seven children already. By this point, we’re not even 1/8 of the way through the book and yet we have covered about 75% of the summary. If it felt like there was no structure before this point, that only got worse as the story went on.
The writing lurched between too many characters, which wasn’t aided by the crazy pacing. One minute, Amelia has just had a baby; a handful of pages later, the focus is on that child (now around six years old, if I was keeping track right) who is now living temporarily in some kind of orphanage, as Amelia and Sebastian keep having children they can’t cope with.
It’s hard to believe this is based on real life. Not because of the events – it’s easy enough to believe that a wartime couple would end up with nearly ten children – but because the characters felt as though they hardly had one dimension to them. The story lurches from Sebastian as a loved-up young man writing love letters to his wife, to screaming at her just a few pages (and children) later.
It felt as though the author didn’t know or couldn’t decide what was important, so she added a lot of filler in all the wrong places, and no filler at all where explanation was needed, which forced a lot of distance between the reader and the characters. By the point I reached, not quite halfway, the story was already veering into unknown territory with too many characters and no direction from the summary, with rushed writing and half-formed ideas.
I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn’t.
February 22, 2016
This was a great book. I couldn't put it down. Well worth the read.
July 15, 2022
A deep story about hasty marriages in the midst of war and often the struggle of life after they came home from war and tried to live a normal life. Sebastian meets the woman of his dreams while at a dance once night and the two decide to get married before he gets shipped out again. Hardly knowing each other they both know it was love at first sight. But life is not what the novels portray and Sebastian and Amelia have a household full of children and are struggling to make ends meet each and every day. Life is hard, and with so many children it causes a rift between the two of them. Sebastian cannot seem to bring enough money home to support them all, and Amelia is living a constant never ending life of being pregnant, chores and children. It does not take long before something has to give and Amelia and Sebastian are faced with some difficult decisions and truths that will change their lives and outlook on life going forward. I loved how raw and well written this novel was. The author did not shy away from the truth of how hard life can be and things are not always a happy ending but there is often lessons learned and truths we find in ourselves. Thank you to the author for the free novel. I am looking forward to reading the second book.
September 28, 2016
We had the honour of the author of - Amelia's Prayer join our book club meeting. Christiane Banks wrote a heart wrenching book about life in England after the war. Amelia, the title character, meets Sebastian, a French Sailor near the end of WW2, they marry before he heads back to battle. When the war ends they build a life together first in France and then in England. They are blessed with an abundance of children but not much else.
Christiane is a delightful story teller. She entertained and inspired us with tales of how she took an idea and turned it into a published book. We were served high tea and all dressed in period costume.
Christiane is a delightful story teller. She entertained and inspired us with tales of how she took an idea and turned it into a published book. We were served high tea and all dressed in period costume.
April 6, 2017
I met the author of Amelia's Prayer at Chapters Indigo! She was so kind and so excited about her novel, it was infectious. I had to buy it!
March 13, 2019
I hesitate to convey my true thoughts and feelings about this novel because I met the author at a promo event and she was so very nice and genuine. However, I had a lot of problems with this book.
The characters lacked true depth and development and they had so many inconsistencies. The POV jumped around so much from character to character, both main and tertiary, that it was hard to get a feeling for what the story was trying to focus on. My biggest issue was time. I thought this novel was going to be a WWII story but by page 30, the war was over. I actually found a mistake in the writing where time was concerned, which just added to the overall confusion.
I think the author should have picked a time and narrowed down the POV list and concentrated the story there rather than trying to cover 30+ years and 15+ characters and two continents. Especially considering she means for this to be a series.
The characters lacked true depth and development and they had so many inconsistencies. The POV jumped around so much from character to character, both main and tertiary, that it was hard to get a feeling for what the story was trying to focus on. My biggest issue was time. I thought this novel was going to be a WWII story but by page 30, the war was over. I actually found a mistake in the writing where time was concerned, which just added to the overall confusion.
I think the author should have picked a time and narrowed down the POV list and concentrated the story there rather than trying to cover 30+ years and 15+ characters and two continents. Especially considering she means for this to be a series.
October 27, 2019
I met Ms Banks at Indigo and bought her book online. I think the writing style of the book reflects the chaotic world that Sebastian and Amelia live in. Everything happened so quickly , hence so much crowded into a few pages. I am still enjoying the book very much. I’m an older person and Amelia and Sebastian would be a bit younger than my own parents so I can relate to the story. Back then, you needed a prescription for contraceptives and in many countries, contraceptives were illegal.
October 29, 2018
I had the pleasure of meeting the author at a local bookstore while she was promoting her book. Her enthusiasm about the subject matter as well as the fact that this is the genre I'm currently hooked on, all meant that I needed to buy this book and I'm glad I did.
Based on her family's history, Christiane does a good job getting the reader intertwined with the characters (aka, her ancestors & family). I would recommend this book!
Based on her family's history, Christiane does a good job getting the reader intertwined with the characters (aka, her ancestors & family). I would recommend this book!
April 8, 2019
This was a wonderful book. An intimate recollection of one family's life since the mid-century.
June 29, 2021
This is an amazing book! I really enjoyed the plot and all the characters! You should definitely give it a try!
March 8, 2017
Loved this book!
June 18, 2021
Christiane Banks captured my attention with this, her first novel. Her Amelia was most interesting if a little unbelievable in today's world. It is comforting to believe that mothers could be so selfless in the past as I think most are even today. The story starts with Sebastian but he's not the title character and I found the setup of the book rather amateurish for its moving from one character to another. Nevertheless, I kept reading and overlooked the small flaws and I'm glad I did. this book proves that there are stories that deserve to be told even though they might not be perfect. Well done, Ms. Banks!
February 5, 2017
Enjoyed reading good book
August 24, 2020
I met the author at a book event at Indigo. She said she would come out to our book club and she did. We enjoyed the book and we enjoyed talking to her.
February 2, 2019
This is a wonderful interesting look at life growing up in a complex family in England , valiantly surmounting life's challenges.
May 18, 2018
Great read, hard to put down. Can't wait until her next one
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews