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Sugar Sun #1.5
Tempting Hymn
A Missionary and a Sinner.
Jonas Vanderburg volunteered his family for mission work in the Philippines, only to lose his wife and daughters in the 1902 cholera epidemic. He wishes his nurse would let him die, too.
Rosa Ramos wants nothing more to do with American men. Her previous Yankee lover left her with a ruined reputation and a child to raise alone. A talented nurse at a provincial hospital, she must now care for another American, this time a missionary whose friends believe her beyond redemption.
This is a novella in the Sugar Sun series.
Note: Content warnings for all the Sugar Sun series books can be found at bit.ly/HallockContent
Jonas Vanderburg volunteered his family for mission work in the Philippines, only to lose his wife and daughters in the 1902 cholera epidemic. He wishes his nurse would let him die, too.
Rosa Ramos wants nothing more to do with American men. Her previous Yankee lover left her with a ruined reputation and a child to raise alone. A talented nurse at a provincial hospital, she must now care for another American, this time a missionary whose friends believe her beyond redemption.
This is a novella in the Sugar Sun series.
Note: Content warnings for all the Sugar Sun series books can be found at bit.ly/HallockContent
152 pages, Paperback
Published February 24, 2017
61 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Hallock
5 books37 followersJennifer Hallock spends her days teaching history and her nights writing historical happily-ever-afters. She has lived and worked in the Philippines, but she currently writes at her little brick house on a New England homestead—kept company by her husband, a growing flock of chickens, and a border collie mutt puppy who likes to chew computer power cords.
Author Courtney Milan wrote of the Sugar Sun series: “If you’re looking for a meaty historical romance that will transport you somewhere you’ve never been, Jennifer Hallock’s books…are must-reads.”
Author Courtney Milan wrote of the Sugar Sun series: “If you’re looking for a meaty historical romance that will transport you somewhere you’ve never been, Jennifer Hallock’s books…are must-reads.”
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 27, 2021
If this book was trying to fit the most offensive content in the least amount of pages possible, it won. Congrats. Racist garbage.
Read
March 3, 2017This was a sweet exploration of what it takes for two relative strangers to find common ground and navigate cultural differences in order to come together in a loving marriage. Rosa's struggles with Miguel and Jonas's memories of his family and his relationship with his first wife were achingly heartbreaking and felt so real.
And, um. Rosa's line about not wanting Miguel to have a pet vegetable made me laugh and laugh and laugh.
And, um. Rosa's line about not wanting Miguel to have a pet vegetable made me laugh and laugh and laugh.
March 1, 2017
A very well-written, satisfying read. Worth noting is how this book successfully manages to make us sympathize and even admire Rosa, a character who was far from likable when she made an appearance in Under the Sugar Sun. Highly recommended reading for historical fic lovers.
(Plus points for Padre Andres, hahaha! <3)
(Plus points for Padre Andres, hahaha! <3)
October 17, 2020
This just felt so sad to me, that it made it hard to appreciate the HEA at the end.
February 28, 2017
4.5 stars
Altered from a review posted at Romancing the Social Sciences
I have to admit, I was nervous about Tempting Hymn , because Hallock has set herself a mammoth task: telling the romance of a 'fallen' Filipina nurse and an American missionary workman recovering physically from illness, and mentally from the death of his wife and children, in only 152 pages. Even though I have read and loved both of Hallock's prior two works, where she tackles similar storylines in comparative depth, I'm still impressed at the way she has pulled it off.
Like the first novel in this series, Under the Sugar Sun , Tempting Hymn manages to give adequate breathing room to the harsh historical realities of American colonial rule in the Philippines, while delivering a romance that is sweet, realistic and - above all - emotional.
Readers of Under the Sugar Sun will remember Rosa, the nurse assigned to care for Georgie's erstwhile fiance, Archie Blaxton. After the events of Under a Sugar Sun, Rosa gave birth to an illegitimate half-American son, Miguel, and was ostracised both by the people she had lived alongside her whole life, and the missionary community for whom she worked as a nurse. Despite the fact that she wants nothing more to do with American men, caring for missionary Jonas Vanderberg gives her a final chance to regain her nursing position at the local hospital, and give Miguel the life he deserves.
Having lost his wife and daughters to cholera, Jonas has nothing left to live for. The surly and insistent Rosa is only prolonging his misery, until he realises the unjust way that she has been treated. There's fight left in Jonas yet, but a perceived connection between Rosa and another American man will only hinder Rosa's attempts to get her life back on track.
The Rosa from Tempting Hymn is very different to the Rosa shown in Under the Sugar Sun . Partly, that's because she was irreparably changed by the events described there, but also because her side of the story humanises her. As a heroine, she's at once heartbreaking and eminently relatable. The way the world has treated her hasn't left her much room to be emotional, so she just gets on with what she needs to do.
Jonas is a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy. He decided to enter the mission field to impress his wife's well-to-do family, because, while he may not be an educated man, he can build anything, and the missionary movement needs jacks-of-all-trades as much as they need fancy preacher men. While I had initial concerns that his faith wouldn't sit well with me, the religious aspect was something that I valued most about this book.
As romance readers, we most often see representations and explorations of Christian faith in inspirational romances, but I want to make clear that Tempting Hymn is not an inspie. For a start, Rosa and Jonas would never cut it as a couple in an inspirational romance, because Rosa is Catholic, and she has no interest in converting. Secondly, I think Hallock's implicit focus here is the way religion is an ambiguous force. While Jonas is a man of God from the 'love thy neighbour' school of thought, the missionaries are able to justify the wrongs of colonisation because they are saving the 'heathen' Catholic Filipinos, just as people - both Catholic and Protestant - use religious doctrine to ostracise Rosa (but not the man who got her pregnant, because of course not!).
In this - and in other aspects of the book - Hallock highlights the way that repressing and proscribing sexuality adversely affects both women and men. Rosa and Jonas' tentative first love scene, where they are figuring out one another and themselves, was exquisitely done. In fact, all the sex scenes here are insanely hot, just like in Under a Sugar Sun .
Ultimately, just like in her other books, Hallock doesn't pull any punches in Tempting Hymn , with either the romance or the historical detail. She does her setting and her characters justice, delivering a story that is raw and unflinching, but never too dark, because it has an engaging and touching romance at its core.
Altered from a review posted at Romancing the Social Sciences
I have to admit, I was nervous about Tempting Hymn , because Hallock has set herself a mammoth task: telling the romance of a 'fallen' Filipina nurse and an American missionary workman recovering physically from illness, and mentally from the death of his wife and children, in only 152 pages. Even though I have read and loved both of Hallock's prior two works, where she tackles similar storylines in comparative depth, I'm still impressed at the way she has pulled it off.
Like the first novel in this series, Under the Sugar Sun , Tempting Hymn manages to give adequate breathing room to the harsh historical realities of American colonial rule in the Philippines, while delivering a romance that is sweet, realistic and - above all - emotional.
Readers of Under the Sugar Sun will remember Rosa, the nurse assigned to care for Georgie's erstwhile fiance, Archie Blaxton. After the events of Under a Sugar Sun, Rosa gave birth to an illegitimate half-American son, Miguel, and was ostracised both by the people she had lived alongside her whole life, and the missionary community for whom she worked as a nurse. Despite the fact that she wants nothing more to do with American men, caring for missionary Jonas Vanderberg gives her a final chance to regain her nursing position at the local hospital, and give Miguel the life he deserves.
Having lost his wife and daughters to cholera, Jonas has nothing left to live for. The surly and insistent Rosa is only prolonging his misery, until he realises the unjust way that she has been treated. There's fight left in Jonas yet, but a perceived connection between Rosa and another American man will only hinder Rosa's attempts to get her life back on track.
The Rosa from Tempting Hymn is very different to the Rosa shown in Under the Sugar Sun . Partly, that's because she was irreparably changed by the events described there, but also because her side of the story humanises her. As a heroine, she's at once heartbreaking and eminently relatable. The way the world has treated her hasn't left her much room to be emotional, so she just gets on with what she needs to do.
Jonas is a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy. He decided to enter the mission field to impress his wife's well-to-do family, because, while he may not be an educated man, he can build anything, and the missionary movement needs jacks-of-all-trades as much as they need fancy preacher men. While I had initial concerns that his faith wouldn't sit well with me, the religious aspect was something that I valued most about this book.
As romance readers, we most often see representations and explorations of Christian faith in inspirational romances, but I want to make clear that Tempting Hymn is not an inspie. For a start, Rosa and Jonas would never cut it as a couple in an inspirational romance, because Rosa is Catholic, and she has no interest in converting. Secondly, I think Hallock's implicit focus here is the way religion is an ambiguous force. While Jonas is a man of God from the 'love thy neighbour' school of thought, the missionaries are able to justify the wrongs of colonisation because they are saving the 'heathen' Catholic Filipinos, just as people - both Catholic and Protestant - use religious doctrine to ostracise Rosa (but not the man who got her pregnant, because of course not!).
In this - and in other aspects of the book - Hallock highlights the way that repressing and proscribing sexuality adversely affects both women and men. Rosa and Jonas' tentative first love scene, where they are figuring out one another and themselves, was exquisitely done. In fact, all the sex scenes here are insanely hot, just like in Under a Sugar Sun .
Ultimately, just like in her other books, Hallock doesn't pull any punches in Tempting Hymn , with either the romance or the historical detail. She does her setting and her characters justice, delivering a story that is raw and unflinching, but never too dark, because it has an engaging and touching romance at its core.
March 21, 2017
My favourite book so far from the author. If you are looking for historical romance set in the Philippines with Filipino casts, then Jennifer Hallock is your go-to author. In this novella, Jonas is a Dutch-American missionary who lost his family to cholera in Manila 1900s while Rosa is a single-mom Visayan who was abandoned by her “Yankee” lover. What I love about this book is the fusion of the American and Filipino culture through Jonas and Rosa’s love story. There is just enough balance to see how the lives of Jonas and Rosa are affected following their union. I see both traditions in raising a family, as well as behaviours and beliefs. What stood out for me in this story is how Filipinos at that time quickly condemn single mothers abandoned by their American lovers as if it was all her fault for what happened to her. There is also that Filipino misconception that all Americans are wealthy people, and that Filipino women married to them are “lucky” to have them as spouses (I think this misconception still rings true at present, sadly). I also love those minor characters: those judgemental chismosas, the typical old Filipina spinster-slash-hypocrite Catholic, and (on the bright side) some of the welcoming foreigners and locals. I love the cameos from the author’s previous book (Padre Andres, hahaha!)
March 6, 2017
Another well-researched, subtle and sexy romance read from Jennifer Hallock (toeing the line between historical fiction and romance oh-so-deliciously.)
As you'll gather from the blurb, Jonas Vanderburg is an American missionary to the Philippines whose family succumbs to the cholera epidemic. He himself is on the brink of death save for the skill of nurse Rosa Ramos, late of Under The Sugar Sun. The Rosa in this book is a changed woman from the vain, nearly villainous role she was cast in the earlier book, because of a failed relationship with another American and a son out of wedlock.
There's a lot of sensitive issues here, in particular,from my perspective, the relationship between a white man and a Filipina woman, as it can so easily become icky. But Hallock handles this deftly and sweetly -- the first love scene between Jonas and Rosa is a master class.
I could easily devour 300 pages more of this story and I'd have liked a lengthier courtship, , but it's otherwise a fantastic addition to the Sugar Sun series.
As you'll gather from the blurb, Jonas Vanderburg is an American missionary to the Philippines whose family succumbs to the cholera epidemic. He himself is on the brink of death save for the skill of nurse Rosa Ramos, late of Under The Sugar Sun. The Rosa in this book is a changed woman from the vain, nearly villainous role she was cast in the earlier book, because of a failed relationship with another American and a son out of wedlock.
There's a lot of sensitive issues here, in particular,from my perspective, the relationship between a white man and a Filipina woman, as it can so easily become icky. But Hallock handles this deftly and sweetly -- the first love scene between Jonas and Rosa is a master class.
I could easily devour 300 pages more of this story and I'd have liked a lengthier courtship, , but it's otherwise a fantastic addition to the Sugar Sun series.
February 27, 2017
Prior to reading this book, I attended Jennifer Hallock's lecture on Micro-History at the Ayala Museum. There she introduced us to Rosa and Jonas, and their contexts as both nurse and Presbyterian minister. I also saw her 'cast' of this book, which only added to my enjoyment of it. Jennifer has always been a master of carefully treading the sensitive lines of the realities of the American Occupation in the Philippines, and it really showed here in Tempting Hymn. Relationships like Rosa and Jonas would have wagged tongues even today, but I love the way these two characters found much deserved happiness in each other. Music is just as integral to Catholic services here in the Philippines, so I loved the way Rosa and Jonas communicated with each other through music. I love Rosa as a character for her strength and abilities, and their hot and sweet steamy scenes were utterly, utterly perfect. I felt like my own heart was breaking every time Jonas mentioned his family, or when he and Rosa failed to reach each other. Of course the cameos from the other characters in the Sugar Sun universe was fun too. :)
September 7, 2020
This book was so enjoyable to read! I have had several Filipino friends over the years, so I knew a little about the history and culture, but never read anything set in the Philippines, especially not a historical romance novel! This was both romantic and also a very interesting view into life and especially mission work during this time period. I also found the approach to faith so refreshing!! Highly recommend, and will definitely check out other books in the series.
August 28, 2018
Delightful, low-drama, and sweet. Packed full of historical detail but the writing is clear and honest, so it’s never over-whelming. I wish it had been a little longer, or that the underlying tensions had been a bit more present (I didn’t even realize there were tensions aside from the parochial subplot, until they popped up at the end.)
Overall, a short and sweet summer read!
Overall, a short and sweet summer read!
Want to Read
May 21, 2020🎁 FREE on Amazon today (5/21/2020)! 🎁
December 31, 2020
Another great tale set in 1900s Phillipines
I really love Jen Hallock's deep understanding of 1900s Phillipines-the politics, US interests and missteps there, and her ability to craft complex characters who fit the circumstances so well.
I really love Jen Hallock's deep understanding of 1900s Phillipines-the politics, US interests and missteps there, and her ability to craft complex characters who fit the circumstances so well.
February 4, 2021
Nice
A nice, feel-good follow-up story to the rollercoaster drama of Under the Sugar Sun. Rosa and Jonas really do make two halves of a whole and music brings them together. Too short as a novella.
A nice, feel-good follow-up story to the rollercoaster drama of Under the Sugar Sun. Rosa and Jonas really do make two halves of a whole and music brings them together. Too short as a novella.
May 10, 2017
How a complicated tale turned so simple is what Jennifer Hallock does best, and this is proof to that.
I like how Jonas had to wait until the wedding night. That was so sweet. :)
I like how Jonas had to wait until the wedding night. That was so sweet. :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2018
This story is so engrossing from the first emotional gut punch to the ever after of Jonas and Rosa's journey. Jennifer Hallock balances the familiarity of a love story with a unique sense of place.
September 13, 2020
Interesting
This has a mixture of cultures, and people's disgraceful attitudes with a bit of romance, sadness and joy. Also has an old world feel
This has a mixture of cultures, and people's disgraceful attitudes with a bit of romance, sadness and joy. Also has an old world feel
February 26, 2021
I liked Jonas, and his wedding night with Rosa was sweet (but also sexy). And the cover is gorgeous.
May 9, 2021
Amazon calls it Book #2
July 19, 2022
Love one another and really mean i t!
It was difficult not to return Animosity, ththey managed very well and cemnted their relationship. The next book should be just as well written
It was difficult not to return Animosity, ththey managed very well and cemnted their relationship. The next book should be just as well written
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews