The Reverend's Other Son

by Anne Padgett

Christian Beechum is the good son. As the elder son of a respected Illinois family at the turn of the century, Christian dutifully sets aside his own creative talents and dreams to take his place in the family business. His younger, prodigal brother Harry, however, always gets what he wants and doesn’t mind letting others—especially his awkward brother—pay the cost. But when Harry thinks he’s found his soul mate in the wealthy socialite Anna Clark, Christian fears his future sister-in-law really has gotten away with murder. In order to protect his brother from his beguiling prize, Christian must challenge his family’s wishes, stand up to Harry and uncover Anna’s dark secrets before someone else is destroyed. All this while another more lethal danger threatens them all. November 1918 would be the deadliest month in US History as the Spanish Influenza epidemic swept through America, killing more civilians at home than in all the battles of the Great War in Europe. Amidst this sudden struggle to survive, all three young people will be forced to reveal their true colors.

The Reverend's Other Son is a fiction novel set at the end of the First World War and features romantic and inspirational plotlines interwoven with captivating and accurate historical detail. Approximately 75,000 words, intended for young adult and adult readers. DLR Designs created the original cover art.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

ebook

Published January 10, 2018

Reviews

[Anne Padgett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story has an interesting and historically accurate setting. The point of view moves between the two sons which I know is a bit unusual for what is essentially a Romance novel. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and finding the twists in the story.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny h0w you don't know sometimes how things land on your TBR or why. I thought this would be a book featuring fathers, but it did not fit that prompt as promised. Brothers, yes... This small quiet novel features WWI and two very different brothers, sons of the towns reverend. And a troubled girl who they meet earlier on in the book, who comes between them. As does the War, the Spanish flu, and their natures. Christian does not want to be a reverend. He wants to be an artist, and is an intellectual of the world. Harry, plays baseball, and plays around and is unfit for the job, even though everyone loves and adores him. He doesn't have the personality nor strength for the Family business. So it unfairly falls to Christian. Anna Clarke, also, is coveted by both, and has troubles of her own.

I listened to this one on Audio, and the audio fit the story. It was expressionless and told the tale in a dry way -which befitted the tale. At the end of the audio, the speaker announced that it was produced by Virtual Voice (AI). This bothered me - a lot actually. They are now taking away inflection and interpretation? Well, I guess they picked the book to do it. But that really upset me just on the human storytelling, human experience front. The book was tough and for sure has trigger warnings. But it had a story to tell all the same. It was bleak, with some hope and theology in there. But it was also very human. 3 stars from me.

[Carol Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

An historical novel set in the time of the First World War and the Spanish flu, the Reverend’s other Son follows the life of the Beecham Family, specifically the two older sons, Christian and Harry. Harry is the favored sin and a bit of a rebel. Christian is the oldest son and is expected to do as he’s told and to be responsible. The Reverend expects Christian to take his place, but Christian wants to study art abroad. As with most brothers, there is no lack of rivalry between Christian and Harry.

This was a well written novel. It hooked me right away and kept me hooked until the end. I especially enjoyed the historical aspects of the story. Sex does occur in this book, but there are no graphic sex scenes. There are a few curse words and a fair amount of violence given the time period, but nothing too graphic. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good historical novel. I would not recommend it for the younger reader as there is quite a bit of adult content within the story.

[Jordan Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story

The story felt classic, but modern, and historical the entire time. I loved the dreamy Jane Austen feel of it. But it a!so had great descriptions of the warfare of WW1 and the Spanish Flu. I almost stopped reading because the similarities of pandemic freaked me out, but I'm happy I pushed through. Definitely worth the read.

[Judith Persutti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Prevails

This story resonates with time we are living in yet taking us back to a more simple way of life. It shows the importance of God and family. There is enough spice to give one the impression of a sexual feelings,yet leaves it to the readers imagination.
I chose to read this from the title as this was the title second time reading works by this author.
I was very pleased and would recommend it to my circle of reading friends. It would also be a great addition to a church lending library.

[Aria Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot of history from reading this book! It also is particularly relevant to today with the being set during the time of the Spanish Influenza. I really enjoyed the characters and relationship between the two brothers. It's an easy read - I recommend it!

[Shirley Reinhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book

Written In a warm and wonderful way that brings you in and keeps you reading . Unexpected twists and turns right to the end ,a heartwarming tale you believe to be true !

[Kristyn Bray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the storyline family, expectations, doing the right thing, loss. Well written.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted more from this book as it had so much potential. The parallels to human nature in early nineteen hundreds are seen again in our world 2020-21.

[Lujennie Leake · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like romance novels in general. I finished this book, which means it is a little entertaining.

[Jeanne Mcdermott · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of her earlier works?

The story line was interesting and characters well-developed, but the book didn’t ‘wow’ me. It tries to tackle family trauma caused by incest and the long term effects on its victims. To set it in the early part of the 20th century was an interesting choice. I’m not sure one of the character’s WWI experiences added anything to the plot. I think the horrors of the Spanish Flu epidemic covered in the family saga were spot-on.

[King Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of life and living

A rich story of American life in the early 20th century: the patriarchy, the structure, the brutality of war -- and the cruelty of sibling rivalry and love.

[barbara p. barracato]

Enjoyed it.

[Donna Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I created the cover art for this book. I try my best to read all the books of authors who buy my covers; it's my way of supporting THEM like they support ME. I started the book yesterday afternoon and read it straight through until I finished it. After a little bit of a slow start, it quickly got interesting. It's a historical romance set in the pre-WWI era. The history has obviously been well researched. Descriptions of daily life during the period rang true. The section on trench warfare in Europe was exceptionally well done and accurate. Her major characters have depth and I found myself wanting to know what happened to them, and how (or if) they would grow and change by the end. Christian is a well developed character and it's easy to sympathize with his situation. Anna is less developed in the beginning, but that's because the author was setting up the mystery surrounding her. Don't want to give away too much, though. By the end of the book, Anna has grown and changed and I felt like I knew her much better than in the beginning. Harry was a strong, antagonistic character, which every good story needs. I was able to predict the "problem" in the story about halfway through, but it didn't matter. I still wanted to see how it would be resolved by all the characters involved. There are many common themes throughout the book that have been done before, certainly, but they are relatable and still relevant: sibling rivalry, children being pressured to conform to society's gender/class roles against their will, the horrendous carnage of war on both land and people, and the power of love and forgiveness. There were some minor grammatical errors and misplaced commas throughout, but nothing so terrible that I got thrown out of the story because of them. I only noticed them because I have edited stories for authors in the past. If you like a light historical romance that ends well, you will enjoy it.

[Nancy Gourdoux · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay book

The mistakes in the script made it hard to follow at times. An interesting story, but lacked depth and could have used more character development. The story was a little disjointed. However, it held my interest for the most part. The historical parts were skimmed over and didn’t really fit together with the main theme of the story.

[Patricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whole the storyline kept my interest, it’s hard to believe the book made it “to press,” given the countless grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors. I actually did begin to keep count but quickly tired when I realized I was counting at least 10 errors per page.

[Myra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique Story

Wonderful story, I enjoyed it very much. The WWI setting was unique and interesting. The story is gripping from page 1.

[Sharon Pratscher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Formulaic Writing

I don’t enjoy books like this. While the book touched on very serious issues war, incest , sibling rivalry etc, it was done in a facile manner using one dimensional characters.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I vacillated between a three and a four. This story dragged for me. I was hoping for more history and I was not invested in Harry’s character and found myself skimming through chapters dedicated to him.

[Janet Hofmeister · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t love it as much as her other books

Not the complex story that Anne Padgett usually tells. Kind of obvious story line and several questions left about peripheral characters. Disappointed.

[William Gilbreath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just ok

Since Anne writes so well I can only compare and this was not great --poor compared with State of wonder, patron saints, bel canto. Felt like a history lesson.

[susan hanerfeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

This book was most interesting when Padgett delved into the life of the soldiers in WORLD WAR 1. It is overall a good read.

[Patricia Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple and sweet

If you're looking for a PG book and like short sentences,here's your read! Simplistic,cardboard characters and a story with a moral.

[Victor Hess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well crafted and entertaining story about the early 20th century. I like stories about conflict and redemption.

[Dr. Karen J. Richter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I usually love Anne Padgett books, but this was kind of boring. Maybe because i already knew the history?

[James Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something missing

If I chose correctly, this is Ms Patchett's third novel. I enjoyed reading and feel rewarded by the effort. Still, this one feels like a first book, like one everyone appreciates but at the same time looks for better things to come from the author,