Elsie's True Love

A Life of Faith: Elsie Dinsmore #5

by Martha Finley (Editor)

In London and on a Southern plantation in the 1850s, Elsie Dinsmore, who has always tried to live a truly Christian life, recovers from a failed romance, assumes responsibility for her inheritance, and waits for love.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Romance, Historical, Young Adult

215 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

Martha Finley was a teacher and author of numerous works, the most well known being the 28 volume Elsie Dinsmore series which was published over a span of 38 years. Finley wrote many of her books under the pseudonym Martha Farquharson.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_F... or, http://marthafinley.wordpress.com/

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I present to you a g-chat between myself and Jasmine which is all the time I shall waste on this book:

Me: Lol
Of the three [from this series that I have read], this is the best

Jasmine: Explicit fellatio?

Me: I actually really like Edward, he's a "rebel" i.e. an abolitionist and a baby feminist
But get this, he's the dude she's going to marry. He's also the dude who wanted to adopt her in book 1

Jasmine: What
The
Fuck
How much older?

Me:RIGHT
16 years
Which is not that bad
Except he's her father's best friend and has basically been an uncle to her her whole life

Jasmine: 0.o
Sexy

Me: People keep commenting on the age and giving all these examples of worse age gaps and I'm like 1.) Doesn't make it okay and 2.) It's not the age that makes it creepy, it's the relationship
But aside from that, he's my favorite character

Jasmine: Hoooooo boy

Me: Not saying much, eh

Jasmine:Yeah
Just a tad

[Kellyn Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit I went, "Awwwww" at some parts of this book ... partially because it was familiar yet new yet adorable ... which was a weird but overall positive feeling. ;)

[Hannah Beth (Hannah's Book Cafe) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm trying so hard not to look at this book through a modern lenses and put it into the perspective of the time period it was written for.

That being said, I did not enjoy this book as much as some of the other ones. I do think this is a good series to read at least once, especially for young girls. However, I don't advise falling in love with someone who is almost old enough to be your father.

[Jessica Samson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly this book was so beautiful. This series has been amazing and this book is by far my favorite at the moment. The feeling, the grief, the passion, the love, the chaos, the journey. It was all so beautifully written, you could feel everything on the pages.

A romance for Elsie was long awaited on my part and now that I have read it, I crave so much more. The attraction on both sides is so real, so pure. So innocent and true. I could feel the words, the confession, the joy.

Truly my favorite so far. So so beautiful.

I was half sobbing half squealing the entire book. Marvelous book!

[Katerina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Elsie and I hated it when Bromly tricked her in the last book. He deserved to DIE. but anyways, it was a shocker when I finally figured out what was going on between Elsie and Edward, and I kept denying it. But in the end I was really happy. I hate how jackson still isn't dead, but at least the Travilla "Vanilla"'s live happily ever after, for now. Oh, and the book shows the gender steryotypes amazingly well through Elsie's meeting with Mr. Spriggs!

[Jordyn Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a religious person but even I find these books to be enchanting. Elsie is a character that you just cant help but love. Her life as well as love story is captivating. Unfortunately this book series is written for a younger audience, this took away from the book and made it boring at some parts.

[Grace Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed most of this book and enjoyed some of the historical details of it more than i have in the past.
As far as the love story goes. I’m uncomfortable. It was not the age difference that bothered me, but rather the relationship that the love interest already had with members of the family that got me.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book seems to focus on Elsie's True Love, it also emphasizes her adulthood. She begins to learn about her responsibilities as a landowner and slave owner.

[Carri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books as a child. Today’s rating my be close to a 4 star but I’m still a sucker for the romance.

[Chloe H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has always been one of my favorites of the Elsie series.

Edward is one of my absolute favorite characters and has always been one of my fictional crushes. In my mind, he is the hero of every Elsie book. In the beginning, he seeks to help Horace see his harsh treatment of Elsie, and to protect her and love her as best he can. In the previous book, he protects her from a scoundrel who wants only her fortune. Now he sees her as the beautiful young woman she is, and desires to love and protect her as her husband.

Because Edward is sixteen years older than Elsie and has known her since she was eight, it's a little bit weird in my mind, though I do ship them. In my current cultural context, people look with suspicion on that because of the disgusting people that do exist in our world, and the differences in maturity people with that age gap usually have. But I truly don't think Edward is a weirdo (especially since Elsie is twenty-one when he actually falls in love with her and their maturity levels are the same).

I love weddings and wholesome love stories, so I truly enjoyed this book and I'm excited to see the Travilla family grow.

[Emily Reimold · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I enjoy a romantic, it felt quite sudden. The characters were suddenly thrown into the love for each other but it felt like very little build up. More like the author just went with one of the character she has already wrote instead of creating a new character. There were other little snippets that had no conclusion in this book. They came about in the next but at no point did it grow the story.

[Lyris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Elsie finds out that her true love is the man she previously considered her second father. Also, she decides she doesn’t like slavery. Tom Jackson is part of the story for some reason. I think Elsie was groomed a bit.

[Aidyn Lovicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not expecting the end!

[Jessica Hoffpauir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously I love this book. It’s a classic for me and obviously we are ignoring the fact that this amazing 18 year old married an old man. Djowlxnxksickakxnal

[Caitlyn Matson · Rating 5 out of 5]

cute girl series!!

[Lena Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember thinking it was weird that Elsie married who she did, but I guess it was culturally acceptable.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aunt Chloe's storyline is one of my favorites in this series :)

I love Elsie's heart for people. She's in a system that is wrong but she does the absolute best she can within that to care for the people in her care.

It's fun to see her take over her inheritance. I enjoy the trips to Viamede; the second one sure is exciting!

Like Elsie, Edward is too good to be true but he's an example, I think, to girls of a godly Christian man. Just so we know that he's fictional.

[Katie Sheetz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read. I kept thinking Elsie had feeling for Edward and he for her but I was glad to know I was right. They do make an odd couple (16 year age difference), but I still think they are perfect for each other. And the twist with Jackson on the end was a cliff hanger for the next book.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was amazing! After waiting so long to read it and receive it, it was better than ever! The whole marriage scene was wonderful! So happy.....

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good!!

[Jennah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you ever want to know how a godly woman should be and what she should be looking for in a godly husband then please read this book. Excellent book.

[Bekah · Rating 1 out of 5]

All the Elsie books were awful. It nearly killed any live of reading so my mom agreed to let me pick my one books. I went with Nancy Drew

[Megan F · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is okay to be an innocent person, but watch out for those guys that'll break your heart!

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F FIN ed: lof bk. 5