Christian Fiction Devourers discussion

August's Group Read is Fancy Pants by Cathy Marie Hake!

Goodreads Summary:

When Britisher Lady Sydney Hathwell's father dies, the American who planned to wed her suddenly reneges. Stranded in America and penniless, Sydney contacts a relative in Texas who, mistaking her male-sounding name, invites his "nephew" to join him on his ranch. "Big Tim" Creighton, however, is appalled when this mincing fop arrives at Forsaken. He determines he'll turn Fancy Pants Hathwell into a man before the boss returns home. From the get-go, he has "the kid" mucking stalls, clearing and plowing a field, and assisting with a difficult calving. But when Sydney's true identity is uncovered, Tim resents being deceived. Yet in time, he also finds that he doesn't like all the attention Sydney garners now that she's wearing pretty gowns.... Together Sydney and Tim will discover the importance of family and what it means to be a man--and a woman--of God.

Join in if you'd like! :)

Oh I cannot wait to start re-reading this book!

TOTALLY RED THIS BOOKS! FANTASTIC READ! YOU WILL LOVE IT!!

This is one of my most favorite books!! I've read it & listened to it several times. ;)

I just started today :) Liking it so far!

Lots of great humor in this one.

I loved this book!!

I am 40% through, and so far cannot put it down! :)

I enjoyed this one, but I didn't love it. I think I rated it 3.5 out of 5. Still, interested to hear everyone's thoughts!

I am about 30% through and it just doesn't hold my interest. Maybe it gets better but I just kind of abandoned it for now.

This was a great, fun and funny book. My only complaint was that the part where she becomes a Christian felt forced and didn't change the story at all. Other than that, it was a delightful read.

Hi everyone! just wanted to remind everyone to be careful of posting potential spoilers - some of us haven't read the book yet. :)

Make sure to post "SPOILER ALERT" or something similar. Thanks!

Thanks, Jodie! :)

Jeannie wrote: "This was a great, fun and funny book. My only complaint was that the part where she becomes a Christian felt forced and didn't change the story at all. Other than that, it was a delightful read."

Okay, I'm going to put my thoughts in spoiler text, like Jodie suggested.

(view spoiler)[I was also disappointed with the spiritual side of the story. I felt like Sydney's growth of faith was mostly realistic, but I didn't like how Tim kept worrying and nagging her about her faith. If I were Sydney, I think that would have pushed me away from developing my faith since he was so pushy about it. He seemed a little aggressive in making her talk about God all the time. Maybe I'm just a but sensitive towards this issue since my husband wasn't a Christian when I met him and I was very careful not to push him away from Christ by rushing anything. Whereas Tim kept bringing God into every conversation they had. (hide spoiler)]

Rachel wrote: "Jeannie wrote: "This was a great, fun and funny book. My only complaint was that the part where she becomes a Christian felt forced and didn't change the story at all. Other than that, it was a del..."

Rachel - I felt the same way that he was a little pushy. I think you accomplish a whole lot more with actions and a few words than lots of preaching.

And Jodie thanks for teaching us how to use the spoiler alert!

Purchasing now.

Cathy, have you already purchased? I would be happy to loan it if you have a Kindle!

Oh, you are kind Beth. Yes, I already purchased it. I am looking forward to doing the group read for once. Blessings!

I have also purchased a few other books recommended by others in this group. Half.com has great prices. Birthday gift card. (:

Glad you are joining in Cathy :)

I just finished, and I agree that (view spoiler)[Tim was a bit pushy trying to get Sydney to become a Christian (hide spoiler)]. Other than that I really loved it!

Loraine and Gabs, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Tim was a bit too pushy! I'm sure he meant well and just cared about Sydney, but I probably would have done more along the lines of what Loraine said--less words, more actions.

One thing that I found particularly interesting was (view spoiler)[how Tim wanted to stop Sydney from doing manual labour on the farm once he learned that she was a woman, even though she'd proved that she can do the work. There were some really interesting conversations between Tim, Sydney and Velma about the fact that he was treating her differently now that he knew she was a woman and was dismissing her ability to do the same work as him. I thought it was kind of unusual for a Christian novel. In other books I've come across where women pretend to be men and get discovered, they're often happy to go back to doing typical women's chores, so it was refreshing to see Sydney sticking to her previous chores and proving that she could do the same things as Tim. Go Sydney! (hide spoiler)]

Rachel wrote: "Loraine and Gabs, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Tim was a bit too pushy! I'm sure he meant well and just cared about Sydney, but I probably would have done more along the lines of what ..."

(view spoiler)[... (hide spoiler)]
I thought that was interesting too but considering Sydney's personality I was not surprised that she wanted to continue to do the things she had done. If the author had turned her back into a "prissy" lady it wouldn't have been consistent with her personality up to that point.

Definitely, Loraine. I don't have any problem with the way Sydney behaved, it was just a nice change from the typical heroines in Christian historical fiction.

Rachel wrote: "Definitely, Loraine. I don't have any problem with the way Sydney behaved, it was just a nice change from the typical heroines in Christian historical fiction."

Yes - I did like the change as well.

just got to downliad yesterday first book I have read with the group. excited!

I read it about half a year ago. It's a good read, though I felt something was lacking. I agree with you guys that the spiritual part was a bit disappointing, it was something else too. Maybe... (view spoiler)[ ...because the romance between Sydney and Tim felt a bit rushed in the end? I mean, Sydney liked him for a while, but Tim only thought of her as a friend until he found out that she was a girl. I dunno. It had a somewhat... unsatisfying end. (hide spoiler)]

I started it but not my type of book. I will try to finish it.

I read it and enjoyed it. I did keep thinking throughout the book that (view spoiler)[it was too unbelievable that the men didn't realize that she was a gal, especially with them noticing how feminine she was. But then I'd remember that I had read a book about a woman who disguised herself as a man and became a soldier in the Civil War, and the men noticed her smaller frame and lack of facial hair and figured it was due to late puberty, and there were mentions of other women having done the same thing. (hide spoiler)]

I'm about 75% into the book. The first half started to drag for me. Now that they finally know she is a girl, it's gotten a lot better.

I feel the same, Corrine. Not really a book I would choose but I will also try to finish it.

Can't seem to get into it. Maybe if I get to the halfway mark as Beth did, it will pick up and I'll get more interested in the characters and the outcome.

Lisa, I remember the exact percent it picked up - 45%!

I plan on coming back to discuss soon :)

Good to know. Sadly, I'm reading it night after working all day, trying to get some writing done and cleaning the house. I need "more" to keep me awake - lol

Too Far to Say Far Enough by Nancy Rue kept me up till all hours, though. Couldn't wait to find out how the trilogy wrapped up.

And, I confess that Rosemary Cottage by Colleen Coble is on my nightstand and calling to me (if you know what I mean). Too many books and not enough hours in the day. :-)

The book finally arrived. I will be starting it tonight. I can't wait!

I loved the book!! Can't wait to read more of her books :)

I finished it this weekend! I'm glad I stuck with it because I did end up liking it :)

I'll come back in a few days to share my thoughts.

Since so many people enjoyed this book, what other Cathy Marie Hake novels would you recommend? This is my first read from her, although I have Letter Perfect on my Kindle.

I read Letter Perfect a long time ago, and I enjoyed that one - it's actually one of the first Christian novels that I read! :)

I've read one more by her, which I didn't care for.

I confess, I switched over to Rosemary Cottage and am loving it. I'll meander back to Fancy Pants at some point, but I Rosemary Cottage grabbed me right from the start. First Colleen Coble book that I've read. I'll be reading a few more this fall. :-)

Lisa wrote: "I confess, I switched over to Rosemary Cottage and am loving it. I'll meander back to Fancy Pants at some point, but I Rosemary Cottage grabbed me right from the start. First Colleen Coble book t..."

That's funny because the first Coble book I picked up, I put down because I couldn't get into it, haha. I've seen Rosemary Cottage and it does sound good.

Beth wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I confess, I switched over to Rosemary Cottage and am loving it. I'll meander back to Fancy Pants at some point, but I Rosemary Cottage grabbed me right from the start. First Colleen..."

That's funny! I picked up Rosemary Cottage based on a friend's recommendation. We'll see how it goes with the others.

I just finished it last night. I wasn't loving it, but read some of the comments that it gets better so I stuck with it. I agree that I enjoyed it more after (view spoiler)[ everyone figured out she was a girl. I also agree that her conversion seemed a bit contrived, like the author was running out of time and had to quick fit that in. I did enjoy the read overall and was so glad that Sydney and Tim finally got together! :)
(hide spoiler)]

Rachel wrote: "Since so many people enjoyed this book, what other Cathy Marie Hake novels would you recommend? This is my first read from her, although I have Letter Perfect on my Kindle."

These are my favorites...
The others I read by her were good, but I didn't enjoy them as much.

I am about half way through the book, loving it!

Finished,loved it! Thank you for selecting this one for all of us to read.

Finally going to start this today! It's been a long time since I've read it and reading this discussion has me eager to dive in again!

Here are my thoughts overall:

This was a really cute read. The story line wasn't my favorite to begin with, but once I just suspended my belief for a bit, it was good. There were a lot of hilarious moments, and the romance ended up being really sweet.

The Texas ranch setting was very well done. I really liked reading about the details of ranch life.

I was intrigued by the discussions of women's role versus men's roles. Since Sydney "proves" herself as a man, Tim can't say that she is relegated strictly to "women's work," and I liked the struggle they had in this regard. It was the most realistic part, and the feminist in me was really happy that this issue was discussed and not merely glossed over by Sydney returning meekly to her "correct" role.

I didn't buy that none of the men would have recognized that she was a girl, especially since she was 17, not say, 13 or 14. I enjoyed the story a lot more once the secret was out, and I thought it took too long to get there. The suspense element fell a little flat too, and some of the plot felt like devices rather than a natural flow to the story.

Like some of you mentioned, I felt that the spiritual aspect was a bit forced as well. I didn't care for the way that Tim handled Sydney's questions. To me, he sometimes came across as condescending, or more like a father-figure. Sydney's questions were worded oddly sometimes, thought that could have just been my perception of the dialogue in general.

I'm glad I kept on with this one because I ended up really enjoying it :)

I'm wondering, did anyone else fill like the story could have stood without the "villain" aspect? I thought it would have been fine without it, especially because I found the climactic scene a little anti-climactic. Maybe it was just me :)

Beth wrote: "I'm wondering, did anyone else fill like the story could have stood without the "villain" aspect? I thought it would have been fine without it, especially because I found the climactic scene a litt..."

I definitely thought the ending was anticlimatic. I think the villain was necessary at the start of the novel in order for Sydney to have someone to run away from, but that part of the story never felt completely fleshed out. The details about why the villain wanted to marry Sydney and what he hoped to get out of their marriage were pretty vague. I think the story could probably have worked fine without that storyline, especially considering how it ended. A good villain needs believable motivations, and this one just never felt completely right.