Welcome to the Minding the Light tour with Celebrate Lit. I am thrilled you found my stop. Minding the Light by author Suzanne Woods Fisher is an intricate, beautiful, touching historical tale filled with emotion and inspiration. History buffs will swoon over this jam packed detailed story that was so expertly researched. Readers that like to learn about different sects will enjoy hearing about Quakers. Romance readers will get their fix, too. Yes, this is a book for everyone. Minding the Light is Book Two in author Fisher’s Nantucket Legacy series, but it could easily be read as a stand alone. However, you won’t want to miss Book One which was spectacular, too. Definitely read them both.
This is the story of dashing sea captain Reynolds “Ren” Macy. Six years ago, Ren sailed out leaving his bride in pursuit of whale oil. Unfortunately he returns home to grief, but there are also surprises. The road ahead is difficult for Ren, and it will cost him quite a lot. However, the transformation he made throughout this book was downright inspiring to anyone of any time period.
It is also the story of Daphne. She is the heroine, a strong, compassionate Quaker, who happens to be engaged to Ren’s cousin and business partner. Daphne faces hypocrisy among peers, friends, and elders. However, she remains steady and true to herself and her beliefs. A great romance is told here. Her character is extremely relatable and likable. She quickly became my friend and I was invested in her life. It takes a great writer to pen a good friend.
Another character is Mary Coffin Starbucks. We become acquainted with her through her journal entries in this novel. While Mary Coffin Starbuck is a real person, her journal was completely made up for this story. Mary was an important figure in Nantucket history. It is interesting seeing the island’s earliest days through her eyes. I loved the journal even though I knew it was fiction.
Besides the main storyline there were subplots that were fascinating, also. This book has a lot of things going on in it. It is extremely well written, well researched, and well planned. I adore reading historical books where I glean things from them. This was a treasure trove for me. Besides the facts about Nantucket there was a wealth of information about Quakers, too.
Author Fisher has a delightful writing style that brings her well described characters to life. Her descriptive wording transported me to Nantucket to a time and place I had never been. I could almost hear the sounds of the ocean and smell the salty air. The dialog between characters flowed effortlessly and was one of my favorite parts of the books. It was fascinating reading well known surnames throughout the book. This is a book that was hard to put down until the end!
In this captivating novel, I was given food for thought. Things to think about long after I had finished the last page. How do I handle adversity and disappointment? Is my faith strong enough? The author made me realize that we all deal with issues no matter in what era we are born. Hypocrisy has been around since the beginning of time and romantic problems will always exist along with disappointment and bad decision making. We all sin and fall short of how we hope to live, but Jesus is always there to guide us. The Lighthouse shining the way. He is the true Light of the World. My favorite thing for a Christian novel is to have a Christian message. This one gets an A+ for that.
I highly recommend Minding the Light for anyone that enjoys historical Christian romance. This was a wonderful book. You won’t be disappointed. It would really be a great book club read because there are so many things to discuss. It definitely gets a 5 out of 5 star rating.
Please read the sections below. There is a giveaway and some really neat facts about Nantucket provided by our gifted author. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will return.
Thanks to CelebrateLit for making it possible to read and review this beautiful story.
About the Book
Book Title: Minding the Light
Author: Suzanne Woods Fisher
Genre: Historical Romance
Release date: July 3, 2018
Six long years ago, Captain Reynolds Macy sailed away from his bride, looking forward to the day when he would return to Nantucket Island with a ship’s hold full of whale oil. But when that momentous day finally arrives, Ren soon discovers that everything has changed in his absence. Everything. “Is nothing on this island as it appears to be?” he whispers in despair.
Unlike most islanders, bold and spirited Daphne Coffin doesn’t defer to Ren as an authoritative whalemaster, but sees through his aloofness to the aching heart beneath. She encourages him to return to his Quaker roots and “mind the Light,” finding solace in God and community. As Ren becomes the man she believes him to be–honorable, wise, faithful–she finds herself falling in love with him.
But how can she, when her heart is spoken for? Tristram Macy is Ren’s business partner, cousin, and best friend–and Daphne’s fiancé. Love always comes at a cost, but when is the price too high?
Suzanne Woods Fisher welcomes readers back to the Quaker community on Nantucket Island for this riveting love story, full of unexpected moments.
About the Author
Carol-award winner Suzanne Woods Fisher writes untold stories about inspiring people. With over one million copies of her books sold worldwide, she is the bestselling author of fiction and non-fiction, ranging from Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World to the historical novel Anna’s Crossing.
Guest Post from Suzanne
8 Curious Facts you Probably Didn’t Know about Nantucket Island
This beautiful island, thirty miles off Cape Cod, is steeped in history. Here are just a few interesting reasons to add a visit to Nantucket to your bucket list.
1) During the first half of the nineteenth century, Nantucket was considered to be the wealthiest port in the world…all because of whale oil.
2) Petticoat Row is a 19th century nickname for a portion of Centre Street between Main Street and Broad Street. Many shops on Nantucket were run by women while the men were off to sea in whaling ships for years at a time. Quakerism, with its emphasis on equality, provided working women with community respect, value and esteem. The next time you’re visiting Nantucket, be sure to stop by the Petticoat Row Bakery for a morning glory muffin.
3) The use of laudanum (opium) was described by a visiting French as prevalent among the women of Nantucket. Loyal Nantucketers vehemently denied his claim. However, in the 1980s, construction workers digging to Nantucket’s sewer lines found heaps of opium bottles buried in the ground.
For centuries, laudanum was considered to be not only harmless but beneficial. Its very name in Latin is landare, which means to praise. Other names for it: Mother’s Helper (to sedate children), Sea Calm (for seasickness). It was used for all kinds of ailments, from sleeplessness to menstrual cramps to treatment of chronic pain, and available without prescription up until the twentieth century, when it was found to be highly addictive.
4) Nantucket Cent Schools were a carryover from England and the cost was exactly what the name implied. In New England they were kept by refined, thrifty women who often taught their own or their neighbors’ children until they were old enough to enter schools of a higher grade. I came across a story of a boy whose mother stuck a penny in his mouth each day so that he would remember to pay the teacher.
5) Moby Dick, written by Herman Melville in 1851, was based on a true-life event that occurred in 1820 to the Nantucket whaleship Essex and her crew. You can find out more about this ill-fated voyage if you visit Nantucket’s awesome whaling museum.
6) Speaking of…the whaling museum on Nantucket Island is called the Peter Foulger Whaling Museum. Peter Foulger was one of the early settlers to the island, and could be considered a Renaissance Man: inventor, surveyor, teacher, missionary to the Wampanoag Indians. And his grandson was none other than Benjamin Franklin.
7) Nantucketers were, for the most part, related to each other in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The prosperous island was settled by a small group of families, with less than a dozen surnames: Coffin, Macy, Starbuck, Bunker, Hussey, Gardner, Mayhew, Swain, Barnard, Coleman, Worth, Mitchell. Those names are still common on the island.
8) There’s a good reason those surnames sound familiar to you—many of those early settlers had descendants who started business empires. Recognize these? Macy (retailer) and Folger (coffee).
Blog Stops
Carpe Diem, July 3
Livin Lit, July 3
midnightbookaholic, July 3
The Avid Reader, July 4
Margaret Kazmierczak, July 4
The Power of Words, July 4
A Baker’s Perspective, July 5
Blossoms and Blessings, July 5
A Reader’s Brain, July 5
Just the Write Escape, July 6
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, July 6
Bibliophile Reviews, July 7
Mary Hake, July 7
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 7
Texas Book-aholic, July 8
Simple Harvest Reads, July 8 (Guest post from Mindy Houng)
Janices book reviews, July 9
Captive Dreams Window, July 9
Book by Book, July 9
Back Porch Reads, July 10
Reading Is My SuperPower, July 10
Splashes of Joy, July 10
The Morning Chapter, July 11
Vicky Sluiter, July 11
Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, July 11
Among the Reads, July 12
proud to be an autism mom, July 12
Two Points of Interest, July 12
Abbas Prayer Warrior Princess, July 13
Tell Tale Book Reviews, July 13
Blogging With Carol, July 13
Truth and Grace Writing and Life Coaching, July 14
Maureen’s Musings, July 14
Southern Gal Loves to Read, July 14
Godly Book Reviews, July 15
Inklings and notions, July 15
Bigreadersite, July 15
Connie’s History Classroom , July 16
Locks, Hooks and Books, July 16
Pause for Tales, July 16
Have A Wonderful Day, July 16
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Suzanne is giving away a $10 Starbucks gift card to five winners!!
Be sure to leave a comment on one of the blog stops for 9 extra entries into the giveaway. Click link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/d1c4/minding-the-light-celebration-tour-giveaway
First, what does forgiving someone mean to you? Do they have to ask for it? Is it earned like respect? Do you still feel the same way about that person or can you go back like nothing ever happened? Are forgive and forget a married couple? Well, I wish we were chatting over coffee and tea instead of tablets and phones. I want to know your thoughts.
In my heart and soul, I knew the answer. My example, my teacher was Jesus. Right? Even in the Lord’s Prayer we pray to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.” So was I forgiving like that? Like God forgives.
Are you seeing the pattern here? Being thankful is finding your silver lining in the dark cloud. It is knowing that things could have gone much worse but didn’t.
We find Mandy and hubby running a Bed and Breakfast in Indiana. Her best friend, Ellen works there along side her. One day Mandy and her family receive word of a family emergency which causes them to need to quickly pick up and relocate to Hawaii. Ellen jumps in requesting permission to go and help, too, when another crisis hits. She receives permission and flies, on a plane, to Hawaii. Oh the places you’ll go, Ellen! Who could imagine Hawaiian Amish? Wanda and Jean, of course!
to trust Him, and have faith. Friendship is shown throughout this book. Giving readers pause to reflect upon what kind of friend they are? What would they do for a friend? Do we pray with our friends? Also, family and religious dynamics are explored. What happens when you are away from the guidance of family? How does it effect the family if you marry outside your (their) cultural beliefs?
She discusses religious differences among Christians, drugs, war, faith, trust, and love. How about trying to make everyone happy? Who hasn’t been in that situation before? John David’s Calling is very inspiring and will encourage readers to think long after they have finished it. Leaning on God is stressed, as is trusting in Him.
Abba's Prayer Warrior Princess 