This is the second novel I've read by Liz Tolsma. The first was Daises Are Forever, which I loved. If you enjoy reading historical fiction you will enjoy the words penned by Liz Tolsma. She opens the imagination and sets the senses on a course that takes the reader back in time. In this case we begin in 1941. The Japanese have the Philippines occupied and we find ourselves in Manila at Fort Santiago where the main characters are being held captive while the island is occupied.
There are some truths to this novel and other areas where the writer allows our imagination to take us a journey of possibilities. The main characters grabbed my heart immediately. I was hooked from the first pages to the last.
Tolsma's words flow easily. She invites us into the character's lives and allows us the opportunity to really get to know them. Not only know them, but care about them. We follow their lives through these captive years and all that happened to them. It's unimaginable what the people of Manila went through during the war. But Tolsma opened my heart to a place and time I wasn't all that knowledgeable about and allowed me to become intrigued.
We see God change hearts. We see forgiveness take hold. Unexpected love grows. This novel holds so much beauty. I truly enjoyed it and can't wait to see what the writer pens next.
Liz Tolsma has lived in Wisconsin most of her life, and she now resides next to a farm field with her husband and their two daughters. Her son proudly serves as a US Marine. All of their children have been adopted internationally and one has special needs. When not busy putting words to paper, she enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping with her family.
