Scotland on my mind

My thoughts have turned to Scotland. Privileged to have visited there once, I now long to go back, thanks to Liz Curtis Higgs and Here Burns My Candle.

Higgs once again shows her mastery of taking a familiar Bible story and transplanting it to a different time and place. Here Burns My Candle is the book of Ruth set in mid-1700s Scotland. Ruth and Naomi become Lady Elisabeth Kerr and Lady Marjory Kerr, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, respectively, who face widowhood and loss, and who are changed by faith in the Almighty God.

Knowing the Bible story, I knew, in part, where the story was headed, and I wished it different, at times. Fortunately, finishing Here Burns My Candle is not the end of the women’s journey. It’s really just the beginning. Their journey concludes in the sequel, Mine is the Night, which will soon be on my reading list.

With my mind full of Scottish English and my thoughts fixed on Scotland, I half-jokingly told my husband we shouldn’t delay any longer in applying for passports. I long to walk the streets Higgs describes and let my imagination run wild as I picture the Lady Kerrs going about their business.

Two things I know: I have not yet read a Liz Curtis Higgs book I haven’t liked. Here Burns My Candle continues that streak. And even if I can’t travel to Scotland for a few years, Higgs’ command of words and language will take me there again and again. Check out her other books here. (She has another series set in Scotland that tells the story of Jacob, Leah and Rachel. It’s a page-turner, too.)

Read the first chapter of Here Burns My Candle here and tell me you aren’t hooked on this story.

Check out the trailer below for another taste of the story.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGOeKWCS-zs&feature=player_embedded]

In exchange for this review, I received a free copy of the book from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

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