Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T. Bergren

Glamorous Illusions

By Lisa T. Bergren

978-1-4347-6430-0

Paperback $14.99 available June 2012

            I loved Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T. Bergren. It is the story of young Cora Diehl Kensington, a young woman who is simply the daughter of two hard-working farmers in the pre-World War I years of the twentieth century. Cora has been away at Normal School studying to be a teacher and returns home for the summer sabbatical. Her parents are supposed to meet her at the train station, but fail to arrive so Cora sets off the three miles to home in her neighbor’s wagon. Arriving home Cora finds disaster waiting for her. It will set off a change of events in her life that Cora could have never foreseen and will take her far from the farm she has always called home.

I really loved the characterization and plot in this story. While there is certainly a love story or two running through the plot, the story is so much more than that. It is about discovering who are at your deepest core, what you value and even more importantly, all the places your faith can take you. It is a story that has a deep current of faith running through it, but it isn’t pushy about it. It is simply part of the make-up of some of the characters and it is revealed through their thoughts and their natures and comes across so naturally on the page. I really admire a Christian writer who can make the point of the importance of their faith without sounding like he or she is preaching on the page and Bergren does this wonderfully.

The storyline is packed with thrills and action. It never lags or plods wearily on. It kept me engaged the entire time and I hated when I reached the end of the book. The characters are rich and multidimensional and the heroine is portrayed as real person fighting real battles that challenge the person she is and the person she will become. I honestly can’t wait until Bergren comes out with the second title in this series and not just to see what else happens to the heroine, but also because there is an entire group of characters I have become involved with through this story and I can’t wait to learn more of them. I solidly recommend this book.