Jonas & Olivia // Book Review and Blog Tour

Hey friends! Time for a lovely peek into the past with a review of Miss Victoria Minks new novel! :D 

Summery: 

Fourteen year old Olivia Wilkerson is left desolate and grieving when her patriot father passes away. Directed by her father's will to be placed in the care of an old friend, Olivia is forced to venture away from all she’s ever known to make her new life among people who are strangers to her. 

Unaware of the new responsibility about to be thrust on him, Jonas Carmichael lives the life of a reclusive in an attempt to ignore the painful memories of the past. His heart has grown hard and bitter over the past thirty years of solitude, and his hatred towards people has only multiplied. 

Suddenly burdened with Olivia, Jonas’s only burning desire is to shove the girl off on somebody else. But Olivia, still suffering from her loss, is only looking for someone to love her as her father did-- and soon realizes that there is more to Jonas than meets the eye.

With the Revolutionary War pressing closer around Jonas’s secluded bubble of safety and threatening to burst it at any moment, Jonas discovers that there are choices to be made--choices that will not only affect himself but those around him as well. 

Add on Goodreads // Purchase on Amazon in paperback and ebook // Purchase on Createspace

My Review: 

Five of five stars 

Jonas & Olivia is a charming tale full of life changes, sweet moments, and all-around whimsical beauty. With a touch of mystery and intrigue, it certainly kept me flipping the pages. Set during the American Revolution, this is a must-read for lovers of historical fiction with sweet storylines. 

The central theme to the story is this message that our Lord is the best Father we can ever have. Though our beloved earthly father's will try their best, give their all, they can't really add up by comparison to God. He will always be there -- to love us, uphold us, and just be our Father. 

Miss Minks did a fabulous job of weaving a heart-warming tale accurately displaying the flawed, brokenness of us humans. I loved all the characters so much. They were portrayed in a way that I found to be very real, relatable, and lovable. 

Olivia was an absolute sweetheart. She's like a drop of sunshine in a world of darkness, spreading light and good cheer whenever she goes. She reminded me of Pollyanna from the childhood classic. :) Though she was said to be fourteen years old, she seemed a little younger to me. 

Jonas is quite the intriguing character. But, as the story develops, we see just how heart-broken he really is. (Okay, so, quite honestly I wanted to ring his neck through a majority of the book. That's good though, right?) 

And then...there's Ishmael. Where do I even begin, people? He is so quiet and sweet. (Like, can we just adopt him as my older brother? Please?) *spoilers ahead* When Olivia taught him how to read and later led him to Jesus, I CRIED PEOPLE. Such sweet moments. <3 *end of spoilers* 

There were so many times I laughed during this book. With the Bradshaws, over the nightcap, at Nabby Culpepper. Such good, wholesome humor. :) 

The only thing I can think of that I disagreed with (aside from the fact that Olivia seemed immature for a teenager in the 18th century) was that impersonal references to God and Jesus were not capitalized. Proper nouns were, but common nouns were not. There wasn't any irreverence hinted at, but coming from a house where 'He', 'You', etc. are always capitalized in reference to God, I disagreed with it. 

Quotes. 

"You should write some horrid novel. Your outlook on life would do some tragic heroine justice I'm sure." 

"I have a sign—No one allowed, or risk shots in your anatomy!"

"Strange, isn't it, all those lines we have on our hands?"

"I know your God is real."

"Hope and Freedom of the soul first come from being a child of God."

But in that family there wouldn’t be an Ishmael—and there wouldn’t be Jonas.

"A broken heart still beats, Jonas, and it can mend. ... And God loves to heal the broken things."

**I received an e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.** 

Author Bio:

 Victoria Minks is an everyday teenage MK in Japan, with oodles of daydreams and ideas. She loves historical fiction, chocolate, music, horses, and old books, and firmly believes that there is whimsy and beauty in any day. She was saved at age 5 and desires to write for God's glory.

You can connect with Victoria on her website. 

*~*~*

Thanks for reading, friends, and I heartily recommend this book! :) I will hopefully have the Camp NaNo week #4 recap up tomorrow, but if not I will see y'all on the eighth with a super late July monthly wrap-up! Until then, adios, goodbye, and all that jazz. XD 

~Faith