ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
With more than a quarter million books in print, Diane feels incredibly blessed to be doing what she loves best—writing the stories of her heart.
For the last three years Diane has been honored to be lead author for the popular Guideposts series, Mystery and the Minister’s Wife (Through the Fire, Angels Undercover), and has recently returned to writing historical fiction. She is currently writing book two of her new historical series, The Brides of Gabriel. Book one is The Sister Wife.
Diane’s hometown is Big Creek, California, a tiny village nestled in the rugged Sierra Nevada back country. As a child, Diane’s older brother Dennis fueled her creative streak by entertaining her with his own gift of storytelling. Growing up without TV and iffy radio reception, Diane became an avid reader, inhaling more than one hundred novels—both YA and adult—in a single
year by the time she reached seventh grade. Her passion for reading continues to this day.
Now empty nesters, Diane and her husband live in the Southern California low desert, near a place known for the lush and beautiful gated communities of the rich and famous.
ABOUT THE BOOK
What if the man you loved told you God wanted him to take another wife? What if that woman was your best friend?
Set in the heart of the earliest days of a new nineteenth-century sect known as the Saints, The Sister Wife is a riveting account of two women forced into a practice they don't understand, bound by their devotion to Prophet Joseph Smith.
When Mary Rose marries Gabriel, neither of them could foresee how quickly the community would turn to the practice of plural marriage. Devastated when Gabe is faced with an order from the Prophet to marry her best friend, Bronwyn, Mary Rose tries to have the faith to carry through with the marriage.
But can she really be married to the same man as her very best friend? Can Mary Rose and Bronwyn face betraying both their husband and their God to do what they feel is right?
If you would like to read the Prologue and first chapter of The Sister Wife, go HERE.
MY THOUGHTS:
The Sister Wife is based loosely upon the beginning of the religion know as Mormon. I did not realize that when I signed up to tour the book. Based upon the author’s notes at the end of the novel, she intends to share the gospel through her characters lives and – it is my supposition – to expose the falsehood of this cult and the bondage it has created in the lives of its people.
However, in this novel, the first in the Brides of Gabriel series, readers must endure the drama of one of the lead male characters embracing the practice of polygamy as it was first introduced by this group. The author does state, through one of the main characters, that the founder of this sect found errors in God’s Holy Word, which should serve for Christians to prove the falsehood of this so-called religion. Their practice of polygamy was their effort to deny God’s authority and sovereign plan for marriage, hence the disastrous results and drama that results from Gabriel’s harem of brides.
While the conflict and drama that results from multiple marriages makes for a good story plot, the whole idea turns my stomach. By the time I reached the conclusion…I could only think “more drama.” I can kind of see where this might be leading, but Diane Noble has a L-O-N-G way to go to get the truth of the gospel woven convincingly into the lives of this group of characters.
I hope she can do it. Otherwise, she has wasted a lot of time and effort writing stories based on nothing more than a womanizing man’s effort to legitimize his base desires – and call it religion. This whole idea just grosses me out.
Watch the book video!
I'm sooo glad I skipped this one!
ReplyDelete