Wednesday 9 April 2014

The Miracle Thief - Iris Anthony

Do you believe in miracles? Sister Juliana does. She's seen miracles happen as she tends Saint Catherine's altar and guards her relic. Yet she doesn't quite dare to believe that even Saint Catherine could help her atone for her wicked past.

Anna does. And she so desperately needs one. In a time when a deformity is interpreted as evidence of a grievous sin, in a place where community is vital to existence, Anna has no family, no home, and no master.

Princess Gisele wants to. A miracle is the only thing that can save her from being given to a brutal, pagan chieftain in marriage.

For those who come in faith, saints offer the answer to almost any prayer. But other forces are plotting to steal Saint Catherine's relic, to bend the saint's power to their own use. Penitent, pilgrim, and princess -- all will be drawn into an epic struggle where only faith can survive. But in a quest for divine blessings, only the most ruthless of souls may win the prize.

My thoughts:
This is a book with 3 POVS, and 3 very different women. Juliana, a nun atoning for past sins. Anna, who has a deformity that makes people shun her and she looks to the saint for healing. And Gisele, a princess who is to marry a viking invader, whether she wants it or not.

I know Anna had a really crap time, as people thought the reason she was wrong was cos of some sin. And I felt for her. And yes poor Gisele, but she was a princess after all and princesses marry to build alliances. I felt most sorry for Juliana, because she had been passionate, happy in love and given all that up to become a nun. And in a time when sex before marriage was such a sin, she was troubled even years afterwards.

A negative thing would be that some of the time jumps made me a bit confused, but I got over it. Moving on.

So we have Juliana in a convent dealing with a new abbess. Gisele wondering if God really wants her to marry a heathen. And with her POV we get the politic of the era too. And lastly Anna, who bring a POV of the poor and forgotten as she struggle to get to the convent.

Even if I had already googled Gisele, I was glad for the author's afterwords about who was real or not. Nice touch.

Conclusion:
An interesting tale about 3 women caught in different conflicts.

Cover
ok

Paperback, 384 pages
Published April 1st 2014 by Sourcebooks Landmark
Historical fiction
for review

52 comments:

  1. If you think about it...they all have something in common...they are having social issues and need God's aid. Sounds good. :) Were any of them real?

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  2. Why would someone not want to marry a Viking warrior, LOL.

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  3. I'm not keen on multiple POV's as well but I'd like to know how these women are related. Are they sisters or something? And who is Gisele? Now I'm curious because I enjoy fictional characters that are based on real people.

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    1. I can't go and spoil things now can I ;) Gisele is the princess

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  4. I don't tend to do well with characters wondering if god wants them to do this or that...

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    1. I can't say they thought a lot about that, more about sins and what they wanted

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  5. I normally am not a huge fan of multiple POVs, and it sounds like the jumps didn't work perfectly, but I'm glad you seemed to enjoy it overall!

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  6. Yeah... the nun and all the godliness, not for me. :/

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    1. No godliness, just people, she did not become a nun because she was all GOD! But because of her...situtation

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  7. Oh this is interesting. It seems like the 3 POVs work here.

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    1. They went well with each other as the convent was in focus for all of them

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  8. Are their stories connected in some way. It sounds interesting since they all seem to have very different paths to take.

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    1. Yes, in more ways than one. But ok Juliana is a nun at the convent. Anna is heading there to ask the saint for a miracle. And Gisele goes there under the pretence of wanting to ask the saint for guidance as she does not want to marry the viking

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  9. Sounds like multiple pov worked for this one.

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  10. Curious, is this YA/Coming of Age?

    ~Mogsy

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    1. Nope, Juliana is 30. Gisele is younger cos well she is a princess and should be married away

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  11. I think the cover is kinda cool.

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  12. Oh no! My poor namesake! lol

    I'm kinda liking the cover on this one.

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    1. It works for the book and what happens :)

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  13. I'm not sure if the three different perspectives would work for me, though I do really like the cover. I'll have to look into this for sure - great review!

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    1. It worked as they were kind of all heading to the same place :) And were connected

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  14. The premise sounds like a good one, I like the cover.

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  15. 3 PoV? I scoff at such a meager number!

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    Replies
    1. LOL. Well when you read fantasy it's really nothing

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  16. Wow they are all quite different woman aren't they? Despite the timeline confusion this sounds good

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    1. It was jumpy at first, but there was a point to it

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  17. it's interesting mainly when the persons are so different. I'm reading the fantasy book and I confess It's a little difficult to have so many POVs, I'm a little lost sometimes.

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    1. Sometimes many Povs do not work...in fantasy they always work ;)

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  18. I read the blurb a while back and it sounded like something I would like, now after reading your review I'm not sure anymore.

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    1. I get that, it's hard to say who it would it

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  19. Debated of requesting this one, thought sounds interesting. I think I will wait a little longer.

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    1. There is always the next book by the author...if she writes something else ;)

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  20. I like the premise and I agree with the others about the cover, plus I don't have problems with multiple POVs. So yeah, I could give this book a go!

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    1. I do not have a problem either so it worked fine, though with some books it's tricky if not done right

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  21. I don't think this one is for me B, but I am glad you liked it.

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  22. Yours is the 1st review I've seen, I like multiple POV so maybe??

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  23. Sometimes having too many different point of views in one book can be a hit or miss, but I'm glad it ended up working in some way. I must say the cover is attractive.

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  24. Hmm, interesting but I don't know...

    Thank you for sharing it.

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  25. Anna was my favorite characters. Good book!

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  26. This sounds really good. I hadn't heard of this one, but I did enjoy another book by this author, so I'll definitely keep it in mind.

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