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BOOK REVIEW: Return to Alastair
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by: Vickie McDonough Dancing Word Reviewer
Title: Return to Alastair (Book Two in the TAHN series) Author: L.A. Kelly Publisher: Revell ISBN: 0-8007-3116-6 Genre: Inspirational/Historical/Fiction
Ex-mercenary, Tahn Dorn, has discovered a life like he’s never known before at the peaceful Trilett estate where Netta, the woman who captured his heart, lives with her father, the baron of Trilett. Tahn serves as Captain of the Guard, in charge of protecting the Trilett family and all that’s theirs. Tahn is content, but he is still haunted by dreams of his past heinous lifestyle. One dream in particular won’t leave him alone. He keeps hearing a baby’s cry. Is it simply himself as a child crying? Or does the dream hold another meaning? Against Netta and her father’s wishes, Tahn returns to Alastair, a city that holds nothing but terrible memories and great danger for him. At age four, both of Tahn’s parents were killed, and he was taken into servitude, not even expected to live after the awful injustice done to him. He is surprised at the Alastair townsfolk’s reaction to him. All he wants is peace and to find answers to his past. His new-found relationship with God has granted him immeasurable grace and forgiveness, and he only wants to share this mercy with others. But everywhere he goes, Tahn is met with fear and hatred. He remembers nothing of his time in Alastair as a young child and can’t understand why people are reacting like they are. Will Tahn find the answers he’s looking for and return to marry Netta? Or will his past enemies destroy him before he can share the forgiveness he’s found? I have to confess I have mixed feeling about Return to Alastair. You can’t help admiring Tahn’s character. He abounds with God’s mercy and grace, but I felt at times, especially in the beginning, that he comes off a bit wimpy. I wasn’t privileged to read the first book in this series, and if I had, I might have felt differently, knowing how much he’d grown from his character in that book. Still, Tahn never fails to respond with God’s mercy, no matter what horrible events he faces, and that is a lesson we all need to learn. There are a ton of characters mentioned in this book, and it’s sometimes confusing because some of them have very similar, unusual names and point of view changes aren’t always clear. The secondary characters are key to this story though, and add a wealth of conflict and intrigue. I admire Netta’s character. She loves a man far below her in status, but it doesn’t matter. She sees Tahn’s heart as it is now, not how it used to be. Return to Alastair makes a powerful statement for offering mercy where one could instead expect justice. The book shows how important it is to look beyond a person’s past or outer core and see their heart. I think readers will get more out of this book if they’ve read Tahn, the first book in the series. All in all, Return to Alastair is a good book with a great message. (368 pages, $12.99)
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