G893 Book Review of The Secrets of the Abbey by Kathleen C Perrin

Name of Book: The Secrets of the Abbey

Author: Kathleen C Perrin

ISBN: 9780692877975

Publisher: Langon House

Part of a Series: The Watchmen Saga

Type of book: 1500s, Wars of Religion in France, christian themes and messages, prayer, Mount Saint Michel, marriage, knowledge, ancenstry, time travel, protection, memory loss, amnesia, fame and fortune, making decisions

Year it was published: 2017

Summary:

In the final book (III) of The Watchmen Saga, Katelyn Michaels is distraught when she finds herself back in the United States in modern times after unwillingly leaving a comatose Nicolas behind on Mont Saint Michel in 1429. When a series of remarkable events facilitates her return to the Mount and unveils why Katelyn was called as a Watchman, her fondest hope is to be reunited with Nicolas, regardless of the circumstances.

However, when Nicolas unexpectedly appears with a new mission for Katelyn to help him thwart yet another threat to the Mount, she is devastated to learn that his head injury has deprived him of any memories of their relationship. Nonetheless, she is determined to once again find a way to save the Mount—this time in sixteenth-century France amidst violent religious turmoil—and to rekindle Nicolas’s feelings for her during the course of their mission.

The couple’s love and loyalty are tested as Katelyn and Nicolas attempt to unmask the true source of the threat, their adversary Abdon, sort out their conflicting emotions, and deal with the consequences of the astounding age-old secret that is finally revealed.

Characters:

Main characters include Katelynn Michaels who is best described as resourceful, creative and is often seen as extremely knowledgeable about quite a number of things. Katelynn is also a teenager which means I found her full of contradictions because in one moment she is talking about how grownup she is since she has witnessed her best friend being burned for being a witch or being chosen for a mission (it's right at the start of the book,) and in another moment she tends to self deprecate herself a bit because she is not as intelligent as her brother or why was she chosen instead of someone else ? So yes, both humble and grandiose. Nicolas is Katelynn's boyfriend/husband who is slightly older than she and apparently it wasn't love at first sight for these two as it took time for them to build chemistry and affections they had for one another. Nicolas has recently lost his memory, in particular the years she and he have known one another and they will have to start again so to speak. Other characters include Brother Thiebault, a monk who is well versed in healing and is apparently awkward around women as well; then there is Katelynn's mentor who holds many secrets and refuses to divulge the secret of the Mount Saint Michel to her for fear of an evil being taking advantage of her or of those she knows. Other characters include Katelynn's friends, employees and family.

Theme:

There are more commonalities than differences

Plot:

The story is told in first and and third person narratives; first from Katelynn's point of view and third from everyone else's point of view. Prior to reading this book, I hadn't read the previous two, and I did feel that I miss out quite a lot on Katelynn's previous adventures as a watchman. I also unexpectedly appreciated gaining some perspective into Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (that particular story takes place in 1580s around the same time this story does.) and for me 1500s France is a new era that I didn't learn about. While I appreciated the message as well as explanations on why Protestantism didn't take hold in France, I wonder if the author's messages are universal across all faiths and religions or only the dominant ones.

Author Information:
(From France Book Tours)


Kathleen C. Perrin
holds bachelor’s degrees in French and Humanities
from Brigham Young University
and is a certified French translator.
Besides being the author of The Watchmen Saga,
she has published several non-fiction articles, academic papers,
and a religious history about Tahiti.
Kathleen has lived in Utah, New York City, France, and French Polynesia.
She and her French husband have spent years
investigating the mysteries and beauties of his native country
—where they have a cottage—and have taken tourist groups to France.
The Perrins have three children and currently reside in Utah.

Visit her website.
See here gorgeous pictures related to the book

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Opinion:
In advance I'd like to apologize for having a christian themed book on my blog. I consciously choose not to promote or read christian literature, and at the time I chose this book I was unaware that it was christian because it was being promoted as historical fiction. 

To be honest, minus certain elements that had to do with religion, I actually enjoyed reading the book and the story. It's also probably the first time travel book that I liked. (I'm not a fan of time travel books,) and at many points I was curious enough to want to read the previous two novels and to learn further adventures of Katelynn Michaels and her boyfriend/husband Nicolas. I did feel that although the story was written very well, it did not make a good stand-alone novel because the author does make one curious about Katelynn's previous adventures that are often eluded to. A lot of story elements are done well in the book, although I did find the main character, Katelynn, a bit annoying at times, but I could see the chemistry between her and Nicolas well.

This is for France Book Tours

4 out of 5

(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)