Saxton Reads! & Reviews

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NOVEMBER 12, 2010

Mountain Between Us ~ Charles Martin

****CarolK

Mountain Between Us ~ Charles Martin

Darn the stars...Yes, I really liked this book but the stars always give me problems. I just want to tell you why I liked the book and not have to rate it. One day I feel one way and the next, perhaps, differently.

I have been racking my brain this week, trying to remember how Charles Martin first showed up on my radar. I know that I purchased a few of his books for our library based on reviews. They sounded like pleasant reads that might appeal to our members who like inspirational or gentle reads, feel good novels, heart-warming stories or something without violence. You know the kind of book I mean. They seemed to be sitting on our shelves but were getting interlibrary loaned all the time. This made me more curious about their content but I still hadn't picked up one myself or noted who was reading them and I hadn't heard anyone's feedback. One day a woman asked for a nice story. She was tired of books filled with blood and guts and needed a change. I suggested Charles Martin and asked that she let me know what she thought. She read one and was hooked. Now, I felt obligated to read one too.

I chose The Mountain Between Us as the premise sounded interesting. Ashley Knox and Dr. Ben Payne are stranded at the Salt Lake City Airport one stormy night. Each has their reasons for wanting to get home. Ashley is getting married and Ben has lots of surgeries awaiting him. Ben charters a plane and invites Ashley to accompany him. Mid-flight the pilot has a heart attack, the plane crashes, leaving only Ben, Ashley and the pilot's dog, Tank, surviving, but with serious injuries. What appealed to me immediately was the description of the book. In a nutshell the word adventure jumped out at me. I love a book with adventure.

Here's what I really liked about Mountain Between Us. I loved the authors descriptions, his beautiful passages and his obvious respect for women and marriage. I liked the dialog between the characters and their strength in what seemed liked unsurmountable odds. I enjoyed a story well told. Was it perhaps a bit predictable or a schmaltzy love story as one critic thought? Take a leap of faith and just enjoy the story.

I think you would classify this book as Christian but I saw it more as faith based and would not want to pigeon-hole the author in any one genre.

It was just what I needed at the time. I'll definitely try another of Mr. Martin's books. If you've read any I'd like to know your thoughts.