Liz Curtis Higgs' Grace in Thine Eyes ~ Reviewed

Grace in Thine Eyes
By Liz Curtis Higgs
Published by Waterbrook Press
ISBN: 1578562597

Glen of Loch Trool. Spring 1808. Davina McKie is a bonny lass of seventeen, as clever as they come and a gifted musician. Unable to speak since childhood, she is doted on by her belligerent younger brothers, Will and Sandy, who vow to protect their silent sister.When the lads are forced to depart the glen, Jamie McKie intends to brighten his daughter’s summer by escorting Davina to the Isle of Arran. Her cousins make her welcome at the manse, and the parish delights in hearing their talented fiddler.But when she catches the eye of a handsome young Highlander on Midsummer Eve, sheltered Davina is unprepared for the shocking events that follow.A timeless story of passion and revenge, of lost innocence and shattered dreams, Grace in Thine Eyes explores the sorrow of unspeakable shame and the gift of immeasurable grace.

Liz Curtis Higgs stands out as one of the most gifted writers that I have had the pleasure of reading. The Scottish historical series that opened with her acclaimed novel Thorn in My Heart ends just as brilliantly with Grace in Thine Eyes.

Davina McKie is but a slip of a lass, whose childhood accident left her mute and her family divided by her father's resentment. When Davina is seventeen, her twin brothers are sent to Edinburgh to begin their schooling and she sets out to visit her cousins on the Island of Arran. There, the rumor of her uncanny talent on the fiddle spreads, and she invited to play before a Duke. Thrust unsuspecting into higher society, her innocence is quickly robbed but not her spirit. As she is forced to choose between resentment and forgiveness, her decisions propel an epic story of betrayal, love, and intrigue.

Liz Curtis Higgs explores one of the most puzzling passages of scripture, fictionalizing the biblical story, and providing a woman's perspective—so well that she brought tears to my eyes. Backdrops that with an amazing talent at holding readers captive, descriptions that are poetry, and it becomes a classic. I anxiously await her new Scottish historical releasing in 2008—Highly Recommended

Reviewed by: Jessica Dotta