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Love Finds You In Lahaina Hawaii (2010)

by Bodie Thoene(Favorite Author)

3.75 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1935416782 (ISBN13: 9781935416784)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Summerside Press

review 1: Since visiting Hawaii I have had an avid interest in the history of our 50th state. I have been reading every historical fiction book about Hawaii I can get my hands on. I was thrilled when I discovered that my favorite authors, Brock and Bodie Thoene, had actually written a book on this topic. This is such a great writing husband/wife duo - he does the research and she does the writing. My thoughts: I think it is unfortunate that the book is titled what it is. There is no way I would pick up this book and read it if all I knew about it was the title - it's rather corny. While I did enjoy the book, I would not say that it is the Thoene's finest work. I did enjoy the writing but I felt it was too short for all the events that were trying to be included. I would have ... morepreferred for more of the story to take place in Hawaii rather than England. I did enjoy the duel storyline - and the twist at the end was good. Some reviews grumble about the story not being historically accurate. I felt that in all the ways that mattered it was very factual. As for the story about Princess Kaiulani, the Thoene's are very clear in the beginning that this is a work of fiction and that "there is a difference between legend and truth". I thought it was a fascinating idea to think that perhaps not everything is always as is believed. The acquisition of Hawaii was not pretty or easy. It is sad to know the truth about how it affected a kingdom of people, how it disrupted life as they knew it. While it can be argued that life is perhaps better for them now then it would have been if left alone, the fact remains that some selfish and greedy US citizens, who also shamefully were descendents of the missionaries who introduced God to the island people, acted with a political boldness and incredulous disregard for people who had no interest in being bothered and a monarchy who was well loved. I'm glad the Thoene's didn't sugarcoat this unattractive part of our history. Overall, I recommend this book - it is entertaining, the writing is good, the character development is mostly satisfying, and you learn things as you read. I am glad that I read it.
review 2: I just love Bodie Thoene's books. With each one that I read, I fall more in love with the characters an the storyline! It also helped that this book was partially set in one of my favourite places...Hawaii! The story is set in two time periods. First, in 1973, Sandi is working on her graduate degree at UCLA and her assignment is to research the history of Hawaii. She finds herself in Lahaina, talking to the oldest woman in Hawaii. Sandi is also dealing with the fact that it has been 4.5 years since she has heard any news about her husband, a soldier in Viet Nam. The second part of the story flows from Sandi's research. The old Hawaiian woman, Auntie Hannah, gives Sandi a collection of letters and memorabilia and tells Sandi her incredible story. So, we are transported back to the late 19th century as Princess Kaiulani and her friends travel to England during a hostile period of Hawaiian history.The history was brilliantly woven in with the characters and setting and I was riveted from page one of this book. My only complaint is that the book seemed to end very suddenly (maybe it was because I didn't want it to end). less

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