"Shadows of Brierley"

I love when my mom recommends books to me! She has such a talent for finding good books, especially series, and she always shares her books with me when she is done. Thanks Mom! :)  One of the more recent series that she shared with me is the "Shadows of Brierley" series by Anita Stansfield. There are four books in the series, but the last book (which is my favorite) is told from a different person's perspective. So, I am going to talk about the first three books in this post, then I'll go over the last book in my next post.

"The Wanderer" is the first book and starts off in 1838, with Ian Macbrier trying to find himself. He is wandering about through London, drinking his days away and spending most nights in an alley, when he stumbles upon two men preaching about a book. He is directed by something other than his own will to buy a copy of the book and this starts him on the path back home. He doesn't actually read the book, and ends up throwing it in the bottom of his closet, but it comes in to play later in the story. Ian makes his way back home and tries to win back the heart of the woman he left. There are a lot of trials that both of their families have to go through, but love and family keep them strong. The same force that told Ian to buy the Book of Mormon also inspires him to go to America.

Which leads to the next book, "A Far Horizon." Ian has decided to take his family to America to search out the religion associated with the Book of Mormon. Their journey to New York leads to new life long friendships as well as incomprehensible heartache. The sorrow that they endure is outweighed by the blessings they receive, but nothing comes easy. It is a long and hard journey, but eventually they make it to Nauvoo.

The third book, "A Distant Shore," picks up in Nauvoo with Ian and his family making a home for themselves and settling in with the other Mormons. Then quite unexpectedly, Ian and his best friend Ward, get called to go back to England to serve a mission. Both have a wife and children and neither one of them knows what to do. They know that this is a calling from God, but how can they leave their families not knowing when they would return? The blessings that come from their willingness to serve are beautiful and Anita Stansfield does a wonderful job of weaving spiritual experiences into the story.

Truth be told, I don't usually like to read fictional books with characters who find the gospel. In fact I almost put this book down once I realized that's where it was going. I'm glad that I didn't. Anita Stansfield writes a beautiful story that has so much raw emotion in it. The characters feel real and the story will speak to your heart. These books will definitely give you a greater appreciation for what the early members of the church went through. You will be laughing on one page, then crying on the next and you won't be able to put it down. 5 out of 5 stars. These books are appropriate for young adults and up, so check them out and then let me know what you think!