A Vision of Lucy

Recently I became a member of BookSneeze.com. BookSneeze is a website aimed purposefully at bloggers. They have a selection of books (both printed and e-book) that they will change every so often. If you see a book you think you'd like to read, then you just request it, and they will send it to you free of charge - the only thing they ask of you, is that you do a review on your blog once you've read the book. Oh, and you get to keep the book, too. :)

So, when I became a member, I saw an e-book (they send e-books instantaneously to your email) in the "Available Books" section that I thought would be interesting. It was called, A Vision of Lucy. Now I've finished it, so now I'm going to do a review on it. :)

A Vision of Lucy

Synopsis (from BookSneeze.com):
Lucy Fairbanks dreams of working as a photographer at the Rocky Creek newspaper. If she can earn money making photographs, then maybe her father will see that what she does is worthy, more than just a distraction. And her deepest hope is that he’ll see her as an artist, the way he thought of her deceased mother, a painter. But trouble follows Lucy on every photo shoot: a mess of petticoats and ribbons, an accidental shooting, even a fire.

When Lucy meets David Wolf, a quiet, rustic man who lives on the outskirts of town, she thinks she can catch the attention of the town with his photograph. She doesn't count on her feelings stirring whenever she's near him.

Two things happen next that forever change the course of her life: Lucy meets someone who sees her as no one else has—as the compassionate, creative young woman that God made in His image. And Lucy helps David uncover a secret that forces him to change his perspective on an event that left him deeply-scarred.

God’s arms are around this unlikely couple as they discover the truth about long-held assumptions and the importance of forgiveness.

My thoughts are... varied. I kind of like this book and kind of don't. Maybe I should just go through and list the pros and cons. :)

Pros:

• It's Christian fiction.
• It's interesting.
• You do end up liking some of the characters.

Cons:

• The story could have been improved - there weren't very many descriptive words used in the story, so I couldn't always picture what someone looked like, what the town looked like, etc.
• Sometimes the story seemed a bit too rushed, so it could have been improved by taking a little more time on a scene.
• The books seemed short and lacking in places (sometimes because of the above mentioned things).
• The romance comes in too early and too fast. At least for my taste.
• And one more thing... the story seemed like something I would write. I'm not good at writing books. I tend to leave story short and lacking, rushed and... well, you get the picture. I'm much better at writing reviews and short stories that can be rushed (cause they're short). :)
  

So, to sum up...

Would I buy this book? Probably not.
Would I read it again? Maybe. If I was really, really bored.
Would I recommend it? Maybe... if it's your cup of tea.
What ages would I recommend this for? 14 and up. But it all depends on the person reading it... I'd say no younger than 14 for sure, though.

Ratings (Scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest):
Plot: ***
Characters:**
Keeps Interest:***

Overall: ***