"Lady in the Mist" by Laurie Alice Eakes

The Midwives Book One

Book Description:

By virtue of her profession as a midwife, Tabitha Eckles is the keeper of many secrets: the names of fathers of illegitimate children, the level of love and harmony within many a marriage, and now the identity of a man who may have caused his wife's death.

Dominick Cherrett is a man with his own secret to keep: namely, what he, a British nobleman, is doing on American soil working as a bondsman in the home of Mayor Kendall, a Southern gentleman with his eye on a higher office.

By chance one morning before the dawn has broken, Tabitha and Dominick cross paths on a misty beachhead, leading them on a twisted path through kidnappings, death threats, public disgrace, and . . . love? Can Tabitha trust Dominick? What might he be hiding? And can either of them find true love in a world that seems set against them?
 
My Thoughts:
 
I thought this book was very interesting.  The time period, the occupation of both the leading lady and leading man, the area.  Very interesting.
 
What I also foudn interesting was the author's formatting.  It was different.  It was intriguing.  It was sometimes a bit confusing but not majorly so.  What I mean:
 
Most of the chapters left the reader hanging, a bit like a soap opera before a commercial or on a Friday afternoon.  The following chapter either went to another scene with different characters or sometimes just a different scene but it didn't pick back up where the previous cliffhanger left me hanging.  Some scenes were omitted and the reader had to piece together and sometimes infer what occured in the break.
 
This happened with just about every chapter.  I read some reviews were readers absolutely did not like this formatting.  I didn't mind it.  It was actually a bit exciting and kept me very intrigued to find out or to figure out what was happening.
 
In other words, it kept me guessing.  And I liked it!
 
I also really liked the forgiveness theme that was stressed throughout the book.  We can do nothing to earn forgiveness.  It is freely given and yet we sometimes feel like we need to "make up" for our mistakes before we can "feel" forgiven.  Like we need to atone.  But Christ was and is our atonement. 
 
Thank You, Lord!  Because I could never do enough to earn my forgiveness or salvation.