Rain song (by Alice J Wisler)

(Amazon UK link)

I had never heard of Alice J Wisler, but in browsing through the 'free for Kindle' books on Amazon, I spotted her novel. It was evidently a light Christian romance of some kind, set in the USA. Just the thing, I thought, for a plane journey.

So I started reading 'Rain song' shortly before a flight, and finished it while flying. I found it to be a pleasant light read, narrated, mostly in the present tense, by Nicole. She is a young unmarried woman who is part of a nicely eccentric and loving extended family. We meet most of them in the first chapter discussing a family reunion, and quickly learn that Nicole has some deep-seated phobias about flying. She's quite a stressed person although she usually manages to hide it, and as the book progresses we learn why.

There is not a great deal of plot in this book; it is primarily character-based, with a good picture of life in small town USA. While many of the family members are caricatured, I found Nicole herself to be a likeable and believable person. I identified with her in some of her struggles, and was particularly moved by her growing relationship with her five-year-old relative Monet - a small girl with lots of energy who has family tensions of her own.

The Christian element of the book is low-key, not at all preachy; there's some humour, and plenty of references to food. My only slight disappointment was that the ending came so abruptly without really resolving anything. Still, overall I enjoyed the book which did, indeed, make a good choice for a fairly dull flight.

Note that the Amazon link is to a paperback edition of this book. The Kindle version is no longer free.

Review copyright Sue's Book Reviews, 3rd November 2011