The Blossom and the Nettle

On a par with Francine Rivers, Ms. Noble takes my breath away with this wonderfully written novel. Once I started the first page, I literally couldn't put it down. The story of Quaid, Emmeline and Merci and they're walks with God were so moving, I found myself on the verge of tears many times. Especially with Merci's story. To watch her go from tragedy to redemption was awe inspiring. Ms. Noble knows how to touch the heart with a deepness that leaves me truly touched. Not overly preachy, any non-christian will find this book very entertaining and won't help but be touched by it. Superbly written.

Diane Noble delivers a beautiful escape that takes us from Washington D.C. to sunny and wild Southern California. The characters are real. They have the same problems we all have. I saw myself in each of the three main characters...Merci with her struggle with who she really is, Emmeline with her determination and struggle with her place in life, and even Quaid with his struggle with his own desires and the desires of others. Ms. Noble weaves a tale that is sure to thrill the heart of every reader. Number three cannot come out soon enough.

Emmeline Amity Callahan has always been an outcast. Not pretty and vivacious like her half sisters, she is also socially inept and ill-at-ease with the Washington, D.C. social scene that is part of her world as the stepdaughter of Senator James Dearbourne, who readers will remember from WHEN THE FAR HILLS BLOOM (1999). When her step-grandmother Sara Dearbourne, offers to give her the family rancho, she jumps at the chance. Sara's offer is only good if Emmeline can show a profit she does some research and plans an orange grove on the land.She arrives in California after having gone to Brazil where she obtained Bahia orange seedlings. Meeting her train is Quaid Dearbourne, the son of her stepfather's brother, Spence and his wife, the former Aislin Byrne whose family owns the land adjacent to the Dearbourne's. His grandmother Byrne has just made a similar proposition to Quaid, she will give him the Rancho de Paloma land if he can show he is able to make it profitable. His cousin, Merci Byrne, daughter of his mother's sister Brighid, is disappointed when she isn't the one to inherit the rancho. However, Merci has a far more serious problem to deal with when she discovers the secret to her heritage - that her birth was the result of her mother's rape. Thinking of herself as being unworthy since she is the product of evil, Merci flees the rancho to go to Los Angeles. In her quest to find work and to be independent of the Byrne family, Merci puts her life in danger. When she is forced into prostitution, she accepts her fate as a daughter of evil. She believes herself to be unworthy of anyone's love, including God's.Meanwhile, Quaid and Emmeline are involved in a battle of wills. Eager to find a way to provide needed water for her orange grove, Emmeline discovers what may appears to have been someone falsifying water rights maps. Quaid, who has the most to gain from this, is the prime suspect. Emmeline whose feelings for Quaid has evolved from friendship to love, is devastated. Merci, in the meantime, has fled from the control of the man who had her working as a prostitute and has found refuge in a central California mission and although she now feels somewhat safe, she still cannot accept the fact that she is unclean. Her mother and her Indian friend search for her but when they get close, are told by a wise friend that perhaps Merci needs to find her own way and come back on her own terms. Reluctantly, they return to the rancho. Fortunately for Merci, she finds an ally in another former prostitute who has found shelter at an abandoned mission. And, although Merci still doesn't accept that she is a child of God, she does agree to stay at the mission for a while.Quaid has always cared for Merci, as their respective parents' only children, they have always been as close as sister and brother instead of cousins. Knowing the danger Merci still faces, Quaid decides it is up to him to find her and bring her home. Merci, though, f

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Ms. Noble is exceptionally adept at interweaving two opposite story lines- a touching love story involving Emmeline and Quaid, and Merci's heart-wrenching spiritual journey. Not only was I entertained by her intriguing plot and wonderful writing, I was spiritually uplifted as well. I can't wait until Book 3!

Reading The Blossom and the Nettle is like sinking your teeth into a freshly-picked California orange--delicious and sweet, full of juicy surprises, yet good for you as well! I totally identified with Emmeline, whose self-confidence was often undone when she looked in the mirror. Quaid was the perfect Golden State hero--rugged yet not so macho he couldn't see the soft side of our headstrong Miss Callahan. And Merci broke my heart in two with her prodigal daughter journey toward hope. Three unique, memorable characters, breathtaking scenery, a message of genuine faith, and true love--it doesn't get any better than that!