A Wholesome Romance

I am on a high right now. 

You know one of those highs where you read an amazing book 

and you just want to stay with the characters a little bit longer. Long after you turn the last page you are still continuing the story in your head, because you just can't bare to really leave them.

I am there with Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson.

It takes you back to a simpler time. This book holds its own against Jane Austen's and Charlotte Bronte's beautiful stories. 

I love this style and era in books. They take you to a time when Love was cherished. 

Marriage or even relationships were not taken lightly. Courtship was the means of finding your other half. Witty banter and conversation were key to finding the person you wanted to be with. 

It was borderline inappropriate to touch in public. Dancing would make woman swoon because of the closeness and intimacy of being so close to the potential man they were going to marry. 

Woman were looked as a prize to be won and wooed and not a piece of eye candy. 

Honor was everything to a woman. Chaperones were a MUST for a lady of courtship age. 

There of course are the few men who are after wealth or just woman, but in these books they are looked at, as guess what... Scandalous! Imagine that? They were not deemed a gentleman and definitely not seen as someone worth marrying. 

It was very refreshing.

It's sad that sex and physical looks are being pushed as a means of finding "love" from every corner of society these days, but how on earth do people expect to find love when they base everything on the outward appearance and how good they are in bed. So many failed relationships are to blame by taking the advice from every billboard, magazine, book, and movie (particularly a few that have become popular recently, even young teenage girls, shocking) portraying sex= love. 

Love is so much more. It is an ever growing, ever changing, ever forgiving, ever learning relationship. Communication and knowing the heart of someone is where you will find love being able to be sustained. 

If my relationship with my husband was purely based on my physical attraction towards him (don't get me wrong it is definitely there, he is my stud) what would happen the first time we would have got in a fight? Pretty much what happens with all relationships based on sex. We would forgive the first few offenses, but at one point or another we would find it so much easier to move on and not work out our disagreements, because we could find someone else to meet the needs of societies "love". Face it looks are going to fade eventually and we would have no underlying companionship and friendship to base our relationship and commitment to stay together. 

Basically, what I am saying is if you are looking for a beautiful wholesome romance story, try reading  Edenbrooke.  It is a love story worth reading and actually may appeal to you more than you know. I know when my daughter reaches the age of dating I will want her to be filled with books of this mentality and love. 

I will leave you with one of my favorite lines. 

"I was different now. I was changed, irrevocably. And it was a change for the better."- Edenbrooke