The year is 1916, a time when racing cars was a new and dangerous sport – and something women were not allowed to do. But in her book, At Every Turn, Anne Mateer dives into the racing world, shocking the reader when her choice racing star is, indeed, a woman. For a historical Christian romance, this novel definitely takes a turn from other books in its genre.
Alyce Benson is a wealthy, privileged socialite just home from spending time away at a refining school. But while her parents find happiness in their money, Alyce has found the only source of real joy is Jesus. Despite her parents’ disapproval, Alyce returns home and joins her local church, where she meets some missionaries bound for Africa. When presented with a picture of African children, Alyce feels a pull at her heartstrings – and her pocketbook. Before she can think clearly, Alyce volunteers to donate $3,000 (of her father’s money) to help the missionaries get to Africa. But when Alyce’s father hears that his money will be spent spreading the Gospel that he adamantly denies, he refuses to give her a penny. Rather than risk the embarrassment of letting down her church family, Alyce partners with her father’s mechanic, Webster Little, in a web of deception – raising money by competing in car races disguised as a man.
Will Alyce succeed in raising the money for a worthy cause, even though she is using deception to accomplish her goal? And what is the mystery behind Webster Little, whose dark eyes send her heart reeling? To add another twist, Alyce is also being courted by the church-going Lawrence Trotter, who is her father’s accountant and aims to help her with her deception as well. Who will win Alyce’s heart?
While I found the plot behind this story compelling, I really felt like the author used descriptions that were over the top. At times, I felt myself skimming quickly over paragraphs just to get to the point. In fact, the lengths she went to in order to describe what her characters were doing or how they felt made me dislike them at certain points.
I think that the author had the right idea, but her writing is just a little too dramatic for my taste. I will probably not seek out this author’s works in the future. It’s not that I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone; it’s just not for me.
*These opinions are my own. Bethany House Publishers provided me with a copy of this book for my personal review. I do not receive compensation for my review.
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