A Tapestry of Light

About the Book

Book: A Tapestry of Light

Author: Kimberly Duffy

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: March 16, 2021

TapestryofLight-cover final Calcutta, 1886.

Ottilie Russell is adrift between two cultures, British and Indian, belonging to both and neither. In order to support her little brother, Thaddeus, and her grandmother, she relies upon her skills in beetle-wing embroidery that have been passed down to her through generations of Indian women.

When a stranger appears with the news that Thaddeus is now Baron Sunderson and must travel to England to take his place as a nobleman, Ottilie is shattered by the secrets that come to light. Despite her growing friendship with Everett Scott, friend to Ottilie’s English grandmother and aunt, she refuses to give up her brother. Then tragedy strikes, and she is forced to make a decision that will take Thaddeus far from death and herself far from home.

But betrayal and loss lurk in England, too, and soon Ottilie must fight to ensure Thaddeus doesn’t forget who he is, as well as find a way to stitch a place for herself in this foreign land.

Click here to get your copy!

Guest Review from Mindy Houng

“I wonder if it has been smothered beneath my bitterness and unforgiveness. That’s a greater threat to Christian faith than a million other gods. There is no room for it. And if you allow it in, it burns away the blood of Christ as surely as flesh is burned on a funeral pyre.”

This is my first book by Kimberly Duffy and I am astounded by her ability to deftly transport the reader to the late 1880s Calcutta with its beauty and poverty, its sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. Learning about a certain type of Indian embroidery was fascinating. For the first half of the book, I was enthralled by the Indian city that Ottilie and her brother Thaddeus called home and felt the heartache and tension between the British and Indian during this tumultuous time. There has been much suffering, loss, and pain in their lives which is compounded by their mixed heritage. The story is told strictly from Ottilie’s point of view in the third person. Though this allowed the reader to really engage in empathizing with the main character’s innate and unshakable sense of rejection, bitterness, anger, and loneliness, Ottilie’s thoughts and feelings became somewhat repetitive over time because she was the only narrator. Ottilie is a remarkable young woman – talented, compassionate, loyal, hard-working, dedicated, self-sacrificial. But she is also quite stubborn, impulsive, and sometimes blind to her own faults and flaws. She does mature as the story progresses – in character and in faith – which was nice to see. Her past loss and grief, as well as the prejudice and unwarranted hatred she receives from both the British and Indian, are hard to read about but unfortunately quite realistic and heart-wrenching. The author also places the plight of overworked and abused London seamstresses into the plot, which was eye-opening.

Although this is a historical fiction with fantastic setting, it is really a young woman’s spiritual journey. Ottilie’s hardships and doubts push her so close to the edge of breaking and it takes her a long time, many people speaking into her life, and a trip across the world to release the tight hold she has on bitterness, anger, blame and unforgiveness. It is a relatively long book and the plot seemed to lose a bit of momentum in places, especially during their days in England. There is romance in the book, in the line of star-crossed lovers, but the resolution of the romance and the ending seemed rushed and too coincidental. Nevertheless, it is a well-written book with raw and powerful emotions, great spiritual lessons, and beautiful historical setting woven throughout the story and any historical fiction fan will enjoy it.

I received the book via Celebrate Lit Tours and was under no obligation to post a positive comment. All opinions are solely my own.

About the Author

Kimberly Duffy is a Long Island native currently living in Southwest Ohio, via six months in India. When she’s not homeschooling her four kids, she writes historical fiction that takes her readers back in time and across oceans. She loves trips that require a passport, recipe books, and practicing kissing scenes with her husband of twenty years. He doesn’t mind.

More from Kimberly

When I set out to write a new novel, I plan the entire thing from start to finish. I write down each scene on an index card and know exactly what’s going to happen when I sit down for the day’s work. I’m meticulous that way.

But I never plan my characters’ spiritual arcs. Because I want their faith journey to be organic to the story. I want it to feel authentic. It’s such an important part of each of my books and I recognize that some things just refuse plotting and need to develop in a more natural way.

My debut novel, A Mosaic of Wings, features a heroine steeped in science. Nora loves the natural world and so her faith was encouraged by studying the wings of a butterfly or examining an interesting plant. She’s not particularly sentimental or emotive so the faith element of that story had to be presented in a way that made sense for her. Nora’s faith arc is subtle.

Not so for A Tapestry of Light. I had no intention of writing a book that delved into my own struggle with doubt. But that’s what Ottilie required. And it wrung me dry.

Then built me back up.

My faith story is a twisted kind of one. Raised a Christian, I went into ministry, firmly attached myself to the faith of my childhood, and thought it would never waver.

I was wrong.

Oh, how it wavered. For whatever reason, when I hit about 30, it seemed everything I had always believed no longer made sense. It was devastating. Terrifying. And it broke me.

But brokenness is its own sort of beauty and when you recognize there is no way for you to pick up the pieces yourself, God can come in and fill those cracks and shattered places.

Those five years of doubt and questioning and facing the reality that even though I’d always loved Christ, I didn’t really know Him (and didn’t really know why I believed in Him), were some of the most painful I’ve experienced. But I believe with every bit of my being that God is in the business of redemption. Of restoration. Of filling up so that we can pour out.

And he took my own very personal struggle and helped me turn it into a story that, I hope and pray, might encourage others. I gave Ottilie my questions. I gave her my doubt. I gave her my fear and desperation and, in the end, I gave her my hope.

There’s a little piece of me in each of my books, but this one contains my heart.

Blog Stops

Life of Literature, March 27

Through the Fire Blogs, March 27

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 27

Texas Book-aholic, March 28

Breny and Books, March 28

By The Book, March 29

Genesis 5020, March 29

Inklings and notions, March 29

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, March 30

Mypreciousbitsandmusings, March 30

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, March 31

Mia Reads, March 31

Reflections from my bookshelves, March 31

Connie’s History Classroom, April 1

Remembrancy, April 1

For Him and My Family, April 2

Rachael’s Inkwell, April 2

Vicky Sluiter, April 2

deb’s Book Review, April 3

Batya’s Bits, April 3

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 4

Godly Book Reviews, April 4

Pause for Tales, April 4

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 5

Simple Harvest Reads, April 5 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 6

A Baker’s Perspective, April 6

Labor Not in Vain, April 6

She Lives To Read, April 7

Betti Mace, April 7

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 8

To Everything There Is A Season, April 8

Mary Hake, April 8

Wishful Endings, April 9

Bigreadersite, April 9

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kimberly is giving away the grand prize $25 Amazon gift card along with a signed copy of either A Mosaic of Wings or A Tapestry of Light!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/109d5/a-tapestry-of-light-celebration-tour-giveaway

A Tapestry of Light Review and Giveaway