Another excellent book by Jody Hedlund. If you are a Christian fiction fan that loves a good romance then add this to your TBR list. In fact, move it up your list. It’s that good. ( )

I have never given the author of one of the world’s most well-known hymns, Amazing Grace, much thought. I guess I assumed it was a priest or a reverend, perhaps even a nun. I was surprised when I saw on the cover of this fictional biography a beautiful young woman and a sailing vessel from the 1700s. One of the things I love about historical fiction is that I learn about things I may have never known.

Newton and Polly is the story of John Newton and Mary “Polly” Catlett. They met when he was seventeen and she was fifteen. Their chemistry was as explosive as a nuclear bomb.

John was a rapscallion as a young man. He liked to drink and carouse, until one cold December night in 1742 when he heard the voice of an angel. The sweet sound came from a young woman, Polly, out wassailing (or caroling as we know it) with some Quaker friends. John was instantly smitten. Thankfully, he followed them as they headed toward home. Seems Polly’s aunt had orchestrated the wassailing as a cover for the release of several slaves. As they were about to be apprehended, John came to their rescue and escorted them to Polly’s parent’s home.

From the moment he laid eyes on her, John was in love, passionately and deeply. Polly returned the feelings. And so began the story of a devoted love that everyone seemed to want to come between.

John misses the ship that he was supposed to take for a job in Jamaica that his father had arranged. And he misses a second ship and another job his father arranges. His lack of ambition worries Polly’s father, who refuses to give Polly’s hand in marriage and bans John from seeing.

One night, John is pressed into service in England’s Royal Navy. He is forced to fight in the war against France. Feeling he’s lost Polly forever, his life descends further and further into sin. Year later, when the ship is nearly destroyed in a storm (more likely a hurricane), John realizes his mistakes. When he is spared, he vows to turn his life over to God. He returns to England and becomes a preacher.

John and Polly’s story is well-written, but moves a bit slow. There isn’t much going on for most of the book except for the two pining over each other. The storm that almost killed John and his shipmates was tense and kept me on the edge of my seat. However, I thought that John’s conversion came a little too quickly. One minute, during the storm, John hates God with all his might; the next he is a devoted follower. It was a little annoying that during he was referred to as John half the time and Newton the other. I did like the story and am giving it 3 out of 5 stars.

I received Newton and Polly from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review. ( )

Indeed, after loving the novel Luther and Katharina as much as I did, I jumped at the chance to read Newton and Polly by author Jody Hedlund. A novel about the man who penned the beloved hymn, "Amazing Grace," and the love of that man's life? Yes, please!

And I'm not sorry I read it. It has points I really liked, such as one raised by Polly's mother: "Just because so many others turn a blind eye to the evil going on around us doesn't mean we should too. Imagine if everyone sat back and looked the other way. Who would be left to fight for righteous living and justice?" I also appreciate that the story highlights how making pious choices doesn't necessarily mean you're close to God, and Newton's eventual realization of God's grace is rather beautiful.

Unfortunately, there weren't enough moments that I liked to make me enjoy the read overall. For most of the book, I didn't have much reason to admire either Newton or Polly. It seemed they just didn't have much purpose outside of being in their feelings about each other, and given the length of the book, that grew tiresome after a while. Polly blushed and pined while Newton kept making one poor decision after another. And I lost track of the number of times he kept getting beat up, but that, along with another issue or two, did get redundant after a while.

Lover of historical ChristFic that I am, this novel wasn't my cup of tea. But it is well-written, and I wouldn't discourage Hedlund fans who haven't read it yet from giving it a go.
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Blogging for Books provided me with a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review. ( )

Amazing Grace is one of my favorite hymns and when I came across Newton and Polly: A Novel of Amazing Grace by Jodi Hedlund, I snapped it up and couldn't wait to read it. While this book is a fictional account of John Newton's life and romance with Polly Cattlet, the story is based on true facts of both of their lives.

As always, Ms. Hedlund did a superb job with this story. The plot was creative, captivating and filled with some surprising twists and turns. I found the characters and this story to be compelling!

I came away from reading Newton and Polly with the glow of reading a wonderful romance story and a much deeper appreciation and understanding of the hymn, Amazing Grace. I highly recommend reading this book!

Thank you to Blogging for Books program and Ms. Hedlund for the opportunity to review this book. I received this book for free. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

I know this is fictional but I now have a new out look on the song, and the beauty it holds. If we could all find such beauty in the time of storms, and heart break. I know that reading this book has brought me that sense of beauty.

Entire review : https://bibliophile.reviews/book-review/christian/newton-polly ( )