Review of A Curate in Love

[Ukaegbu Confidence]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Curate in Love" by Richard Hughes.]

---

3 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

A Curate in Love is a memoir by Richard Hughes that recounts his life as the assistant curate of Mold. The book starts off with the author being asked to put his signature on a ledger without any explanation as to what he was signing or its consequences. After his ordination, he became the assistant curate of Mold. Upon arrival at the Mold parish church, he was required to take Evensong for "Trinity Sunday" at a daughter church of St. James. However, on getting there, he was met with an "Egg and Flower Service." Reading further, we are introduced to Ann, Richard's love interest, who was the total opposite of everything he was and believed in. This book follows Richard's life as he faces life's cards and overcomes hurdles in his relationship and curacy experiences.

Generally speaking, the book was a fairly good read. There was a part that really struck my heartstrings. It was the part where Richard contemplated whether he was committed to serving the curacy because of the dire living conditions he found himself in. As someone who has been in very similar situations, I could understand his dilemma. Some situations will have us questioning our life decisions, and at that moment, it would not really matter how far you have come and everything you've gone through to get to that current position. The book was quite educational when it comes to religious history, and I am someone who has dug deep into religious topics.

There are a few reasons why I didn't give this book a perfect rating. One is that the pacing was too slow. The second reason is the vocabulary used. These two combined made the book difficult to read. Not only was it slow-paced, but I still had to repeatedly read some sentences to make sense of them, and that further slowed down my reading. For instance, many sentences like "But there was no such austere perfectionism to my life as I began my travails as the assistant curate of Mold" made reading the book hard. I believe if a simpler vocabulary had been used, considering the book's slow pace, it would have been easier to read. Also, some words were phrased in a manner that had me rechecking if the author intended to word it that way or if it was an error. Example: "It raised a further question." Also, the book title is a bit misleading. From the title, I expected a love story, but the book focuses more on religious history. The following reasons are why two stars were deducted from the rating, hence why I am rating the book three out of five stars.

If you are a fan of religious books that have rich content on Christian history, then you would enjoy reading this book. There is a lot of content, including a shocking discovery about King Solomon. To find out more about this, grab a copy of this book.

******
A Curate in Love
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Joe Alex 2]

The author’s personal reflections on his life as an assistant curate and the challenges he faces in his relationship and faith are intriguing. The book seems to offer valuable insights into Christian history. I will add it to my reading list

[Nati Jiniya]

Thank you for this beautiful review! The book sounds interesting and unique, I'd love to give it a try. I don't have much experince with this genre, so it would be adventurous.

[Rebecca De Figueiredo]

Thank you for this review.. it was so useful. This book is all about a curate in England. It was interesting and an easy, personable read. I learnt some new clerical terminology and it had a traditional English feel .

[Amy Luman]

I don’t really understand a lot of what was said in there view so I think that I would have even more trouble with the ok itself. Especially if, as you say, it is filled with such difficult language and has such a slow pace. Congratulations on BOTD!

[Leen282]

Religious books are not my cup of tea, and even less so with the heavy language used. I do see how it can appeal to people wanting to read more about religious history. The review gives a nice teaser about the shocking discovery about King Solomon.

[Chi Chiu Michael Mak]

I agree that the slow pacing and complex sentences/vocabulary made this book really hard to enjoy. I also agree that readers interested in religious history would find some value in it.

[Seetha E]

The book sounds interesting. However, with the drawbacks mentioned, I will have to give it a pass. It does sound like it will appeal to readers of this genre and those familiar with the protagonist's background.
I too was misled by the title. Thanks for your informative review.

[Sanju Lali]

One can find a bit of substantial Christian history by reading the memoir "A Curate in Love" by Richard Hughes. The book recounts the author's life as the assistant curate of Mold.

[Ailakhu Yusau Aizhebiomon]

Memoirs are my kind of books, as they share and narrate hand-on life-experiences of people and how they were able to navigate. However, the negative parts of the book; pace and vocabulary, as revealed by the reviewer would make me have a second thought on this. Congrats on being the #BOTD!

[Mr Benj]

"A Curate in Love" by Richard Hughes, a book that features religion and the author's life. It will be great to read about the author's various encounters throughout, especially those that took place in the Church. A book to read.

[Rupali Mishra]

Congrats on BOTD!
Because they discuss and recount firsthand accounts of people's lives and how they managed to get by, memoirs are a favorite type of book. Nevertheless, the reviewer's revelations regarding the book's pace and language might cause me to reconsider this.

[Alida Spies]

Most ministers, priests, vicars, etc. follow their careers because they experienced a calling from God. This book sounds a bit different, although it is not unusual for clergy to have doubts about their career choices, just like many people in non-religious occupations. It sounds interesting to get a glimpse into the author's life, as he wonders about his commitment to the curacy and the reasons for it. The educational part on religious history also sounds worthwhile. Thank you for your informative review.

[Amarachi Stephanie Ejike]

It was unexpected how Richard Hughes's book "A Curate in Love" turned out to be a memoir having to do with religion and Christian history rather than a love story as could be inferred from the title.
I'd love to know how Richard handled his commitment to serving as the curate of Mold while harbouring a love interest in Ann.

[Magdalyne chebet]

"A Curate in Love" by Richard Hughes is a memoir detailing his experiences as an assistant curate in Mold. It explores his challenges in ministry, relationship with Ann, and struggles with faith, duty, and love amidst difficult living conditions and religious traditions. Congrats BOTD!