The Shadow of the Bear

Black as Night

Waking Rose

Three exciting novels. One amazing author. Regina Doman has taken three timeless fairy tales and rewoven the magical threads of plot, character, and setting into an original, modern mystery trilogy that teens and adults alike won’t be able to put down.

Most refreshingly, Doman’s books have a Catholic flair that is both compelling and convincing. She skillfully tells a powerful, plot-twisting story featuring teens confronting challenges with the help of their faith. Yet the pace is not bogged down with preaching. The characters simply live their faith, and this forces them into many suspenseful situations.

The first book, “The Shadow of the Bear: Snow White and Rose Red Retold,” introduces Blanche and Rose, two teen sisters living with their mother in New York City. After encountering a mysterious stranger one winter night, the girls become entangled in a dangerous plot involving stolen Catholic treasure, an abandoned church, and a dead priest. Once you read this first book, you’ll fall in love with the characters and be hooked on the trilogy.

Book two, “Black as Night,” based on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” focuses on Blanche and Bear. Blanche, pursued by evil, seeks shelter in a friary while Bear, far away, tries to make sense of his life and where he belongs. When evil closes in and time runs out, a night of death arrives. Who will survive?

The final book in this trilogy, “Waking Rose,” is based on “Sleeping Beauty.” Rose has long loved Benedict (nicknamed “Fish”), but it is an unrequited love that tortures her. Little does she suspect the demons of Fish’s past that prevent him from letting anyone near. But when Rose is involved in a shocking accident, it is up to Fish to rescue her from the nightmare world where she is imprisoned. Will true love conquer all?

With the Christian fiction market saturated with Protestant novels, it is refreshing to read such thoroughly Catholic tales. These books have everything: mystery, action, danger, adventure, humor, romance, and-most refreshingly-moral values. This, combined with clever writing, results in three novels very worth reading!

Would you like to connect with a community of other like-minded Traditional Catholic mothers? Check out the Traditional Catholic Moms group on CafeMom.

The group’s description reads:
“There’s much more to being a Traditional Catholic then just attending the Tridentine Mass; and this is the place to discuss it!!”

You can post questions and comments, or just read what others are writing about. This is also a nice outlet for stay-at-home moms.

What do you think?

I finished reading A Case of Conscience, by Isabel C. Clarke, last night.  It was an enjoyable read, and besides being entertaining, it makes you think.  The story involves a love triangle between a man and two half-sisters.  You could almost call it a love square, because the Catholic faith is presented as a very solid obstacle to love and marriage.  The handling of this issue is quite interesting, as it is vitally important, yet many people think nothing of mixed marriages today.

Read the full review of Isabel C Clarke’s A Case of Conscience on our Novels page.  (Click on the link above.)

I recently bought an original copy of A Case of Conscience by Isabel C. Clarke.  This author wrote many well-received Catholic novels, and I look forward to reading, reviewing, and featuring more of her books on this site in the future.

I bought my copy of A Case of Conscience for a very reasonable price on Ebay, and began eagerly reading it last night.

Published by Benziger Brothers in 1927, A Case of Conscience is 370 pages long, and I am now on page 73.  This is not a fast-paced book, yet it is not cumbersome to read; the old-fashioned style just takes a little getting used to.

So far, the story takes place in Italy, at a lake-side villa where nineteen-year-old Elizabeth  lives with her ailing father(John), to whom she is very devoted, having no one else in the world since her mother left them both when Elizabeth was only a few weeks old.  When Elizabeth’s father dies, she decides to go see her mother, who lives in England with a second husband and a daughter, Opal, Elizabeth’s half-sister.

At the same time, handsome Timothy, a very distant relative, has inherited John’s ancestral land in England, and finds himself drawn to both Elizabeth and Opal.  He is a lax Catholic, while Elizabeth is a devout Catholic.

Certainly one can see the potential for twists, complications, and the voice of conscience . . .

We shall see, as the reading continues!

JMJ

There’s nothing like a good novel — especially when the “good” lives up to its meaning!

Welcome! This website is the product of a fervent desire to locate novels that are worthy to be called traditional Catholic novels. In the past, searching online for ”traditional Catholic novels” rarely yielded satisfying results; because while it’s not too difficult to find traditional Catholic nonfiction books, traditional Catholic fiction is another matter. Our goal is to change this.

The purpose of this site is to give voracious novel readers somewhere to turn without having to resort to the moral messes of many modern mass market books (try saying that ten times fast!) Whether young or old, you should never have to run out of good books to read.

Notable Novels Contain Values From The Past, For The Future:

Here you will find the titles of some old Catholic novels and some new, but all are enjoyably compelling and enriching. The purpose of the featured novels is not to preach, but to entertain while remaining compatible with traditional Catholic values. You don’t have to wonder if these books fit into a traditional Catholic lifestyle. Enjoy!

How to Find Traditional Catholic Novels:

Turn to us, because that’s what we’re here for. We will be constantly updating our list, as well as writing reviews of the books. While we will provide links for purchasing books still in print, many of the books may be out of print. This does not mean you won’t be able to locate them, however. Use the valuable “clues” provided by us (the book’s title and author) and do your own online search.  We recommend checking pcp.com,  AbeBooks.com, Amazon, and Ebay.

Libraries and online bookstores will likely yield more fruitful results than your local bookstore (unless it’s a used bookstore). Garage sales, estate sales, church sales, and auctions are all possibilities, although you may feel you’re searching for a needle in a haystack. (We prefer to think of it as a treasure hunt.) Happy hunting!

Write One!

We’re serious. If you have the desire, the imagination, and the God-given talent, this just may be your calling. The world needs more good novels, and the readers are out here! Check out this Writing Advice link to get started.  Also be sure to thouroughly read the Catholic Fiction Submission Guidelines for Sophia Institute Press. There you will find articles containing excellent Catholic fiction writing advice.

Finally, remember this:  All good writing starts with good reading!

“No one who bothers about originality will ever be original,

whereas if you try simply to tell the truth,

you will, nine times out of ten,

become original without ever having noticed it.”

– C.S. Lewis

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