I remember reading The Painted Door in grade 12 English and not understanding or thinking very much of it, yet bits and pieces of this story often comI remember reading The Painted Door in grade 12 English and not understanding or thinking very much of it, yet bits and pieces of this story often come back to my mind, unbidden.
It's just one of those things, you know?
When something insignificant comes back to you once in a while, for no apparent reason. Like random sentences that people have said to you that you remember years later, but that aren't important or significant. You just...remember them, for some reason.
Just like I remember the door. And the lonely prairie cabin, and the snow blowing outside, and the woman named Ann.
That's it, that's all I remember. But it comes back to mind, once in a while, like some sort of weird déjà-vu. ...more
Following in The Meeting Place's footsteps, The Sacred Shore is a sweet historical fiction piece deeply steeped in faith, but seemingly less substantiFollowing in The Meeting Place's footsteps, The Sacred Shore is a sweet historical fiction piece deeply steeped in faith, but seemingly less substantial than its predecessor.
I must confess to not enjoying this one very much, mainly because the Christian aspect came across as too pronounced and inauthentic. Certain characters' conversions were unbelievable, lacking depth and true development, which in fact was a problem with the book in general. Where The Meeting Place had been spiritually rich in a charmingly subtle way, The Sacred Shore crossed the line of in-your-face-preachy that just ends up feeling very unnatural. This was a disappointment, given that The Meeting Place ends on a cliffhanger and I was very eager to resume the story to see what would happen.
I also wasn't a fan of the headstrong heroine Nicole, whose search for her true self and her parents felt too forced.
There were several beautiful passages in this book, and I'm still very much interested in the story as a whole, given how much I enjoyed the first book, so I'm hoping to pick up the next installment in the near future, while I still live in Nova Scotia and feel more of a connection with all the places mentioned. ...more
I kinda feel bad for giving this beautiful book such a low rating (given that I was really hoping it'd be a 5-star book for me), but unfortunately I fI kinda feel bad for giving this beautiful book such a low rating (given that I was really hoping it'd be a 5-star book for me), but unfortunately I found it very underwhelming, and did not derive much pleasure in reading the last half or so.
But let's begin with the positive.
What makes The Lacemaker a good book:
* I don't care how many times I hear the "don't judge a book by its cover", I 100% do and a beautiful cover is always an incentive for me to pick up the book. Which is exactly what happened while I was browsing the library shelves one last time before quarantine, and chanced upon this loveliness when I checked the Laura Frantz section. This cover is GORGEOUS. I WANT THAT SLEEVE. I LOVE IT.
* The setting is quite simply amazing. When you read this book, you ARE in 1775 Virginia. Laura Frantz is reputedly one of the best Christian historical fiction authors out there for a reason. Because her books actually feel historical. In-depth research is evident, and the pre-Revolution atmosphere is perfectly captured, from brewing tension to outright raids. So yes. A far as history goes, this was great.
* Likewise, the attention to detail is astounding. Clothing descriptions are accurate and carefully sprinkled throughout for nice visuals, and the author also does an excellent job with surroundings and daily life happenings. I loved all the little details like the Welsh bread and the Independence Tea and the lack of dressmaking pins (the horror!). Everything was so well put together, and I love learning a thing or two after finishing a book. This novel had substance, and I appreciated that.
* There was good characterization, if we remove the characters from the plot, which I shall address in a second. Noble Rynallt, master of the great Ty Mawr, perfectly captured the essence of the tall-dark-handsome hero devoted to a Good Cause, and Liberty (Lady Elisabeth) encapsulated the beautiful, slender and flower-looking heroine who ends up having more backbone than it might seem. Sure, they were cliché, but they were done well. I liked them.
* This book had a lot of Poldark feels to it (kind of), which is one of my favourite TV shows, so I really enjoyed that.
Unfortunately, my list of good things pretty much stops here.
What Was Utterly Disappointing about The Lacemaker:
* Okay. You cannot, you absolutely CANNOT give me a book with a title like The Lacemaker AND NOT TALK ABOUT LACEMAKING. THIS WAS MY BIGGEST INCENTIVE TO READ THIS BOOK. I thought the heroine would, you know, ACTIVELY be making lace throughout the book, and that we'd get charming details of how it's made and used, etc. And right, to be fair, there obviously IS lacemaking in this book, to a certain extent. There are references now and again to bits of lace on sleeves or on cushions, and the heroine does try to take up lacemaking as a living for a hot minute in the middle of the plot, but that's pretty much it. THAT IS NOT ENOUGH LACE TO CALL A BOOK "THE LACEMAKER". *she says with her nose high in the air*
* The romance. Oh, my word. I have never witnessed a breathtakingly blooming romance plummet so dramatically into lukewarm waters IN MY LIFE. The beginning is SO DARN GOOD. You have the elegant Liberty (then Lady Elisabeth), a picture of perfection in her tightly-laced stays and rich gowns, playing the part of the poised and controlled Daughter of the House, and you have the dashing, ruggedly-handsome Independence man Rynallt, trying his best to make up for his cousin's neglect of his fiancée (being Lady Elisabeth). Amidst candlelit ballroom scenes, swishing skirts and powdered wigs, they slowly get to know each other, and the beginnings of the romance are deliciously slow and carefully measured.
BUT THEN. All of a sudden, with no warning whatsoever, all the chemistry, all the steam just evaporate like a neglected cup of tea. Pretty much every single romantic scene gets dampened by other pressing concerns that, granted, are important to consider in the grand scheme of the plot, but that so effectively interrupted the romance that it just...wasn't romantic anymore. I lost count of how many times Noble and Liberty would be in the middle of a cute scene before it was broken off with thoughts of impeding war, or important paperwork. I understand that your paperwork is important man, BUT STOP KILLING THE ROMANCE. This was all so disappointing after such a promising beginning.
* Likewise, the main plot. SO good in the beginning, so well thought-out, so much building tension. Historical characters are introduced, there is talk of spies and treason and prisoners and it promises to be so exciting. It's not. I'm still unsure of what actually should/did happen in this book. There are so many little random threads here and there. This was especially disappointing considering how good the setting was.
*There is SUCH a fuss made about Liberty's mother in the first half: when she's going to come back, what she'll do, etc, etc. And no sooner does she finally arrive than she LEAVES AGAIN.
*Lady Elisabeth's change of name to Liberty is rather very random, and quite unnecessary. You don't have to be named "Liberty" in order to believe in liberty.
*A lot of the secondary characters were rather flat and I did not understand some of their purposes. Several are mentioned and then never seen/heard of again.
*I can't begin to describe how utterly anti-climactic the last quarter of the book is. JUST WHAT. The main characters lost my sympathies because everything just felt so disconnected. I KNOW this author is capable of writing epic scenes and enthralling battles. Where were they? Every major plot point in this book happens off-stage. WHY. IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO GOOD. I was cheering for a happy ending so that we'd be spared further character musings and bemoaning of hard times and impeding war. Things still feel very unresolved by the end.
I just...I just don't know. I really wanted to love it, but between the romance deflating like a balloon with every passing chapter, and the plot that never seemed to progress, I slowly lost my enjoyment of this book and the story now feels very unmemorable to me. It's really too bad, because it had high potential, and Laura Frantz is a really gifted writer, but sadly this one just didn't quite work for me....more
This book was GOOD. Really, really good. The writing was gorgeous, lyrical, beautiful, ah-mazing. The settingOkay. New favourite author on my radar!!
This book was GOOD. Really, really good. The writing was gorgeous, lyrical, beautiful, ah-mazing. The setting, the characters, everything. Good, good, ALL SO GOOD.
I took myself off to a nearby park, found a secluded spot in the forest and just read, pretending to be in 18th century America, expecting to see an Indian or a British soldier, smelling campfire, and listening to the bird songs. It was, to say the least, really good escapism.
Lori Benton crafted a truly wonderful portrayal of frontier life, in a setting that was as fascinating to discover as it was exciting to read about. It was rich, detailed, entrancing. I really loved it. The blend of fiction, romance, and slight intrigue was superbly well balanced, and if not for a few things, I would have rated this an unhesitant five stars.
My main drawback, however, is that this book really has two heroes but naturally only one can win the girl. And the other...(view spoiler)[ Thankfully he doesn't DIE, but the way he and Willa part is still SAD. I did not like it :( Not at all. (hide spoiler)]
(view spoiler)[ Neil MacGregor, darling though he is, did not make me swoon as hard as Joseph-Tames-His-Horse did, and while I'm glad he did end up with Willa, I was kinda sorta hoping that Joseph would win her too, or that he would at least get another woman. Or that there was a sequel about him. Or SOMETHING. But his parting was just too much sadness, and too many feels. UGH, IT'S UNFAIR!! I NEED THAT SEQUEL! (hide spoiler)]
And Willa was a really great heroine for the most part, but her stubbornness and fear did grate on my nerves just a leeeeettle bit. I really do not have much patience for pigheaded heroines, I'm discovering.
But seriously, aside from that (and the fact that the book was a tad slow), it was wonderful. WONDER-FUL my friends, and you should all read it. This was my first Lori Benton book, but it definitely won't be my last, I cannot WAIT to get my hands on another novel by her!!...more
I've had this book sitting on my shelf for a few years now, enticing me with its si*releases long sigh*
Ah, Mrs. Mike. Such high hopes I had for you.
I've had this book sitting on my shelf for a few years now, enticing me with its silvery winter cover and romantically enthralling blurb.
The critics promised me something great with this book.
The Boston Herald told me that "only once in a long while does the lover of books come across a novel like this one. Mrs. Mike is an unforgettable story."
Well, I'm sure it is partly true. There aren't many books out there quite like Mrs. Mike . It's pretty unique, but as for its being an "unforgettable story", I shall have to reserve judgement on that later, when more time has elapsed and I see if I do indeed remember it.
The Library Journal stated that "this is a book the reader will be unable to put down until the last page is read".
Unfortunately, this couldn't have been farther from the truth. Mrs. Mike is an extremely put-downable book. It read more like a series of little episodes than a novel, and it dragged in so many places that I often had to push myself to finish chapters. The premise seemed really good; a sixteen year-old girl is sent from Boston to Alberta, Canada to stay with her uncle and recover from pleurisy. There, she meets and falls in love with handsome Mountie Mike, and he whisks her away into the great North wilderness, far away from heat and civilization.
As a Canadian, I appreciated that it was set in Canada and enjoyed all the beautiful nature descriptions. But I still had a hard time really getting into the story.
Then, The New York Times assured me that "it is the personality of Sgt. Mike blowing through this account like a clear breeze that gives it a refreshing quality. Everyone's dream of a cop, he was also a romantic and understanding husband, the fondest of fathers; a man of honour and humour".
Honestly, I liked Sgt. Mike, but this praise made me hope for so much more, and it wasn't delivered. Mike was a great character, but a) he wasn't nearly present enough, and b) this isn't a romance novel. We do get loving and tender moments between Mike and Kathy, but they are few and far between, and there overall just wasn't enough to make me really really like them. We get to know Sgt. Mike more as a Mountie than as a husband or father. Aside from the fact that he likes to play solitaire, I can't remember a single thing about him as a man.
And lastly, the Los Angeles Herald Express has claimed that "Mrs. Mike...is the story of the start of young love, its growth to maturity, and its acceptance of a dangerous, hard, and enthralling life. Its levels of sheer entertainment are extremely high".
And well, that solely depends on what is considered "entertaining". If people having their teeth pulled and their leg sawed off because of a bear trap, their houses destroyed by wildfires and their neighbours dying of diseases that make their throats swell, if all that sounds like your idea of "sheer entertainment", then by all means, its levels are extremely high.
I for one, would definitely not consider Mrs. Mike entertaining. It was interesting, certainly, and a great account of the harsh reality of the Great North, BUT I WAS NOT ENTERTAINED.
I never connected with the characters, I wasn't particularly fond of Kathy's voice (it's written in first person POV) and as soon as something mildly interesting happened, it usually started dragging on or became unexpectedly gruesome (@sawing of the leg and "yellow membrane" growing in people's throats and causing them to choke). There was a lot of sadness in this book, and I wanted to feel for the characters, but since I wasn't overly interested in them, I didn't find most of the sad events very touching ((view spoiler)[the children dying of the yellow membrane disease thing was very, very sad though (hide spoiler)]).
And also - disclaimer - which I probably should have mentioned at the beginning, but I didn't actually finish this book. I wanted to, but didn't have time before leaving home after the Holidays, and I didn't want to bring the book with me, so I actually have no idea how this ends. I might, I just might find enough willpower to finish it next time I'm home, but I don't know. I was inspired to read it over Christmas because everything was snowy and white and cold outside at home too, but I suspect my interest in this book will most likely melt away like the snow come spring....more
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was really, really good.
Very sweet, full ofSolid 4.5 stars
I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was really, really good.
Very sweet, full of rustic charm and heart-wrenching moments...it did end on a bit of a cliffhanger, with things very much unresolved, but that's why there's a whole series :)
The novel centers around two young women - Englishwoman Catherine and Frenchwoman Louise - and follows their respective storylines as they each marry their sweetheart and become pregnant. This all takes place, of course, in the mid-18th century, when the French and the English were sworn enemies.
Yet during a chance encounter in a quiet meadow between their two villages, the two women meet and get to know each other despite language barriers and prejudices. They soon figure out how similar they are, and a deep secret friendship begins.
This is a beautiful tale of friendship, of true connections, of meaningful moments and unexpected twists that will bind the lives of the two women forever...
A charming, deeply moving and yet tranquil sort of book, The Meeting Place is an excellent story set in 18th century Nova Scotia, right around the time of the tragic Deportation of the Acadians. It was a very good way to learn more about it while enjoying a good piece of fiction at the same time. ...more