Friday, September 19, 2014

Love's Fortune by Laura Frantz - REVIEWED



About the Book:
With two very different horizons stretched out before her, one young woman stands on the cusp of an unknown future.
Sheltered since birth at her Kentucky home, Rowena "Wren" Ballantyne has heard only whispered rumors of her grandfather Silas's vast fortune and grand manor in Pennsylvania. When her father receives a rare letter summoning him to New Hope, Wren makes the journey with him and quickly finds herself in a whole new world--family members she's never met, dances she's never learned, and a new side to the father she thought she knew. 

As she struggles to fit in during their extended stay, she finds a friend in James Sackett, the most valued steamship pilot of the Ballantynes' shipping line. Even with his help, Wren feels she may never be comfortable in high society. Will she go her own way . . . to her peril?

With her signature attention to historical detail and emotional depth, Laura Frantz brings 1850s Pennsylvania alive with a tender story of loss, love, and loyalty.
My Thoughts:
The gentle words seemed to hold promise – of brighter, better things to come.
If that were possible in Pennsylvania.”  (p. 123)

Ellie said to Wren:  “We mustn’t dwell so much on the past, we must look to the future.”  Well, at this point, that was easier said than done.  Wren’s father literally tore her from the only home she’d ever know – at age 25 – and sat her down among a family she didn’t know.  From rage to riches in a matter of days.  From a farm girl of Kentucky to a debutante of one of Pennsylvania’s elite families.  It wasn’t an easy transition to say the least.

Add to that transition a group of “family” who all have a plan to see you married off in style – to have you participate in a social season that would kill most of us today – and all the time, longing to go home.  Wren only knew her beloved Kentucky countryside, and when she finds herself trussed into crinolines and unable to draw a full breath, well, that’s a bit much.

Only Laura Frantz can take this rags to riches story and layer it with the historical intrigue of abolitionists, riverboat bandits and a railroad baron and create a multi-faceted historical tale that will keep readers up until the wee hours of morning!  You will fall in love with James, you will be repulsed and terrified by Bennett, you will be charmed by Malachi (and fall a bit in love with him too) – and the Ballantyne clan alone will keep your imagination enthralled!  This is a unique and completely intriguing tale that readers will adore!  Even better, Love’s Fortune begins the Ballantyne Legacy series!


So come along for the ride and enjoy the romance, intrigue and historical drama that only Laura Frantz can weave for her readers!

About the Author:

Laura Frantz is a lover of history, is the author ofThe Frontiersman's DaughterCourting Morrow Little, and The Colonel's Lady, and currently lives in the misty woods of Washington with her husband and two sons.

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