MY REVIEW:
Laura Frantz has done it again! I have been impressed with each and every one of her previous novels. I’m not sure how she does it but each one seems to surpass the last. “Love’s Reckoning” may just possibly be my favorite to date and that’s saying something because I loved all the others.
At a time when many historical romance novels have a spunky, sassy, and/or bold heroine, Eden Lee may seem just a bit innocuous at first. Quiet and unassuming, Eden is totally overshadowed by her sister Elspeth whose bold personality, selfish and competitive nature, and total lack of virtue demands center stage. Then there is our hero Silas Ballantyne, a skilled blacksmith who is finishing his apprenticeship under the sisters’ father. It is somewhat understood that one of the sisters will marry the apprentice and Elspeth decides she wants him. However, Eden and Silas find themselves to be kindred spirits and their low key friendship develops into a stronger attachment that they must keep secret because of Elspeth’s increasing volatility.
I liked the way that the relationship between Silas and Eden developed – his attraction to her gentle and giving spirit and his desire to protect her from the pain caused by her family – and Eden’s response to the respectful and caring way that Silas treated her.
“Love’s Reckoning” is a story filled with emotion and many secrets, some of which are major surprises when revealed. There were times when I didn’t like the choices made by the characters but those poor choices added to the realism of the story. With several characters to love and several to despise, and a couple who disappoint, Frantz’s casting keeps the story compelling. The story itself left me with plenty to chew on and I would venture to describe “Love’s Reckoning” as an epic novel. This book deserves much more attention than it will probably receive and should have the potential to become a classic. I plan to recommend it to my reader friends. Everyone who enjoys historical fiction should pick up a copy.
This book was provided for review by
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
In this sweeping family saga set in western Pennsylvania, one man’s choices in love and work, in friends and enemies, set the stage for generations to come. Love’s Reckoning is the first entry in The Ballantyne Legacy, a rich, multi-layered historical quartet from talented writer Laura Frantz, beginning in the late 1700s and following the Ballantyne family through the end of the Civil War.
On a bitter December day in 1785, Silas Ballantyne arrives at the door of master blacksmith Liege Lee in York, Pennsylvania. Just months from becoming a master blacksmith himself, Silas is determined to finish his apprenticeship and move west. But Liege soon discovers that Silas is a prodigious worker and craftsman and endeavors to keep him in Lancaster. Silas becomes interested in both of Liege’s daughters, the gentle and faith-filled Eden and the clever and high-spirited Elspeth. When he chooses one, will the other’s jealousy destroy their love?
Available September 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell,
a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Laura Frantz is a lover of history, is the author of The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, and The Colonel’s Lady, and currently lives in the misty woods of Washington with her husband and two sons.
Praise for Love’s Reckoning:
“Stunning. Heart-wrenching. Breathless. Not since Gone with the Wind have I read an epic novel that has stolen my heart, my breath, my sleep to such a jolting degree. Love’s Reckoning marks Laura Frantz not only as a shining star in Christian fiction today but as a shooting star who soars skyward to the glittering heights of Rivers and Higgs —Julie Lessman, award-winning author of the Daughters of Boston and Winds of Change series
Praise for Laura Frantz:
“You’ll disappear into another place and time and be both encouraged and enriched for having taken the journey.”—Jane Kirkpatrick, bestselling author of All Together in One Place and A Flickering Light
“Laura Frantz portrays the wild beauty of frontier life, along with its dangers and hardships, in vivid detail.”—Ann H. Gabhart, author of The Blessed
“Frantz paints a vivid picture of the tough life out in the wild, and yet her characters demonstrate that it was possible to have a wonderful life.”—RT Book Reviews for The Colonel’s Lady
