About
Sheltered since birth at her Kentucky home, Rowena 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, Rowena makes the journey with him and quickly finds herself in a whole new world–filled with 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, Rowena 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, Laura Frantz brings 1850s Pennsylvania alive with a tender story of loss, love, and loyalty. Fans will cheer for this final installment of the Ballatyne saga.
Review
I was so excited to get my hands on the last Ballanytne novel. My thoughts:
What I liked:
The Writing. The book captured me from the first page. I was immediately invested in James Sackett and Wren. Sometimes you just know from the first few lines of a book whether it will hold your attention and I just knew. Furthermore, Ms. Frantz’s writing is just beautiful to read, her metaphors are almost like poetry at times.
The historical facts. They’re interwoven so beautifully, that you don’t feel like you’re in school, and yet at the same time I had a great appreciation for the research that the author had done.
Wren. I loved how straightforward she is. She’s not timid, she doesn’t beat around the bush. With the exception of the last chapter, I loved her.
The setting. Pittsburgh becomes just as much a character as the people in the book (all three books for that matter).
The secondary characters. Since I’ve read all the books in the series , I enjoyed seeing Silas and Eden and Ellie and Jack and a few of the notorious Ballantyne’s as well. There are also some new faces that manages to steal the show for a minute (Izannah!)
The romance. I like that it was slow in developing and yet you knew that there was instant chemistry from the start. I liked that they are such opposites, and you can see that really play out between them. There’s a really great scene, that’s both simple and full of romantic tension, which I think is a trademark of Ms. Frantz.
Spiritually, there’s not exactly a theme, but the characters pray and seek God throughout the novel.
What I didn’t like:
The romance. Only because once I hit about 87% on my kindle, I thought the romance dragged on, in the since that people were making bad decisions that I knew would have to be corrected and I was thinking just get together already!
Romantic Scale: 9
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. For me, I liked it better than the second one and didn’t want to put it down. If you haven’t started this series, you should!
**I received this copy from Netgalley. My opinion was not affected in anyway.**
remaininhislove 