Back Cover: In the spring of 1822, Ellie
Ballantyne leaves finishing school and returns to the family home in Pittsburgh
only to find that her parents are away on a long journey and her siblings don’t
seem to want her to stay. Determined to stand her ground and find her place in
the world, Ellie fills her time by opening a day school for young ladies.
But when one of her students turns out to
be an incorrigible young member of the Turlock family, Ellie knows she must
walk a fine line. Slaveholders and whiskey magnates, the Turlocks are envious
of the powerful Ballantynes and suspicious of their abolitionist leanings. As
Ellie becomes increasingly entangled with the rival clan – particularly the
handsome Jack Turlock – she finds herself falling in love with an impossible
future. Will she betray her family and side with the enemy?
Review: I became a hardcore fan of Laura
Frantz’s after reading the first book in this series, “Love’s Reckoning”. The
newest installment, “Love’s Awakening” was dazzling and certainly did not
disappoint.
Jack Turlock comes from the worst kind of
family. His father is a murder, is disloyal to his mother, abuses his slaves,
and will go to the most gruesome extreme to see his illegal whiskey enterprise
flourish. The Turlock family name is so feared that even the law enforcement
wont cross a Turlock. Jack Turlock, or “Gentleman-Jack” as he’s known, is known
for his cavorting with saloon women, whiskey trading, and being a vicious
fighter. As a young man, however, Jack had a different upbringing than the rest
of his siblings. A favourite of their mother’s father, the town judge, Jack was
exposed to a more gentle, learned way of life. When his grandfather passed and
Jack was drawn back under the evil influence of his father, Jack all but forgot
the goodness he was shown as a child. That is, until a near death experience
makes him question the validity of God and the rightness of their family
enterprise.
Enter Ellie Ballantyne. Ellie is the
darling of the family. Beautiful, kind, naive, and ever-so-sweet, she is
beloved by all. After four years of finishing school, she feels
quite...finished. Expecting to come home to her mother’s arms, her father’s
music, and the peacefulness of New Hope, Ellie is quite shocked to find that
her parent’s are gone on a journey and her siblings are less than happy to see
her. It’s not until she accidently finds out that her family is heavily
involved in the Underground Railroad, designed to smuggle slaves out of the
country, does Ellie realize that New Hope is not the home she left four years
ago. Caught between the building pressures of her families abolitionist
activities and the challenging job of trying to turn a young Turlock into a
lady while falling in love with her brother...Ellie’s once simple life is in
serious upheaval.
Love’s Reckoning is a beautiful, engaging,
lovely book. I couldn’t part with this book once I started reading it. It got
taken to work, to the barn, and even on a date! I really love Laura Frantz’s
writing and both these books were wonderful.
"Book has been provided courtesy of Revell Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group"
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group"
No comments:
Post a Comment