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I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
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MY REVIEW:
A historically fascinating book that really touched the history nerd inside me. The story is set in the Virginia colonies in pre US Independence time frame and features elements of English/Scottish interaction with trade, slave ownership and plantation life. These were important time frames in this countries history and Frantz really does justice to bringing it to life. Especially in times like now where historically accuracy is in jeopardy for sharing with the children of the future, Frantz tells it how it is. The good and the bad side, especially with the slave trade and treatment of people’s during this timeframe.
While I absolutely loved the rich historical elements, I also really enjoyed how complex the main characters were. Frantz really has you spend time in the details of each character, getting to know them in ways I feel I don’t always get in other books. There are many times throughout the story where it’s like a look in on “a day in the life of so and so”. Which gave me more context for the decisions and behaviors of each person represented.
This book really feels like a late 1800s classical literature novel with its depth of detail and prose used. It’s a longer book due to this treatment of the details, but so very worth the time to immerse myself into their lives and activities. Juliet and Leith come from such different backgrounds and experiences, yet they come together in such a complimentary way. Their demeanors and interests are the basis for their connection, even as all the negativity surrounding them threatens to tear it all down.
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Virigina plantation life is all she has ever known.
But could the life she was meant to live be waiting on a distant shore?
In 1774, Juliet Catesby lives with her father and sister at Royal Vale, the James River plantation founded by her Virginia family over a century before. Indigo cultivation is her foremost concern, though its export tethers her family to the powerful Buchanan clan of Glasgow, Scotland.
When the heir of the Buchanan firm arrives on their shores, Juliet discovers that her father has arranged for one of his daughters to marry the Scot as a means of canceling the family’s crippling debt. Confident it will be her younger, lovelier sister, Juliet is appalled when Leith Buchanan selects her instead.
Despite her initial refusal, Juliet realizes that fleeing Virginia is her only choice after finding herself in the midst of a scandal. The ship just leaving the harbor for Glasgow is her only hope. But she will soon realize that being part of the complex and calculating Buchanan clan is not the sanctuary she imagined–and the man who saved her from ruin is the very one she must now save in return.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Frantz
Laura Frantz is a two-time Christy Award winner and the ECPA bestselling author of 15 novels, including The Seamstress of Acadie, The Rose and the Thistle, The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, The Lacemaker,and A Heart Adrift. She is the proud mom of an American soldier and a career firefighter. Though she will always call Kentucky home, Laura lives with her husband in Washington State. Learn more at LauraFrantz.net.
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Adventures in Literature 
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