Bethany House Publishing was kind enough to send me another book to review!
Do you want to know the great thing about this particular book? It was good.
Will it be a modern classic? Probably not. But I enjoyed reading this book.
A few thoughts:
Surprisingly, it reminded me a bit of the Sound of Music. The protagonist runs away from her true identity to play the part of a governess. She then leaves her governess job and becomes a maternal figure for the children of a widower. The widower, of course, ends up being her love interest. I think the Sound of Music comparison first came to mind when I read this (page 106):
“I suppose I should start at the beginning,” Hamilton said, taking a seat beside his mother.
“I always find that’s the most prudent place to start,” Gloria said.
Sound familiar? Anyone else now singing “Do-Re-Mi” from Sound of Music?
I’m obsessed with names. Many of the characters had, in my opinion, great names (Cora, Eliza, Hamilton, Zayne, Salice, and Penelope, to name a few).
As the mother of a two-year-old, I found it interesting that the three-year-old boy was repeatedly referred to as a baby. This was offered as an explanation for his inappropriate behavior and seemingly constant napping. Do most people consider a three-year-old to be a baby? Did they in 1880? More importantly, can I use that as an excuse to justify my two-year-old’s behavior?
Several times I caught myself smiling at a clever phrase or interesting piece of dialogue.
When I read for pleasure, I do my best not to edit. But sometimes I stumble over awkward writing and typos. For instance, there is one section (page 166) in which the main man is struggling to find the right words. There is a bit of narrative commentary that says, “He was normally perfectly capable of turning out a pretty phase (italics mine) when the occasion called for it.” Given the context, I’m convinced that should have been “turning out a pretty phrase.” Distracting, but not a deal breaker for me.
It was a quick read. In some ways, it may have been too quick. When I see the book on the counter now, I longingly wish I had more to read.
However, there are several loose ends. I’m hoping for a sequel!