Book Review and TLC Tour Stop: Salting Roses by Lorelle Marinello

Salting Roses by Lorelle Marinello

Paperback: 336 pages

Avon A; Original edition (November 30, 2010)

Source: 

I received a copy of Salting Roses from the publisher in exchange for my participating in the TLC Book Tour for this book.

Summary from the author's website:
A small town Alabama girl, left on a doorstep as an infant, finds her quiet world turned upside down on her twenty-fifth birthday when a stranger informs her that she is the kidnapped daughter of a New England financier and heiress to an enormous fortune.

My Thoughts:

My first inclination was to think that Salting Roses would be your typical 'strike it rich' story, but I was wrong.  Lorelle Marinello constructed a tale about Gracie, a girl who learned that she was not who she believed herself to be - in the span of a day, she learned the truth about her biological parents and the inheritance that she was entitled to receive.

I am a huge sucker for great character writing, and Lorelle Marinello impressed me.  Gracie, Sam, Alice, Ben, Artie, Kate and even Conrad were written so beautifully and were so real.  The story line could have been so predictable, but it wasn't.  The characters could have been flat and uninteresting, but they weren't.  The love story that was woven into Gracie's new world could have been over the top or too sappy, but it wasn't.  Salting Roses was well-crafted, believable, entertaining, funny and heart-warming.

I'm so happy that I had an opportunity to review Salting Roses and participate on the TLC Book Tour.  I highly recommend Salting Roses to lovers of women's fiction, and to those who are looking for a light and entertaining read.

Other TLC Book Tour Participants:
November 30th: Rundpinne
December 2nd: Raging Bibliomania
December 7th: Life in the Thumb
December 8th: Calico Critic
December 9th: The Lost Entwife
December 13th: Café of Dreams
December 16th: Book Club Classics!
December 20th: In the Next Room
December 21st: Tales of a Capricious Reader
December 22nd: Books Like Breathing
December 28th: BookNAround

Blog Note: I am an Amazon Associate. I will make a small profit if you purchase a book after following one of the links in this post. Profits will be used to support giveaways and site maintenance.

Book Review: The Wolves of Andover by Kathleen Kent

The Wolves of Andover by Kathleen Kent

Hardcover, 320 pages

Reagan Arthur Books (November 8, 2010)

Source: 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for participating in the Manic Mommies Book Club

Summary from GoodReads:
In the harsh wilderness of colonial Massachusetts, Martha Allen works as a servant in her cousin's household, taking charge and locking wills with everyone. Thomas Carrier labors for the family and is known both for his immense strength and size and mysterious past. The two begin a courtship that suits their independent natures, with Thomas slowly revealing the story of his part in the English Civil War. But in the rugged new world they inhabit, danger is ever present, whether it be from the assassins sent from London to kill the executioner of Charles I or the wolves-in many forms-who hunt for blood. A love story and a tale of courage, The Wolves of Andover confirms Kathleen Kent's ability to craft powerful stories of family from colonial history.

My Thoughts:

I'm a little rusty in my review writing, but it certainly doesn't mean that I've stopped reading!

I read The Wolves of Andover as part of the Manic Mommies Book Club and I am looking forward to discussing the book with the group on Wednesday night.  While it wasn't my most favorite book this year, I did enjoy it.  Kathleen Kent's writing is beautiful and emotional and feels very true.  I am a long-confessed lover of historical fiction and The Wolves of Andover provided a glimpse of a piece of history that I was not at all familiar with - I love it when I learn something new.

The book provided Martha as a very strong character - secretly longing to be married, but at the same time having an abrasive personality that sometimes offended more than it attracted.  Inevitably, Martha did attract Thomas Morgan, who was the character that I enjoyed most of all.  His strength and his larger-than-life physical presence did not overshadow his generous and caring heart, and the secrets that he held fortunately did not keep him from expressing his emotions.

Kathleen Kent's writing is skilled and I felt that I lived the events, and came to know the characters.  My only complaint was that the transition between storylines - Britain to the Colonies, the hunters to the hunted - felt a bit disjointed at times.  This personally took a bit away from the overall experience of the book.

Thanks so much to the Manic Mommies Book Club and Hachette for allowing me to have the opportunity to read and review The Wolves of Andover.  I very much enjoyed the writing and the story and would recommend the book to lovers of historical fiction.

Blog Note: I am an Amazon Associate. I will make a small profit if you purchase a book after following one of the links in this post. Profits will be used to support giveaways and site maintenance.