Love's Awakening

Love’s Awakening is the 2nd book in The Ballantyne Legacy by Laura Frantz.

I’ll admit it.
My expectations were high.

I had fallen completely and thoroughly into the world she created in the first book in the series, Love’s Reckoning, last September (you can read my review here) and have been eagerly waiting for more of the story to unfold.

Love’s Awakening did not disappoint.

In Love’s Awakening, we meet Ellie Ballantyne, the youngest daughter of Silas and Eden Ballantyne, as she’s returning home from finishing school. She’s young, beautiful, worth a fortune, and not interested in marrying the man everyone thinks she should.

I loved Ellie. Full of spunk and determination. Tired of being the baby. Ready to find her way in the world. Totally unprepared to fall in love with the one man her parents would never approve of.

Oh. Did I forget to mention him?

Jack Turlock is the son of a whiskey magnate with a reputation for being a scoundrel. But Jack’s growing up and becoming his own man. A man who doesn’t agree with his father’s treatment of slaves, or his business tactics. A man who doesn’t share his family’s hatred of the Ballantyne’s.

Especially not Ellie.

Love’s Awakening is set against the backdrop of Pittsburgh in the early 1800s. A time when slaves making their way to freedom in the North had to pass through Pennsylvania. A state that—laws on the books notwithstanding—still had slaveholders as late as the 1840s.

Laura Frantz doesn’t shy away from the grim realities of that era. The horrific treatment of slaves, the desperation for freedom, the dangers of every day life.

Of course, some truths transcend time and place. The high cost of doing what’s right. The way some families are a place of shelter and hope, while others are places of turmoil and destruction. The way love can and does transform hearts.

Love’s Awakening is the kind of book that transports you to a different world and when you come back to reality, you discover you are so much better off for having made the trip.

Love’s Awakening is available as of September 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

The super fine print: I received a free copy of Love’s Awakening in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

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Love's Reckoning

A few months ago several of my writer friends mentioned that Laura Frantz writes great historical fiction. So when the fine folks at Revell gave me the opportunity to review her latest, Love’s Reckoning, I decided to see for myself.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Love’s Reckoning drew me in, transported me to post-Revolutionary Pennsylvania and reminded me of how much I love U.S. History.

I was thoroughly impressed with the little details…the choice of words, the customs of the day, the traditions and challenges of life in the late 1700s…all combined to paint the backdrop for the rich and detailed story that unfolds.

I used to read a lot of historical fiction, but in the past few years, I’ve shifted to reading more contemporary suspense and political thrillers. So I wasn’t sure what to expect from the plot.

It was far more detailed, twisty, and in some cases, shocking, than I was prepared for—and I loved it!

Eden and Elspeth Lee are as different as two sisters can be. When Silas Ballantyne signs on as an apprentice to their father, he steps into a home where nothing is as it appears, where secrets are kept, and where the truth just might ruin them all.

I stayed up past midnight to finish Love’s Reckoning. And when I closed the book, I experienced that magical moment—the one where you are deliciously satisfied with the ending but are left yearning to stay in the story world just a little bit longer.

Available September 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

The super fine print: I received a copy from Revell in exchange for my honest review. I was not obligated to provide a positive review. All opinions are my own.

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