The Mistress of Tall Acre

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The Mistress of Tall Acre
Laura Frantz
Revell

The American Revolution is finally over, and Sophie Menzies is starved for good news. When her nearest neighbor, General Seamus Ogilvy, finally comes home to Tall Acre, she hopes it is a sign of better days to come. But the general is now a widower with a small daughter in desperate need of a mother. Nearly destitute, Sophie agrees to marry Seamus and become the mistress of Tall Acre in what seems a safe, sensible arrangement. But when a woman from the general's past returns without warning, the ties that bind this fledgling family together will be strained to the utmost. When all is said and done, who will be the rightful mistress of Tall Acre?

Triumph and tragedy, loyalty and betrayal--readers find it all in the rich pages of this newest historical novel from the talented pen of Laura Frantz. Her careful historical details immerse the reader in the story world, and her emotional writing and finely tuned characters never cease to enchant fans both old and new.

   There isn't a lot of Colonial fiction in the Christian market, so I do tend to keep my eye out for those ones that do pop up. For that reason, I'm definitely familiar with the novels of Laura Frantz (although apparently I haven't reviewed any of her other books on this blog before- what's with that?)

   The basic plot of The Mistress of Tall Acre is one I've read several times over. (Even the plot twist near the end, while I admit I didn't expect it while reading, is one I've seen used before). However, I felt that Laura Franz skillfully wove her tale so that it felt like new. Also, the synopsis is a little misleading, as I thought the "marriage of convenience" would happen at the very beginning and basically serve as the catalyst for the rest of the plot; in this I was thankfully wrong. There was much more to it than that, and I felt that I had more than enough time in the space of the story to really get to know the characters before they got married, so that afterward I found myself able to root for their relationship.

   Overall,  The Mistress of Tall Acre was a sweet, entertaining read, and I really enjoyed it.

Rating: 8

objectionable content: most of the "content" here is subject matter rather than explicit scenes or situations. There are a couple kisses (between married couples) and some things implied (e.g. marital infidelity, slavery, the "duties" of marriage, etc.) that would not be suitable for younger readers.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Comments

  1. RissiSeptember 3, 2015 at 11:32 PM

    LOVED this novel. It's one of the few I've read by Laura, but definitely one of my most favorite historical reads. :)

    ReplyDelete

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