Laura Frantz is one of those historical fiction authors that readers just love. She does her research well and brings new perspectives to the history of the time. The time of this novel is the seventeenth century and the location is James Towne, Virginia Colony. The situation is a shipload of "Tobacco Brides," coming to marry the tobacco growers who have plantations, but no wives to help run them.
Selah is the daughter of the town merchant, and really has no desire to marry any of the growers in the area, except one...
Xander Relnick is a tobacco grower who uses indentured servants to run his plantation at a time when African slaves are being brought into the colonies for cheap labor. Xander's opinions were not often popular in the township, especially his desire to forge peace among the native tribes who lived in the area. One of his ideas was to allow the native children come to live with the colony's families while children of the colonials lived with the native tribe. Through this exchange, Selah's family became guardians of a young girl, Watseka, while Selah's brother, Shay, goes to live with the tribe.
I really enjoyed this book. There is so much going on that keeps the reader involved in the plot from the beginning to the end. There are despicable men, honorable men, shifty women, and Naturals (as the natives were called during the times) who wanted nothing but peace and a place to call their own. There are parts of the plot that moved slower than others, but all the parts come together to make a cohesive whole. This is a strong Four-Star book.
Revell Publishing and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment