Short on romance but great on character and story development. Warner creates another town filled with people you can't help fall in love with. I can see romance brewing between Lady Jane and Briggs. They certainly deserve their own story. Entertaining at 3.5 stars.
Kaki Warner is one of my favorite authors; I own all of her novels. They are US historicals about regular people surviving hardships and finding happiness. This book is the story about Lottie and Ty. Each is dedicated to creating a better life. Lottie has a great deal of ambition; her future must include protection from her early years of hunger. Ty is the typical man of this period; he wants to provide everything. Ty finds the notion of a wife being an equal partner very foreign.
Lottie's ambition seems a bit modern. Because of my age (65+), I remember my grandmother and many aunts talking about their early lives. They came from want but felt that working in a department store or restaurant was a fitting role for a young, unmarried woman. Each would have been shocked by the idea of starting her own business and canvassing for customers.
That does not take away from my admiration of Ms. Warner's style and the warmth and compassion she fuses into her characters. I enjoyed the book a great deal.
Lottie's ambition seems a bit modern. Because of my age (65+), I remember my grandmother and many aunts talking about their early lives. They came from want but felt that working in a department store or restaurant was a fitting role for a young, unmarried woman. Each would have been shocked by the idea of starting her own business and canvassing for customers.
That does not take away from my admiration of Ms. Warner's style and the warmth and compassion she fuses into her characters. I enjoyed the book a great deal.
