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juniperpinejournals's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A lovely Christian romance!
palepineapple14's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence
chloe0217's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ⭐️
This book took me about a year to finish because I would pick it up read some and then forget about it although, I did enjoy this book and the romance was very refreshing!
This book took me about a year to finish because I would pick it up read some and then forget about it although, I did enjoy this book and the romance was very refreshing!
books_and_crumbs's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
caz82_bennett's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
phantomangel28's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
carlaabra's review against another edition
2.75
1870s California gold rush. A rich Boston heiress is caught supporting women’s suffrage, disinherited and banished to a wild mining town where her uncle used to live.. until he was mysteriously MURDERED. She’s out of her depth, never having had to work before, but miraculously does just fine. We have a competition between two men, one the heroic MMC and one a rich villain, for FMC’s heart, all while FMC insists she’ll be single forever. She’s got pride, he’s got prejudice, together we’ve got a blah book.
The pacing of this is all off. The author spends a lot of time describing minutiae; I also found her paragraphs were organized oddly. Overall it makes reading a slog as we go from one boring non-event to the next. There’s very little tension. The characters and side characters were likeable, I just struggled not to DNF it based on the plot.
The “romantic” backdrop was odd. This is the 1870s in a western mining town; women are kept in the home and are literally property. FMC is an independent woman and this makes waves in town. That two men are fighting for her affection - honestly, fighting to posses her because she’s oh-so-hot - is not unexpected. What WAS unexpected was the outcome.A rape attempt by the villain; FMC giving in to marriage despite wanting to run for the hills on her wedding day; FMC having no concept of sex or pregnancy other than what is barely explained to her by her husband after they’re married; whatever the fuck this thought is while she’s standing at the altar:
“What did <MMC> mean by that veiled threat? Kathryn knew it would be within his rights to beat her. But would he?”
GIRL YOURE MARRYING HIM AND WONDERING ABOUT THIS?? Sigh. Don’t forget there are two murders in this book too. The whole genre felt confused.
This was listed as “Christian fiction”, and although there are mentions of Christianity and the power of god, it wasn’t all that Christian compared to other books I’ve read. Despite Kathryn being an empowered woman we do get the typical expectations of women being the homemaker. MMC says this right at the end: “Sages says the best way to handle a woman is to keep her barefoot and pregnant.” Which is a loaded sentence from a contemporary author who MUST know the connotations of that. Good lord.
The pacing of this is all off. The author spends a lot of time describing minutiae; I also found her paragraphs were organized oddly. Overall it makes reading a slog as we go from one boring non-event to the next. There’s very little tension. The characters and side characters were likeable, I just struggled not to DNF it based on the plot.
The “romantic” backdrop was odd. This is the 1870s in a western mining town; women are kept in the home and are literally property. FMC is an independent woman and this makes waves in town. That two men are fighting for her affection - honestly, fighting to posses her because she’s oh-so-hot - is not unexpected. What WAS unexpected was the outcome.
“What did <MMC> mean by that veiled threat? Kathryn knew it would be within his rights to beat her. But would he?”
GIRL YOURE MARRYING HIM AND WONDERING ABOUT THIS?? Sigh.
This was listed as “Christian fiction”, and although there are mentions of Christianity and the power of god, it wasn’t all that Christian compared to other books I’ve read. Despite Kathryn being an empowered woman we do get the typical expectations of women being the homemaker. MMC says this right at the end: “Sages says the best way to handle a woman is to keep her barefoot and pregnant.” Which is a loaded sentence from a contemporary author who MUST know the connotations of that. Good lord.