fionak's review against another edition
4.0
Starts out really slow, picked up briefly, and then surprised me completely and got genuinely interesting. For the first three-quarters of the book, I was sure it barely merited 3 stars.
compass_rose's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this and now want to reread her first two (The three share a common location and some characters make cameo appearances). I recommend all three to those looking for a quick historical novel with interesting characters and strong women. I would also recommend this for bookclubs.
danahuff's review against another edition
4.0
sittingwishingreading's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
apetruce's review against another edition
2.0
I guess my Colonial women phase is over. This one killed it.
exlibrisbitsy's review against another edition
4.0
This historical novel takes place on the eve of the American Revolution. Jane is a young woman who lives in a world that is more in flux than she realizes. Families are facing off against families, revolutionaries against loyalists and even father against daughter as Jane questions her father’s beliefs and actions and ultimately decides to not marry the man he has picked out for her.
This results in her being sent to Boston to care for a sick aunt. While there she realizes things are not quite how they appear in the papers. The story unfolds as Jane rejects how other people tell her how she should think about and feel about the political climate at the time and determines that she will come to her own conclusions.
Because Jane is not falling along party lines in a traditional manner it allows the reader to see things as they truly were in the Colonial era and that includes some of the hypocrisy and imperfect deeds on both sides of the coming war. A lot of the stereotypes and generalizations are discarded for true historical accuracy. The revolution was not perfect. Neither were our fore fathers. It's a little ridiculous to think that it all was perfect. This book embraces that and yet still gives a great deal of respect and weight to the reasons we went forward with the revolution anyway, warts and all. I appreciated this honesty.
I also loved how the author wrote the book so that the story arc of this one young woman and her personal rebellion and search for truth in the midst of the much greater rebellion going on around her worked so well as an analogy to everything that was happening in the country at that time. Jane was a wonderful, strong character to read about and I was impressed by her determination and fortitude as she stood up for what she believed in throughout even when her number of supporters started to dwindle by the end.
I did find it a little hard to get into the story at first, but by the half way point I was hooked and pulled right through to the end. Fans of historical novels will enjoy this book immensely.
I received this book for free to review.
This results in her being sent to Boston to care for a sick aunt. While there she realizes things are not quite how they appear in the papers. The story unfolds as Jane rejects how other people tell her how she should think about and feel about the political climate at the time and determines that she will come to her own conclusions.
Because Jane is not falling along party lines in a traditional manner it allows the reader to see things as they truly were in the Colonial era and that includes some of the hypocrisy and imperfect deeds on both sides of the coming war. A lot of the stereotypes and generalizations are discarded for true historical accuracy. The revolution was not perfect. Neither were our fore fathers. It's a little ridiculous to think that it all was perfect. This book embraces that and yet still gives a great deal of respect and weight to the reasons we went forward with the revolution anyway, warts and all. I appreciated this honesty.
I also loved how the author wrote the book so that the story arc of this one young woman and her personal rebellion and search for truth in the midst of the much greater rebellion going on around her worked so well as an analogy to everything that was happening in the country at that time. Jane was a wonderful, strong character to read about and I was impressed by her determination and fortitude as she stood up for what she believed in throughout even when her number of supporters started to dwindle by the end.
I did find it a little hard to get into the story at first, but by the half way point I was hooked and pulled right through to the end. Fans of historical novels will enjoy this book immensely.
I received this book for free to review.
rachel_abby_reads's review against another edition
2.0
Set in the days prior to the American Revolution, this is the story of (duh) Jane Clarke. Jane is no one particularly remarkable or famous,but she meets John Adams, Otis, and Henry Knox, and her brother was shot (though not killed) during the Boston Massacre. Jane develops no particular feelings about revolution one way or the other. In fact, the large part of her thought process revolves on her relationship with a domineering father, and the man Dad wants her to marry, Phinnie Paine.
This wasn't a particularly difficult read, although the sexual morality isn't what I would have expected. (This isn't a porn masquerading as historical fiction; Jane gets into non-descriptive heavy petting with Knox and Paine.) Jane/the author seemed quite sympathetic to the British soldiers, although it may just feel that way because the author treats history with more accuracy: after all, citizens of Boston were quite provocative to the soldiers. I think the thing that made it feel the most real is the regular life being lived in extraordinary times. The colonies are ramping up for revolution, Jane meets several key players in the founding the the new republic, and she is most keenly concerned with family relationships and the question of marriage.
This wasn't a particularly difficult read, although the sexual morality isn't what I would have expected. (This isn't a porn masquerading as historical fiction; Jane gets into non-descriptive heavy petting with Knox and Paine.) Jane/the author seemed quite sympathetic to the British soldiers, although it may just feel that way because the author treats history with more accuracy: after all, citizens of Boston were quite provocative to the soldiers. I think the thing that made it feel the most real is the regular life being lived in extraordinary times. The colonies are ramping up for revolution, Jane meets several key players in the founding the the new republic, and she is most keenly concerned with family relationships and the question of marriage.
emceereads's review against another edition
4.0
Really 3.5 stars. I didn't realize this was the third book in a series... my mother picked this up for me, I think at a book shop in Mystic, CT or possibly in Rhode Island. As many other reviewers have said, this starts very slow, almost painfully slow. I found Jane to be passive most of the time, which was frustrating, but I think that silent conflict she felt must have been felt by many women of that time. This is a small-town girl who had been taught that being a daughter (seen in her relationship with her controlling father), a mother (Mehitable vs. her grandmother), and a woman (seen in the perceptions Aunt Gill, Henry, Phinnie, and Nate had of Jane) meant to show obedience and servitude to the men around her. The contrast between her growth and the Boston Massacre demonstrates that passive vs. passionate rebellion concept. Overall, not a bad piece of historical fiction once you get going.
rachelgertrude's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this character, both in her quiet strength of spirit and in the realistic way the author reveals her. The first interesting thing I read about Jane was that she had a "bubble in her chest" that indicated she felt disturbed by the contents of a letter she had received. Before knowing who she is, the context of the letter, or anything about the story, I knew that Jane was responding viscerally to something and taking the time to find out why.
And this is how the story is laid out - events are described, and Jane reflects on them and her reaction to them. as a reader, you participate in the mysterious nature of her colonial world, unraveling the intricacies of the characters around her, discerning. Jane hears something she trusts, but her gut responds with a twinge of warning or doubt - she comes to a conclusion about what her gut is telling her, and we find out over time if she was wrong or right.
In some ways, Jane Clarke is like an Elizabeth Bennet with the personality of a Jane Bennett, and the book, in its journey of self-discovery and development, is somewhat similar to Pride and Prejudice as well. Other interesting characters, such as Lydia and Eben Freeman, were intriguing enough in themselves to inspire me to find Gunning's earlier books, The Widow's War and Bound.
And this is how the story is laid out - events are described, and Jane reflects on them and her reaction to them. as a reader, you participate in the mysterious nature of her colonial world, unraveling the intricacies of the characters around her, discerning. Jane hears something she trusts, but her gut responds with a twinge of warning or doubt - she comes to a conclusion about what her gut is telling her, and we find out over time if she was wrong or right.
In some ways, Jane Clarke is like an Elizabeth Bennet with the personality of a Jane Bennett, and the book, in its journey of self-discovery and development, is somewhat similar to Pride and Prejudice as well. Other interesting characters, such as Lydia and Eben Freeman, were intriguing enough in themselves to inspire me to find Gunning's earlier books, The Widow's War and Bound.
curly_hair_grace's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25