One thing I’ve always felt when it comes
to reading (and reviewing) historical romance/fiction is that I need to take a
day or two after finishing the story before I can write the review. For one
thing I always, always feel like I need time to return to my own place
in time/history and the world - historical’s aren’t the only stories to do this
to me, science fiction, fantasy, they do it too.
After I’m reoriented in my normal, then I
need to take time to think about everything in the story. The norms for the
time period in the book is always different then the cultural and social norms
of now, so I always try to think about those differences and how they played
into or effected the actual events of the story, or the choices/decisions of
the characters in it. In many ways this step for me is simply about trying to
discern whether everything that happens in the story makes sense based on what
I understand or have been told about the time period.
Fiction is fiction though, whether it’s
historical, fantasy, paranormal or contemporary. Whatever slivers of fact are
presented in a story are also married to the imagination of the author, and
thus historical fiction doesn’t have to be 100% true to the period. In my
opinion, despite whatever twists an author includes in their world, the closer
to true the better.
What do you think? Are your favorite
historical romances true to the historical period they represent? Or do the
authors you love to read take a greater degree of creative license within the
historical era they’re writing? #TheseAreThingsIWonder
Now on to the book...
THE
REVIEW
The
Petticoat Letters
by
Kelly Lyman
Reading debut novels is always something
fun for me. A fresh voice in any genre is nice to discover. Sometimes a debut
work is good but rough, yet you know (or at least believe) with time and
dedication the author will find his/her rhythm and their writing will improve.
Other times you finish the story and just think yes! Yes, this is a
writer with amazing skill, a wonderful voice, a beautiful way of telling the
story, and such incredible potential that you simply can’t wait to read
whatever they may come up with next. Either case is fine but the yes!
finds are the ones that make reading all debut works worth it.
For me, The Petticoat Letters
is one of those yes stories; Kelly Lyman one of the yes writers
whose works I will continue to look forward to reading. While the American
Revolution isn’t a subject I’ve read a lot about, it is not an era of which I’m
ignorant. And this story with it’s talk of battles waged, it’s delightfully
simple yet complex characters, and even it’s settings... it is honestly, simply,
beautifully written and so well done.
From the very first chapter I was pulled
in to the story by Nora Bishop and her somewhat unique situation. I say
somewhat unique because an unmarried woman suddenly finding herself bereft of
immediate family and under the protection of some other branch on the family
tree is not in and of itself a unique situation in historical times, especially
not during one of war. There are a million ways Lyman could have developed the
storyline from this particular starting point, the one she chose - fascinating.
In The Petticoat Letters we
follow Nora Bishop as she struggles with the loss of her family and the
uncertainty of what her future may hold. Through the course of the story she
discovers many things that ultimately change her perspective, her feelings, and
her loyalties. She learns, re-learns, and learns again that appearances can be
deceiving and that the truth of a person hearts is often very different from
what they present to the world. In a very real sense her life is utterly
changed not just once but twice. She has, right from the start, an innocence
that isn’t ignorant of the harsh realities in life, yet she carries with her
throughout the story a degree of naïveté that lends credence to the role she
ends up playing. She’s smart, compassionate, inventive when she needs to be,
quick-witted and, quite frankly, brave. She’s also more than a bit impetuous
and frequently acts before considering all possible options and their
consequences.
It is one impulsive choice after another
that first leads her to meet Alex Foster and then to continually come to be
within his sphere. The rest of their story, I guess you could say, is history.
The path they take is a winding one full of danger and the choices they’re
forced to make could very easily destroy them. But the journey - oh the journey
through this story is wonderful and it entranced me completely.
For a debut historical romance I think
it’s safe to say that Kelly Lyman hit a home-run with The Petticoat
Letters. I’m also feeling pretty confident in saying that if you give
it a chance, you’ll probably love Nora and Alex, and their story, just as much
as I did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the time of this post there are still a
few days left to enter the giveaway and get your name in for the chance to win
1 of 2 e-copies of The Petticoat Letters. If you’re reading this
before January 30th, it is honestly easy to enter and there are multiple ways
you can do it - so please, take a couple minutes and get your name in the draw.
After all, you just may win and I promise it’s worth it!!! So enter here for your chance to win...
If you’ve missed the contest period, or
simply don’t want to wait, you can purchase The Petticoat Letters here.
Happy
Reading Everyone!
