I asked and received this book through NetGalley for free. This review is not sponsored nor influenced in anyway. Thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction for the book. The expected publication date is December 9.
First impression
This is the first book from Dorothy Love that I have ever read. Most of her books are on Historical Fiction and this added to the beautiful cover made me ask for a copy at NetGalley. While the description of the book hints at a mystery, I think this element was not as present as I expected. The bracelet in question only had its appearance 1/3 into the story and the whole mystery was solved ¾ in, which made it feel like that everything after that was a bit too long. However, if you would take just the historical fiction part, it was a very entertaining read.
Final thoughts
The book revolves around Celia Browning, a 19th century Savannah socialite, day dreaming about the love of her life while at the same time taking care of her father and sharing her household with her orphan cousin. Celia has been in love with Sutton MacKay ever since they were kids and now he is coming back from Jamaica to, it would seem, marry her and take over his family business. But not everything is perfect in Celia's life, a nuisance in the form of a reporter stirring stories better left untold, comes to taint her family's reputation and to make matters worse, she starts getting threats from a mysterious origin.
The author does a great job when setting the background; at point I felt like I was watching a period movie, with the description of the city, the dresses and the dialogues. I enjoy when authors manage to build the world this nicely, since it makes the experience much more involving.
The part that I felt was in deficit was the mystery part. Considering that the title of the book is The Bracelet I was under the impression that the mystery would come from a bracelet. In fact, what we have is two mysteries, that at the end, sort of blend together, but not quiet. And even then, it didn't feel that heart gripping type of mystery and the conclusion was predictable for me.
What I ended up doing to review this book, was just remove the mystery part of the equation and that is the reason I ended up giving it a 4. The author gave me what I was expecting: a historical fiction with a sweet love story in a small southern town. No more and no less. If that's what you are looking for, got for it. If you are looking for a page turning type of mystery, I would look for something else.
First impression
This is the first book from Dorothy Love that I have ever read. Most of her books are on Historical Fiction and this added to the beautiful cover made me ask for a copy at NetGalley. While the description of the book hints at a mystery, I think this element was not as present as I expected. The bracelet in question only had its appearance 1/3 into the story and the whole mystery was solved ¾ in, which made it feel like that everything after that was a bit too long. However, if you would take just the historical fiction part, it was a very entertaining read.
Final thoughts
The book revolves around Celia Browning, a 19th century Savannah socialite, day dreaming about the love of her life while at the same time taking care of her father and sharing her household with her orphan cousin. Celia has been in love with Sutton MacKay ever since they were kids and now he is coming back from Jamaica to, it would seem, marry her and take over his family business. But not everything is perfect in Celia's life, a nuisance in the form of a reporter stirring stories better left untold, comes to taint her family's reputation and to make matters worse, she starts getting threats from a mysterious origin.
The author does a great job when setting the background; at point I felt like I was watching a period movie, with the description of the city, the dresses and the dialogues. I enjoy when authors manage to build the world this nicely, since it makes the experience much more involving.
The part that I felt was in deficit was the mystery part. Considering that the title of the book is The Bracelet I was under the impression that the mystery would come from a bracelet. In fact, what we have is two mysteries, that at the end, sort of blend together, but not quiet. And even then, it didn't feel that heart gripping type of mystery and the conclusion was predictable for me.
What I ended up doing to review this book, was just remove the mystery part of the equation and that is the reason I ended up giving it a 4. The author gave me what I was expecting: a historical fiction with a sweet love story in a small southern town. No more and no less. If that's what you are looking for, got for it. If you are looking for a page turning type of mystery, I would look for something else.
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