The Colonel's Lady

GIVEAWAY!

FRANTZ, LAURA
THE COLONEL'S LADY

Can love survive the secrets kept buried within a tormented heart?

Roxanna Rowan may be a genteel Virginia woman, but she is determined to brave the wilds of the untamed frontier to reach a remote Kentucky fort. Eager to reunite with her father, who serves under Colonel Cassius McLinn, Roxanna is devastated to find that her father has been killed on a campaign.

Penniless and out of options, Roxanna is forced to remain at the fort. As she spends more and more time with the fiery Colonel McLinn, the fort is abuzz with intrigue and innuendo. Can Roxanna truly know who the colonel is -- and what he's done?

Immerse yourself in the powerful story of love, faith, and forgiveness set in the tumultuous world of the frontier in 1779.

My Review:

As usual, after reading one of Laura Frantz's books, I find myself struggling to find words to convey the sheer pleasure and joy I feel at being on the receiving end of her brilliance. It will sound trite if I say she just keeps getting better. Or her ability to craft an epic is par to none. Or that she has fit herself solidly into the Christian publishing market...in fact created her own genre. She's a maverick in a way and that's one of the things I love most about her.

First off -- she's a master at historical detail. It's embedded into every page, but she's never lecturing. I love that! And the fact that she doesn't gloss over the unsavory aspects of that unsettled era. I was surprised to find myself riveted by the military scenes and able to follow the politics (of which I am unfamiliar since I'm not American.) Those details added to the depth of the story without weighing it down.  After reading The Colonel's Lady I feel like I have been to Fort Endeavor. I can clearly see McLinn's stone house and the walled fort and I'm sure I could make a passable dinner...well maybe not venison since I'm a vegetarian. But I'd happily help Roxie in her garden! That kind of detail is so important in a historical read.

Frantz has crafted a complicated plot that stopped me in my tracks a time or two! I'm still reeling in shock from two particular revelations that I didn't see coming. I love it when an author keeps me on my toes and does the unexpected. And she's added a solid bit of suspense to this tale which upped not only the characters' anxiety but my own as well!

Of course she played loose and free with my poor reader's emotions throughout the story. In fact I found myself battling the dilemma of skimming ahead or closing the book and taking a deep steadying breath before continuing to read. And I have to confess to actually stooping so low as to read the epilogue for a little reassurance and comfort at a particularly low point in the book. (I know, my bad!)

And the romance! Be still my wildly beating heart! Frantz writes the longing of impossible love with such an undercurrent of passion. And to be privy to both character's feelings -- what a combination of frustrating and thrilling all at the same time!

Cass McLinn is a hard man to love -- at least in the beginning but he becomes a sympathetic hero under Roxanna's influence. Of course he maintains some endearing 'rough around the edges' traits and his military bearing is infinitely swoonworthy. But Roxie speaks to his heart and his soul and that's what makes theirs a powerful love story.

In case you hadn't guessed by now -- The Colonel's Lady comes highly recommended...and not just by me! If you would like a chance to win a copy read on.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY

Leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca with The Colonel's Lady in the the subject line. Draw will be held on Sunday, August 7. Open internationally.

Many thanks to the author and Revell for gifting me with a copy of this book.