G152 Book Review of Before the Larkspur Blooms by Caroline Fyffe
Author: Caroline Fyffe
ISBN: 978-1612187136
Publisher: Montlake Romances
Part of a Series: Prairie Hearts
Type of book: Wholesome, Wyoming, slight inaccuracies, 1881-1882, second chances, wholesome romance, trust, family of all types of people
Year it was published: 2013
Summary:
Caroline Fyffe returns to the windswept prairies of Wyoming with a beautiful story of rekindled love…
Thomas Donovan spent eight long years in prison, convicted of a crime he didn't commit. Finally released, he returns home to Logan Meadows, Wyoming, to discover his parents long buried and his neighbors wanting nothing to do with him. Suddenly the fresh start Thom longed for seems downright impossible until a spirited beauty from his past becomes his unlikely champion, and the walls around his injured heart begin to crumble?
Hannah Hoskins was brokenhearted when Thom Donovan was sent away. While the rest of the town was quick to brand him a no-count thief, Hannah always knew better. Now the boy she once loved has returned home a man ? a man whom Hannah's suitor, the town's deputy sheriff, is determined to destroy. When a crime spree starts anew, suspicion immediately falls on Thom, and it's up to Hannah to prove his innocence, earn him a second chance at life ? and win them both a second chance at love.
Characters:
The characters seemed to be two dimensional to me instead of three. There is an attempt at making them three dimensional though, but for some odd reason it didn't work for me. Hannah was married to the deputy's cousin and has a young son. She is hardworking, brave and isn't afraid of going after what she wants. Thomas Donovan has put the troubled days behind him and only desires to seek peace and make up with people. He is best described as helpful, talented and despite his words has a soft heart. There is Hannah's mother that acts snooty, then Ivan (why does a dog have a Russian name I wonder?) who is a rescuer and seems to love everyone, and so forth. I do apologize that the novel isn't for me.
Theme:
Second chances are possible
Plot:
Its written in third person narrative from Jessie's, Hannah's, and others' points of views. The people it focused on is Hannah and Jessie as they strive to overcome their pasts and to forge ahead and get used to some changes such as the railroad beginning to come through town or else Thomas Donovan returning back from prison and so forth. For some odd reason the book didn't really drag me in and cause me to care for the characters and so forth. Whenever I get a book, I often end up reading the last words. I am always asked why I do this, and what would be the point of reading the book if I know how it ends? I always reply that its the journey that matters not the ending when it comes to books. For example, in romance novels one knows that there will be happy endings, but the question is how do they reach that step? Unfortunately this one didn't hold my attention nor is there tension, and I was able to predict easily what is going on.
Author Information:
(from goodreads.com)
gender female
website http://www.carolinefyffe.com
twitter username carolinefyffe
genre Romance, Historical Fiction
member since June 2008
USA Today Bestselling Author Caroline Fyffe was born in Waco, Texas, the first of many towns she would call home during her father's career with the US Air Force. A horse aficionado from an early age, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in communications from California State University-Chico before launching what would become a twenty-year career as an equine photographer. She began writing fiction to pass the time during long days in the show arena, channeling her love of horses and the Old West into a series of Western historicals. Her debut novel, Where the Wind Blows, won the Romance Writers of America's prestigious Golden Heart Award as well as the Wisconsin RWA's Write Touch Readers' Award. She and her husband have two grown sons and live in Kentucky.
Visit Caroline at www.carolinefyffe.com
See her photographs at www.carolinefyffephoto.com
http://facebook.com/caroline.fyffe
Twitter @carolinefyffe
Write to her at caroline@carolinefyffe.com. She loves hearing from readers!
Opinion:
I'm sorry to say that this is not my style of reading. There is a little religiosity in there in terms of god and church, which didn't bother me, but it seemed way too wholesome and ideal. What I did like was the dialogue and that this time the heroine was pursuing the hero. I hadn't read the previous book, thus I wasn't certain when it came to characters and wasn't very nostalgic. I also didn't feel a lot of tension in the book and whatever tension existed was only to keep the story going, or so I thought. I also loved the book cover, although the flowers look like bluebonnets. Also everything felt resolved and several interesting plot points such as one with Jake and Daisy wasn't explored properly, or so I felt. Last year as well I read a book about Rin Tin Tin and the German Shepherd breed became known after 1899, and the book takes place in 1881 which is a minor gripe of mine. I did like that she mentions of the prejudice shown towards minorities, although I'm surprised that Thomas didn't end up going to a Catholic church.
Quick notes: I would like to thank the author for the opportunity to read and review the book.
3 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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