A Heart Adrift by Laura Franz #ourgoodlifebooklist

 

Book Summary: 

A Virginia chocolatier and a privateering sea captain collide once more after a failed love affair a decade before. Will war and a cache of regrets keep them apart? Or will a new shared vision reunite them?

It is 1755, and the threat of war with France looms over colonial York, Virginia. Chocolatier Esmée Shaw is fighting her own battle of the heart. Having reached her twenty-eighth birthday, she is reconciled to life alone after a decade-old failed love affair from which she's never quite recovered. But she longs to find something worthwhile to do with her life.

Captain Henri Lennox has returned to port after a lengthy absence, intent on completing the lighthouse in the dangerous Chesapeake Bay, a dream he once shared with Esmée. But when the colonial government asks him to lead a secret naval expedition against the French, his future is plunged into uncertainty.

Will war and a cache of regrets keep them apart, or can their shared vision and dedication to the colonial cause heal the wounds of the past? Bestselling and award-winning author Laura Frantz whisks you away to a time fraught with peril--on the sea and in the heart--in this redemptive, romantic story.

My Take:

I really loved this book. I was totally in on the book's plot and characters. The book is written to be read slowly, to fully take in the scenes that the author so vividly writes about. I have visited colonial Virginia and Williamsburg, but not in-depth as much as I wanted.  So reading about this time and place gave me the details that I missed when I visited.  I loved reading about being a chocolatier during this time. The details had me craving my favorite chocolates. 

This book would be a wonderful book club selection since there are so many avenues to explore. I particularly believe that the work on grief that the author explores would be one of the topics a book club could really dig into.  The author's craft would be another great topic as the pace of the book is slow, even though the story is very interesting.  I wasn't sure how the author was going to weave the stories of the main characters together since they didn't meet during the first third of the book!

I found the author's choice of giving us some of the details upfront an odd choice for an author. Starting the book with the break up of Henri and Esmee might have made an exciting intro into their story.  I don't remember this being a typical style of the author.  It was almost hard to believe that the two could reunite, given their angst to one another for a majority of the book.

Still, I enjoyed reading about life as a lightkeeper.  There's a lot of action in the back half of the book.  It sums up best by saying it is a book about love, history, and faith in God.  

About the Author

Christy Award-winning author, Laura Frantz, is passionate about all things historical, particularly the 18th-century, and writes her manuscripts in longhand first. Her stories often incorporate Scottish themes that reflect her family heritage. She is a direct descendant of George Hume, Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland, who was exiled to the American colonies for his role in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, settled in Virginia, and is credited with teaching George Washington surveying in the years 1748-1750. Proud of her heritage, she is also a Daughter of the American Revolution. When not at home in Kentucky, she and her husband live in Washington State.

According to Publishers Weekly, "Frantz has done her historical homework." With her signature attention to historical detail and emotional depth, she is represented by Janet Kobobel Grant, Literary Agent & Founder, Books & Such Literary Agency of Santa Rosa, California. Foreign language editions include French, Dutch, Spanish, Slovakian, & Polish.

Readers can find Laura Frantz at www.laurafrantz.net

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