PUBLISHER: REVELL
PUBLICATION DATE: FEBRUARY 01,
2012
RATING: 9 OUT OF 10 – EXCELLENT
PROS: Unconventional father figure;
excellent historical detail; perfect portrayal of romance and chemistry between
the hero and heroine
CONS: Romance relies too much on the
premise of “love at first sight”
Adriene
Darcy has worked alongside her father in the printing room for his newspaper
since she was a young girl, and now that she’s of an age to be married, she
would still rather be setting type than attending balls and society functions. But
her father has different ideas, and when the son of one of Lousville’s most
prestigious families asks for her hand in marriage he readily agrees, without
Adriene’s consent. Adriene has no desire to be married off, especially to
Stanley Jimson, who isn’t as safe and gentle as he initially appears. The only
other person determined to keep Adriene from marrying Stanley is Blake Garrett,
the editor of the rival Lousville newspaper. He doesn’t trust Stanley, and even
if Adriene is the daughter of his rival, Blake can’t deny the attraction he
feels for her. When the actions of the Know Nothing party stir up political
unrest at the local elections Adriene and Blake are thrown together, as
Adriene’s father ends up in the middle of the chaos and Blake’s newspaper office
is attacked by those who oppose his political beliefs. Can they, and their
respective newspapers, survive the tumult ripping Louisville apart?
Prior to Words
Spoken True I had only read one novel from Ann H. Gabhart, and that was
The Outsider, the first book in her
Shaker series. I’d initially expected that The
Outsider would be a standard romance novel, in a similar vein to Amish
fiction, and was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the historical detail
that the book contained. While some
people may just read historical romances for the old-fashioned style of
courtship and relationships that they present, I prefer my historical novels to
actually contain some history. Words Spoken True certainly lived up
to the expectations that The Outsider
had set and satisfied the historian in me. The novel had the added bonus of
detailing several aspects of the printing process which I had studied about the
previous semester at university, so I can vouch that Ann has done her research
in this department.
This is
certainly not a book for those who want their historical novels to give a
couple of passing references to outdoor toilets and wagon trains and little
more, but neither is it alienating to those of you who aren’t studying for your
undergraduate degree in History. The issues that Words Spoken True
discusses regarding the Know Nothing party and immigration are ones that I
imagine every American reader has some basic knowledge of from high school
history, and if not, Ann briefly outlines the issues discussed in a foreword to
the book. But the authenticity that the novel evokes is worth the attention to
detail in Words Spoken True, which helps the reader to become invested in
the political rivalries that play out throughout the novel.
I was
slightly surprised to find that Ann presented Adriene’s father as a follower of
the Know Nothing ideology who was scornful of immigrants, as it didn’t fit the
typical image of fathers that is put forth by historical romances. In a way, it
was a pleasant change to have a father who wasn’t a hundred-percent supportive
of his daughter, nor a model, politically-correct citizen in the twenty-first
century sense. While my father never tried to marry me off to the son of his
business partner, I’ll admit that he isn’t perfect, and sometimes the parents
in historical romances do seem a little too perfect in the way that they
support their children. Especially in a period when women were still seen as
somewhat of a commodity, it’s probably quite realistic that Wade Darcy didn’t
agree with his daughter staying home and working at the family business forever
and wanted to see her married by a certain age. And the fact that he supported
the Know Nothing party reminds readers that those who shared such beliefs
weren’t necessarily monsters; a trap that it is far too easy to fall into when
we’re viewing events in hindsight.
Romance fans
need not fear, for the romantic aspect of this novel isn’t neglected amidst all
the historical detail and political unrest. I did feel that the romance between
Adriene and Blake was a bit slow to start, and that because they spent so
little time together initially it seemed like their relationship relied too
much on the “love at first sight” idea. Personally, I’m never a fan of “love at
first sight” romances and prefer relationships that blossom slowly over time to
those that are hastily jump-started due to intense chemistry. Adriene and
Blake’s relationship did do a sudden jump forward partway through the book, but
it was actually at this point that I started to really like their relationship.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say that the way that Ann portrayed
the romance and chemistry between Adriene and Blake reminded me of the edginess
of the relationship between the newly married couple in Kelly Long’s Lilly’s Wedding Quilt. There’s nothing
at all inappropriate or explicit in Words Spoken True, and I commend Ann
for portraying a loving yet intense romance with an appropriate amount of
sexual tension. Although I was initially sceptical about Adriene and Blake’s
relationship, this part of the story more than made up for it.
While I’m
not a fan of romances which rely on the concept of “love at first sight” and do
wish that readers had been given more time to see Adriene and Blake’s
relationship developing, I found that the more I thought about this book after
I finished it, the more I loved it. Not only was the historical detail of Words
Spoken True well-researched, but it propelled the story forward with
each event and made for an unconventional but incredibly engaging romance. If
you like the history in your romance novels to be more than just a backdrop and
to subtly weave in and out of the plot, then Words Spoken True is
definitely the novel for you. The combination of the depth of the historical
detail and the edginess of Adriene and Blake’s relationship gives me high hopes
for Anna’s forthcoming novels.
Review
title provided by Revell.
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