When Chantel Panetta's younger sister claims to be in love with Orlando Vittorio, Chantel knows there is no hope. The Panettas and Vittorios have been sworn enemies for decades, and young love cannot heal the deep wounds between the two iron-mining families. Yet, unable to resist Isabella's pleas, Chantel agrees to help her sister spend time with Orlando...only to have a run-in with Dante, Orlando's brother. The older, more handsome one.
Chantel can't deny the attraction that flares when she's with Dante. But when a tragedy occurs at the mine, is there any hope that the hatred that has simmered between these two families might be resolved? Or will Chantel's hope for love be buried amidst decades of misunderstanding?
Chantel can't deny the attraction that flares when she's with Dante. But when a tragedy occurs at the mine, is there any hope that the hatred that has simmered between these two families might be resolved? Or will Chantel's hope for love be buried amidst decades of misunderstanding?
The Miner's Lady was an enjoyable read. I really liked it. I liked that there was enough plot in the story to keep the hero and heroine busy doing something besides sitting around thinking of each other NON stop. ;)
I had never read a book about an Italian family and I really enjoyed reading about their traditions and culture. Very interesting.
Also, after reading so much regency fiction in a short period of time, it was strange but really nice to read this, set in a completely different time period that I'm not used to, with tons of new and different lifestyles and etiquette rules to read and learn about. I'm not really into Western fiction too much, so it was nice to kind of ease into it, as this was the right time period for a Western, but was about a mining community rather than a bunch of ranchers and cowboys. haha ;)
Chantel Panetta (love the name, by the way :)) made it onto my favorite heroines list! I really appreciated how she was portrayed! She was not "Elsie Dinsmore perfect", but she wasn't continually making mistakes and going through self conscious and self pitying mood swings. (Don't get me wrong, I have read and enjoyed tons of books where the main characters have to make mistakes and go through learning periods, etc. But sometimes it's nice to read about a girl who lives a regular life without all the weight of the world on her shoulders, who has a close relationship with her family, and loves the Lord with all her heart. :))
The hero (Dante Calarco- another cool name! :D) was great too! I was so glad that the whole love-hate relationship didn't drag out through the whole book. The transition from enemies to friends (as far as the two main characters went) was done really well! I didn't feel like they were enemies one minute and best friends the next, but I also didn't get tired of the arguing and wish they'd get it over with already! It took the perfect amount of time for a 300 page book. :)
There was just a tad bit too much romance for my taste; as far as kissing goes, that is. (Like I said at the beginning of my review, all the thinking and waiting parts weren't constantly present and annoying and the little bit there was of it was well written and very clean.) But, in my opinion, a Christian romance (if it has a kiss) should have ONE kiss- at the end. Not 3... spread out over the whole thing. Again, don't get me wrong- it wasn't too mushy or disgusting or anything like that- just too many. ;)
The side plot with Chantel's brother Marco was GREAT! It added an element of intensity and mystery to the story and kept the feud aspect from getting boring.
Leo was such a "good" villain, if ya know what I mean. ;P The perfect balance of cruelty, false charm, and creepy.
Isabella and Orlando were both so cute! lol xD Isabella was a great younger sister, and I loved reading about her relationship with Chantel. (The part where Chantel mentions them being best friends was really sweet.)
I liked how Orlando loved their entire family and respected all of them- that liking Issy didn't make him a complete fool, or unmindful of the other humans in the world. ;)
Nonna Barbato was probably my favorite character besides Chantel. ;) I love the old but feisty grandma characters! =) (Speaking of, I also really liked Aunt Marilla. ;))
The salvation, forgiveness, and right-from-wrong messages in this book were really powerful! The prayers and spiritual conversations in the story were really well and simply written. Easy to understand, yet profound and convicting.
As a side note- I absolutely LOVE the cover for this book!!!! SO gorgeous and I love the color combinations. :)
All that to say, I really enjoyed The Miner's Lady, and would like to read the first two in the Land of Shining Water series at some point. :)
I had never read a book about an Italian family and I really enjoyed reading about their traditions and culture. Very interesting.
Also, after reading so much regency fiction in a short period of time, it was strange but really nice to read this, set in a completely different time period that I'm not used to, with tons of new and different lifestyles and etiquette rules to read and learn about. I'm not really into Western fiction too much, so it was nice to kind of ease into it, as this was the right time period for a Western, but was about a mining community rather than a bunch of ranchers and cowboys. haha ;)
Chantel Panetta (love the name, by the way :)) made it onto my favorite heroines list! I really appreciated how she was portrayed! She was not "Elsie Dinsmore perfect", but she wasn't continually making mistakes and going through self conscious and self pitying mood swings. (Don't get me wrong, I have read and enjoyed tons of books where the main characters have to make mistakes and go through learning periods, etc. But sometimes it's nice to read about a girl who lives a regular life without all the weight of the world on her shoulders, who has a close relationship with her family, and loves the Lord with all her heart. :))
The hero (Dante Calarco- another cool name! :D) was great too! I was so glad that the whole love-hate relationship didn't drag out through the whole book. The transition from enemies to friends (as far as the two main characters went) was done really well! I didn't feel like they were enemies one minute and best friends the next, but I also didn't get tired of the arguing and wish they'd get it over with already! It took the perfect amount of time for a 300 page book. :)
There was just a tad bit too much romance for my taste; as far as kissing goes, that is. (Like I said at the beginning of my review, all the thinking and waiting parts weren't constantly present and annoying and the little bit there was of it was well written and very clean.) But, in my opinion, a Christian romance (if it has a kiss) should have ONE kiss- at the end. Not 3... spread out over the whole thing. Again, don't get me wrong- it wasn't too mushy or disgusting or anything like that- just too many. ;)
The side plot with Chantel's brother Marco was GREAT! It added an element of intensity and mystery to the story and kept the feud aspect from getting boring.
Leo was such a "good" villain, if ya know what I mean. ;P The perfect balance of cruelty, false charm, and creepy.
Isabella and Orlando were both so cute! lol xD Isabella was a great younger sister, and I loved reading about her relationship with Chantel. (The part where Chantel mentions them being best friends was really sweet.)
I liked how Orlando loved their entire family and respected all of them- that liking Issy didn't make him a complete fool, or unmindful of the other humans in the world. ;)
Nonna Barbato was probably my favorite character besides Chantel. ;) I love the old but feisty grandma characters! =) (Speaking of, I also really liked Aunt Marilla. ;))
The salvation, forgiveness, and right-from-wrong messages in this book were really powerful! The prayers and spiritual conversations in the story were really well and simply written. Easy to understand, yet profound and convicting.
As a side note- I absolutely LOVE the cover for this book!!!! SO gorgeous and I love the color combinations. :)
All that to say, I really enjoyed The Miner's Lady, and would like to read the first two in the Land of Shining Water series at some point. :)
Sincerely,
Sounds interesting, I'll have to look this book up at the library! =)
ReplyDeleteI think you would really like it! :)
DeleteGreat review, Alice! As you know, I'm really looking forward to reading this book! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Aery! I hope you love it! :D
ReplyDelete