Review: I want to read more by this author!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2013
Joanne Pence is a marvelous writer. One scene in this book, when the mining wives and children were waiting for the return of their men, will haunt my memory for the foreseeable future. Her descriptions are vivid, crystal clear and yet somehow invisible. You get so immersed that you forget there's a writer or a reader, and you just live it.That said, I want to confess that I stopped reading at the 72% on my Kindle and don't plan to start up again. I'd reached a highly satisfying happily ever after point, knew (even before I read other reviews) that I would get increasingly annoyed at the prolonged torture for the hero and idiocy of the heroine (thank you, Diana Gabaldon), and decided I'd rather "part friends" with the author, as it were.I give her 5+ stars for writing & characterization and 3 for letting romance conventions dictate choices that diminish this wonderful tale, both the poor me I'm not worthy hero's endless ruminations, and the TSTL heroine decisions to prolong the story. And, since the story was so perfect until I stopped, I'm erring on the side of high expectations and going for 4 stars overall! And buying her next book.