Review: a very readable historical romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 30, 2011
Rating: 4.25 out of 5Pam Hillman's novel "Stealing Jake" is a story about love, faith, new beginnings, and tolerance that blends an interesting suspense novel about orphans in peril with historical romance. When I acquired this book, I was unaware that it had a Christian theme. Given that I rarely read inspirational romance (because I'm not of a religious bent myself), I probably would not have read it had I been aware of this. And that would have been a shame, because this is an agreeable story, both entertaining and attention-grabbing.Stealing Jake has a storyline that feels true to the time period of the while still remaining suspenseful enough to maintain my interest throughout the novel. While there is a certain amount of romantic tension in this story, the romantic sub-plot was not quite as interesting to me as the main plot was. I found myself caught up in the complex plot involving coal mines, sweatshops, and orphans in peril, and while I did occasionally become impatient with the religious bent of the characters, I don't believe that this impacted my enjoyment of the story overmuch.Ms. Hillman's writing style makes for a smooth reading experience. Her characters in this story feel slightly stylized but are well-developed enough to be believable, and she does a great job keeping the identity of the antagonist a secret throughout most of the novel while still making him a character that we love to hate.On the whole, I enjoyed this novel. "Stealing Jake" has enough suspense to thrill, a believable historical aspect, and a sweet romance as well. And while it can be considered inspirational or Christian in nature, this doesn't overwhelm the story. For a limited time, this novel is available free in electronic form from Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. For that price, it is definitely worth checking into.