Review: A great second in a series!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 5, 2014
Sarah Ballance has written yet another interesting Salem story. I was drawn into reading this one, which is the second in the series so far. You meet Anne, who was briefly mentioned in the first novel, and her brother's childhood friend Josiah. Of course, their meeting is one that is sweet as it is the first in a few years to occur between them, especially since her brother's death. The story takes place when the Salem witch trials are in effect, and during the course of the novel an element that happened during the Salem Witch Trials, is seen in the novel. She also manages to pull in incidents that happened much later in history, and thus anchoring the novel in history.The story is the younger sister falls for her brother's friend, but it becomes so much more than that as the story continues. With the rules and puritan ways, a lot of things have happened that make the coming together of the two main characters difficult. There has been mention of the language in previous reviews, but I don't see it as a hindrance personally. It is again one of those small things that allows the reader to immerse themselves in the novel. It is nothing like the Scarlet Letter or other novels that are also during that time period and use the language of the time. An Unexpected Sin is written with the reader in mind, and is easy to read.I feel as though this is a series that Ms. Ballance could write for years, given the ripe history of the time period, and all the goings on that occurred. I liked the novel a lot, and feel as though it was a good second book in the series, and I'm eagerly awaiting a third! And I will say that while it is a second in a Salem series, it can be read as a standalone, if need be. There are no cliffhangers here!