Words Spoken True – A Novel: A Novel

by Ann H. Gabhart

Adriane Darcy was practically raised in her father's newspaper offices. She can't imagine life without the clatter of the press and the push to be first to write the news that matters. Their Tribune is the leading paper in Louisville in 1855. Then Blake Garrett, a brash young editor from the North with a controversial new style of reporting, takes over failing competitor the Herald, and the battle for readers gets fierce.

When Adriane and Blake meet at a benefit tea, their surprising mutual attraction is hard to ignore. Still, Blake is the enemy, and Adriane is engaged to the son of a powerful businessman who holds the keys to the Tribune's future. Blake will stop at almost nothing to get the story--and the girl. Can he do both before it's too late?

Set against the volatile backdrop of political and civil unrest in 1850s Louisville, this exciting story of love and loyalty will hold readers in its grip until the very last page. Bestselling author Ann H. Gabhart once again delivers an enthralling and enduring tale for her loyal and ever-expanding fan base.

• ISBN10: 0800720458
• ISBN13: 9780800720452
• Publish Date: 1 February 2012
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
• Imprint: Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 364
• Language: English

Reviews

[cherryblossommj]

Never were words spoken so true... *sigh* Is that not something that you just love, after reading a book that interruptions left you thirsting for more, where each page could not turn fast enough to bring what was next, but you wanted to take your time to soak it all in. Oh what a character I have found in Blake Garrett and while I was a fan of Adriane Darcy from page one, goodness what a great cast!

As you can tell from the back cover book blurb, Adriane agrees to marry Stanley Coleman, a man she does not love because of her father's wishes and his idea that romantic love is not necessary for a happy life. What saddness! Romantic hearts unite! Sorry... tangent in my mind. As a reader that loves a good heart smiling romance, I think that only the broken or never in love could ever contemplate spending a life without it. What a shame! Throughout the story, as a reader I want to scream at Adriane to run and I truly wonder if she will... She keeps reminding herself of honor thy father and that it is a good enough reason to stay with Stanley even if her heart tells her otherwise. That is such a difficult concept, but one that I think people deal with daily. Not only did God give us the concept of honoring thy father and mother, but he also gave them the task of teaching their children and protecting them from harm. Parents are a guardian on earth put to charge of their children for the short time that they have them as keen pupils. We are their responsibility and when parents take out the purpose of what is best for their child and give guidance that cannot be what God had in mind and it pretty much nullifies that principle in my opinion.

Reading about the experiences that Adriane had with her stepmother makes me cringe and at the same time wonder. It seems that Adriane was stuck in the past and needed to break free, and I think that perhaps was another reason why she did not see a point to following her heart. Her father perhaps just was so unhappy with his own lack of finding love that he thought to just accept the mediocre in life and left that as an understanding of what she should expect. It is neat however to find that the characters branch out with other people that find an important role in her life and seeing how they grow and shape her through out the story is a fascinating thing. Even while she loves her father, but does not agree with him in certain things it appears that perhaps in the role of father there might actually be more than one to provide love and advice. While I'm on the thought of different characters, my goodness Mrs. Wiggenham and Grace! However do I love you right off the pages! Now I want to know when someone can pitch this novel to be like a BBC drama? Um please?! I can see it.

Now for the romance. *sigh* I mean wait, did you hear me the first two times? *sigh* Oh the attraction of the heart and soul and how it develops. Love is a fascinating thing and it radiated off the pages of this book. My husband always knows when I've found a good romance in a book and he teases me about it, but oh please more books like this. I'm talking Julie Lessman love in the soul and mind. (Never fear, we're still talking Christian Fiction here, it's all chaste and all just as it should be.)

I do not know much about Kentucky outside of Laura Frantz novels and again not much about immigration issues outside of New York riots, but it was fascinating to read a novel that already had enough of it's own battle in people to find itself set in such a volatile political era. Sociology is a scary thing... Makes me want to go watch Newsies. All in all, I'm a new fan for Ann H. Gabhart and this book finds itself to my favorites. While the parts leading to the ending were not my favorite part of the book it all else made it worth the read.

*Thanks to Revell Books for providing a copy for review.*

“Available February 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Read Chapter 1 on Ann's website.

posted: http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/2012/02/25/words-spoken-true-by-ann-h-gabhart/