It is 1704 when Genevieve Gaillain and her sister board a French ship headed for the Louisiana colony as mail-order brides. Both have promised to marry one of the rough-and-tumble Canadian men in this New World in order to escape religious persecution in the Old World. Genevieve knows life won't be easy, but at least here she can establish a home and family without fear of beheading. But when she falls in love with Tristan Lanier, an expatriate cartographer whose courageous stand for fair treatment of native peoples has made him decidedly unpopular in the young colony, Genevieve realizes that even in this land of liberty one is not guaranteed peace. And a secret she harbors could mean the undoing of the colony itself.
Gulf Coast native Beth White brings vividly to life the hot, sultry south in this luscious, layered story of the lengths we must go to in order to be true to ourselves, our faith, and our deepest loves.
I read a lot of historical fiction, and I have not yet read a story in the 1600s set in Louisiana and that location in general attracted me as well as broadening my experience through the ages. I'm not familiar with Beth White, and I believed that this is her debut book in the historical markets that I roam around in filling my imagination with stories; however, I have since discovered that she does in fact have some Love Inspired Historicals as well as many contemporary novels published as Elizabeth White. After this novel, I definitely will be looking for the rest of the Gulf Coast Chronicles series as well as other stories to come from Beth White in the future. (According to Goodreads, there is more than one author by this name, so be aware of which one you're looking for.)
The first thing, this book, The Pelican Bride has going for it is cover beauty. The model chosen for the bride image has breathtaking eyes and the dress is so detailed with accessories that imagining it staying crisp and clean in the watery-muddy setting of the Louisiane is fascinating on it's own. While not a fast paced story, this is an intriguing and entertaining story that can make a reader really think about their opinions on the matters that our dear Genevieve Gallian faces as well as our hero Tristan Lanier. Like most books these days I have an opinion of how I want to have things end up for our characters, but so many things in this plot kept me interested and in full desire to turn the pages on-going. For a bit I was curious about the Alabaman Indian wife Niki and her tough situation wondering how she would fit in to the rest of the characters' world... yet I kept trekking in the novel and enjoyed it as I did so. This is a lovely story on the cover and the page.
I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience may vary. Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.
posted: http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/2014/05/05/pelican-bride/
Reading updates
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Started reading
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5 May, 2014:
Finished reading
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5 May, 2014:
Reviewed