By Laura Frantz

January = new Laura Frantz book! I am always thrilled to start my year with a trip back in time to Colonial America. This time, Scotland was the additional bonus!

Juliet Catesby has a head for business – something her father does not possess. By day, she runs her family’s indigo plantation, trying desperately to work the Catesby’s out of the mountains of debt they owe to the Buchanan tobacco merchants. Nighttime finds Juliet secretly helping runaway slaves find their way to freedom. When recently widowed Leith Buchanan comes to Virginia looking for a bride, Juliet hopes to pair her younger sister with the man. She is horrified to learn that, instead, her father had bartered her away for a release on his debts. When her underground railroad activities take a dangerous turn, Juliet has no choice but to wed the tobacco merchant and leave with him to his estate in Scotland. Once there, she discovers that maybe she wasn’t the only person harboring secrets. A tangled web of past misdeeds surrounds the Buchanan family. Backstabbing relatives, bitter feuds with other merchants… and above all this floats the question: what really happened to Leith’s first wife? 

Pros: A beautifully written book! Laura Frantz’s writing is the closest thing I can get to time travel. Exquisite details, fascinating research, lovely names, and, of course, all kinds of romantic angst. It was sweet seeing the connections to characters in other books by Laura Frantz. I especially appreciated the look into indigo production and the economics of Virginia and Scotland at the dawn of the Revolutionary War. I had no idea Scotland was so tied to Virginia tobacco production. It was also interesting reading a book set in this time where the characters were more neutral. Their lives and their business was more important than fiery speeches and liberty or death. Definitely a different perspective on the era.

Cons: There really wasn’t much suspense until the very end. While I did really like the book, I’ve been spoiled by some of her earlier works like The Colonel’s Lady and The Lacemaker. I can’t quite bring myself to give it 5 stars, but, I’ll give it 4.5 which will round up to 5 on Goodreads anyway.

Bottom Line: Another fascinating look into the kaleidoscope of the American Revolution.