Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Fall Reads: The Promise Of Breeze Hill


Tyndale Fiction; 408 pages; $14.99; Amazon
I believe The Promise Of Breeze Hill has been sitting on a shelf for nearly year before I finally got around to reading it. It's was published by Tyndale and written by Pam Hillman. I'm not for sure it's book one in a series or not, but the "A Natchez Trace Novel" on the cover makes me believe that it's part of a series.

Set in Natchez near the Mississippi River in 1791, the novel centers around Isabella Bartholomew, a young woman who has taken the responsibility of rebuilding her family's home, Breeze Hill Plantation. A fire had destroyed their crops, damaged their home, and killed loved ones. With her father not in good health, Isabella is given the task of recruiting a carpenter to help rebuild their home and their lives.

That carpenter happens to be Connor O'Shea, a man who had came to America to work as a carpenter for Master Benson for seven years without wages in exchange for his four brothers passage from Ireland. The work was hard, but the thought of being reunited with his family kept him going. However, things don't go as planned when Master Benson dies and Connor is put up on the auction block. This is when he meets Isabella, who buys him at the auction. In exchange for rebuilding the Breeze Hill Plantation, Isabella promises him her family will pay for his brothers' passage to America.

Thanks to the fire that almost destroyed the plantation, the Bartholomew family is in dire need of money. They are barely scrapping by as it is when Connor takes it upon himself to hire a man, his pregnant wife, and their many many children. Despite not being able to give them anything but a roof over the heads and a little food, Isabella's father approves of the decision, as the man and his children can help in the fields.

Isabella must find a way to save Breeze Hill Plantation, but it's a little difficult to do when someone is threatening them. And this someone might be responsible for starting the fire that took her brother's life.


Final Thoughts

I have read so many books, that I'm for sure or not if I have ever read any other books by the author. Just by the cover art alone, I wanted to read this book. It's very well written with good descriptions, which is a must-have for any historical fiction. I was hooked into the story by the end of the first chapter. I have a Scottish ancestor who was taken prisoner a the battle of Dunbar and brought to America to work off his freedom, so I was intrigued by the character Connor O'Shea. Though he is Irish and his circumstances for coming to America are quite different, he still reminds me of my ancestor.

As for the other characters, all of them, especially Isabella, are smartly written with lots of depth to them.

Overall, The Promise Of Breeze Hill is a wonderful read with great characters and beautiful storytelling. I highly recommend it to other readers. 



*Note - I received a complimentary copy from the author. All opinions are my own.





No comments:

Post a Comment

I adore reading reader feedback! I will, however, remove all spam and pointless comments.

Please take note that I have the right to delete comments from this site. Please only post constructive and respectful feedback.