I Am Resolute by Nancy Turner

This is a pre-Revolutionary War family saga. A child and her siblings are taken captive by pirates from their Jamaican Plantation home. Resolute and her sister Patience are transported to Canada as slaves. The novel follows Resolute through a life of hardship and triumph. I became invested in this character from the first page to the last. Resolute becomes a remarkable woman. Her wit, courage, and determination become her tools for survival. The story follows the Talbot siblings through several generations as they each pursue freedom just as the American colonies that have become their home, also pursue freedom.

This novel is rich in historical detail and vivid descriptions of time and place. Although it can sometimes become bogged down in minute details, it is nonetheless a great read. Happy Reading!

The Weavers Legacy by Olive Collins

This is the second novel of the O’Neill family. I listened on audible. Curiously, there is no other connection to the first novel, The Tide Between Us, except the family name. As in the first novel, it is a thoroughly engrossing saga of a complex family and their survival in a new land. They migrate to America and the West at a time of hostilities between Americans and the Native Americans. There is a lot of prejudice and hatred but also love and compassion. This is a good historical read.

The Running Vixen by Elizabeth Chadwick

This is the second novel in Chadwick’s Medieval Trilogy. When the daughter of a prominent baron is widowed, her father seeks another marriage for his daughter, Heulwen. Things become complicated when the boy she grew up with, as her father’s ward, returns. He is no longer a boy, and the attraction between the two is immediate. There is already bad blood between the man who was promised her hand in marriage and the man she now found herself in love with. The two men have a complicated history. Again, Chadwick gives a sweet love story complicated by conflict and divided loyalties. 

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

I listened to this novel on Audiobook, and I was pleasantly surprised. The author’s description of small towns in Appalachia was great. Her characterization was amazing. I felt as if I knew Demon. It was impossible not to develop compassion for this kid whose life was tragic from the beginning. Every character came with their particular dysfunction. Most were likable, if not understandable. However, as the novel evolves, Demon makes one stupid mistake after another, and I could not help feeling that he was losing the fight in the maze that was his young life. Still, my hope that he would eventually get it together kept me engaged in the story. This is a heartbreaking commentary on the life of an addict, and at the same time, Demon’s story is inspiring. I was not too fond of this book, but I could not leave the story. It was like watching an accident you don’t want to see but cannot look away. I recommend this novel. Happy Reading!