Love's Reckoning (#01 in The Ballantyne Legacy Series)

This is the first book in The Ballantyne Legacy. Silas Ballantyne, an older-than-usual apprentice blacksmith, has come to the household of Leige Lee to finish his training. Liege Lee is an unpopular man with two daughters - Eden and Elspeth, who are as different as night and day, and Liege is determined that Silas marry one of them. \\r\\n\\r\\nLaura's writing is beautiful and elegant, painting pictures with words and making reading effortless. Love's Reckoning is a slower paced novel, best savoured in languid chunks of time. There is plenty of mystery, and secrets are rife. \\r\\n\\r\\nEden and Silas are quieter characters. Eden's strength is evident through her persistent and enduring nature. Silas is a man who will not be deterred from his values or his plans. His heroism is defined by his steadiness as opposed to dramatic gestures. \\r\\n\\r\\nThere are some nasty characters in Love's Reckoning. Elspeth is a spiteful piece of work. Her viciousness shocked and riled me! I feel like she may have gotten off a little too easy. But when I read the epilogue, a shiver ran down my spine. I think more is in store for her in the next book. \\r\\n \\r\\nLove's Reckoning is a slow building love story, written against a backdrop of secrets and punctuated with heartbreaking tragedies. I particularly liked the beautiful romance between Eden and God - her thirst for God's word and His love are touching.

Love's Reckoning, the first in the highly anticipated Ballantyne Legacy is a stunning tale of love, loss, courage and faithfulness. Establishing herself as a premier writer of historical novels with an exceptional debut novel, The Frontiersman's Daughter and her subsequent offerings, Courting Morrow Little and The Colonel's Lady, Laura Frantz has exceeded expectations with Love's Reckoning. It is a beautifully rendered story about a young woman whose calm and patient spirit captures the heart of a man whose talent, determined ambition and strength of character destines him for greatness beyond the small town of York and the self seeking father who seeks to control his abilities and his future. Laura crafts characters of immense depth and imbues them with all manner of unique qualities, both appealing and irksome, each one vividly drawn. and unforgettable. With descriptive prose and attention to the smallest detail, I was plunged into 1780s Pennsylvania, feeling the heat of the forge, the pain of a father's rejection and the love of an honourable man. The path towards love is evocative and intricate, littered with hurts, fears and healing, yet never certain in its conclusion leaving me breathless more than once. If you seek a story of great substance, spiritual depth and superior prose, look no further than Laura Frantz and Love's Reckoning.