Sunday, May 4, 2014

The Pelican Bride - Gulf Coast Chronicles 1 - by Beth White

Cover Art

About the book:

She's come to the New World to escape a perilous past. But has it followed her to these far shores?
It is 1704 when Frenchwoman Geneviève Gaillain and her sister board the frigate Pélican bound for the distant Louisiana colony. Both have promised to marry one of the rough men toiling in this strange new world in order to escape suffering in the old. Geneviève knows life won't be easy, but at least here she can establish a home and family without fear of persecution for her outlawed religious beliefs.

When she falls in love with Tristan Lanier, an expatriate cartographer-turned-farmer whose checkered past is shrouded in mystery, Geneviève realizes that even in this land of liberty one is not guaranteed peace. Trouble is brewing outside the fort between the French colonists and the native people surrounding them. And an even more sinister enemy may lurk within. Could the secret Geneviève harbors mean the undoing of the colony itself?

Gulf Coast native Beth White brings vividly to life the hot, sultry South in this luscious, layered tale.


My review:

This was an interesting, well-written story about an area of history I'm not familiar with.  I learned so much about what was happening in America at the time, from the political to spiritual to cultural changes taking place.  It was also interesting to learn about the Huguenots/Protestants and the Catholics and the persecutions that happened.  I loved the strong female characters from both the French and Native American cultures, along with Tristan and his brother. However, Genevieve's sister drove me nuts and was one of my least favorite characters. The story was told from multiple perspectives, which I enjoyed.  I thought the romance seemed quick and they didn't know each other very well.  The humorous banter between Tristan and Genevieve made me smile.  There was a lot of action and excitement, along with intrigue, that kept the story moving quickly.  I would recommend this book if you like historical fiction.

I received a free copy of this book from Revell in exchange for an honest review.

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