Teresa Mathews Reviews Love’s Reckoning by Laura Frantz

Love's Reckoning

                                                                                                                                                
Love's Reckoning
by Laura Frantz
(Revell, 2012)

5 Stars*****
Reviewed by Teresa Mathews

In this book one of the Ballantyne Legacy series Laura Frantz has once again written a beautiful masterpiece. The setting is 1784 York County, Pennsylvania and we are introduced to the Lee family.      

Liege Lee is a harsh man who long ago turned his back on God. Since then he has little regard for anyone that crosses his path, including his humble wife Louise and his two daughters, Elspeth and Eden. Elspeth is beautiful and smart and helps her father keep the books for the blacksmith shop. Eden the younger of the two is quiet, sweet and beautiful on the inside and out with a love for God. She is the one that keeps the household running and helps her mother look after the two younger boys.

After having several men quit on him, Liege finds himself in need of another apprentice to help in the blacksmith shop. When he receives a letter stating his new apprentice in on the way, there’s excitement because it is a well known rule that the apprentice is to marry the daughter of the master blacksmith.  Both girls have their thoughts on what this Silas Ballantyne, a Scotsman, will be like. Elspeth who loves a challenge knows he will be hers, dear Eden who has long let Elspeth have her way to keep the peace, has no notions about him being hers because she has other plans that will hopefully take her away from this horrible place. Will either girl even want to marry this Scotsman when they see him or will he ignore both so he can move on to where his dreams lie unencumbered by a wife?

When Silas Ballantyne arrives he is such a wonderfully talented handsome man both girls as quite taken with him. But Silas has not come here to seek a wife; there are things in his past and future that keep him from wanting to marry. Even evil Liege Lee seems to have met his match in Silas, he can outwork Liege any day and his craftsmanship is far better also.  Business has picked up tremendously since word of Silas’ beautiful work has gotten out and no one seems to be bothered that Liege has gone up on his prices, except Silas who demands that Liege stop cheating people.  Knowing what a find Silas is Liege tries to force him into marrying one of his daughters, will Silas decide that one of the beautiful girls is worth him changing his life’s plans? Or will he not give in and still leave at the end of the apprenticeship without so much as a backward glance?

This story is not one you can hurry through; you can tell Laura has put her heart into the making of this tale and you will want to savor it. There are a lot of secondary characters that you will love and some you will hate and that is the making of a marvelous story. There are a lot of twists that you won’t see coming and there will be quite a few times you will be hurriedly flipping the pages like I did. This is a must-read extraordinaire! Thank you Laura for this heart touching story that kept me not just entertained but enthralled the entire time I was reading. 

THREE GIVEAWAYS This week!!!:  Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week’s contest.  Drawing will be late Saturday.  Your choice of Laura’s books, choice of format*. Void where prohibited by law. *International winners will only receive the book in ebook format not as a paperback.