By Laura Frantz
408 pages
Revell, 2024
Amazon Description:
As 1754 is drawing to a close, tensions between the French and the British on Canada’s Acadian shore are reaching a fever pitch. Seamstress Sylvie Galant and her family–French-speaking Acadians wishing to remain neutral–are caught in the middle, their land positioned between two forts flying rival flags. Amid preparations for the celebration of Noël, the talk is of unrest, coming war, and William Blackburn, the British Army Ranger raising havoc across North America’s borderlands.
As summer takes hold in 1755 and British ships appear on the horizon, Sylvie encounters Blackburn, who warns her of the coming invasion. Rather than participate in the forced removal of the Acadians from their land, he resigns his commission. But that cannot save Sylvie or her kin. Relocated on a ramshackle ship to Virginia, Sylvie struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. When her path crosses once more with William’s, they must work through the complex tangle of their shared, shattered past to navigate the present and forge an enduring future.
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Thanks to Revell for sending me a copy as part of the Revell Reads program. All thoughts and opinions in this review are entirely my own.
Laura Frantz has done it again! I always look forward to a new book from her at the beginning of each year. She stands out in my mind as an author who writes historical settings in fascinating detail while creating well-developed characters that you can’t help but like.
At its core, The Seamstress of Acadie is about Sylvie’s personal journey through loss, love, and the restoration of her faith. The question ‘Where is God in the midst of heartache and suffering?’ is a difficult one that Sylvie grapples with as she is ripped from her family and her homeland and dropped into an unwelcome new environment. I liked that the author was able to write about this struggle with empathy and hope, without giving pat answers.
I loved Sylvie and Will’s love story. He’s so patient and gentle with her as she works through her trauma, probably because of his own history of loss and suffering. I enjoyed watching them fall for each other slowly and start building a new life characterized by peace and contentment.
If you love historical romance you will surely love The Seamstress of Acadie (and likely Laura’s other books as well!). If you read her 2022 release A Heart Adrift, you’ll recognize a few characters from that book who make an appearance in this one too.
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