Book Preview- Uneasy Fortunes
Uneasy Fortunes
By Mandi Ellsworth
Paperback, 240 pages
Expected Publication Date: June 12, 2012
by Cedar Fort
ISBN: 1599559854
Book Source: Netgalley
3 stars
Summary from Goodreads: Battered by his past, Pete knows he has no business falling for anyone. But when time can’t heal a wound, love steps in to make it right. Based on a true story of the post–Civil War South, this gentle rustic romance will pull you in from the first page and leave you with a renewed hope in the power of real love.
Cathy’s Review: Pete is an honest man looking for honest work. His life hasn’t always been easy for him. His father was a drunk and a mean one at that. After his father dies, Pete ends up working long years to pay off his father’s debts before he’s able to strike out on his own looking for his own life. He has always had a bit of a stutter, but he’s able to hide it in his new life at Ridgemoor, simply by not speaking. The problem is that he falls in love with the daughter of the wealthy owner of Ridgemoor, Rosalynn Richie. He knows that there is no way that he will ever be able to marry this young lady and he begins to make plans to find a different work situation before she gets married. June is a young lady who’s been hurt by men before, she’s not looking for love anywhere, nor does she ever plan to be, but when Pete shows up looking for work at her home, and her father hires him, she begins to see that men can be kind and genuine and that maybe, just maybe there might be one for her sitting right at the dinner table looking back at her.
I had kind of a hard time getting into this story. I’m not sure quite why, but the beginning of the book didn’t hold my interest as much as some of the rest of it did. By the middle of the story I was into it, and the end had a big surprise that I didn’t see coming. I didn’t think that the characters in this book seemed as real as they do in some other books, they seemed a bit 2 dimensional to me. Maybe that’s kind of weird, but I like to get to “know” my characters and feel as though they are real and they could be friends of mine in real life, and I didn’t really get that with these characters.
Content: Rape scene, but not terribly descriptive
About the Author: As the youngest of thirteen children, Mandi Ellsworth grew up secure in the knowledge that she was the “star” of her family and didn’t realize until she left home that not everyone thought the same. Later, after traveling around for two years and going to three different colleges, Mandi met a man whom she would regularly out-eat and he didn’t mind. They’ve been happily married ever since. They have ree children and live wherever the wind takes them. Mandi’s children know public libraries better than grocery stores, and she likes it that way.