Ashley Cane Cane itibaren Леваши, ベラルーシ
I loved this book more than most readers considering the review numbers. I guess I just like the way she writes about emotions. I can feel what they're going through. In this story, Heath has moved to Massachusetts after the Civil War from Virginia. He's a Southerner and not only doesn't fit in, but isn't well liked either. Lucinda is the daughter of a well-loved storekeeper. She finds Heath somewhat irresistible and is caught in a compromising embrace with him. Of course, now her fiance no longer wants her and her father kicks her out of his house. I found that a bit harsh, for sure. Heath proposes marriage and she reluctantly accepts because she doesn't seem to have much choice. Heath moves her to Boston to be near the newspaper he has purchased. I liked the fact that Heath encourages her intellectually. She actually writes some articles for him. They have a tempestuous relationship complicated by previous loves in their former lives. And Lucy is strong-willed. I enjoyed watching them work their way through it. Love prevails, of course. Sigh....
Phil sees a kid with his brother's jacket on and accuses the younger boy of stealing it. It turns out that Phil's mother gave it to her cleaning lady who gave it to her grandson (the kid). Phil then freaks out and thinks he thought the jacket was stolen because the kid was African-American (even though it was weird, because it was a fairly distinctive Italian jacket, so the race card seems a bit forced in this case). It deals with the issues well for the intended age range, but I wanted a little more character development-- for Clements, it left me a bit underwhelmed.