Keturah

Bethany House Publishers, 354 pages

February, 2018

Book Description from Amazon.com:

“In 1772 England, Lady Keturah Banning Tomlinson and her sisters find themselves the heiresses of their father’s estates and know they have one option: Go to the West Indies to save what is left of their heritage.”

“Although it flies against all the conventions for women of the time, they’re determined to make their own way in the world. But once they arrive in the Caribbean, proper gender roles are the least of their concerns. On the infamous island of Nevis, the sisters discover the legacy of the legendary sugar barons has vastly declined–and that’s just the start of what their eyes are opened to in this unfamiliar world.

Keturah never intends to put herself at the mercy of a man again, but every man on the island seems to be trying to win her hand and, with it, the ownership of her plantation. She could desperately use an ally, but even an unexpected reunion with a childhood friend leaves her questioning his motives.

Set on keeping her family together and saving her father’s plantation, can Keturah ever surrender her stubbornness and guarded heart to God and find the healing and love awaiting her?”

My Review:

Lisa T. Bergen is a good author and I will read any book that she’s written. Although I’ve not before been interested in reading novels set in the West Indies and the sugar plantations, I read this one just because she wrote it.
I was not disappointed. The storyline was intriguing with three strong, capable, courageous women as the main characters.

Don’t read this book expecting it to be a sweet romance. It’s not. There is never a stopping place in this story for sweetness and light. The author tackles some hard subjects such as slavery and abuse of women, which leads to some of the conflicts that arise on the sugar plantations. Although Ms. Bergen described this in appropriate, truthful, terms, it was an intense story. It’s still very much Christian fiction and there’s hope and faith to be found all through the storyline. I would not recommend this book for any young lady under senior high age unless you have first read it for yourself.

I will look forward to reading the next books in this series.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review. I was not asked to give a positive review. This is my honest opinion of the book.