I love reading works from authors that are new to me and Irma Joubert is brand new to me. She has a writing style all her own. She is a storyteller, but one that is quick with scenes and at times didn't give me time enough in one area before she was leaving and heading to a new scene. I wanted to know more of the characters, see more detail, and feel more passion.
With that out of the way, this is a gem of a read. Really, once you begin reading, and it took me a while to truly get into the story, it is a story worth reading.
It was the cover that caught my attention. It's spectacular. The story-line grabbed me and I knew I had to review this new work.
I love history and works that share about this time in history are those very close to my heart. This novel spans over a fifteen year period. For me, that's a lot to take in and absorb. So much story to share and not enough pages to compose to totally bring me in and allow my heart to travel to another time and place and truly behold all the characters were feeling.
What I will do is go back and in time give this another try and I know I will walk away with something very different. Maybe that's it. This is one of those gems you just have to take your time with and with imagination and heart it then comes to life.
Remember, this is only my opinion. This is a beautiful story. For some reason I always felt a bit distracted. But you may pick up this lovely book and gain something totally different and walk away changed. I say give this author a chance to woe you into another time and place.
This book was a gift from Thomas Nelson for sharing my review with you.
Irma Joubert International bestselling author Irma Joubert was a history teacher for 35 years before she began writing. Her stories are known for their deep insight into personal relationships and rich historical detail. She's the author of eight novels and a regular fixture on bestseller lists in The Netherlands and in her native South Africa, but this will be her first novel published in English. She is the winner of the 2010 ATKV Prize for Romance Novels.
