I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.
Barnes and Noble Overview:
Louisa Bell never wanted to be a dance-hall singer, but dire circumstances force her hand. With a little help from her brother in the cavalry, she's able to make ends meet, but lately he's run afoul of his commanding officer, so she undertakes a visit to straighten him out.
Major Daniel Adams has his hands full at Fort Reno. He can barely control his rowdy troops, much less his two adolescent daughters. If Daniel doesn't find someone respectable to guide his children, his mother-in-law insists she'll take them.
When Louisa arrives with some reading materials, she's mistaken for the governess who never appeared. Major Adams is skeptical. She bears little resemblance to his idea of a governess--they're not supposed to be so blamed pretty--but he's left without recourse. His mother-in-law must be satisfied, which leaves him turning a blind eye to his unconventional governess's methods. Louisa's never faced so important a performance. Can she keep her act together long enough?
Review:
Holding the Fort definitely wasn't a book that made any big impact on my reading experience. It's a very easy read that your brain really doesn't have to process. But in a way that's exactly what this book is supposed to do, it's not supposed to make you think, it's supposed to give you a nice story to read. For that, I do give this book credit because it is definitely a nice, light-hearted story.
Louisa Bell wasn't my favorite main character, the main reason being that her character didn't seem to develop much throughout the entire book. There was some development, don't get me wrong, it just seemed that she didn't grow or change in the way the author wanted her to. I do have to say that even though Louisa lacked character development, she was a lovely main character in other ways. Her love for her brother was evident in her trip to a small fort in the middle of nowhere. She also has a gift for helping the Majors two little girls be the best that they can be. Louisa and Major Daniel together were also enjoying to read at times where you could see their love growing for one another.
Major Daniel Adams, in my opinion, was an okay love interest. He was kind and caring. All he wanted was the best for his daughters, but he couldn't help but fall in love with their governess along the way. The only problem that I had with Daniel was the fact that he knew something was off with Ms. Bell and he didn't bother asking her even though he cared greatly for his daughter's safety.
One thing I did love about this book was combing the romance with history. It's always interesting to learn about events that took place through fiction, even if all of the people didn't exist at that moment in time. You at least get to learn the major facts about historical events well reading a romance.
But, I did have a major problem with this book, being that it was way too long for the content in it. The two main characters seemed to debate the same things through about 200 pages when it all could have been solved by asking each other a few questions. It just seemed like the book was going in circles for a while. The book dragged because of this, but I have to admit there were other things within this story that did make it worth reading.
Overall, the book encompassed everything that a Christian romance needed, a strong and innocent young lady and a daring a brave young man. It's the perfect read for when you don't want too many plot twists.
I give it...
