Love's Awakening: A Novel (The Ballantyne Legacy) - Softcover

Laura Frantz

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0800720423 ISBN 13: 9780800720421

Publisher: Revell, 2013

Synopsis

Ellie Ballantyne, youngest child of Silas and Eden, has left finishing school. But back at her family home in Pittsburgh, Ellie finds that her parents are away on a long trip and her siblings don't seem to want her to stay. When she opens a day school for young ladies, she begins tutoring the incorrigible daughter of the enemy Turlock clan. The Turlocks are slaveholders and whiskey magnates, envious of the powerful Ballantynes and suspicious of their abolitionist leanings. As Ellie becomes increasingly tangled with the Turlocks, she finds herself falling in love with an impossible future--and Jack Turlock, a young man striving to free himself from his family's violent legacy. How can she betray her family and side with the enemy? And will Jack ever allow her into his world?

Masterful storyteller Laura Frantz continues to unfold the stirring saga of the Ballantyne family in this majestic tale of love, loyalty, and the makings of a legacy. With rich descriptions of the people who settled and civilized a wild landscape, Frantz weaves a tapestry of characters and places that stick with the reader long after they turn the last page.

About this title

About the Author

Laura Frantz is a two-time Christy Award winner and the ECPA bestselling author of 15 novels, including The Seamstress of Acadie, The Rose and the Thistle, The Frontiersman's Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, The Lacemaker, and A Heart Adrift. She is the proud mom of an American soldier and a career firefighter. Though she will always call Kentucky home, Laura lives with her husband in Washington State. Learn more at LauraFrantz.net.

From the Back Cover

The path to true love lies somewhere between two feuding families

In the spring of 1822, Ellie Ballantyne leaves finishing school and returns to the family home in Pittsburgh only to find that her parents are away on a long journey and her siblings don't seem to want her to stay. Determined to stand her ground and find her place in the world, Ellie fills her time by opening a day school for young ladies.

But when one of her students turns out to be an incorrigible young member of the Turlock family, Ellie knows she must walk a fine line. Slaveholders and whiskey magnates, the Turlocks are envious of the powerful Ballantynes and suspicious of their abolitionist leanings. As Ellie becomes increasingly entangled with the rival clan--particularly the handsome Jack Turlock--she finds herself falling in love with an impossible future. Will she betray her family and side with the enemy?

Masterful storyteller Laura Frantz continues to unfold the stirring saga of the Ballantyne family in this majestic tale of love and loyalty. This is the Ballantyne Legacy.


"Frantz's in-depth historical research combines with her fascinating characters to create a gripping romance that kept me turning pages late into the night. I highly recommend Love's Awakening. It is a rare find."--Serena B. Miller, RITA Award-winning author of The Measure of Katie Calloway


Laura Frantz is the author of several books, including The Colonel's Lady and Love's Reckoning. A two-time Carol Award and INSPY Award finalist and a recent Christy Award finalist, she currently lives in the misty woods of Washington with her husband and two sons.

Reviews

Love, like darkness, comes creeping softly in the second installment of Frantz's romantic historical series, the Ballentyne Legacy. Elinor Ballentyne is the youngest, most protected child of the Ballentyne clan. Determined to make her mark on 1820s Pittsburgh, Pa., she comes home from finishing school in Philadelphia to open a day school for young women and to reclaim her place in the family. Her return opens a closet of family secrets. Elinor's Shakespearean relationship with Jack Turlock, the son of familial enemies, begins with her assisting his tomboy sister, Chloe, and drifts through calm seas and raging rapids to a warm, satisfying conclusion. The sizable cast of characters causes some confusion in the plotting, while seemingly unrelated story threads are left tangled and unresolved. Rich with period detail and yet occasionally ponderous, the story stands independent of the first novel and shows the sacrifice and commitment of those aiding the abolitionist movement in an era of lawlessness and change, educating readers as well as entertaining them. Agent: Janet Kobobel Grant, Books & Such Literary Agency. (Sept.)

Edition details

• Publisher: Revell
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0800720423
• ISBN 13: 9780800720421
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 414