Love's Fortune by Laura Frantz ~ A Review

Love's Fortune
(The Ballantyne Legacy, Book 3)
by Laura Frantz
Copyright 2014
Revell Books
ISBN: 9780800720438

The Story:
With two very different horizons stretched out before her, one young woman stands on the cusp of an unknown future. 

Sheltered since birth at her Kentucky home, Rowena "Wren" Ballantyne has heard only whispered rumors of her grandfather Silas's vast fortune and grand manor in Pennsylvania. When her father receives a rare letter summoning him to New Hope, Wren makes the journey with him and quickly finds herself in a whole new world--family members she's never met, dances she's never learned, and a new side to the father she thought she knew.

As she struggles to fit in during their extended stay, she finds a friend in James Sackett, the most valued steamship pilot of the Ballantynes' shipping line. Even with his help, Wren feels she may never be comfortable in high society. Will she go her own way . . . to her peril?

With her signature attention to historical detail and emotional depth, Laura Frantz brings 1850s Pennsylvania alive with a tender story of loss, love, and loyalty.

My Thoughts:
Guys, you know if you've visited my blog at any given time, you can find a post about romance. Be it in book form or a movie or TV miniseries, I'm pretty much addicted to a good love story. There's a reason why Laura Frantz is one of my favorite writers. It's not because she pens good romances, it's because she pens epic, unforgettable, heart-tugging, amaaaazing romances.


Since I first read The Frontiersman's Daughter way back when, I'm beginning to think that nobody knows the frontier better than Frantz! While Love's Fortune isn't set in the frontier, but rather in the burgeoning industrial city of mid-19th century Pittsburgh, it still had an air of wildness and unpredictability about it. Living in the city with its dank back alleyways and cloying puffs of smoke was equally as dangerous as the woods of Kentucky and Laura Frantz deftly brings both to life.

As with any of her stories, amid the daring and danger, the sweet, gentle romance manages to weave its way into your heart. This time there's not just one love story, but a pair between two couples you can't help but root for. A few times the gentlemen in the story were frustrating to the point of asking for a smack from this reader to prod them in the right direction, but what's a good book if you don't feel passionately about the characters in it? The entire Ballantyne Legacy series has been full of characters who are easy to relate to and authentic. If you've enjoyed the previous two books, you will more than likely love this tale and wish it wasn't the last book in the series!

My review of Love's Reckoning
My review of Love's Awakening

In case you missed it, here's a cute photo of Coco and Wren!

Be sure to check out Laura's website and online journal!

~ My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars ~

*I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists, and/or authors. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.*

Happy Reading!