By: Ottilie Weber
ISBN: 9780982981696
Available Format: Paperback, ebook
Published April 1, 2011 by Buck County
My Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.5 rounded up! :-))
A long, long time ago Emma was a young German heiress with a fiery will of her own. When she was told she was to marry the arrogant, abusive Wilhelm, Emma decided to take her fate into her own hands and escape to America. Several generations later, Abby, the first female child of her great-grandmother’s line, is living her normal, ho-hum teenage life in small town New Jersey. Just when she thinks her biggest problem is her best friend ogling the slutty waitress at the restaurant they both work in, Abby is kidnapped and taken back to her great-grandmother’s homeland to pay a debt from the past. She gets to experience firsthand what Emma endured so many years ago. Will she also be able to escape or will she pay the ultimate price?
While I enjoy the shifts of POV between Abby, Emma, and Cory, Abby and Cory speak so similarly. I just would have liked for Cory’s voice to be a bit more distinct and more masculine. I think Emma’s could also have been taken a bit further since she was alive in a time and society where things were much more formal and stiff.
The manuscript needs a bit of polishing to really make it shine. The bones are definitely there; it just needs a little dusting and fluffing. There were some moments of repetitiveness—words and thoughts. Occasionally there were sentences that could have been left out or reworded so they flowed a little better. If I turned off my critical eye, however, the underlying story was absolutely unique and riveting.
The overall plot was fantastic. I’m a big historical fiction fan, so Emma’s bits were my favorites. I love the fairy tale quality of the story being interwoven with the modern day, and Miss Weber does a terrific job putting them together. There is no doubt she has a talented, creative mind, and I think she will only improve as her writing career continues.
Ottilie will be the guest author on JournalStone’s Blog Talk Radio show, JournalJabber, this Tuesday, September 13th at 8PM CST. You’ll find me keeping the chat room straight. Tune in to hear all about Miss Weber, her writing, and probably toilet snakes. :-)
