Love’s Awakening

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.)