From the Power of the Matchmaker series***
Books #10 & #12
To Move the World by Regina SiroisMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Eve Brannon never had to bother planning out her future. In the Yorkshire dales where life is harder, it is also simpler. Next in line to inherit her family's farm, she will raise another generation of children and sheep high in the uplands of England. Waiting until next year when she is 19 to marry her father's handsome hired hand, Alan, is the detail she added herself.
But in 1939 even the most stalwart corners of the world are vibrating with the tremors of change. Eve's long-anticipated proposal comes on the wings of losing Alan to the Royal Army and at the brink of the farm's profitable war years the sheep herd is decimated by a mysterious illness. With her steady future suddenly in the clutches of a capricious fate, Eve is introduced to Jonathon Doran, a land manager anxious to prove himself in a crisis, and she discovers that the solid earth beneath her feet is moving after all.
The Reformer by Jaima FixsenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Mary Buchanan has bigger worries than the radical journalist moving in next door who’s spoiling her father’s digestion: unrequited love for a footman, a fractious aunt, patiently awaiting her destiny…
Already she’s nearly eighteen. No sign of destiny yet, but Mary’s certain he’ll be handsome.
Then she meets the reformer, this Mr. Samuel Brown. Destiny is closer at hand than Mary has supposed—if she can just get Mr. Brown to realize it.
These are the last two books I will review in the Power of the Matchmaker series. For the most part, these are clean reads with only a few with content that I didn't agree with. I didn't get a chance to review the 11th book so I don't know about it. You can find my other reviews here: Power of the Matchmaker series.
I had a hard time at first getting into the book To Move the World by Regina Sirois. Once I got used to the way it was written (kind of a diary style) and I got more into the story, my interest picked up. Eve is a strong character with a bright mind. Although she has some regret about not being able to go to college, she's settled and hopeful for a future with the handsome hired man, Alan. Then he leaves for war and her heart is torn between her loyalty to him and the attentions of a wealthy land owner who proves invaluable to her family when a mysterious illness threatens the sheep farm. I enjoyed the growth of her character as the story moves on. I was a little disappointed that there was very little of the character of the matchmaker, Pearl, in this story.
For the most part, I enjoyed The Reformer by Jaima Fixsen. Mary is young, naive, and impressionable at the beginning of the book. She has a deplorable home life with a distant angry father and a hypochondriac aunt who rules the house with an iron fist. But with the help of the cook and a maid, Mary finds her freedom in occasional outings and in her talent with drawing. When she fixates on the reformer, Mr. Samuel Brown, who moves in next door and also becomes friends with another new neighbor, Mrs. Chin (aka Pearl), her future is irrevocably changed. And this is where the story proceeded to disgust me. Because of her crush on Mr. Samuel Brown, she ends up using her talent for drawing to create caricatures that are published in a newspaper. If they were just political in nature it wouldn't have bothered me but for various reasons, Mary decides she needs to learn about a man and woman's anatomy and sex ( which she reads about in graphic detail in her father's doctor books). She then proceeds to put sexual innuendo into her caricatures. If I hadn't agreed to review this book, I would not have finished it after this. The rest of Mary's story has a few twists that contribute to the maturing of her character and a satisfying ending.
*Thanks to eBooksForReview for a complimentary copy of both of these books. I was not paid or required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are my own.*
View all my reviews on Goodreads.
***These books are part of a multi-author project that feature one recurring character—Pearl, the matchmaker—but each are a STAND-ALONE novel.***
Power of the Matchmaker series info:
Series: Power of the Matchmaker (No specific reading order necessary)
Authors involved: Karey White, Rachael Anderson, Kelly Oram, Heather B. Moore, Julie Wright, Heidi Ashworth, Taylor Dean, Michele Paige Holmes, Janette Rallison, Regina Sirois, Sheralyn Pratt, and Jaima Fixsen
Series Goodreads Link:
Series Summary:
The Power Of the Matchmaker is multi-author project consisting of 12 stand alone novels from 12 different bestselling authors in 12 months. All books are separate from each other except they feature one reoccurring character, a magical matchmaker named Pearl. Since Pearl is magical, she lives for hundreds of years and roams the entire world helping people find their perfect matches. The books in this series are twelve of Pearl's matchmaking stories. They will vary in genre, but they will all have one thing in common: Pearl will be doing whatever it takes to make two people fall in love.
Books in the Series already Available:
May: Four Chambers by Julie Wright http://amzn.to/29Xekbb
August: Between Heaven and Earth by Michele Paige Holmes http://amzn.to/29WrSRE
September: King of the Friend Zone by Sheralyn Pratt http://amzn.to/2bUjD7i
October: To Move The World by Regina Sirois http://amzn.to/2dcIVkQ
November: How I Met Your Brother by Janette Rallison http://amzn.to/2d8D9jg
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