Another day and another Laura Franz tale has made its way to my bedside table. I have to confess, I have absolutely loved Frantz last few novels and had some pretty high expectations going into A Heart Adrift which left me with some mixed reactions but let me explain.
A Heart Adrift takes us back to colonial Virginia and Esmee Shaw, a female chocolatier of 28 who lives with her father, runs her chocolate shop, aids in the poor house, and occasionally dreams of lost love and not quite forgotten hopes.
Esmee was an interesting heroine. I enjoy Franz exploring different trades with her main characters like lace maker and chocolatier and her attention to detail has always allowed her to paint an engaging mental scene.
I appreciated Esmee's nerve in chasing her dreams and going to the lighthouse which provided some of my favourite scenes. Again, Frantz does such a vivid job painting the picture of Esmee's cottage life, her lighthouse duties, and the ups and downs of her time on the island it was easy to let yourself get pulled into Esmee's story.
At it's core though, A Heart Adrift is a love story for Esmee and her reunited flame Captain Lennox. I feel like Frantz does a great job with their story.
I enjoyed the build up of their relationship after such a long separation and I feel like the pacing was true to Esmee and Henri's characters. Not to mention, in the middle of winter it's just fun to root for the reuniting couple.
I did have a few points where I felt less satisfied. While I'm usually thrilled with Frantz detail work there were some historical errors that slipped through that caught me off guard (as fun as it is to see a Canadian shout out we weren't around back then). This felt out of place from her usual quality.
I also felt like Eliza's storyline was shoehorned into the main plot awkwardly. While I know grief can play out differently with different people her reaction to her beauty felt awkward given the nature of the rest of the story and her role in the story's climax, while inspiring, felt rushed and incomplete.
3.5 out of 5 stars
This book was provided as part of the #RevellReadsBookTour, all thoughts are my own.
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