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| A poignant conclusion that ties up the series with dramatic zeal |
Christian Historical Romance
Summerside Press, March 1 2013
Paperback 352 pages
Review Copy provided by the publisher, via LitFuse
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 stars
Read my previous reviews of these Susan May Warren titles:
Heiress (book 1)
Baroness (book 2)
Buy Duchess here!
Follow Susan's tour here
The golden age of Hollywood is in the business of creating stars. Rosie Worth, now starlet Roxy Price, has found everything she’s wanted in the glamour of the silver screen. With adoring fans and a studio-mogul husband, she’s finally silenced the voices—and grief—of the past. Her future shines bright…until the fated Black Friday when it all comes crashing down. When Roxy loses everything, she finds herself disgraced and penniless. Her only hope is to join forces with Belgian duke Rolfe Van Horne, a longtime film investor. But Rolfe is not who he seems, and he has other plans for Roxy and her movies—plans to support a growing unrest in Europe, plans that could break her heart and endanger her life.
When her country needs her, will she have the courage to surrender her glittering world and her one true love?
The Daughters of Fortune series follows the females of the Worth/Price families and this last novel of the trilogy features Rosie Worth. I've said in previous reviews that the books need to be read in order, and that holds true again. The characters change generations from the first to the last books and it would definitely heighten your enjoyment if you knew the background of the current story (obvious spoilers will be provided in book three if you start the series here).
Duchess focuses on Rosie, the daughter of Jinx, who desires to be a movie star. She gets her wish and yet she slowly begins to realize that living the life of the rich and famous can also be empty and full of heartache. She struggles to find her path and even though good friends encourage her, she still rejects God and the notion that faith in Him could fill her up. She seeks love in the wrong places and when she does find a worthy love she can't find a way to hang on to it. Through all of her bad choices we still root for her because her heart is pure - and we know that there has to be a happy ending, right?
Turns out there is a war brewing in Europe in 1938, and the German Jewish are being persecuted. Rosie finds herself in the middle of it with Rolfe Van Horne and just like a blond starlet she has no idea what is going on around her. Alongside this growing tension, Rosie learns to accept the biblical phrase, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." How Rosie finally embraces this is our ultimate journey, and with this faith theme alongside a bit of intrigue this series is much like a soap opera, though with classy style. The Nazi plot line doesn't take precedence until the last section of the book, so don't buy this thinking you're getting a full look at the impending war. Most of the novel focuses on Rosie's relationships and the people she connects with, which eventually will bring us to the climax of the Nazi theme. Meanwhile, we'll just have to sit back and enjoy the movies and the glitzy ride that Rosie brings us on.
Previous threads of untied story lines do get a chance to be resolved in this conclusion, and since I've thoroughly enjoyed this Daughters of Fortune journey I am sad to see it end. I absolutely loved reading the author's note, as the biblical themes all came together with a huge dose of redemption, but I don't want to spoil it and clue you in. Duchess is a very well plotted story that totally had me crying at the end! I really wish the editing were a little bit more polished, as I spotted at least two errors. Still, with the dramatic writing style of Susan May Warren, I am wondering if I could step out of my comfort zone of historical themes and read one of her many contemporary novels. Definitely something worth looking into.
Thank you so much to LitFuse to providing me with a copy of Duchess to review! This series is special to me, because it was book one that actually turned me on to the Christian historical genre in 2011, and I haven't looked back since.
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