The Reformer

An original story line, a fun read, would recommend

One of my favorite authors … awaiting more of her fantastic writing.

Nice character development with decent historical accuracy. A good break from the news.

The Reformer is much more than a simple, shallow romance. You either “get it” or you don’t. In my mind, it approaches real literature with its layers within the story.

First, you have the real history that’s going on in England. At the end, the author gives a recap of the actual events that she used in the storyline. As someone who appreciates history, I found this fascinating.

Second, you have the characters. Each character has a “story to tell.” Each character grows and develops. For example, Mary begins the book as a sheltered, lonely 17 year old child. She acts it too. I have teenagers in my house and I recognized much of what Mary did as that of a flighty teenage girl that loves to fantasize and dream. However, the author demonstrated how Mary developed and matured, learning from her mistakes, forgiving and giving forgiveness, and so much more. By the end, she was a mature, self-assured woman who understood life and what it meant to love and be loved. Another character is Mary’s father, Dr. Buchanan. To me, he’s more of a tragic figure and when you learn his backstory, your heart reaches out to him. My feelings completely turned 180 degrees regarding him. All the other characters likewise develop and mature, except maybe Samuel. He proves in the end to be exactly how he is described much earlier in the book. Also, given the timeline of around 2 years, there’s plenty of time allotted for character development.

Next, you have the growing love triangle with Mary, Samuel, and Neil. The reader is left in suspense as to who she would choose until the very end. Would she choose the right man?

There’s also a sweet sub-story involving the servants. And, Miss Pearl makes her appearance throughout as Mrs. Chin, the kind neighbor who has a beautiful garden and so much helpful advice – even when delivered bluntly.

Next, I like to take note of what becomes symbolic throughout the story. In this case, it was the flowers.

And, finally, I never felt like the story lagged or was boring. I was either laughing at some sort of nonsense of Mary’s when she was acting like a typical teenager, or I was anxious over events happening throughout the countryside during such turbulent times.

All in all, I felt like this was one of the best books in the Matchmaker series.

Romance – PG – some kisses
Language – PG
Violence – a tense scene where a character gets tangled up in riots in the city and hit by a rock. Blood in mentioned.

My rating – 5 stars