The Black Rose, book 3 in the Empire in Pine series
By Naomi Musch
Desert Breeze Publishing
July 2012
ISBN: 9781612521923
$6.99 Kindle
From the publisher:
Despite the panic of 1893, logging reaches its golden era
in the growing state of Wisconsin, and twins Jesilyn and Corianne Beaumont
enjoy a comfortable life with family in the bursting Great Lake city of
Superior. But when jealousy incites Jesi to seduce Cori's fiance, a flight and
fall from grace lands her in a boomtown brothel, where a fresh start is denied
her.
Naomi ends the Kade family saga, Empire in Pine, with the
last of the trilogy in this story named for a rose in Lainey's garden in
Superior WI. Grandma and Grandpa Kade have come to live with Lainey and Zane.
At one point the whole family is called back when they wonder if Grandpa will
make it. It's a too-brief family reunion of old friends mentioned in the other
stories.
Lainey and Zane's twin daughters are eighteen and feeling
it. They've let a man come between them, and everyone loses when Jesi confesses
to Cori that she made the hugest mistake of her life out of desire for the man
Cori thought she would marry. But just like the rose that is so dark-colored
it's called black, it's still a rose, and eventually the girls must hit the
blackest depths before crawling back into the light.
The first book of the series showcased the early years of
Wisconsin's lumber barons; the second and third deal with the results of those
years - the terrible fire that consumed Peshtigo in 1871, and the bawdy towns
and services to the roughneck lumbermen: Hayward, Hurley, and Hell... Jesi runs
away and finds herself in both Hurley and hell before a camp preacher and his
sister pick her up and dusts her off.
At home, Cori is reunited with a family friend who
encourages her to make something of herself. She goes to college to become a
teacher, but she isn't done re-creating herself yet. There's a lot of
self-examination to be done, and Jamie painfully helps her do that.
While the first two books were pinned on defining events in
Wisconsin history, The Black Rose brings to light some of the more tawdry
aspects of history. A few formatting issues and editing glitches didn't detract
much from my Kindle version. Told in the richest detail, period-perfect as
always, beautifully written, The Black Rose is a fitting end to the series. I'm
sad to see it go.
Highly recommended for Wisconsin history lovers.
About the author:
Naomi
loves stories rich in American history, but writes in several other genres as
well. Naomi's aim is to surprise and entertain readers while telling stories
about imperfect people who are finding hope and faith to overcome their
struggles, whether the setting is past, contemporary, or even fantastic.
She and
husband Jeff have five adult children, and enjoy epic adventures with them
around their home in the Wisconsin woods. She invites readers to say hello and
find out more about her stories, passions, and other writing venues at
http://www.naomimusch.com or look her up on Facebook (Naomi Musch - Author) and
Twitter (NMusch).
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