The Pelican Bride Book Review

Gulf Coast Chronicles

Book One

SUMMARY:  She's come to the New World to escape a perilous past. But has it followed her to these far shores?

     It is 1704 when Frenchwoman Genevieve Gaillain and her sister board the frigate Pelican bound for the distant Louisiana colony.  Both have promised to marry one of the rough  men toiling in this strange new world in order to escape suffering in the old.  Genevieve knows life won't be easy, but at least here she can establish a home and family without fear of persecution for her outlawed religious beliefs.

     When she falls in love with Tristan Lanier, an expatriate cartographer-turned-farmer whose checkered past is shrouded in mystery, Genevieve realizes that even in this land of liberty one is not guaranteed peace.  Trouble is brewing outside the fort between the French colonists and the native people surrounding them.  And an even more sinister enemy may lurk within.  Could the secret Genevieve harbors mean the undoing of the colony itself?

     Gulf Coast native Beth White brings vividly to life the hot, sultry South in this luscious, layered tale.

 

REVIEW:  The author does a wonderful job making her readers feel like they are there in Fort Louis, showing just how difficult life was in the New World when the colonies were being established. French colonists had to deal with the oppressive heat, flooding, insects, disease, shortages of supplies, and a shortage of money, along with Indian uprisings and problems with the British, who also wanted control of the land and ports.  I like how Genevieve is a take-charge kind of woman, trying to make the best out of a difficult situation, by visiting a local Indian tribe to learn how to best use the corn meal and other items indigenous to the area and opening her own bakery, making the croissants, sweets and other specialties usually only found in France.  She even draws the attention of Tristan, who has determined not to marry again.

      The story has some great twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing as to what will happen next. It did seem to end rather quickly, leaving me with a few questions that were unanswered.  This was a marvelous story and I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

This book was provided by Revell for review without compensation.

 

Beth White's day job is teaching music at an inner-city high school in historic Mobile, Alabama.  A native Mississippian, her passion is writing historical romance with a southern drawl.  Her novels have won the American Christian Fiction Writers' Carol Award, the RT Book Club Reviewers' Choice Award, and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award.  Learn more at www.bethwhite.net.