Beautiful, haunting tale that begins the night of the sinking of the Titanic. This story has everything. Strong, suffragette heroine from a monied Chicago family, a charming and handsome younger brother who has inherited more money and responsibilities than he ever wanted, emotive prose, amazing dialog, colorful characters, and a character driven plot that I won’t likely soon forget. This is a MUST read.
*My sister recommended this to me. I confess the cover and the title put me off and, had I just stumbled upon it, I wouldn’t had picked this up to read. So glad she suggested it. I’m going to see what else this author has written. Brilliant!
This is a historical romance. I enjoyed the author’s writing style and enjoyed reading about the time period; starting with the sinking of the Titanic. I would have enjoyed more time on the Titanic however. Though the characters are well developed and her attention to detail and description is fantastic, I would have also liked more details about the suffrage movement. And one detail that was lost was what happened to the Anchorage house once she got married. I feel that should have been discussed rather than simply forgotten. The love story was predictable; however there were surprises in the life of her cousin. I have not read other books in this series; I enjoyed this book.
I adore this book. Such depth of character development. I don't yet see how to fits into the series yet, but I'm looking forward to the next two books to see.
How can you describe Karen Hadley the author? It's truly only to express my appreciation for her ability to track so many story lines, so many family groups, the geography of the families, the customs and morals of the time periods the dress of those times, the hair styles. It's just exhausting to even think about the research that went into this series. Well done ma'am! Very well done. I spent a whole week in the world created by Ms. Hasley when I was supposed to be doing a great deal of other things, thank you very much, but I was very sorry to read the last word. Thank you, for a great read!
What an incredible story! I haven’t enjoyed any book as much as this one, for a long while. I just loved every bit of it.
Such amazing characters, bright and engaging dialogue, and a story so diverse, realistic and interesting, that I couldn’t stop reading it and didn’t want it to end!
I became completely absorbed in Johanna’s life. I so loved her strength, her stubbornness, her passion and her compassion. So many emotions too. Grief, sadness, injustice, hope, laughter, and love.
This is the forth book I have read by Karen Hasley and all of them have been excellent. She is a tremendously talented writer. Her vocabulary and usage of prose is remarkable. This book is a historical fiction book with a large part being a bit of a romance. While romance is not something I particularly enjoy this book is done exceedingly well. I look forward to reading even more books by Karen Hasley.
I SO enjoyed everything about this novel. The characters were so well defined that I miss them terribly; the quick wit, the honesty, the growth and deep feelings of each person and especially of Joanna had me feeling lost after the beautiful conclusion of this even more beautiful story! I highly recommend Circled Heart. It’s one of my favorite reads of all time.
Probably my favorite so far of the Laramie Series. Another strong female. Johanna refused to except the constraints dicated by early 20th centery social standards. Well developed and colorful characters, some likable, some not. Plot was fairly predictable, but enjoyable. Epilogue stretched on a unnecessarily too long. Felt as if the author felt the need to explain the meaning of the story..
This book is number four of the Laramie series, but the characters are far removed from the other characters in the series. The story takes place in 1920 Chicago, and it is a fun history lesson. The only familiar face is Drew Galaguar, brother of the villain from book three. Although the story strays from our favorite characters, Hasley introduces new charctersand develops Drew into a true hero! Bravo!
I love this book. It is the first book I have read of Karen Hansley,but I will be looking for more books written by this author. I felt as if I was living as part of the family. It is a wonderful historic book from surviving from the sinking of the Titanic to the suffragettes to helping the disadvantaged . I can't wait to read another.
From the beginning Johanna captured me. The writer has a way of telling a story that held my interest from the start. Drew was the perfect mate for her. I was completely entertained as they bantered back and forth in humorous verbal sparring. I highly recommend this book.
Again I started this book and did not lay it down I read it all. I wanted to stay with These characters for a long time. I’m so happy with the lack of bad language and bad morals. I cry and I feel like I’ve lived the life after reading these books.
I enjoyed the depth of the chapters in this book the best in the series. I relate to Johanna on so many levels so her story resonated with me. The story line and setting was very different for the previous books in the series, but still enjoyable.
I. Have truly enjoyed this series of books. It has been hard to put them down once I started reading. I felt like I knew the characters in the book. The author was very realistic in her writing style, and made you free as if you knew the families involved.
Once I started reading this book, I couldn’t put it down. After reading, It reminded me of Gone With the Wind and got tearful reading about Jennie’s predicament dealing with her pending marriage.
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley
I enjoyed this book. I love the historical references to the Titanic and suffrage movement. Brings each event life. Slow to start, it didn't disappoint. On to book 5 of 6 in this series.
Well written story of love and loss set in a time in our history that was constantly changing/evolving. Richly told and bold. Excellent character portrals.
I enjoyed reading this book. Each year I try to read something about the Titanic era. When I received this book I knew nothing about its connection to the Titanic. It was brief introduction to the story.
Enjoying the 6 book series of historical fiction with strong female characters. This one just didn’t seem to have the same pull for me as the first three.
This was such a lovely story to read. So many historic events but it was the friendship to love that highlighted the whole story. This was the first book in this series I read but I know I will order the others. I loved Karen's way of telling the story.