Customer Reviews

Daughter of the Loom (Bells of Lowell Series #1)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm a sucker for a good historical romance, and I'm mildly obsessed with the Lowell mills. Sadly, this book failed to satisfy either of my passions. The writing is clunky and the historical accuracy dubious in places. The religious messages seem awkwardly inserted and more appropriate to modern Christianity than that of the 1820s. And Lilly is an unsympathetic heroine who causes a near-fatal accident--to which she never confesses and doesn't even seem very sorry about--in her misguided attempt to bring down the mills, and then happily abandons all notion of doing anything to improve the lives of the mill girls once she gets married. This book had the potential to make some important points about the consequences of industrialization, but it, like Lilly, gave up that notion in the pursuit of romance. Hooray for internal improvements!

I must admit I have not read a lot of Christian literature, not as much as I would like, so Tracie Peterson's BELLS OF LOWELL were a great introduction to the genre. Each book is beautifully written, and they flow on continously, however, if you were to read them out of sequence, you would not be too terribly behind. I Could NOT put these books down, and in the process of collecting more of this woman's wonderful work. This series is a must buy!

Lilly is a young woman dedicated to farm life and the serenity of her beloved town and country. However, change has come in the form of huge brick mills replacing the farms. Lilly is sad and she is angry. Already she has lost both her parents, and her scoundrel brother has gambled away their inheritance. Alone and bitter, Lilly is determined to be a one-woman show who ultimately will bring down the mills.

Apparently the whole town is split. The town even lost its name. Rows of boarding houses with up to 8 girls a room now line the streets. Lilly is not one to cave in, but when she realizes that some of the very people who were part of her loving past have now accepted the mills, she is a bit confused: especially about Matthew, a former farm boyfriend turned mill executive.

Lilly feels dejected and ends up one of the mill-girls in an attempt to gain her farm community back.

Although this series shows potential, I found it slow getting started and void of real suspense and my interest waned at times. I would buy book 2 though, just for the simple fact of the author.

Once I started reading "Daughter of the Loom", I couldn't put it down. I thought Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller were great, mixing romance and history into the book. I was never one for religion but after reading this book it all made more sense. The book had a great plot making it a real page turner. Lily Armbruster was a great character with strong beliefs and I liked that. I couldn't help going on the internet to see if Peterson and Miller had written any other books together. Once I found out it was part of a series I was thrilled and had to read the second, I'm still waiting for the 3rd one to come out. I hope Peterson and Miller write together again, I'd definatly read their books. The book was outstanding and exiting and in a way educating. I will look forward to reading more books by both authors.

This is a series that starts out so slow that you wont want to finish it. I think it is because Pella is not as good of an author as Pererson is. Stick it out because when you do get to the part where Tracie is writting you will love it.

This is the first of 3 books in this series. It did start out a little slow, and it left a lot of questions in the end (what happens to the child Lilly believes is her brothers being the biggest) but before you decided to not read this book, reconsider!! The second and third book answer all the questions and the last book is very fast paced (comparitivily speaking). You can't judge this series on just this book, although I did personally enjoy this book.

I read another story by Tracie Peterson and enjoyed it. When I started reading this book I was so excited. I was really enjoying it. The last fourth of the book was extremely dissapointing. The issues that were brought up were hardly even dealt with, all the way from the Mills to the lousy and unbelievable reconcile with her brother.

Lilly starts off feeling that the Mills have had horrible consequences for her family and others. By the end, without too much thought in between, she decides that she sees the good that has come from them. Never mind, that she sees this after she herself no longer has to work in the Mills.

Yes, there was some good for some people who benefited from the Mills. And she did get one of the supervisors who was molesting some of the girls to stop (although that is a bit unbelievable).

There is still an issue of 8 girls in the rooms of the boarding house and four to a bed. The issue that the Windows are nailed shut without care to what the humidity does to some of their employees and if there was a fire!! That they are worked twleve hours a day, six days a week for little pay. These issues are not resolved. The Mills end up looking like salvation. Granted, farm life is not easy and can be extremely hard but the Mills is not paradise.
I agree with one other review that felt the moral of the book was that it was all great because she herself gets married? I strongly disagree.

Some of the characters, particularly Miss Addie, are very likeable including Lilly. Though with Lilly, I can never quite get past the fact that she never admits her almost fatal mistake to anyone, not even her friend whom she hurt.

I also don't like the fact that they all had to get men, including Miss Mintie, to be happy. I love romance and love stories when I feel that it is real and beautiful love. Not when a book is written in such a fashion that every woman has to get a man to be fullfilled in life.
I was extremely dissapointed.

It's 1828. Lilly Armbruster is angry, and for good reason. The twenty-year-old woman has lost both parents; the family farm has been sold, and her older brother has gambled away all the profit. The once-peaceful farm community of East Chelmsford, Massachusetts, has been transformed into an industrial town named Lowell. And Lilly has no choice but to find a room in a boardinghouse and join the throng of girls who work long hours in the mill. Worse yet, her former beau Matthew Cheever, a former farm boy himself, has handily switched allegiances and is now an executive for the Associates. Lilly is so full of disdain that she plots to somehow put a stop to the mill and to hate Matthew forever. Inner conflict arises when she tries to find answers in the Bible. After all, couldn't it be God's intention for her to sabotage the mill works? A captivating insight into the time period, this first episode of the "Bells of Lowell" series should prove of interest to fans of historical novels as well as to those who read Christian fiction.

After her father passes, Lilly is determined that it is God's will to punish those she thinks is responsible, the mills. Her ex-fiancé, Matthew, is part of this group and she doesn't want to forgive him. When her revenge gets her friend injured, she realizes that her own hurt has been clouding her judgment. She also realizes that she still loves Matthew, but she's pushed him away for so long, will he ever take her back?
This is an excellent book, I've grown to expect great things from Tracie Peterson, and she didn't let me down. Her teaming with Judith Miller is a complete success!!

No, this is not a book that I would recommend. It was a very, slow start and was ready to put it down. I continued after reading one review that says that it gets better. But I do not see how a heroine can commit arson that almost caused a death and there be no consequences. Did you say that this was a Christian fiction book? The fiction part, I can believe, the Christian part...not so believable. I will finish the book but am not pleased with the plot.