The Moon in the Water [Hardcover]

Pamela Belle (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (August 31, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727817027
• ISBN-13: 978-0727817020
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,420,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "A marriage of true minds....but so many impediments", August 17, 2009

By 

Misfit (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Moon in the Water (Hardcover)

Left orphaned (but wealthy) at age ten with her wardship sold to her cousin Simon Heron, Thomazine joins her cousins at the family's estate, Goldhayes. Although she loves all of Simon's children, third son Francis has a special place in her heart and they form an unbreakable bond while children that only intensifies when Francis returns from college. The elder Simon dies and the estate and Thomazine's wardship is now run by Francis' elder and very intractable brother Simon. Thomazine must now find a way to convince Simon to break the betrothal to her cousin Dominic Drakelon (made when she was ten), as well as to mend the deep enmity between the two brothers so that she and Francis can marry.

As the tensions between King Charles and Parliament heat up into Civil War, the women and children of Goldhayes retreat to the easier defended Ashcott, Thomazine's family home, as the men join forces in support of the King. A siege of Ashcott has deadly consequences and further exacerbates the tension between the two brothers - does Thomazine have the courage to risk everything for love of Francis? Will Cousin Lucy find happiness with the Roundhead officer? That's all I'm telling, any more would give the whole thing away.

While it's a bit slow at the start as the author sets up the extensive Heron family and their convoluted relationships (they intermarry just a tad), once the Civil War broke out things really started to cook along and I had a hard time putting this one down. I loved loved loved the relationship between Thomazine and Francis - it's so refreshing to have true love without all that prerequisite sex we're stuck with in today's novels. The author did a nice job of bringing the period to life, letting us see the customs, clothing and foods of the day. I liked seeing the impact of the war on the country folk as opposed to the nobility, as well as the difficulty in really hating one's own countrymen no matter what side of the conflict they're on. The author ends this one with quite a cliff-hanger so be prepared to have the next in the trilogy The Chains of Fate ready and waiting for you. Argh! I'll have to wait at least one more day (if not more) before my copy arrives. 4/5 stars and only for the slower start - otherwise it would be a solid five.