Lady Elisabeth "Liberty" Lawson, the daughter of a staunch Tory is engaged (not very happily) to one of her father's associates, Miles Roth. She misses her mother, whose support of the Patriot cause led her husband to ship her off to England. When many Tories flee Williamsburg, Liberty is still at home when her townhouse is raided and most of the servants flee. While her fiancé bows out of their betrothal, his cousin, Patriot Noble Rynallt can't turn his back on the young woman. Although the world as she has known it is falling apart, as she tries to find a place for herself as a lacemaker, Liberty finds herself drawn to Noble and to his cause, even as her father demands that she aid him and the Tories.

Laura Frantz's stories are beautifully crafted, and this book is no exception. The details make it so you feel like you're right there with the characters. Noble was pretty dreamy, with his quiet strength and goodness, and Liberty's story, as she must decide what she believes and who she is loyal to, was engaging and well-told. I think this is my favorite of Laura Frantz's books!

I read a copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I really loved this historical romance. Laura Frantz never lets me down. I always have a hard time putting these books down. It would be so hard to go from a privileged person to one who has to work for a living. I enjoyed Elisabeth and Noble. I always love to read about the beginning of the Revolutionary war. It would have been hard to choose to be a rebel. I received a copy of this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

This is my first Laura Franz book, and I was not disappointed. This story was about the time right before the Revolutionary War and the turmoil between the Tories and the Patriots. At the beginning of the story, Libby is undecided about her position. Her father is a Tory, but her mother supports the Patriots. As the story goes on, Libby meets Nobel (a Patriot) and she sides with the Patriots. This book has a lot of rich history about this time in history as well as a spiritual component. Libby and Noble both rely on their faith to get them through hard times. I loved the cover and I liked learning a little about lacemaking. I look forward to reading more by this author!

Set pre-Revolutionary time in Williamsburg, this novel gives readers a glimpse of the turmoil between the Tories and the Patriots. Liberty and Noble's story was powerful as they both relied on God throughout. I hope their story will continue in another book. Highly recommended!

I always anticipate a Laura Frantz novel – never have I been disappointed. And her latest, The Lacemaker, is no exception. Set during the beginning of the Revolutionary War, this fabulous novel brings to life the turmoil between Rebel and Tory, a time where spies and danger are ever present perils even the most unwitting must fear. With this backdrop, Frantz delivers a story awash with reality and filled with characters deserving of admiration.
One thing I always appreciate about Frantz's work, is her character development. Yes, her plots are stunning and keep you turning page after page, but her ability to create characters of depth is a hallmark. These are characters I can esteem, relate to, and learn from. They are people fully flawed yet hold a promise of redemption. In truth, they are characters that you will come to know and love, who will stay in your memory long after the book is finished.
I highly recommend this book as well as Frantz's other works. She is an author not to be ignored.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Another great work of historical fiction! Lovers of the American Revolution era will enjoy this romance.

Young Lady Elisabeth “Liberty” Lawson is set to be engaged to Miles Roth, who appears to be a well-respected member of the town in the Tory party. However, when he disappears on the eve of the American Revolution, several accuse him of being a British spy and have no sympathy for young Liberty. With no one to help her, the skilled lace maker is on her own until she receives help of a patriot named Noble Rynalt, who is known for his generosity but is very cautious of his political dealings. Liberty must decide between what her family desires and what she knows is right in her heart.

As always, Frantz brings her settings to life with descriptive scenery, language, and notable characters. Within moments of beginning this book, I was quickly transported to Colonial Williamsburg and began walking the streets, hearing the distinct sounds, and smelling what must have been at the time. Granted, it helps having been to the reenactment colony, but even without that it is easy to get lost in the setting. As with her previous novels, Frantz has a knack for setting characters up in perilous situations that will keep you engaged through the entire book as you quickly turn the pages to find out what is going to happen next. Readers will also find themselves pondering Liberty’s situation as she finds her feelings changing from one man to another and hoping that she makes the right decisions in her life.

If you love historical fiction, especially set in the American colonies, you need to start your year off with this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


For the love of freakin' turtles.

What do we even do with a book like this? Apparently, I can only just slosh a bunch of thoughts together with little cohesion, so settle in.

What I want to do is have the words at my disposal to give it douse it with the lauds and laurels it deserves. But it was such a whizbang of a finger-tip-tingling-exuberant experience that I don't know if I should try or just GUSH the HECK OUTTA IT !


So basically, here's the thing: EVERY TIME I READ A LAURA FRANTZ BOOK I AM LIKE: "THIS! THIS IS THE BEST LAURA FRANTZ BOOK IN THE HISTORY OF FRANTZ"


and then another one comes along--

The Lacemaker shows up and is all "hold my beer" (or in this case tepid Revolutionary cider in a pewter mug)


There is just so much that this book gets RIGHT!

Image result for the lacemaker frantzIt's almost like you never realized the limitations of other historical fiction until you read a book that is pretty much perfection. AND. THERE. ARE. FREAKIN. SPIES

spies. SPIES!

It's almost like you sing odes to the history of pen and paper and computers that allowed this to reach you. Thank you, Gutenburg! THANK YOU CAVEMEN WHO SCRAWLED IN CAVES...



Elisabeth "Liberty" Lawson is daughter to a Tory authoritarian just as rebels and revolutionaries are boiling under the surface and Williamsburg is a barrel of gunpowder that with the slightest flick of a wick could explode. When the pot boils over, Elisabeth is left abandoned by her father, her friends, the few Tory supporters remaining and even her would-be fiancee Miles.

It is Miles' cousin, Noble ( in any other book this would be an on-the-nose name, but I am giving it to Frantz because yah! take it! run with it into the sunset! more on Noble later ) who steps in (not for the first time) to prove stoically heroic and install Lady Elisabeth and her maid into his own estate.


Noble embodies the gift of hospitality. Go back to your Fruits of the Spirit in Sunday School. Look upward at that felt board with literal fruit with attributes in bold black marker--I bet, like in my class, Long Suffering IS ALWAYS the banana--- this is Noble. He is a hero of quiet strength whose sister's recent death left him even more bereft of his home and nationality. Ty Mawr, it seems, and the late Enid's care for it, embroider a lush picture of home: the first he truly had since emigrating from his beloved Wales. Noble's care for Elisabeth--beyond the realm of political affiliation and borne of pure Christian charity--- places him at odds with the kettle-boiling-over political world around him. His gentle tenacity to do the right thing, even for the enemy, will play out time and again throughout the mounting tension of the book until its gut-wrenching climax.

Now in historical romances, we often fall for the typified alpha guy! He is a cowboy! he is a gunslinger! he can wield a rifle and force those rapscallion Redcoats into their holes! But Frantz wants to provide the reader with a more intricate view of the many nuanced tenets of character. There is no witty banter, he is not out to be redeemed, he does not challenge the heroine ---he only surprises her with his unthinkable acts of hospitality: which benefit not only Liberty but her servants and family-- people on the other side of America's mounting conflict.

When is the last time we actually celebrated a romantic hero whose finest trait is in feeding and sheltering? When the latter part of the book arrives and Noble is thrust into a battle (both in the military arena and beyond), we are able to appreciate its effected counterbalance more. We have seen his true heart and now we can comprehend how a man of quiet conviction would take such drastic action. Frantz's delicate thesis is justified because she brings us clearly from point A of Noble's Awesomeness to Point B of Noble's awesomeness.


His heart and goodness and tiny smudges of grace--- escorting a lady home--- attending to her well being at a dance--- doesn't mean Noble can't lift a musket to his broad shoulder and fight alongside his comrades. That is not to say he doesn't frequent the Raleigh tavern and sound his conviction over pints with well-known historical figures (Wash and Jeff and John Laurens--- here's looking at you, Hamilton--play well at fitting into the pulse of the story without drawing attention from the central characters and conflict. Acting, instead, as pieces of the historical puzzle which deftly contribute to this elaborate world).


There is a lot of talk in the blogger and publisher world that divides heroes into two types: alpha (think Rhett Butler ) or Beta (think Peeta), Noble is the completely well-rounded male character that never once sifts into a category. He is, as most people are, at the intersection of a Venn diagram.


To add, Liberty is a strong woman whose strength often asserts itself in being intelligent enough to see beyond her own determination for agency to accept help. Her strength is her femininity. Her agency is found in an ultra feminine profession (lacemaking) and she is winsomely smart enough to recognize that the skill she fostered in a high social standing will find itself measured differently in a topsy turvy new world. Liberty is a passionate woman who is forced to stand on her own two feet, yes, but grateful for the help of others. She stumbles, she picks herself up, she navigates a new world but never with a boisterous or reckless spirit. Her calculated decisions are borne of a book's slowly mounting tension and realized with fabulous aplomb.

ANNNNDDDDD we need to talk about the fact that THANK ALL COOKIES IN THE JAR Frantz addresses the problematic tendency to confuse infatuation with love.

Liberty and Noble differentiate their growing attraction with love. Indeed, love only peeks up out of its gopher shell in true abiding form at a pivotal point of the story ( the gut wrenching you will DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS part)



This book is as exceptionally well-researched as every Frantz book and the plot spins at a beautiful pace, threaded with Frantz's lyrical description. Indeed, it put me in mind of the same heart-tug I felt reading the Mark of the King. Its faith threads are subtle and socio-cultural and very apt for the time--they are also explored through deft symbol and sacrifice.



And a rant, kittens, most of the time written dialect makes me scrunch up my nose and want to throw things. The insertion of "och aye bairn" unnerves me. There is a way to paint the accent instead in descriptors. But, Frantz, she can do it all. Trust her. Be it French, Welsh or Scotch, you are going to fall into the carefully meted timbre of dialogue. You know what, kitty cats, there is something about dialogue that suggests if you take ANY of it out of context and place it on stage, it would set a dimensional scene. That is the level of talent Frantz has--- she is just--- in a league of her own.





I also feel we need to thank Colonial Williamsburg because whomever has helped Frantz with her research has helped give the reader the fine-tuned extraordinarily detailed experience we have wandering through this world. Immersing yourself in The Lacemaker is as intricate a tour through Williamsburg during the Revolutionary wars as a youtube video mechanized to show us through the streets would be. If I didn't know Laura Frantz was alive and well and pinteresting her way through her beautiful life, I would swear this book was written years and years ago.

The best historical fiction takes time not only to narrate the past; but to inspire the reader to fall overwhelmingly into it. Verisimilitude. Dialogue intentions. Aura. World-building. Sight and scent and canvas. There is an ornate and startling poetry to the caresses her pen takes to a period she knows obviously as well as the one we live in.



The patriotism instilled in this book is one that is accessible beyond America. It is not all Mel-Gibson-Waving-a-Flag in The Patriot. This subtle humility toward better understanding of a still-flawed and frayed world-- as navigated by Liberty and Noble ( see the names? their every person representation as two of the pinnacles of any successful experiment--including the American one) stretches beyond run- of- the -mill jingoism, this instills the universal desire and need for fairness and equality.



Sometimes a talent is so arresting that you are so blessed that it exists. Sometimes art is so enriching that it makes you happy to be well and alive so that you can experience it. The Lacemaker is one such gift. It is a journey, a love letter, a tapestry. It is a book of resounding beauty at once still and shattering. It will move you to tears as a warm glow for the good of human nature and the advocacy of the best parts of humanity eke through you.


So I underlined a billion trillion lines in this book. A BILLION TRILLION! #nohyperbole --- but I have made the conscious decision to let this be part of the surprise and romance of unwrapping this word-gift. Let this be the slow moving peel back of startling words in perfect order.


Find yourself in this book, friends, and return to it again. It will enrich you as a reader, its goodness and heart shining through with a smartly lit radiance, slow burning with an ending SWOOSH of a boom.


LA! THIS BOOK IS THE BOMB, yo!

read it FOREVER


with gratitude forever and ever to Revell for making me stay up so late at night I was walking red-eyed zombie at work.

With gratitude forever to the makers of my favourite sauvignon blanc which helped me drown my BEST KIND OF DELICIOUS SORROW when this book ripped me apart.

What drew you to this book? Was it the cover,the synopsis,the author,the reviews? For me it was all of them. Just when you say to yourself that you've read all of Laura Frantz's books and they were excellent and she couldn't possibly do it again she takes the Christian fiction world by storm and turns out another masterpiece! Lacemaker Lady Elisabeth "Liberty" Lawson has been making lace since she was five years old. Her world has been turned upside down with her fiance turning his back on her and she is suspected of being a spy for the British. She lives in colonial Williamsburg and the author created characters so lifelike I felt I was part of their life. I was not very familiar with the colonial time period but the author makes sure you get a wonderful historical dose of it and I learned so much. I love entertaining books like this that are historically factual but not dry and boring.
We are treated to swoonworthy Noble who comes to her aid. Don't you just love that name? He says Welsh endearments to her and she and her French maid eat Welsh food. Some of the recipes for this food are actually included too.
This is a definite reread book for sure!
Pub Date 02 Jan 2018
Thank you to NetGalley and Revell for a review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Lady Elisabeth Lawson, born and bred colonial and daughter of the King’s lieutenant governor, finds herself at a tenuous crossroads when she is abandoned by both her father and her fiance. She has lived a plush life mostly untroubled by politics besides the who’s who of polite social conversation.

Noble Rynallt, Welsh-born American Patriot (as in risking his neck by signing his name, Patriot with a capital P! Respect!) is admirable across the board in his roles as a hardworking estate owner, a lawyer, and a government official. Noble lives his life by faith and with integrity and compassion.

The author presents the good, bad, and ugly on both sides of the Revolutionary conflict. However, the impending battles fade to the background as readers become invested in the lives and loves of the characters. I highly recommend this story!

I requested the opportunity to read this book through the publisher. The opinions expressed are my own.

onderful, deep, expertly woven tale of courage, love, and God's guiding hand.
This novel transports you to the time when brave men and women chose to take a stand for liberty that would alter the course of history.
The author used words to create characters and circumstances that felt as if you were there breathing in the same air.
Wonderfully done!
I received a copy from Netgalley for my honest review

Nothing burns my buttons more than having to ‘sit’ on a book when I finish it. I finished this book last night when I was without a computer and time on my hands … to start another book of course. I had such grand thoughts and emotional things to share about this book. A lot of it frustration but in my head it was engaging and somewhat entertaining. And now? It’s gone. Gone in the ether that is my oft forgetful brain. Gone in the world of thinking. I try really hard not to think ya know? And here we go.

I had high hopes for this book based on the synopsis. Heck, I even liked the cover and I’m not a cover junkie like some people (ahem, Kristin). I was expecting some intensity, some action, and even a fresh perspective (you know, Tory) from an engaging and interesting period in American history. I was expecting some heightened emotions with a broken engagement and even a potential new love. Let me tell you instead what I go. I got a girl, Elisabeth, who decides halfway through the book to change her name to Liberty. And then get wishy-washy in how she was referred to between Elisabeth, Libby, Liberty, etc etc. I got a girl who was born with a silver spoon and even when she fell from titlement she still lived a gilded life. Even earning her keep making lace and taking in mending her life was handed to her with minimal effort on her part. I didn’t get intensity or action. I didn’t get suspense that would carry a chapter much less a story. I got a unsigned sketchy letter accusing her of being a spy so she decides to be a spy but then she didn’t really ever spy. And when she talked about spying, nothing was ever really solid or figured out but she was a spy? Yeah, I was confused too.

I got a girl who was dumped by a fiance who didn’t love her and she didn’t love because her Daddy chose to run in the night and leave her behind without a word. An arranged engagement, he was so not invested in her (but more her dowry and perhaps her father’s title) that he didn’t even escort his own fiancee to their own engagement soiree. No fanfare when Daddy was gone, just ‘ain’t gonna marry ya’. I got an awkward falling into something with the rescuer. I got a wedding that was born in love, though neither were adult enough to admit it, that didn’t even get the benefit of a kiss. I mean who goes weeks without kissing when you are married, even if it name and protection only? Who secrets together a nursery for babies you want to have with a man you have never kissed? And for the love of all the gravy on all the biscuits who has an intimate night on a buffalo hide in front of an empty fireplace and wakes mere hours later and just knows they are pregnant? A quickening at mere hours post conception. Wait, technically it’s not even been long enough for conception to have actually happened.

This book gave me characters that I couldn’t even develop enough of a relationship to care about one way or the other. I mean I did care and there were a few I despised – as I was supposed to. It just was flat. Flat characters, flat story, flat even in the history. A few name drops (come on everyone calls George Washington Wash doncha know) and a lot of beeverything (bespoken, begrimed, bewhiskered, be-, be- I was sick of be-). Minimal engagement kept me in the book and kept me reading. I swear it wasn’t all bad and in the right hands will make a favorite book. These hands just aren’t the right ones.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.

The Lacemaker by Laura Frantz takes readers back to 1775 in the Virginia Colony. Lady Elisabeth Lawson is the only child of the Earl of Stirling who is the lieutenant governor for the area. Lady Elisabeth is betrothed to Miles Cullen Roth which was arranged by her father. Lady Elisabeth has led a privileged and sheltered life with her path laid out before her by her dictatorial father. The night before her wedding, she wakes up to glass breaking and a crowd of men (rebels) in her home. The revolution has started, and her father has fled along with the Lord Dunsmore (his wife, children, and their servants). The one bright spot is Miles calls of their engagement (the cad). Elisabeth must now find a way to make it on her own. Patriot Noble Rynallt takes Elisabeth into his home while she decides on her next move. She changes her name to Liberty and obtains a position as seamstress at the Raleigh while selling her handmade lace at the local market. When an opportunity to aid the war effort presents itself, Liberty must make a decision. Will she stay loyal to the British or will she side the Patriots? How will Liberty fare during these tumultuous times?

The Lacemaker is nicely written and the author captures the time-period with her descriptions of the town, clothing, mannerisms, attitudes and speech. You can tell that Ms. Frantz did her research for The Lacemaker. The author provides vivid and detailed descriptions. It allows me to picture the scenes in my head. While I enjoy the historical details, it does slow down the pace of the novel (she needed to find a balance). I was happy to see the pace pick up in the second half of the book. I thought the characters were realistic and well-developed. I liked how the author incorporated her fictional characters with famous historical figures (Patrick Henry, George Washington). Liberty found herself in a difficult position. She is caught between two worlds. One wrong move and Liberty could have found herself in jail (or much worse). The romance between Liberty and Noble does not progress beyond friendship until later in the book. The attraction between them is visible from the moment they meet, but circumstances prevent them from moving forward until later in the story. The romance between the pair is heavily featured in the latter half of the novel. The ending felt incomplete and rushed. We live through each day with Liberty and then in the end months go by. Also, the historical details are missing. I found it deficient. It seemed like the author ran out of steam. The end did not live up to the rest of the book. The cover for The Lacemaker is just lovely. It caught my attention right away which led me to read the excerpt and ultimately, the book. Readers who enjoy historical romance novels will be delighted with The Lacemaker.

The Lacemaker is a romantic, it's adorable in its own way and Faith followed story. You have poor lady Elizabeth (Liberty) was under the humongous thumb of her father. He tells her when to breathe, who to talk to and how to dress is a few examples. She meets Noble and she..... The book is waiting for you to read it and get the answers-and believe you me y'all it is so worth the fireworks or was there no fireworks? Did her dad approved? Her father does let her do a few things without his thumb on it, for example lacemaking is a big one, music and gardening are some others but most of all he lets her have her beliefs in GOD-Her religion. This story gets you so emotionally attached, heart tenderous is throughout- the verge of war is running throughout as well.- wow is there a lot going on.

The Lacemaker by Laura Frantz is the story of Elizabeth "Liberty" Lawson set during the American Revolution. Her father is a Tory, and her mother is outspoken Patriot. As the war divides her houshold, Liberty must choose a side. The cost is great including marriage, possessions, and security. Cut off from her family, Liberty becomes a lacemaker in order to survive. However, suspicion over her loyalty threatens her life and those around her as each side considers her a spy. What side will Liberty choose? Will it bring love and happiness, or more trouble and heartache?

When Elizabeth Lawson’s father, Lord Stirling, flees his position in Williamsburg, she is left behind with a ransacked home, no friends, and a faithless fiance who wants nothing more than to distance himself from the unpopular Tories. Her fiance’s cousin, Noble Rynallt, is made of truer stuff, however, and he gives Elizabeth shelter until she can decide whether she will flee to England or remain in tempestuous Virginia. A patriot himself, Noble had no intention of marrying with war so soon on the horizon, but his growing attraction to Elizabeth makes him desire to be more than just a Good Samaritan. Unwilling to be beholden to Noble any longer than necessary, Elizabeth takes up menial work as a seamstress and a lacemaker to support herself. But when anonymous accusations surface claiming that the former belle is now a British spy, Elizabeth’s tenuous position is threatened once again….

The characters in this book are beautifully rendered, and the romance exquisitely crafted. Both of the characters are gracious and steadfast, Elizabeth seeking liberty from the tyrannical selfishness of her father while Noble seeks liberty from the sorrows of his past. When Elizabeth changes her given name to Liberty (“Libby”), Patrick Henry’s phrase, “Give me Liberty or give me death!” takes on a different meaning both for the reader and for the characters themselves. The story arc is different than that found in your typical historical romance, as the “happily ever after” arrives in its own time and not where one might expect. In some ways, the story line reminded me of one of Frantz’s earlier books, Courting Morrow Little.

As in all of Frantz’s stories, the historical details are far more than just a backdrop, and one comes away immersed in the world of 1775 and wanting to know more about this period. My husband and I are both fans of the TV show Turn (based on George Washington’s spy network), so the element of espionage in the story added to my interest. Another thing I appreciated was how adeptly the author wove religion into the fabric of the story. The characters’ actions are influenced throughout by their Christian beliefs and by their understanding of what the Bible calls them to do. Yet everything transpires in a manner consistent with the historical era, and there was no “preachy-ness” to take one out of the plot.

The Lacemaker is an excellent first read to start the new year, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the American Revolution or in well-crafted romantic historical fiction.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Williamsburg, Virginia - 1775

Elisabeth Anne Lawson, daughter of the Lieutenant Governor of the Virginia Colony and the Earl of Stirling. Her mother has been spending time in Bath England. She is engaged to Miles Cullen Roth of Roth Hall. She has been making lace using white linen thread while thinking of her upcoming wedding. Her French maid, Isabeau, reminds her of her plans to have tea at the Governor’s Palace with Lady Charlotte, the Countess Dunmore, to discuss her betrothal ball. Elisabeth is not enamored of Miles who spends a lot of time apart from her while participating in his own entertainments.

Noble Rynallt has just received a letter from Patrick Henry saying he must attend Lord Dunmore’s ball on June 2 to gather intelligence. Noble is a distant cousin to Cullen Roth. As one of the Independence Men, he knows that Elisabeth’s father wants none of these men at the ball. Once again, Miles is delayed and has asked Noble to escort Elisabeth to her own betrothal ball in his place.

Elisabeth is descended, on her mother’s side, from five generations of lacemakers. She is waiting for her mother to return from Bath to attend her wedding. Her father does not approve of her mother’s political views and comments and threatens to have her institutionalized.

When an uprising happens, Elisabeth’s fiancé, Miles, leaves her but Noble is there to keep her safe at his home, Ty Mawr.

Elisabeth’s father has left and she now calls herself Liberty. Her maid, Isabeau, is now indentured to Noble. Liberty plans to seek work with a Williamsburg business as a lacemaker. Some say she is a spy but Noble stands with her and she has his support.

The story follows the dissidents that fought against English rule and those that were loyal to the Crown. I admit that I became confused at time with the events as written in the book.

Having lived most of my life in the Yorktown, Virginia area, I am familiar with Colonial Williamsburg and many of the merchants mentioned in the book that are still there today. The author obviously did an enormous amount of research for this novel which encapsulates a very important time period in American history.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved Laura Frantz's book The Lacemaker! Rich in history and romance. She has a father who only cares for what his daughter can bring him and a fiance who doesn't love her, Elisabeth is left to make a life of her own after her home is ransacked. She has no one to help her until Noble Rynallt comes to her rescue. But he is a rebel and she is a Tory. She turns to her lacemaking skills to support herself. This story has danger, betrayal and romance. I have enjoyed all of Laura's books and am looking forward to reading more from her.

I received this book from NetGalley for my honest review and all opinions are my own.

I'm seeing a lot of strong female characters in several of this year's upcoming novels. In The Lacemaker, Elisabeth transforms from a very dependent woman...oppressed by her strict, overbearing father...into "Liberty," a woman who discovers who she truly is: a woman of courage, independence, and resourcefulness. Her stubbornness was frustrating at times, but it added to her humanity and allowed her to learn and grow as a character. Her journey takes many different directions...I loved the plot twists!

And then there's Noble Rynallt. First of all, I love his name! Laura Frantz named her characters in this novel perfectly. While Liberty is searching for freedom in many forms, Noble is the strong and steady hero. In faith, he prepares a place for Liberty to be in his life without knowing what their future will hold. He is also willing to give up everything for those he loves for the sake of freedom. So much depth to this story, not to mention romantic tension at its finest, and so much detail that you feel like you stepped right in to the 18th century.

In the New Year, I'm going to add a little "takeaway" at the end of my reviews. Something that I can take from this work of fiction and apply to my own life. My takeaway from The Lacemaker: no matter how hard things are, we can stand strong and have courage. Our liberty is not in how strong we are in our own strength, but in the strength that God gives us to press on towards the goal He has for each of us.

Be sure to check out The Lacemaker as well as the other amazing novels by author Laura Frantz. Happy Reading!

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher so that I could share my honest thoughts, which I did.*

Laura Frantz takes readers back to a fascinating time in American history in The Lacemaker. Full of historical detail, adventure, and love, Frantz's latest may be one of my new favorites. Witnessing the tide of public opinion turn against the British and the early days of the Revolution making for a truly engaging backdrop, and a page-turning story. Cameos and mentions of famous revolutionaries like Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin add depth and interest to the story as well. Noble is everything swoon-worthy in a romantic lead, and Frantz does an excellent job telling Liberty's story of growth, maturity, and independence. I enjoyed every last page.