The Bracelet by Dorothy Love

2:23 am 2 August 2015

The Bracelet is the first book by Dorothy Love that I’ve ever read. The title, the beautiful cover and the description of the book made me want to read it. It also has a good and classic cast of characters. A line up you would expect in historical fiction stories like this one.

The story is set in Savannah and loosely based on true events, a fact that for me made it appealing to read. It takes place in 1858, so the conflicts between North and South regarding slavery, secession and war are still palpable. It is not a book about slavery per se, the family portrayed isn’t a slave owning family, but being that it takes place during the Pre-Civil War time period, the situation is addressed.

The plot was good. After receiving a mysterious bracelet with what seems an omen of death, Celia decides to take matters on her hand by discovering on her own the mystery behind the bracelet and the true series of events of her family’s past in order to stop the despicable reporter, who is trying to ruin her family.

I was intrigued about the secrets behind the deaths. I kept trying to guess what would happen next and who did what. I questioned Celia’s actions and I kept suspecting on Ivy. I had a love and hate relationship with Ivy.

As I kept reading, the plot kept getting tangled, but tangled in a good way. Gladly in the end, it all made sense and they lived happily ever after. I liked this story, it kept me entertained.

I gave this book a rating of 3.5 out of 5 for 2 reasons:

1. Even though it was an enjoyable and interesting read, overall I felt like it didn’t fully meet my expectations of a “romance, rich historical detail, and breathtaking suspense”.

2. Despite the classic cast of characters, there was an important non -human character that I felt got a bit robbed: The Bracelet.

More about this on the full review on my blog.

Other than that it was a good read and I liked it. 3.5/5 is a good rating in my scorebook.

The Bracelet is a story of mystery, secrets, death, murder, rivalry, and love that readers of historical fiction will enjoy. If you’re into love stories about wealthy southern belles this is the book for you. If you’re looking for a book about slavery, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a book about a wealthy southern family in the 1850’s that didn’t own slaves, this is the book for you.

This was the first book by Dorothy Love that I’ve ever read. I wasn’t aware that she is a Christian writer. If you’re expecting this to be a Christian fiction book, this is not the book for you. Having read the book I would say the Christian message was so subtle that I didn’t find it. There are no crude offensive language or events, which makes it a safe book for readers who worry about that.

The Bracelet is a good book for young adults, adults and book clubs too. I can see discussions about dealing with sibling rivalry, family secrets, and/or women’s societal roles coming from reading this book.

I enjoyed Celia’s story and I will definitely check out Dorothy Love’s next historical romantic suspense novel that will be released in October 2015.