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Monday, October 22, 2012

Review of Love in Three-Quarter Time

by Dina L. Sleiman

Guest Review by Christine Lindsay

Love in Three-Quarter Time had me laughing and tearing up, and at many times simultaneously.

Constance “Gingersnap” Cavendish has been in love with Robbie Montgomery since she first saw him at his plantation in Virginia. At one time she thought he loved her too. After all, they were practically engaged. 

Then, after her father swindles half the country and dies with a shadow over his name, no one of good society will have anything to do with the Cavendish family, especially not Robbie Montgomery. Now the Cavendish women, and Constance as the eldest sister, must work for a living. 

This doesn’t bother Constance. She’s proud to work. She’ll do whatever it takes to cleanse her family name of her father’s former sins. 

When a need for a dance instructor comes up, Constance is easily convinced to put her ‘Belle of the ball’ talents to good use. She finagles a way to become the instructor to the young ladies of the Beaumont family, only to discover that this Mrs. Beaumont used to be Mrs. Montgomery, Robbie’s mother. 

Constance goes off to the Beaumonts with a pray on her lips that she will not run into the man who broke her heart. But Robbie discovers Constance in the bosom of his family, teaching his sisters how to dance, and all with a fake English accent. He’d been right all along to not trust anyone from the Cavendish family. In his mind, Constance is just as much a swindler as her father had been.

Through this passionate, lighthearted, laughter-filled, romance with a strong spiritual thread, the characters learn to dance the shockingly risqué waltz newly arrived from Europe. Set against the backdrop of the relatively young United States, we watch Constance and Robbie fighting at odds over the same desires. 

Secretly, they are both abolitionists and want more than anything to free the slaves that worked their parents’ land. 

Filled with characters that strut or dance off the page, I was entertained for several days with the likes of a buckskin-wearing preacher, called Lorimer, a host of Canvendish sisters, Patience and Felictiy, and the Virginia countryside filled with a mosaic of African/Americans, First Nation Indians, and an assortment of immigrants from Europe. This is the melting pot of the United States with all its fine, expansive, and inclusive, culture. And all based on the founding structure of the Christian faith.

If you enjoyed Lasting Impressions by Tamera Alexander, Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist, or Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland by Roseanna White you will love Love in Three-Quarter Time by Dina L. Sleiman. 
~*~

Christine Lindsay is the author of the multi-award-winning novel Shadowed in Silk. The second book in this Twilight of the British Raj series will be released by WhiteFire Publishing Feb. 2013, and Christine is hard at work writing the third and final book to this series. Drop by her website www.christinelindsay.com to get to know Christine.

19 comments:

  1. Wonderful review Christine! I do love this book myself and I'd like to let your readers know that we are celebrating with Dina over at Inkwell Inspirations this week and she is a guest on a variety of blogs as well.

    The inkwell has a nice buffet of Colonial Era foods sure you please your visitors!

    I enjoyed the way Dina layered this book, with such depth to her story and characters but also a beauty of language and details.
    Zondervan First has made a great start with this story, so well-written and at a steal of a price!

    Good morning to all of you lovely ladies here at CQ. Enjoy your week!

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  2. Thanks, Deb. Nice to have a cheering section :) And ladies, do join us at Inkwell Inspirations for the party. We'll have posts about my book all week there. I'm also talking about "To Romance or Not to Romance" at the Writer's Alley today. And I'll be back at Colonial Quills again Thursday to talk about the waltz.

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  3. I can't wait for this to arrive on my Kindle! The very first digital I've pre-ordered. =)

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  4. Confession, I pre-ordered it for my kindle too. LOL. For $3.99, why not? This way I get to know the minute it releases.

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  5. Great review! Congratulations to Dina and to Zondervan First.

    I've preordered it, too, Roseanna! I can't wait for it to appear tomorrow on my kindle. :)

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  6. Thanks, Susie! Hope everyone enjoys it.

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  7. This looks like a book to add to my list!

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  8. Thanks, CHRISTINE, for this great review and thank you ROSEANNA for putting it up. Best wishes with this new venture, DINA!!!

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  9. Thanks for having me, Carrie. I've been following this blog by email for a while, and I'd love to get more involved with Colonial Quills in the future.

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    1. I would love to have lunch with you soon!!! It is killing me with Kim gone to Montana! We are awaiting a missive quilled by Mistress White. Perhaps you might remind her?

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  10. This book sounds just wonderful. I'm thrilled for Dina...and her readers!

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  11. Thanks, Carla :) I'm thrilled that it's coming out so soon. This time last year it was just a title and an idea.

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    1. That is so exciting! I'm sure it will be wildly popular!

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  12. It sounds like an intriguing story, Dina. Congratulations on this latest endeavor. And thank you, Christine, for this informative review.

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  13. Thanks, Janet. Can't wait to see one of yours on the market.

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  14. Sorry I missed the fun yesterday when the review went up. I'm so excited for Dina Sleiman, though, this is a truly lovely book, that I know will be a huge hit. So smart of Zondervan for noticing that.

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