I got this off a Book Riot list of “unusual historical romance” when I was searching for recommendations for a friend. I was so excited when she asked for romance recommendations, and then she said her preference was historical romance set in America, which ruled out just about all my recommendation arsenal.
Anywayyy, this looked good, and I wanted it for myself. The library didn’t have it and it wasn’t available on kindle, so I bought myself an honest-to-goodness print copy. “Get out the reading lamps and bookmarks, sister! We’re doing this old school!” I said to myself.
This book doesn’t have just one romance, it has three! With a book that has fewer than 300 pages, you might guess there’s a bit of love at first sight going on, and you would be guessing correctly two out of three times. Eh, it didn’t bother me, since the writing was good, and the stories were told in such a fun way.
The book shifts back and forth in time as friendly ghosts tell the main character, Peggy, about their lives during the American Revolution. Each character’s story has action, romance, and humor, and it never bothered me to switch gears and go back in time with them. The book spends more time in past, during the American Revolution, than in Peggy’s time (I’m guessing the 50’s, when the book was written).
It’s a gentle book—the American colonel and the British captain who are matching wits throughout the book respect each other, and their drive is to stop and capture rather than wipe each other out. It was a nice break from the gritty and the grim, and the main female characters were all smart and resourceful. My favorite story was Barbara’s—I loved how she outmaneuvered Peaceable, and how it prompted his marriage proposal
This felt like very tame YA to me. With all the love stuff, I don’t know if a younger audience would be interested. Maybe they would? I wouldn’t call it a kissing book. It’s more of a let’s-jump-right-to-a-marriage-proposal book. Whatever it is, I recommend it regardless of your age. It was a quick, comforting read for me in a time when that’s just what I needed. ( )

I discovered today that my library has recently weeded alllllll of the old-but-good YA/MG fiction that has not won an award of some sort... and I'm depressed. Not that I don't think modern contributions can be just as good but, well, it's just one of the reasons I deplore the modern need to cater to modern audiences. Aren't libraries supposed to be guardians of the written art? But, like the stained glass of a medieval battlefield that was recently replaced by a huge, garishly plastic astronaut in that building, libraries have become bookstores, in a sense--- valuable only for the amount of people they can get through their doors instead of the amount of quality info and art that they contain.

Now, after that digression, I must say that this is not as good as Pope's other novel, but still stellar work. Peggy, sent to live with her stuffy uncle, is visited by four of the family ghosts that may, or may not, have some connection to to young phd candidate who is trying to figure out some mysteries in the local history.

I love the way it encourages looking at other points of view, of finding common ground and living with differences. And I like how Peggy grows. I get the sense that there was much more happening between chapters than we are told and that bothers me. But, for an author like Pope, I am willing to overlook almost anything. And that paragraph from Pat on the last page hit home for me and erased all my quibbles about Peggy being a bit of a doormat. It sums it up and explains her issues and her potential for non-doormatness so rightly. And I love Pat for seeing those facts so clearly for her. ( )

A nice romantic-historical fiction. About Peggy moving to her family's ancestral home Peace and be thankful afore her father dies. She meet Pat, the first time her uncle Eno see him he drive him off. There are some ghost that tell of Peggy family history and some secrets.

I would like there to be a little more of Peggy's part of the story anyways is a good story and I like Pat he very sweet. ( )

4.5 stars. How delightful! This is exactly the kind of old-fashioned historical fiction for young people that I most enjoyed growing up. I wish I'd found it when I was twelve, but better late than never. It's even in the typeface that makes me most nostalgic! It's going right onto My Own Personal Classics shelf. ( )

orphan girl befriended by family ghosts from Revolutionary times