As per her usual, Laura Frantz drops us into a new time and place and makes it come alive. This particular time and place (Colonial Williamsburg on the cusp of revolution) is a highly fascinating one for me. I've always been enamored by the actions and implications of the States' rebellion against England. Really, it's most interesting to me because revolution and rebellion are often such negative things in any other context - but here in America our own is so highly lauded that it's simple to never consider the dangers that were or the negative actions that took place even by our (now) beloved American revolutionaries.
Frantz does a great job selecting/creating her protagonist. Rather than opting for the more obvious 100% revolutionary, Elizabeth "Liberty" Lawson is faithful to her family and, by result, the King. But when circumstances suddenly and drastically change, she finds herself caught in a whirlwind and unsure where her true loyalties lie. As a result, the story is a creative take on what might happen to a woman considered a faithful-to-England-Tory purely because of the family she belonged to. I found it fascinating to consider those individuals who may not have been particularly political, but who still reaped the consequences of being considered "enemy" by another party.
The beginning and middle of Frantz's novel worked beautifully well - and I found the ending lacking only because of the speed through which it was rushed. After spending majority of the novel walking through Liberty's life almost day-by-day, the latter part of the story skips months at a time, suddenly taking the reader from one event to another, with little build up or tension in between. As a result, the ending felt rushed and somewhat trite. It probably wouldn't have had the earlier portions of the book not been so enchantingly detailed.
The Lacemaker, however, is still a wonderful novel. Filled with history and appealing characters, the story offers a fascinating view of life when America was beginning to discover who she wanted to be.

Wow! Laura Frantz has done it again! The Lacemaker was rich and vibrant with history, intrigue and romance. This was a book incredibly hard to put down.

I loved the character of Lady Elisabeth (Liberty) Lawson. Here was a woman whose life in one night is turned upside down and yet she commits herself to somehow making things work. Through it all, she does not lose her faith in God.

Her father is despicable and a character you truly love to hate. Noble Rynallt, on the other hand, is a character that is everything dashing and honourable. I love how the author got Libby (as Noble called her) and Noble together. The underlying tension of the coming war between England and the new American colony is rich with history and the author has done an excellent job of drawing the reader into that part of the story as well.

The surprises in this book and the heartwarming moments make it, as I said, hard to put down. Do yourself a favour - buy this book!