Light Changes Everything by Nancy E Turner is another of her series surrounding the Prine family in the 1800s. Life on the prairie was never easy and this story lays the hardship out for the reader without making it too maudlin or overly sad. Life was good, too. There was love and beauty and children, as well as death, perversity, and lies. Much like modern life in many ways. Mary Pearl is off to a two-year art course in Wheaton, Illinois. No one of them had ever gone off to school before. The family definitely had mixed feelings about it. So did Mary Pearl once Aubrey Hanna had kissed her and declared they were to be married. Mary Pearl was torn, surely if he loved her he would wait for her. Off she went, without telling Aubrey but instead sending him a letter; the first of many letters she would write declaring her love for him and her desire to wait to marry. He never wrote back, but he did send her money to help with school. Life went on. Mary Pearl had a tough time adjusting to life in Wheaton but adjust she did. She began to enjoy it, even if it was hard.

Turner's voice, and that of the Prines, is as strong as ever in this story. One can feel the pain and heartbreak, as well as the joy as we read these words, filled with life and emotion. We really get to know Mary Pearl. It is more a character sketch than anything. She is active; she has her own voice. She loves who she loves; she hates who she hates. In addition to that, the reader gets a real glimpse of life at this time, with these people. If you loved the earlier books, you will love this one more. I recommend it,

I received a free ARC of Light Changes Everything from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #lightchangeseverything

This is by the author of the highly rated 'These Is My Words' and the two subsequent books in that series. That series was inspired by the author's own family memoirs and tells the life of Sarah Agnes Prime (1881 - 1901) who lived in the Arizona territories. This book is the story of that character's niece, Mary Pearl. I have not read the three books in the related series and I had no trouble following this story, but I was impressed enough by this book to add the others to my 'to read' list. Mary Pearl is a young woman ahead of her time. She is engaged but will not marry until she goes to art school, where she finds a whole new world open up to her. This is a great recommendation for fans of historical fiction that are tired of World War II stories.

You have to love Mary Pearl, the spunky clever 17 year old from the Arizona territory. She’s the main character in this book. She leaves her family for art school in Chicago, a big culture shock. Adventures ensue!

The publisher and Netgalley provided me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Mary Pearl Prine reluctantly agrees to record her grandmother's memoirs. When she's done, they just seem like a jumble of rambling thoughts with no connection. She agrees to keep them safe and totes them with her to Wheaton College, determined to become an accomplished artist and refined lady that her family and sudden fiance can be proud of.

Wheaton College is nothing like the Arizona Territory. Mary Pearl can shoot a rattlesnake, lasso a stray calf, and win a horserace. But none of these skills help her fit into her new surroundings. She struggles to fit in, and is homesick and lonely. Then fate steps in and backslaps her into next Tuesday and she feels even more lost. When personal trauma and family tragedy call her home, she begins to see the gems of wisdom hidden in her grandmother's memoirs.

Nancy E. Turner is one of my favorite authors of historical fiction, and this new book does not disappoint. It is filled with all of the grit and pathos I have come to expect.

Nancy E. Turner has beautifully written a wonderful tale in Light Changes Everything. I absolutely loved it!
Five plus stars.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Mary Pearl - she was smart, determined, and tough. She was a feminist in a world that had no road map for feminism. The second half of this novel left me breathless and on the edge of my seat - I could hardly read fast enough.

Mary Pearl, a young woman living in the Arizona Territory, leaves behind all that she knows to go to art school in Illinois. It's a whole new world for her and she doesn't quite fit in while wearing her riding skirts and carrying her pistols around. As she slowly makes friends, she learns how to quiet the tendencies that served her so well in the rough desert of the Southwest. But when Mary Pearl is summoned back home in a panic and learns that her brothers have been kidnapped, she quickly finds herself again and shows that she's as tough as they come.

This was a story about family, home, and trusting ourselves that I won't forget anytime soon.

I fell in love with Mary Pearl and her family, and thoroughly enjoyed this trip back in time and place to the Arizona Territory in 1907. Mary is a girl with aspirations, and despite the difficulties of life in the territories, the poverty of her family, and the expectations of society for what women can and cannot do, she wins through.

My favorite part of Mary’s story was watching her grow from a naive young woman into maturity. She is exposed to a very different world when she goes off to school. Her return home is full of its own challenges, and she faces them with unexpected depths of character.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Loved the Sarah Agnes Prine series and I love this novel. Ms. Turner manages to make the reader connect with her characters and get immersed in their lives. Start chapter one and be prepared to keep reading.
Thank you St Martins Press and NetGalley for the advance read in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'm going to rate this quaintly written story a 3.75 out of 5. I get that, at the time this novel takes place, the "west was wild" - but the plotting of this story was even wilder. The story line shot off in so many bewildering directions at the drop of a hat, then veered right back round and finished with a sweet romantic ending . These stylistic issues aside, I still found parts of this story quite fascinating.

Mary Pearl reminded me (a little bit) of young Mattie Ross in True Grit. The Prine family's love of Jane Austen's novels added a quirky touch to this wilderness adventure. In the end, Mary Pearl decides to toss her copy of <u>Pride and Prejudice</u> into the river at the Grand Canyon. Why, because, as she put it so well:

"....A girl needs to have her wits founded on the real things around her, not some made-up world. There is a much better recipe for life than what was in Jane Austen’s book. She was wrong writing that happiness came with a man with money. At least, none of that held water out here in Arizona ….Love is not handsomeness or promises of adventure; it is not wealth or fine clothes or sashaying around society parties eating petit-fours. Someone who loves you doesn’t ask you to be something you aren’t already, nor make you believe you’d never amount to a thing without him. …. Love isn’t about looks or money or even accomplishments. Love is a million little promises kept."

And while I agree that Cinderella-style fairy tales encourage false ideals in young children, I would NEVER tolerate anyone throwing any book of Jane Austen's into a river! An interesting, if somewhat rambling, story.

Light Changes Everything is such a compelling, heartfelt book! Mary Pearl is the kind of heroine I love best! She is fearless yet naive, devoted and loyal, strong and resilient with a heart full of love—-except for those that have crossed her or hurt her family! It was thrilling to read about the Arizona Territory back in the early 1900’s; rugged and unforgiving, but beautiful country! The author did a spectacular job of bringing the setting to life. I highly recommend this moving book of love, adventure, betrayal, courage and determination!

I like this author and I enjoyed returning to the Prine family and the Arizona Territory. As a standalone story I think this was a 4-star read. As a sequel it felt a bit too familiar at times; funny to say as a I know that's a requirement for a sequel but parts felt like I had read it before - same plot with different people.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an early release in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Receive this through Net Galley and this is a girl who has a kind of her own who learns what it takes to be a woman of this time and beyond her time! A well written adventurous story that will have you so much into the lives of the characters in this story where you want to know them all!!

Light Changes Everything caught my attention because it sounded like a twist on the modern western, and being a horse girl, I was all about it! However, the further I read, the more I was disappointed.

The novel begins with an introduction to Mary Pearl and her family, who have settled in the Arizona Territory. A proud daughter with aspirations of gaining a college degree in fine art, Mary Pearl convinced her parents to let her attend school in Illinois with her main mount, Duende, even though her mother wants her to stay and get married to a young, rich man named Aubrey. Determined that he'd wait for her, Mary Pearl and her brother bear the ride to the train station and make the two week journey to the college, only to be greeted and treated like an outcast.

Mary Pearl begins to learn how to bridge the gap between the fine women of the east coast and the rugged women of Arizona Territory, and in doing so becomes comfortable at the college. However, the real drama starts when she finds out Aubrey has decided to marry someone else- someone close to Mary Pearl.

Light Changes Everything has such promise, but I think the writing style and lack of character depth really pushed me too far. The pacing is quick, but there's a lack of transitions throughout, leading to a disjointed read. There's also a lot of repetition, which gets frustrating. And finally, that lack of depth in each character was just brutal- yes, there was emotional reaction, but it wasn't really explored. For example, when Aubrey meets Mary Pearl, it's the first time she's ever felt anything for a man, so she's confused about love but decidedly in love with him...?

There were a few great scenes though in which I decided Mary Pearl had great potential to be a sassy, strong leading female, but she mostly maintained that static wishy-washy, woman scorned mold.

I hate to tear a book apart, but I have to be honest, Light Changes Everything was a struggle for me to finish, with very little redemption at the end.

*This review will be posted on my blog, www.thelexingtonbookie.com, on December 27th, 2019.*

OMG, 1907 in the Arizona Territory?! I couldn't do it, but, Mary Pearl does and she does it well.

This book is filled with determination, grit and romance. What a wonderful combination!

My thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press, Thomas Dunne Books for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled to release in January 2020.

Arizona Territory in the early 1900s was a rough place to live, and the story reflects this. Mary Pearl Prine, 17, reads Jane Austen books, at night, so her mother, who disapproves of reading and learning for girls, won't find the books and take them. Mary Pearl meets Aubrey and they court. Mary Pearl heads east to Wheaton College in Illinois to study art and photography. Mary Pearl is naive enough to think she could go to school, then return and marry Aubrey.

Mary Pearl's granny has dictated her memoirs and begs Mary Pearl to keep them secret. Granny is seen as a scattered old woman with memory issues. Mary Pearl eventually comes to realize Granny has entrusted her with deep, dark family secrets.

A family crisis causes Mary Pearl to return home, and she joins forces with her entire family to help keep her little brothers alive. The story has its dark moments, including run-ins with locals who are out to destroy the family. This story is a great look at Arizona as it is being settled.

Oh, how I enjoyed my time with Mary Pearl Prine, this was a delight of a read. I would not only call this an historical fiction but it is just a down right wonderful old fashioned western. I was raised on a farm with horses so I could relate to the story and the author does a wonderful rendition of the timeframe and farm life.
The writing is excellent, the author keeps the timeframe alive with the voices of the characters, the storyline flows so well and I came to love Mary Pearl, she is quite the woman. I laughed, cried and didn’t want the story to end. The author has a talent for describing the landscape, the city and the horses, it felt like you were there with them and you could even envision Mary Pearl riding Duende down the street. It was just an absolute joy to read.
I have several of Nancy Turner’s books and will certainly look forward to reading them too. If you enjoy a down home heartfelt story in the early 1900’s, grab this one up. You will not be disappointed.
I was given an advanced copy from St. Martin’s Press/Thomas Dunne Books through Net Galley for my honest review, this one gets 5 stars.

It's 1907 in the heart of the Arizona Territory and Mary Pearl has known little else, but ranches, family, and sneakily reading her aunt's books with her sister. When Mary Pearl gets the opportunity to study photography at Wheaton College she decides to leave behind an engagement, her family, and everything she knows. From there begins a journey Illinois and back again, through hardships of many kinds, and strengthening Mary Pearl in ways she never imagined.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I really enjoyed it. Mary Pearl's strength is evident, but different from many other 17-year olds. Her experiences captivated me and the paths that she has to take throughout the novel only prove to make her stronger. This was a very enjoyable book.

This is a well written book that holds you attention. It is full of adventure and romance and was an absolute joy to read. It keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next. If you like historical fiction about a strong willed woman who is not afraid to go after what she wants, you will love this book. Thank you St. Martin's Press Thomas Dunne Books via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars. Arizona Territory early 1900’s. Mary Pearl a strong-willed woman out to change her life. Light Changes Everything by Nancy E. Turner was a book I was looking forward to because I absolutely loved These is My Words by the same author. Mary Pearl comes from a close-knit family, who expects women to marry, take care of their husband, have children and keep the house clean. She had other ideas, she wanted to be educated. The book is about strong women, love, war, courage and most important family. While I did really enjoy this book I found it long winded at points. In the beginning I almost gave up but am glad I forged ahead. I loved the ending, the last two paragraphs are words that I have spoken to my four children. “There is a much better recipe for life than what was in Jane Austen’s book. She was wrong writing that happiness came with a man with money.” The last sentence ends with “Love is a million little promises kept.” Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Nancy E. Turner for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my third novel by Nancy E. Turner and I’ve loved every one! In this newest novel, readers are introduced to Sarah Prine’s niece, Mary Pearl. Set in the Arizona Territory in the early 1900’s, Mary Pearl reveals what life was like in those times—especially for a young woman.

I found the story a bit predictable at times, but there was such a sense of adventure throughout that had I been able, I would have read this straight through without stopping.

The story begins with Mary Pearl planning to attend Wheaton college in the fall. As luck would have it, she is also presented with a marriage proposal right before she’s to leave. At 17, Mary Pearl believes that college is important and that surely her fiancé loves her enough to wait for her to finish.

Turns out her fiancé is just full of surprises—and not the good kind. He manages to ruin Mary Pearl’s opportunity to finish college, drive a wedge between her and one of her sisters, and tell lies to everyone in her family. Luckily, the Prine family is a close and loving group. When life throws adversity their way, they rise to the occasion, supporting one another and focused on doing right by all involved.

After reading this novel, I feel the need to read more about the Arizona territory because it brought to light how little I know about Arizona in the years before it became a state.

This is a story full of history, romance, adventure and strong female characters that will appeal to a wide range of readers.

Many thanks to Thomas Dunne Books and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.