Title: The Saga of Bridget and Amanda: The New World
Author: Carole Love-Forbes
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 978-1542995856
Pages: 232
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reviewed by: Lily Amanda
Hollywood Book Reviews
The Saga of Bridget and Amanda: The New World is a fascinating novel with well-drawn characters and settings. This is the first volume in the trilogy by author Carole Love-Forbes.
Based on true events that happened in American history, the book tells the stories of two women, Bridget Wodehouse and Amanda McNeely. Bridget, on one hand, was the granddaughter of an earl in London and practiced apprenticeship at a millennial shop. One day, on her way home, she is kidnapped by an unknown man and finds herself in the Atlanta, a merchant ship headed to the New World.
Amanda, on the other hand, lives hand to mouth with her mother, after losing her father in the sea. Unfortunate circumstances make her end up in prison soon after losing her mother to lung fever. She later agrees to a deal to go to the New World indentured in exchange for her freedom. She boards the merchant ship headed to Jamestown.
The Saga of Bridget and Amanda: The New World #1 shares their life journey in their new world. The book is divided into two parts: Bridget’s life in the three colonies of Plymouth, Boston, and New Amsterdam; and Amanda’s life in the Southern states of Jamestown, Virginia, and Maryland. The author takes readers through their relationships, their struggle to adapt to their new environments, their successes, relationships, friendships, obstacles, and their determination to survive.
I loved reading this book. The title caught my eye and aroused my curiosity to turn the pages. There is a lot to love about this text. Amazing is the fact that the author carefully blended American history, facts, and a riveting storyline that is richly imagined. I celebrated Bridget’s and Amanda’s wins while empathizing with them in their low moments. The author did her research well, making the book a smooth and entertaining read.
Her vivid descriptions of the New World help create a mental picture in the reader’s mind. The book illuminates the shock that young women faced when they were sent to colonies to be wives to men who had paid for their transition to the New World, and how they struggled to begin new lives.
The Saga of Bridget and Amanda #1 is an undoubtedly successful work. It is educative and intriguing as well. Fans of historical fiction with stoic and determined heroines at the center of the story will find this tome their new keeper. I have no doubt, however, that this enrapturing read will excite just about any reader.