Title: The Saga of Bridget and Amanda: New Generations
Author: Carole Love-Forbes
ISBN: 978-1974645763
Pages: 332
Genre: Historical romance
Reviewed by: Lily Amanda
Hollywood Book Reviews
“Death comes, but abundant life seems to follow it.” -asserts Author Carole. The Saga of Bridget and Amanda: New Generations is a brilliant text based upon historical events surrounding the birth of the United States of America. This is the third sequel in the series. I suggest that readers read the first two volumes in the trilogy to get a grasp of the tale and connect with the recurrent characters.
Bridget Wodehouse and Amanda McNeely, the two matriarchs in the plot, arrive in the New world onboard the ship, Atlanta. They are both indentured to marriages that threaten to shatter their lives. They both manage to escape from their brutal husbands and find true love. Unfortunately, Amanda dies during childbirth and leaves behind two children, Melinda and little Jamie. Bridget on the other hand lives well into old age. The story further follows Esther, a woman of color, whose mother Cinnamon, was Amanda’s handmaid.
This captivating story follows the new generations of Bridget, Amanda, and Cinnamon. Carole thrusts readers into the lives of their children, their career paths, relationships, their experiences, both good and bad, and their contribution to the growth of the colonies. The book is expertly divided into two segments, the South which covers Jamestown, New Amsterdam, St Mary’s City, and Maryland where Amanda and Cinnamon’s generation lived. The North covers Wampanoag territory of Tepho and Rehan, Boston and New York where Bridget’s generation lived.
The Saga of Bridget and Amanda #3 was not only a brilliant read for me but enlightening as well. The author does a fantastic job interweaving a work of fiction around historical events that happened in America. In the first book in the series, there were a few poignant scenes but I understood this feature as the author is telling it as it happened.
I however noted that in this third sequel, there is a refreshing change in both Amanda’s and Bridget’s families. Their offspring have fairly good marriages and most patriarchs in the story take up family responsibilities diligently. I loved how the author cleverly intertwined new characters with recurrent characters in the book. The writing is neat. My favorite character was Tom, Amanda’s son, and his courage in facing his ruthless brother-in-law, Jacque, and saving his sister Hope.
Some of the themes that stand out in this spectacular work of fiction are heroism, treachery, love, politics in the colony and determination. I further gained a better understanding of King Phillip’s War took place in southern New England between 1675-1676, was greatly expanded.
It is not easy to find romance, historical facts, a plausible storyline, and well-defined characterization knitted into one book, but this weighty incredible book does the trick. I appreciate the effort and research the author did before writing this book. It is a shining light of the often-overlooked intrepid women that helped shape the history of America.
The Saga of Bridget and Amanda: New Generations by author Carole Love-Forbes is a definite read for lovers of historical romance!