Review of The Miner's Lady

   When Chantel Panetta’s younger sister claims to be in love with Orlando Calarco, Chantel knows there is no hope. The Panettas and Calarcos have been sworn enemies for decades, and young love cannot heal the deep wounds between the two iron-mining families. Yet, unable to resist Isabella’s pleas, Chantel agrees to help her sister spend time with Orlando…only to have a run-in with Dante, Orlando’s brother. The older, more handsome one.

   Chantel can’t deny the attraction that flares when she’s with Dante. But when a tragedy occurs at the mine, is there any hope that the hatred that has simmered between these two families might be resolved? Or will Chantel’s hope for love be buried amidst decades of misunderstanding?

   Let me start with this: if you like a cutesy, predictable love story with a good message, The Miner’s Lady is your kind of book. I started the series and have hoped to finish it, but, to be honest, if the anymore of her books are like The Miner’s Lady, I’ll already have read it because these last two have been pretty much the same story. Girl meets boy, boy is frustrated with her, boy doesn’t want to give her a chance, boy and girl “unconsciously” fall in love with each other, have a huge kiss, still don’t realize it…Wait for it…Wait for it……. then they kiss again and finally realize it. Wow. I thought they’d never figure it out! Let me just say, this book seemed to be a bit weak. It was weak in the plot and a bit weak in the some of the characters.

   However, to lay and balance it all out, I’ll give you the book’s strong and weak points.

Strong points:

•      I enjoyed the heroine’s character. Chantel was contemplative and strived to do what was right.
•      The Calarco boys’ grandmother was a very strong character and I liked her.
•      The message was good — there should be no favoritism and prejudice against thy neighbors. “^36 ’Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ ³⁷ And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…’” Matthew 22:36-37.

Weak points:

• The hero, Orlando, was weak. His only strength seemed to be his physical side.
• I just didn’t enjoy the plot. It wasn’t just about the Orlando and Chantel falling in love, and their siblings falling in love also. The book had a side plot that involved Chantel’s brother getting involved with the wrong crowd, which personally bored me. I felt like I was 13 years old again while I was reading.
• I also did not agree with the fact that Tracie named a character “Father Buh”. It wasn’t the name “Buh” that bothered me, it was the “Father” part. “⁸ But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” Matthew 23:8-9. I believe it is wrong to call a leader in the church “Father” because of this passage. I couldn’t even tell if Tracie was supporting Catholicism or not, but I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a Christian Catholic either, for that matter.

   When I began to read Tracie’s books (starting with Striking a Match series) I fell in love with the depth of the message and the lovable characters. I will still continue to read her books, especially the ones she has coauthored with Judith Miller, but I was disappointed with this book. Overall, I give this book three stars out of five.

   This book was given to me by Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.