The Miner's Lady

"The Miner's Lady"

     "The Miner's Lady" by Tracie Peterson is published by Bethany House and is released on September 1, 2013.  I have read a few of this author's other books, and thought that they were ok.  This one blew my expectations off the charts! Seemingly in the style of Romeo and Juliet, the hero and heroine are from opposing families in a decades-old feud between the Panettas and the Calarcos.

     Chantel Panetta has just returned from her trip to Italy to visit her family in a coming-of-age type vacation.  When she returns home, she finds her younger sister, Isabella, is in love with the younger Calarco, Orlando.  Chantel is horrified that Issy would go to the mines some days to see him, especially knowing the fathers and brothers in the two families work there together and could spot them.  Putting her doubt aside, though, Chantel helps Issy meet up with Orlando and distracts his older brother, Dante.  Dante pricks Chantel's ire as well as her sharp tongue whenever she's around him, but there are noticeable sparks between the two.

     Dante Calarco despises the thought of his younger brother falling for a Panetta.  He knows that if he father ever caught a whiff of the scandal, he would disown Orlando, at the least.  Then again, with Chantel's sharp wit and sparking brown eyes, can he really blame his brother?

     When a tragic accident happens at the mine, Chantel's father wants the feud to stop, and his daughters couldn't agree more.  But Dante and Orlando's father's heart is hardened, and Issy begins talk of eloping.  With Chantel and her family promoting the love and Dante fearfully hiding it, what will happen when their paths cross at Issy and Orlando's escape? Will Chantel's hope for love and Dante's undeniable attraction to her flare?

     Personally, I loved this book! The plot was gripping, the characters all so different yet woven together so beautifully, and the setting so heartwarming, I felt as if I was on vacation to the mountains myself.  This story kept me riveted in its pages.

     Thank you to Bethany House publishers and Net Galley for providing me with a copy to review.  All opinions are my own.