Scan barcode
A review by eressea
Dreams of Savannah by Roseanna M. White
4.0
Dreams of Savannah by Roseanna M. White takes place during the Civil War in Savannah, aka the South. That sure made a quite interesting point of view, as Roseanna managed to describe how complicated it actually was, instead of good versus bad. Oh now I spoiled what I liked most about this book lol! LAYERS. So many layers! And I’m not talking about female fashion in that era though that seems really complicated too...
Anyway, we have a very dreamy and imaginative heroine, Delia, who sees stories everywhere. And Phin, the hero, though he doesn’t view himself that way. They are in love, but haven’t declared anything as Phin leaves for the war, and he goes missing from his ship. Meanwhile Delia is pushed by her parents towards another man who she dislikes, but she clings to her promise to Phin. But can promises survive when reality does a backflip? As Phin washes ashore an island, a Black reverend takes him in and tries to nurse him back to health, but he’s a changed man because of what he’s seen. And he’s about to change some more when he promises to help the vicar find his illegally sold wife in Savannah.
Besides Phin and Delia, there is a third POV, of a slave girl named Salina. I liked her best actually, she cared so much for everyone and tries so hard to make everyone feel loved. She’s really close to Delia, but isn’t as naive as she has obviously seen the darkness that is slavery.
I already mentioned I loved the layers in this novel. There are many themes, and I feel like the author did a really good job to bring nuance to the story. To show how people grow both in character and faith. There was darkness, but also romance and love, and Delia is a shining light throughout the novel. The north versus south debate was very delicately handled, and it shed some light on motivations from both sides. I felt the author did justice to the complicated history, but as I’m European I can’t say for sure.
While I loved 95% of the book, one thing bothered me a bit. I felt like the trope where the father wants to marry his daughter to an evil guy to expand his fortunes was a bit... well, tropey. I felt that such a book as this, with the themes of slavery and freedom, could have had a better villain. For me it was very hard to believe how her parents turned 180 degrees where Phin was concerned. And the evil guy was truly evil, there was no redeeming quality at all, where the rest of this book is so very complicated and grey. Maybe that was needed for the story, to truly have a villain (maybe two actually) as opposite of all the people trying to do the right thing, but it didn’t work for me.
The three point of views were very well done, the pacing was very good and the action got nicely distributed this way, and when it all comes together... perfect. This is not a light read, though there is much lightness, but it is a very good read that will leave an impression.
I’ve got a free e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion, thanks to Netgalley and Bethany House.
Anyway, we have a very dreamy and imaginative heroine, Delia, who sees stories everywhere. And Phin, the hero, though he doesn’t view himself that way. They are in love, but haven’t declared anything as Phin leaves for the war, and he goes missing from his ship. Meanwhile Delia is pushed by her parents towards another man who she dislikes, but she clings to her promise to Phin. But can promises survive when reality does a backflip? As Phin washes ashore an island, a Black reverend takes him in and tries to nurse him back to health, but he’s a changed man because of what he’s seen. And he’s about to change some more when he promises to help the vicar find his illegally sold wife in Savannah.
Besides Phin and Delia, there is a third POV, of a slave girl named Salina. I liked her best actually, she cared so much for everyone and tries so hard to make everyone feel loved. She’s really close to Delia, but isn’t as naive as she has obviously seen the darkness that is slavery.
I already mentioned I loved the layers in this novel. There are many themes, and I feel like the author did a really good job to bring nuance to the story. To show how people grow both in character and faith. There was darkness, but also romance and love, and Delia is a shining light throughout the novel. The north versus south debate was very delicately handled, and it shed some light on motivations from both sides. I felt the author did justice to the complicated history, but as I’m European I can’t say for sure.
While I loved 95% of the book, one thing bothered me a bit. I felt like the trope where the father wants to marry his daughter to an evil guy to expand his fortunes was a bit... well, tropey. I felt that such a book as this, with the themes of slavery and freedom, could have had a better villain. For me it was very hard to believe how her parents turned 180 degrees where Phin was concerned. And the evil guy was truly evil, there was no redeeming quality at all, where the rest of this book is so very complicated and grey. Maybe that was needed for the story, to truly have a villain (maybe two actually) as opposite of all the people trying to do the right thing, but it didn’t work for me.
The three point of views were very well done, the pacing was very good and the action got nicely distributed this way, and when it all comes together... perfect. This is not a light read, though there is much lightness, but it is a very good read that will leave an impression.
I’ve got a free e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion, thanks to Netgalley and Bethany House.