Yay! I'm finally back with a review! School is over for the year, and I am a college graduate! With a Bachelors in History! I'm hoping to go back to school, but for the moment, I can honestly say I'm happy with what I have now, and I'm proud of myself for getting to where I am. But enough about me... This book was almost perfect for the end of this semester, because the main characters work at a National Park, a site of a battle from the Civil War - A dream job for a lot of American History lovers.
First off, where I got the book: I recieved this book via Librarything.com 's Early Reviewers program. I was sent this book in exchange for a review, whether that review is good or bad. So here goes!
From the back of the book: "All relationships are doomed to fail - At least that's what History has taught Kristy O'Neal. Left at the altar, Kristy returns from her solo-honeymoon to ask for her old job back as a park ranger at Shiloh National Military Park in Tennessee. But the position's already been filled. So she takes a seasonal position, praying something will open up before the job ends on Labor Day. Ace Kennedy gets off on the wrong foot with beautiful, spunky Kristy - not only does he have her job, but apparently she doesn't like the way he does it. But he has a secret: He's really there to write a history of his family, who can be traced to the Shiloh battlefield. Ace is appalled to learn Kristy doesn't believe in true love. Using the story of his ancestors as proof, Ace begins the battle to win Kristy's heart. But when Kristy learns he's keeping secrets from her, her skepticism seems justified. Can she risk her heart on the battlefield of love one more time? "
I would like to first start by saying, overall, I enjoyed "Love is a Battlefield" by Annalisa Daughety. As a History buff, I like that it was set in a National Park, and the setting felt real. A quick google search tells me that there is a real Shiloh National Military Park, and I firmly believe the author did some research, or maybe even volunteered or worked at that park or another at some point, because the list of duties, etc, seemed extremely accurate. As far as the characters, I thought both Ace and Kristy seemed natural and real, and even the side characters were all quite believable, and I didn't find any of them overly annoying. Sometimes lesser characters that are only there to drive the plot along can seem unnatural and irritating, but I found very little instances of that in "Love is a Battlefield."
Just a few little nit-picky points, there was a slight over-emphasis on the mysteries in the book. Kristy is suffering from some instances of vandalism, which is an interesting part of the plot, but I would at least like to see some subtlety with the mystery, instead of her wondering some form of "Who could do this?" every time something happened. We can assume Kristy wants to know who's doing this, and the audience wants to know too, the author does not need to keep saying "Kristy wanted to know who was doing this." or "Who could have done this?" [Not exact quotes], etc.
But I'll say it again. I enjoyed reading this book, and I liked both Kristy and Ace. And actually, "Love is a Battlefield" made me want to go out and visit some National Parks (you all should go to! Support the National Park system!), and heck, maybe I could get a seasonal job at one too!
I would give this book a THREE POINT FIVE out of FIVE. The copious amounts of prayer was a little much for me to get over, but I did enjoy this book.
Happy Holidays everyone, and Happy Reading. Expect another review soon!
~!~ Morning Glow
PS: Check out my new layout! Thanks to my bestest friend. Loves ya!
