Review: Dance the Moon Down by R.L. Bartram and Giveaway!

ISBN: 9780755206827
Release Date: November 4, 2011
Series: No, Stand-alone
Page Count: 300
Find it on Goodreads
See my author interview of R.L. Bartram


     GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

In 1910, no one believed there would ever be a war with Germany. Safe in her affluent middle-class life, the rumours held no significance for Victoria either. It was her father's decision to enroll her at university that began to change all that. There she befriendes the rebellious and outspoken Beryl Whittaker, an emergent suffragette, but it is her love for Gerald Avery, a talented young poet from a neighbouring university that sets the seal on her future. After a clandestine romance, they marry in January 1914, but with the outbreak of the First World War, Gerald volunteeres but within months has gone missing in France. Convinced that he is still alive, Victoria's initial attempts to discover what has become of him, implicate her in a murderous assault on Lord Kitchener resulting in her being interrogated as a spy, and later tempted to adultery. Now virtually destitute, Victoria is reduced to finding work as a common labourer on a run down farm, where she discovers a world of unimaginable ignorance and poverty. It is only her conviction that Gerald will some day return that sustaines her through the dark days of hardship and privation as her life becomes a battle of faith against adversity.

     REVIEW:

I'm not usually the type who likes historical fiction... well... okay, maybe that's a lie. I think I'm actually very intrigued by historical fiction, which I suppose is why I agreed to review Mr. Bartrum's book in exchange for a copy of it. (Do you remember reading those American Girl and Dear America series? I was obsessed) I just wasn't sure that it was the right book for me. I was intrigued by the premise and I knew that I had some experience with historical fiction before as a kid, so I decided to take a chance. I didn't think it would have much of an impact on me. I was wrong.

Everything about this novel was awesome. I love Bartram's world building, even though he wasn't necessarily building a world. He was setting up a time frame, a real, true time frame - so not creating a world, but showing us one. I realized I have never seen or heard an account of world war anything from other than an American perspective which sounds pretty crappy of me but hey, I'm American after all. Anyway, I found it super interesting reading about it from a British perspective.

For starters Bartram's writing was flawless. It flowed perfectly. I never struggled to picture a scene or understand what he was writing about. The characters were absolutely lovable. I fell in love with every last one of them and cried if one was ever lost. The plot moved along swiftly and there was always something going on in addition to the main story line which was the main character trying to find out what happened to her husband at war.

I'm not big into classics, but this book read like one. And let me tell you, if all classics read like this one then I think I'd read them all. I couldn't put it down, I read it in just about two days. There was only one thing that I didn't love about this novel. The only thing I didn't like was that some of the story telling was more tell than show. This killed me too because every aspect of the story was so strong. It's not like the story would have suffered had there been more "show" because the parts of the novel that did show read just as well.. do you get me? The ending was a little on the tidy side but after everything Bartram puts you through in the rest of the book, I guess you didn't really expect it to go down the way it did any way. Either way, I loved this book!

I found myself laughing crying getting angry, every range of emotion you can imagine within the short 300 pages of this novel. I wish it could've been longer. But I was so satisfied after reading this book that I am patiently anxiously and impatiently awaiting Mr. Bartram's new novel. For just a teeny bit of more information on that one, click here, to the interview I had with Mr. Bartram last week.

     Rating: ★★★★ 1/2
I enjoyed reading this book so much and not only can't I wait for Robert Bartram's next book, but I guess I've figured out that I like historical fiction more than I thought! Definitely check this one out, you won't be disappointed!

Also, for those of you who are interested in reading Dance the Moon Down, i solemnly swear is having a giveaway! Three lucky winners will win a PDF copy of Robert's book, Dance the Moon Down. This giveaway is international. Make sure you enter below! The giveaway will be open until November 8, 2013, so enter below before it's over!

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As an independent author, Robert is currently promoting his debut novel "Dance The Moon Down". He is single and lives and writes in Hertfordshire, England.Visit Robert on:

Goodreads
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