Into The Whirlwind By Elizabeth Camden Book Review

// Into The Whirlwind //

 

By Elizabeth Camden

 

{Review By Bethany}

 

 Title: Into The Whirlwind: A Novel
Author: Elizabeth Camden

Source: Review Book from Bethany House Publishers
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 0764210246

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: August 1st, 2013

Bethany's Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

// Book Synopsis //

After her father's death, Mollie Knox takes over his watchmaking company and uses her head for business to solidify the good name of the 57th Illinois Watch Company. Her future looks bright until the night her beloved city is destroyed in the legendary Great Chicago Fire. With her world crumbling around her, Molly must do whatever it takes to save her company in the aftermath of the devastating fire.

Zack Kazmarek is an influential attorney with powerful ties to the political, mercantile, and ethnic roots of Chicago. His only weakness is Mollie Knox, a woman who has always been just beyond his reach. However, all bets are off after the fire destroys Chicago, and Mollie is in desperate need of assistance. Just as Zack finally begins to pursue the woman he loves, competition arises in the form of a hero from her past who can provide the help she needs to rise from the ashes.

While Mollie struggles to rebuild, the two men battle for her heart. One has always loved her, but the other has the power to save her. In the race to rebuild the city, can she survive with her business and her heart intact?

// Bethany's Book Review //

 

In the face of tragedy, can love survive? Does it makes the bond stronger, or weaken it to a breaking point? In this story of overcoming enormous difficulties, Elizabeth Camden delivers a heart-racing retelling of the Chicago fire of the 19th century that took out the whole town and forced it to completely rebuild from the ground up, and gives a insightful look into a fiction life which survived that harsh time.

 

Mollie Knox is the owner and main worker at 57th Watch Company, which her father started back in his younger days. She is doing well with her steady consistent life of making and selling watches - which just so happens to be her passion and pleasure in life. But when tragedy strikes in the form of a devastating fire that sweeps out the whole city, can she find the strength to start again-both in her business and in her personal life? Then there is Zach who has been selling her watches in his store for years. She is unaware of the fact that Zach has feelings for her, until the fire when he makes his feelings known for fear of his dying before he can ever tell Mollie so, and after the flames die and the smoke rises as she raises from the waters unharmed and alive, she is faced with the fear or starting again and ever wonders if her life will ever be normal again. Add in Zach who is a potential love interest and you get one whirlwind of a story!

 

Into The Whirlwind is the second book by Elizabeth Camden that I've read, and while I enjoyed The Rose of Winslow Street better, I still enjoyed this novel! While I found that this story seemed to be a bit slow for me towards the end, I really enjoyed the first half and found the way that Elizabeth described the story to be so powerful and helped greatly in not just reading the story of the Chicago fire, but being there alongside the flames fighting for your life. Elizabeth just has a way with words that makes such a rich story and I almost enjoyed her writing style more than I enjoyed the actual story she told through the pages. =)

 

As far as characters go, I feel like the lady on the front cover totally amounted to Mollie and I loved her character. I loved getting to see her personality as the story progressed. But I sort of had mixed feelings for Zach. In the beginning I didn't really like him that much, and felt like I didn't connect with his character. He seemed to be a bit unsteady. But after finishing the story I found that my interest in his character grew, and I ended up actually liking him by the end of the story. But as much as I liked these characters, I'd have to say my favorite character was Frank. Man, there was just something about him that just made him feel like an old friend, and he was my favorite character.

 

Overall, Into The Whirlwind was a delightful read that is full of history and interesting plots that weave themselves into a splendid novel. I'd recommend this book to any fans of Elizabeth Camden, or to ladies who enjoy historical fiction that leaves you with an interest in finding more out about the time period that the book was set in.

 

N o t e :: I'd like to sincerely thank Bethany House publishers for providing me with a complementary review copy of Into The Whirlwind to read and review. I was not paid to write this review, and all thoughts expressed in this review are completely honest and unbiased.