The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn by Lori Benton Book Review

// The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn //

 

By Lori Benton

 

{Review By Bethany}
 

Number of Pages: 400
ISBN: 0307731499

Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Released: April 29th, 2014
Source: Blogging for Books

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

 

// Book Synopsis //

Taken from Good Reads

 

"Western North Carolina, 1787 ~ To escape a threatening stepfather and an unwanted marriage, Tamsen Littlejohn enlists the aid of Jesse Bird, a frontiersman she barely knows, to spirit her away from Morganton, North Carolina, west beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Trouble pursues, as the two men intent on seeing her recovered prove relentless in their hunt. Trouble awaits in the form of a divided frontier community. Across the mountains the State of Franklin has been declared, yet many settlers remain loyal to North Carolina. Chaos reigns, thwarting Tamsen and Jesse’s hastily cobbled plan to keep her safe.

With her pursuers ever nearing, the region in turmoil, neighbors grown suspicious of her presence, Tamsen’s safety is soon put in greater jeopardy. Gaining the freedom she longs for will mean running yet again, to the most unlikely refuge imaginable—the Cherokees, a people balanced on the knife edge of war.

But the biggest complication may prove to be Tamsen’s growing bond with her knight in greasy buckskins, Jesse Bird. Falling in love was never part of the plan."

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// Bethany's Book Review //

Wow! What an exciting journey this book took my on! Before reading The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn I'd never read any of Lori Benton's books, but had always heard great things about her work, and wanted to. I enjoyed this book so much, that I'm pretty much deeming it my favorite book that I've read this year so far, and I'm sure it will keep this place even after I've finished reading all the books I plan to read this year. I was completely blown away with the story which exceeded my expectations for being a good book by such a great level! I'm so sorry I didn't find out about this author sooner!

 

I think one of the reasons why this book was such a favorite, was the combination of the wonderful writing style, well-thought out plot, as well as the characters that you can't help but fall in love with as you read about. This book was so amazing I'm fining it hard to adequately describe how much I loved it, and why I loved it so much. But I think I should start by saying that the writing style and plot, which was full of so many twists and turned and constantly kept me on the edge of my seat; was blew my mind with how amazing it was compared to my expectations! The plot was so original, and written in such a way that you were literally "there" with Jesse and Tamsen, running for their lives. You are actually there beside them as they are being thrust together in unlikely circumstances that test one's true character, which is only revealed in difficult situations (This particularly proved Jesse's character to be admirable, which I'll say more on in a bit). This story-line was so exhilarating that I literally couldn't put the book down, and I was in awe of the constant action and twists that kept me surprised with the plot and wanting to keep reading. There was never any dry spots, and was so fast paced and exciting that there was constant action and excitement throughout the almost 400 pages of the novel, which flew by faster than I thought they would.

 

Another thing I loved about this book was the bits of history that were woven into the story. Aside from it being a masterfully plotted fictional story, there were parts that were based on actual historical events. I always enjoy getting a "history lesson", if you will, in my novels so I found this to be very much to my liking. Plus it was neat getting to see what it was like for people who lived during this time period, and seeing how that affected how they lived. Especially in Jesse and Tamsen's case where they were constantly on the run and in several awkward situations at times.

 

And then we come to the characters. Oh my goodness! Let me just say this: Lori Benton has crafted such love-able and no-desirable characters, that I doubt I'll forget these dear friends (and enemies!) anytime soon. I just fell in love with each of the good characters, and  felt a deep distaste towards the bad ones. I saw such great character development throughout the story-especially with Tamsen who went from a wealthy girl living while constantly being waited on, who then lost everything and was on the constant run, living in the woods and fearing her father. The characters also were very love-able for me; especially Jesse and Tamsen. I felt such a connection with the characters and particularly love Jesse's character. He was such a gentleman who had a heart for the Lord and it showed through his actions when no one was looking. His character made me deeply admire him and I just loved how he treated Tamsen with respect and gentleness.

 

Overall I absolutely LOVED this novel and for sure declaring it a top favorite which I'd highly recommend! I'm eagerly awaiting more books by this author in the future, and was extremely impressed with this book. The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn will forever hold a spot of my bookshelf as a beloved story with beloved characters; which I will make time to re-read again and again.

 

D I S C L A I M E R :: I received a free copy of The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn from the publisher through Blogging for Books, for the sole purpose of this review. I was not paid to write this review, and all thoughts expressed in my review are completely my own, honest and unbiased.