I liked the book, but it was no Girl with a Pearl Earring. The biggest problem I had with the main character, Honor Bright, was that she showed so little emotion throughout the book! Yes, she was upset that her fiance broke their pending marriage off because of another woman, and she certainly hated how ill she got on the crossing, and she was upset that her sister died....but there are some key moments when she seemed almost uninvolved. The person she seemed to have the most feelings for, Donovan, also had feelings for her. What an interesting relationship that would have been! Opposites attract and all that; the slave hunter vs. the slaver helper; the "bad boy" and the "good girl". But no. She takes 3 walks with Jack Haymaker and ends up in the corn field with him! What? Then they get married.
But what really gets me is the end. Was the author just trying to end it as quick as possible? Belle was Honor's closest friend. Honor had feelings for Donovan, Belle's brother. I was envisioning Honor taking over Belle's shop after Belle passed away, or something along those lines. I actually liked Jack and understood his responsibility for his mother and sister, but I didn't necessarily think that Honor was going back to him. What I absolutely did NOT expect was for Donovan to "go bad" again, Belle shooting and killing her brother, Honor going back to Jack, and them leaving town for Wisconsin. Really? Why would Belle shoot her brother dead? I get that she was saving Mrs. Reed. Certainly someone had to do something. But that? And then Honor doesn't appear to grieve Donovan's death or Belle's pending hanging and death. It was just too much. Honor ran away from England; ran away from Adam & Abigail (although I didn't blame her there); and then she ran again from Faithwell.
I did like Honor's persistence in helping the runaways. I also respected the Haymakers turning a blind eye to Honor helping them, after everything they had gone through personally. If my father/husband had been burned alive for helping runaway slaves, I'm not sure where I would be on that subject.
I just read another book recently about slavery, quilting, and the Quakers. The Last Runaway doesn't go into too much depth about any of these subjects, but The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd does, and it is an excellent work of historical fiction.
This book was certainly readable, and I liked Honor's stance on slavery - and even her "silent treatment", which was fairly effective. She wasn't being heard, so she stopped talking. I like that. So I would recommend it to most people, even though I wasn't a fan of the ending. There have been worse endings though!
Wendy's Rating: ****
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