Book Review - A Refuge Assured by Jocelyn Green

   *gasps* What is this? A historical fiction book fraternizing with my usually speculative-only preferences? It's unheard of!

   ... which means you guys will probably want to hear about why I so enjoyed this book ;D.

4 Stars

   Four stars! For historical fiction! That ranks as pretty big in my book - and it also shows me that I shouldn't judge a book by its genre  as much as I do ;D. A Refuge Assured was a lovely surprise that I enjoyed greatly, and I'm excited to tell you guys why.

From The Back Cover 

Lacemaker Vivienne Rivard never imagined her craft could threaten her life. Yet in revolutionary France, it is a death sentence when the nobility, and those associated with them, are forced to the guillotine. Vivienne flees to Philadelphia but finds the same dangers lurking in the French Quarter, as revolutionary sympathizers threaten the life of a young boy left in her care, who some suspect to be the Dauphin. Can the French settlement, Asylum, offer permanent refuge?

Militiaman Liam Delaney proudly served in the American Revolution, but now that the new government has imposed an oppressive tax that impacts his family, he barely recognizes the democracy he fought for. He wants only to cultivate the land of his hard-won farm near Asylum, but soon finds himself drawn into the escalating tension of the Whiskey Rebellion. When he meets a beautiful young Frenchwoman recently arrived from Paris, they will be drawn together in surprising ways to fight for the peace and safety for which they long.

View A Refuge Assured on Goodreads --- View A Refuge Assured on Amazon

- The setting. Obviously it wasn't a setting that I was used to, seeing as A Refuge Assured is historical fiction and I'm not usually a fan of this genre, but OH! I loved it so much, and the author did really well with it. The details were all woven in so well, and everything was super realistic. I was surprised by just how vivid the setting was - it gets many points from moi!  

- Vivienne. I didn't expect to get attached to the main character in this book so quickly, but I sympathized with Vivienne right off the bat, and was rooting for her within a matter of pages. Jocelyn Green did a great job of writing a likable, strong heroine. I love Vivienne so much, and she was an epic main character <3.

- The plot. Gracious, the plot was good! I seriously couldn't stop reading - every time I put it down, I wanted to pick it right back up again. I was intrigued by everything going on the entire time I was reading, and the plot had me guessing so many times. It was lots of fun, and I loved it. I didn't expect a historical fiction book to have such an awesome plot, but OH MY was I wrong. (I think I shall have to get rid of this bias against historical fiction - it may never be my favorite genre, but I can certainly like books written in it!)       

- A smol bit of the book was dry. Only a small part! Very small! And honestly, I think the reason I had a bit of a hard time was because I am a little biased against historical fiction? But this book taught me that THAT IS WRONG and I can absolutely love a historical fiction book. Absolutely.

   I had such a book hangover from A Refuge Assured, you guys have no idea. And that's because it was such an epic read! The characters were amazing and so well-written, and the details were all woven in so well that it was like the author had been there herself. Due to it being written for older readers, I'd only recommend it to ages 15 or 16+, but to any and all of my readers of that age who love historical fiction (or even if you don't - like me!), I'd definitely recommend giving this book a shot.  

~ Savannah Grace

have you read A Refuge Assured?

what's your favorite historical fiction book?