Serena Miller's The Measure of Katie Calloway ~ Reviewed

The Measure of Katie Calloway

Serena Miller 

Paperback: 316 pages 

Publisher: Revell; 1 edition (October 1, 2011) 

Language: English 

ISBN-10: 0800719980

Description:

The Civil War has ended, but in Katie Calloway's Georgia home conflict still rages. To protect herself and her young brother from her violent and unstable husband, she flees north, finding anonymity and sanctuary as the cook in a Northwoods lumber camp. The camp owner, Robert Foster, wonders if the lovely woman he's hired has the grit to survive the never-ending work and harsh conditions of a remote pine forest in winter. Katie wonders if she can keep her past a secret from a man she is slowly growing to love.

With grace and skill, Serena Miller brings to life a bygone era. From the ethereal, snowy forest and the warm cookstove to the rowdy shanty boys and the jagged edges of the saw, every detail is perfectly rendered, transporting the reader back to the time when pine was king, men were made of iron, and rivers were choked with logs on the way to the sawmills. Readers will have a hard time leaving the Northwoods when they turn the last page.

Review:

The Measure of Katie Calloway is my first introduction to the writing of Serena Miller, but I definitely do not intend for it to be my last. I have a new one for the keeper shelf here in my opinion. At first while reading I was reminiscent of Deeanne Gist and her logger romance of A Bride in the Bargain, but this book is more than just a woman cooking and falling for a logger. There is love, romance and suspense, friendship, adventure and history. It is a good read that I enjoyed from the first page.

*Thanks to Revell Books for providing a copy for review.*

Reviewed by: Margaret Chind