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The Shopkeeper's Widow
The Shopkeeper's Widow
The Shopkeeper's Widow
Ebook231 pages3 hours

The Shopkeeper's Widow

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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Delany Fleet, a widowed former indentured servant living in the colonial port of Norfolk, Virginia, dreams of having an estate of her own where she will never have to compromise her freedom.

When the only man she ever loved shows up with a load of smuggled firearms, Delany is forced to leave her home and her livelihood to protect her family and property from Lord Dunmore's raids and the conniving plots of a man who claims to be her friend.

Now, with her destiny forever altered, Delany must find a new way to happiness. Can reconnecting with her husband's family and a former love be the path that God has for her?
LanguageEnglish
Release dateAug 20, 2020
ISBN9781522303015
The Shopkeeper's Widow
Author

Izzy James

Izzy James is the pen name of Elizabeth Chevalier Hull. Elizabeth lives in coastal Virginia with her fabulous husband in a house brimming with books.

Read more from Izzy James

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Reviews for The Shopkeeper's Widow

Rating: 4.307692384615384 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

13 ratings6 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Strong-willed Delany Fleet owns a toy shop in Norfolk, but the British are wreaking havoc in the town. It is no longer safe to stay there and she must return her nephew, Ben, to his parents. Then Field Archer steps into her life again, a man she loved but who could never love her for she had been an indentured servant. He has a shipment of guns to deliver to Williamsburg and Delaney's trip provides the perfect cover for the dangerous mission. The times were perilous, but I enjoyed reading about the details of living in those pre-Revolutionary days. Delany doesn't like liber-tea and has a secret stash of the real thing. She was also ahead of her time when it came to cleanliness for she had a mechanical waterfall.Still, it was almost impossible to know who to trust back then. Both Delany and Field need their wits about them. But the most difficult thing for them is to trust their hearts. I enjoyed this sweet, but action packed historical.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a very good historical romance that I read very quickly. I liked the characters a lot and enjoyed the plot. At times I got a little confused as I read it but I liked the parts about what was happening as the patriots were starting to try to gain ground in parts of Virginia before the actual fighting started. I received a copy of this book from the author for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved this book. I felt like the characters were very well developed. Delaney is the shopkeeper's widow and she is trying to determine her place in the world. She does own the shop now but was also an indentured servant when she was a child so her place in society is limited, at least in her own mind.Field is the other main character. He is the son of wealthy landowners and his place in society is established. Delaney has had a crush on Field since she was a child but Field didn't see her that way.The other lesser characters were also well developed. Delaney's family by marriage, the man that does want to marry her and the villains are all well portrayed.Delaney has to decide if she will stay in town and run her shop or if she will go to live in her country home when the British start to take over her town. Field is trying to smuggle things to his father and wants Delaney's help. Will she help him?This is a Christian book and very well done. I enjoyed how faith is portrayed in the book and I did not find it preachy. It is also historical fiction and that was also very well done. I felt like it was a very good representation of the times.My biggest disappointment was that it ended too soon, too abruptly. I have never read a book by Izzy James before and I hope this is not the last book of her's that I read. I would recommend this book to my friends. I give it a 5 out of 5-star rating. I received a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. This was given to me through Celebrate-Lit.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Historical romance. Colonial Virginia, 1775. A young girl falls into an unlikely crush with a rich landowner’s son, only to meet him years later under different circumstances.My reading juices are salivating over such a description of The Shopkeeper’s Widow by Izzy James. This book’s rating was a conundrum for me, as I sorted out what I liked (a lot) and what I think would like to see different (sometime it would be fun to have an author write a story and have different people finish it, just to see the different opinions.) I would like to highlight that these wishes, especially for a different take, are MY OPINION.Delaney Button Fleet, the widowed owner of a toy shop in Norfolk, becomes an outspoken advocate of abolition, though it may not have been referred to as such in 1775.Delaney chooses to align with the colonists when the British loot a local print shop.First wish: I wished the book would have ended without the epilogue. I expected some rewarding tidbit to be uncovered but felt it was too abrupt.Secondly, when I finished the book, I was left with a few loose ends, which I didn’t know how to secure.For happy points, I did like that we were shown how much Delany enjoyed her nieces and nephews. A book always gains my interest when children are involved in a loving, wholesome way. I did appreciate how Ms. James shows that brothers can be very different and have very disparate values. Tom Fleet is the antithesis of his brother, Sam. Also, George and Freewill were opposites. One can only assume that children raised in the same home by the same parents still can make very different life-defining choices.The novel is a little preachy in spots. I would prefer a more naturally flowing message, but I do agree it is life’s most important message.I like romance but got a little impatient with Delany in her unwillingness to give Field Archer room to grow. However, Ms. James was on it. I loved that Sarah reminded Delany, “you have to allow for growth to happen at its own pace.” So, the heroine is flawed. Well and good, because so was the hero.Now, with the list of pros and cons presented against each other, I gladly rate this historical novel a solid four stars.I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and publisher through Celebrate Lit. All opinions are solely my own and no positive review was required.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Shopkeeper's Widow, by Izzy James, is a Christian Historical Romance novel. Delaney was an indentured servant who married the man she was committed to, despite not loving him. After  his passing she inherits his property.  When she decides to move back to her home, she finds herself  and others in harms way because of this.This story has a good message of second chances and moving forward.  One of the things that stands out to me is Delaney's feelings about slavery, she and Field had to make a decision regarding their feelings on this for their relationship to move forward.  This is not a quick read book.  There are many characters and change of locations,  is takes some concentration to keep it all straight. There is action and suspense in the story as well as nice clean romance.  I feel at times parts were rushed and not followed up on.  I received a e-book copy from Celebrate Lit, this is my honest review.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed the setting of Colonial times in the book. It was interesting to get a feel for how it was and I liked how the author made it realistic. The story centers around Delany who is a widow who at one time was a servant. It doesn’t take long to realize how Delany feels about slaves. She doesn’t believe in them and in fact set hers free. Not everyone around her has the same mind set. Field has a past history with Delany which dies bring up sparks between them. He has come to her for help. I thought it was a big favor he was asking of Delany . The mission is extremely dangerous and it does put their lives in danger. There is mention of slavery and women’s rights but the story really focused on Field and Delany’s relationship. I did think that Delany stood her ground when it came to her faith. She is adamant that she will not be with Field as long as he has slaves. It is a nice look at how people dealt with topics we still struggle over today. I kept thinking about compromise. Sometimes it is necessary to compromise but not at the expense of your beliefs. That’s why I liked Delany so much. She was determined not to be unequally yoked to someone. I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

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The Shopkeeper's Widow - Izzy James

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