Dinca’s review of The Last Honest Seamstress by Gina Robinson
Historical Romance published by Gina Robinson 4 Aug 2012
The description of the historical event of the great fire on the Seattle waterfront, which resulted in the city elevating its waterfront property, is very good. However, the storyline is long and drawn out with too much thrown into the mix to keep the story flowing to a predictable ending for a romance novel. There is a lot of lying going on for an honest title. I had no problem putting the book aside and doing something else, which is unusual for me.
There is nothing honest about this storyline. Yes, Fayth is a real seamstress and not one of the ‘ladies of the night,’ whom are referred to as seamstresses. I feel no empathy for this character at all. She married for convenience, yet insisted her husband be faithful while she didn’t give him the time of day. I don’t feel she deserves any happiness. Especially when it is staring her in the face. She is a inane, angry little birdbrain that re-hires the lying cheat who made her jaded in the first place and sends the guy who loves her away. Her “I will deal with it tomorrow” attitude gets old really fast.
Captain Con O’Neil is ready to settle down and falls in love with a real seamstress. Instead of courting her, he gets to know her by ordering more shirts. Before his plan of courtship is in place, she offers him a marriage of convenience, which he turns down. When Seattle’s historical events come into play, the need to marry her alters in his favor. To save her dress shop and provide for her by keeping her close, he offers her a marriage of convenience. While his business is suffering, he makes sure her business thrives.
I do not find this an easy read. There is too much going on at the same time. The main characters don’t have a lot of conversations/interactions together. The author has a lot of thought process for them but very little interaction. It’s more of a telling between the characters. I feel the author has it in her because of the picture she draws with her descriptions of the events of the time period in Seattle. She just doesn’t get it transferred over into the main characters. The steadiest character rendition is of Lou, the madam, a secondary character with a lot of impact in the storyline. A lot of side events are thrown in to create additional misunderstandings that get in the way of the main story, making it long and drawn out. It would have been a very good novella, yet it drags as a full-fledged book.
Ms. Robinson could have left out Coral and Drew’s betrayal altogether. With so much going on, I do not feel it is much of a love story and very little romance. No guts and no glory until the last few pages, and that’s not worth the wait.
Grade: C
Summary:
Seattle in 1889 is a hard frontier town full of rough men and prostitutes who call themselves seamstresses. SHE NEEDS A HUSBAND… After too many business setbacks and unwanted marriage proposals, beautiful and ambitious men’s tailor Fayth Sheridan desperately needs to find a husband of convenience. Now if she can only convince handsome sea captain Con O’Neill, the one man in Seattle who’s shown no interest in her, that he’s the one… HE NEEDS TO WIN HER LOVE… When Seattle burns to the ground, taking Fayth’s shop with it, Con vows to do anything to protect her. Even marrying her although she’s not in love with him. When he’s forced to make a deal with Seattle’s notorious madam, he risks losing everything, including any chance at love with the last honest seamstress in Seattle.
Read an excerpt.
