The Miner's Lady

In October of 1890, after a year in Italy, Chantel Panetta has returned home to the mining town of Ely, Minnesota to learn that her younger sister, Isabella, intends to marry Orlando Calarco. The problem with their engagement is that the Panettas and Calarcos have been feuding for years, supposedly

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over the death of a mule. The young couple is certain that with time both families will accept their union. The Miner's Lady, by Tracie Peterson, is the story of the repercussions of the feud and its effect on the families. To further complicate their lives, Chantel finds herself attracted to another Calarco son.
As the result of a tragedy at the mine, hope surfaces that the two families can put the past behind them and find a way to make peace. The story takes several twists and turns. As the reader follows the characters through their struggles and hardship, it is apparent how important faith is to them.
This is a thoughtfully written novel which carefully examines what is defined as family. The Calarcos and Panettas each have their perceptions of loyalty, tolerance and respect. There is a lot at stake for the families and their story is beautifully written.

I received this book free of charge from Bethany House and I give this review of my own free will.

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This story is set in Minnesota in 1890. The other two books in this series, The Icecutter’s Daughter and The Quarryman’s Bride are also set in this same time period. The two main families are the Calarcos and the Panettas, who are feuding for years. Two love stories happen in this novel,

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between Isabella Panetta and Orlando Calarco as well as between their older siblings, Chantel Panetta and Dante Calarco.
The Panetta family and the Calarco family have been in the iron mining business for years. They are both Italian families with a long history of feuding brought with them when the left Italy for America. There are definite shades of Romeo and Juliet among this romance, which can be entertaining, is not original. Chantel has just returned from a trip to Italy and realizes she no longer wants to stay in Ely, Minnesota, but return to Italy. Upon her return, her sister Isabella informs her that she is in love with Orlando Calarco and wants Chantel to help her spend time with Orlando. Dante, on the other hand, works in the mines with his brother and as the oldest has been given the task of convincing Orlando that he can’t love Isabella and to keep the two apart. Can Chantel continue to encourage her sister in a love she knows is forbidden? Can Dante convince Orlando of his folly? When Chantel and Dante inevitably meet, will they continue their families’ feud or will they take a different path?
This book was just average in my opinion. In fact, I felt this entire series was average. The main male character in this story appeared only strong in the physical sense. I have read many of Tracie Peterson’s books, and this one just didn’t seem to have the depth to it that some of her older works have. The two main characters hardly interacted enough to develop a romance. There was too much focus on the sister, Isabella as well since the story was supposed to be about Chantel. The strong grandmother in the Calarco family was also a great source of wisdom, advice and mentoring. I so enjoy seeing the older generation involved in the lives of the younger generation; they have so much to teach. I also enjoyed the description of the delicious Italian food. Yummy!! I liked, as with all Tracie’s books, that there was a Christian message and in this story it was about forgiveness.

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Chantel Panetta returns home from a year in Italy to find her sister Isabella has fallen in love with Orlando, a Calarco and a generations-long enemy of the Panettas. She soon finds herself in the thick of the feud when Issy asks her to cover for her and Orlando during their tryst, should Dante,

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Orlando’s older brother, come in search of him. Of course he does.

The mining town of Ely, Minnesota is the setting of this historical romance by Tracie Peterson. It is peopled by colorful Italian immigrant families who move in contrasting social circles of the church and the gambling den. Their men folk risk life and limb in the iron ore mine while their women make lace, succulent pastas and pastries, and are generous with the coffee.

Perhaps not surprisingly Chantel and Dante become the real romantic subjects of this tale, with Dante’s father determined to keep their families apart. The love scenes are not what I would call edgy, though there are a few that might be considered PG 13.

Peterson deals in an outspokenly pro-Christian way with themes of forgiveness, family, and the need to trust God when trouble hits.

I found it hard to get into the book when I came across several early passages that felt like they needed more editing (e.g. Dante’s thoughts more detailed than natural thoughts would be, seemingly to give the reader background; an information dump about the particular kind of iron mined in the region that felt unrelated to the plot; and several passages that told instead of showed). However, once past those, the plot and characters captured me and I got carried away by the tale.

The Miner’s Lady is a romantic—and tasty—bit of Americana. The strong message of forgiveness adds value and a happy ending to this story with its shades of Romeo and Juliet.

I received The Miner’s Lady as a gift from the publisher, Bethany House (via Netgalley), for the purpose of writing a review. (Again, I struggled with the absence of all 'ff's in my Netgalley Kindle copy. It would be wonderful if they figured out how to fix this!)

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Another winner by Tracie Peterson! A feud between families finally comes to a head. Isabella Panetta and Orlando Calarco fall in love the coals are stirred and the fire blazes. Orlando's older brother tries to put an end to their relationship he finds himself falling for Chantel Panetta.

You'll

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find great characters with lots of problems, addiction, poverty. The author handles them beautifully and gives us a heartwarming romance novel.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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"The Miner's Lady", Book Three in author Tracie Peterson's "Land of Shining Waters" series, tells an emotional tale of two feuding Italian families who work the iron ore mines of late nineteenth-century Minnesota. The Panettas and the Calarcos brought their decades old dispute with them from the

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Old Country to the United States. When young Isabella Panetta falls in love with Orlando Calarco, she turns to her older sister, Chantel, for guidance. Isabella needs Chantel to run interference and prevent Orlando's older brother, Dante, from keeping the young sweethearts apart. Dante is determined to carry out his father's edict that a Calarco can have nothing to do with a Panetta, and Chantel is offended by his abrupt, insulting manner. As Chantel and Dante continue to cross paths and be at cross purposes, an attraction between them grows. Neither of them expected to be so drawn to the other, and their admiration for each other only adds to the complexity of a very problematic situation. However, Isabella and Orlando are determined to be together, and there is as much assistance from Chantel as there is resistance from Dante. After surviving an accident at the mine, Chantel's father begins to make overtures of peace to Dante's father, who is highly opposed to ending the long-standing feud. When tragedy strikes, and strikes again, can faith pull together hearts and lives and allow love to conquer all? A very enjoyable and recommended series from author Tracie Peterson.

Book Copy Gratis Bethany House Books

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Remember the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s? Well, their feud has nothing on the feud between the families of the Panetta’s and Calarco’s. These two Italian American families have hated each other for many decades, going all the way back to Italy and a mule. I know that doesn’t make sense to you

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now, but it will when you read the book.

Isabella Panetta and Orlando Calarco have fallen desperately in love. Yet the father’s of both families are totally against it and forbid them from seeing each other. They enlist their older siblings, Chantel Panetta and Dante Calarco to help them. Chantel is much more receptive to them, because she has a deep love for the Lord and hates the feud between the families. While, Dante is not quite so willing. But the beautiful Chantel is slowly wearing him down.

There’s so much I want to say, but to say anything will give away some of the story and you just have to go into this story open to God’s workings and be ready to be swept away with emotion after emotion after several tragedies occur. But God has not left them to deal with these things alone. He is forever working in their lives and we get the privilege to read this story and watch the lives of these families unfold. I laughed some, I cried a lot. It’s an excellent story of God’s redemption and grace.

Although this is Book 3 in the series, it does not have to be read in order. Each story is totally separate with the characters, but the setting is always in Minnesota. This is Christian fiction, yet the characters faith is so entwined in their lives, that the book does not come across as preachy. Anyone who loves historical, romantic suspense will love this book.

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