Review of Glamorous Illusions (Grand Tour #1) by Lisa T. Bergren
Glamorous Illusions is the first book in the series Grand Tour.
It's 1913. Cora Diehl is the daughter of farmers who's trying to earn a degree in education so she can teach. Her parents have done their best, but the farm is failing. Then her father has a stroke, and he can't work the farm. He needs to go to a hospital, but the closest ones to their farm in Montana are in Seattle or Minneapolis. Cora refuses to lose hope and vows to work the farm herself if she has to.
Then a stranger arrives, and he and Cora's mother sit her down to explain that the father she grew up with is not her real father. The man sitting across from her, a Montana copper king, had an affair with her mother, a maid in his house, and she got pregnant. The man Cora grew up with knew this and married Cora's mother while she was still pregnant. They raised Cora with love and kindness.
Now this stranger, Wallace Kensington, offers to transport the farmer and his wife to the hospital in Minneapolis and buy the farm if Cora will agree to accept her role as a Kensington and take a Grand Tour of Europe with her siblings. After that, she can finish college. Facing three siblings she didn't know she had and a life of luxury foreign to her terrifies her, but for the sake of the man who raised her, she agrees.
Her beginning with her siblings takes a rough turn, and the only person her age who she gets along with is one of the guides for their European tour, Will McCabe. The nature of Will's role in her life would forbid a liaison between them, but his sweetness and guidance endear her.
During the beginning of the tour, she encounters people who both love her and look down on her, people who judge her for her parentage and people who don't care. She experiences romance and danger, beauty and ugliness, and tests of her faith while she explores England and France.
I've read work by Lisa T. Bergren before. Her River of Time series is one of my favorites. I know she's a Christian author, but they did not mark this book as Christian fiction at my library, so I picked it up since I liked the River of Time series so much.
This was, in fact, Christian historical romance. The religious themes were strong with a lot of leaning on faith, praying, and a long scene of the main characters attending a church service. Cora relates to life through her faith. While the themes were strong, the book didn't preach at all, which I liked.
The blurb on Goodreads was a little baffling. It says Cora buried her father, which she didn't, and that her beau died in a tragic accident when she didn't have a beau at the beginning. I'm not sure where the blurb came from, but those two elements were definitely not pulled from this book.
While the book tried to throw in a love triangle to keep the romance element on its toes, it's obvious from the beginning who she'll choose in the end. That's because only one of the love interests has a POV in the novel. Though I do have to say I like the other love interest. He seems to have a genuine admiration for Cora, and he's rich with a title. The match would be a good one, but Cora would live in France, far from the two people who raised her. All she wants is to go back to Montana and be a teacher, not be a French aristocrat. But she does like her suitor.
Her feelings for Will are a little more convoluted, though his for her are not. He's horribly jealous once the French suitor enters the story, and he comes to her defense on more than one occasion. He acts heroically a few times, and the climax was filled with intense adventure.
I genuinely liked Cora and Will as main characters. Cora was a strong woman, but not so much that she wouldn't fit into the historical context. She had depth and drive, and I enjoyed reading the evolution of her feelings. Though she had the same revelation about how to deal with her siblings and new life several times, which got old. How many times can you have the same revelation?
Will wasn't as strong of a character, and most of his character development centered on his feelings for Cora and how the relationship would be forbidden. He'd be dismissed and sent home in disgrace. So he has to watch from afar while Cora struggles with her siblings and her place in the world, then goes into jealous fits as he stands by while a French aristocrat who can give Cora far more than Will courts her.
I thought the history was given the proper research and formed into the setting well. Most of the historical romance I read takes place in the 19th century, so reading something from the early 20th century was something I'd never done before. It was hard to remind myself of the time period and not assume it was a hundred years earlier out of pure habit. Reading about a time when the modern world was barely creeping over the horizon with automobiles and steam ships was fascinating. It was like the modern era was combining with my usual drops into historical fiction to create a mashup.
The plot lulled a few times, usually around the time Cora would have her repeating revelation. A lull, a sudden inciting event, then Cora's revelation and subsequent determination to always be true to herself. It happened several times, and it made the story repetitive, even though the settings changed and the plot progressed. The climax seemed out of sorts with the rest of the novel, almost like the author realized she needed to have an exciting close to the novel and selected something thrilling that wouldn't be completely outlandish. The characters' reactions to the situation felt authentic, but the event itself didn't match up with the rest of the novel, creating a disconnect between me and the story as it came to a close.
Lisa T. Bergren is a fantastic writer, and I always enjoy the way her descriptions meld with the plot to create an effortless picture of where the characters are and what they're doing. It's her strength, in my opinion, and what really draws me into her work. It was best showcased in her action sequences, though there weren't all that many in this book. Throughout the River of Time series, there were dozens of action sequences of battles, confrontations, life-or-death situations, and rescues. For me, her writing is best suited to description and action-heavy writing as shown by this novel that just didn't compare.
The dialog was pretty good, though it felt forced at times, and it was written to suit each character well. It could be better, but it could be a lot worse. There was some cheese, especially with Cora's French suitor, but it wasn't over the top.
Due to Lisa T. Bergren's strengths not being utilized, her weaknesses shone through strongly. I felt this more introspective novel based on the character learning her own identity wasn't a good choice for her. She's a prolific author who's enormously popular in Christian writing, and I know she's talented. It just didn't show here.
I'm debating whether I'd like to continue the series. Perhaps the next book would be better than this one. My problem is with the strong Christian themes, though there was a time in my life where I relished them, and that I'm not a big fan of the will-they-won't-they trope. Combining that with a love triangle when it's clear who the winner will be was a strange tactic, and it makes the love story a bit convoluted. I'm not sure yet if I'll check out book two, but even if I don't, I'm still a solid fan of the River of Time series.
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