The Seamstress of Acadie by Laura Frantz

Summary: The Seamstress of Acadie is a slow burn historical romance with rich historical detail.

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Tropes: slow burn, opposites attract

Book Blurb

As 1754 is drawing to a close, tensions between the French and the British on Canada’s Acadian shore are reaching a fever pitch. Seamstress Sylvie Galant and her family–French-speaking Acadians wishing to remain neutral–are caught in the middle, their land positioned between two forts flying rival flags. Amid preparations for the celebration of Noël, the talk is of unrest, coming war, and William Blackburn, the British Army Ranger raising havoc across North America’s borderlands.

As summer takes hold in 1755 and British ships appear on the horizon, Sylvie encounters Blackburn, who warns her of the coming invasion. Rather than participate in the forced removal of the Acadians from their land, he resigns his commission. But that cannot save Sylvie or her kin. Relocated on a ramshackle ship to Virginia, Sylvie struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. When her path crosses once more with William’s, they must work through the complex tangle of their shared, shattered past to navigate the present and forge an enduring future.

My Thoughts

One thing I appreciate about Laura Frantz’s novels are the rich historical detail she includes in each story. From the beginning, she swept me into the world of eighteenth-century Canada and the British/French conflict over the Acadian shore.

A large portion of the novel’s beginning focuses on Sylvie, which did leave me a bit impatient to get to William, but the wait paid off. William proves to be a great hero, dashing and brave and swoonworthy. I loved seeing the way he treats Sylvie with kindness and respect even when they’re on two different sides of a conflict.

Their romance is definitely a slow burn, but it’s all the sweeter because of it. And it fits seeing as the conflict between their people led to so much heartache. There’s also some discussion about God, and the characters pray throughout the book.

If you’ve read A Heart Adrift, you’ll spot some familiar faces, which is a fun little Easter egg. But The Seamstress of Acadie is a standalone.

Overall, The Seamstress of Acadie is a sweet historical romance.

(Note: I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley for review. All opinions expressed are my own.)