The Immortal American

PARANORMAL:  Precarious times are looming in Concord, Massachusetts.  In 1775, Violet is 19 years old and wants none of it.  She has heard about politics and plots from those involved, and though she believes in their cause, all that matters to her is to see her mother and sister happy, to marry her fiancé, Mathew and have his children, and to live out her life on her family farm.  She didn’t want to be in battle, or meet the a mysterious Frenchman named Jacque, who threatens to claim her heart, but she does.

The tale is only a few months long, centering in the Boston and Concord areas during a volatile time period in American history. The richness of that time and place is brought to life through wonderful descriptions. Violet just wants to live her life and hope that things blow over. She's tough, but not uncommon for the area, or era. The dialog and the grammar of this work, however, is entirely too modern, and jars the reader. "The Immortal American" is written in the first person, a few archaic terms thrown in do not work well for believability or consistency. Had this been presented as a memoir of an immortal, the language would have been perfectly executed. Details that are historically accurate are sometimes too detailed, other times simply listed, and other times are seamless. However, the characters Violet, Mathew, and Jacque are beautifully three-dimensional.  This is a bright, new idea of on an old theme - immortality with no vampires! A promising set-up for an intriguing series.

Julie York