Dove's Way

Requesting refund of this book received today. Ordered as paperback but book received was mass market which due to its size is unreadable for me. Please refund or provide return process.

From page one to the end, Dove's Way is a wonderful story. The book is captivating with its many triumphs and emotions which draw you in. I couldn't put the book down because I had to know what happened next. This is a MUST read book! You will love it.

DOVE'S WAY, named after Matthew Hawthorne's Boston home, is a story about the price one pays in order to try to belong, and the soothing and transforming power of love in human relationships. Matthew and Finnea are social misfits for their time, thrown together in a piece of hopeful matchmaking by an African man of power and wisdom, then abruptly torn apart in a moment of unexpected violence. Both are physically and mentally scarred, both have secrets, and both are made for each other - but only Janji, the matchmaker, and Matthew's mother can see it right away. The story begins in Africa as Finnea prepares to return to late-19th century Boston to rejoin her mother and her brother, who long ago left Finnea and her father to the seductive wildness of Africa, for more civilized surroundings. We follow both Finnea and Matthew to proper Boston, where each tries mightily, and fails, to win the acceptance of a parent. The story unfolds as they struggle with how different they are from the rest of Bostonian society, how alike they are to each other, and their unwanted need and love for each other. Finnea manages to hold on to her secrets longer than does Matthew, and only with the unwitting help of their old African matchmaker, does she let go, making room in her life and her heart for Matthew - and his daughter Mary.I liked the way this story was told alternately from the male and female point of view. Scraps of Matthew's journal introduce the major parts of the book, giving a nice glimpse into his mind, but the narrative also gives him equal treatment. His daughter Mary is brilliantly written. This is a sweet, sensual novel, reported to be the first of a trilogy about the Hawthorne brothers of Boston. We see only glimpses of the other two brothers in this story, so there's plenty of unexplored territory to look forward to. This book reads easily, and my only regret is that now I'll have to wait a while until I can revisit the Hawthorne family again. Enjoy it!

From the extraordinary first page of DOVE'S WAY to the satisfying last, Linda Francis Lee pulls the reader into a lush world of scandal, Boston society and two unforgetable lovers. This book is richly written and highly sensual. With the use of exemplary descriptions, the opening scene with Finnea in Africa had me transported in time to 1890s Congo.The inverview with Ms. Lee in the back of a book gave me insight into this author's life. A very clever idea on the publisher's part. I've never seen this done before. DOVE'S WAY is going on my keeper shelf, and I can't wait to read SWAN'S GRACE.

This beautiful, breathtaking love story made me laugh, made me cry. I loved Matthew and Finnea and ached for their struggles. Put this on your must read list.

I've not read this author before, but I was intrigued by the description so I took a chance. I'm glad I did. The book is amazing. It takes place in the opulent, but strict, Boston society of the 1890s, with a thread of Africa. In the back of the book there is an interview with the author that describes the book as part My Fair Lady and part Out of Africa, and I think this is a great description. It made me laugh. It made me cry. I hate for it to end.