The Ringmaster's Wife

Happy Father's Day!  I hope all of you are doing something very special for your father (or father figure)!  They definitely deserve it (especially for putting up with us when we were teenagers and know-it-alls).  My father is not here this year, but I did something to honor him.  We bought him a bench last year (he loved to sit outside).  It never got put together (he got sick).  So I put it together yesterday, and we are going to put it outside.  I will put some plants around it (make it pretty).  We can think of my father when we see it!  

The Ringmaster’s Wife is the latest novel by Kristy Cambron.  In this book the readers get to travel around the country and across “the pond” with our characters as they follow their dreams.  Armilda Burton is a farmer’s daughter in Moons, Ohio.  She wants more out of her life (she is seventeen).  Armilda decides to leave the farm and change her name (start fresh).  Armilda becomes Mabel Burton and travels to Chicago, Illinois.  Mabel finds a position at the World’s Fair Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  One day she encounters a nice man named John.  They walk around the fair and have a good time, but then he is gone.  Years later Mabel and her friend, Sally Rivers (a singer) are working in Atlantic City when she encounters John again.  John is John Ringling of the Ringling Brothers.  We get to see how these two come together and create magic!

It is 1926 in Linton, North Yorkshire, England and Lady Rosamund Easling is rushing home.  She ends up with her car in the lake and she is trapped inside.  Colin Keary rescues Rosamund from the car that is quickly filling up with water.   Rosamund hurries off, but they are destined to meet again.  Colin and his friend, Ward Butler show up at Easling Park that evening.  Rosamund comes down to the dinner party and there he is.  Thankfully, Colin does not mention rescuing her from the lake.  During dinner Rosamund finds out that her father is selling her black Arabian horse, Ingénue, given to her by her brother, Hendrick (he died during the war).  Colin is there to finalize the purchase.  Colin works for John Ringling and his circus.  Lord Denton (her father) has to sell the horse to pay his gambling debts, and he is also forcing Rosamund to marry Lord Oliver Brentwood (for money).  Rosamund uses Ingénue to do trick riding and bareback riding (her brother taught her) at local fairs and such.  Rosamund has a choice to make.  She can stay and do what her parents expect of her or she can run off and join the circus!  Read The Ringmaster’s Wife to find out what choice Rosamund makes.  Will she follow her dreams?

The Ringmaster’s Wife takes us from 1889 through 1929.  We get to see how Mable and John found each other and lived their lives, how Rosamund joined the circus, and how the Ringling’s found and helped Colin.  It was interesting to see how the Sarasota estate came about (it is now the John and Mabel Ringling Museum).  The book was interesting, well-written, and held my attention.  There were a few slow bits (like when Rosamund doubted herself), but overall a good book to read and enjoy.  It has a Christian theme but it is very light (focuses on forgiveness, trusting in God and his plan for our lives, redemption).  I found the second half of the book more entertaining than the first (it focuses on the circus).  At the end of the book it provides information on the Ringling Circus (how it came about, the brothers, and the history).   I give The Ringmaster’s Wife 4 out of 5 stars (I liked it). 

Kristy Cambron has also written The Butterfly and the Violin and A Sparrow in Terezin.  You can follow Kristy Cambron on Amazon and receive updates on her latest novels.  I received a complimentary copy of the novel in exchange for an honest evaluation of the book.  I will always provide an honest and forthright review no matter how I obtain the novel.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day! I am going to go put my feet up and relax (and you should too)!  I am currently reading The Courtship Basket by Amy Clipston.  I will return tomorrow!  Take Care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

Gene F. Anderson--a wonderful man who was a saint for putting up with me!