Meticulously researched and beautifully crafted; a vivid, absorbing, and touching historical saga.
Blackmon delivers intriguing tales that double as heartfelt family sagas with just a hint of fairy tales in her marvelous historical series. In Emma, the first book in the series, readers meet the Jacksons. Jane Jackson is the love of Ben Jackson’s life, but when she dies unexpectedly during childbirth, Ben finds it hard to go on. Unable to take care of his children, he marries Matilda, unaware of the latter’s evil nature. While the older children grow up and leave to start their own families, it’s sixteen-year-old Emma who remains behind to face her step-mother’s wrath. Will Emma find happiness again? Celey, the second book in the series, takes readers on Emma’s grandmother Celey and her family’s exhilarating journey through the untamed prairies of Illinois, the violent beginnings of the state of Arkansas, and the wild frontier of Texas. Based on the author’s maternal great-grandmother and some of the events in her life, much of the story is fiction. However, there are threads of reality woven throughout the story. Blackmon brings the novel’s historical moments to life through authentic historical facts. She finds real depth in her protagonists, especially when portraying their inner strength, conveying an acute sense of their emotions as they face hardship after hardship. Vivid and methodically researched, the series’ biggest strength is the characters, full of human quirks, doubts, and passions. Both Emma and Celey shine as the main protagonists. The third-person omniscient narrative is absorbing as it gives weight to the historical story line. The pacing is fast, with twists and betrayals keeping the action at a boil. There’s plenty of conflict to keep the pages flying, but it’s the carefully researched details of daily life of the era woven into Emma and Celey’s stories that truly shine. At the same time, the lead pairs’ romance is utterly believable and easy to root for. A moving and graceful tribute to strength, survival, determination, family, love, and human resilience.
Heritage series (2 Books)
Susan Diane Black Blackmon
Emma (Heritage, #1)
Price $15.00 (USD) Paperback, $0.00 Kindle Unlimited
Celey (Heritage, #2)
Price $35 (USD) Hardcover, $25.00 Paperback, $0.00 Kindle Unlimited
