Now Face To Face by Karleen Koen

A bride at fifteen, widowed at the tender age of twenty, Barbara, Countess Devane, embarks for colonial Virginia financially ruined by the death of her husband in scandalous circumstances. Dressed in mourning as is proper for a woman, she is patronizingly described as a “fragile black butterfly,” but the fragility is deceiving. She makes a place for herself in the new world, takes lovers and friends across political divides, and questions the established traditions of slavery. Facing enemies she never suspected, she must return to England and deal face to face with the problems created by her husband, who haunts her even in death. Back in London, she quickly finds herself pulled into Jacobite plotting, and the treachery of powerful men suddenly threatens her family, her friends—and a new love.

(from goodreads.com)

I rate this book 0.5 out of 5 stars

Yes, that's right, this book got half a star from me, and I'm thinking even that much is a big gesture of generosity on my part.  This book was a drag.  Literally.  It went on and on with the same storyline elements.  Yeah, ok, we get it...Barbara is multi-talented and everyone loves her.  Can we move on with the story now?  No?  Well, then...that's how you end up earning half a star from me. 

This is the sequel to Through A Glass Darkly.  It picks up a little after the first book ended and the first few chapters move at a snail's pace.  Barbara is in colonial Virginia, learning how to plant tobacco.  She's trying to make a life for herself and all the men are in love with her (surprise, surprise) and all the women are jealous.  There's virtually nothing interesting going on in Virginia.  Oh, smugglers, right. Woohoo.  Then.....



*************************************SPOILER ALERT****************************



**************STOP READING THIS IF YOU PLAN TO READ THE BOOK **************


Hyacinth gets kidnapped and I think that finally the book will begin to pick up.  But I was wrong.  His disappearance is sad and Barbara moves all mountains and oceans to find him (because, in case you didn't get it in the last 1000+ pages, Barbara does everything perfectly and everyone loves her).  That's about it.  Barbara and her maid go back to England when she receives a letter informing her that Walpole didn't do everything he could to reduce her deceased husband's debt and she goes back home to investigate.  There's a lot of mutinous talk and boring plotting that amounts to nothing.  The rest of the book just drones on and on about how Walpole sucks...oh, and don't forget that Barbara is perfect and everyone loves her. 

Anyway, there are some deaths, some loss, and some of the side characters start to get real depth, but overall this book was just plain boring.  I kept telling myself that the book would get more interesting as the pages turned, but I was a liar.