Reveiw: Lady in Waiting

Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner

Publication Date: September 2010
Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group
Format: Paperback, 352 pp
Genre: Historical/Contemporary Romance
ISBN-13: 9780307458834
ISBN: 0307458830

(Received for review through Library Thing Early Reviewers)

Purchase: Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Borders, IndieBound

Author's Website: www.susanmeissner.com

Excerpt: Click HERE!

Book Trailer:

Lady in Waiting Book Trailer from Susan Meissner on Vimeo.

Other Books by the author: White Picket Fences, The Shape of Mercy, Blue Heart Blessed, Days and Hours, Sticks and Stones, Widows and Orphans, A Seahorse in the Thames, In All Deep Places, The Remedy for Regret, A Window to the World, Why the Sky is Blue

Synopsis (Book Blurb):

Love is a choice you make every day.

Content in her comfortable marriage of twenty-two years, Jane Lindsay had never expected to watch her husband, Brad, pack his belongings and walk out the door of their Manhattan home. But when it happens, she feels powerless to stop him and the course of events that follow Brad's departure.

Jane finds an old ring in a box of relics from a British jumble sale and discovers a Latin inscription in the band along with just a one recognizable word: Jane. Feeling an instant connection to the mysterious ring bearing, her namesake, Jane begins a journey to learn more about the ring - and perhaps about herself.

In the sixteenth-century, Lucy Day becomes the dressmaker to Lady Jane Grey, an innocent young woman whose fate seems to be controlled by a dangerous political and religious climate, one threatening to deny her true love and pursuit of her own interests.

As the stories of both Janes dovetail through the journey of one ring, it becomes clear that each woman has far more influence over her life than she once imagined. It all comes down to the choices we each makes despite the realities they face.

Thoughts:

Author, Susan Meissner has created a novel that lets the contemporary and the historical walk hand in hand. In Lady in Waiting, Meissner tells two stories, about two different woman, joined by the journey of one ring. One in modern day Manhattan, the other in sixteenth century England.

Jane Lindsay feels helpless to change her circumstances. Her husband Brad walks out on her after twenty-two years of marriage and leaves her to face some difficult choices in her life. Throwing herself into her work as an antique dealer she comes across a ring with a long history. With one word of the Latin inscription intact and not much to go on, Jane will start a journey to find out about the ring and the other Jane who wore it.

Lady Jane Grey has decisions of her own to make. She no longer wishes to be a pawn in a political game of chess that centers around the death of Henry VIII and the subsequent rule of his son. Jane is only a young girl and her life isn't her own, will the choices she makes alter her world and history alike?

Susan Meissner weaves the past and the present together with such finesse that readers will be enthralled by her novel. The engaging characters of both Jane Lindsay and Lady Jane Grey will captivate readers of both historical romance and contemporary romance. Meissner has a knack for being able to make her characters jump off the page. These women become women we think we might know someone like or women we wish we could be like. Strong and determined and even though they face great obstacles they are still make those necessary choices and live with the consequences, good or bad.

I really enjoyed the contemporary portions of the novel. Jane Lindsay was dealing with situations that every day women face and the feelings they deal with when something upsets the balance of their lives. The historical portions would usually be my favorites in most novels considering I'm a former history major and I enjoy historical romances very much. But, I was really surprised at how much the contemporary Jane caught and held my interest. The premise of both women interacting with the same ring was very poignant and seemed to tie everything together well.

This is the first book I have read by Susan Meissner and after reading this one I definitely want to go out and get some of her other books as well. The writing was edgy and the style resonated with me. Her character development was excellent and she was able to hop back and forth between time periods seamlessly and really captured my interest. I would definitely recommend it to my friends who love contemporary and historical romance.

Lady in Waiting is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!





Susan Meissner has spent her lifetime as a writer, starting with her first poem at the age of four. She is the award-winning author of The Shape of Mercy, White Picket Fences, and many other novels. When she is not writing, she directs the small groups and connection ministries at her San Diego church. She and her pastor husband are the parents of four young adults.