Pamela Morsi - Marrying Stone

Meggie was a dreamer who'd spent her entire life in the tiny town of Marrying Stone. But though her life was simple, she was always sure that someday her prince would come. J. Monroe Farley arrived with his Edison listening box to record the traditional music of the Ozarks, determined to focus all his attention on his studies. But there, in this remote mountain hamlet, he found something he never expected--the princess of his dreams...

Comment: I've had this book since last year and since I enjoyed my previous reads by this author, I was quite curious about this one.

This is the first of a trilogy. The first two are historicals and the third is contemporary. I have the first two and planned on reading them in following months.

This is the story of J. Monroe Farley, an educated man from Boston, who is traveling the Ozarks to find evidence of popular songs and traditional music. While on Marrying Stone he gets to spend time with Best family, a father and his two children, and he learns a lot about friendship, hard work, loyalty and love. Although Meggie Best seemed weird at first, it's true she is special and she becomes more important to Roe as each days passes...

Meggie knows she can't leave the mountains because her father is getting to old and her brother can't be left alone. So Meggie dreams a lot and when Roe shows up she is caught ij her dreamland and thinks he might be her prince. After a misunderstanding is solved, can Meggie still keep her dreams while falling in love?

I had a good time reading this book. Still, it wasn't as marvelous as some reads from the same style/time period.

I think most historical books as timeless because the romances are amazing and the setting is a reflection of those times not only in setting but in descriptions. What we can see as not timeless is how the books are written.

I don't know why but books written in late 80s and throughout the 90s have a special flavor even today, more than 20 years after, than some recent books don't. I wonder why this happens, but I remember reading books written/published on those years as memorable, poignant and intense and nowadays the trends are different and many books, even goos ones, don't stay as long as those... something to think about.

Like I said, this wasn't the best example of a perfect 90s book but it's true one can recognize the talent of the author and the "shape" of this book as belonging to those times.

The romance develops a lot like any of those well liked books are and there's something about the setting, the small community that speaks to a romance lover.

I liked the plot. The idea of someone going to find traditional musics to add to a collection for study or recordings in a college is an idea different enough to be special. I liked how the author inserted this into the story and how believable it looked.

The romance is the focus of this book though.

I liked Roe and Meggie but I'll be honest, I don't think their romance was the most romantic one. Cute and different yes, but there are other couples out there that marked me more. Meggie is acute heroine but I never felt very connected to her, she admitted her dreamy side which is great but that same aspect put me off her personality for I think she was a bit too dreamy when she first met Re to be acceptable. The fact she understands her reality and how her life should be considering the men she must take care of in her life didn't really erase my first impression of her, even more so when she picks a harsh decision about her future.

Roe is a good hero, he made mistakes but throughout the story but redeemed himself because he apologized and recognized his errors. I liked him, especially because he was such a good friend to Jesse, Meggie's brother. In the end, his was one of may favorite characters and part of me doesn't think he and Meggie are that suitable, but it's the way the HEA happens.

The secondary characters are an important part of this story and I enjoyed knowing them. Jesse is very special and I'm very eager to read his story next month.

Other characters aren't as prominent but offer the help needed to carry the story forward.

In the end, it was a good story but not completely perfect for me. The heroine isn't one of my favorites and the overall "feel" of the story wasn't as addictive as I thought it would.

Still, a good historical, and a good example of what the 90s best had to offer.

Grade: 7/10