Keturah (The Sugar Baron's Daughters #1) by Lisa Tawn Bergren

In 1772 England, Lady Keturah Banning Tomlinson and her sisters find themselves the heiresses of their father's estates and know they have one option: Go to the West Indies to save what is left of their heritage.

Although it flies against all the conventions for women of the time, they're determined to make their own way in the world. But once they arrive in the Caribbean, proper gender roles are the least of their concerns. On the infamous island of Nevis, the sisters discover the legacy of the legendary sugar barons has vastly declined--and that's just the start of what their eyes are opened to in this unfamiliar world.

Keturah never intends to put herself at the mercy of a man again, but every man on the island seems to be trying to win her hand and, with it, the ownership of her plantation. She could desperately use an ally, but even an unexpected reunion with a childhood friend leaves her questioning his motives.

Set on keeping her family together and saving her father's once-great plantation, can Keturah ever surrender her stubbornness and guarded heart to God and find the healing and love awaiting her?

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After a slow start, I found myself really enjoying this book.  It did take a bit for me to like the main character and feel some sort of emotional connection to her and the story but it did happen about half way through.  The last third of the book the pacing picked up and things started happening.  That time period and plantations are fascinating to me.  So exotic and adventurous, yet so perilous.  The author did a good job of capturing all those elements.  The slavery that existed is so hard to read about and so, so awful yet plays a large part in stories like this.

I loved the idea of three sisters banding together and forging a new life in the unknown.  They learned and grew and I loved that they did that together.  They took good care of each other.

I have to say that I LOVED the River of Time series by this author.  It's one of my very favorites.  I didn't love this book like I did those but I will probably come back for the next book because by the end I was very interested in the other sisters and where their stories may go.

Content:  violence, slavery, kissing, Christian elements

- I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher at my request via NetGalley.  All opinions expressed are my own.