I'll be honest; historical romance novels aren't really my thing. While other girls swooned over Heathcliff or Mr. Darcy, I was reading books about best friends and their adventures--Trixie Belden mysteries, In Grandma's Attic and so on. Yet, I was drawn to The Brickmaker's Bride . First, the cover is fantastic. From the layout to the color scheme to the embossing, this is a beautiful book. Secondly, the story sounded unusual, unlike other romances I had read. I want fiction to transport me. This did--to a world I knew little about. Facts about the brickmaking process in the late 19th century were woven in deftly and I stayed engaged to the end. When it came time to put the book down, I didn't want to leave the characters! I only had two strong criticisms. First, I think the first chapter would have benefited from more editing. "Brickyard" appeared in it twenty-six times. (That doesn't count additional uses of "bricks,"...
