Now Face to Face

My first worry upon starting this book was that the Duchess of Tamworth might no longer be with us......she is! Alive and kicking and more astute and ornery than ever.

In this book, new characters are introduced and old characters take on more dominant roles. We start out with Barbara's New World adventures, which could be subtitled 'Lady Devane Grows Up'. Barbara is at last pitched forcefully from the cocoon of her sheltering life and her focus on her own needs and desires. She becomes a socially conscious young woman and begins to take an active role. She learns much about life and love, as well as land and tobacco crops and slave labor. She experiences a tragic loss. She returns to England.

We also have the treat of a fascinating show more historical backdrop for the action. Back home the throne of George I is being threatened by rumors of invasion; the Stewart claimant to the throne is said to be putting together an army to come to England. The situation is tense, as no one truly knows which side anyone else might be aligned with. Barbara soon finds herself in a precarious situation; she has to balance her position at court with her love for a Jacobite spy; meanwhile her mother, Diana, is sharing her bed with Robert Walpole, a man who poses great danger to Barbara.

Barbara's childhood friend, Jane Ashford Cromwell, along with Jane's husband, Augustus Cromwell, and her father, Sir John Ashford come to the forefront of the action in this book. Their story is action packed and very good; although not tragedy free.

For me the true stars of this novel were Alexander "Lumpy" Pendarves and Louisa, Lady Shrewsbury. Their December romance is funny and sweet. And how about that reveal.....I wanted to high-five Aunt Shrew at the end of the book; what an awesome crazy old broad she was!

From here we have a prequel of sorts in "Dark Angel", which tells the tale of Lady Alice Varney as a young lady at the court of Charles II. Good, because I'm not sure I would want to read any books in this series without her......she should always be a character. show less

As with Through A Glass Darkly, this novel takes its title and its themes from this verse:

When I was a child, I spake as a child. I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
I Corinthians 13:11-13

I absolutely loved Through A Glass Darkly and I was pleased to find that the sequel begins right where we last left Barbara: on her way to the colony of Virginia, looking ahead to a new life as a new woman, escaping the heartache and scandal of London. Though the author show more does provide a bit of background, this really is not a stand alone book, and to truly appreciate what happens in the sequel, you need to read Through A Glass Darkly first.

Change is an easy thing to decide and a difficult thing to do. It is the day-to-day struggle of it that defeats people.

Barbara carries these wise words from her beloved grandmother with her as she navigates through the trials and temptations of turning her life around. The narrative moves back and forth between Barbara in Virginia, the loved ones she left behind in London, and a newcomer to London. He is Laurence Slane, a dedicated Jacobite, posing as an actor while spying on the King's court for the Old Pretender, King James III, and increasingly curious to know the woman all of London is still talking about.

All of the characters I loved in the first book are back in this one: Barbara's cousin Tony and her former lover Charles, still pining for Barbara but moving on with their lives; old Aunt Shrew in rare form and up to her ears in intrigue; Barbara's delectable, scandalous mother, Diana, in a surprisingly melancholy mood; Barbara's old friends Therese and Jane and Gussy, and of course, her grandmother, the formidable Duchess of Tamworth.

Barbara's time in Virginia strengthens her and when she receives news of startling developments back home, she sets out to face them head on, arriving in London at just the right time to take control of her own life while throwing everyone else's into chaos. Barbara soon finds herself conspiring with former enemies against former friends, winds up in the middle of a Jacobite plot to overthrow King George I, and discovers the courage to stand on her own and risk her heart to love again.

It's not as gut-wrenching as Through A Glass Darkly, as this novel has more of a plot, with more action and excitement and less exposition of human nature. This sequel did not get to me as much as the original did, but I really enjoyed it and thought it was one of the better sequels I've read. Two things keep me from giving it a higher rating: First, a story line in Virginia involving Barbara's suitor that seemed to fizzle out and disappear without any satisfaction when I thought it was going to play a larger part, and Second, I didn't like the way the conclusion of the story was presented. I won't spoil it, but I will state that I hate when authors leave important things up to my imagination! I stuck with the book for this long, I deserve to read about said things firsthand! But overall, this book is a good read, a satisfying continuation of a great story. show less

Mammoth sequel to Through a Glass Darkly which I loved, though this fell a bit flat in comparison. Still, it was good to have many of the characters back, but it lacked energy and the plotline was not nearly as compelling. The second half of the book was much better, which surprised me, for I thought I'd enjoy the parts in Colonial Virginia more, but they just came across as dull with a dose of angst mixed in occasionally. The Jacobite rising plotline did add some suspense to it by the end.

http://ktleyed.blogspot.com/2010/02/now-face-to-face-by-karleen-koen.html

This novel just isn't Through a Glass Darkly. There were many great things about this book, but there were some major things that really frustrated me.

For one thing, there were huge gaps in the story line. Something dramatic would happen, and then there would be a gap afterwards and we would never learn what the conclusion of the incident was. For example, Hyacinthe goes missing, and we learn hardly anything of what happens of him between the time he is captured and the time he returns home.

I felt that the characters in this book were not as well drawn as they were in Through a Glass Darkly. Although a woman in the sequel, Barbara's character is flat. Sure, she has this adventure in Virginia, only to return home in the middle of a show more mini-civil war, but she seems completely unaffected by what's happening around her. I found her story to be very unbelievable. There's no romance; the adventures in love that Barbara had as a younger woman are written off by the author as youthful indiscretions and completely out of character for Barbara.

I wanted to hear more about the Duke of Tamworth and his grandmother, the Duchess; but I was sadly disappointed. Tony seems selfish, mean-spirited and almost a different person in this book.

The historical background of this book (ie, the fight between the House of Orange and James Stuart the Pretender for control of the English throne) was dumbed-down almost to the point of absurdity. Although this book was well-written, the major flaws show through. Koen has set the stage in this book for a sequel, but here's just not enough fictional material for it. show less

This sequel to Through a Glass Darkly was a very enjoyable book, althought not as good as TAGD. Part of this novel takes place in colonial Virginia as Barbara checks out the tobacco plantation that Grandmama owns but has never seen. Later Barbara returns to England where she is caught up in the intrigues of a Jacobite plot to oust George I and put James III on the throne.

Where this book really "let me down" was the ending. The final scene was not even about Barbara, but one of the secondary characters, with something of an "oh, by the way, Barbara is in France now." There are several unanswered questions about some of the secondary characters that were introduced in America.

Perhaps there will be another sequel to further explore show more Hyacinthe's story, to follow up Therese's adventures, what about Gussy and his family in Virginia, and Barbara's new little brother??? show less

Book Synopsis:

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 show more treachery of powerful men suddenly threatens her family, her friends—and a new love.

Now Face to Face sweeps readers from eighteenth-century America to London and brings both worlds to vivid life. It is a magnificent evocation of an era, from the plantations of Virginia to Hanoverian England.

For me, with movies, the sequels are never better than the original. In my opinion, the same can be said for Now Face to Face, which is the sequel for Through a Glass Darkly. Not to say that I did not enjoy it and am not happy that I read it, but it wasn’t quite up there with the TAGD.

After the death of her husband, Barbara is beside herself with grief. Her grandmother, the Duchess of Tamworth, offers her the chance to go to Colonial Virginia to check out her newly acquired tobacco plantation. We follow Barbara to the new world where she learns all she can about the tobacco farming and we get to meet some new and interesting characters, my favorite being Colonel Perry. Barbara eventually returns to England after receiving some letters from back home that there are new adventures afoot. She returns to England and finds herself in the midst of Jacobite investigations.

I think I would have liked this book more had it not been for the ending. The end scene was about one of supporting characters, not Barbara. In turn, I did not have that sense of “closure” so to say. I always like how a book wraps up everything nice and neat for you at the end. And after finishing the book, you walk away content, knowing your new friend will be well. I didn’t have that with this and it was a little disappointing.

Another thing that bothered me was that there were a lot of things not followed up on or worked out…a lot of open issues…which leads me to believe that that there may be another sequel?!

Overall: 4/5

Song: Alive by Pearl Jam

More wisdom from the Duchess of Tamworth: “Keep one’s eyes upon the goal desired, not upon the delays and impediments” show less

The sequel to Through a Glass Darkly. I like this book a lot, but it took longer for me to get into it. I would love for Karleen Koen to continue writing about Barbara so I know how her story ends.