Book Review : A Stranger's Love : a tricky family takeover and a fast blooming lovebirds filled with new perspective to look through dark rumors
Megan has good reason to hate the prosperous Ackton family, the mill owners whom she holds responsible for her mother's death. However, determined that they will not shorten her life, she runs away. After falling into a canal, she is accused of being a madwoman for attempting suicide, and is sent to the asylum. Megan is rescued from her fate by Mr Nathan Ackton, and finds that she owes her liberty to a member of the family she loathes.
Yes, I know it sounds like something that would be criticized recently because it's a weak woman saved by a rich guy, right?, however it is a reality that woman has to face back then, the author has to be realistic and at least this story is not one that romanticize a manipulative rich guy to get what he wants, even though I would still enjoy such story, not all characters have to be perfect, I think. But yes it sounds pretty boring at first, but I was still interested to read it and finally found my way to feel satisfied with how it turned out. From the whole story you may already read from the synopsis, but that's just a sugar to make this story feels so sweet, it is sweet indeed but it has a perfect complication that we would face if we live back then with such toxic family who owned a 'pitiful' business, that enslaves its workers from day and night with lots of death and runaway.
The author made me think that the Acktons are cruel, they are rich folks who care nothing about others especially its workers, started with Megan's father who went into the war in Spain and her mother, brother trying to make it out alive by working under the Acktons, it's a mill with such bad quality of air that only brings sickness to the workers and profit only to the family, later apparently wasted for 'drink and women, horse-racing bets, and many more' by its head of family, Jonas Ackton and his brother Ambrose. Megan's brother and mother died already due to bad treatment from the environment in there, so Megan runaway and caught herself floating on a river like a madwoman, then captured by James Heppel who attempted to bring her to his Asylum, an asylum with such huge privacy that everyone in the town who doesn't know Heppel personally would think that they torture the patients there with chains and everything. But Megan managed to save herself from that and again, saved by Nathan Ackton, Jonas' only son. Nathan is different however, he is intended to fix the Ackton mill, giving a fair trade for its workers unlike his father, so he wanted to make a deal with Megan who also agreed to it, they'll get married and Nathan would get his wedding gift which is an inheritance with a huge sum of money, profitable for both sides, Megan gets to live safely as long as it's not in the asylum, also she wants to help Nathan and he gets what he wants to give the best for Ackton mill's workers, but you have to understand that there is no rivalry between them, they made a deal as good friends who are also in love at each other, their feelings grew even stronger by the end of the story. It turned out well, Nathan did get what he wanted and they both finally make their feelings real for each other, not just a play part of deal. Nathan is also in a very good term with Mr. Heppel who apparently has been taking good care of the asylum's facilities aswell as its patients, he even has a romantic and pure relationship with Nathan's mom, Juliana who was sent to the asylum by her own husband which is Jonas because she couldn't get pregnant again and depressed due to Nathan gone into the war before. The asylum is a perfect facility, unlike what the rumor said, that's why I mention on the title of this book review that this book also brought a new perspective for us not to just plainly swallowed rumors, especially how asylum has been a horror institution known for ghost investigators usually. The other interesting part which is the big complication itself is how Nathan made a deal with Heppel to pay for all Acktons' debt in return to Nathan's inheritance money once he married Megan already because that was the promise and the deal between Nathan and Jonas, Jonas did want a male heir so much that he would give every bit of the inheritance to Nathan, so he wants Nathan to wed someone and get him a grandson. Once Nathan paid Heppel with the inheritance money, he officially would own the mill and give the best for its workers, it worked out well and I didn't even expect it, he actually had it all planned out. One of the best parts I read is when Megan suddenly met her father in the asylum, he returned from the war to find his wife and children die so he gets to the asylum to make use of his talent of tending the garden, it just blooms my heart so much to read their reunion.
I may have left few parts of the book from the detailed summary above but I just think those stuff that I have told already are the most important ones, a tricky family takeover for a good sake, and a wrong perception about the asylum that actually make me think of how good the author was about describing the whole thing. The twist for the family takeover was such a clever way for us to first, believe that Jonas was not going to lose, especially with his overconfident pride and perhaps more experienced with the mill business, but then he got overthrown by his own son whom I thought was not going to make his plan work out, based on how he was so sure about everything, or how he was a failure after the war but he did manage to get himself up and to better every things that he has to fix as an Ackton, Jonas did waste his money along with Ambrose for gambling and stuff that they couldn't even pay Heppel back, the only hope they have is Nathan himself, damn the whole plan is so smart. Also, I really believed that the asylum was that bad, and how Mr. Heppel is such a dark figure that you wouldn't want to mess with or he would send you up to his facility, I even found a resemblance of Mr. Heppel's physical appearance to Vlad, a vampire in The Sims 4, if you get it, just a tall white pale old man always with black attire, and also Juliana! I imagine her as a pretty woman with red dress and long brown hair, the author did not describe her much, not even the red attire or brown hair but my mind just fit the name into the character, maybe it all depends on how relative the imagination that the reader has. Other things I see as a strength about this book is how fast some parts of storyline were but it did finish what it started, although I do think that it may seemed like a quick way to just get to the resolution, like how Megan attended few balls or events prior to her wedding, that was a fast one but somehow I didn't mind because I didn't think it was that important to describe so fully anyway, the author did explain few parts that I think was well-described with enough details for me to imagine, even though I do find some weaknesses that made me hard to read or picturr some things.
I found that not much description given to the characters, author did explain a good description about the environment, the places, the atmosphere, and clothes, except the characters, only few characters like Mr. Heppel, maybe to support the dark vibe he has to make us think he really is a horrible asylum owner, or Nathan when he was wounded, but I don't see much about Megan, except how she looks pretty and her new bonnets. It ended up with me imagining the characters by myself, without a clear direction. Before that, I did found an oddness within the romance journey between the lovebirds which were Megan and Nathan, their love story was so quick, it was.. I thought not so realistic and such a lazy way to get through the climax, but then I thought.. that is realistic too! people fall in love so easy in real life, for some people at least, especially when you have the good look and attitude, moreover it was set when women were fully depended on man, I could understand why Megan did not hesitate to accept him quickly, he fits all the criteria and she fits it too with a bit of rebellious act and word, which sometimes can be a typical act to expect especially when the character came from a poor background, also a great criteria for male characters who love to 'tame' them, just from how I've witnessed some stories through films that some guys do love rebellious partner, and later, toxically, to tame her. But I do sure hope that Nathan did not intend to do that.
Thankfully, the cover of this book saved me a bit of time to imagine, I can picture Megan's pretty face and her blue bonnet at least, or how suffered she looks. I also think that cover with painting as its main highlight to show how the whole story or the main character look like is a great representative for period novels, it's not cringy because back then people did picture everything with paintings anyway, so it makes sense. Besides the physical strength of the book, I found that the language is simple, few conversations did felt weird if you're not used to read period fictions, but you'll get used to it and it was not hard to read, especially when you compare this to Bronte or Austen's works where they were released during the actual timelines of the book's setting. This one book is modern, what I meant modern is its flexibility of language, although the setting is period time, the author understands that the readers are now modern people with simple english language, even back then, I had to read the simplified english version of Wuthering Heights in order to actually understand the whole thing. What I'm saying is, this book is perfectly understandable for those who use english as its second or third language, or just native english-speaker who prefers to read modern writing.
I think this book is good for everyone, especially young adults to elders who love romance period drama, with a twist of family problems in it, also not much of a struggle for imaginative reader. Good day!
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