Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Keeping Kate” direct from the publisher Bonneville Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Inspired to Read:
Originally I had it in mind to finish my readings of the original canon of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronté, as I had begun to read the classical novel during *Septemb-Eyre, 2013*! I even managed to articulate my thoughts on behalf of the first chapter sections as assigned by the hostess of the event itself! However, proceeding forward from there because a bit of a spiraling muddlement of bookish angst — I simply couldn’t put my thoughts back into Jane Eyre! I re-attempted to capture the joy whilst willing to re-read the original portion I had consumed and thus carry forward with the story alongside Maggie @ Macacroons & Paperbacks inasmuch as I wanted to start to make a positive head-way on my *Books of Eyre* reading challenge (also begun in 2013!)
When I found the blog tour for Keeping Kate, Autumn had barely winked into view, and I felt as my tour stop would be far, far ahead into January, surely I’d have enough days, hours, and weeks ahead of that particular day to read Jane Eyre? Sadly, I did not. Therefore, despite my willingness to keep a promise I made to myself about reading original canons ahead of after canons, I am once again reading them out of order! I must admit, when I read Sense & Sensibility during *Austen in August* 2014, I did not regret my choice of ‘when I read it’!
The best we can do is to attempt to read books in the order of preference we ideally have for each story, but sometimes, life has a better plan in store for us! I always felt stories arrive in our lives at the right moments in time where we’re meant to drink in their beauty; perhaps I was meant to read Keeping Kate ahead of Jane Eyre; because one thing I know for sure, I couldn’t get out of my own headspace to continue with the previous undertaking! I kept thinking I’d fall short as I continued to read the story, that I wouldn’t be able to resume where I had left off with my ruminations, etc. Sometimes we just need to ‘break out’ of our thoughts on a particular story and save it for a day that allows it to re-alight in our lives when the joy resumes within the discovery of the text!
I am looking forward to talking about this after canon with both Charlene @ Bookish Whimsy + Maggie, as they both adore Jane Eyre! I, myself came to discover Ms. Eyre through her motion picture adaptation, so you could say my entire history has been bent a bit backwards towards the printed page! Laughs.
Keeping Kate
by Lauren Winder Farnsworth
Source: Direct from Publisher
"Don't you love me, Kate?" Has everything you ever felt for me really disappeared in less than ten minutes?"
"I do love you," I said woodenly. "I always will. But you'll never hear it from me again."
Kate Evans has never had a real family -- and she's never dreamed of falling in love. But when she gets a job taking care of a little girl on a lonely Utah ranch, Kate's determined to make a life for herself.
Right up until the moment she meets her irritable employer. . .
Sparks fly in this LDS twist on the classic Jane Eyre. Equal parts suspenseful, entertaining, and romantic, it's an addicting read that's sure to capture your heart.
Places to find the book:
Published by Bonneville Books
on 13th January, 2015
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Published By: Bonneville Books (@BonnevilleBooks),
an imprint ofCedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
Converse on Twitter via: #KeepingKate
About Lauren Winder Farnsworth
Lauren Winder Farnsworth was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is an avid reader, a chocolate enthusiast, a musicophile and a CPA…who somehow also finds time to indulge in her real obsession—writing. She obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Utah, and the only entity that holds more of her heart than her alma mater is her husband, Bryan. Lauren currently lives in South Jordan, Utah, where she spends entirely too time watching Gilmore Girls and looking for excuses not to clean.
On the similarities and differences of Jane Eyre:
From the first moment Kate Evans walks across the page, I felt a tightening in my heart towards her, as her spirit of self-awareness and of place within the folds of her life were very true to course! Kate is the kind of character I am oft-times in search of uncovering; not merely in Classical Lit but within the Contemporary realms as well! She has a captivating way of giving you just enough of a pause of thought on what is happening to her as to ground you within her scope of the story itself. She hasn’t had the easiest of lives but she’s not despondent about it either! No! She’s as bold and direct about her circumstances fate has dealt her as Eyre with the moxie of her predecessor for digging deep into her faith and placing a firm foothold into a future that surely must lead to something not quite as darkening as her childhood!
Rather than being taken to a Gothic estate set far away from active society, Kate is led to a small mountain towne in Utah, where the community she felt she would uncover would be quite ordinary turnt into an extraordinary settled development where estates were more regular than cabins! Tucked away from most conveniences, her new dwelling was a far cry of being the center of modern life and had a more natural bent towards embracing the natural world of which surrounded the ranch where she was accepting employment.
Thornfield Hall is turnt into ‘Thorne Field Ranch’, where Adele becomes Addie, and Mrs. Fairfaxes name receives a change of ‘firsts’. The ambiance of the place remains intact, to where opulence and finery outweigh sensible style and pleasure. Rochester has surely met his match in Mr. Thorne! I never thought you could quite elicit out a duality of whom Rochester was in both origin and spirit, but Tyler Thorne has nailed him in such a justifiable way as to honour him through reincarnation!
The main difference of course, is that instead of a dark secret in the attic that causes the most angst in the climax of Jane Eyre, in Keeping Kate Tyler Thorne is betwixt knowing how to shift forward in life after his wife abandoned him, claimed infidelity, and straddled him with a child of whom she insisted was not his own. Yet dealing with the reality of this situation and the layers in which are knitted into the in-between moments where Kate and Tyler find themselves quite bemuseful of each other’s company, therein lies the best choices Farnsworth gave the novel!
She doesn’t allow this to be a ‘quick fix’ nor does she make the situation feel ‘contrite or predictable’. She took the harder road — to show realistic choices, raw human emotion, and levelled it with honesty about the depth of the human heart. The pace of the story is the most beautiful aspect of Keeping Kate because it allows you to let the tides of the narrative wash over you, lull you into the shoes of the main characters, and take a reprieve from your own affairs. Read More
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Time and Again
Somewhere Beyond the Sea