Book Review: A Catch of Consequence by Diana Norman

A Catch of Consequence was a really good read. Set at the beginning in pre-revolutionary Boston and then for the remainder of the novel in England, it is a great historical novel. I particularly enjoyed the characters, especially Makepeace Burke, our heroine. She has fiery red hair and a temper to match, not to mention a drive to see things happen. When she finds a man drowning, she has to save him, and the rest of the story is the outfall of that one decision. Not only is the man she rescues a British peer, but he was being drowned by the rebels in Boston who frequented Makepeace’s tavern.

In true romantic fashion, Makepeace and the man she rescued, Sir Phillip Dapifer, fall in love, and despite the difference in social standing, get married. They don’t, however, live happily ever after. Sir Phillip’s first-wife, who he divorced because she committed adultery with his best friend, makes sure that life for them is miserable, eventually leading to the death of Sir Phillip. It is this point that the story focuses on Makepeace and what she has to do to heal herself and move on with her life.

As I said, I really liked this book. I thought that there were interesting changes in character for Makepeace, while keeping the thread of who she truly is. I honestly didn’t understand why she fell in love with Sir Phillip. He seemed a rather flat character who didn’t have the passion to deserve her. The plot is focused and mostly all of the characters were delightful or served a purpose for the novel.

A few things I did not like about the book centered on the writing. I found myself a little stunned by the abrupt transitions between paragraphs. I sometimes didn’t understand that I was reading about another character until I was a few paragraphs into the change. This was disorienting and troublesome for me as I’m not a quick reader and don’t gloss over sentences or paragraphs. I also found some of the dialect extremely difficult to understand, impossible in some instances.

Those concerns were little, though. A Catch of Consequence is a delightful book that I enjoyed reading from the first page until the last. I’m looking forward to my next Diana Norman book.