but good reader, interesting story
590925
Still on the story, but good reader, interesting story.....has taken turns I never would have guessed.
3292213
The story is interesting and the medical procedures are accurate and probably really good for readers that do not have this technical knowledge
3662769
It's a good book, interesting story, well written.  It's a fast read.  We read it for our book club.  Most of us liked it.  A couple people were dissappointed and felt it could have been better.  It's not on my favorite's list, but it was worth the time.
2365090
Maybe not one of my favorites, but I did like the story.
1269552
It was an unusual  novel; I'm not going to sugar coat it.  But the main character is a strong (albeit unusual) woman, and the story is worth reading.
168438
Story narrator is not a very likeable character, but his life experiences explains much.  Story is complex, but readable.
3403293
This "autobiography" of a tiny lady (not even a yardstick in height)was very interesting reading. Though I take this sort of historical fiction with a grain of salt (after all, these are real people who have an imagined life through the author) it was truly an enjoyable tale.

The period of history from the mid-1800's through the early 1900's is represented quite well through the language and actions of all of the people Melanie Benjamin touches upon. She gives insight primarily into the lives of Vinnie Warren (who becomes the wife of Tom Thumb), Charles Stratton (aka General Tom Thumb), Vinnie's smaller sister Minnie and P.T. Barnum. She does a fine job of bringing them all to life and putting a glaring spotlight on circus/sideshow attractions at a time when political correctness was not in vogue. The feeling and flavor of the time period shines.

This book definitely inspired me to seek more information on Vinnie, Tom Thumb and P.T. Barnum and the author gives us a few websites and sources to check out in her Author's Notes. I actually found the Author's Notes as interesting, if not more so, since they contained the basic facts & history that the story is based upon.

What I did find interesting (and perhaps a little disappointing) was that Ms. Benjamin states that Vinnie's own, genuine autobiography exists, but is bland and incomplete. The idea that she is almost "rewriting" an autobiography to spice it up just sounded wrong, but then again, that is what historical fiction is all about, I suppose.

I would have also liked to see more photos to put faces to the names of all the people in the story since there are so many unusual characters who were very real people. There is one picture of Vinnie, but I found many photos of the entire clan online and that really brought them to life for me.

I'd definitely recommend this fun read, but be prepared to want to know even more!
4437468
Holds your attention. Good read, Interesting.
2726596
I thought that this story was interesting. Reading a book written in the 1st person was different for me. It took reading a few pages but I became used to it and I enjoyed the perspective. I liked the story and I definitely recommend reading it.
3817498
This was a very unusual story and different way of writing, it was interesting and frustrating all at the same time, but it did all come together at the end, and questions were answered eventually.  For the avid reader it is still a good choice.
2949259
Intriguing story, keeps you involved...but could have used a little something more depth. That said, it's worth the read, and I'm glad I read it.
Note: I read this book for free as a part of KindleFirst, but I probably would have paid to read it if it had been recommended to me.
1054347
A good story and entertaining read overall.  There were times when the story felt overly predictable, hence my middling review.  Without spoiling anything, the identity of the antagonist  was fairly evident early on.  Otherwise, the writing style was good, proofreading was good (sadly that's not always the case with some Kindle books), and the tale was interesting.
2376412
I enjoyed reading this story. There were some hiccups which bothered me though.

Pros:
Interesting characters. I liked that Victoria had to slowly come to accept of her feelings for Thunder Heart, overcoming her prejudice and her religious and cultural taboos. Thunder Heart is also a like-able and believable character. He has many traits that are misconstrued by Victoria as being flaws because of her misunderstanding of the Lakota culture.

Good interactions between characters.

Interesting Plot.

Seemed to be well researched.

HEA- Usually books in this time frame and subject matter are dark and depressing, which is understandable, but I like that the author decided to avoid a lot of blood-shed in her story. It was refreshing to actually read about a better ending than the other novels I have read concerning the American Indian wars and the Lakota.

Cons:
First half of the story is long and drawn out but the second half of the story feels rushed (at the end of the story months pass with only a notation remarking on it) and concluded to quickly.

The mother was a bit of a mystery. We never find out wether she is slowly losing her sanity or if she was acting and if it was an act than what were her motivations? This character spends most of her time being loopy in the beginning of the story but then seems to be fine during the second part. No mention as to what her motivations were to learn the Lakota language, other than to tweak the nose of her husband. Or what made her so frightened of her husband. This character would have been more interesting and relevant, I think, if we just had more back story on her.

PET PEEVES: (These are small things that don't necessarily detract from the story overall but I found personally annoying)

This poor character doesn't get to take a bath for what seems like WEEKS! I felt itchy while I was reading and just rushed through passages just so I could get the satisfaction of Victoria getting to bathe. This of course has no bearing on the story, after all the character could have taken a bath after everyone reached main camp and was just never mentioned but I wanted the scene where she FINALLY gets to wash off the funk and get her hair clean after weeks of trudging through the prairie coated in grime and sweat.  There was a scene where Victoria ALMOST made it to take the waterfall but then ran away before getting to bathe that made me want to scream.

A doe was killed and her fawn left to die because the Lakota didn't believe in keeping pets. Okay, I know this would be a hard fact of life but it bothered me. This a romance and I wanted the heroine to keep the fawn and raise it, maybe as a symbol that sometimes change can be good, or whatever. I'm just an animal lover and it bugged me so much that I just skipped passages until the story progressed. Once again, this has no bearing on the story as a whole just a personal pet peeve.

In the Epilogue section, the children are described as running around and talking but these children are only A YEAR OLD. One year-old children are not running around and speaking in coherent sentences at this stage. That one little thing just completely took me right out of the story. You can suspend disbelief on some things but this wasn't one of them.

I wish Amazon would provide a larger star rating. If I had ten stars I would give this story a Seven stars out of Ten but have to settle for a Three star rating. Overall this was a good story and I enjoyed it despite some hiccups. It would be great if this story was expanded and tweaked in a future re-release - *shrug* Just saying.
2656845
This was a very interesting story, told quite well.  The author veered into areas that seemed irrelevant at first.  However, all the other aspects tied into the central story.
92416
This was an interesting story. Overall, I enjoyed it enough to buy the second book in the Regia Series.
Forest had a lot of issues which are understandable as the story moves along.
Some readers have complained about her character being too whiney and indecisive. However, everyone deals with adversity (real or perceived) in their own way. Considering the environment Forest was born into and lived in, her waffling is understandable.
2497800
This was interesting.  No news that the slaves were badly mistreated, but a good story anyway.  This is a good author.
2845618
Some reviewers didn't like the ending, but so what.  I didn't like it either, but its the author's story not mine.  Overall, its an interesting story that moves along at a good pace.  Don't get hung up on whether or not a corporation would send in a team that is poorly trained or ill equipped.  Just enjoy the story.