Sullivan, Laura L. Love by
the Morning Star. Houghton,
Mifflin, Harcourt, 2014. Violence: PG
(descriptive threats). Language: G (1
swear). 312 pages. $17.99. Sexual content: PG-13 (innuendo,
a young lady becomes pregnant [those scenes are lightly touched on], and the
profession of courtesans). The Nazis in
Germany are becoming more violent against Jews, so Hannah Morgenstern’s mother,
Cora, is English, so she sends her daughter to stay with stuffy relatives in
England. Hannah has grown up on the
stage of the cabaret and has a sultry beautiful voice. She is surprised when she arrives at Starkers
(an English estate) that she is taken to the kitchen and expected to be a
servant. Anna Morgan is the daughter of
a grocer/socialist. She is beautiful,
except for her large hands which she hides in gloves. Her goal in life is to marry well. Her father forces her to go to Starkers as a
kitchen maid/socialist spy. When she
arrives, Anna is delighted to be welcomed as a houseguest. Both Anna and Hannah are taken with Teddy,
Lord Winkfield. Confused identities
abound with late night romantic meetings in the dark, mixed signals, a foiled
assassination attempt on the King, and lots of marriage proposals. Teens looking for a light romantic read
(actually two of them), will be satisfied.
From a thinking reader’s standpoint, I couldn’t possibly believe that
the characters were so stupid as to not realize they were talking to a
different person during the day than the night.
Also the two females were mentally and physically quite different,
Hannah was small and smart and Anna was tall and stupid. Like Shakespeare’s comedy “All’s Well That
Ends Well”, happy endings all around.
HS – OPTIONAL.
Samantha Hastings, MA, MLS.