This book was very slow to start and didn't really hold my attention in the beginning. Once it got going, I felt that there was a big lack of character development, and that the story itself could have been better developed. The main reason for Alice's father's actions isn't even explained until over halfway through the book, just hinted at. And many of the rest of the character relationships are strained which makes the interactions toward the end all that much more unbeliveable.

This is a painful story to get through once you realize how trapped both Alice and her mother were, by Frank, and by society's views of women at that time. Everything wraps up too neatly at the end as wlel, which makes me feel as though Alice's pain was for nothing. ( )

My Rating: 4.5

I was not expecting that I will finished this novel within 24 hours. This well-written historical fiction novel is really a page turner. I was also quite surprised that Czepiel did her research well about the Violet industry, wet nursing and prostitution during that era.

I just hate how women were treated during those years. We are like second class citizen because the way some men value us. The characters of Alice and her mother Ida standing from their own battles shows how women could be as strong as or maybe tougher than men.

I was just sort of sad that Joe and Alice didn't end up together. I had high hopes that Joe will not think of Alice as a wh*re just because she ended up as a housemaid in a brothel. But I guess I put too much expectation on Joe's character. There was no closure on their story because Joe isn't open-minded as I was expecting him to be. If only they could have talk on what happened, maybe Joe will also left the town with them and could've married Alice. In spite of that, Alice had a happy marriage with Pieter and had a fortunate life when they left their old town.

If you are looking for something that deals with women empowerment, I highly recommend this novel because it depicts how women endures yet they survive and succeed in the end. ( )

This book was released in 2012 and yes I read it as a real book, a paperback. I love the cover. I love anything purple and my birth month flower is the violet. It is Kathy Czepiel’s first book, hopefully not the last!! This book is a great historical fiction book set in the late 1800′s. It is a story that revolves around the Fletcher family and the family business of violet raising in the Hudson River Valley. We get a look at how hard the women worked in their everyday lives.

Alice has quit school to work on the farm. Life on the farm is full of hardships and they never have enough money. Alice’s mother earns money as a wet-nurse. When Alice is sent away by her father, Frank, he states she is in the city working at a factory. Her mother, Ida smells a rat, but doesn’t know what has happened to her daughter. Where has he sent her? What is she doing? Is she okay? These are basic questions that her mother can’t answer. After her friend Joe receives a disturbing letter from Alice, Ida and Joe go to look for Alice. What will they find? What horrible thing has happened to Alice, to make her think Joe won’t want her anymore? The truth is heartbreaking and rocks the foundation of Ida and Frank’s marriage. Frank is not the person Ida thought he was.

This time period is one where women were beginning to become independent. They had limited options as far as work and employment. This book shows us how attitudes and treatment of women over the years have undergone changes. Women of the 1800s were such strong people and had to endure so much.

The book is well written and thought out. It is told from Ida and Alice’s viewpoints, but it is not confusing. The book contains excerpts from an interview with an older and more experienced Alice that give insights to the chapters and how she felt about things. I really enjoyed this book. There are a lot of issues packed into this novel. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. ( )