Elusive Hope

Elusive Hope
MaryLu Tyndall 
Barbour Publishing 
January 2014
Fiction, Romance, History 

Embark on an exotic adventure in Book 2 of the Escape to Paradise series from bestselling author MaryLu Tyndall. In the fledgling colony of New Hope, their friends struggle to create a Southern utopia in Brazil soon after the Civil War. But Hayden is seeking revenge—relentlessly. And Magnolia is seeking a way out—desperately. They both seek to use the other for their own purposes—deceptively. Falling in love was never part of their plans. . . .

Jungles, pirates, mysterious spirits, romance, and more. This book has just about everything. The historical aspects are absolutely fascinating. I had no idea there was a large group of southerners who escaped and started new lives for themselves in Brazil after the Civil War. Crazy but true!

The first book in this series had me utterly captivated so I was eager to read this second book. By the way, you definitely want to read these in order. Unfortunately, this book just got a bit weird. There were a number of storylines going on and they very rarely intersected. There was just too much going on. There was also a evil spiritual realm in the book that I found creepy and very odd. The book ends with nothing wrapped up other than the romantic aspect. It left me cranky. It also left me anxious to read the next book. Yep, it's that kind of series and that kind of book. The characters are well developed and the plot is gripping. I just wish I knew which plot to follow.

My thanks to Barbour Publishing for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my real and honest review.