rating: **1/2
publisher: Zondervan
Gwen Arlington is more than just a pretty face. She is determined to make the best mayoral candidate Bethlehem Springs has ever seen.
And nothing---- not her growing attraction to rival Morgan McKinley or the underhanded plot of a sinister enemy---will keep her from living up to her god-given potential.
Female strength is embodied in a feminine way by Gwen and in a more visceral, tomboyish way by her sister, Cleo.
The two are perfectly matched for each other and provide some of the soul of the novel. The end of the novel allows us a glimpse into Cleo's plot: the focus of Hatcher's next release.
A Vote of Confidence reminded me a lot of Catching Katie, Hatcher's earlier novel about the suffragette movement and an equally determined young woman who must come to terms with the conflict burgeoning romance pits against her inner convictions.
Hatcher did well in both cases addressing the problematic situation which arises when a strong female is forced to submit to a male presence for self-preservation ( this comes literally in A Vote of Confidence in a thrilling rescue scene).
This was a nice bit of confection but I couldn't help but feel it was missing a bit of spark. Perhaps it is Hatcher's busy and prolific writing style but I felt she wrote somewhow disengaged from her characters: as if she were plaintively relaying her story rather than bursting with infectious enthusiasm to bring them to page.
Well worth a glance for summer historical reading.
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