Rating: 9 · 334 pages
I was the lucky recipient of an Advance Reader's Copy of Bulls Island by Dorothea Benton Frank. When I got the note that this was the one they were going to send me, I was really thrilled, because I have enjoyed previous novels by this author. Bulls Island was yet another great book, written as most of her others are in the setting of the South Carolina Lowcountry. I've never visited that area of the U.S., but I long to go now that I have "traveled" there through her novels. There's something extra-special about that area, I can tell from just reading about it.
Bulls Island was one of those books that start off fast, then slow (way) down, and then pick up to a nice speed for the last set of chapters. I particularly enjoyed the story of Betts & J.D., the main characters. In a way, I wished that Betts had had the opportunity to tell her big secret before fate told it for her; I would have liked to see her family's reactions (and J.D.'s) in a more normal setting. But maybe it was better the way they did come to find out. The shock of the recent events probably helped to dull the anger that would have inevitably cropped up after finding out what Betts had been hiding for so long.
There were 2 characters I loved to hate: Louisa and Valerie. And maybe this is bad, but I had very little sympathy for Valerie. What a total witch! At the end, at least Louisa redeemed herself somewhat by insisting on some morality and decency regarding the situation between her son and Betts.
Overall, though the story was a bit unbelievable in certain parts, I found myself turning the pages happily, excited to find out what was going to happen next. I wish we would have been able to find out more about how Betts and J.D.'s relationship ended up - an epilogue including their wedding would have been nice. I really wanted to see those two make it happily ever after. But we're led to believe that's what would happen anyway, so I guess that will have to do!
