William drops Anna's diary onto his lap as he covers his face with his hands to hide the tears streaming down his face. Sobs shake his entire being. How could he have been so wrong? Why had he listened to the rumours instead of his heart? How could he have been so foolish? The truth lay in the book lying inert in his lap, a year of hopes and dreams and way too much sorrow. Could he bridge that gap now? Or was it too late? The diary gave him hope. ( )

I had both good and bad feelings about this book. It is presented as the diary of Anna, an English woman recently married to William, an American, who is working in the newly developing oil industry in Tampico in Mexico in 1919. Over a year or so, her diaries detail her thoughts on the place (with some wonderfully evocative descriptions), her feelings towards her husband, her loneliness, and later her involvement with an orphanage. The diary manages to include a fair amount of description but still read like a diary, and both Anna and William come over as likeable people. Anna is a keen reader, and the chapter titles and quotes within the diary come from the books she is reading. The paragraph on the back cover, though not included in the main text, links together the diary and the final part of the story.

However, two aspects of the book were not so good. Some of the words Anna uses betray the fact that the author is American and not English. She has obviously made an attempt to use British spellings, and colour and neighbour generally have their u’s, but I noticed grays, fall, gotten, traveled with only one l, sidewalk, pants (for British trousers), ‘I wrote her’ rather than ‘I wrote to her’, etc, etc. If it had been written entirely with American spellings and words and for just that audience it would maybe have been OK, but when the book is emphasising that Anna is English and her husband American it just became distracting. If the author was not confident of dealing with this correctly, she maybe should have got editorial help to sort this out.

Also, and especially in the later parts of the book, there are other signs of lack of editorial and proofreading input. ‘Classic’ spelling and punctuation errors such as desert when dessert (pudding) was meant, it’s when it should have been its, lightening for what happens in a thunderstorm, and the name of one character changing from Ninette to Nanette then back again were amongst those I noticed.

I realise that however many times you check something there is probably still the odd mistake that will creep through (and I’ll no doubt find a typo or two in my review as soon as I have posted it!), but I am afraid the fact that the author had not made her character authentically English, together with the lack of proofreading, made me wonder if I could also trust her accuracy with the historical and locational aspects and spoilt for me what was otherwise a very enjoyable book. ( )

I guess I really did not having any expectations when starting this book, but I was instantly intrigued by the way it was written. Daily diary entries placed into chapters headed by the book title that Anna, the writer was reading at the time.

For me the book seemed real, it was her real thoughts, some accounts of her daily activities, and those of her garden neighbors. It was never high action (excepting one portion) but that is how Anna's life was.

I think I also was able to connect with a lot of her ideas and thoughts, and as always being able to relate to a character makes the book all the more special.

There was also a lot of historical information intermingled in the story, which I always love. It is so much better to learn history through the eyes of someone living it than through a boring textbook or classroom lecture.

I am truly thankful for my opportunity to read this book (thanks to the Member Giveaway) even though it may not be my favorite book ever it truly touched me, which makes it magical in my estimation.

I hope that Elizabeth Braun continues to write.

Oh and one more thought, the back of the book still has me perplexed. I haven't quite decided whether I think it to be odd or ingenious. ( )

the story was like a steady settle creek. No big ups or downs, but it keeps you engaged. Little details about the garden and her surroundings were beautifully described. First I struggeled with the quotes from other books but then I was looking forward to them. The ending was kind of sudden and surprising but thinking that this story was set in 1919-1920 the status of a woman is different that it is today and it may not be that surprising. Overall a good read. ( )