The Valley

The Valley Trilogy, Book 1

By: Helen Bryan

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Left suddenly penniless, the Honorable Sophia Grafton, a viscount's orphaned daughter, sails to the New World to claim the only property left to her name: a tobacco plantation in the remote wilds of colonial Virginia. Enlisting the reluctant assistance of a handsome young French spy - at gunpoint - she gathers an unlikely group of escaped slaves and indentured servants, each seeking their own safe haven in the untamed New World.

What follows will test her courage and that of her companions as they struggle to survive a journey deep into a hostile wilderness and eventually forge a community of homesteads and deep bonds that will unite them for generations.

The first installment in an epic historical trilogy by Helen Bryan, the bestselling author of War Brides and The Sisterhood, The Valley is a sweeping, unforgettable tale of hardship, tenacity, love, and heartache.

©2016 Helen Bryan (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Mixed feelings

The book wasn’t quite what I expected. Although I love historical romances & listened quite eagerly- it was more because I anticipated the book would at any moment gain momentum & slowly build up as any good novel does. Sadly the first part was the better part & the unfortunate chain of events that brought Sophie & the slaves to the Virginia wilderness just dwindled towards the end. The fact that she & all the others that started out in the valley died made it difficult to keep up with more & more generations that followed & the constant appearance of new names. It felt as though the author was more concerned with setting the scene for the new book to follow. I felt a little confused at the end as though I lost touch with all the characters I got to know in the first 30 chapters of the book. Narration was superb & by far the best part of this listening experience.

1st Book

I loved this book, the story, the characters, the way it moved and flowed. I will be anxious for the 2nd book in this series. Hope I don't need to was it to long.

Didn't love the characters...

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I did enjoy the book, but as the last few chapters came I was disappointed that the main character, Sophie, died, and I found I was not attached to any other characters. I didn't find that there was any compelling love story here, and nothing that makes me buy the next book to see what happened. So wanted to love this! Sorry it didn't seem to deliver for me.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

I found there was no true love or romance between any of the characters. It seemed every married out of convenience rather than because there was a lasting love. Sophie and Andre never did fall in love with each other...A few of the slaves fell in love, but this was not really developed to where it was compelling.

nothing great

it’s was an ok story... nothing special... just a long listen... lots of charters so it was hard to “feel” for any... i kept waiting for it to get better

History lessons

Performance was great and I felt like I was getting a pretty accurate history lesson, but there wasn’t a lot of character development that allowed you to bond with the individual subjects. I felt empathy for the slaves and The native Americans and wasn’t surprised at the ignorance of most of the whites. Unfortunately history seems to be repeating itself which this book does relate.