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Place of Peace
High-spirited Genny Romayne is determined not to marry the man her father has chosen for her. Her daring pursuit of independence leads her to a man she will come to love and hate, and sets them both on a quest for truth that may cost them their lives. Ethan Carey is the man who sees more to Genny than the stubborn, selfish young woman she appears to be. He has just begun to earn her trust when catastrophe strikes, but he must first conquer his own demons before he can begin to put right all that has happened between himself and Genny. Playing out against the backdrop of the post Civil War South, this is a captivating tale of a love between two people that, try as they might, neither can resist.
332 pages, Paperback
First published February 27, 2010
17 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Debra B. Diaz
15 books23 followersDebra B. Diaz is the author of the "Woman of Sin" Trilogy, and she has written several novels in the historical and romantic suspense genres. She is retired and enjoys spending time with her family, doing research on Biblical topics, and writing books. Her goal as a writer is to not only entertain, but to challenge and inspire!
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 15, 2020
This is the third book by Debra Diaz that I've read. She is just amazing at developing her characters and keeping you glued to the book until the last page. I really liked this story, and I was reminded again that being honest and humble is always the best way to act in any situation. Genny's attitude after she thought her husband was cheating on her was childish and prideful. Had she acted the right way and openly discuss the matter with him, she would have avoided much heartache for both of them. I also enjoyed the historical facts on the yellow fever, which I knew little about. How devastating this disease has been, but what compassion and dedication from so many people it prompted! Thank you, Debra, for another excellent clean romance and for all the work you put in it!
May 22, 2011
I wanted to like this book, but I was completely distracted by unlikable characters and a lack of cohesion to the story.
The story starts with Genny Romayne being annoyed with her family, and the demands they place on her. She sees herself as a commodity, and not a loved member of the family. So she does what anyone would do... runs away from home. With a great deal of unbelievable coincidences and a few well-placed lies, she becomes a nurse/receptionist/bookkeeper for a respected doctor. Although she has no training as a nurse, she quickly finds herself a part of the household. When the doctor, Ethan Carey, discovers the truth, they decide to run away and get married. It is not all wedded bliss, but rather than confront the problems, first Genny, and then Ethan decide running away is the best course of action... ending up in Memphis in the middle of the yellow fever epidemic.
Genny is an unlikeable character. She is selfish, lying and manipulating things to suit her fancy. At one point, the author goes into great detail about how Genny wishes to manipulate Ethan. Her solution to any problem is not to solve it, but rather to run away. She is childish, and doesn't grow up until the last fifty pages or so. At that point, it felt required rather than natural. Ethan himself isn't above avoiding things, and his love for Genny seems superficial. He struggles with dark demons of his past thanks to a faithless fiancee and his participation in the War of Northern Aggression.He doesn't grow and change as a character until the last handful of pages, and the change is rather inexplicable. At several points throughout the story I felt the desperate wish to shake some sense into the characters. No one had any depth.
The constant changes of setting were abrupt, and interrupted the flow of the story. There were parts that went right from "I'm going away" to "I've been here for a month and am on a first name basis with everyone". Time kept passing, and nothing happened. People weren't met, they were just suddenly best friends or beaus... there was a lot of telling what happened rather than have it happen. It was frustrating that there was so little to keep the story moving forward. The few attempts at suspense were lackluster and felt out of place.
As much as I wanted to enjoy this story, I found myself deeply disappointed in the writing.
The story starts with Genny Romayne being annoyed with her family, and the demands they place on her. She sees herself as a commodity, and not a loved member of the family. So she does what anyone would do... runs away from home. With a great deal of unbelievable coincidences and a few well-placed lies, she becomes a nurse/receptionist/bookkeeper for a respected doctor. Although she has no training as a nurse, she quickly finds herself a part of the household. When the doctor, Ethan Carey, discovers the truth, they decide to run away and get married. It is not all wedded bliss, but rather than confront the problems, first Genny, and then Ethan decide running away is the best course of action... ending up in Memphis in the middle of the yellow fever epidemic.
Genny is an unlikeable character. She is selfish, lying and manipulating things to suit her fancy. At one point, the author goes into great detail about how Genny wishes to manipulate Ethan. Her solution to any problem is not to solve it, but rather to run away. She is childish, and doesn't grow up until the last fifty pages or so. At that point, it felt required rather than natural. Ethan himself isn't above avoiding things, and his love for Genny seems superficial. He struggles with dark demons of his past thanks to a faithless fiancee and his participation in the War of Northern Aggression.He doesn't grow and change as a character until the last handful of pages, and the change is rather inexplicable. At several points throughout the story I felt the desperate wish to shake some sense into the characters. No one had any depth.
The constant changes of setting were abrupt, and interrupted the flow of the story. There were parts that went right from "I'm going away" to "I've been here for a month and am on a first name basis with everyone". Time kept passing, and nothing happened. People weren't met, they were just suddenly best friends or beaus... there was a lot of telling what happened rather than have it happen. It was frustrating that there was so little to keep the story moving forward. The few attempts at suspense were lackluster and felt out of place.
As much as I wanted to enjoy this story, I found myself deeply disappointed in the writing.
February 9, 2013
I didn't like the beginning of the story very much, but there is some truth in one's saying never to judge a workpiece beforehand by having read just a few pages.
The story evolved into a really nice romantic story that I enjoyed reading from half the book on.
It is based on an American novel held between at time of the post civil war in the south between Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis. Virginia Genny Romayne leaves her home-escaping from a marriage her father has chosen but she herself doesn't want to go through.
In the note she left her parents writing she married another man and left with him. Arriving in Nashville she puts her status as a widow, so no one will ask any further questions. She gets employed as a secretary and nurse for the doctor in town, after a while both fall in love and marry. As in all relationships misunderstandings of crucial moments in life makes it painful for those who don't speak about it in a common sense and just try to punish others and getting punished themselves for this, is no solution.
Got interested, I did. A little drama is always entertaining and it's worth the reading just to see how the story turns.
The story evolved into a really nice romantic story that I enjoyed reading from half the book on.
It is based on an American novel held between at time of the post civil war in the south between Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis. Virginia Genny Romayne leaves her home-escaping from a marriage her father has chosen but she herself doesn't want to go through.
In the note she left her parents writing she married another man and left with him. Arriving in Nashville she puts her status as a widow, so no one will ask any further questions. She gets employed as a secretary and nurse for the doctor in town, after a while both fall in love and marry. As in all relationships misunderstandings of crucial moments in life makes it painful for those who don't speak about it in a common sense and just try to punish others and getting punished themselves for this, is no solution.
Got interested, I did. A little drama is always entertaining and it's worth the reading just to see how the story turns.
February 26, 2012
I liked this book, and would read more of this author.
From Amazon:
High-spirited Genny Romayne is determined not to marry the man her father has chosen for her. Her daring pursuit of independence leads her to a man she will come to love and hate, and sets them both on a quest for truth that may cost them their lives. Ethan Carey is the man who sees more to Genny than the stubborn, selfish young woman she appears to be. He has just begun to earn her trust when catastrophe strikes, but he must first conquer his own demons before he can begin to put right all that has happened between himself and Genny. Playing out against the backdrop of the post Civil War South, this is a captivating tale of a love between two people that, try as they might, neither can resist.
From Amazon:
High-spirited Genny Romayne is determined not to marry the man her father has chosen for her. Her daring pursuit of independence leads her to a man she will come to love and hate, and sets them both on a quest for truth that may cost them their lives. Ethan Carey is the man who sees more to Genny than the stubborn, selfish young woman she appears to be. He has just begun to earn her trust when catastrophe strikes, but he must first conquer his own demons before he can begin to put right all that has happened between himself and Genny. Playing out against the backdrop of the post Civil War South, this is a captivating tale of a love between two people that, try as they might, neither can resist.
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February 15, 2016Civil War
202p High-spirited Genny Romayne is determined not to marry the man her father has chosen for her. Her daring pursuit of independence leads her to a man she will come to love and hate, and sets them both on a quest for truth that may cost them their lives. Ethan Carey is the man who sees more to Genny than the stubborn, selfish young woman she appears to be. He has just begun to earn her trust when catastrophe strikes, but he must first conquer his own demons before he can begin to put right all that has happened between himself and Genny. Playing out against the backdrop of the post Civil War South, this is a captivating tale of a love between two people that, try as they might, neither can resist.
202p High-spirited Genny Romayne is determined not to marry the man her father has chosen for her. Her daring pursuit of independence leads her to a man she will come to love and hate, and sets them both on a quest for truth that may cost them their lives. Ethan Carey is the man who sees more to Genny than the stubborn, selfish young woman she appears to be. He has just begun to earn her trust when catastrophe strikes, but he must first conquer his own demons before he can begin to put right all that has happened between himself and Genny. Playing out against the backdrop of the post Civil War South, this is a captivating tale of a love between two people that, try as they might, neither can resist.
July 8, 2011
While I didn't think Genny, the main character, was the most likable character (she was vain, manipulative and immature), I thought the story was interesting. I do think there also could have been more character development (for instance, Genny claims that she learned to build walls around her to protect herself and this goes back to her childhood, but there is nothing in the story to tell you why that is). I was fascinated with the section on the yellow fever epidemic in Memphis, something I was not familiar with at all. All in all, an interesting read, but not something I would highly recommend.
January 1, 2014
I give this story one star for being well written and one star for keeping my attention to the last page. I left off a star because the last page was not an ending to a story, left off another because most of the story was predictable and left off the last star because there were a lot of unanswered questions and story lines. Satisfied until the"end".
abandoned
September 12, 2011A most self centered unlikeable heroine. Not for me.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews