Book reviews

Distant Dreams - Ribbons of Steel 1
Judith Pella and Tracie Peterson Book Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)
Books Movies  
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Mystery/Thriller Literature Romance Biography Video
Judith Pella and Tracie Peterson Books
New book search
Judith Pella and Tracie Peterson Message Board
Get more information about this book
Plot Summary of Distant Dreams - Ribbons of Steel 1
"Carolina Adams is a most unusual woman for 1830's America. She's about a century too early for her interests in masculine things such as science and learning and railroads. Her very proper southern mother wants only the best for her, a proper marriage to a financially stable man, love be hanged. Her father's much more understanding and doting. He begins to seek a tutor willing to impart knowledge upon his smart daughter.
James Baldwin's just not cut out to be a banker. The Balwin fortune is in deep trouble thanks to Leland Baldwin's careless spending. James' first love was the railroad, but when a derailment kills a friend and greatly injures James, he's scared to death of the coal-burning monstrosities. He agrees to become Carolina's tutor and court Virginia, Carolina's elder sister. Pressured by his father and mother James courts Virginia Adams, but he didn't count on falling back in love with the railroad or falling in love with Carolina Adams either.
Both Carolina and James think their love is hopeless. She gets her heart broken for she is far too much of a lady to try and steal her sister's fiance. Of course, she comes tantalizingly close to confessing her feelings to her tutor on several occasions. Her coming out party is disrupted by an altercation started when Carolina speaks her mind to an ignorant guest disparaging her beloved railroads. She's more dismayed than ever when that very night James proposes to her sister.
James breaks his engagment, but he's far too much the gentleman to publically dump Virginia Adams, so he leaves it to her to announce anything she pleases. James flees to his work with the trains and railroads, and Carolina pines at home still reeling from the loss of a little sister and the sheer irksomeness of being misunderstood by all.
"

Julie Gilbert, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Distant Dreams - Ribbons of Steel 1
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story - 19th century
Love Triangles/Polygons Yes
What kind: - one man--two sisters
If one lover chases another... - they alternate

Main Male Character
Profession/status: - engineer
Age/status: - 20's-30's
How sexual is this person? - frigid
How romantic is this person? - somewhat romantic
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Female Character
Age/status: - a teen
Profession/status: - student
How sexual is this person? - naive virgin
How romantic is this person? - somewhat romantic
How sensitive is this character? - soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - healthy but a geeky weakling

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Southeast
Misc setting - moving train

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
What % of story is romance related? - 70%
Part of a series? Yes
Focus of story - equally on him and her
How much dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to Distant Dreams - Ribbons of Steel 1
Seduction By Design by Sandra Brown
The Art of Seduction by Melanie George
Call of the Heart by Barbara Cartland
The Infamous Bride by Kelly McClymer
The Duchess by Jude Deveraux


Click here for more information about this book


Judith Pella and Tracie Peterson Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Julie Gilbert  

SCHOLARS:


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Three ways to search for Romance books!

1) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot or subplot below!

Action/suspense subplot?

Captor, in love with

Caretaker, in love with

Children/Pregnancy

Difficult/unusual lover?

Family focus?

Fantasy/Magic

Forbidden/mismatched love?

Hidden Identity/Secret Motive

Inner struggle subplot

Love Triangles/Polygons

Lovers are competitors

Making a living subplot

Marriage/Married

Matchbreaker

Matchmake, (will/family)

Phone/email/mail relationship

Pygmalion--From Wench to Woman

Searching/Rekindling love?

Seduction/coercion/force

Sex/Erotic story, Primarily

Sports training/competing story

Time Travel

Virgin, dramatically devirginized



or 2) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
3) Even more search options available with a Detailed Booksearch (click here)

Use our site!
17 FREE Sci-Fi Ebooks!
FREE "How to be happy" Ebook!
Funny Videos
Feedback


Most recent discussions:

General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
George W. Bush 1:35:50 AM
Robert Segarra 1:49:56 PM
Karen Armstrong 10:51:40 AM
Slavomir Rawicz 6:40:45 PM
Anonymous 1:39:52 PM
Deric Longden 9:20:02 AM
Suzanne Weyn 6:24:19 PM
Colin Forbes 12:23:54 PM
John Christopher 5:12:45 AM
Tom Clancy 2:19:45 AM
Margaret Peterson Haddix 5:36:55 PM
Nikolai Tolstoy 7:46:16 AM
J.K. Rowling 11:40:22 PM
Jack Higgins 4:54:08 PM
Eloise Jarvis McGraw 12:51:17 PM
Jane Rubino 1:21:00 PM
Lori Wick 2:11:45 AM
Betty Mahmoody 5:57:33 PM
Patricia Cornwell 2:48:17 PM
Andrew Clements 9:13:44 PM

Silicon Valley
More message boards