THE SPRINGSWEET

A lovely historical romance takes readers back to the 1890 Oklahoma territory.

In this sequel to The Vespertine (2011), Zora decides to escape from her life in Baltimore when she can’t get over the death of her true love. In despair, she travels to live in her aunt’s sod house on the parched prairie. There she discovers that she has a supernatural ability to find water. She also finds that two men want her affections: Theo, a wealthy man she met over Edgar Allan Poe’s grave in Baltimore, and Emerson, an attractive young man who might have some paranormal abilities of his own. Zora starts her adventure by surviving a stagecoach robbery, and subsequently learns that she can’t fetch water while wearing her corset. When she tries to make desperately needed money with her water-finding ability, though, she runs into trouble. Throughout, the author conjures a convincing picture of life on the Oklahoma prairie, painting an absorbing portrait of the landscape and of the people there. Paranormal abilities aside, this is an effective historical novel. Mitchell includes a barn raising and dance, a prairie fire and a town founded and run by blacks, demonstrating solid research. Writing, story and romance maintain interest throughout.

A high-quality, absorbing drama.