‘Love Finds you In Mackinac Island’ by Melanie Dobson

by 

‘Love Finds you In Mackinac Island’ by Melanie Dobson. A review of the 2012 novel in the Summerside Press "Love Finds You" novels. Text © Rissi JC

STORY: Once a wealthy heiress, Elena Bissette and her family no longer have the means to live among their upper class acquaintances. For one last year, they summer at their fashionable Mackinac estate where they hope to introduce Elena to a wealthy suitor who could be an answer to their challenges.

Repulsed by the idea of marrying for convenience, Elena quickly tires of the pomp and fancy balls. Instead she prefers to explore the island and its many beauties. It’s here that she meets Chase, a handsome man without fortunes. Only the problem is, Elena’s mother has another suitor in mind for her daughter, and soon the lines between duty and love blur.

Love Finds you In Mackinac Island, by Melanie Dobson | Book Review

Review: Elena’s story, one of a family learning to adapt after business dealings gone wrong, is not a new one. It begins with them arriving to the island to summer at their home. With this sort of a backdrop, a lovely island, in in a time when an expectation of women is to marry well, this novel may not have been my favorite but it’s a pleasurable read.

Dobson is a new author for me, but she weaves a tale that is rich with its character’s but also detailed. As I’m not a reader who loves a great deal of detail, I did find this distracting. Her propensity to feature half a dozen characters in so many scenes also becomes more burden than a good thing. The rapid gossip the ladies discuss while sipping tea leaves me confused as to who everyone is. Once I hit 70-some pages, it seems to smooth out as we come to recognize the plays.

As this is a kind of love triangle (of a sort), we also have the character of Chester Darrington. When first meeting him, he seems to jump off the page as prime hero material and my first thought is, “Elena’s going to throw him over for someone else?!” There is a small little twist to the story though, and that makes it fun!

BOOK REVIEW | ‘The Jane Austen Society’: A Nice Novel Gives Tribute
‘Love Finds you In Mackinac Island’ by Melanie Dobson. A review of the 2012 novel. #BookReviews #BookArchives Click To Tweet

Funnily enough, Elena doesn’t meet Chase until one-hundred some pages in. This seems to cut into their time, however the relationship that develops between Chase and Elena is cute which makes us forgive almost anything. If there is a flaw in this relationship, it doesn’t have enough time to grow to warrant the intense reaction and disappointment both eventually feel. If you aren’t looking to be satisfied by a sweeping romance but prefer a rich history lesson, this novel is full of interesting tidbits. Irrespective of the things that don’t for me, Love on Mackinac Island is a tale that has its own charm. 

IN CONCLUSION: Though full of too many details and facts for this reader, ‘Mackinac Island’ is a sweet summertime read for fans of the Summerside “Love Finds you” series of location novels.

About the Book:

Author: Melanie Dobson
Publisher: Summerside Press
Publication Date: 2012
Genre: Christian Fiction, Historical
Add the Book: Goodreads
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

find us on social media: MeWe; Instagram; or Pinterest – and join the NEW reader group on MeWe!

Many thanks to the publisher for providing this copy for reviewing purposes 

About Rissi JC

amateur graphic designer. confirmed bookaholic. bubbl’r enthusiast. critical thinker. miswesterner. social media coordinator. writer.

2 comments

  1. The cover and the short bit of plot I was given have me wanting to try it out :) When someone tries to cram to much in it can be bad and confusing :( I hope I can get it at my library and try it though :) Thanks for the review and my didn't I use a lot of smiley (& etc.) faces? :P Sierra
    Keep Growing Beautiful♥ (Because You Are!) Philippians 4:8

  2. Isn't the cover lovely!? That was one of the first things my mom said about this when when she read the description.

    It is never fun – nor promising to be confused when reading a book BUT once I got into the book I felt like it smoothed out and everyone had more of a purpose. Hope you enjoy it when it comes in, Sierra!!

    Smile faces are always good – how can you have too many!? ;-D

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)

Optimized by Optimole