Stroll back in time to the era following WWI. People have survived the Great Depression and life is perking along better than it has in years. Meg Alden works for the Lake Geneva News Tribune and dreams of being their first woman reporter. When an opening at reporter comes up, Meg is sure she’s a shoe-in – until Jack Wallace walks in, stealing the position she covets. Can she continue to take want ads when she craves the excitement of sniffing out a juicy story? She’s been ghostwriting the owner’s son’s stories for months. Will the boss ever step out of the Dark Ages and hire a woman to report the news, not just the fluff?
Jack Wallace feels like he’s been banished to the back of beyond by his father’s insistence that he work for a smaller, weekly paper before taking over the family business, The Chicago Beacon – a huge daily. Arriving in Lake Geneva, things begin to look up when the first coworker he meets is a gorgeous brunette. Interest sparks but is it one sided?
As the two work together, Jack sees the writer screaming for a chance to do what she loves – write. He knows that she won’t get that chance as long as Oscar is in charge. When Oscar gets sick and puts Jack in charge, Meg gets her chance. Can she prove that a woman can report the news as well, and in her case, better than a man?
This is a story of learning to let God lead. Meg and Jack both get lessons in what happens when we run ahead of God’s plan. I loved the time period. People seemed gentler, more mannerly, and far more frugal than we are today. It was also interesting to read about a time period where the jobs women were allowed we’re so clearly delineated. The expectation was that, if they had jobs at all, they would quit to be a homemaker at some point. Reading about the very beginning of the fight for women in the workplace made me grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to do anything I want. Yes, I chose to be a stay at home mom, but if I’d wanted to work the option was there, unlike 80 years ago when this story took place.
This is at least the third book I’ve read by Pamela Meyers, and I really enjoy the way she draws her readers in and makes them care about her characters. Romance readers will enjoy the love story of Meg and Jack and history buffs will enjoy the little details that bring the era to life. I definitely recommend this book!
~bsnksmom