Publisher's Weekly Review
The great Chicago fire of 1871 is the catalyst for a story that deftly portrays a romance against the backdrop of the budding suffrage movement. Despite Lucy Hathaway's aristocratic background, her fiery political views and unconventional attitudes make her a social outsider. Nevertheless, she feels unexpectedly drawn to handsome banker Rand Higgins until she discovers that he's married to a dainty china doll of a woman. The fire changes everything, however, badly injuring Rand, estranging his wife and depriving Lucy of her father and her wealth. In the strangest twist of all, Rand's infant daughter, presumed dead in the fire, lands in Lucy's arms and is raised as an orphan. Although fate brings Lucy and Rand together again, the obstacles to their growing passion seem almost insurmountable. Both attempt to obtain custody of the child, and Lucy's association with the suffragists enrages Rand's banking colleagues. With this final installment of Wiggs's Chicago Fire trilogy (which also includes The Mistress), she has created a quiet page-turner that will hold readers spellbound as the relationships, characters and story unfold. Fans of historical romances will naturally flock to this skillfully executed trilogy, and general women's fiction readers should find this story enchanting as well. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Chicagoan Lucy Hathaway is wealthy, but her radical politics keep the suitors away. She tries out her theory of free love by propositioning Rand Higgins, an attractive banker, at a lecture, then is embarrassed to learn that he's married, but all is forgotten when they exit into the hell of the great Chicago fire of 1871. As Lucy struggles home, a woman throws a bundle out of a window as the building explodes. Lucy names the baby girl Maggie after her efforts to find the child's family fail. Having lost her father and the family fortune in the fire, Lucy opens up the Firebrand, a suffragist bookstore, and lives upstairs with her mother and Maggie. Five years later, when the Firebrand faces foreclosure, Lucy goes to the bank and discovers that Rand, who believes that his baby daughter was lost in the fire, is in charge. Wiggs' synergistic blending of historical authenticity, complex multifaceted characters, and riveting plot makes for an exquisite romance. --Diana Tixier Herald