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Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointed
Review: I read another story by Tracie Peterson and enjoyed it. When I started reading this book I was so excited. I was really enjoying it. The last fourth of the book was extremely dissapointing. The issues that were brought up were hardly even dealt with, all the way from the Mills to the lousy and unbelievable reconcile with her brother.
Lilly starts off feeling that the Mills have had horrible consequences for her family and others. By the end, without too much thought in between, she decides that she sees the good that has come from them. Never mind, that she sees this after she herself no longer has to work in the Mills.
Yes, there was some good for some people who benefited from the Mills. And she did get one of the supervisors who was molesting some of the girls to stop (although that is a bit unbelievable).
There is still an issue of 8 girls in the rooms of the boarding house and four to a bed. The issue that the Windows are nailed shut without care to what the humidity does to some of their employees and if there was a fire!! That they are worked twleve hours a day, six days a week for little pay. These issues are not resolved. The Mills end up looking like salvation. Granted, farm life is not easy and can be extremely hard but the Mills is not paradise.
I agree with one other review that felt the moral of the book was that it was all great because she herself gets married? I strongly disagree.
Some of the characters, particularly Miss Addie, are very likeable including Lilly. Though with Lilly, I can never quite get past the fact that she never admits her almost fatal mistake to anyone, not even her friend whom she hurt.
I also don't like the fact that they all had to get men, including Miss Mintie, to be happy. I love romance and love stories when I feel that it is real and beautiful love. Not when a book is written in such a fashion that every woman has to get a man to be fullfilled in life.
I was extremely dissapointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Truly Excellent
Review: After her father passes, Lilly is determined that it is God's will to punish those she thinks is responsible, the mills. Her ex-fiancé, Matthew, is part of this group and she doesn't want to forgive him. When her revenge gets her friend injured, she realizes that her own hurt has been clouding her judgment. She also realizes that she still loves Matthew, but she's pushed him away for so long, will he ever take her back?
This is an excellent book, I've grown to expect great things from Tracie Peterson, and she didn't let me down. Her teaming with Judith Miller is a complete success!!
Rating:
Summary: Truly Excellent
Review: After her father passes, Lilly is determined that it is God's will to punish those she thinks is responsible, the mills. Her ex-fiancé, Matthew, is part of this group and she doesn't want to forgive him. When her revenge gets her friend injured, she realizes that her own hurt has been clouding her judgment. She also realizes that she still loves Matthew, but she's pushed him away for so long, will he ever take her back?
This is an excellent book, I've grown to expect great things from Tracie Peterson, and she didn't let me down. Her teaming with Judith Miller is a complete success!!
Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: I found this book to be extremely enjoyable. I read it in one evening I couldn't put it down. I am looking forward to the rest of the series. 'I liked Lilly and Matthew and I was intrigued by their relationship. I felt the capture of the struggle between what we know and change was handled very well. I also like how they remind us that we need to be absolutely sure we are acting on the behalf of God. I usually don't read books from series, unless I have them all available - I hate the waiting. But I know Judy Miller, and I have loved her work in the past. So when given an opportunity to read this book - I took it. I have never read any of Tracy's work - for the life of me I don't know why, because I will be now. Judy - you are quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
Rating:
Summary: Another wonderful Tracie Peterson book
Review: I thought this was another oustanding book by Tracie Peterson. I have only read Judith Miller's work in conjunction with Peterson but I will be checking her work out now as well. Daughter of The Loom is the first in a series and I can hardly wait to read the next one. I thought the book was interesting from the get go and could barely put it down for a second. Anyone who enjoys romantic, historical novels with a Christian foundation will love any of Peterson's books!
Rating:
Summary: Lilly Sells Out
Review: I'm a sucker for a good historical romance, and I'm mildly obsessed with the Lowell mills. Sadly, this book failed to satisfy either of my passions. The writing is clunky and the historical accuracy dubious in places. The religious messages seem awkwardly inserted and more appropriate to modern Christianity than that of the 1820s. And Lilly is an unsympathetic heroine who causes a near-fatal accident--to which she never confesses and doesn't even seem very sorry about--in her misguided attempt to bring down the mills, and then happily abandons all notion of doing anything to improve the lives of the mill girls once she gets married. This book had the potential to make some important points about the consequences of industrialization, but it, like Lilly, gave up that notion in the pursuit of romance. Hooray for internal improvements!
Rating: 
Summary: Industrialization comes to New England
Review: It's 1828. Lilly Armbruster is angry, and for good reason. The twenty-year-old woman has lost both parents; the family farm has been sold, and her older brother has gambled away all the profit. The once-peaceful farm community of East Chelmsford, Massachusetts, has been transformed into an industrial town named Lowell. And Lilly has no choice but to find a room in a boardinghouse and join the throng of girls who work long hours in the mill. Worse yet, her former beau Matthew Cheever, a former farm boy himself, has handily switched allegiances and is now an executive for the Associates. Lilly is so full of disdain that she plots to somehow put a stop to the mill and to hate Matthew forever. Inner conflict arises when she tries to find answers in the Bible. After all, couldn't it be God's intention for her to sabotage the mill works? A captivating insight into the time period, this first episode of the "Bells of Lowell" series should prove of interest to fans of historical novels as well as to those who read Christian fiction.
Rating:
Summary: A Great 'Take on Vacation' Book
Review: Lilly Armbruster had lived on a farm all her life. She loved the land. She loved the outdoors. She loved all the beauty God created. She even loved the boy next door and dreamed of one day joining their two farms and working the land together for the rest of their lives. Then two things happened. Matthew Cheever, her love next door, went to Harvard and came back with different dreams of the future and the Corporation arrived, buying up all the farms in the area of East Chelmsford where Lilly lived, renamed the town Lowell and destroyed the beauty of the land by building textile mills. Lilly was heartbroken. Though Matthew still wanted to marry her, she viewed him as a traitor. He had gone from believing in her dream of farming to believing in the future of industry. He even went to work for one of the top men in the Corporation. Lilly made it her mission to destroy what the Corporation was doing to her small town. She was so passionate in her mission that she believed it was God's will that she put a stop to the mills. Her first step was to work in one of the mills and live in a boarding house with many of the girls who also worked twelve hour days in the deplorable conditions of the mill. The heat and noise inside the walls of the buildings convinced Lilly even more that she needed to put an end to the expansion of textiles in Lowell. Only, she didn't realize that many people liked the changes that were happening to their town. Many of the farmers had received a tidy sum for their small farms and were enjoying a freedom they had never known before. Many of the girls who worked in the mills had the independence that having their own paycheck provided and they were happy about that even though they had to work long hard hours to get it. Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller do a wonderful job of telling the struggle of letting go of the past and embracing the future. They take the reader through all of Lilly's fears, doubts and convictions. We see her grow in her faith and grow as a person. An easy, yet terrific read.
Rating: 
Summary: New Series shows potential
Review: Lilly is a young woman dedicated to farm life and the serenity of her beloved town and country. However, change has come in the form of huge brick mills replacing the farms. Lilly is sad and she is angry. Already she has lost both her parents, and her scoundrel brother has gambled away their inheritance. Alone and bitter, Lilly is determined to be a one-woman show who ultimately will bring down the mills. Apparently the whole town is split. The town even lost its name. Rows of boarding houses with up to 8 girls a room now line the streets. Lilly is not one to cave in, but when she realizes that some of the very people who were part of her loving past have now accepted the mills, she is a bit confused: especially about Matthew, a former farm boyfriend turned mill executive. Lilly feels dejected and ends up one of the mill-girls in an attempt to gain her farm community back. Although this series shows potential, I found it slow getting started and void of real suspense and my interest waned at times. I would buy book 2 though, just for the simple fact of the author.
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've ever read!
Review: Once I started reading "Daughter of the Loom", I couldn't put it down. I thought Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller were great, mixing romance and history into the book. I was never one for religion but after reading this book it all made more sense. The book had a great plot making it a real page turner. Lily Armbruster was a great character with strong beliefs and I liked that. I couldn't help going on the internet to see if Peterson and Miller had written any other books together. Once I found out it was part of a series I was thrilled and had to read the second, I'm still waiting for the 3rd one to come out. I hope Peterson and Miller write together again, I'd definatly read their books. The book was outstanding and exiting and in a way educating. I will look forward to reading more books by both authors.
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