Sing by Lisa T. Bergren

Reviewed by Karri Compton

"I definitely see [Bergren] as an author whose characters will be what a reader will remember from her books..."

The Novels of Colorado are a trilogy set in the 1880's concerning Odessa, Moira, and Dominic St. Clair. While the reader will see development in all three siblings, Sing, the second in the series, mainly tells Moira's story.

Moira, after being swindled by her manager, looks for work outside the Paris opera house. Broke, confused, and with few friends or leads, she sails to America, where she joins forces with businessman Gavin Knapp to create for herself a new career as a frontier saloon singer. Things don't turn out quite the way she planned, however, both danger and heartache making themselves home in her life. Who can she really trust to help her?

Back home in Colorado, Odessa and Bryce McAllan run a horse ranch. The winter snows have killed many of their herd and they are short on cash. How will they survive the troubles brewing in their own home as well as those from without?

Dominic (Nic) has his own storms to weather. As a boxer in South America he makes a decent living, but when he loses an important fight, an angry captain shanghais him. Nic wants nothing less than to be a seaman but has no choice in the matter. He longs for the day he can get to California and perhaps start a new life there. But what troubles await him along the way?

I hadn't read Breathe, the first Colorado book, before reading Sing, but I didn't need to. There were plenty enough references to previous relevant happenings that I didn't feel plopped into the story. I do, however, feel as if I need to read the last one so I can know what happens to everyone. Some aspects of the novel were fairly predictable--I have a good idea where the last novel will go. But I'm sure Bergren has a lot of mini-plots up her sleeve that she will pull out to surprise even the astute reader.

All in all I enjoyed the book more than I thought I might (after I found out it was historical--normally not my thing), although I much prefer Bergren's Gifted series. I definitely see her as an author whose characters will be what a reader will remember from her books, and I look forward to what will come from her next.

Karri Compton, wife and mother of three, devours Christian fiction whenever possible. Her favorite genre is suspense/thriller, especially Ted Dekker novels. Since promoting biblical worldview fiction is dear to her heart, she reviews on her blog, Fiction Fanatics Only! and is a staff reviewer and interviewer for such sites as The Christian Suspense Zone. Her latest published work appears in Peculiar People's novel collaboration, Delivered. She is a member of such writers' groups as The Lost Genre Guild and FCW. Editing the completed first draft of her novel keeps her busy, as well as performing in musicals put on by her local community theater association.