The Artisan's Wife by Judith Miller

Ainslee McKay finds things not going the way she had planned when her twin sister elopes and she needs to move to Weston on her own.  Something she didn't want to do in the first place.  However, she knows she is obligated to fill her family's role in the tile works factory they have purchased.  She makes it clear to her brother Ewan she will only stay until a new owner can be found to purchase the the business.

Levi Judson moves to Weston in order for his brother Noah to receive the care he needs as the asylum.  It is something he hopes to keeps secret.  He goes to the tile works to look for a job and hopes to share his designs for new tiles.  While Ainslee hires him on and wants to put his designs to work for them, she wants to keep it secret about her plans for the business.

While Ainslee is injured, Levi works with her more closely with her to help with do the work she needs to get done.  As they grow closer to each other will the secrets each of them carry come out?  When the secrets do some out will it draw them closer together or will it drive apart the growing closeness between them?

I feel as if Judith Miller did a great job at writing the history into this story.  I loved how they explained how the tiles were made and how strong they could be made.  I also enjoyed reading about the asylum and the work that was done in there and to try to help people.  It's sad to think wives were put in there by their husbands, simply because they didn't want to deal with them anymore!  The history that was written in this book was reparable.

***** SPOILER ALERT *****

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I found the title in itself was a spoiler.  At the beginning of the boom they don't even know each other let alone are married! It's not until the end when they are engaged, that he refers to her as the "artisan's wife".  I think a different title should have been chose as the title gives away that she gets married.

This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.,  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.