The Bow of Orange Ribbon: A Romance of New York

4.5 stars
I didn't like it quite as well as “Song of a Single Note,” which I also read this week, but if I'd realized earlier that this book was a predecessor of the other one, I'd have had much less to figure out regarding many of the characters, so I would definitely recommend reading this one first. It makes me quite eager to read “The Maid of Maiden Lane,” which is actually listed as a sequel to this, to see how it ties into the stories.

This tale is still good, but a bit more romance-focused rather than adventure-focused. Again, I love the perspective of Old New York and the families who live there. I found the perspective of the Jew Cohen interesting, especially considering the amount of prejudice most Jews faced around the world; the characters were progressive in their habits toward the Jew and yet closed-minded about the “necessity” of keeping black slaves. Interesting paradox.

The story is mostly told in the viewpoint of Joris van Heemskirk and his daughter Katherine. I didn't like Neil Semple in this book, though he has matured a lot by the “Song of a Single Note” and I liked him quite a lot—the characterization is well done for that type of switch. Here we also meet Captain Hyde, the Gordons, the Semples, and even the opinionated Batavius.

PG-13 for several heavy swearings.