Official Review: The Calling by Teresa McCoy

[Caroline Anne Richmond]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Calling" by Teresa McCoy.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Historical fiction and romance are combined in The Calling by Teresa McCoy. It is a fictional novel about the journey of Kerry Carter. Kerry is a social studies teacher from North Carolina, and her only family is her brother Owen. Kerry and Owen’s parents are deceased, which leaves Kerry with a calling to continue her father’s genealogy research in England. Kerry is clumsy, absent-minded and naïve, and her small group of friends fear that her upcoming leave of absence from work to go to England may be too much for her. Her brother Owen, however, is too caught up with his successful career in the financial sector to care about Kerry’s life.

With her research done, her bags packed and passport at the ready, Kerry dismisses her own fears and her friend’s misgivings and boards a plane to London. Kerry’s inherent clumsiness and kindness leads to a friendship with a fellow traveler who helps with her first night in London, enabling her journey to start off on the right foot. 

Kerry begins her sight-seeing in London and embraces the culture, feeling more at home than she expected. On a visit to The Society of Genealogy, she discovers her father’s family originated in Cornwall and she makes plans to travel there and investigate records of her ancestors. Her time in Cornwall provides information about her family descendants and soon into this journey a handsome, dark and rugged man called Merrek jumps to her rescue to save her from a passing cyclist. A series of Cornish discoveries follows, including the realization that Kerry’s unusual birth name, Karenza, is a traditional Cornish name, meaning love. Are Merrek and Cornwall just coincidences, or has this calling to England been written in history for hundreds of years?

Kerry, the lead character, has an unfortunate and lonely life. After the trauma of losing her parents, she is left with one brother, who has little time for her. Her character is wonderfully written and you can’t help but to feel sorrow for her predicament. She is clever and strong in her own way, but has flaws that make her vulnerable and sometimes unprepared for what life may throw at her. Her clumsy exploits are written humorously and make the character more endearing. Throughout the story, Kerry’s determination, independence and bravery increases and this character development is written well. Merrek is another prominent character who has different attributes to Kerry. He is strong, confident, reassuring, with just a touch of testosterone driven arrogance. The two characters work very well together because of their unique qualities and are both likeable. As a reader, I felt that two such delightful characters deserved a happy ending. 

Kerry’s genealogy research takes her to London and Cornwall, providing interesting locations for the story. The book includes some great descriptions of both destinations. The author captures the hustle and bustle of London, the diversity of its residents and the many historical and cultural sites. Compared to this city landscape, Cornwall, on the south coast of England, provides a more rural setting. The author has done a superb job in displaying Cornwall and its charms to the pages. Descriptions of scenery, traditional foods and homely pubs and restaurants are plentiful, inviting the reader to get a genuine sense of Cornwall. The author also writes the parts of the Cornish characters in Cornish dialect, this may take some readers a little while to get used to, if unfamiliar with the dialect, but I think it is a great addition to the book and makes it feel very authentic. 

The storyline is fantastic, with some unexpected twists and turns. It is a classic historical fiction tale, and I was hooked as soon as I turned the first few pages. Combined is a heartwarming love story that is beautiful to read. I found nothing to dislike about the book, so I rate it 4 out of 4 stars. There are some profanities throughout the book and some light sexual content, so it is suitable for adults and young adults. I didn’t find any spelling or grammar mistakes, so I believe it has been professionally edited. It is a captivating and beautiful story, with great characters and is very hard to put down. It is a perfect book to transport the reader to modern day Cornwall, and its history centuries before. 

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The Calling
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[El_limitless]

I'm really curious to find out where all of the detours in Kerry's life finally led her to. I love the plot of this book. Interesting review.