by admin | Oct 7, 2018 | Books, Historical, Romance, Western
MY REVIEW:
After agreeing to review A Contradiction to His Pride I decided to purchase a copy of Leaving Independence to read first. I enjoyed it but have not managed to fit a review into my schedule. I wish I could make myself write one for every book I read but obviously I enjoy reading more than reviewing. I finally got around to reading A Contradiction to His Pride and found it even more exciting than the previous novel.
I did have a bit of a problem at first with the age difference of James and Corrine but his behavior was always proper and respectful toward her as is fitting in a Christian novel. By the time the story got into full swing, that was no longer an issue. I was too busy keeping up with all the danger and action that was taking place. It seemed that the characters went from one dangerous situation to another. And what characters they are! Corrine, Harry and Tam Sims trying to catch up with James and Charlie to warn them about the outlaw determined to kill James, each of them a picture of bravery in their own right. Then several others get involved and the plot gets more twisted by the minute leading up to a major showdown near the end.
So this may be considered a Christian romance novel but it rivals any of the shoot-em-up westerns I watched with my dad as a child. I think it would be perfect for a movie. Anyone who enjoys Christian western novels should pick up a copy of A Contradiction to His Pride as well as Leaving Independence. I would love to see more novels in this vein.
I voluntarily reviewed a digital copy of this book provided by the author. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
From the moment James met Corrine as they traveled the Oregon Trail, in Smith’s best-selling debut novel Leaving Independence, he couldn’t resist trying to win the sharp-mouthed beauty’s affections.
Now, as the core group of pioneers in Colonel Dotson’s wagon train begins to settle in Baker City, Oregon and build homesteads, James is restless to make his fortune so he can stake his own claim and win Corrine’s hand with honor.
But when James takes Corrine on an outing designed to impress her, things go tragically wrong. James foils a bank robbery and unwittingly sets a series of events into motion that shatter Corrine’s heart and now threaten her life, along with his and her older brother Charlie’s.
Soon there are several folks heading back down the trail–James, Charlie, Corrine, Harry and Tam Sims, the Baker City Sheriff, a newspaperman, a notorious criminal family, and Hoke Mathews–all set to collide in a final showdown in a Colorado mining town as outlaw Duke Walden seeks to make James pay for his heroic actions.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Leanne W. Smith is a writer and professor. Her books include Leaving Independence, On a Dark & Snowy Night (short story), and A Contradiction to His Pride. She also teaches business courses at a university in Nashville. Smith and her husband have two creative daughters and a son-in-law who make the world a more beautiful place through their art, design, photography, singing, songwriting and mandolin-playing.
WEBSITE: leannewsmith.com
BLOG: leannewsmith.com/blog
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_INmFNwsmI
by admin | Oct 7, 2018 | Books, England, Historical, Regency, Romance
MY REVIEW:
A Defense of Honor is an entirely different Regency novel than what I usually encounter. Many novels are a series of fancy balls and flirtations as the heroine hopes to find a proper husband. In this tale, readers see another side of the wealthy society – the women taken advantage of by men who abandoned them and did not acknowledge the children produced by the relationship. Under most circumstances the women were left in disgrace and often children were doomed to a life of servitude if not death. Determined to make a difference, Kit FitzGilbert and two friends take it upon themselves to provide a home and education for as many of the unwanted children as possible and perhaps saving their mothers from scandal. Despite their personal sacrifice, providing for these children required funding and Kit’s unconventional methods of acquiring money came close to landing her in trouble more than once. When Lord Wharton enters her life, Kit finds it difficult to keep her secrets but the children’s future could depend on her silence.
I loved everything about this book. It was fun watching the relationship develop between Kit and Graham and gratifying to witness her change of heart about her methods of collecting funding and learning to depend on the Lord to provide. An excellent plot with wonderful characters and several unexpected twists, A Defense of Honor held my attention throughout. I look forward to more titles by this author.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
When Katherine “Kit” FitzGilbert turned her back on London society more than a decade ago, she determined never to set foot in a ballroom again. But when business takes her to London and she’s forced to run for her life, she stumbles upon not only a glamorous ballroom but also Graham, Lord Wharton. What should have been a chance encounter becomes much more as Graham embarks on a search for his friend’s missing sister and is convinced Kit knows more about the girl than she’s telling.
After meeting Graham, Kit finds herself wishing things could have been different for the first time in her life, but what she wants can’t matter. Long ago, she dedicated herself to helping women escape the same scorn that drove her from London and to raising the innocent children caught in the crossfire. But as much as she desperately wishes to tell Graham everything, the risk of revealing the truth may come at too high a price for those she loves.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kristi Ann Hunter is the author of the Hawthorne House series and a 2016 RITA Award winner, an ACFW Genesis contest winner, and a Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Award for Excellence winner. She lives with her husband and three children in Georgia. Find her online at www.kristiannhunter.com.
by admin | Oct 5, 2018 | Books, England, Gothic Romance, Historical, Mystery
MY REVIEW:
Sandra Byrd is a master at creating those mysterious and atmospheric gothic style novels that I love so much. I have missed novels similar to those by Mary Stewart and Victoria Holt that I once devoured and am thrilled to see a few Christian authors beginning to publish novels in this style. I have loved each and every one of Sandra Byrd’s previous series and if Lady of a Thousand Treasures is any indication, I will also love her Victorian Ladies series.
Lady of a Thousand Treasures held me spellbound from page one until the end. It was fun imagining what the different treasures looked like based on the author’s detailed descriptions of them but it was even more fun to actually see examples shared on her Pinterest board. This particular story is filled with enough mystery and romance to keep me involved and has plenty of twists and unexpected turns to satisfy the most particular reader. Characters are well-rounded and are quite easy to either love or hate but it is not always simple to decide where a couple of them stand.
This is a lovely, lovely book with beautiful prose and so many facts about art and history that most readers will not only be entertained but educated. And of course a subtle message of faith is deftly woven throughout. This author cannot write quickly enough for me but I will have to be patient and perhaps try to slow my reading speed. I look forward to the next book in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by the author and Tyndale House Publishers. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Miss Eleanor Sheffield is a talented evaluator of antiquities, trained to know the difference between a genuine artifact and a fraud. But with her father’s passing and her uncle’s decline into dementia, the family business is at risk. In the Victorian era, unmarried Eleanor cannot run Sheffield Brothers alone.
The death of a longtime client, Baron Lydney, offers an unexpected complication when Eleanor is appointed the temporary trustee of the baron’s legendary collection. She must choose whether to donate the priceless treasures to a museum or allow them to pass to the baron’s only living son, Harry—the man who broke Eleanor’s heart.
Eleanor distrusts the baron’s motives and her own ability to be unbiased regarding Harry’s future. Harry claims to still love her and Eleanor yearns to believe him, but his mysterious comments and actions fuel her doubts. When she learns an Italian beauty accompanied him on his return to England, her lingering hope for a future with Harry dims.
With the threat of debtor’s prison closing in, Eleanor knows that donating the baron’s collection would win her favor among potential clients, saving Sheffield Brothers. But the more time she spends with Harry, the more her faith in him grows. Might Harry be worthy of his inheritance, and her heart, after all? As pressures mount and time runs out, Eleanor must decide whom she can trust—who in her life is false or true, brass or gold—and what is meant to be treasured.
Read an excerpt here.
Purchase a copy here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
After earning her first rejection at the age of thirteen, bestselling author Sandra Byrd has now published fifty books.
Sandra’s delighted to kick off her new historical romance series with Tyndale House Publishers, Victorian Ladies, with Lady of a Thousand Treasures. The three-book Victorian Ladies series follows her historically sound Gothic romances, Daughters of Hampshire, launched with the bestselling Mist of Midnight, which earned a coveted Editor’s Choice award from the Historical Novel Society. The second book, Bride of a Distant Isle, has been selected by Romantic Times as a Top Pick. The third in the series, A Lady in Disguise, was published in 2017. Check out her contemporary adult fiction debut, Let Them Eat Cake, which was a Christy Award finalist, as was her first historical novel, To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. To Die For was also named a Library Journal Best Books Pick for 2011, and The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr was named a Library Journal Best Books Pick for 2012.
Sandra has published dozens of books for kids, tweens, and teens, including the bestselling The One Year Be-Tween You and God Devotions for Girls. She continued her work as a devotionalist, with The One Year Home and Garden Devotions, and The One Year Experiencing God’s Love Devotional.
Please visit www.sandrabyrd.com to learn more or to invite Sandra to your book club via Skype.
by admin | Oct 4, 2018 | Books, Historical, Romance, Western
MY REVIEW:
Author Karen Witemeyer writes such wonderful books. Within their pages one usually finds ample humor, romance, action, and sometimes mystery to satisfy most readers but I also often find an important lesson about life and faith woven into a delightful story. More Than Meets the Eye is such a book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The strong ties of three children forced to rely on each other for survival joined them together into a family of sorts that followed them into adulthood. It was heartwarming to see how they cared for and looked after each other. Each of the characters had unique traits that made them all the more realistic. Evangeline was such an optimist that she encouraged everyone. Despite his own health problems Seth was determined to do his part in taking care of their home. And big brother Zach felt responsible for them all and sacrificed more than they knew to make sure they had what they needed.
Then into their lives rode Logan Fowler, a man bent on revenge against the man he believed destroyed his family. The poor man had no idea what he was in for or how his interactions with this unusual family would change his life and theirs forever.
If you have never read a book by Karen Witemeyer, please do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of More Than Meets the Eye. I know you will enjoy it at least almost as much as I did.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group. A favorable review was not required.All views expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
When Her Family Is Threatened, She Doesn’t Expect Falling in Love to Be Their Best Defense
Many consider Evangeline Hamilton cursed. Orphaned at a young age and possessing a pair of mismatched eyes–one bright blue, the other dark brown–Evangeline has fought to find her way in a world that constantly rejects her. Yet the support of even one person can help overcome the world’s judgments, and Evangeline has two–Seth and Zach, fellow orphans she now counts as brothers.
Seeking justice against the man who stole his birthright and destroyed his family, Logan Fowler arrives in 1880s Pecan Gap, Texas, to confront Zach Hamilton, the hardened criminal responsible for his father’s death. Only instead of finding a solitary ruthless gambler, he discovers a man not much older than himself with an unusual family. And when Hamilton’s unique sister, Evangeline, insists on dousing Logan with sunshine every time they cross paths, Logan finds his quest completely derailed. Who is truly responsible for his lost legacy, and will restoring the past satisfy if it means forfeiting a future with Evangeline?
Read an excerpt here.
Purchase a copy here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Winner of the HOLT Medallion and the Carol Award and a finalist for the RITA and Christy Award, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer writes historical romance to give the world more happily-ever-afters. Karen makes her home in Texas, with her husband and three children. Learn more about Karen and her books at www.karenwitemeyer.com.
by admin | Sep 10, 2018 | Books, Historical, Romance, Split Time, WWII
MY REVIEW:
Any time I feel like our world has gone totally crazy, I only have to read a novel about the people who lived through the absolute terror of Hitler’s assault on Europe. Melanie Dobson has a rare talent for taking me right into their reality for awhile and leaves me more appreciative for the blessings I have in my own life.
Hidden Among the Stars is a time-slip novel that moves back and forth between war-torn Austria in 1938 and present day in the United States. When an antique book with mysterious lists inscribed within its pages is given to her, bookstore owner Callie Randall determines to do her best to solve the mystery. The narrative alternates between Callie’s story and that of Max Dornbach, Annika Knopf, and Luzia Weiss, central characters to the story connected to the book.
Not only is this book very well written but its characters and setting are so vividly described that I could almost see them. Much of the book is intense with several separate threads that are all tied together perfectly at the end. Hidden Among the Stars was such a powerful story that I feel mostly inadequate to even review it. It is nearly impossible for me to imagine the sheer strength of character it took Max, Annika, and Luzia to remain so strong and determined in the face of the Nazi takeover. The story is truly a perfect example of what it means to lay one’s life down for another.
If you enjoy your history with plenty of action, drama, mystery, and a touch of romance, Hidden Among the Stars might just be perfect for you.
I voluntarily reviewed a digital copy of this book provided by Celebrate Lit. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
| Book Title: Hidden Among The Stars
Author: Melanie Dobson
Genre: Historical Fiction (However, this is a time-slip novel, so there is also a contemporary component to the story)
Release date: September 4, 2018 |
 |
From the award-winning author of Catching the Wind, which Publishers Weekly called “unforgettable” and a “must-read,” comes another gripping time-slip novel about hidden treasure, a castle, and ordinary people who resisted evil in their own extraordinary way.
The year is 1938, and as Hitler’s troops sweep into Vienna, Austrian Max Dornbach promises to help his Jewish friends hide their most valuable possessions from the Nazis, smuggling them to his family’s summer estate near the picturesque village of Hallstatt. He enlists the help of Annika Knopf, his childhood friend and the caretaker’s daughter, who is eager to help the man she’s loved her entire life. But when Max also brings Luzia Weiss, a young Jewish woman, to hide at the castle, it complicates Annika’s feelings and puts their entire plan—even their very lives—in jeopardy. Especially when the Nazis come to scour the estate and find both Luzia and the treasure gone.
Eighty years later, Callie Randall is mostly content with her quiet life, running a bookstore with her sister and reaching out into the world through her blog. Then she finds a cryptic list in an old edition of Bambi that connects her to Annika’s story . . . and maybe to the long-buried story of a dear friend. As she digs into the past, Callie must risk venturing outside the safe world she’s built for a chance at answers, adventure, and maybe even new love.
Click here to purchase your copy!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of nearly twenty historical romance, suspense, and time-slip novels including Catching the Wind and Chateau of Secrets . Three of her novels have won Carol Awards; Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana won Best Novel of Indiana in 2010; and The Black Cloister won the Foreword Magazine Religious Fiction Book of the Year.
Melanie is the former corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family and owner of the publicity firm Dobson Media Group. When she isn’t writing, Melanie enjoys teaching both writing and public relations classes at George Fox University.
Melanie and her husband, Jon, have two daughters. After moving numerous times with work, the Dobson family has settled near Portland, Oregon, and they love to hike and camp in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest and along the Pacific Coast. Melanie also enjoys exploring ghost towns and abandoned homes, helping care for kids in her community, and reading stories with her girls.
Visit Melanie online at www.melaniedobson.com.
GUEST POST FROM MELANIE:
Hallstatt’s Hiding Places
Backpacking across Europe—that’s how my husband Jon and I decided to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. We savored the old world culture and charm as we hiked along Italy’s coast, toured medieval castles in Germany, and cruised the canals in Belgium; we both left a bit of our hearts in an ancient lakeside town called Hallstatt.
The moment we stepped off the ferryboat and into this storybook village, we crossed through a portal of sorts, traveling back several centuries in time. The rugged, snow-capped mountains around us and alpine lake, the quaint village with its church steeples and cobblestone lanes and waterfall that spilled into town—all of it captivated us.
Along the shore, hidden partially by trees, we could see spires of an abandoned castle, and I wanted to know its story. No one in Hallstatt could tell us who’d lived in the castle—at least, not in English—so my husband agreed to a new adventure. With a swan as our escort, we glided across the lake in an electric boat so I could study the rusty turrets, boarded windows, and wooden boathouse resting in the water like a felled log.
Instead of quelling my curiosity, the match of inspiration ignited my mind. Who had lived in this castle, and what happened there? I began writing in my journal that night, trying to capture my rogue thoughts on paper, hoping that one day a novel would emerge from the ashes of this castle’s story.
When we returned home, I began researching more of Hallstatt’s history and discovered that this region, in all of its beauty and mystique, had been infiltrated by an enemy in 1938. This town and the surrounding Salzkammergut became a mountain retreat for Nazi officials who built mansions on the shores of its many lakes and used salt mines to hide “ownerless treasure”—the gold bullion and artwork they’d stolen from the Jewish people.
The Nazis intended to build a Fourth Reich in this alpine fortress, but the Allies had other plans. Near the end of the war, these lakes became a dustbin of sorts, collecting whatever the enemy dumped into its waters—weapons, counterfeit banknotes, concentration camp lists—as they fled south from the Allied troops. The Devil’s Dustbin, locals call it.
Lake Hallstatt plunges more than four hundred feet between the fortress of mountains. Because of its depth and the many hiding places in the underwater forests, caves, and shifting sands, divers continue finding World War II artifacts today. Some still believe there’s a treasure trove buried on the bottom, but no one has reported finding any gold.
After our trip, a story about this castle and what happened to the heirlooms of the Austrian Jewish people continued to burn inside me until I finally put it on paper. So I built Schloss Schwansee—Castle of Swan Lake—in my mind, inspired by the castle along Lake Hallstatt, and created a cast of historical and contemporary characters who are searching for lost treasure.
Hidden Among the Stars is a time-slip novel about a castle and treasure and fairytales, but most of all, it’s a story about God using ordinary people across Austria to resist evil in their own extraordinary way.
BLOG STOPS:
| Reading Is My SuperPower, September 6 |
amandainpa, September 12 |
| Fiction Aficionado, September 6 |
Maureen’s Musing, September 13 |
| Back Porch Reads, September 6 |
Locks, Hooks and Books, September 13 |
| Among the Reads, September 6 |
Just Commonly, September 13 |
| The Power of Words, September 7 |
Book by Book, September 13 |
| Multifarious, September 7 |
Connect in Fiction, September 14 |
| lady ansel book vibes, September 7 |
Pause for Tales, September 14 |
| The Becca Files, September 7 |
Have A Wonderful Day, September 14 |
| God’s Little Bookworm, September 8 |
Splashes of Joy, September 14 |
| Christian Chick’s Thoughts, September 8 |
The Christian Fiction Girl, September 15 |
| Painting with Words, September 8 |
Tell Tale Book Reviews, September 15 |
| Lis Loves Reading, September 8 |
To Everything A Season, September 15 |
| cherylbbookblog, September 9 |
A Baker’s Perspective, September 15 |
| Living LIfe Free in Christ, September 9 |
proud to be an autism mom, September 16 |
| Madeline Clark, September 9 |
Bibliophile Reviews, September 16 |
| Mary Hake, September 9 |
Bigreadersite, September 16 |
Reflections From My Bookshelves,
September 10 |
Aryn The Libraryan, September 16 |
| Genesis 5020, September 10 |
By The Book, September 17 |
| Faithfully Bookish, September 10 |
Christian author, J.E. Grace, September 17 |
Simple Harvest Reads, September 10
(Guest post from Mindy Houng) |
Janices book reviews, September 17 |
| Margaret Kazmierczak, September 11 |
Texas Book-aholic, September 18 |
| All-of-a-kind Mom, September 11 |
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 18 |
| Daysong Reflections, September 11 |
Carpe Diem, September 18 |
| Caffeinated Christian Raves – N – Reviews, September 11 |
Godly Book Reviews, September 19 |
| Seasons of Opportunities, September 12 |
For The Love of Books, September 19 |
| Remembrancy, September 12 |
Live. Love. Read., September 19 |
| Inklings and notions, September 12 |
Reader’s Cozy Corner, September 19 |
To celebrate her tour, Melanie is giving away a grand prize package that includes a $25 Amazon gift card, Catching the Wind paperback, and Hidden Among the Stars paperback!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/d2ad/hidden-among-the-stars-celebration-tour-giveaway
by admin | Sep 6, 2018 | Books, Historical, Humor, Mystery, Romance
MY REVIEW:
Any time I could use a good dose of humor I know I can depend on a book by Jen Turano to bring on the laughter. This author has a talent for putting her characters into unusual and often rib-splitting situations. I also believe she has a rare talent for coming up with outrageous names for her characters. Miss Temperance Flowerdew’s name is as uncommon as her temperament! The moniker of her hero, Mr. Gilbert Cavendish is not quite as outrageous but nevertheless somewhat unique. Needless to say, readers will find these unique characters starring in a plot quite as uncommon as their names.
First of all, the dialogue between Gilbert and Temperance can seem to get almost out of hand. Their witty conversations tend to get off track and sometimes even a bit confusing, but that is part of the author’s genius. There is nothing accidental about her tales. It was fun to follow this pair through their adventures filled with danger and mystery. I loved Temperance’s approach to life and the way she seemed mostly unflappable throughout awkward and trying circumstances. Of course everything turns out at the end but what a delightful and sometimes surprising journey to get there.
Caught by Surprise was eveything I expected and more. It is just one more example why I try my best not to miss anything published by Jen Turano.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by the author through Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group. A favorable review was not required.All views expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
After years of hiding her true nature, Miss Temperance Flowerdew is finally enjoying freedom outside of the shadow of her relations, so the last thing she expected on her way to work was to be grabbed off the street by a stranger and put on a train bound for Chicago.
When Mr. Gilbert Cavendish is called upon to rescue a missing woman, he follows the trail to Chicago only to discover that the woman is his good friend, Temperance. Before they can discover who was behind her abduction, they’re spotted alone together by a New York society matron, putting their reputations at risk.
Even though Gilbert is willing to propose marriage, Temperance is determined not to lose her newfound independence. But when the misunderstanding in Chicago escalates into a threat on her life, accepting Gilbert’s help in solving the mystery may lead to more than she ever could have dreamed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jen Turano, the USA Today bestselling author of ten books and two novellas, is a graduate of the University of Akron with a degree in clothing and textiles. She is a member of ACFW and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado.
Visit her website at www.jenturano.com.
