Author Colleen Coble’s thirty-five novels and novellas have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA, the Holt Medallion, the ACFW Book of the Year, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, the Booksellers Best, and the 2009 Best Books of Indiana-Fiction award. She writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail and love begin with a happy ending.
A word from Colleen: God has been faithful, though the path has not been easy. Nothing worth doing is ever easy. God wouldn’t let me give up, and I like to think the struggle made me stronger. God has given me so much in my life, most importantly my great family, a loving church family at New Life Baptist Church, and my wonderful publishing family at Nelson Books.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A thrilling romantic mystery set in the lush Victorian age.
Central Operator Katie Russell’s inquisitive ways have just uncovered her parents’ plan for her marriage to wealthy bachelor Bartholomew Foster. Her heart is unmoved, but she knows the match will bring her family status and respectability.
Then Katie overhears a phone conversation that makes her uneasy and asks authorities to investigate. But the caller is nowhere to be found. Mysterious connections arise between the caller and a ship lost at sea.
Against propriety, Katie questions the new lighthouse keeper, Will Jesperson. Then a smallpox epidemic forces their quarantine in his lighthouse. Though of low social status, Will’s bravery and kindness remove Katie’s suspicion and win her love. Katie and Will together work to solve the mystery of the missing girl and the lost ship as God gives the couple the desire of their hearts.
As I have come to expect from all Coble’s books, The Lightkeeper’s Bride was well written with just the right balance of romance, humor,and suspense. The characters are well defined and easy to love or dislike. The plot maintains an ideal pace with plenty of hints to keep the reader guessing but enough twists and surprises to keep her uncertain.
It is difficult to review this excellent novel without giving away too much. Katie finds herself forced to choose between two men. Will she follow her heart or her father’s plans for her? Not only does Katie have a romantic triangle to deal with but someone is threatening her, her father has been mysteriously and seriously injured, and someone from her past shows up to complicate her life even more. A strong theme of forgiveness and trust is woven throughout the story.
I loved this book and am eager to read the rest of the series. I missed The Lightkeeper’s Daughter and plan to get a copy as soon as I can. I will also be on the lookout for The Lightkeeper’s Ball as soon as it is released.
The Charlatan’s Boy is a boisterous fantasy with bigger than life characters and plot. The tale takes place on the island of Corenwald that resembles a combination old south/old west setting rather than the usual medieval background of most fantasies. An abundance of humorous situations combined with Grady’s imaginative use of language make The Charlatan’s Boy a perfect read aloud story. Readers will empathize with Grady as he longs for a real home and family and to be loved. His desire for integrity and uneasiness with the lies Floyd forces him to tell are an example for each of us.
Each chapter takes Grady and Floyd through a new escapade filled with one fiasco after another. As Grady seeks the answers about who he really is, the reader may also discover something about himself. Plenty of unexpected twists and a surprise ending make this a story worth reading. The Charlatan’s Boy would make a wonderful Christmas gift for the young people in your life.
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
“I only know one man who might be able to tell me where I come from, and that man is a liar and a fraud.”
As far back as he can remember, the orphan Grady has tramped from village to village in the company of a huckster named Floyd. With his adolescent accomplice, Floyd perpetrates a variety of hoaxes and flimflams on the good citizens of the Corenwald frontier, such as the Ugliest Boy in the World act.
It’s a hard way to make a living, made harder by the memory of fatter times when audiences thronged to see young Grady perform as “The Wild Man of the Feechiefen Swamp.” But what can they do? Nobody believes in feechies anymore.
When Floyd stages an elaborate plot to revive Corenwalders’ belief in the mythical swamp-dwellers known as the feechiefolk, he overshoots the mark. Floyd’s Great Feechie Scare becomes widespread panic. Eager audiences become angry mobs, and in the ensuing chaos, the Charlatan’s Boy discovers the truth that has evaded him all his life—and will change his path forever.
Praise for Jonathan Rogers
“The unusual settings and characters keep the surprises coming, while Rogers’s lovely descriptions and distinctive voice keep the pages turning. Faith fiction readers of all ages should enjoy this…” —Publishers Weekly
“Jonathan Rogers knows how to tell a story. He’ll take you to fantastic lands that somehow still feel close to home and keep you happily guessing until the end. His fantasy tales ring of folklore and seem to spring up out of history like old willows in an earthy bog. Dr. Rogers never fails to serve up uncanny adventures that, like some impossibly nutritious brownies, are ridiculously tasty and deeply fulfilling.” —Wayne Thomas Batson, best-selling author of The Door Within Trilogy
“Jonathan Rogers has created a new kind of story—part fantasy, part southern fiction. It’s sad and funny and heartwarming. Imagine a southern version of a C. S. Lewis story or a Christian version of a Mark Twain tale. Imagine a world where dragons are alligators, the American South is an island kingdom of cowboys and swamp dwellers, and ugliness, it turns out, is profoundly beautiful. Jonathan Rogers, a Georgia boy with a PhD, a strong faith, and a healthy imagination, gives us a timeless story no one else could have written. I loved it.” —Andrew Peterson, author of The Wingfeather Saga
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jonathan Rogers grew up in Georgia, where he spent many happy hours in the swamps and riverbottoms on which the wild places of The Charlatan’s Boy are based. He received his undergraduate degree from Furman University in South Carolina and holds a Ph.D. in seventeenth-century English literature from Vanderbilt University. He lives with his family in Nashville, Tennessee.
Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of The Black Cloister; Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana; and Together for Good.
Prior to launching Dobson Media Group in 1999, Melanie was the corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family where she was responsible for the publicity of events, products, films, and TV specials. Melanie received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Liberty University and her master’s degree in communication from Regent University. She has worked in the fields of publicity and journalism for fifteen years including two years as a publicist for The Family Channel.
Melanie and her husband, Jon, met in Colorado Springs in 1997 at Vanguard Church. Jon works in the field of computer animation. Since they’ve been married, the Dobsons have relocated numerous times including stints in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado, Berlin, and Southern California. These days they are enjoying their new home in the Pacific Northwest.
Jon and Melanie have adopted their two daughters —Karly (6) and Kinzel (5). When Melanie isn’t writing or entertaining their girls, she enjoys exploring ghost towns and dusty back roads, traveling, hiking, line dancing, and reading inspirational fiction.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Rural America – 1928. After the murder of his partner, Detective Rollin Wells hides away in an Amish home near Sugarcreek, Ohio, to find out who in the police force is collaborating with Cleveland’s notorious mob. While Rollin searches for answers to his partner’s death, he befriends an elusive young Amish woman named Katie and her young son. As Rollin learns about Katie’s past, he’s shocked at the secret Katie is hiding – a secret that has haunted Rollin for eight years.
After reviewing Christian fiction for a couple of years, I have read quite a few Amish novels. At times it becomes a little difficult to distinguish one from another. I realize that they fill the ever growing demand for stories of the plain and simple lifestyle and I have actually enjoyed most of them. However, I have longed for more variety and have actually found it in a few authors’ offerings. The Silent Order is one of those that defies the usual expectations for ‘bonnet fiction’.
Set in and around Cleveland during the ‘roaring twenties’, The Silent Order relates the story of what happened when organized crime invaded the peaceful countryside of the Amish. Populated with well rounded characters, The Silent Order is a page turner that kept me on edge as I both dreaded and anticipated what would happen next. It is a sometimes dark story but it also highlights dedication, loyalty, bravery, and love. The peace loving Amish community was a stark contrast to the violent men of the Cardano family who resorted to murder of even family members in order to keep their secrets and advance their position.
Although I would have liked for the faith element to have been more fully developed, it did not keep me from enjoying this very well written novel. I highly recommend The Silent Order.
Another of Melody Carlson’s annual Christmas novellas, Christmas at Harrington’s tells the story of Lena Markham as she attempts to start over in a new town. Although Lena has very little other than the clothes on her back, a few dollars, and the promise of a job, her hope of success is virtually nonexistent. An encounter on the bus with a generous older woman is the beginning of new friendships and encouragement. Lena’s own generosity despite her circumstances endears her to others which in turn raises her spirits. However (and isn’t it just always the case), her satisfying new job comes to a screeching halt when secrets of her past are revealed.
I loved this book! Carlson has a way of getting into her characters’ hearts and revealing both the good and bad inside them. I liked how many people Lena touched along the way with her sweet spirit when she had every right to be bitter about how she had been betrayed. It is such a wonderful story that reveals the true meaning of Christmas. I suspect that there will also be much demand for Carlson’s children’s book ‘Twas The Night: The Nativity Story that was quoted in Christmas at Harrington’s. Too bad it seems to be out of print.
I recommend Christmas at Harrington’s and plan to leave it on my coffee table for the season. I may just read it again.
This book was provided for review by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Get In the Holiday Spirit with this Inspiring Christmas Story ABOUT New Beginnings
Just in time for the holidays, comes Christmas at Harrington’s, a tender story about fresh starts from Melody Carlson, the bestselling author of The Christmas Bus.
In Carlson’s latest tale that will charm readers, Christmas is approaching, and Lena Markham finds herself penniless, friendless, and nearly hopeless. She is trying to restart her life after false accusations landed her in prison, but job opportunities are practically nonexistent.
When a secondhand red coat unexpectedly lands her a job as Mrs. Santa at a department store, Lena finally thinks her luck is changing. But can she keep her past a secret?
Full of redemption and true holiday spirit, Christmas at Harrington’s will be readers’ newest Christmas tradition.
Christmas at Harrington’s
by Melody Carlson
ISBN: 978-0-8007-1925-8
Available Oct. 2010; $15.99
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus. She also writes many teen books, including Just Another Girl, Anything but Normal, the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series. Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon. Visit Melody’s website at www.melodycarlson.com.
Vanessa Miller of Dayton, Ohio, is a best-selling author, playwright, and motivational speaker. Her stage productions include: Get You Some Business, Don’t Turn Your Back on God, and Can’t You Hear Them Crying. Vanessa is currently in the process of turning the novels in the Rain Series into stage productions.
Vanessa has been writing since she was a young child. When she wasn’t writing poetry, short stories, stage plays and novels, reading great books consumed her free time. However, it wasn’t until she committed her life to the Lord in 1994 that she realized all gifts and anointing come from God. She then set out to write redemption stories that glorify God.
To date, Vanessa has completed the Rain and Storm Series. She is currently working on the Forsaken series, Second Chance at Love series and a single title, Long Time Coming. Vanessa believes that each book will touch readers across the country in a special way. It is, after all, her God-given destiny to write and produce plays and novels that bring deliverance to God’s people. These books have received rave reviews, winning Best Christian Fiction Awards and topping numerous Bestseller’s lists.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Two women from different worlds find hope together.
Faithful Christian Deidre Clark-Morris is a professional career-minded woman with a loving husband, but no children. Kenisha Smalls has lived in poverty all her life. She has three children by three different men and has just been diagnosed with inoperable cervical cancer.
While the meeting between these two women appears accidental, it becomes their catalyst of hope. Neither woman expects the blessing that God has in store for her. While Deidre will guide Kenisha on the path to eternal life with Jesus Christ, Kenisha will teach Deidre how to stand strong against the hard-knocks of life.
Although Long Time Coming is not the usual type book I choose to read, Vanessa Miller’s talented writing style captured my attention and held it until the last word. Heartrending yet filled with hope, this story is filled with a varied array of realistic characters and several difficult situations. It is a story of redemption, forgiveness, faith, hope, and love that reminds the reader that nothing is impossible with God. Just be sure to keep a box of tissues handy. You will need them.
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