After being kidnapped as a child, heiress Emma Grace McMurray has seen firsthand the devastation that greed causes in the world, and she wants nothing to do with it–including her father’s offering her hand in a business deal. She sneaks away to be a Harvey Girl at the El Tovar Grand Canyon Hotel, planning to stay hidden even if it means always looking over her shoulder.
Ray Watkins arrives at the hotel wanting to impress his father by finding success on his own. Then maybe he can take on more of the family business and do something good with the profits.
Ray immediately admires Emma Grace, and though a friendship forms, she’s afraid he’s just like every other wealthy man she’s known. Then art and jewels go missing from El Tovar and the nearby Hopi House, a mystery that pulls them in and stirs up their worst fears. When shocking revelations come to light, they’ll have to question all they thought to be true.
My Impressions
“Her whole identity was a façade. How could she be real with anyone?”
I really loved A Deep Divide by Kimberley Woodhouse. I think it may be her best work yet. A historical set mostly at the Grand Canyon, we see plenty of great description of this beautiful landmark. The writing style is solid, with a touch of wistfulness that will draw you in with its suspense, romance, and faith. Plus, the great historical detail Woodhouse includes shows her meticulous research.
Emma Grace McMurray learns in childhood that those most responsible for caring for her cannot be trusted. Now she is in hiding, trusting no man, always looking over her shoulder.
I like Emma Grace’s character. She is humble and not too proud to work, when many in her position would be. She befriends those around her in need. She does have an issue with those of the upper class and quickly categorizes most as snobby and self-absorbed.
Ray Watkins has his work cut out for him. Interested in the calm, collected, and beautiful waitress, he has a hard time getting her to pay him any attention. Ray is someone I felt very sorry for. His father is very domineering, with some health issues, that make working for his approval nearly impossible. Ray tries hard to live up to his new faith, but his father and his associates make that difficult.
I loved Ruth, who ended up being such a loyal friend. Always ready to listen, ready to comfort, ready to think the best of her new friend.
I loved learning about the Harvey Girls and the Harvey House, El Tovar, at the Grand Canyon. We saw a display about the Harvey House Girls while we visited the canyon, but we were in a hurry at the display, and I didn’t catch the significance. Thank you, Ms. Woodhouse, for this great, fun education on the Harvey House Girls and the Grand hotel there!
I received a copy of the book from the author and publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own, and no positive review was required.
Notable Quotables:
“A man was a man, no matter his status.”
“She’d love to have a real friend, but she had too many secrets.”
“…you are valuable to us for who you are.”
“You’re so busy trying to be brave and take care of yourself that you’ve shoved God back because you don’t think He can be trusted.”
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Magnificent! I Loved Learning about the Harvey Girls!!
About the Author
Kimberley Woodhouse is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than twenty-five books. A lover of history and research, she often gets sucked into the past and then her husband has to lure her out with chocolate and the promise of eighteen holes on the golf course. She loves music, kayaking, and her family. Her books have been awarded the Carol Award, Holt Medallion, Reader’s Choice Award, Selah Award, Spur Award, and others. A popular speaker/teacher, she’s shared with over 1,000,000 people at more than twenty-five hundred venues across the country. Married to the love of her life for three decades, she lives and writes in the Poconos where she’s traded in her hat of “craziest mom” for “coolest grandma.” Connect with Kim at www.kimberleywoodhouse.comwww.facebook.com/KimberleyWoodhouseAu… www.instagram.com/kimberleywoodhouse www.twitter.com/kimwoodhouse
Newfoundland Ella and her Alaska State Trooper partner are on the case.
When her estranged uncle attempts to sabotage her family’s reindeer ranch, K-9 team assistant Katie Kapowski heads home to help save it—and becomes his target. With their rocky past, Alaska State Trooper Brayden Ford and his furry partner are the last team Katie wants assigned to protect her. But with the ranch under siege, they must work together…or risk falling victim to a killer.
Dana Mentink has done it again! She has penned another exciting Love Inspired Suspense novel, this one Yukon Justice, (# 7 Alaska Canine Unit) that kept me glued to my seat and flipping pages as quickly as possible.
How could I not like this book? I love Mentink’s suspense writing style. It’s heart-pounding, but not horror-genre material. It’s realistic, and I feel like her characters, Brayden, Katie, Addie, Quinn, and Charlie, are down-to-earth people that anyone might know.
Animals. If an author uses animals in her story well, I’m hooked. Brayden’s K-9 side-kick, Ella, a big Newfie, is so well described as to make me want to know her. I love that she is a smidge less than perfect. And the reindeer. Mentink has done her research, and I learned a lot. Plus the reindeer are rescue animals. Gruff Aunt Addie, who hardly has a kind word for anyone, will sacrifice everything to save her reindeer.
Oh, and Mentink includes a small, secondary romance. I love it because it’s the type I and some others are hoping to see more of in books.
Faith and great quotes. Another reason this novel is a winner.
“…nothing is over until God says it’s over.”
“Don’t worry had to be the most useless phrase in the English language. When had that sage advice ever made someone stop fretting?”
“God is for us, even when we’re losing, so keep your eyes up, not down.”
“God walks us through the struggles, and He’s promised us the win. Eyes up, not down.”
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Magnificent! So Many Reasons to Like Yukon Justice!!
About the Author
Dana Mentink is a two-time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award, and a Holt Medallion winner. She is the Publisher’s Weekly and Amazon bestselling author of over forty titles in the suspense and lighthearted romance genres. She is pleased to write for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense, and Poisoned Pen Press. You can connect with Dana via her website at danamentink.com, on Facebook, YouTube (Author Dana Mentink), and Instagram (dana_mentink.)
More from Dana
Up on the housetop, click, click, click, down through the chimney with good St. Nick. Does anyone know that line from the famous Christmas song? I’ve been singing it for years but only recently did I learn that the clicking is a real reindeer phenomenon. Those reindeer ankle joints make a clicking sound so they can find the rest of their herd if they are separated in a blizzard. It’s just one of the many things I learned about reindeer while researching to write Yukon Justice. In the novel, Katy has to take over running her aunt’s reindeer ranch and protect it from threats by a dangerous intruder. I had the pleasure of “Zoom” interviewing the owner of the Running Reindeer Ranch in Fairbanks, Alaska! Jane helped me learn all kinds of interesting things about reindeer. How much do you know about these critters? Take my quick three-question trivia quiz to test your knowledge!
What’s the difference between caribou and reindeer? They are the same animal but caribou are the wild variety and the domesticated version are called reindeer.
Do males or females grow antlers? Both! Reindeer are a type of deer and the only species where the female grows antlers as well as the males.
How come kids put out carrots for Santa’s reindeer? Good question! Carrots are not, in fact, part of a natural healthy reindeer diet. The animals don’t even have front teeth! A much better treat would be willow or birch leaves, or their favorite food…lichen, which they find by scraping the snow away from the ground with their hooves.
So how did you do? If you want to know more about these amazing creatures, snag yourself a copy of Yukon Justice!
To celebrate her tour, Dana is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card and an eBook copy of the book OR a signed copy of the book (U.S. Only)!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
Headstrong Coraline Baxter has worked all her life to be more than the spoiled socialite others expect. When her fellow suffragettes in Tacoma, Washington, suggest that she should climb to the top of Mount Rainier to prove that a woman can do anything, she instantly resolves to do it. And if she can climb Mount Rainier, her mother promises to stop pressuring her to get married to the wealthy Cash Kincaid. All Cora needs is a guide to get her to the top of the mountain.
Nathan Hardee may look like a mountain man, but he once ruled the halls of high society. He left all that behind after his father broke under financial pressure from Kincaid. To best Kincaid now, Nathan agrees to guide Cora up the mountain.
Climbing Rainier will require all of Cora’s strength and will lead her and Nathan to rediscover their faith in God and humanity. These two loners make unlikely partners in righting a wrong and may just discover that only together is the view most glorious.
My Impressions
Fighting for women’s suffrage, climbing Mt. Rainier, and fighting society’s unnecessary restrictions, are all themes Regina Scott deals with in A View Most Glorious. Coraline Baxter decides to climb Mt. Rainier (or is it Tacoma?) with social outcast and mountain guide, Nathan Hardee. Doing so will draw attention to her cause and free her of her mother’s matrimonial expectations.
I don’t know if I was delighted or dismayed by the big loop Scott throws the reader for as a character makes a totally unexpected decision. It certainly upped the ante for the outcome of the perilous journey!
Faith is a quiet, steadying influence in both Hardee’s life and the book. Several times, Nathan can be found with his Bible in hand, worshipping outdoors by himself before the day begins. Scott doesn’t preach in this story, but the power of the Scripture and its Creator are very evident.
I felt for pitiful Cora, who can stand up for and take care of herself- almost. She is so strong and determined, and she can handle herself at a job in a man’s world. She can be the voice for the suffragettes in Tacoma. Yet, she cannot stand against her mother’s iron will.
I loved Cora’s stepfather. He cares for her in a most loving, diligent way. He sacrifices much for Cora and manages to be a go-between for Cora and her mother, without ruffling feathers. Now, if he can just develop a spine!
Nathan is rough around the edges, but a gem on the interior. The question is, whether he and Cora can find a common calling, or whether Cora will follow society’s designs.
I received a copy of this book from RevellReads via NetGalley. All opinions are my own, and no positive review was required.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Magnificent! Historical Romance: Will Society or Spine Win?
About the Author
Regina Scott started writing novels in the third grade. Thankfully for literature as we know it, she didn’t actually sell her first novel until she had learned a bit more about writing. Since her first Regency romance was published in 1998, her stories have traveled the globe, with translations in many languages including Dutch, German, Italian, and Portuguese. She is now the author of more than 50 works of warm, witty historical romance.
She and her husband of 30 years reside in Washington State on the way to Mt. Rainier. Regina Scott has driven four in hand, learned to fence, sailed on a tall ship, and dressed as a Regency dandy, all in the name of research, of course. Sign up for her free alert service to hear when the next book will be out or on sale at https://subscribe.reginascott.com/. You can find her online blogging at www.nineteenteen.com. Learn more about her at www.reginascott.com and connect with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authorreginascott .
Full of intrigue, adventure, and romance, this new series celebrates the unsung heroes—the heroines of WWII.
Journalist Nellie Wilkerson has spent the bulk of the war in London, photographing pilots taking off and landing—and she’s bored. She jumps at the chance to go to France, where the Allied forces recently landed. She enlists Jean-Paul Breslau of the French underground to take her to the frontlines. On the journey, they come upon an orphanage where nuns shelter children with disabilities. Can they help save them before the Nazis come to liquidate it?
It is the evening after I finished A Picture of Hope, #2 Heroines of WWII, by Liz Tolsma. I am experiencing a very real sense of loss because I can’t spend any more time with Nellie and Jean-Paul. Why, oh, why, did I stay up so late last night to get to the end? Oh, yes… it would have been agonizing not to know what became of Nellie and Jean-Paul!
I love how Marie-Terese is such a strong, influential secondary character. She gently encourages and nudges others to strengthen their faith muscle. Yet, we see that she has doubts, which makes her very human.
The faith aspect is woven in beautifully. Doubts are allowed. Trust is a strong theme. God wins over evil, but maybe not in our timing.
The inclusion of Downs syndrome children as a main component of the story is as delicious as Texas sheet cake. And done just as tastefully. Liz Tolsma possesses a special education background and is also a parent of a special needs child. Tolsma’s expertise shines throughout the book, both in the Downs Syndrome aspect and the French Resistance of WWII.
It’s always great to have fact vs fiction notes at the end! I find it fascinating to see what parts of history an author has been able to incorporate into the story; what events are true, but dates are fudged to fit the story, or when personalities are blended to create an authentic character.
A fabulous, haunting book. May we never forget!!
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit via Netgalley. All opinions are my own, and no positive review was required.
Notable Quotables:
“Photographs don’t always have to be pretty. Sometimes they tell a story. That’s what I want mine to do. Tell the story of this war so the world knows what is going on and so our children and grandchildren and all those who come after us will never forget what happened on this beach or in these fields.”
“This suffering is meant to make our souls long for heaven. This world wearies us and weighs us down. Oh, but there is another world where we will never weary and where we will never long for anything better.”
“Even if you only help one person, that is enough. By aiding a single individual, you have changed one world.”
“I would rather suffer in chains for the sake of freedom than be free for the sake of tyranny.”
“But she is safe in God’s hands. That’s safer than you could keep her.”
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Truly Magnificent!! A Stunning Picture– May We Never Forget!!
About the Author
Liz Tolsma is the author of several WWII novels, romantic suspense novels, prairie romance novellas, and an Amish romance. She is a popular speaker and an editor and resides next to a Wisconsin farm field with her husband and their youngest daughter. Her son is a US Marine, and her oldest daughter is a college student. Liz enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping. Please visit her website at http://www.liztolsma.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter (@LizTolsma), Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. She is also the host of the Christian Historical Fiction Talk podcast.
More from Liz
Why Another WWII Novel Set in France
You may well read the back cover of my latest release, A Picture of Hope, and wonder why on earth we need another WWII novel set in France. After all, Kristy Cambron just had one. Melanie Dobson and Sarah Sundin will be coming out with theirs in 2022. So why did I feel the need to write my novel with the same setting?
First of all, I’m a Francophile. I love all things French. It started when I took French in high school. Everyone else was learning Spanish, but I wasn’t into being part of the crowd. There were only a few of us in the class, and it was great fun. We had a wonderful teacher. Being able to pull out some of that French, refine it a bit, and use it in the book was a blast. But I also love French food (who doesn’t?) and everything else.
Secondly, I hadn’t written about France before. When I wrote this proposal at least five or six years ago, I didn’t know France would be so hot. God did, and the book came about in His perfect timing. I’d explored the Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Philippines. Such a shame that I was leaving out France, so I set about to write a novel located in that country.
Thirdly, there was so much good material to pull from. The French resistance, while small, did good work and sacrificed a great deal to get Jews out of the country and into Switzerland or Spain. The books that Kristy, Melanie, Sarah, and I write are all so different. Only the setting is the same. And when I found out that the famous mime Marcel Marceau was part of the resistance, I couldn’t help but giving him a cameo. Be on the lookout!
Along the way, I discovered some truly heartrending incidents that took place in France. They also compelled me to write this book. I long for the world to remember what happened so that we will never forget. And so that the atrocities committed there will never be repeated.
Fourthly, this was originally the third book in a series. Don’t worry – it’s a stand-alone. Maybe someday I’ll get to publish the other two. The women in the series are all American journalists in Europe. One is a reporter, the other is a broadcaster, and so I decided to make Nellie, the heroine in A Picture of Hope, a photojournalist. And where better to take pictures than on Omaha Beach soon after D-day. How she gets there is based on a very interesting true story, so be sure to read to the end for that one.
There are so many stories about WWII to be told and so many countries that participated in the conflict in one way or the other. The ground is so rich that we aren’t plowing the same parcel. You’ll find all of these books to be very different from each other, each with its own message, its own voice, and its own plot.
The focus in my book is on children with Down syndrome. I have a background in special education, and my husband and I adopted a child from the Philippines with an intellectual disability, so I’ve always had a heart for people with special needs. My daughter brings us so much joy that I wanted to share a glimpse into what these remarkable people are truly capable of.
So that is why I wrote a WWII novel set in France. Make yourself a cup of café au lait, butter up a croissant, and enjoy A Picture of Hope!
To onlookers, Carrie Ann Bell Collier might appear to be the dutiful wife, sitting at her unconscious husband’s bedside. But she feels like a hypocrite. Instead of trusting her intuition, she allowed herself to believe Peyton was dead. And then she fell in love with his best friend, Eli Kent.
Except, Peyton wasn’t dead, and now Carrie will do anything to keep him alive.
Andrea Boeshaar has done it. She has created characters so real, that I cared about so much, that I found myself praying for the heroine, Carrie Ann. I have an affinity for stories of faith set in Civil War times, and There is a Season that will stay on my mind for a long time to come.
While this is the third book in the series, it is possible to read only this novel and not be lost. Boeshaar provides enough backstory that anyone can enjoy this book, but after reading it, I have a hankering to re-read the first and devour the second.
I say devour because the whole premise of this book had me truly gobbling it down. Colonel Peyton Collier is near death, but his young wife, Carrie, hires a nurse, Hannah, who promises healing with experimental medicine. There are just a few drawbacks: Hannah demands an exorbitant fee and complete control of the sickroom. And the saga begins, plus Boeshaar treats us to another competition that traverses the book, weaving the novel into a complex tapestry.
I loved the different characteristics of various players. Carrie is determined and tenacious once she makes a decision. Eli is loyal to a fault. Aunt Ruth loves beyond bloodlines.
The epilogue makes the book even better, if possible!
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.
Several Notable Quotables:
“Practicing my faith is going to be more difficult than I imagined.”
“It’s not much of a battle, really.” Peyton knew what the right thing was, but the decision meant death.
“…just because you don’t feel something doesn’t mean God has abandoned you or that His Holy Spirit no longer resides within you.”
“I should warn you, dear one, that this idea of yours is like handling a deadly serpent. You may be bitten.” …”We may both be bitten…and devoured.”
We’re children of the King of kings.” “Which makes us princesses.”
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Characters so Real I Prayed for Them!
About the Author
Andrea Boeshaar was born and raised in Wisconsin but now lives in South Carolina. She had her husband Daniel have been married more than 40 years. They have 3 grown sons, 1 beautiful daughter-in-law, and 5 grandkids.
Andrea’s publishing career began in 1994 when her first novel was released by Heartsong Presents book club (Barbour Publishing). In 2007, Andrea earned her certification in Christian life coaching and she’ll soon earn her bachelor’s degree in Business Management.
Meanwhile, Andrea continues to write. Her latest novel is There is a Season: A Civil War Novel. It’s book 3 in her Shenandoah Valley Saga. Recent historical short novels include: Give Me Thine Heart, Love’s Guiding Light (Steeple View Publishing).
At last, the long-awaited third and final book in Andrea Boeshaar’s Shenandoah Valley Saga is available for purchase. Discover the final outcome of the lives of the characters you came to love in Books 1 and 2.
Ben Zook had only two loves in his life: books and birds. In a stroke of good fortune, he’d stumbled onto a way to cobble together those two loves into a career, writing books about rare birds. He was as free as a bird–until a chase for a rare White-winged Tern takes him to the one place on earth he planned to never return: his Amish home in Stoney Ridge.
Desperate for photographs of the elusive tern, Ben hires a local field guide, Micah Weaver, and boards at Micah’s farm, planning to “bag the bird” and leave Stoney Ridge before anyone recognizes him. But he neglected to plan for Micah’s sister, Penny. One long-ago summer, Penny had introduced Ben to birding, even sharing with him a hidden eagle aerie. That eagle became his spark bird–the one that inspired his lifelong love.
Ben. He was Penny’s spark bird. That was when she knew true love. She’d always hoped Ben would come back to Stoney Ridge. Back to his Amish roots. Back to her. The only problem? Ben has absolutely no memory of Penny.
Wow! A fiction book with birding as its subject matter!! I am a fan!! Suzanne Woods Fisher pens a most engaging tale of Amish and Englischers hunting both birds and fulfillment in A Season on the Wind. I loved this book on so many levels.
First, it starts with descriptions of birds. It was so hard to not look up the birds’ pictures in my phone app as I went. Each chapter includes a page out of Micah’s bird diary about a different bird: its plumage, nesting and mating habits, and habitat.
Second, personalities and relationships are complex. Nothing is as simple as it seems it should be. Because the novel is written in a non-linear way, we slowly discover the motivations behind Ben’s attitude and life. We also slowly see what makes his cousin Natalie tick. I love the way Woods surprised me more than once with twists well-placed that make perfect sense, yet I hadn’t seen them coming.
Third, a return to some of the characters of Stoney Ridge. The more Amish stories I read, the more I love and respect David Stoltzfus, Bishop of Stoney Ridge. “He was a true Spirit-led leader. Just the right combination of depending on the word of God in Scripture, and the word of God in hearts.” Such wisdom and care for his flock. Then there’s Hank and Edith. This unlikely couple adds so much color and sometimes confusion to their community.
Fourth, I love that Fisher is careful to point out that while the Amish life seems peaceful, it has its share of troubles and heartaches. It’s not their lifestyle that is the panacea for troubles. As Boyd says, it’s about what’s on the inside, not the outer trappings. “Wherever God puts us, he wants us in relationship with him. That’s for everyone, wherever they are. Amish or Englisch or any other label.”
A beautifully complex novel, presenting pain, fear, romance, faith, and ultimately, forgiveness. I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit via Net Galley. I was not required to leave a positive review, and all opinions are my own.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Magnificent! A Sweet Amish Stoney Ridge Romance with Twists and Birds!! If you like birds at all, don’t miss this one!!
About the Author
With over one million copies sold, Suzanne Woods Fisher is a bestselling, award-winning author of over 30 books, ranging from novels to children’s books to non-fiction. She is a Christy Award finalist, a Carol and Selah award winner, and a two-time finalist for ECPA Book of the Year. She writes stories that take you to places you’ve never visited—one with characters that seem like old friends. But most of all, her books give you something to think about long after you’ve finished reading it. Suzanne lives with her very big family in northern California.
More from Suzanne
Did You Know? 8 Facts about the Christmas Bird Count
1) The year 2021 marks the 122nd National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) which, ironically, wasn’t always about counting live birds.
2) In 1900, the first CBC was launched as an alternative to the traditional Christmas “side hunt.” This holiday tradition encouraged people to go out into the woods on Christmas Day, choose “sides” to team up with and then, in the words of Frank Chapman, “kill everything in fur or feathers that crossed their path – if they could.” The winner was the “side” with the largest pile of dead birds. (Ugh!)
3) Frank Chapman was a prominent ornithologist, conservationist, and writer/editor who published Bird Lore magazine. He led the charge to end to this senseless slaughter and invited his readers to begin a new holiday tradition of counting, rather than shooting, birds.
4) Twenty-seven people participated in 25 counts that first year (in 1900). They counted 90 species of birds.
5) The idea caught on. Big time.
6) During December and January of each year, thousands of Christmas Bird Counts take place across the U.S., Canada, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands. The purpose of the CBC is a scientific census—to assess the health of bird populations and help guide conservation action.
7) Each CBC has an established 15-mile diameter circular count area. On a pre-arranged date, registered teams go out (with an assigned volunteer observer) and count the number of birds of each species they can identify within their assigned area. Each count has a volunteer compiler who sums up all of the lists and inputs the total numbers for each species into Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count database.
8) The CBC is the longest-running citizen science project and wildlife survey in the world. In fact, the CBC is considered the gold standard in citizen science.
And you don’t have to be an experienced birdwatcher to participate in the CBC! Bird lovers of all skills are welcomed. Even me! I’m a very enthusiastic amateur.
Her voice made her a riverboat’s darling–and its prisoner. Now she’s singing her way to freedom in this powerful novel from the bestselling author of The Librarian of Boone’s Hollow.
“[An] enjoyable faith-filled adventure . . . Sawyer’s episodic narrative and rich assortment of characters fighting for freedom provide the story with many twists and unexpected side-plots.”–Publishers Weekly
Indentured servant Fanny Beck has been forced to sing for riverboat passengers since she was a girl. All she wants is to live a quiet, humble life with her family as soon as her seven-year contract is over. However, when she discovers that the captain has no intention of releasing her, she seizes a sudden opportunity to escape–an impulse that leads Fanny to a group of enslaved people who are on their own dangerous quest for liberty. . . .
Widower Walter Kuhn is overwhelmed by his responsibilities to his farm and young daughter, and now his mail-order bride hasn’t arrived. Could a beautiful stranger seeking work be the answer to his prayers? . . .
After the star performer of the River Peacock is presumed drowned, Sloan Kirkpatrick, the riverboat’s captain, sets off to find her replacement. However, his journey will bring him face to face with his own past–and a deeper understanding of what it truly means to be free. . . .
Uplifting, inspiring, and grounded in biblical truth, Freedom’s Song is a story for every reader who has longed for physical, emotional, or spiritual delivery.
My Impressions
“Just ’cause somethin’ is legal don’t make it right.” Truer words were never spoken. In her new book, Freedom’s Song, Kim Vogel Sawyer has many such pearls of wisdom. This multiplies a book’s value to me.
Travel back to 1860 and land on a riverboat on the Mississippi River. Fanny Beck is a popular concert attraction on the River Peacock. Held against her will, she longs for freedom from Sloane, her unscrupulous manager.
I loved the plot and characters of this book. The novel flows smoothly, albeit with suspense and I found myself often holding my breath. The characters are very relatable, except for maybe Sloane. However, Sawyer paints even her antagonist as multi-dimensional, and I enjoyed seeing the fight between good and evil within a person.
It’s amazing to see how well some people can care for their own needs while callously ignoring those of others. This was true of people back then, and is, unfortunately, still true of people today.
I was disappointed to have to leave some of our new friends before we got a chance to know them well. Sawyer created them so well, I wanted them to remain throughout the novel. However, their leaving enables the next scenario, with more people that I began to love because of their great personalities. I fell in love with toddler Annaliese. And Walter is so much more valuable than he gives himself credit for.
If you like themes of redemption, finding true freedom, and friendship; set against a mid-1800’s America, you will love this novel of faith and suspense.
A Reader’s Guide is included at the conclusion. This follows an epilogue, one of those oh-so-satisfying ending touches.
A copy of this book was provided by Waterbrook-Multnomah. No positive review was required. All opinions are my own.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Magnificent!
Kim Vogel Sawyer has a gentle style that reminds me of Janette Oke.
About the Author
Award-winning, bestselling author Kim Vogel Sawyer told her kindergarten teacher that someday people would check out her book in the library. The little-girl dream came true in 2006 with the release of Waiting for Summer’s Return. Kim’s titles now exceed 1.5 million copies and are available in six different languages. A former elementary school teacher, she now enjoys a full-time writing and speaking ministry. Kim’s passion lies in writing stories that point the reader to a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. When Kim isn’t writing, you’ll find her traveling with her retired military hubby, spoiling her granddarlings, petting the cats, quilting, or–as time allows–participating in community theater. You can learn more about Kim’s writing and speaking ministries at her website, KimVogelSawyer.com.
A single lawyer whose clients think he needs a wife.
A woman who needs a forever home…or a forever family…or a forever love.
Although Traesa Killdare is a grown woman now, the discovery that her adoption wasn’t finalized sends her reeling. Especially when her beloved grandmother dies and the only siblings she’s ever known exile her from the family property without a penny to her name.
Wilson Pollard works hard for the best interest of his law clients, even those who think a marriage would make him more “suitable” in his career. And when the beloved granddaughter of a recently deceased client comes to him for help, he knows he must do whatever necessary to make her situation better.
As each of their circumstances worsen, a marriage of convenience seems the only answer for both. Traesa can’t help but fall for her new husband—the man who’s given her both his home and his name. But what will it take for Wilson to realize he loves her? Will a not-so-natural disaster open his eyes and heart?
Adoption can be a tricky road for a child to work through. Much baggage can come with the adoptee, especially if she is old enough to remember life before the event. A Heart’s Forever Home, #3 Love’s Road Home, by Lena Nelson Dooley deals with the adoption issues of a young woman. Theresa Hilliard (Traesa Kildare) has traveled to Texas on an orphan train and has been adopted. Traesa is disowned when her beloved Abuela and guardian dies. Frightened, the former rich girl turns to the family’s young lawyer, Wilson Pollard, for help. A marriage of convenience ensues, but will it keep Traesa safe or endanger her heart?
This is a quick read perfect for a cold, rainy day. A Heart’s Forever Home can be read as a stand-alone novel, though part of a series. I enjoyed getting acquainted with Wilson and Traesa. While I found their situations realistic, as well as their responses, I didn’t feel they were totally three-dimensional. I did appreciate that Wilson knew where to turn when the marriage hit obstacles, as this genre requires. I love how teachable both Wilson and Traesa are. Wilson in his character, and Traesa in humility learning jobs that would have formerly been below her. Yet the marriage benefits so much from these malleable spirits!
Family. How important that sense of belonging and love is. Dooley illustrates this well with Traesa’s character.
A large part of the book centers around a particular danger that is only partially cleared up. While real life is messy like that, I wanted the characters to admit that they either accepted an assumption or would always be looking over their shoulders.
Dooley brings to light a controversial idea that the wife needs to obey her husband. While I feel like this is Biblical, not all agree, nor want to adhere to this idea. Dooley does a great job of showing how both husband and wife need to respect the opinions of the other, for the marriage to work.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. No positive review was required, and all opinions are mine.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great! Fun Read for a Rainy Day!
About the Author
Lena Nelson Dooley has been an author for 36 years. Her 51st book released in June 2020. Raised in Arkansas, she married a Texan 56 years ago. They have lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex for decades. She is an active member of ACFW and one of the founding members the DFW local chapter. She’s often been a speaker for other writers’ groups and conferences, both as a keynote speaker and a workshop teacher. Her fans love reading her books filled with characters who grip your heart.
More from Lena
I’ve been a lover of history for decades. In college and graduate school, all my elective courses were history. Of course, I chose the countries and eras I wanted to learn about. When I began writing novels, my first one was a contemporary story. After that at least 75% or more of my novels have been historical, all the way from 1805 through the early 20th century.
One of the hallmarks of my historical novels is the authenticity I write into the stories. Because of the amount of research I’ve done over the years, I’m kind of an expert in 19th century history. My characters and their stories are completely fictional, but the other things in the book are mostly true. I search until I find what I need to know or until I reach a complete dead end.
The history of the orphan trains has interested me since I first learned about them. One of them ended in Fort Worth where a pastor and his wife helped find the last orphans a home. A few didn’t get a home, so they took them in. In the 20th century that became an orphanage, then a home for unwed mothers.
A Heart’s Forever Home has three settings—Fort Worth, Texas; Waco, Texas; and New York City. It’s a Marriage of Convenience story and much more. This is another type of story I like to read and I like to write. Finding a different reason for the necessity of the marriage is interesting.
I’d found an event that occurred north of Waco in 1896. It was so bizarre I wanted to include it in a book. It was a perfect fit for this story and became an important catalyst in the story.
I’m what’s called in the industry a seat-of-the-pants author, more or less. I do have the complete outline of the story in my head. When I sit down to write, I know where I’m going, but I don’t have every single scene plotted out as some authors do. And I pray… a lot. During the time I’m writing a book, God drops ideas into my thought processes. Not just while I’m writing, but other times, too. That’s the exciting thing about writing. This keeps it fresh for me.
When you’ve finished reading this story, I hope you’ll let me know what you think of it. I really like getting reader feedback.
Bodyguard Sally Wilson has become the target. Can she save her own life as well as her daughter’s?
Christmas is supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but when Sally’s young daughter, Emma, becomes the target of child traffickers, and the little girl’s biological father wants Sally dead, the Christmas season takes a dark turn.
Police officer, Dillon Brady, responds to a call for help at the home of his friend and Protection Inc. bodyguard, Sally Wilson. When their relationship tips beyond friendship, Dillon is determined no one will hurt Sally or her daughter again. Will his resolve be enough?
Sally is drawn to Dillon. He’s a natural with Emma and appears to care about both of them. Sally’s been fooled before by a man she believed loved her, but what if it’s an act? Can Sally learn to trust again and follow her heart, or will Dillon get relegated to the friend zone?
Award winning author Kimberly Rose Johnson married her college sweetheart and lives in the Pacific Northwest. From a young child Kimberly has been an avid reader. That love of reading fostered a creative mind and led to her passion for writing. She especially loves romance and writes contemporary romance and romantic mystery and suspense with a heart.
Kimberly holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers.
Every year since I signed the contract for my debut novel, a book set at Christmastime, I have made it a goal to write a Christmas book, usually a novella. This year, Personal Threat is that book.
I wrapped up the series with Personal Threat. My husband came up with the title for this one because the threat in this book is very personal for one of the Protection Inc. team members.
We first met Sally in book two of the series and it seemed only fitting she starred in a book of her own. We also get to know Dillon better in this book which for me was super fun to write. He’s played an important and growing role as the series has progressed and is one of my favorite characters in the series.
My Impressions
“She couldn’t take much more of these adrenaline bursts. She was liable to age ten years at this rate.” Yet, it seems all of Personal Threat, #5 Protection Inc, by Kimberly Johnson, is made up of adrenaline rushes. From start to finish, you will be glued to your seat as you quickly thumb through or swipe pages.
Sally Wilson, a member of the Protection Inc, team, is frantic to protect her young adopted daughter, Emma. Emma’s biological father wants her back and will stop at nothing to get her. Sally must utilize the professional help of her own team, plus the policeman they call in for back-up when the chips are down.
Trust is a huge issue. If Sally couldn’t trust her first love, how can she trust Dillon Brady, a man who is becoming more and more important with each tumultuous day?
I enjoyed seeing all the Protection Inc group again and getting glimpses of their continuing lives. It was neat seeing this group grow even closer and expand to include one, not their technically their own.
I loved that Dillon is persistent enough in his pursuit that he takes Sally to God in prayer. He actually challenges her to ask God for more than she has considered or hoped. “I’m going to pray for you that the Lord will open your heart to love again. But to a man that will treasure and love you the way God intended…“What’s the matter, Sally? Don’t you want God’s help in the love department?” “It’s not that. It never occurred to me to bother Him with my love life or lack thereof.” I believe Sally begins to understand here what Dillon is getting at… God is interested in every part of a person’s life, and He can be trusted, no matter what circumstances say. A lesson Sally sorely needs to learn and so do many readers.
Personal Threat is part of a series that is best read in order to understand and appreciate the relationships within the various books. If you like children, romantic suspense, or reading about workgroups that form familial bonds, this is a good choice.
I received a copy of this book from CelebrateLit. All opinions are solely my own.
Are mail-order-brides changing their minds or is something sinister going on in Kansas?
Ten years ago, Penelope’s sister ran away as a mail-order bride, and it was the last their family ever heard from her. Now, with their parents dead and Penelope all alone, the young woman has one goal. Find her sister.
It took enough grit for Henry to write to Miss Mildred Crenshaw about finding him a wife in the first place, but when the stage arrives and no bride steps off, the whole thing feels like a confidence scheme. Investigation, however, sends chills down his spine as he realizes women are leaving the east for the west but many never arrive at their destinations.
Is it any wonder that Penelope doesn’t trust the man who abducts her from the clutches of her new friends and rides off into the sunset? Is his explanation reasonable? Can she convince him to help her find her sister?
And is she about to fall in love with a homesteader on the untamed prairies of Kansas?
Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.
More from Chautona
Mail Order Brides: Do We Romanticize the Past?
Although I recall reading about mail-order brides in school… somewhere… Patricia MacLachlan’s Sarah, Plain and Tall was my first introduction to the idea of advertising for or requesting the services of a matchmaker to find a wife. The book and the subsequent movie showed the difficulties of such a marriage and left us all with a satisfactory ending.
Some years later, while doing a bit of research, I discovered another side of the coin—a horrifying picture of what happened to some gullible young women and the unscrupulous people who used such matchmaking schemes as a means for human trafficking. It sickened me, as it should anyone.
All my ideas for mail order bride novels ended up as wadded up balls of mental paper and in the wastepaper basket of my mind. A few years passed, and I came up with a twist on mail order brides, one that will see the light of day if I ever have time to write it. A few more years passed, and a series of books featuring a matchmaking service for mail-order brides and the Homestead Act resurrected those ideas. I smoothed a couple out, reconsidered, and decided against writing them.
I’d have to miss the opportunity to join the series.
My mind never does follow orders well. Within minutes of that decision, I had a story. What would happen if there was some funny business going on with girls going west? How could I combine a satisfactory ending where two people came to a meeting of the minds and hearts in the midst of fighting something that ugly?
Penelope’s Pursuit was born.
Is my story idealized? Probably. I’ll be frank with you. I’m okay with that, too. See, sometimes all we need is a reminder that mankind is sinful and in need of a Savior before the story turns into how things should have been. After all, fiction mirrors reality, but it is also an escape.
I hope Penelope’s escape to the west and her pursuit of her sister encourages you to turn to the Lord for every decision, in every trouble, and with every praise possible in between.
My Impressions
“Penny will always be pretty because she does some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.” I love this line in Penelope’s Pursuit by Chautona Havig. So many people today base their self-image on how they look. But one point Havig makes clear is that beauty comes from within and spreads outward.
There’s just something about mail-order bride stories that appeals to a great audience. The western factor. The unknown. The strangers-to lovers trope.
Chautona Havig sets out to satisfy that reading itch, but also has another purpose in mind: showing that alongside all the romance we assign this genre and period, there was a dark side. Sometimes mail-order brides were used as another way to further nefarious activities that we think of as modern-day issues. Solomon says, “There’s nothing new under the sun.”
I loved the tone that Havig sets for this book. I found Penelope very easy to identify with, and Reuben is a gem! Both are stubborn, but with good hearts. Their care for others drives them to do unusual things that they wouldn’t otherwise dream of doing. How many of us can say we love others that well?
Havig carefully weaves her faith message into the story in snippets, and it doesn’t feel preachy, but natural.
I was so thankful to see that there are two more mail-order bride books by Havig to come, as she set the bait quite nicely.
If you enjoy westerns, mail-order bride stories, realistic historical romances and tales with faith interwoven, you might enjoy Penelope’s Pursuit as much as I did.
I received a copy of the book from Celebrate Lit. All opinions are my own, voluntarily given.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Magnificent! Truly a Different side to the usual Mail-order Bride story!
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions 