Tag: Orphans

ARC, BLOG, Favorite, JustRead Tour, Kindle, Launch Team, PB, Purchase

The Heirs Beloved by Rhonda Dragomir Review and Giveaway

Babbling Becky L

Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Heir’s Beloved by Rhonda Dragomir, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Book Details

Welcome to the Blog Tour for The Heir’s Beloved by Rhonda Dragomir, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Book Details

Title: The Heir’s Beloved
Series: The Ravenwood Chronicles #1
Author: Rhonda Dragomir
Publisher: Dragomir Group Publishing
Release Date: September 30, 2026
Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Torn from his mother’s arms after a deadly fire and spirited away to Scotland, Liam’s past refuses to remain buried. On his twenty-fifth birthday, he learns he is the rightful Duke of Ravenwood. His ancestral English estate is now ruled by the usurper who murdered his family in the fire and stole his inheritance.

The knight’s plan to reclaim Ravenwood and exact revenge hinges on secrecy—but a chance meeting with a courageous, kindhearted lass threatens to unravel everything. Ella would risk anything to protect a ragged band of orphaned children, and when her violet-eyed beauty draws the villain’s lecherous attention, Liam is forced to choose. Will he risk discovery and death to save the woman who has captured his heart? Or will saving Ella require him to surrender his thirst for vengeance and embrace God’s higher calling?

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | RhondaDragomir.com | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Also Available

( Don’t miss this debut novel by Dragomir. I absolutely loved it!!)

******************************************

Get to Know the Author

Rhonda Dragomir is an award-winning novelist and multimedia creative who treasures her fairy tale life in Central Kentucky. She insists her home is her castle, even if her prince refuses to dig a moat. Known for richly researched historical fiction, she weaves romance, faith, and redemption into the lives of unforgettable characters. Her newest novel, The Heir’s Beloved, launches The Ravenwood Chronicles, an Elizabethan historical romance series set along the Anglo-Scottish border.

Barbour Publishing released her award-winning debut novel, When the Flames Ravaged, in March 2024. Her work has also appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul®, Guideposts, and other anthologies and periodicals. Bible studies she co-authored are used by more than 10,000 women each week around the world. Rhonda’s writing has earned awards in both fiction and nonfiction, including being named 2019 Writer of the Year by Serious Writer, Inc. She was also a finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest for historical romance in both 2020 and 2022. Learn more about Rhonda at rhondadragomir.com.

My Impressions

“What do the problems of an English duchy have to do with a Scotsman like me?” ““Ye’re nae a Scot.”

What a 25th birthday present for Liam! So begins his journey to retake his rightful position as an English duke in The Heir’s Beloved by Rhonda Dragomir. I don’t usually read medieval novels. The whole concept of medieval novels has always been a turn-off for me, but Dragomir may have single-handedly opened my mind to a new genre! (Win for both of us!)

Strong and braw, and a trained warrior, Liam begins to understand his legacy and the loss to himself personally and the  kingdom. But how can he defeat an evil usurper with his large contingent of malevolent minions? Bent on revenge for grievous wrongs done him and his family, will Liam look to his own understanding in the end or listen to God’s voice? 

One of Liam’s best allies is a woman. And I don’t refer to the lady he falls in love with, but the one who has loved him for a lifetime. Wheest, but Betha is a complicated character. Fiercely loyal, with a vocabulary to embarrass a sailor, she can scheme and plan with the best. Will her advice prove true? Or will her prickly character drive off the very prize Liam most wants to win? 

I loved Ella, but does she come with baggage. Her baggage has names, empty tummies and abused souls. Will Ella be able to continue to support her beloved orphan friends if she doesn’t acquiesce to the hated acting duke? How long before Ella realizes she may have sold her soul to the devil?

My fave character is John. He is meekness and power wrapped together in kindness and a thirst for the right. What have those qualities cost him n the past, and will helping Liam cost him more than the evil duke has already extracted? 

Bottom line, I loved this book. If you like historical fiction at all, I urge you to give it a try. You can turn to the glossary in the back for help with unfamiliar Scottish or old English terms, or Google them. Enjoy Elizabethan England with its religious upheaval, castles, feuding, and pageantry! 

I received a copy of the book from the author. I also bought my own pb for the keeper shelf. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own. 

Notable Quotables:

“Nobility is in someone’s soul, not their parentage.”

“When strength is nearly gone, the mind is the best weapon.”

“Honor was a virtue. But it might become a weakness.”

“God alone is judge. When He renders a verdict, He ensures justice is meted out. When self-appointed men judge, it often devolves into revenge. Retribution then arises from the heart of man, not the will of God.”

“…effective prayer is not a matter of mumbling meaningless words you’ve memorized. It’s not mere words from the lips God hears, but the prayers of the heart. Speak to Him, and He will listen.”

My Rating

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Superior

Dragomir has convinced me I’m missing out on a whole sub-genre I’ve been snubbing for years! I would encourage any historical fiction lovers to read this book!

******************************************

Wanna Win? (Tour Giveaway)

(3) winners will each receive a print copy of The Heir’s Beloved and When the Flames Ravaged, plus a $15 Amazon card!

Fine Print… just because…

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight September 29, 2026 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 6, 2026. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

BLOG, Favorite, PB, Revell

What Momma Left Behind by Cindy K Sproles

Babbling Becky L

53154863

About the Book

Title: What Momma Left Behind

Author: Cindy K Sproles

Publisher: Revell

Released: June 2020

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Worie Dressar is seventeen years old when influenza and dysentery ravage her Appalachian Mountain community in 1898, leaving behind a growing number of orphaned children with no way to care for themselves. Worie’s mother has been secretly feeding a number of these little ones on Sourwood Mountain. But when she dies suddenly, Worie is left to figure out why and how she was caring for them.

Plagued with two good-for-nothing brothers–one greedy and the other a drunkard–Worie fights to save her home and the orphaned children now in her begrudging care. Along the way, she will discover the beauty of unconditional love and the power of forgiveness as she cares for all of Momma’s children.

Storyteller and popular speaker Cindy K. Sproles pens a tender novel full of sacrifice, heartache, and courage in the face of overwhelming obstacles.

 

My Review

I want this over with. I want things back to the way they was. We didn’t ask for this mess.
And every minute that passes just pours more manure on top of us.” No, this is not
someone present-day talking about the Corona virus. This is 17-year-old Worie Dressar,
who in 1877 has watched both the flu and typhoid decimate her part of Appalachia. Now,
Worie’s mother is gone, and Worie’s faith is put to a fearsome test as 1877 proves to be
the hardest year of her young life.
Why should you pick up this book, what Momma Left Behind, by Cindy K Sproles? First,
it’s amazing to think sometimes that there was another time and place as arduous as this
year (2020) has seemed. There can be something comforting to see someone go through
something- a pandemic and separation from society, no less, and realize it’s possible to
come out alive and more mature on the other side. Oh, but the process!
Then there’s that quaintness about the speech patterns of the mountain people that pulls
you into the story faster than you can say “moonshine.” One example:
“Anger crawled up from the deepest part of me, hurt seeped outta my heart, and fear eat
at me like a hungry buzzard. Momma had left me in more ways than one.”
This novel is very reminiscent of Christy by Catherine Marshall. There’s even a young,
interested preacher. Pastor Jess is such a good complement to Worie. He has such a great
soothing way with people when Worie tends to fly off the handle.
What Momma Left Behind 1
I loved all, no, most, of the secondary characters. But all were well-drawn, even Calvin,
Justice, and deceased Momma.
Ely is a voice to be reckoned with. One part comfort, one part Scripture, one part reproof,
one part encouragement.
The children. They were my undoing.
I never knew what to expect around the bend, be it literal or figurative.
Sproles deftly diffuses more than one molasses-like sticky situation with humor and I
found myself laughing out loud. Sometimes the tears came. But then, I’d think how
strong the mountain women were.
As Momma would say, “Take a day to mourn your lot, then shovel it over your shoulder
and move ahead.”
What Momma Left Behind 2
The values of family, hope, and forgiveness shine above judgment and false self-
perception. You may move beyond this novel, but a piece of Sourwood Mountain will
forever rest in your soul.
Notable Quotables:

“I’d heard folks talk about lightnin striking twice in one place. I reckon it had done struck me twice and then some.”

“Them mountains, they’s like the hills and valleys in our souls. We can’t have one without the other, but we can figure the best way to
climb.”

“I thought trust was something you could find, but I’m seein it ain’t found- it’s gived.”

“…truth ain’t promised to be easy, but it is promised to always be right.”

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell. This in no way affects my opinions, which are solely my own.

My Rating

5 Stars – Superior – Hits My Reading Sweet Spot

 

About the Author

Cindy Sproles is an author and speaker. She has cofounded ChristianDevotions.us and serves as managing editor for SonRise Books and Straight Street Books, imprints of 214Fl3syn+L._CR0,0,160,160_UX160Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas/Iron Stream Media. Cindy teaches at Christian Writers Conferences and ladies retreats and ladies conferences across the country. Her devotions are heartfelt and honest. Edgy and inviting. Cindy serves as the executive editor of ChristianDevotions.us, a writing mentor, and life-coach.She shares mentoring with best-selling author, Yvonne Lehman at Write Right. Author of four non-fiction books, Cindy’s Fiction debut novel, Mercy’s Rain(Kregel Publishing), was book of the year and her second novel, Liar’s Winter won numerous awards. Cindy’s 3rd Appalachian Novel, Revell Publishing, What Momma Left Behind, releases June 2,2020 She is a contributing author to CBN.com and InspireaFire.com and serves as the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. Visit her at http://www.cindysproles.com or contact her at cindyksproles@gmail.com

Cindy is available for speaking events by contacting her at cindyksproles@gmail.com.