Tag: Christian

When the Day Comes – Review

timelessnovels

by Gabrielle Meyer

Publisher : Bethany House Publishers (May 3, 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 384 pages
ISBN-10 : 0764239740
ISBN-13 : 978-0764239748

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How will she choose, knowing all she must sacrifice?

Libby has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 Colonial Williamsburg and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one life, she wakes up in the other. While she’s the same person at her core in both times, she’s leading two vastly different lives.

In Colonial Williamsburg, Libby is a public printer for the House of Burgesses and the Royal Governor, trying to provide for her family and support the Patriot cause. The man she loves, Henry Montgomery, has his own secrets. As the revolution draws near, both their lives–and any hope of love–are put in jeopardy.

Libby’s life in 1914 New York is filled with wealth, drawing room conversations, and bachelors. But the only work she cares about–women’s suffrage–is discouraged, and her mother is intent on marrying her off to an English marquess. The growing talk of war in Europe only complicates matters.

But Libby knows she’s not destined to live two lives forever. On her twenty-first birthday, she must choose one path and forfeit the other–but how can she choose when she has so much to lose in each life?

I had heard that if you like Downton Abbey and time split books, this is the book for you. I have never watched Downton Abbey, and I usually don’t like time split books, but I really enjoyed When the Day Comes! I adored the characters, and I loved that I didn’t know what was going to happen next in the story.

It was such a unique book. I loved all the history from both time periods in it, but especially the early days of the American Revolution. This encouraged me to take the book on a tour of Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord, MA. I love when after reading Historical Fiction/Romance I want to learn even more.

The photos are from:

North Bridge where the “shot heard round the world” was fired

The site where Paul Revere was captured

Hartwell Tavern

Battle Road

Blog Tour and Review: Midnight’s Budding Morrow

timelessnovels

by Carolyn Miller

Publisher : Kregel Publications (May 31, 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 312 pages
ISBN-10 : 0825446546
ISBN-13 : 978-0825446542

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Can real love grow between a wallflower and an unrepentant rogue?

Sarah Drayton is eager to spend time with her best friend at her crumbling Northumberland castle estate. Matrimony is the last thing on her mind and the last thing she expects to be faced with on a holiday. Yet she finds herself being inveigled into a marriage of convenience with her friend’s rakish brother.

When James Langley returns to his family’s estate, he can’t be bothered to pay attention to his responsibilities as the heir. War is raging and he wants only distraction, not serious tethers. But his roguish ways have backed him into a corner, and he has little choice but to obey his father’s stunning decree: marry before returning to war, or else. Suddenly he finds himself wedded to a clever and capable woman he does not love.

Sarah craves love and a place to belong, neither of which James offered before returning to the battlefront. Now everyone around her thinks she married above her station, and they have no intention of rewarding her for such impertinence. It isn’t until her husband returns from war seemingly changed that she begins to hope they may find real happiness. But can she trust that this rake has truly reformed?

When tragedy strikes, this pair must learn to trust God and his plans. Will they be destroyed . . . or will they discover that even in the darkest depths of night, the morning still holds hope?

Midnight’s Budding Morrow is a story of redemption, forgiveness, and finding love. I always like when characters are imperfect because it is more realistic, and I enjoy seeing their growth throughout the story.

After his father blames him for his mother’s death, James Langley struggles with drinking and gambling. To pay off a debt, he is forced into a marriage of convenience with his sister’s friend Sarah Drayton.

While we see James being disrespectful to Sarah, we never see him at his lowest point, so it seemed a little easier to be forgiving. Most of the time he came across as a really good guy who was trying to do better. I had more issues with his father. His father was unforgiving of an accident and held onto that grudge for years. Then the way he manipulates people is abominable.

I can’t go into detail because I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but I will just say that this was an incredibly hard book to read right now. I am going through a similar situation to Sarah, and to read it happening and then her emotions has been difficult. Sarah’s emotions were written as very raw and on point to the tragedy she was going through. I felt an instant connection to her. Though she handles them a lot more extremely than I do. I really felt for her.

I always like reading a story about forgiveness. No matter who a person is, we all need some type of forgiveness in our lives, and we need to forgive others.

Enter Here!

In Honor’s Defense – Review

timelessnovels

by Karen Witemeyer

Publisher : Bethany House Publishers (June 7, 2022)
Language : English
Paperback : 384 pages
ISBN-10 : 0764232096
ISBN-13 : 978-0764232091

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He’s Faced Countless Perils on the Battlefield, but Nothing so Dangerous as Falling in Love.

Luke Davenport has been fighting all his life–for respect, for country, and for those unable to fight for themselves. But now that his Horsemen brothers are domesticated, he’s left alone to battle the wildness within. When an opportunity arises to take a job on his own, tracking down a group of rustlers, he jumps at the chance.

Damaris Baxter has mastered the art of invisibility. Plain and quiet, she hides in books and needlework, content to be overlooked. Until her brother dies suddenly, leaving her custody of her nephew. She moves to Texas to care for Nathaniel, determined to create the family for herself that she never thought she’d have and to give him the family he desperately needs.

When Nate finds himself knee-deep in trouble, Luke’s attempt to protect him leaves Damaris feeling indebted to the Horseman. But suspicions grow regarding the mysterious death of Damaris’s brother. And the more questions they ask, the more danger appears, threatening the family Luke may be unable to live without.

Luke Davenport comes across as an adventurous rough and tumble warrior but at heart he is a protector looking for a place to call home. Who knew he would find it with a bookworm and a rebellious young boy?

I have been waiting for Preach’s story. He has lived such a hard life, and rebelled against it, but he shows just what can happen with repentance and God’s love.

There was a lot of action in this book, and it was nice to see the Hanger’s Horsemen again. I love the bond that the Horsemen have. If one of them has a need, the others will always be there for them.

Proposing Mischief – Review

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by Regina Jennings

Publisher : Bethany House Publishers (December 7, 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 0764235354
ISBN-13 : 978-0764235351

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Only one person can give her the freedom she seeks–but is it worth the risk?

Maisie Kentworth is being forced to stay on her parents’ ranch. After a short-lived relationship with the wrong man, she’s worried about inflaming things further between her former beau and her protective family. Left to rue her mistakes, she keeps busy exploring the idle mine at the edge of their property, where she discovers a great treasure.

Boone Bragg is also stuck. With his parents on vacation, the management of Bragg Mining falls on him, and one of his advisors wants him as a son-in-law. One wrong move, and Boone will end up either offending an associate or marrying a woman he can’t endure.

While closing up a spent mine, Boone gets two surprises. One is a spitfire farm girl who’s trespassing with a pickax, and the other is the amazing crystal cavern that she’s discovered. Suddenly Boone sees a way to overhaul the family business. With part of the cavern on Kentworth land, Boone makes Maisie a proposal that he hopes will solve all of their problems. Instead it throws Joplin into chaos, and it will take all of Maisie’s gumption to set things right.

Boone Bragg is incredibly business driven, and he has no time or patience for all the women who throw themselves at him. Maisie Kentworth has made mistakes with guys in the past and she doesn’t want her heart broken again. When Boone finds Maisie trespassing in his mine and she shows more interest in her surroundings than him, he believes a marriage of convenience will help both of them.

I loved Maisie’s personality. She’s so fun and real. She just has to be careful because it can get her into trouble. I have seen some authors write this personality as way over the top, and I was glad that Maisie wasn’t written that way.

Boone straight out annoyed me at times. The man could be so oblivious and tunnel-visioned on work that he ignored everything around him. I felt so bad for Maisie. However, I loved seeing how being around her changed him. They had some really great games together.

Besides the games, the scenes from the mines were some of my favorites. I loved the descriptions of the crystal cavern Maisie discovered. To find all this vast beauty that God has created so far below the surface is amazing. I would have loved to see it.

Regina Jennings’ books are different from any other books I read, and her characters are always so relatable, and the stories enjoyable. I look forward to more of The Joplin Chronicles.

A View Most Glorious – Review

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by Regina Scott

Publisher : Revell (October 5, 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 368 pages
ISBN-10 : 0800736419
ISBN-13 : 978-0800736415

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Reluctant socialite Coraline Baxter longs to live a life of significance and leave her mark on the world. When her local suffragette group asks her to climb Mount Rainier to raise awareness of their cause, she jumps at the chance, even though she has absolutely no climbing experience. If she can do it, any woman can do it. And after her mother issues an ultimatum–that Cora marry the man of her mother’s choosing if she is not successful–Cora must do it. But she can’t do it alone.

Noted mountain guide Nathan Hardee initially refuses to help Cora, but has a change of heart when he sees what is at stake. He knows enough about the man Cora’s mother has chosen to know that the headstrong young woman should have nothing to do with him, much less marry him.

Climbing Rainier will require all of Cora’s fortitude 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.

Nathan has left society after his father’s suicide to live a quiet life near Mount Rainier. Cora wants to reach the summit, and Nathan is hired to guide her there.

As a hiker, though on a much, much, smaller scale than those in this book, I really enjoyed a lot of the descriptions of what went into their epic hike up Mount Rainier.

I can see how a woman climbing to the top of Mount Rainier could get a lot of attention, but it seemed a little strange to me to do it because you think if a woman could climb a mountain, then she can vote. They are very different things, and I just didn’t see the connection.

Living a distance away from town, Nathan often doesn’t get to worship God in a building. However, he studies his Bible every morning, and he feels closer to God in His creation. This is one of the reasons I love being a nature photographer and finding new locations. Seeing the beauty in God’s work is inspiring and humbling.

The American Wonders Collection is a really beautiful collection of books that I have enjoyed reading.

Under the Texas Mistletoe – Review

timelessnovels

by Karen Witemeyer

Publisher : Bethany House Publishers (August 31, 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 0764239317
ISBN-13 : 978-0764239311

Purchase from Amazon

Purchase Special Edition from Christianbook

Three Charming and Festive Holiday Novellas Spiced with Humor, Frontier Action, and Sweet Romance

In this 3-in-1 novella collection, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer presents the new story “A Texas Christmas Carol,” in which a town’s wealthy, Scrooge-like bachelor finds his world invaded by a woman set on earning his donation for helping the local poor, and by the penetrating questions of three mysterious visitors.

It also includes, for the first time in print, “An Archer Family Christmas.” When the Archer clan gathers for the Christmas holiday, an unexpected request for help leaves Cassandra Archer directly in the path of a dangerous outlaw. Desperate to protect the woman he loves, Jim Archer races to the rescue, only to find that Cassie’s life is not the only one in peril. It will take a Christmas miracle–and the entire Archer clan–to keep a second Archer Christmas from ending in disaster.

In previously published “Gift of the Heart,” a widow and her young daughter move to Hope Springs for a fresh start. But with no money to secure a home, Ruth must convince a wealthy resort owner to accept her heirloom brooch as collateral. Will the pin that brought love to three generations soften the heart of a wounded recluse and give Ruth a second chance at love as the holidays draw near?

Sprinkled throughout the collection, you’ll find a hope-filled Christmas devotion, Witemeyer holiday recipes, and fun facts about nineteenth-century Christmas celebrations!

Under the Texas Mistletoe is a wonderful Christmas collection that contains 3 historical romance stories set in Texas. This book also includes a few recipes, a Christmas devotional, and some origins of Christmas traditions. This book will get you into the Christmas spirit no matter what time of year you read it.

A Texas Christmas Carol

This story gives a nod to the original Christmas Carol with little similarities I had fun picking up on, however, this is a unique story.

Felicity is always looking for the bright side of things, and this Christmas season she has decided that she wants the local miser to help her with the charity baskets.

Evan has had to work his way up from the bottom, and after being taken advantage of, he determines that it will never happen again. In the process, he has closed himself off from the world.

I don’t think that Evan was ever as miserly as people thought. He just needed someone to care about him. He never smiled just to be polite, he only smiled when he meant it. I can personally understand that.

I really liked this story.

An Archer Family Christmas

Before you pick up this book, make sure you have plenty of time because you will not want to put it down. Also, be prepared for “all the feels”. This book will make you very emotional.

Those who have read others in the series will enjoy the return of their beloved Archer family and new readers will fall in love with Jim and Cassie.

There is such love and loyalty in the Archer family.

Gift of the Heart

Karen Witemeyer creates characters who are not perfect. She has the ability to make her characters strong while also being incredibly vulnerable.

I loved the Biblical connection to the Ruth and Boaz story. Besides the names, there were so many little connections as well.

Beauregard “Bo” Azlin was one of those characters you feel an instant connection to. The back story of Bo’s childhood where his mother considered him damaged goods is heart breaking. Bo tried to be fair to everyone and not give special treatment but he also helped protect those in need. I liked the scene where Bo is holding the heirloom and vowing to keep it safe for Ruth. It was also sweet how he liked to keep the heirloom near his heart.

Witemeyer’s books always contain some funny moments. When Bo calls the stray cat a miscreant, little Naomi mistakenly believes that the cat’s name is Miss Creant. Bo and Naomi have a number of sweet and funny conversations.

While this felt like a very complete story, I want it to continue. I’m not ready to leave these characters.

My True Love Gave To Me

My True Love Gave To Me is a fun little bonus short story you get if you order the special edition of this book from Christianbook. It is about a young man who sets out to prove his love using the 12 days of Christmas; but in a rather unusual way.

The Heart’s Charge – Review

timelessnovels

by Karen Witemeyer

Publisher : Bethany House Publishers (June 1, 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 384 pages
ISBN-10 : 0764232088
ISBN-13 : 978-0764232084

Purchase from Amazon

Members of Hanger’s Horsemen, Mark Wallace and Jonah Brooks arrive in Llano County, Texas, to deliver a steed, never expecting they’d deliver a baby as well. Left with an infant to care for, they head to a nearby foundling home, where Mark encounters the woman he’d nearly married a decade ago.

After failing at love, Katherine Palmer dedicated her life to caring for children, teaming up with Eliza Southerland to start Harmony House. From mixed ancestry, illegitimate, and female, Eliza understands the pain of not fitting society’s mold. Yet those are the very attributes that lead her to minister to outcast children. The taciturn Jonah intrigues her with his courage and kindness, but there are secrets behind his eyes–ghosts from wars past and others still being waged.

However, when a handful of urchin children from the area go missing, a pair of Horsemen are exactly what the women need. Working together to find the children, will these two couples find love as well?

Karen Witemeyer is the reason I stepped outside my Historical Regency comfort zone and started reading Westerns. Books like this are exactly why I now love Westerns!

The theme of this story was very important to me. God has called us to help the orphans no matter who they are or where they are from. Stories like the one Abner shared are so heartbreaking. Eliza’s story was also heartbreaking, and far too common.

It’s often tough to have a book written with four lead characters who are equally important and fully developed. Witemeyer has accomplished this so well. There was also a mystery and some action in this book along with the romance of the two couples.

This book can be read as a standalone, but if you read the first book in the series (At Love’s Command) you can learn more about the history of the horsemen.

I loved the plot and the characters. I read through the book at a fast pace but then read the end slowly because I wanted to savor it. I can’t wait for Preach’s story!

Dusk’s Darkest Shores – Review

timelessnovels

by Carolyn Miller

Publisher : Kregel Publications (May 18, 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 0825446538
ISBN-13 : 978-0825446535

Purchase from Amazon

How can a meek wallflower help a returning war hero whose dreams are plunged into darkness?

Mary Bloomfield has no illusions. Her chances for matrimony have long since passed her by. Still, her circumstances are pleasant enough, especially now that she has found purpose in assisting her father with his medical practice in England’s beautiful Lake District. Even without love, it’s a peaceful life.

That is until Adam Edgerton returns to the sleepy district. This decorated war hero did not arrive home to acclaim and rest, but to a new battle against the repercussions of an insidious disease. Mary’s caring nature cannot stand to see someone suffer–but how can she help this man see any brightness in his future when he’s plunged into melancholic darkness, his dreams laid waste by his condition?

Adam wants no charity, but he’s also no coward. If this gentle woman can work hard, how can he do less? Together they struggle to find a way forward for him. Frustration and antipathy slowly develop into friendship and esteem. Then a summer storm atop a mountain peak leads to scandal–and both Mary and Adam must search the depths of their closed hearts for answers if they hope to find any future path with happiness at its end.

I love that this new series focuses on wallflowers. Mary is an older and more mature heroine. She has been known to have an overbearing personality, and I love her dry sense of humor.

This book is also an emotional journey of Adam finding out who he is again after falling ill during the war. I really could relate to Adam. While what we each have is very different, having a chronic disease can sometimes suck you into a hole of feeling bad for yourself. And a lot of times people around you don’t know how to react to the situation. Also, having black and white puppers for buddies like Adam and I have really do help. Of course the most important thing is to rely on God and to always have faith in him even when it’s hard.

Carolyn Miller’s stories are always filled with multidimensional characters you root for. Her stories are always enjoyable to read, but they go even deeper and I feel that I learn something after reading them.