A Feeling of Home by Susan Anne Mason (Book 3 in the Redemption's Light series)

Susan's new book, A Feeling of Home, is the third and final book in the Redemption's Light series. This book tells the story of Dr. Mark Henshaw, whom we've seen in the previous books, and introduces us to Isabelle Wardrop.

From the Back Cover:

Can she set aside the pain from the past to embrace a new love?

Isabelle Wardrop's well-to-do life has completely unraveled. Within months, she's lost both her parents, her fortune, and her home. With nowhere else to turn, she and her younger sister move in with a trusted former servant in an impoverished area of the city. Desperate for work but having no qualifications, Isabelle is forced to accept help from Dr. Mark Henshaw, the very man she blames for her mother's death. 

Mark Henshaw has admired Isabelle for several months, but after the tragic death of her mother, he vows to make amends for the past and help her find her way. But when Mark learns his younger brother has formed an undesirable friendship with Isabelle's sister--one that brings a whole new set of problems into their lives--he doesn't know if Isabelle will ever forgive him. 

When startling developments begin to take place, both within Isabelle's heart and their siblings' relationship, her future looks very different than anything she could have imagined. 

My Thoughts:

 This book had an interesting storyline. A fair amount of tragedy happens to the Wardrop family, and the author deals with some pretty big topics--death, cancer, grief, suicide, teenage pregnancy, and poverty to name a few. The story moves along quickly as the Wardrop sisters figure out what to do after becoming orphans. Isabelle shows great strength as she faces her circumstances head-on. Her character changes from a spoiled, wealthy, young lady, to one of compassion who can identify with the working class.

I was glad to see that Dr. Mark Henshaw finally got his chance at happiness. This was a great way to end the series. Mark, like Isabelle, also has family issues to work through, and the author did a great job moving both of these characters through situations that helped to change them each for the better.  

I liked that the book moved quickly, especially toward the last half of the book, and I thought that it was an enjoyable read.  

My Rating: ★★★★ 

About the Author:

 

I have always loved to write. As a teen, I wrote my first novel, only to be politely rejected by my publisher of choice.

Life got in the way – university, marriage and children became the priority. Then once I had time to start reading again, the writing bug bit once more.

I enjoy writing both contemporary and historical Inspirational romances. “Romance sprinkled with faith” describes my writing style. I love themes of forgiveness and redemption!

I am a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and a former member of the Romance Writers of America. My association with such amazing groups of people has been the biggest asset toward learning my craft.

Home for me is Brampton, Ontario, Canada (near Toronto), where I live with my husband and our two children. My day job is a part-time secretary at a local church. In my spare time, I like to read and research our family history online.

Check out her website: https://susanannemason.net/

*** I received this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own. 

Worthy of Legend by Roseanna M. White (Book 3 of The Secrets of the Isles series)

 

 The third and final book in Roseanna's Secret of the Isles series, Worthy of Legend, has released. Finally, Emily and Bram's story is told, but will the mystery of the pirate treasure be solved?

From the Back Cover:

1906

After a summer of successful pirate-treasure hunting, Lady Emily Scofield and her friends must hide the unprecedented discoveries they've made, thanks to the betrayal of her own family. Horrified by her brother, who will stop at nothing to prove himself to their greedy father, Emily is forced to take a stand against her family--even if it means being cut off entirely.

Bram Sinclair, Earl of Telford, is fascinated with tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table--an interest he's kept mostly hidden for the last decade. But when a diary is unearthed on the islands that could lead to a secret artifact, Bram is the only one able to piece the legends together.

As Bram and Emily seek out the whereabouts of the hidden artifact, they must dodge her family and a team of archaeologists. In a race against time, it is up to them to decide what makes a hero worthy of legend. Is it fighting valiantly to claim the treasure... or sacrificing everything in the name of selfless love?

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed reading this last book in the Secret of the Isles series. Emily and Bram's tale is one filled with  evil plots, mystery, and adventure. And with the addition of King Arthur and his knights, the hunt for pirate treasure took on a more thrilling possible outcome. Emily's family stirs up quite a lot of problems for the treasure hunting group, but Emily and her friends are determined to outwit their rivals. The characters in the story were interesting, witty and likeable, and I thought the author did a good job with the growth of the characters as they encountered different difficulties along the way. Overall, it was a good read and a fun ending to the series.

My Rating: ★★★★

 

About the Author:

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

 

 

 

 

 

*** I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own. 

Long Way Home by Lynn Austin

One of my favorite authors, Lynn Austin, has released a new novel called Long Way Home. This title is fitting for a novel that is about World War II and the aftermath of veterans dealing with the effects of war on the human mind. 

From the Back Cover:

A young woman searches for the truth her childhood friend won't discuss after returning from World War II, revealing a gripping story of courage, friendship, and faith.

Peggy Serrano couldn't wait for her best friend to come home from the war. But the Jimmy Barnett who returns is changed so drastically by his experience as a medic in Europe that he can barely function. When he attempts the unthinkable, his parents check him into the VA hospital. Peggy determines to help the Barnetts unravel what might have happened to send their son over the edge. She starts by contacting Jimmy's war buddies, trying to identify the mysterious woman in the photo they find in Jimmy's belongings. 

Seven years earlier, Gisela Wolff and her family flee Germany aboard the passenger ship St. Louis, bound for Havana, Cuba. Gisela meets Sam Shapiro on board and the two fall quickly in love. But the ship is denied safe harbor and sent back to Europe. Thus begins Gisela's perilous journey of exile and survival, made possible only by the kindness and courage of a series of strangers she meets along the way, including one man who will change the course of her life.

My Thoughts:

I've come to appreciate well-written novels that can transport me back in time in order to gain a new viewpoint of a different time period. Lynn Austin's novels always accomplish this for me. She has an amazing way of telling a story that will have you seeing history from a new perspective. In this novel, Lynn takes the reader down the path of two women's stories, one from America and another from Germany. Each has her own hardship that must be overcome to survive. Although compared with each other, the life of the one in America certainly doesn't compare to the life of the other in Germany. The two stories are interesting as they encounter the horrors of war and the lack of understanding of mental health. I appreciated this book and how it helped me empathize with the Jewish people and the veterans of WWII. It can be challenging for us as American citizens to understand all the veterans and Jews experienced since we are so far removed from such atrocities.

If you're looking for a good story that will widen your understanding of WWII, pick up Lynn's new book and experience a greater appreciation for all that our veterans have done for our country.

***I received this complimentary book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

About the Author:

Lynn Austin is the bestselling author of nearly thirty novels and was one of the first inductees into the Christy Award Hall of Fame.  She and her husband have three grown children and make their home in western Michigan. Visit her online at lynnaustin.org.

Master Craftsman by Kelli Stuart

 Are you familiar with the beautifully crafted Russian Faberge eggs?  Have you ever wondered why those special Russian eggs were created? Or who these incredibly talented jewelers were? This new novel, The Master Craftsman by Kelli Stuart, will take you back in history to an unsettling time period in Russia when the people were struggling, and the monarchy was not meeting the needs of the people they ruled. Yet, in spite of the unrest, there was a group of highly talented individuals that worked for a man by the name of Peter Karl Faberge. And for him, they would create one-of-a-kind masterpieces that we still "ooh and aah" over today.

From the Back Cover:

In 1917, Alma Pihl, a master craftsman in the House of Faberge, was charged to protect one of the greatest secrets in Russian history--an unknown Faberge Egg that Peter Karl Faberge secretly created to honor his divided allegiance to both the people of Russia and the Imperial tsar's family. When Alma and her husband escaped Russia for their native Finland in 1921, she took the secret with her, guarding her past connection to the Romanov family.

Three generations later, world-renowned treature hunter Nick Laine is sick and fears the secret of the missing egg will die with him. With time running out, he entrusts the mission of retrieving the egg to his estranged daughter, Ava, who has little idea of the dangers she is about to face. As the stakes are raised, Ava is forced to declare her own allegiance--and the consequences are greater than she could have imagined.

 

My Thoughts:

I love it when I sit down to read a book by an author I'm unfamiliar with and walk away thinking, "Wow, I loved that story!" This was my first time reading a book by Kellie Stuart, and now I'm wondering what else has she written. This book was so good! Who doesn't like a good treasure hunt for lost artifacts that involves some danger. The writing, the story line, and the characters were all wonderful. I was fascinated by the history that was shared as the characters hunted for the missing egg. Then, I had to venture online to see what these eggs looked like. This story will definitely pique your curiosity to find out more history about them. Russian history is fascinating to me since my parents were missionaries in Russia for about 10 years, and it was fun reading all of the Russian words the author used in the story. While the story is fiction, the history is interwoven into the story in such a beautiful way. The Master Craftsman is a book you are going to want on your shelf. So make sure to pick up this new book for your summer reading. It will be a great addition to any library!

My Rating: ★★★★★ 

*I received this book from Revell Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

About the Author:

Kelli Stuart is the author of the Carol Award-winning Like a River from Its Course, as well as A Silver Willow by the Shore and Life Creative: Inspiration for Today's Renaissance Mom (with Wendy Speake). Stuart has written for The Huffington Post, 5 Minutes for Mom, Tonic.com, Disney, American Girl, The MOB Society, Extraordinary Mommy, God Size Dreams, Short Fiction Break, and (in)courage. Kelli is a storyteller at heart, fluent in the Russian language, and has spent the last two decades studying the Russian and Ukrainian culture. Kelli lives in Tampa, Florida, with her husband and five children.

Visit Kelli's website by clicking here.

Shadowed Loyalty by Roseanna M. White

 

Who isn't fascinated by the gangs and mobsters of the 1920's?  Roseanna M. White's newest release, Shadowed Loyalty, takes readers back in time to when organized crime was soaring and the mob ruled.

From the Back Cover:

Sabina Mancari never questioned her life as the daughter of Chicago’s leading mob boss until bullets tear apart her world and the man she thought she loved turned out to be an undercover Prohibition agent. Now she sees how ugly the underworld can be. Ambushes, bribes, murder, prostitution—maybe Lorenzo, her straitlaced fiancé, had it right when he said it is better to stay far removed. And maybe, if she can understand him and his baffling faith, he will give her another chance.

But Lorenzo isn’t sure he’s ready for that. All his life he has loved Sabina, only to realize she had never felt the same about him. While he’s relieved to see her pursuing God, the Prohibition agent is pursuing her father just as intently, and it falls to Enzo—and his legal skills—to keep trouble at bay. He wants to believe that Sabina can change…assuming they can stay alive until their wedding day.

Shadowed Loyalty, set amid the glitz and scandal of the Roaring Twenties, examines what love really means and how we draw lines between family and our own convictions, especially when following the one could mean losing the other.

 My Thoughts:

Isn't this cover great?!! I love the retro cover for this book. It fits the story perfectly! This is one period in history that I haven't come across while reading historical fiction books. So, it was fun to take a trip back in history to the Roaring Twenties during prohibition and organized crime. I also found the point of view of this novel to be unique in that the gangster's own daughter was the main character.  Often, the viewpoint is seen from the law enforcement side of the situation, and this provides another angle into the family life of a crime boss.  Many subjects come up in this novel--alcohol, prostitution, brothels, and murder, to name a few. The author doesn't gloss over the awful details of organized crime.

While the beginning of this book opens with a riveting situation of guns drawn and Sabina's world crashing all around her, the rest of the book focuses mainly on Sabina's relationship with her family, the undercover Prohibition agent, and Lorenzo, the boy she's known all her life. Sabina is conflicted inside and the reader feels that as she and Lorenzo go back and forth. It's a little trying at times. I enjoyed reading the background of how things in Italy influenced how the Italian mafia operated here in America. Although, I wish the author would have played up the prominent mobster that shows up toward the end of the story. I think that element wasn't played through to its fullest potential. Overall, it was an interesting story, but not one of my favorites.

***I received a complimentary e-book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

 My Rating: ★★★

 

🚩 FYI for parents of teens: This book covers some situations that you may want to have a chat about with your teen. The crime boss does have a mistress on the side. Although there isn't anything directly written that is inappropriate, there is an understanding that when the crime boss leaves the house in the evening he is probably with the other woman. Also, one of the characters has a relationship with a prostitute that leaves no doubt as to what happens after the scene cuts away.

 

About the Author:

 

Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.

Buy the Book: Roseanna's Shop  or  Amazon

Check out Roseanna at any of these social sites:

Blog: https://www.roseannamwhite.com/blog

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoseannaMWhite/

Newsletter: https://www.roseannamwhite.com/newsletter-signup

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/roseannamwhite/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roseannamwhite/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RoseannaMWhite

 

 

A Rose for the Resistance by Angela K. Couch

 

It's the fifth book in the Heroines of WWII series published by Barbour Publishing! A Rose for the Resistance by Angela K. Couch takes readers to northern France during the time when the French were overtaken by the Nazi war machine, and the underground efforts of the Resistance was a way the French could fight back against the German army.

From the Back Cover:

With her father in a German POW camp and her home in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France, under Nazi occupation, Rosalie Barrieau will do anything to keep her younger brother safe...even from his desire to join the French resistance. Then she falls into the debt of a German soldier--one who delivers a wounded British pilot to her door. Though not sure what to make of her German ally, Rosalie is thrust deep into the heart of the local underground.

Franz Kafka has survived the war by following orders, but a brush with death and a transfer to Normandy, France, has him questioning the cost of his course. Even as he finds himself receiving a promotion and instructions to seek out the Resistance, his compassion for the French under German occupation can't be ignored--neither can a beautiful young woman often seen riding a bicycle through checkpoints.

As tensions build toward the allied invasion of Normandy, they both must decide how much they are willing to risk for freedom--and love.

My Thoughts:

This story is a quick read and will have you wondering how things will go for Rosalie's family. The author paints a picture for the reader of the fear and uncertainty gripping the citizens of France as the German army descends on the cities. All Rosalie wants is for her family to keep their heads down and survive until the Allies come and free them. But slowly she understands that even keeping your head down doesn't mean safety.  I think that the story conveys the tough choices the French had to make if they were going to fight for the country they loved. There are several themes running throughout the story sacrifice, grief, fear, hatred, forgiveness, and trust to name a few. While there were elements I liked about the story, there were also things that frustrated me. There was an unresolved conflict at the end of the story that didn't seem to have any justice, and it left me feeling sad. Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. I wanted to like it, but I really didn't like the way the book ended.

Rating:  ★★★

About the Author:

To keep from freezing in the Great White North, Angela K Couch cuddles under quilts with her laptop. Winning short story contests, being a semi-finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest, and a finalist in the International Digital Awards also helped warm her up. As a passionate believer in Christ, her faith permeates the stories she tells. Her martial arts training, experience with horses, and appreciation for good romance sneak in there, as well. When not writing, she stays fit (and warm) by chasing after four munchkins.

Click here to visit her website.

 

 

*** I received this complimentary copy from Barbour publishing. I was under no obligation to post a review. All opinions are my own.

Saving Mrs. Roosevelt by Candice Sue Patterson

 World War II is always a fascinating time period that lends itself well to plots for novels. It's a time when everyone wanted to do what they could to serve their country and squelch the evil that seemed to be spreading it's empire across the continent of Europe. In this new book,  Saving Mrs. Roosevelt by Candice Sue Patterson, readers will not only get to enjoy a captivating story, but will also learn a little bit about the beginning of women enlisting in the Coast Guard. Their group was called SPARs.

From the Back Cover:

The Safety of the First Lady Rests in Shirley's Hands

Shirley Davenport is as much a patriot as her four brothers. She too wants to aid her country in the war efforts, but opportunities for women are limited. When her best friend Joan informs her that the Coast Guard has opened a new branch for single women, they both enlist in the SPARS (Semper Parus Always Ready), eager to help protect the home front.

Training is rigorous, and Shirley is disappointed that she and Joan are sent to separate training camps. At the end of basic training, Captain Webber commends her efforts and commissions her home to Maine under the ruse of a dishonorable discharge to help uncover a conspiracy against the First Lady. 

Shirley soon discovers nothing is as it seems. Whom can she trust? Why do the people she loves want to harm the First Lady? With the help of Captain Webber, it's a race against time to save Mrs. Roosevelt and remain alive.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this book. The story was an easy read, and the plot moved the story along well. I enjoyed learning about the beginning of the woman's division in the Coast Guard and how they were able to help our country right here at home. The plot against the First Lady was an interesting twist to the story that gave Shirley quite a dangerous undercover mission. I appreciated that the author took the time to write in her author's note in the back about which parts of the fictional story were true to history and which were a fun fictional addition.

This book is part of a book series called the Heroines of WWII being published by Barbour Books.

Book 1: The Cryptographer's Dilemma by Johnnie Alexander

Book 2: A Picture of Hope by Liz Tolsma

Book 3: Saving Mrs. Roosevelt by Candice Sue Patterson 

Book 4: Mrs. Witherspoon Goes to War by Mary Davis

Book 5: A Rose For the Resistance by Angela K. Couch

If you're looking for a fun quick read and like WWII Historical fiction, pick up Barbour's newest book Saving Mrs. Roosevelt. It's a fun trip back in time, and I look forward to reading the other book from this series.

My Rating: ★★★★

About the Author:

 

Candice studied at the Institute of Children’s Literature at age sixteen. She lives in Indiana with her husband and three sons in a restored farmhouse overtaken by books. When she’s not tending to her chickens, snuggling with her Great Pyrenees, or sharing her passion for reading with students as an elementary school librarian, she’s working on a new story. Candice writes both contemporary and historical romance—where the past and present collide with faith. 

Learn more at her website at http://www.candicesuepatterson.com.
 

 

 

 

***I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.