"Wooing Cadie McCaffrey" by Bethany Turner

After four years, Cadie McCaffrey has given up on her boyfriend, and when a misunderstanding leads to a mistake and hurt, she finally sends him packing. But for Will, this is the beginning of his quest to become the man she needs, and he intends to win her back, using every weapon in his arsenal--be it the questionable guidance of his pro-athlete friends or tactics drawn from Cadie's romantic comedies. What could possibly go wrong?

If you're looking for a fun romantic comedy with a classic feel, look no farther! Not only does it have moments fit for film, it references a good number of classic films in Will's wooing of Cadie McCaffrey. I love the characters, including--or maybe especially--the friends and coworkers in all their imperfect glory. Darby is a wonderful best friend for Cadie, and Kevin and Ellis are an amusing pair of wingmen for Will. No man is an island, and Will and Cadie would be shadows of themselves without their friends backing them up.

But behind all the cute rom-com references and fun banter among friends, there is some hefty, rough reality to the story. Cadie and Will are both believers, but they're not immune to poor choices. Their relationship falls to pieces because they don't talk, and together they make a huge error of judgement that further degrades their relationship. At one point Cadie responds to the statement "All things are possible with God" with the thought, Not all things, of course. She's immediately wracked with guilt not just because she thought it, but because a part of her believed it. It struck me just as it struck her when I realized there are a few areas of my life where I fall into the same trap, even knowing the truth.

Wooing Cadie McCaffrey is a fun romantic comedy, but it isn't just fluff--it has grit. Highly recommended!

Thank you Revell for the complimentary book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

"A Reluctant Bride" by Jody Hedlund--Bride Ships, book 1

With no prospects for the future let alone her next meal, Mercy Wilkins signs up to immigrate to Vancouver Island, not realizing that she's agreeing to become a bride for one of the hundreds of single men in the colony. However, on the long journey across the oceans, her kind heart and unending wells of mercy catch the eye of the ship's physician, Lord Joseph Colville. Mercy finds herself acting as Joseph's assistant with the other brides, but the attraction between them is strictly forbidden--lest Mercy be shipped back to England or worse.

I didn't realize until I reached the author's note at the end just how much of the story was based on actual history, from the very ship itself and its trial-fraught journey to even the central love story. I love when a story is so deeply based off history! I had been aware of shipments of brides from the East Coast to Seattle, but I hadn't realized the British had sent brides too, just to the Canadian side instead.

Mercy is all things sweet and light, living up to her name. I can easily see why Joseph falls for her, but I feel like we're missing half the story--given the disparity between them in social station, education, and speech, they'll have a really hard road ahead of them (particularly by returning to London instead of staying in the colony where social positioning is much less likely to matter).

Though the focus was on Joseph and Mercy, I enjoyed (or in a couple cases, enjoyed disliking) a couple of the more prominent secondary characters. Mr Collins Mr Scott is just as obnoxious as Jane Austen's character, just with a couple daughters and a few more years of marriage added to him. But on the more pleasant end of the spectrum, I was intrigued by the bride Miss Lawrence. I can only hope we get her story next--there were so many tantalizing hints dropped that I wanted Mercy to spend more time with her than Joseph, just so I could find out more.

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

The Bride Ship
1. A Reluctant Bride
2. The Runaway Bride
3. A Bride of Convenience
4. Almost a Bride 

"The King's Mercy" by Lori Benton

Defeated on the fields of Culloden in the failed Scottish uprising, Alex MacKinnon is sentenced to indenture and deportation, where is sold to a Carolina plantation as their new blacksmith. Joanna Carey, the mistress of the house, has a different vision for the estate than her stepfather, and she finds herself confiding with Alex, a man from the simple roots that she wishes to return to. However, troubles plague the plantation, and as blame begins falling on Alex, he has to choose whether he will stay and fulfill his contract--and, just maybe win the woman he admires--or make a break for freedom.

Of all the retellings of fairy tales and Shakespeare plays and bible stories that I've read, I've never before encountered one inspired by Philemon (nor thought to look for one). But Lori Benton has done it, framed masterfully in the turbulent colonial era.

This is Alex MacKinnon's book. Joanna is a wonderful heroine, strong, compassionate, and captivating, but Alex is the one who drives this story, much as Willa was the driving force behind Burning Sky. His is a hard road--defeated in battle, imprisoned a year in the belly of a ship, sold as a slave--everything and everyone he loved and fought for gone. After all he has been through, it's easy to understand his rejection of faith, but it's inspiring to watch his return to it.

There is some significant darkness in this story, and it's not just the nature of the times, with slavery, the inhuman treatment of prisoners, and indenture (though it has its fair share of that too). But there's also grace and hope. Sacrifice. Choosing the right path, even when it's hard. I love how the title--the name for the stay of execution of prisoners by deportation and enslavement--has an entirely different meaning when the King refers to God, not a human ruler.

With and intriguing plot, compelling characters (besides Alex and Joanna, there's Jemma, Elijah, Reverend Pauling . . . a whole host of complex, relatable characters), and words of faith we could all benefit to hear, it's a book I highly recommend!

Thank you WaterBrook/Multnomah for the free book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

Related novels:

Kindred (takes place 40 years later)

1. Mountain Laurel

2. Shiloh (2021)

"A Return of Devotion" by Kristi Ann Hunter---Haven Manor, book 2

Daphne Blakemoor knows the father of her son, but even she is astounded when a man--who is NOT her son's father--shows up on her doorstep wearing her son's face. William, Marquis of Chemsford has no idea what to make of the odd housekeeper employed at his remote country residence, but something is definitely off. She is clearly hiding something--beyond her undeniable inadequacies as a housekeeper--but what, he can't put his finger on. Both Daphne and William have spent their lives hiding from their past, but together, they just might find a way to forge a new path for the future.

I loved Daphne. She's whimsical and day-dreamy, rather shy, and a terrible liar. She isn't spunky, nor quite the proverbial Mama Bear, but she is a brave Mama Bird, dragging her wing to lure the predator away for her nest. She's delightful. And I have to give credit William--though his decision process is maybe not the soundest (choosing to do whatever he thinks is the opposite of what his father would have done), he has a good heart: he cares as he learns Daphne's story. He knows where he has gone wrong, and he isn't willing to throw stones.

I love the humor in Kristi Ann Hunter's books--this one made me laugh out loud (as I said, Daphne is delightful, and prone to predicaments). But even more it had me tearing up over and over again as we learn more of her story, the hard and hurtful things she has endured through her own mistakes, the difficult decisions she has to make now as her son is growing up and distancing himself. Choices have consequences--and she has made poor choices. But God also has grace. And she has learned from her mistakes to move forward, raising up children to be wiser than she was.

This has been a spectacular series, touching on the people who are too often unseen and forgotten. It's a brave subject, and not an easy one, but one that is important to remember. I'm really looking forward to Jess's story; something tells me behind her terrifyingly competent, knife-wielding exterior is a woman just as in need of a haven (emotional as well as physical) as Daphne and Kit and all the other women they've helped. Highly recommended!

Haven Manor
0.5: "A Search for Refuge" (free prequel e-novella)
1. A Defense of Honor
2. A Return of Devotion

3. A Pursuit of Home

3.5: "Legacy of Love" (published in The Christmas Heirloom novella collection)

Related Series (takes place chronologically before Haven Manor):

Hawthorne House
0.5 "A Lady of Esteem" - a free novella introduction to the Hawthornes and friends!
1. A Noble Masquerade
2. An Elegant Facade
3. An Uncommon Courtship

4. An Inconvenient Beauty

Related Series (takes place chronologically after Haven Manor):
Hearts on the Heath
1. Vying for the Viscount
2. Winning the Gentleman

"Whose Waves These Are" by Amanda Dykes

When anthropologist Annie Sawyer is summoned to her great-uncle Robert's side in coastal Maine, Annie notices stone ruins on a nearby island that trigger both professional curiosity and long-ago memories. But with Robert in a coma, can she find answers---and mend the decades-old chasm in her family---before it's too late?

Some books are hard to define. This one doesn't fit cleanly into any genre--it's partly historical, partly contemporary; not a romance (though there is some romance in it), and I definitely wouldn't call it women's fiction--Robert's journey is truly the focus, more so than Annie's. But I would definitively say, if you're looking for a story to tug at the heartstrings, look no further. Like in real life, there's a lot of loss and hurt, but hope too. It's a beautiful tale of both building and release.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the author truly does have a beautiful writing style (even if most of this book was written in present tense, which I would always swap out for past if I could). Lyrical and lovely. And it's clear a great deal of thought has gone into it--in the metaphors of the sea and all its changeableness, of light in the darkness, of shelter in the time of storm. It's an inspiring tale.

It's also the winner of both the 2020 Christy Award for Best General Fiction and 2020 Book of the Year!

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

For an intro to Robert and Roy's parents, read Up From the Sea, a free prequel novella that takes place in the 1920's but touches on a mystery from the American Revolution!