A Return to Hawthorne House by Kristi Ann Hunter

Two new novellas related to the Hawthornes, under one cover!

Always a Lady: Despite the fact that her daughter is not cooperating, Caroline, Duchess of Riverton is determined to ensure every one of her children marries someone they love as much as she loved their late father. William, the widowered Earl of Blackstone, is delighted to have his days of escorting daughters approaching an end. The last thing he expects is to find himself drawn to a woman who is just starting such a journey. Are they each too set in their ways to grasp this chance to have a second love?

The Lady’s Maid: When Lydia Smith began her career as a parlor maid, she knew love and marriage wasn’t likely in her future. Dreaming about the boy next door as she dusted seemed harmless until he started working as the new valet under the same roof. When Finch needs her help with a special project, will it give them a chance to defy expectations and find love or ruin their happiness forever?

Even though all these stories technically take place before the first full novel of the Hawthorne House series, they are definitely richer for having read the series first. It's a lovely collection for anyone who wants another taste of the wonderful characters we met in the books.

Always a Lady: It's always been clear that Caroline knows all the rules to being a lady, but this story makes it plain she also knows when and how to break them. I enjoyed seeing more of her spunk, and I think Miranda takes after her more than either of them would admit. 

The Lady’s Maid: I always had the feeling in An Uncommon Courtship that there was more to the story of Trent's staff than was included in the book--I mean, a married valet and housemaid is pretty unusual! So this story just makes so much sense and fills in gaps in Lord Trent's unusual household. 

Christy Award winner for best novella/short form in 2023!

Related novels:

Hawthorne House
0.5 "A Lady of Esteem" - a free novella (also included in A Return to Hawthorne House)
1. A Noble Masquerade
2. An Elegant Facade
3. An Uncommon Courtship
4. An Inconvenient Beauty

The Rose and the Thistle by Laura Frantz

In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley's father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Lady Blythe awaits who will ultimately be crowned king. But in a house with seven sons and numerous servants, her presence soon becomes known. No sooner has Everard Hume lost his father, Lord Wedderburn, than Lady Hedley arrives with the clothes on her back and her maid in tow. He has his own problems--a volatile brother with dangerous political leanings, an estate to manage, and a very young brother in need of comfort and direction in the wake of losing his father. It would be best for everyone if he could send this misfit heiress on her way as soon as possible. Drawn into a whirlwind of intrigue, shifting alliances, and ambitions, Lady Blythe must be careful whom she trusts. Her fortune, her future, and her very life are at stake. Those who appear to be adversaries may turn out to be allies--and those who pretend friendship may be enemies.

I always love stories centered around a setting I'm unfamiliar with. In this case, I'd never heard of the 1715 uprising--all I knew historically was that the Stuarts never regain control, but with no other background, I couldn't really guess what events would transpire. The political climate is tense, with strong supporters on both sides making life difficult for those who just want to survive the upheaval intact regardless who is on the throne (I really sympathize with Everard's stance in that respect).

I enjoyed both Blythe and Everard; both make a rather bad first impression, at least to each other, but in time they come to know each other and set aside some pride (both are stiff with it--hence the bad impressions). Of course Everard's wee brother steals the show and helps move things along. It was a lovely love story, and I highly enjoyed it. 

Christy Award winner for best historical romance in 2023!

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

"To Win a Prince" by Toni Shiloh

As a fashion aficionado and best friend of the queen of the African island country Oloro Ilé, Iris Blakely dreams of using her talent to start a business to help citizens in impoverished areas. But when she discovers that Ekon Diallo will be her business consultant, the battle between her desires and reality begins. Ekon Diallo has lost everything: his princely title, his material possessions, his friends, and the respect of his countrymen. To pay for his actions against Oloro Ilé, he's forced to assist the charismatic Iris Blakely--but he can't allow his heart to distract him from regaining his status. As Iris strives to get her business off the ground while keeping her heart intact, will her dreams of happily ever after survive the challenges she faces?

The Ekon of the first chapter doesn't elicit much sympathy from me, but the Ekon who receives blow after blow (primarily at the hands of his own family) and is forced to reexamine his life and heart--that is a man worth rooting for. He's still not perfect, but it's no wonder Iris falls for him so hard. His story of redemption is captivating. Iris is delightful; she knows her flaws (namely, letting her emotions and imagination carry her away before reality is ready to follow), so she's on the roller coaster of learning how to find balance. The two work together really well, and I'm glad that Ekon has skills that are vitally important to Iris's company as they start up; it's one of the few things that can't be taken from him (though I think if his dad had the power to scoop the knowledge out of his head, he would.)

It's a solid romance in a refreshingly different setting, and a great follow-up to In Search of a Prince. I would enjoy reading more books set in Oloro Ilé!

Christy Award winner for best contemporary romance in 2023!

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.

Related novels:
In Search of a Prince

"In Search of a Prince" by Toni Shiloh

Brielle Adebayo is fully content teaching at a New York City public school and taking annual summer vacations with her mother to Martha's Vineyard. But everything changes when her mom drops the mother of all bombshells--Brielle is a princess in the kingdom of Ọlọrọ Ilé, Africa, and she must immediately assume her royal position, since the health of her grandfather, King Tiwa Jimoh Adebayo, is failing. Distraught by her mother's betrayal, Brielle is further left spinning when the Ọlọrọ Ilé Royal Council brings up an old edict that states she must marry before assuming the throne or the crown will be passed to another. Uncertain who to choose from the council's list of bachelors, she struggles with the decision along with the weight of her new role in a new country. With her world totally shaken, she must take a chance on love and brave the perils a wrong decision may bring.

I'm not big on contemporary royalty fiction, but this one was really well written. Superficially, the story is like The Princess Diaries, but I'd say it's a thoughtful, faith-filled, grown-up version. Brielle isn't worried about looking and acting like a perfect princess--she's concerned with learning about the country, honoring the people, and choosing what's best for them, even when it doesn't feel like it's what's best for her. It means giving up her life for something she never dreamed she'd have to prepare for. She has her flaws, but she's a very steady, responsible person (not bad characteristics for a middle school teacher). I was feeling anxiety on her behalf as her timeline kept getting cut shorter and pressures kept piling on her. I wouldn't want to be in her shoes!

It was wonderful to read a story set in Africa. While the country itself is fictional, the culture and history are based on the countries surrounding it. Ọlọrọ Ilé might be tropical rather than edge-of-the-Sahara, but it still definitely evoked memories of Dakar, Senegal for me (especially discussion of the gorgeous fabrics--I totally agree with Iris's passion on that front). Speaking of Iris, I'm glad to see there is a story her coming next! She makes a great best friend, and I'm excited to see her get her own happy ending.

Christy Award winner of the Amplify Award in 2022!

"Until Leaves Fall in Paris" by Sarah Sundin

As the Nazis march toward Paris in 1940, American ballerina Lucie Girard buys her favorite English-language bookstore to allow the Jewish owners to escape. Lucie struggles to run Green Leaf Books due to oppressive German laws and harsh conditions, but she finds a way to aid the resistance by passing secret messages between the pages of her books. Widower Paul Aubrey wants nothing more than to return to the States with his little girl, but the US Army convinces him to keep his factory running and obtain military information from his German customers. As the war rages on, Paul offers his own resistance by sabotaging his product and hiding British airmen in his factory. After they meet in the bookstore, Paul and Lucie are drawn to each other, but she rejects him when she discovers he sells to the Germans. And for Paul to win her trust would mean betraying his mission.

I enjoyed learning more about Paris in early WWII; I hadn't realized what a large community of Americans there were in the city at the time, or what freedoms they retained, at least for a short while. The story gives a hint at how much messier reality was than we like to think; Paul and his German overseer are fellow graduates of Harvard, with much in common, except that they choose opposite sides. Lucie's roommates are sliding the slippery moral slope of trying to survive while making compromise after compromise in the process. Some Americans heartily buy into Nazi rhetoric, while others immediately begin secretly aiding the Allies.

I struggled to like Lucie at first, mostly because of her bohemian attitude (you can't operate a business if you're going to ignore distasteful things like finances. It just doesn't work. And being smart with finances doesn't make one a capitalistic jerk.) But I appreciated that she comes to like Paul even when she believes he is a collaborator, before learning of his true leanings, and that she never imputes her initial disgust with Paul on his daughter. Paul was wonderful. Not perfect, as he had to work to understand his grieving daughter, but a good man, doing his best to be faithful to his country, family, and employees, even at the sacrifice of his reputation.

Christy Award winner for best historical romance in 2022!

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

"A Portrait of Loyalty" by Roseanna M White - The Codebreakers, book 3

Zivon Marin was one of Russia's top cryptographers, until the October Revolution tore apart his world. Forced to flee, he arrives in England to offer his services to the Brits. Lily Blackwell sees the world best through the lens of a camera--and possesses unsurpassed skill when it comes to retouching and recreating photographs. She's recruited to British intelligence, even though her mother would disapprove. After Captain Blackwell invites Zivon to dinner one evening, a friendship blooms between him and Lily. When her photographs reveal that someone has been following Zivon, his loyalties are called into question--and his enemies are discovered to be far closer than he'd feared.

I really liked Lily; her part in the war effort is fascinating, especially since it is able to utilize her artistic gift to such great effect And she's just supremely likeable--willing to stand up when she needs to, yet respectful authority. She dearly, dearly loves her family and hates to be a source of controversy. I understand her dilemma, torn between two things that both seem right yet her parents are diametrically opposed over. 

Zivon was a marvelous hero--self-sacrificing, so kind, always paying attention. Though Zivon struggles with hate and unforgiveness, Father Smirnov's wisdom in how to deal with it was spot-on. It was lovely to see cameos of other characters throughout White's three related series. 

Having taken a course purely on the Russian Revolution in college, I loved its prominence in this novel--even if was from the perspective of an exile in Britain. Since I specifically researched feminism in the Revolution for our sole graded work, I was delighted? dismayed? to see the new ideals so accurately portrayed by Nadya.

Highly recommended! Winner of the 2021 Christy Award for Historical Romance.

The Codebreakers (third chronologically)
1. The Number of Love
2. On Wings of Devotion
3. A Portrait of Loyalty

Relates series:

Ladies of the Manor (first chronologically)
1. The Lost Heiress
2. The Reluctant Duchess
3. A Lady Unrivaled

Shadows Over England (second chronologically)
1. A Name Unknown
2. A Song Unheard
3. An Hour Unspent

Codebreakers comes third chronologically.

"Stay With Me" by Becky Wade - Misty River Romance, book 1

When acclaimed Bible study author Genevieve Woodward receives an anonymous letter referencing her parents' past, she returns to her hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains to chase down her family's secret. However, it's Genevieve's own secret that catches up to her when Sam Turner, owner of a historic farm, uncovers the source of shame she's worked so hard to hide. Sam has embraced his sorrow, his isolation, and his identity as an outsider. He's spent years carving out both career success and peace of mind. The last thing he wants is to rent the cottage on his property to a woman whose struggles stir his worst failure back to life. Yet can he bear to turn her away right when she needs him most?

Wow. I can always count on Becky Wade for a spectacular read, both fun and poignant, but this one tackles some serious things: addiction. Secrets. The weight of trauma. Grief. It was full of grace and hope, but overcoming was not easy, not for either Genevieve or Sam. Even if I've never experienced anything close to what Genevieve has, I could understand all too well that desire to hide the things that don't align with perfect Christianity, the fear of admitting those things to myself let alone to others.

Besides being convicting, emotional read, it also has Wade's trademark humor. And romance. Even a bit of mystery. Both the main characters and the supporting characters were characters worth rooting for (I loved Gen's sister especially), and I can't wait for the next book in the series! All in all a most satisfying read!

Winner of the 2021 Christ Award for Contemporary Romance.

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.

Misty River Romance
0.5: Take a Chance on Me (prequel novella)
1. Stay With Me
2. Let It Be Me

2.5: You and Me (novella)

3. Turn to Me

"The Painted Castle" by Kristy Cambron -- Lost Castle, book 3

It was supposed to be a one-week job: survey an art find, collect a hefty fee, and use that to settle historian Kiera Foley’s life back into balance. But from the moment she sets foot in the East Suffolk countryside, the mysteries surrounding the old English manor and the enigmatic art thief who’s employed her stir more questions than answers. Then, Kiera finds the existence of a portrait captivating enough to upend all of her expectations. This one could be a twin—a painting so close in composition to a known masterpiece, it may be rendered priceless if it truly captured the likeness of a young Queen named Victoria. Set in three time periods—the rapid change of Victorian England, the tumultuous skies over England’s eastern shores in WWII, and modern day—The Painted Castle unfolds a legacy of faith, family, and stories that are generations in the making.

For the record--in case you misinterpret the book blurb like I did--Keira is not, in fact, working with a gang of thieves on any kind of heist. It's a legitimate job, being run by an alleged thief. Don't read with the expectation that they're all up to no good, or you'll suffer the confusion I did. It was just mysterious enough that I was able to misinterpret almost everything in the light of anticipated skulduggery, when in actuality, all was aboveboard, and Kiera is an inherently honest person who would never take a less than legal job.

Three storylines in three different time periods (present, 1940's, and 1840's), are woven together around the same English manor house and the same portrait hidden within. I didn't struggle to keep track of the different storylines, as each was fascinating in its own way, but, as  typically happens with multi-timeline books, I wish they all could have been developed more. They aren't actually dependent on each other, so I'd rather have read them as three stand-alone novels (particularly if they'd been expanded to full length) than mixed together as they are.

Amelia's story (1940's) ended up my favorite--it's the sweetest of the stories, the most hopeful, and the best contained within the limited page count. I think Elizabeth's (1840's) would have benefited most from expansion, given its rushed and more complex storyline, but I really loved the time period and subject matter--having seen the BBC Victoria television series, it was a lot of fun to experience this take on Queen Victoria's 'scandalous' portrait.

Winner of the 2020 Christy Award for Best Historical Romance.

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

Lost Castle1. The Lost Castle
2. Castle on the Rise
3. The Painted Castle

"Now and Then and Always" by Melissa Tagg - A Maple Valley Romance

After traumatic circumstances forced her from her job as a nanny, Mara Bristol has finally found a refuge--an old Victorian inn on the outskirts of Maple Valley, IA. For the past year she'd been helping the owner, Lenora, take care of the inn, but when Lenora fails to return from a month-long trip and the bank threatens foreclosure, Mara worries she's once again alone . . . abandoned . . . about to lose the only true home she's ever known. Detective Marshall Hawkins is no closer to whole today than he was two years ago . . . the day his daughter died. Between his divorce, debilitating migraines, and a dependence on medication, his life is falling apart. And when a reckless decision on the job propels him into administrative leave, he has no other plan but to get in his truck and drive. A one-night stay at the Everwood was supposed to be just that. But there's something about the old house-or maybe its intriguing caretaker-that pulls him in. Together, Mara and Marshall set out to save the Everwood. But its secrets run deeper than they could have imagined.

Melissa Tagg's books just keep getting better and better. Set in the same quirky town as the Walker Family and Enchanted Christmas series, this has all the charm and heart of her other Maple Valley stories, but it has a mystery and touch of suspense to boot.

Like all the other Maple Valley stories, there's humor and quirkiness, but it's the emotional impact that gets me every time. My heart ached for both Marshall and Mara, for all that they have such different backgrounds. It was hard not to tear up just about any time Marshall's daughter was mentioned . . . or Mara's absolute aloneness and feelings of abandonment. But even if the grief will always be with them, there's so much hope, healing, and restoration. I like how another reviewer put it--"there's life beyond the brokenness."

If you want a story to tug at the heartstrings and romance to make you swoon, then look no further. Highly recommended. It's also the winner of the 2020 Christy Award for Best Contemporary Romance!

Maple Valley Romance

1. Now and Then and Always

2. Some Bright Someday

Related stories:

Walker Family
0.5: Three Little Words (novella)
1. From the Start
2. Like Never Before
3. Keep Holding On
4. All This Time

"A Maple Valley Romance" (published in Right Where We Belong collection of small-town novellas)

Enchanted Christmas Collection (now together in the omnibus Enchanted)
1. One Enchanted Christmas
2. One Enchanted Eve

3. One Enchanted Noel

"The Medallion" by Cathy Gohlke

Sophie Kumiega, a British librarian married to a Polish pilot, is trapped in Warsaw when the Nazis invade. As oppression sets in, she cannot turn her face away from the people needing her help. Rosa and Itzhak Dunovich did not expect their first baby to be born in the ghetto, or that circumstances would tear their family apart. When faced with saving her daughter's life by giving her up, Rosa cuts her wedding medallion in half, keeping one piece for herself and sending the other with her child, hopefully to reunite all after the war.

Though not without hope, this is a heavy and heart-breaking story, depicting the horrors of the war against the Polish people and Polish Jews, the slow strangling and starvation, and finally destruction. I did not anticipate part two of the story; for all the atrocities of war in part one, it was the post-war part that was the hardest for me to read, between the personal stories of the characters and the very real fact that for many in and from eastern Europe, the end of the war did not mean the end of oppression or a happy ending.

It's very good. For a story based on horrible atrocities, it does have a lot of hope, incredible courage, and wisdom--just don't expect a light and wholly happy read.

Winner of the 2020 Christy Award for Best Historical!

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

"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!

"With This Pledge" by Tamara Alexander - Carnton, book 1

With the battle of Franklin happening within sight of its windows, Carnton Plantation is turned into a field hospital for the thousands of Confederate soldiers being mowed down in this decisive battle of the Civil War. Level-headed Lizzie Clouston, governess of the McGavock children, is drafted as a nurse, where she meets--and makes promises to--the soldiers at death's door. To one, she promises to send a message to his mother, and to Captain Roland Jones, she promises to keep the surgeon from amputating his leg--though without amputation, his chances of survival are slim. Though promised to another, Lizzie is drawn to Roland in a way she has never felt toward her fiance. Yet even without her fiance standing between them, their opposing morals promise to keep them apart--and Lizzie will do what is right, whatever the cost.

I love it when stories are based on history, and this one is even more tied to it than most, being based almost entirely on historic and personal accounts--including love letters--of people at Carnton Plantation during the battle of Franklin and its aftermath, even the primary love story, which feels like a tale of fiction it's so beautiful and well-written. I was impressed by the strength and faith of Lizzie and the McGavocks, their generosity to those in need, and their honor in their dealings.

One thing, the story is bloody. How can it not be when in five hours nearly 2,000 Confederates were killed and another 5,000 gravely wounded? But if you've read Lynn Austin's Fire by Night or Jocelyn Green's Wedded to War, this is similar in depth of surgical detail, but from the unique perspective of a household that was given little say in becoming a hospital (and yet gave freely and generously anyway).

One of the most fascinating things about this story--as with the most well-written stories about the Civil War--is the moral dilemmas presented in it. The things that, viewed from a distance, seem black and white, yet when up close and personal, are heart-breakingly gray. We think of slave owners as evil, yet as Roland points out, he was taught to love the Lord by men who owned slaves. Did that make him, his father, and his grandfather evil, in spite of their otherwise upright natures? We rejoice because the battle of Franklin heralded the end of the war, and the end of slavery--both good things--yet what a cost . . . all those boys mowed down in an open field. Brothers, fathers, husbands, sons; saved and unsaved, morally upright or plain evil. None had a chance.

It reminds me of the last few chapters of the book of Judges--not so much because it, too, is essentially a civil war, but because for so long, men ignored what God says is right and instead did what was right in their own eyes. And when we do that, soon there is no good solution anymore. Wrongs are committed to right the original wrong in hopes that the ends justify the means, but ultimately, everyone loses. I think on that, the widows of both the North and the South would agree, as would the orphans, and the childless mothers.

In case you hadn't figured it out, it's quite the thought-provoking story; extremely well written, heart-wrenching yet inspiring at the same time. And it is the winner of the 2019 Christy Award for Best Historical Romance!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Carnton
0.5: Christmas at Carnton
1. With This Pledge
2. Colors of Truth

Related Nashville Novels (contain some cross-over characters/connections to Carnton):

Belmont Mansion
1. A Lasting Impression
2. A Beauty So Rare
3. A Note Yet Unsung

Belle Meade Plantation
1. To Whisper Her Name
2. To Win Her Favor
2.5 "To Mend a Dream" (part of the novella collection Among the Fair Magnolias)
3. To Wager Her Heart

Connilyn Cossette's "Shelter of the Most High" - Cities of Refuge, book 2

Captured by marauders, Sofea and her cousin are taken from Sicily to Canaan, where they end up in Kedesh, a city of refuge. Eitan has lived in the city most of his life, haunted by a childhood tragedy and unable to leave lest his life be forfeit. When the two foreign women are brought into Eitan's home, Sofea catches his eye immediately. As she adapts to the new culture and new language, Sofea begins to appreciate her new home and the possibility of love with Eitan. But when trouble takes her out of the gates, will he be able to follow?

I don't read a lot of biblical fiction, but I definitely appreciate Connilyn Cossette's stories, and I especially enjoy these that are taking place in that little-known time period in the transition from Joshua to Judges.

I tend to forget that people inhabited a lot more of the world in old testament times than just the Middle East, and I enjoyed starting the story out in Sicily. This book, through Sophea's eyes, makes it clear just how wildly different Israel was from the pagan nations around the world, just what a difference the true God can make in the lives of a nation, even when some in the nation who are turning away from God.

I was afraid Eitan would be more bitter than he was; thankfully, it's more that he wants to make a difference in the world and chafes at his restraints. He's still the sweet boy from the previous book, except all grown up. It was really interesting reading about someone who has taken the Nazirite vow and upheld it (unlike the the classic example of disobedience to it, Samson). I also really enjoyed the relationship between Sofea and her cousin Prezi as they take turns upholding each other.

A good portion of the conflict in this story is a direct result of what happened in the previous book, yet it stands on its own surprisingly well, maybe because a good dozen years have passed between books. And after reading this book, I am not too surprised about who the main characters of the next book will be . . . in another dozen or so years (book time, not real time).

And Shelter of the Most High is the winner of the 2019 CHristy Award for Best Historical Fiction!

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.

Cities of Refuge
1. A Light on the Hill
2. Shelter of the Most High
3. Until the Mountains Fall (July 2019)

Becky Wade's "Falling for You"

Willow Bradford is content to take a break from modeling to watch after her parents' inn, until she runs face to face with NFL quarterback Corbin Stewart--the man who broke her heart. When they end up working together on an ancient missing-persons case, they have to decide if they can risk their hearts working together again.

Becky Wade is talented at writing stories that make me both smile and cry.

In no other realm but the eyes of a child would a model and a football player make an ideal investigative team, but for all their inexperience and lack of authority, Willow and Corbin do a great job (justifying Charlotte's faith in them). The mystery was a fun touch to the story, and I liked that they were able to call on Nora's expertise in research. I really liked Corbin's niece Charlotte; she reminded me of a friend of mine at that age: bright, mature, not afraid to reach for dreams that should be beyond her grasp, and a lover of questionable boy bands. She's an authentic middle schooler (rather than the bratty kind of stereotypical middle schooler).

I really liked how the author dealt with Willow's past. I get Willow's position when it comes to her and Corbin's pre-book break-up, yet I really respect her for eventually owning up to her part in it. It would be so easy to blame it all on Corbin and push her part under the rug, but the truth is she did make mistakes. Turning her back on her beliefs--even so briefly--spiraled quickly into a disaster of her own making, and their relationship suffered because of it. I love how authentic each of the characters are--not just Willow and Corbin, but Charlotte, Corbin's dad, Willow's grandma, even the gardener. They all feel like real people.

And you know a series is good when it keeps winning awards . . . Not only was book 1 True to You the winner of the 2018 Christy Award for both Contemporary Romance and Book of the Year, but Falling for You is the winner of the 2019 Christy Award for Best Contemporary Romance!

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

Bradford Sisters Romances
0.5: "Then Came You" (prequel novella)
1. True to You
2. Falling for You
2.5 "Because of You" (published in The Christmas Heirloom Novella Collection)
3. Sweet on You

"The Lacemaker" by Laura Frantz - a beautiful story

When her father flees Williamsburg in the night and her fiance abandons her right before their wedding, Elisabeth Lawson is left to fend for herself. Noble Rynalt, a patriot and Burgess, has often been left to tidy his wastrel cousin's messes, and he takes compassion on his cousin's jilted fiancee, though her political leanings are questionable. Elisabeth is unwilling to impose for long, however, and she sets up shop as a seamstress and lacemaker. As sides are declared throughout the city, Elisabeth must decide what her role in the upcoming conflict will be--and if she can handle the consequences of her choice.

I love Laura Frantz's take on the Revolutionary War, whichever aspect of it she is focusing on. While I've read numerous novels about the war, I don't think I've read a thing about Williamsburg since reading the American Girl (Felicity) books as a child. It was fascinating to see the changeover from Tory to Patriot during the build-up toward war, to see some of the good and bad of both sides. I also love the period details the author is so deft at weaving into the story, and her talents at adding flavor with dialects (Welsh in this case!).

The characters are easy to love and the romance is lovely. There is a lot of action that happens near the end, and I would have liked it drawn out a bit more--rushed as it was, it lacked the emotional punch of some of the author's other novels. But it is nevertheless a beautiful story (as lovely as the cover), and fits in wonderfully with her other colonial novels.

And The Lacemaker has been named the winner of the 2018 Christy Awards Best Historical Romance!

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

Related novels:
A Refuge Assured by Jocelyn Green (the heroines of each share familial ties as well as profession)

"The House on Foster Hill" by Jaime Jo Wright - dual timelines with dual suspense

When her husband died two years earlier, Kaine Prescott's pleas to have the suspicious death investigated further came to nothing. In an effort to start a new life, she buys a house across the country sight-unseen--and regrets it the moment she sets eyes on the eerie, long-abandoned house. It doesn't take long before she learns snippets of the house's dark history--a history that comes to haunt her. A century earlier, a young woman is found dead on the property, and Ivy Thorpe, daughter of the town doctor and medical examiner, seems to be the only one who cares who the woman was. With the help of a man from her past, she begins investigating the woman's death, but will it mean her own?

Dual timelines can really be hit or miss with me, especially if one timeline is noticeably slower or less interesting than the other. However, this one is really well done. With how complex the story is and how interwoven the plots are, I can't imagine being the author and charting it all out, but it's perfectly balanced, with equally intense story lines. And unlike some other dual timeline books, the two timelines in this one have not just the same setting, but the same tone--somewhat dark and ominous--which helps the story flow. Others I've read have been rather jolting when switching from one timeline to the other, but these fit together really well.

I'm glad that there wasn't a specific timeline that I liked significantly more than the other; both women had their issues, but both were easy to root for. Ivy is a very nontraditional heroine, being somewhat obsessed with--not so much death, as the lives that the dead had lived. She helps her father with postmortems without cringing, a highly unusual activity for a girl in 1900, and that alone makes her stand out. Kaine was easier to relate to, being a modern woman near my age. But more importantly, her profession, her passion, the thing that makes her herself--her ability to help women out of cycles of abuse--is turned on its head when she finds herself in the same position as those she's helped. She recognizes it, and intellectually she knows all the steps, yet she isn't able to fix herself. While I've never known abuse like that, there have been times when I intellectually know all the right steps to get out of my problem yet can't seem to implement them without outside help--an opportunity for God to reveal His strength through my weakness.

Given the subject matter, this is a fairly dark book, especially for Christian fiction, yet it is surprisingly faith-filled, and it offers significant hope even in the most horrific of circumstances. I really enjoyed it; it's fast-paced, intense, full of suspense, and takes a number of surprising turns. And it is the winner of the 2018 Christy Award for Mystery/Suspense/Thriller!

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

Becky Wade's "True to You" - both fun and thought-provoking

Of the three Bradford sisters, Nora might be the plain one, but she's also the smart one, making her living as as a genealogist and the owner of a historical village. When former Navy SEAL John Lawson is diagnosed with an inherited condition, he needs the help of a genealogist to find his birth parents. With Nora's research skills, they begin digging into his background, but will the answers they find be what John was looking for?

I was definitely not expecting the turn the story takes! There are moments that are fun, light, and cute (everything I look forward to in a novel by Becky Wade), and others that are significantly more serious, sometimes dark, and definitely thought-provoking. She strikes an excellent balance between the two. There are some really good scenes delving into identity, both in stripping away the identity one builds up for oneself and the identity created for us in Christ.

The story fits really well with what my bible study has been focusing on--Ephesians 3:20-21. It showcases God's ability to do exceedingly and abundantly above and beyond what one asks and thinks--not necessarily what would be easiest or the most fun, but by what is far and away the best: not just for individuals, or as a couple, but all the lives the situation touches. Kingdom advancement!

I love the little text messages and emails and letters that appear at the end of the chapters; they provide fun hints at things to come, but they also become increasingly poignant, offering glimpses into the hearts of people who are being impacted by Nora and John. They also fit really well with the style of the prequel, which provides a deeper look into the Bradford girls' family background. I loved how Nora and John endeavor to keep their relationship honorable (in spite of significant early-on obstacles), and the relationship between the three sisters is great. I can't wait for Willow and Britt's stories!

And, it is the winner of not one, but TWO 2018 Christy Awards--Best Contemporary Romance and Book of the Year!

Thank you Bethany House for providing a free book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

Bradford Sisters Romances
0.5: "Then Came You"
1. True to You
2. Falling for You
2.5 "Because of You" (published in the Christmas Heirloom novella collection)
3. Sweet on You

"A Note Yet Unsung" by Tamera Alexander

Rebekah Carrington returns to Nashville after a decade in Vienna needing employment, and auditions for a position in the upcoming Nashville Philharmonic. Rejected by Maestro Tate Whitcomb purely on the grounds of her gender, she follows another lead to Belmont Mansion, where the formidable Adelicia Acklen hires her to work with her children. However, even though he denied her a position in the orchestra, Tate needs an assistant who can help him complete his symphony, and Rebekah has all the qualifications. But will she be willing to help him after he ruined her dreams?

If the author doesn't know much about music, you wouldn't know it to read this book. It's a tribute to both the masters--such as Beethoven and Mozart--and to early American music, particularly hymns and spirituals. Tate reminds me of famous American composers Aaron Copeland and the Gershwin brothers, who mixed elements of both kinds of music in their masterpieces.

I enjoyed meeting Tate's family; they add an unexpected dimension to Tate's character. However, I do wish Rebekah's family situation had been expanded more, since it's purely the reason she has to seek employment and lodging outside her home (bringing about the entire story).

The book stands perfectly on its own, though there are cameos of characters from former books. Over all, though, it's a rich story in the author's classic fashion. It's also a tie for first place in the historical romance category of the 2017 Christy Awards!

Belmont Mansion
1. A Lasting Impression
2. A Beauty So Rare
3. A Note Yet Unsung

Belle Meade Plantation (contains some cross-over characters/connections to Belmont)
1. To Whisper Her Name
2. To Win Her Favor 
2.5 "To Mend a Dream" (part of the novella collection Among the Fair Magnolias)
3. To Wager Her Heart

Catrnton Mansion
0.5: "Christmas at Carnton" (novella)

The Lady and the Lionheart by Joanne Bischof

Ella Beckley, finally given a chance to be a nurse, is the only one who cares what happens to a sick infant girl, save for her striking father. Charlie Lionheart, a lion tamer for the circus, will do everything he can to protect baby Holland, and if that means bringing the nosy nurse back to the circus with him, then so be it. As she gets to know Charlie and other performers, Ella sees both the light and the dark of the circus, the beauty and the scars; and she is given a chance to heal from her own deep wounds.

Both the bright magic of the circus and the darker, grittier aspects are brought to life in this story, while maintaining the setting of the East Coast and Appalachians.

I was expecting Charlie Lionheart to be a showman and larger than life--which, to a degree, he is--but the way he's introduced is so down to earth and real, that that was how I saw him throughout the story: a man in love with his child, doing everything he knows to do to provide for and protect her. Only as the story progresses do we find out what lengths he has gone to, what intensely personal sacrifices he has made to protect the baby. He's the best kind of hero.

A moving story of healing, it focuses on both physical and spiritual aspects. I wouldn't call it an allegory, but there is definitely a fair amount of symbolism--in many ways, Charlie is a reflection of Jesus, and it isn't much of a stretch to see ourselves in Ellie's place. Over all, it's a beautiful story, and a winner of the 2017 Christy Award for best historical romance--the first ever given to an independently published book!

"The Mark of the King" by Jocelyn Green - an intense, historical read

After losing a client in childbirth, midwife Julianne Chevalier is branded and imprisoned for life, a criminal beyond redemption. However, in spite of her condemned status, she is given the opportunity to sail to the Louisiana colony, where her brother was stationed with the army. However, nothing is as she imagined: the price of passage is forced marriage to a convict before sailing, and the arrival in a primitive settlement proves disillusioning. Her only dream is to find her brother in this hostile land, but even that proves beyond her grasp. Even in this new place, will she ever be free of the king's mark on her shoulder?

As I've come to expect from the author, this book layers an inspiring story over some intense, meticulously researched history, and she doesn't sugar-coat the reality behind the story. I can't imagine how the women must have felt when offered the "freedom" of forced marriages to convicts before being shipped, starving, to a miserable land that couldn't support them.

Looking at the history of New Orleans, it's hard to credit any people group with noble intentions and actions, other than the native peoples who early on graciously kept the colonists from starving. But by the time this story takes place, France didn't even care about her starving, deserting colonists; the local government, in squabbles with the British, played one Indian tribe against another. The tribes were growing disillusioned with the French, and less likely to keep the peace. It is hardly a proud moment in American (and especially French) history.

Depressing history aside, the story was inspiring. I love the author's use of symbolism; though the mark of the French king condemns Julianne, she has also been marked as a child of the true king, God, in whom there is no condemnation. There's a lot of loss and sorrow, but there's hope too. It's an excellent book--highly recommended! Well deserving of the 2017 Christy Award for historical fiction!

I received a free e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. No review, positive or otherwise, was required; all opinions are my own.