Tag: revell

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the SWINDLER’S DAUGHTER, by Stephenia H. McGee, 2023, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

The swindler’s daughter never even knew he was still alive.

the SWINDLER'S DAUGHTER
the SWINDLER’S DAUGHTER

The swindler’s daughter never knew him. In fact, her high society mother always claimed to be a widow.

Suddenly Lillian Doyle is sent to a small country town to claim an inheritance from him. Mid-twenties and away from her mother for the first time in her life. People staring at her fashionable clothing and taking her propriety as pretense.

What kind of person had her father been? And what is the nature of her inheritance? Furthermore, how will she fit in (or not) with her father’s family and their close friends, whose manners, thoughts, and ways are so different from hers?

Such strange choices the swindler’s daughter must now make.

The swindler’s daughter doesn’t have a clue what she’s been plunged into, but her life is turned upside down. Will she choose to return to a pretentious high society life in Atlanta, or fall in love with these sincere, straightforward, country people? What are the dangers?

Will she be seen as herself, or as a pretentious city woman, or as the swindler’s daughter?

In the context of Historical Fiction concerning smuggling moonshine during prohibition, Stephenia McGee portrays a complex picture of the times and the consequences of prohibition on families. Interwoven into the story is a romantic thread of attraction and love developing between two opposites, as well as a clear spiritual message about trusting God and waiting on Him in prayer.

Roles of mothers.

How apropos, with three mothers playing important roles in the story, that the book is being published right around Mother’s Day. Since my sons weren’t with me that afternoon, I enjoyed sitting on the beach reading, inspired to be a godly, steady, influencing force in the lives of those around me like Jonah Peterson’s mother, Melanie.

Thanks to Revell for sending me this delightful book so I could write my unbiased review. Stephenia H. McGee has a unique voice with pacing that’s easy to follow, and an amusing sense of humor. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Learn more about the author at www.stepheniamcgee.com. Click here to find out more about the book and to purchase: https://amzn.to/3BAmtMt. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Second Time Around, by Melody Carlson, 2023, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Second time around for this old decrepit shop

Second Time Around
Second Time Around

Should there be a second time around for Mallory’s grandmother’s decrepit but quaint shop and suite above? It was too charming not to keep. Mallory Farrell, an interior designer, saw potential.

Besides, this place held nostalgic memories for her. Her grandmother must have left it to her for a reason.

But the whole seaside village was losing interest to tourists in favor of more appealing towns. Apathy had taken hold among the residents. And Grayson Matthews had already dreamed up a new mall as a revitalization scheme. It was going to be right here if she would sell him the building so he could tear it down.

What! Tear it down? No, no, no. That caused Mallory to dig in her heels. She saw romance in the old building. A peculiar definition of romance that she’d once found. She wrote it in calligraphy, framed it, and hung it on the wall.

Romance: A quality or feeling of mystery, excitement. Remoteness from everyday life.

I won’t spoil the story for you by telling you what happens to Mallory’s romantic, Parisian vision for the village. You’ll have to read it for yourself if you want to know. I’ll just tell you that I enjoyed very much being transported into Mallory’s world. Melody Carlson describes vividly the scenes and emotions of the characters.

Second time around for Mallory

I could relate to Mallory, a divorced mother of adult children, trying her best to make a go of her life. The seemingly insurmountable challenges she faces. Difficulties with people and how she handles them with a godly perspective, a combination of prayer, kindness, and drawing the line where necessary.

Thank you to Revell for choosing me to review this beautiful paperback. It’s always a pleasure to share my honest opinions and feedback. I would recommend the book to people who like interior decorating and charming shops in seaside villages. And Mallory’s peculiar definition of romance.

Click here: Second Time Around to see the book and other reviews on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Click here: Pearl Fredericksen’s review of Second Time Around | Goodreads to see my review and others on goodreads.

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HONOR’S REFUGE, by Hallee Bridgeman, 2022, Revell (Baker Publishing Group

Honor's Refuge
Honor’s Refuge

Honor’s Refuge is the third book in the Love & Honor series. Personally, I liked it even better than the first one, Honor Bound, by Hallee Bridgeman, 2022, Revell (Baker Publishing Group). I didn’t read the second book, but they work as stand-alone novels too, so you don’t have to read them in order.

Whereas Honor Bound focuses on tribal warfare in Africa, Honor’s Refuge is all in America and focuses on a shelter for abuse victims. That’s a topic of special interest to me because I have both stayed in one and worked in one.

I appreciate the way the author skillfully balances suspense, better times, and romance. Important things happen during those better times between adrenaline and other hormone arousals. Things like other kinds of relationships, realizations, and God’s goodness.

This story continues with the life of Phil Osbourne, one of the characters in Honor Bound, and introduces Melissa Braxton, who runs the shelter. Melissa has been wondering where her younger sister ended up ever since they were tragically separated at an early age. I don’t want to give away spoilers, but trust me, the story is good. It kept me reading till I finished it, way past my bedtime.

At the end of the novel, there are thought-provoking questions to discuss with other readers or just think through yourself. And tasty recipes to try.

Connect with the author at HALLEEBRIDGEMAN.COM. Find this and other Revell books at www.revellbooks.com.

I chose and received this book from the publisher to give my honest review. Thank you, Revell.

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Honor Bound, by Hallee Bridgeman, 2022, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

First in Honor series by Hallee Bridgeman
Honor Bound

Medical Missionary meets Captain

Medical missionary meets special forces captain in an African jungle. He kills to save her from a terrorizing warlord. That’s the mix.

Cynthia Myers, the missionary doctor, is first repeled by, then attracted to Captain Rick Norton. They’re on opposite sides of the fence; her side being love and mercy, his killing the enemy.

The author successfully explores the boundaries between the two. Must they stay on opposite sides, or is there a way they can meet in the middle? Is killing ever justified? Is there a place for Christian warriors to kill enemies?

Hallee Bridgeman, via the soul-searching heroine, clarifies these issues in the minds of readers. She speaks from first-hand knowledge as the wife and daughter of warriors. I personally found it helpful in sorting out my own stance.

Are they just too different?

Bridgeman also brings out the dichotomy between values and ways of thinking in different cultures and classes of people. The heroine struggles to find a place to fit in when she returns to America. Will this medical missionary resolve her own prejudices and acknowledge her love for Captain Rick Norton?

At the back of the book, the author provides a list of thought-provoking questions for a book club. This will surely lead to interesting discussions.

She also shares recipes for delicious-sounding home made hamburgers and potato chips, the favorite foods of the main characters.

I’m glad I chose this thought-provoking novel from the ones Revell offered me to review. Beautiful cover, too. Thank you, Revell.

Meet Hallee Bridgeman at HALLEEBRIDGEMAN.COM.

My Canadian friends can buy the book at indigo.ca. Click here.

See my review and others on GoodReads.

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where the ROAD BENDS, by Rachel Fordham, 2022, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Follow where the Road Bends

"...follow where the road bends. You can have a different life."
where the ROAD BENDS

Follow where the road bends. You can have a different life. That’s the advice Norah gave Quincy, but could she do that herself? Here she was, engaged to someone she wasn’t in love with, in order to save her farm. It was all she knew, and she loved it there. It held happy memories of her parents. But alone, she found it impossible to maintain.

This is the first book by Rachel Fordham that I’ve read, and I’ll definitely read more. The characters are well defined; the main characters are refreshingly human and likeable, the villains despicable. The plot twists and turns and bends like the road in the title.

The characters, plot, and setting would lend themselves to a series. I wonder what happens next in the lives of secondary characters, and in the growing establishments in the setting of the book.

Thought-provoking

As I read, I found myself rehashing the choices I’ve made at the twists and turns in my own life. As the characters struggle between secrecy and honesty, holding back and being forthright, I wonder how my own life might have been different had I shared from my heart rather than putting up fences. The path of life is very tricky, isn’t it?

At the end of the book there’s a list of questions for readers that would make an interesting discussion for a book club. Even just by myself, I found them thought-provoking. Could I be brave enough to change my life by following where the road bends?

Thank you to Revell for sending me this beautiful book to give my honest review. I’m so glad I chose it. Be the first to hear about new books from Revell. Sign up at RevellBooks.com/SignUp.

Meet author Rachel Fordham at RachelFordham.com.

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The Spark of Love, by Amanda Cabot, 2022, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

1957 Small Town Texas

1857 small town Texas with a mix of charming and nefarious characters. Alexandra arrives from New York and must keep her wits on alert. Having escaped from a threatening suitor, she has come to be with her father. Sadly, she is not welcomed by him.

The Spark of Love

However, Mesquite Springs is a very friendly community. As is the guardian angel, in the form of Gabe, who feels compelled to protect her. He takes her under his wing, but all isn’t as it seems.

Who Can She Trust?

He happened to travel on the same coach, and both were surprised to find the hotel still under construction. The townspeople immediately find them lodging and befriend them. But they aren’t the only newcomers, and some are not to be trusted.

My Favourite Kind of Story

This is the third in the Mesquite Springs series. I read the first book, Out of the Embers, but missed the second one. It was nice to run into some of the characters again. I wish the series could carry on.

Amanda Cabot has a very likable writing style. I love her use of words. The characters are charming and the plot intriguing. The setting makes me wish to live in a place like that.

Visit AmandaCabot.com to learn more about the author, sign up for her newsletter, and see what other books she is writing.

Thanks to Revell for sending me this beautiful paperback to review. I’m so glad I chose it–it’s my favourite kind of story.

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Deadly Target, by Elizabeth Goddard, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Cold case podcaster brings on danger
Deadly Target

A cold case podcaster brings danger to her loved ones. She inadvertently walks into a hornets’ nest, attracting trouble.

Something has always bothered her about her past, but she doesn’t know the truth. Where do her ongoing panic attacks stem from?

She’s a criminal psychologist, but why this fascination? What holds her back from falling in love and living a normal life away from the edge of danger and fear?

With hopes that her podcast can bring answers and cast light on unsolved crime, she bravely publishes a story series. But who is watching the podcast and why? The comments she gets are interesting, to say the least.

It seems all her loved ones are magnets for target practice. But why? Is her cold case podcast inadvertently bringing danger to them? We don’t find out till near the end of the story how all these potentially deadly incidents dovetail.

Elizabeth Goddard weaves an intricate plot of danger and suspense, with romance in the recipe. What holds back the main characters from allowing themselves to fall in love? Goddard makes readers care about the characters.

Book Two of the Rocky Mountain Courage Series, Deadly Target reads well as a stand-alone.

Elizabeth Goddard is a best-selling author of more than fifty novels. Find out more at Elizabeth Goddard.com.

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The Paris Betrayal, by James R. Hannibal, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Pertinent Themes

The Paris Betrayal is simultaneously the oldest and the newest story ever told.Still pertinent, it is an allegory based on the oldest book ever recorded–the book of Job in the Bible. Interestingly, Hannibal began writing the book before the COVID-19 world-wide pandemic set in. Yet, he themed the story around biological warfare–an engineered plague designed to wipe out enemy nations–the injectable cure also created by the same evil organization.

Action-packed, with gentler moments sprinkled in

I don’t usually choose racy shoot-em-up spy novels, with dead bodies and horror all over the place. This testosterone and adrenaline-packed page-turner is written by a former stealth pilot, who has experienced some of the scenes first-hand. However, as an older woman, providing I didn’t linger on the details of the fights, disease, and death, it was actually a welcome change to read something quite different from my normal fare. There are a few women and threads of touching romance. A memorable quote is from a woman the main character meets on a train, when he is diseased and ugly from all his wounds, feeling sorry for himself because he didn’t purposely betray his leader and didn’t deserve to die this way. She says, “Stop asking what you deserve, Ben. Try asking, ‘What is my purpose?’… I keep busy by asking that purpose each day. For instance, tonight I think my purpose is to sit beside a wronged man on a train.”

Biblical Allegory

It got very interesting when I began to notice the Biblical themes. Having studied the book of Job several times in my life, I recognized the underlying thread. It was gratifying to discover in the Author Note at the end, that I was right about that. In the end of the novel, there seems to be a Jesus allegory as well. Hmm, it would be interesting to check out Hannibal’s comparative Bible study and book club resource on his website at www.jamesrhannibal.com.

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A Dance in Donegal, by Jennifer Deibel, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Ireland 1921

A Dance in Donegal transported me from Canada in 2021 to a village on the west coast of Ireland in 1921. I haven’t quite returned home yet. If I really went there and encountered all that this main character did, I doubt I would fare as well as her, though. She was transported from Boston, alone in the unknown.

Vivid Contrasts

A young American woman moves to her mother’s hometown in Ireland.

My thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review. I chose it out of the several they published this month because it’s based in Ireland. Two of my great-grandparents were Irish and I’m curious about their land and lives. I wonder if they came from villages like this. Thank you to the author for painting a vivid word-picture. You showed us the setting and the interactions of villagers, good and bad. Simple and poor living conditions, generosity, gossip, lies, loyalty, betrayal, sickness, superstition, hatred and love. Most of all, the miracle of God’s love, which changes lives. You even gave us tastes of the language, integrated in phrases.

Tea and brown bread seem to be mainstays. I wonder whether it’s the same brown bread we eat nowadays here in North America, made with yeast. Perhaps they used a quicker molasses and soda recipe.

Writing Style

Chapters are short; nice for me as I read in between doing other things. The pace is comfortable. I like how the author gets into the heads and hearts of the main characters. Readers can almost feel their emotions with them. However, some of the physical emotive description seemed overdone to me. I couldn’t relate to tears splashing onto my breast, or bile in my throat as a reaction.

I’m glad the main character survived her first few months. At the end, somehow it seemed like a beginning from which the story could continue. Maybe there will be a sequel.

To learn more about the author and upcoming books, go to JENNIFERDEIBEL.COM.

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Tidewater Bride, by Laura Frantz, 2021, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Early America

Tidewater Bride, by Laura Frantz

Tidewater Bride, by Laura Frantz, transports readers to early 1600s Virginia. We’ve all heard of the legendary Pocahontas, a true love story of that era between a native girl and a white settler. How did they come to fall in love? Frantz brings alive the situations and circumstances of several characters in this book. Many peoples are at odds in the unstable times of the setting. It’s not just settlers and naturals (the term Frantz uses for natives). Several interesting and intriguing subplots bring readers into this new world.

Skillfully Written

Frantz creates suspense on several levels. The romance between the daughter of a merchant and a tobacco grower includes characters from the various peoples who inhabited Virginia at the time. Tensions simmer between settlers and natives. African slave owners abuse them. White settlers include British elite, Scottish indentures, Puritans who keep to themselves, doctors, merchants, innkeepers, and shiploads of brides. Many male settlers have already arrived. Some married native girls. Imported brides are never enough for the men who want wives.

Colloquial Lingo

The author makes extensive use of the colloquial lingo of the era. It took a couple of chapters to get used to it. The flowery way of speaking almost seems poetic. It helped put me into the viewpoint of the main character. I felt for all the different people of her world.

I chose this book to write a review on, and the publisher sent me a free copy. Frantz has researched well, and I recommend the book to readers of early American historical fiction.

www.revellbooks.com

www.laurafrantz.net

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The Escape, by Lisa Harris, 2020, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

The Escape, by Lisa Harris, is a Romantic Suspense novel, the first in the US Marshals series. Madison and Jonas met several years ago but have lived in different states for the last few years. Suddenly they are assigned to the job of transporting two murderers from Seattle to Denver together. The weather is stormy, and the small plane crashes in a remote forest. Both pilots and one prisoner are killed, but the other escapes. US MARSHALS BOOK 1

Madison and Jonas must arrest this dangerous but charming killer before he commits more murders. But where are they? What state are they even in? The plane has come to rest in a treetop, and all they can see is miles of forest.

The two work well together, and admire each other’s skills, but there isn’t much time for thinking about each other as they try to stay on top of this clever killer. He’s always one step ahead of them. Just when it seems he’s finally been caught, he always manages to escape. Will they ever finally succeed? And will Madison and Jonas, both of whom are telling themselves that they aren’t interested in falling in love again, admit to their developing feelings for one another?

Lisa Harris leaves out no details for the reader to wonder about in this fast-paced suspense. The characters are well developed, with more than one side to them. Even the serial killer has a mother who loves him and still believes in him. Family members of main characters come into the mystery. Settings and scenes are well described.

The ending ties together the strings of the main suspense plot, but leaves the reader wanting to get to know the main characters and their families even better, and solve another ongoing mystery.

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Softly Blows the Bugle, by Jan Drexler, 2020, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Softly Blows the Bugle, by Jan Drexler is thoroughly enjoyable. Historical Fiction is my favourite genre to read, and I have discovered a new (to me) favourite author. The writing flows well and the pace is just right. Romance and suspense and integrated historical detail bring alive the setting. The Amish of Weaver's Creek, Book Three

Although the third in a series, it reads very well as a stand-alone. Incidents and people from the previous books are sometimes referred to, but not in a way that creates any gaps in the story.

The main character, Elizabeth, is a young widow. She strayed from the Amish faith of her parents and married a non-believer, too late realizing her mistake. Elizabeth is actually glad to be a widow, as she endured thirteen years of abuse at his hand. Seeing the contrast between her husband and the men of her Amish family, she vows never again to marry someone from outside her community. But never say never. You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens.

I love how the author portrays the various characters with their flaws and thought processes. There are twists and turns in the plot. Characters’ eyes are opened, causing them to undergo changes of heart.

Readers become acquainted not only with the Amish community, but also with the civil war and the then-recent legal emancipation of blacks shown through characters from those realms. One feels with them the despair of their circumstances as well as the peace and joy of putting their trust in Jesus, the Redeemer of our souls.

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The Key to Love, by Betsy St. Amant, 2020, Revell (Baker Publishing)

What does Romance have to do with Love, anyway?

I chose The Key to Love because I wanted to read a light romance as a get-away from tough times this year. Thank you, Revell, for choosing me as a reviewer and sending me a copy.

The title and cover promise a sweet love story, with pink and black and a bakery window full of French pasteries. I hoped perhaps this novel would even take me to Paris and I might get a recipe for macarons. But no, the story stays in a town called Story in the heart of rural America.

The Key to Love, by Betsy St. Amant

St. Amant presents us with a taste of Americanized ‘French’ romance. The main character has a French name, as does her love interest. Born and raised in this little American town, she is devoted to it and her career as a French pastry chef in the footsteps of her mother. Her mother had gone to Paris to learn this skill many years ago. The book makes me want to eat petit fours and travel to Paris. The protagonist does eventually get there but disappointingly we readers don’t go with her.

Down-home, messy realities

You will like The Key to Love if you get off on non-stop sarcasm and bickering. To give them credit, the main characters consciously attempt to overcome these habits. However, it takes at least the first half of the book for them to climb out of their rut. Hope exists, though, and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

There is lots of homey humour, and love is seen through acceptance of reality rather than holding out for the imaginary dreamy version. I just wish, as an honest reviewer, that the first two-thirds of the story could have been shortened and the last third developed more. It’s not until the end that we get some more serious thoughts about the real keys to love.

What was the mother’s story?

Some intriguing mysterious threads are only loosely tied up in the end. I hope St. Amant will write a sequel taking readers to Paris with the protagonist. She might research the history of her mother’s time there. Perhaps we could meet the legendary photographer she knew. The author could take us to the places mentioned in The Key to Love and look into the mysteries that she has enticed us with.

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What Momma Left Behind, by Cindy K. Sproles, 2020, Revell (Baker Publishing Group)

Do orphan stories tug at your heartstrings? This one is set in 1870s Tennessee, at a time when epidemics of fever swept through remote mountain homesteads, leaving orphans to fend for themselves.

Worie suddenly found herself in this position at the age of 17. Considered a grown woman in the day, she took on responsibility for a string of younger orphans that kept coming to her for help. Unbeknown to Worie, her mother had been bringing food to them before she died.

Though homes were far apart, neighbours knew each other and helped each other. They didn’t have much, but they made do.

Guns were part of life here too, and Worie’s mother had shot herself, for no apparent reason. No sooner had she buried her mother with the help of a neighbour, than one of her older brothers showed up demanding their mother’s treasure, hidden in a jar. Worie chased him off at gunpoint. And this is just the beginning of this adventure-filled story.

Written in first person, using vernacular throughout, Sproles shows us Worie’s life through her own eyes. Her mother’s legacy was truths she learned from the Bible. Initially angry at God, Worie gradually fell back on her mother’s wisdom.

Through this work of fiction, Sproles addresses some of the universal questions of life and death, good and evil. Worie finds peace in God, and forgiveness and purpose.

I cried at the end, and that doesn’t happen often. It’s not all sad though; people find joy in one another in the midst of hardship, danger and injustice, which is the way life should be.

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Standoff, by Patricia Bradley, 2020, Revell(Baker Publishing Group)

I met Patricia Bradley in a small Zoom conference for writers last month, and she kindly offered to do a critique for me of the novel I am working on. What an honour! Now I’m excited to be reading her latest novel that just came out. I chose it out of several books that Revell wanted reviewers for. My review is due today, though probably because of COVID19, I only received it here in Canada a few days ago. So far I’ve managed to get a third of the way into this 384 page novel. I don’t want to spoil my enjoyment by skimming ahead, but already I can recommend it.

Standoff, by Patricia Bradley

Standoff is a romantic suspense, the first in a series called Natchez Trace Park Rangers. Chapters are short and each one is written from a different character’s point of view, so it took a few chapters for me to get familiar with who’s who. The main character, Brooke, is in her early 30s. She is about to embark on a new career, following in her father’s footsteps as a park ranger, when everything goes awry.

So far, a third of the way in, three people have been shot, there are many suspects, and two great prospects are vying for Brooke’s affection. The story is fast-paced, although I admit that I have to stop from time to time to sort out the characters and their positions. Various levels of investigators and law enforcement are involved in solving the mysteries of who shot who and why. It has to do with a major ring of drug smugglers at a time when the government is considering legalization.

Brooke doesn’t know who can be trusted. As a reader I catch glimpses of several secrets and dangers. I hope she will stay safe and perpetrators will be brought to justice. And I hope she will choose the right suitor. One of them is giving me a bad feeling.

Natchez Trace is a parkway in Mississippi. Several scenes take place at historical tourist sites. I think from now on I’ll always be wary when visiting tourist attractions. Characters are armed with various types of guns, something I’m unfamiliar with as a Canadian. Learning lots! If you like mystery and suspense with some romance in the mix, with family values and spiritual thoughts too, then this is for you!

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