Author: Iola Goulton

17 September 2024

Bookish Question #349 | Who are your favourite historical fiction authors and why?

I am so glad this question is phrased as a plural, because that means I can have more than one favourite historical fiction author.

There’s no way I could choose just one!

So I have chosen five. I’ve also chosen a favourite book I think you should start with if you haven’t read their work before.

Elizabeth Camden

Elizabeth Camden’s novels are mostly set in the USA during the Gilded Age. I enjoy Elizabeth Camden’s novels because she tends to write intelligent heroines who can think for themselves, and who often have an unusual career for the time.

If you haven’t read any of Elizabeth Camden’s novels, I recommend With Every Breath, in which the characters are trying to find the cure for tuberculosis.

Christine Dillon

Christine Dillon’s first published books were contemporary Christian fiction, starting with Grace in Strange Disguise. She’s now moved to Biblical fiction, which is what she started writing. I love her books because of their depth in terms of plot, character, and Christian principles.

If you haven’t read any of Christine Dillon’s books, I recommend Plagues and Papyrus, a unique take on the familiar story of the ten plagues of Egypt.

Gabrielle Meyer

Gabrielle Meyer is a prolific author who is probably best known for her many Love Inspired titles or her American Brides series. But I discovered her through the absolutely brilliant Timeless series, featuring women who live in two (or three) times at once …

This is a series that’s best read in order, so you will want to start with When the Day Comes.

Carolyn Miller

I have always had a soft spot for Regency Romance (blame Georgette Heyer!), but there were many years where it was difficult to find any good Christian titles. There are a lot more choices now, but Carolyn Miller remains my favourite because her novels have a strong Christian thread.

If you haven’t read any of Carolyn’s Christian Regency Romances, I recommend starting at the beginning with The Ellusive Miss Ellison, the first in her A Legacy of Grace series.

Roseanna M White

Finally, I have always had a fascination for codes and investigations, so I’ve loved all Roseanna M White’s spy and cypher stories, especially The Number of Love, the first in her Codebreakers series.

However, my latest favourite Roseanna M White series is A Beautiful Disguise, the first in her Imposters series.

What about you? Who is your favourite historical fiction author, and why?

16 September 2024

Book Review | Lumen (Nightingale #2) by JJ Fischer

Lumen is the second book in JJ Fischer’s Nightingale trilogy, based on the Hans Christian Anderson story (which I’ve never read, which means the entire story is new to me).

I read and enjoyed the first book, Calor, which introduced us to Sephone, a slave with a gift for changing (and healing) people’s memories. Calor shows her meeting a ragtag group of characters, who she falls in with as they search for a rumoured Reliquary that will help Dorian forget his past, and perhaps heal their broken world.

Calor introduced Sephone’s strange world – and the people with their strange gifts – gradually.

Lumen, as the second book, can’t and doesn’t. Instead, we’re immediately introduced to Sephone, Dorian, Cass, Bear, Bas, and Jewel, a wolf who seems to have strange powers of her own. It’s a lot to take in.

As Dorian leads the travellers through the land in his search for the Reliquary, we meet other characters. Lots of other characters. There is also a lot of politics which I found hard to follow the first time I read Lumen, and no easier when I re-read it.

It could be that I found it difficult because it’s more than a year since I read Calor, because I’m not normally an epic fantasy reader, or because I don’t know the source story (I’ve considered reading it, but that might give the plot away, and I don’t want that).

Maybe this is a series best read back-to-back (which means now is a great time to start reading).

Lumen is well-written with a fascinating premise (a world with people with strange gifts), and the story has some clear Christian images, like life beginning in a Garden (with a capital G), a mysterious group called the Three, and a possible saviour figure. I am definitely engaged in the story.

While I found parts of the story confusing, with too many characters and too much politics, this isn’t the first trilogy I’ve read where the second story was weaker than the first. The end did leave me wanting to read the final book to see how the story ends. Memoria releases in December, and I’m looking forward to it.

Recommended for young adult fantasy fans, especially those who like to see the Christian links in the story.

Thanks to Enclave Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About J J Fischer

J. J. Fischer’s writing dream began with the anthology of zoo animals she painstakingly wrote and illustrated at age five, to rather limited acclaim. Thankfully, her writing (but not her drawing) has improved since then. She is a clinically-trained psychologist but no, she cannot read your mind. When she isn’t killing defenseless house plants, pretending she can play the piano, eating peanut butter out of the jar, or memorizing funny film quotes, she and her husband David are attempting to prevent their warring pet chickens from forming factions and re-enacting Divergent. Honestly, it’s a miracle she finds the time to write any books.

Find J J Fischer online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

About Lumen

What if erasing the past cost more than you were willing to pay?

Having narrowly escaped their enemies, Sephone, Dorian, and Cass continue their search for the elusive Silvertongue, the only one with knowledge of the Reliquary’s whereabouts. But time is running out for Sephone, and with Dorian accused of high treason, the quest takes on a new urgency.

As secrets from each of their pasts drive a wedge between them, Sephone invests all her hopes in finding her homeland, Lethe—where her family may yet be alive. But nothing about Lethe is as she expects, and disappointment, betrayal, and danger await her at every turn.

When the truth about the Reliquary’s curse comes to light, the fragile bonds between the unlikely companions are tested like never before. Meanwhile, Dorian faces a terrible choice: to save the life of one who is beginning to mean more to him than the past he’s so desperate to forget, or to save his beloved Caldera from dangers outside and within.

Find Lumen online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

15 September 2024

September Sweet Treats

Australian author Narelle Atkins has organised a giveaway involving all the Trinity Lakes Romance authors (including the new season authors I haven’t introduced you to yet).

She’s featuring Always By My Side today – click the link below to find out more and leave a comment on the blog post to be in to win:

September Sweet Treats from Narelle Atkins

Or click here to find the main blog post with links to all the different days.

The giveaway runs until 28 September, so stop by every day for another chance to win!

13 September 2024

First Line Friday #356 | The Color of Home by Kit Tosello

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m quoting from The Color of Home by debut author Kit Tosello. I have no idea what to expect, but after reading the first line of the book description, I knew this was a book I wanted to read.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

And that just confirms my first impression. I

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About The Color of Home

Audrey Needham, Bay Area interior designer to the rich and pretentious, is down to her last nerve. Her boss is impossible to please, her future is in jeopardy, and her great-aunt Daisy needs support as her husband descends into Alzheimer’s.

When Daisy enlists Audrey’s help preparing for a move to assisted living, Audrey risks her career to return to the idyllic small town of Charity Falls, Oregon, the summer stomping grounds of her childhood. But Charity Falls was also the place that broke her heart when her father was killed in a tragic fire at the Sugar Pine Inn thirteen years ago.

Despite Audrey’s intent to avoid emotional entanglement, the pull of home is hard to resist. Something should be done about the deteriorating inn. A local girl with an incarcerated father needs a friend. And handsome local do-gooder Cade Carter is coloring Audrey all shades of uncertain.

Join award-winning writer and debut novelist Kit Tosello in this lyrical and often humorous exploration of how God redeems brokenness and draws us to the life we’re meant to find.

Find The Color of Home online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

10 September 2024

Bookish Question #348 | Do you like to read retellings of famous novels?

Retellings of famous novels, fairytale retellings, and allegory all have the same challenges for authors: ensuring the story sticks closely enough to the original plot to satisfy readers without becoming predictable (or, worse, without having the characters act out of character in order to fit the prescribed plot elements).

The other challenge with retellings of famous novels is that readers are unlikely to read a retelling of a novel they didn’t enjoy.

Perhaps that’s why Jane Austen retellings are so popular: most romance readers enjoy Austen’s stories. The flip side is that makes many of Austen’s tropes overused, and it makes it harder for authors to find that unique twist.

I don’t read a lot of novels that are specifically signaled as retellings.

One I remember reading and enjoying was Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay, a retelling of Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster, which I read and loved as a teen.

I think this book illustrated one secret to a good retelling: choose a story that has stood the test of time, but not one that is so well known that the author can’t find the original twist. I picked up the story was Daddy Long Legs early on, but read a number of reviews commenting on the “original” plot and the unexpected plot twist at the end, which suggests I was in the minority for knowing the story.

What about you? Do you like to read retellings of famous novels? Which stories do you recommend?

9 September 2024

Book Review | The Blooming of Delphinium (Moonberry Lake #2) by Holly Varni

Moonberry Lake florist Delphinium Hayes has a gift, a strength, and a problem. Her gift is her empathy and care when it comes to dealing with difficult people–specifically, the seniors who have invaded her store. Her strength is her knowledge of flowers and their meanings, and her problem is that the bank is about to foreclose on her store and home.

Oh, and Delphinium has synesthesia.

This is a plot device I can only recall reading once before–Kaleidoscope Eyes by Karen Ball, which I loved because of the unique plot device. In Delphinium’s case, she can smell a person’s essential essence or personality. (I don’t know if this is a real variant of synesthesia, but it’s a fascinating plot device).

There were a lot of things to like about The Blooming of Delphinium.

There is some lovely symbolism in the title, given the story is literally about small-town florist Delphinium thriving—blooming—as she encourages the town’s senior population in her shop.

I liked the fact the story was written entirely from Delphinium’s point of view, which gave the story more of a women’s fiction vibe. Introducing a second point pf view (or more) would have given the novel more of a romance vibe and would have given away important aspects of the story.

I loved the way the story wove in the seniors from The Gardens, showing both their foibles and strengths, and reminding us of the challenges of growing older:

I especially loved the humour woven throughout the plot. For example:

There were a few things I didn’t like so much. Delphinium has a tendency to let her emotions get in the way of logic which made her seem immature at times. The writing was occasionally less than polished.

But the thing that bugged me most was the lightweight faith content. Lightweight isn’t necessarily bad, but it can annoy me where there is a romantic element and one of the romantic partners (in this case, Delphinium) clearly isn’t a Christian. I was looking forward to a conversion scene (I can’t remember when I last read a good conversion scene) but was disappointed.

Despite that, The Blooming of Delphinium is an enjoyable story with a unique premise and some solid views on how society deals with the elderly.

The Blooming of Delphinium is the second book in Holly Varni’s Moonberry Lake series, following On Moonberry Lake. I haven’t read On Moonberry Lake and didn’t feel I’d missed anything. There was one scene that introduced Cora, the main character from the previous book, but this is definitely a standalone story.

Thanks to Revell and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Holly Varni

Holly Varni is the author of On Moonberry Lake. A native Minnesotan of strong Norwegian descent, she was raised in the Lutheran Church that Garrison Keillor made a career depicting. Though she, her husband, and their three sons live along the Central Coast of California, her beloved Midwest roots continue to haunt everything she writes. She hosts the Moments from Moonberry Lake podcast, where she shares more stories of her beloved characters.

Find Holly Varni online at:

Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Podcast | Twitter

About The Blooming of Delphinium

As far as hidden talents go, Delphinium Hayes is blessed with one of the more unique ones. With the slightest passing whiff, she knows someone’s most admirable or weediest characteristic. This peculiar perception never fails to give her an advantage in life–until she meets two men who turn her world upside down.

Mason McCormack has agreed to help her with a group of seniors who have taken over her flower shop as their hangout. But his assistance is not without its price, and Delphinium agrees to compensate him with beautiful bouquets that seem to possess a bit of dating magic.

Elliot Sturgis, director of The Gardens Assisted Living Facility, is determined to discover why a group of his residents keeps sneaking over to Delphinium’s shop to play poker in the walk-in refrigerator. He soon finds himself as enchanted by Delphinium as everyone else. But his devotion to following the rules and maintaining order does not endear him to the shop’s owner.

Sparks fly as opposites attract and love finds a match in Delphinium’s Flora Emporium–even for those who resist it the most.

Find The Blooming of Delphinium online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

6 September 2024

First Line Friday #355 | Lumen (Nightingale #2) by JJ Fischer

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from Lumen, the second book in JJ Fischer’s Nightingale trilogy.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Lumen

What if erasing the past cost more than you were willing to pay?

Find Lumen online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

4 September 2024

Book Review | The Larkspur House by Carla Laureano

Rose Cameron has escaped her wreck of a marriage and her thieving ex-husband with a beat-up car holding all her worldly possessions and arrived in Haven Ridge to take a job helping Erin Parker with a house in desperate need of a cleanout and repairs.

But Will, Erin’s twin, wants to sell the house, and gives Erin and Rose a month to come up with a way of making the house pay for itself.

This is a romance, so we know Rose and Will are going to get together once they get past their differences. But there’s also a house to clear out and hopefully something to find that will enable them to keep the house rather than selling their family heritage.

If you’ve read the previous books in the Haven Ridge series (The Broken Hearts Bakery and The Beacon Street Bookshop), you might remember Will as the somewhat uptight accountant. In The Larkspur House, we get to see more about Will and Erin, which means we get to know more about Will. He’s a true gentleman who will do almost anything to protect his sister – a professional cellist.

Rose is a good person whose life hasn’t gone as planned because of her ex-husband’s bad choices. But she also has some things to learn about herself and about life.

I enjoyed seeing the developing relationship between Rose and Will, but I also enjoyed Erin and Will’s sibling relationship, and the growing friendship between Rose and Erin.

This wasn’t a coming home story. This was a running away story, and in her experience, those had the potential to be so much more interesting.

The Haven Ridge novels aren’t Christian fiction, in that while some of the characters go to church, that reads more like a scene location than an underlying character trait. But they also aren’t general market romance, in that there isn’t any swearing or sex scenes (which, if you think about it, seems out of character for red-blooded adults who don’t have a religious or personal reason for not sleeping with their significant other).

But they are good contemporary romances which offer some solid insights into life and love …

In my experience, you can answer all someone’s fears and objections and they still won’t take a chance until you capture their imagination.

Overall, The Larkspur House is a solid contemporary romance with an element of mystery thrown in, and perhaps even a sprinkling of magic.

Recommended for fans of sweet contemporary romance from authors such as TI Lowe, Amy Matayo and Courtney Walsh.

About Carla Laureano

Carla Laureano is the RITA® Award-winning author of contemporary inspirational romance and Celtic fantasy (as C.E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons, where she writes during the day and cooks things at night.

You can find Carla Laureano online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

About The Larkspur House

Rose Cameron holds the record for bad decisions. Not only did she drop out of grad school to get married, but her husband wasn’t who he pretended to be—and his shady business dealings threatened both her reputation and her freedom.

With no job, no friends, and her bank account nearing zero, an online job posting offers a place to escape from her shattered life: house assistant in a historic manor in the tiny town of Haven Ridge, Colorado.

But the Larkspur House isn’t the refuge she expected. For one thing, it’s not just a house, but a derelict, honest-to-goodness American castle. For another, the co-inheritor of the house—the brusque, uptight Will Parker—makes no secret of his desire to see her gone.

He’s more interested in selling the place before it crumbles into the Colorado landscape or bankrupts the trust that maintains it. Just when Rose is convinced she’s made yet another terrible decision, she stumbles upon hidden secrets within Larkspur House’s storied history—ones that could bridge the gap between her and Will, making Haven Ridge her forever home.

But try as she might, Rose can’t escape her past…and her own secrets just might destroy the new life she’s begun building.

Find The Larkspur House online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

3 September 2024

Bookish Question #347 | Do you like to read fairytale retellings?

I haven’t read a lot of fairytale retellings.

I don’t have anything against the genre: it’s just they rarely catch my eye.

There are a couple of exceptions:

I have read Unnoticed by Australian author Amanda Deed, and Unhinged is on my to-read pile. Unhinged is an Australian historical retelling of the Beauty of the Beast, and Unnoticed is a twist on the classic Cinderella story.

I have also read Calor and Lumen by JJ Fischer, and am eagerly awaiting Memoria, which will be released in December 2024. This trilogy is described as a fantasy transformation of The Nightingale by Hans Christian Anderson, with echoes of the myths of Hades and Persephone. I don’t know the story of The Nightingale, so I don’t have any expectations about the story.

That is one of the challenges for authors writing a fairytale retelling: when readers know the original story, the author has to find a way of telling the story in a way that readers recognise as familiar, but with enough of an original twist that it is still interesting.

What about you? Do you like to read fairytale retellings? Do you have any good Christian retellings you can recommend?

2 September 2024

New Releases in Christian Fiction | September 2024

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website

Contemporary General

Kristen by Dawn M Klinge — In this heartwarming tale, discover the extraordinary potential that lies within embracing the present and opening one’s heart to the unanticipated blessings of life’s sweetest surprises.(Contemporary Romance, Independently Published)

Contemporary Romance

Escape to Whispering Creek by Barbara M Britton — Can a gregarious office manager and rehabilitating business owner find love while fighting accusations of white-collar crime (Contemporary Romance from White Rose Publishing [Pelican])

Before We Were Us by Denise Hunter — A temporary position at a rustic resort leads Lauren to the love of her life and a drastic career change. But on the eve of her engagement, an unfortunate fall leaves her unable to remember any of it. (Contemporary Romance from HarperCollins Christian Publishing)

The Farmer and Adele by Candice Sue Patterson — Second chances aren’t for the faint of heart. (Contemporary Romance Independently Published [ACFW QIP])

Historical

Patriot at the River by Jayna Baas — With the help of some unlikely allies, a young Patriot militiaman must save his settlement from the man who had a hand in his father’s death. (Historical, Independently Published)

New Star by Lana Christian — You may know about the Wise Men’s part in Jesus’ story—but do you know the Wise Men’s story? (OR) How far would you go to protect what you believe in? (Historical from Scrivenings Press)

Historical Romance

The Gamekeeper’s Reluctant Bride by Elva Cobb Martin — She fled from a gilded cage, only to find herself trapped in a marriage of obligation. (Historical Romance from Wild Heart Books)

Love and Chocolate by Linda Shenton Matchett — She just needs a job. He wants a career. Is there room in their hearts for love? (Historical Romance from Shortwave Press)

Virginia by Shannon McNear — Return to the “what if” questions surrounding the Lost Colony and explore the possible fate of Virginia Dare–the first English child born in the New World. What happened to her after her grandfather John White returned to England and the colony he established disappeared into the mists of time? Legends abound, but she was indeed a real girl who, if she survived to adulthood, must have also become part of the legacy that is the people of the Outer Banks. (Historical Romance from Barbour Publishing)

A Token of Love by Carrie Turansky — In this heartfelt dual-time tale, bestselling author Carrie Turansky weaves a story of two women whose lives intertwine through their shared pursuit of love, truth, and justice (Historical Romance from Bethany House [Baker Publishing Group])

Romance

A Journey for Amy by Diane Craver — As the feelings between Amy and Joe grow deeper, can they overcome their dissimilar faiths, or will their differences pull them apart? (Romance from Vinspire Publishing)

Amish

A Lancaster Amish Christmas by Anne Blackburne, Amy Clipston, Amy Lillard and Mindy Steele — Four Stories of Romance by Four Authors set in the Heart of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania’s Amish Country. (Amish Romance from Barbour Publishing)

Romantic Suspense

Lethal Standoff by DiAnn Mills — A female negotiator and a male investigative journalist work place their lives in danger to seek the release of undocumented immigrants hostages from kidnappers who harbor desperate secrets. (Romantic Suspense from Tyndale House)

K-9 Ranch Protection by Darlene L Turner — Police constable Izzy Tremblay knows her father’s death was no accident, so when she finally discovers a lead and is immediately attacked, her suspicions are confirmed. For protection, she takes refuge with her ex-partner, Austin Murray, on his K-9 ranch while she races to uncover the truth. But with danger still lurking, can they stay alive long enough to take down a killer? (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired [Harlequin])

No Forgetting Providence by Lee Wimmer — Running from faith led DR on a path of untold success, but also put crosshairs on him, is it providence, or is it something else? (Romantic Suspense from Hightower Publications)

Western

Heidi’s Faith by Jill Dewhurst — God uses a painting and a young man helping his neighbors to strengthen a young woman’s faith and enable her to overcome debilitating fear following a traumatic event. (Western from Independently Published)

Young Adult

The Immortal Abyss by Katherine Briggs — Nations rise and fall in the aftermath of war over the Eternity Gate. The corrupted desert throne stands empty, and the Immortal Abyss awakens. Drought ravages the continent, and people long for the rebirth of a starpalm, who will rise from among mortals and end their judgment. (Young Adult from Enclave Publishing [Oasis Family Media])

Plus check out these recent additions to Fiction Finder published within the past month:

Murder Goes Caroling by Malissa Chapin — Ringing in the holidays just hit a sour note. With mayhem threatening to turn festive carols into dirges, can a gifted pianist unmask a nasty scrooge? (Cozy Mystery)

The Italian Musician’s Sanctuary by Danielle Grandinetti — Romance, history and intrigue at Our House on Sycamore Street. (General Historical)

The Marble Hill Crime Blotter by BD Lawrence — Life in a small town isn’t always as serene as one might think. The Marble Hill Crime Blotter is a series of thrilling stories that follow Police Chief Tom Petrosky and State Police Forensics Specialist Patricia Johnson. (Mystery/police procedural)

La Elegida para Harley by Heidi Gray McGill — Esperaban una novia por encargo y obtuvieron más de lo que esperaban. (They were expecting a custom bride and got more than they bargained for.) (General Historical)

Hidden Danger by Gail Pallotta — Left at the altar, Emily Hanover flees to Sky High Campground to put her life back together, but danger strikes in the night. Harassed by a man who seems to disappear into thin air, Emily and Nick, the security guard, discover a sinister plot, never dreaming danger could bring romance. (Romantic Suspense)

Captured in Frame by Laura Thomas — Desperate to begin a new chapter after a heartbreaking betrayal, Canadian photographer Georgia Brooks retreats to her quaint English cottage—only to discover she could be in possession of incriminating evidence framing a criminal ring in the ugly underbelly of the art world (Romantic Suspense)