Category: Book Review

17 August 2020

Book Review | Until I Met You (Restoring Heritage #2) by Tari Faris

I didn’t get a chance to read and review Tari Faris’s debut novel, but reading the reviews left me with high expectations for Until I Met You. And, I have to admit, it took a while to see what everyone else saw.

Until I Met You starts with Libby and Austin meeting when Libby’s dog escapes and makes friends with Austin’s dog. She’s a purebred he was hoping to breed, so is less than pleased. As such, it’s not a great introduction to him as a character, and I did find him hard to warm to.

But it’s not just Libby and Austin’s story.

It’s also Nate and Olivia’s story, and that’s something that confused me at first—Libby and Olivia had similar character voices, and I mixed them up a couple of times.

Nate is Austin’s younger brother, the prodigal. Austin has always done everything right, and picked up the pieces after Nate’s mistakes. Nate, now a pastor, is all too aware of his past mistakes and can’t get over them—to the point he keeps brushing off Olivia, who is interested in him.

I found Nate a much more engaging character than Austin. It did make me wonder what happened to the Biblical Prodigal Son after his father threw the party. Was he able to accept his inheritance, or was he more like Nate? I could totally see what Olivia saw in Nate, and why she kept pursuing him even after all the rebuffs.

Austin, on the other had, was somewhere between difficult and insufferable, and I had trouble working out what Libby saw in him. Yes, he’s loyal and hardworking and puts others first, but he is, frankly, self-righteous about it. And that makes him somewhat tiresome. The first half of Until I Met You had a lot of Austin being insufferable, and it got a little tired.

But the story picked up pace and interest in the second half.

That’s when the spiritual aspects started to come through more strongly, and that was the real strength of the novel. Until I Met You is Christian fiction where the characters actually find the answers to their problems in the truths of the Christian faith. It’s refreshing, and I can now see why everyone raved about You Belong With Me.

I didn’t realise when I started reading, but Until I Met You is a sequel to You Belong With Me. The beginning of Until I Met You might also have been an easier read if I had read the earlier book, as then I would have known some of the characters—-Until I Met You introduced a lot of characters early on, and it wasn’t always easy to see how they fitted together. I guess that was covered in the first book.

Yes, read You Belong With Me first if you can, but don’t worry if you can’t.

The strength of Until I Met You isn’t in the series characters, but in the relationship between the brothers. Like all relationships, it can be hard going but it’s worth the effort.

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

About Tari Faris

I have been writing fiction for more than twelve years. It has been an exciting journey for this math-loving-dyslexic girl. I had read less than a handful of novels by the time I graduated from college and I thought I would end up in the field of science or math. But God had other plans and I wouldn’t trade this journey for anything. As someone told me once, God’s plans may not be easy, and they may not always make sense but they are never boring.

When I am not writing or working, I spend time with my amazing husband. We have been married for fifteen wonderful years and have three sweet children. In my free time, I love coffee, rock hounding with my husband and kids, and distracting myself from housework.

Find Tari Faris online at:

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About Until I Met You

When she hears that the small town of Heritage, Michigan, is looking for a new librarian, Libby Kingsley jumps at the opportunity. Little did she know the library is barely more than a storage closet stuffed with dusty, outdated books. What the community really needs is a new building. But the only funds available are those being channeled into the new town square, and the landscape architect in charge of the project wants nothing to do with her plans.

All Austin Williams wants to do is get the town square project finished so he can do right by the family business and then extricate himself from the town that reveres the brother who cost him so much. But the local media and the town’s new librarian seem to be conspiring against him at every turn. Will the determined bookworm find her way into his blueprints–and possibly even his heart?

Find Until I Met You online at:

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10 August 2020

Book Review | Starfish Pier (Hope Harbor #6) by Irene Hannon

This is the third or fourth book I’ve read in the Hope Harbor series. Note that each novel in this series is a standalone, and you don’t have to read the earlier stories for this one to make sense.

Starfish Pier has Charley and his fish taco stand (I would love to try one of his tacos!), seagulls Floyd and Gladys (what else do you name a pair of seagulls?), and the ongoing banter between the Catholic priest and the Protestant pastor readers have enjoyed in the earlier books in the series.

But the banter hid a serious message.

Holly Miller is a first-grade teacher who volunteers at church and is staunchly pro-life. (So she’s both anti-abortion and anti-capital punishment … which makes sense to me). Steven Roark is a ex-Army sniper who now runs a fishing charter business. He moved to Hope Harbor to watch out for his brother, a budding alcoholic.

Yes, Starfish Pier is a romance.

But it also has some of the bigger issues that are more often dealt with in women’s fiction. Patrick resents his high-achieving big brother, and there are definite elements of the Prodigal Son about the story in his actions. But Steven isn’t the self-righteous big brother he could be. He’s a man with his own history, a history he’s not entirely comfortable with.

Then there’s Holly. She’s mentally and spiritually strong, but has a history of medical problems she’s trying to overcome. I admired that about her. She wasn’t prepared to let her (real) issues get in the way more than necessary. Instead, she was willing to share herself and her history, and make a difference where it mattered.

Overall, Starfish Pier is an intelligent and timely look at modern issues through a Christian lens that shows but never preaches.

Recommended for romance and women’s fiction readers.

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

About Irene Hannon

Irene Hannon is the best-selling author of more than 35 novels. Her books have been honored with the coveted RITA Award from Romance Writers of America, the HOLT Medallion, the Reviewer’s Choice Award from Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine and the Daphne du Maurier Award for mystery/suspense. Irene and her husband make their home in Missouri, USA.

Find Irene Hannon online at:

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About Starfish Pier

A year ago, ex-Delta Force operator Steven Roark left the rigors of combat behind to run fishing charters in Hope Harbor, decompress, and talk some sense into his kid brother. Business is good–but making peace with his past is more challenging than he expected.

First-grade teacher Holly Miller leads a quiet, low-profile existence–until she’s recruited to advocate for a cause that’s dear to her heart. When she solicits Steven’s assistance, sparks fly–especially after they find themselves on opposite sides of an issue that disrupts their placid seaside community.

As these two seemingly incompatible souls search for common ground, might they discover a deeper connection–and find that love can banish darkness and light the way to a future filled with promise?

Bestselling and award-winning author Irene Hannon invites you back to Hope Harbor–where hearts heal . . . and love blooms.

Find Starfish Pier online at:

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Read the introduction to Starfish Pier below:

3 August 2020

Book Review | Under Scottish Stars (MacDonald Family #3) by Carla Laureano

I read Five Days in Skye, Carla Laureano’s debut novel and the first in her MacDonald family series, when it first released five years ago. Seven years ago? I loved it. I also loved the sequel, London Tides, and was hugely disappointed to discover that original publisher cut their fiction arm and didn’t finish the series.

But I was thrilled to discover a new publisher picked up the trilogy.

While it makes sense that they republished the first two novels, I did think they could have published them more quickly than one a year. It’s not as though we were waiting for the books to be written …

So I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Did Under Scottish Stars live up to my expectations? No and yes.

It took me a while to get into the story.

That’s partly because it’s so long since I read the first two, and I didn’t remember all the characters or their nuances. It could also be because I’m having a little trouble concentrating on contemporary stories right now, what with everything on the news. (No, I don’t want to read a bunch of stories about love in the time of COVID-19, but it seems wrong to ignore it.)

Widow Serena MacDonald Stewart is back in the dating game, but discovering a distinct lack of sparks. She decides to move back to Skye and help with the family hotel, where she meets their hired manager, Malcolm Blake … and discovers there are sparks. But it takes more than sparks to make a relationship.

Serena is a complex character. At first, she’s the widow trying to make a go of life after losing her husband. As the novel progresses, we realise that losing her husband might be the best thing that ever happend to her. Now she has a chance to be herself and pursue her dreams. Serena’s character forces us to ask some hard questions about our own lives.

Malcolm was a noble character–he gave up his own home and career to return to Skye and take care of his teenage niece after her mother died. But he’s also a bit of a curmudgeon. He’s noble, but not always nice and polite, and I did have some initial trouble seeing why there were sparks between him and Serena. It sometimes felt like they were being forced into a relationship rather than falling into a relationship.

However, as the story developed, I found myself drawn more and more into their lives, wanting the best for them even when the best seemed impossible. Overall, it’s a solid romance and a must-read for series fans. Yes, I probably would have enjoyed it more five years ago, but that can’t be helped. At least I got to read it now.

Thanks to Tyndale Publishers and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

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:

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About Under Scottish Stars

Recently widowed Serena MacDonald Stewart focuses on her children to the exclusion of her career, her art, and her sanity. When her brothers ask her to oversee the family guest house on the Isle of Skye, it’s a chance to dust off her long-ignored business skills and make a new start. But her hopes for a smooth transition are dashed when the hotel manager, Malcolm Blake, turns out to be irritating, condescending . . . and incredibly attractive.

Malcolm Blake gave up everything—his home, his girlfriend, and his career—to return to Skye and raise his late sister’s teenage daughter. With few job opportunities available on the island, he signs on as the manager of the MacDonald family hotel, which he’s soon running successfully without interference from the owners. That is, until Serena shows up, challenging his authority and his conviction that there’s nothing missing from his new life on Skye.

Before long, Serena and Malcolm have to admit the spark between them is more than mere irritation. But as single parents, there’s more on the line than their own hearts. Will their commitment to family be the thing that draws them together or the only thing that could keep them apart?

Find Under Scottish Stars online at:

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Read the introduction to Under Scottish stars below:

27 July 2020

Book Review | Vying for the Viscount (Hearts on the Heath #1) by Kristi Ann Hunter

Miss Bianca Snowley is twenty-four years old and single in Regency England, a society that likes to marry off their females as soon as they leave the schoolroom. She’s mad about riding, and disinterested in fashion or whatever else is supposed to appeal to genteel young ladies. But her step-mother’s hints have finally sunk in, and Bianca realises she’s going to have to find a husband herself or settle for the unappealing Mr Mead.

Twenty-eight year old Hudson, the new Viscount Stildon, is newly arrived in England from India, where he was born and raised. He’s inherited his grandfather’s title and stables, and is keen to build his reputation as a horseman. But he has no idea how to progress in English society—he can’t even waltz. Fortunately, Miss Snowley is available to help coach him, in return for a promised ride on his prize stallion.

The thing that caught my attention straight away were the character voices.

They’re quirky and unusual, and very readable. Both characters are true characters, in the English sense of the word. They are both intelligent, witty, horse-mad, and completely unable to see what’s obvious to the reader and everyone else around them.

Vying for the Viscount is a fast, fun read, a Regency England version of Jen Turano. But it also has some spiritual depth, as both Hudson and Bianca realise they will need to modify the way they live their lives if they are to achieve true happiness.

Vying for the Viscount is the first novel in Kristi Ann Hunter’s new Hearts on the Heath series, set among the Newmarket horseracing set. Fans of her Hawthorne House series will enjoy cameos from some of the earlier characters, but it’s not necessary to read them first.

I recommend Vying for the Viscount for fans of Christian Regency Romance from authors such as Carolyn Miller.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review..

About Kristi Ann Hunter

Kristi is the RITA® award winning author of Regency romance novels from a Christian worldview. Her titles include A Noble Masquerade, An Elegant Façade, and An Uncommon Courtship. Beyond writing, she is also speaker, teaching classes in writing as well as Biblical and spiritual topics. She has spoken to writers’ groups, schools, and young women’s groups at churches.

When she is not writing or interacting with her readers, Kristi spends time with her family and her church. A graduate of Georgia Tech with a computer science degree, she can also be found fiddling with her computer in her free time. A born lover of stories she is also an avid reader. From very young she dreamed of sharing her own stories with others and praises God daily that she gets to live that dream today.

You can find Kristi Ann Hunter online at:

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About Vying for the Viscount

For Hudson, the newly titled Viscount Stildon, moving to England from India where he was born and raised was already an arduous enough endeavor. When he learns the fate of the racing empire he inherited along with his title depends upon him getting in the good graces of another stable owner, he’s even more at a loss.

The stable at the neighboring estate has been Miss Bianca Snowley’s refuge for years, and when a strange man appears to be stealing the horses, she jumps to their protection without a second thought. Upon learning Hudson is actually the new owner, she can’t help but be intrigued by the area’s newest eligible bachelor.

Any thought of romance is quickly set aside, however, when Hudson proposes they work together to secure suitable spouses for each other. As their friendship grows, Hudson and Bianca begin to reconsider what they truly want in life. But will societal expectations and the weight of their responsibilities keep them from pursuing their true desires?

Find Vying for the Viscount online at:

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20 July 2020

Book Review | The Key to Everything by Valerie Fraser Lusesse

Peyton Cabot has grown up listening to stories about how his father, Marshall, rode over six hundred miles from Okefenokee to Key West (and back) in 1921, the summer he was fifteen. When Peyton’s father is hospitalised and loses his memory after a riding accident, Peyton decides to replicate his father’s journey.

As such, this is a definite coming-of-age story, which is common in Young Adult fiction.

But I don’t know how many modern teens would want to read a novel set in The Olden Days (i.e. any time before the invention of the iPhone) and a plot that meanders at the speed of a bicycle rather than a Tesla.

Because it is set in The Olden Days (1947), The Key to Everything brings us back to a forgotten time … or perhaps a time that never really existed. In Peyton’s world, the police are the good guys, people are kind to strangers, and it’s perfectly safe for a teenager to ride unaccompanied for hundreds of miles with only a weekly collect call home to assure his mother he’s okay.

As such, it is an odd novel. The writing is excellent, with a strong voice that fits both the time and the place. Peyton is a young man of character and compassion, despite a privileged upbringing that could have taught him to overlook people less fortunate. He also has a refreshing lack of racism—although I have no idea how accurate that is for post-war (and pre-Civil Rights) Georgia and Florida.

No matter.

We’re living in strange times right now, and The Key to Everything was a fresh distraction with excellent characters, and some serious life lessons sprinkled along the journey.

Recommended.

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

About Valerie Fraser Luesse

Valerie Fraser Luesse is an award-winning magazine writer best known for her feature stories and essays in Southern Living, where she is currently a senior travel editor. Her work has been anthologized in the audio collection Southern Voices and in A Glimpse of Heaven, an essay collection featuring works by C. S. Lewis, Randy Alcorn, John Wesley, and others.

As a freelance writer and editor, she was the lead writer for Southern Living 50 Years: A Celebration of People, Places, and Culture. Specializing in stories about unique pockets of Southern culture, Luesse has published major pieces on the Gulf Coast, the Mississippi Delta, Louisiana’s Acadian Prairie, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Her editorial section on Hurricane Katrina recovery in Mississippi and Louisiana won the 2009 Writer of the Year award from the Southeast Tourism Society.

Luesse earned her bachelor’s degree in English at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, and her master’s degree in English at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She grew up in Harpersville, Alabama, a rural community in Shelby County, and now lives in Birmingham.

Find Valerie Fraser Luesse online at:

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About The Key to Everything

Peyton Cabot’s fifteenth year will be a painful and transformative one. His father, the heroic but reluctant head of a moneyed Savannah family, has come home from WWII a troubled vet, drowning his demons in bourbon and distancing himself from his son. A tragic accident shows Peyton the depths of his parents’ devotion to each other but interrupts his own budding romance with the girl of his dreams, Lisa Wallace.

Struggling to cope with a young life upended, Peyton makes a daring decision: He will retrace a journey his father took at fifteen, riding his bicycle all the way to Key West, Florida. Part declaration of independence, part search for self, Peyton’s journey will bring him more than he ever could have imagined–namely, the key to his unknowable father, a reunion with Lisa, and a calling that will shape the rest of his life.

Through poignant prose and characters so real you’ll be sure you know them, Valerie Fraser Luesse transports you to the storied Atlantic coast for a unique coming-of-age story you won’t soon forget.

Find The Key to Everything online at:

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

13 July 2020

Book Review | A Gilded Lady (Hope & Glory #2) by Elizabeth Camden

I almost didn’t read this novel, and that would have been my loss because it was excellent. I didn’t find the monochrome cover particularly appealing, and I’m somewhat tired of reading about the lifestyles of the privileged in the Gilded Age (the 1890’s aka the late Victorian era).

So what interested me about A Gilded Lady?

Simple. Caroline Delacroix is the secretary to the First Lady of the United States, and the promise of a glimpse inside the White House of 1900 was enough to hook me. I have been consistently impressed with Elizabeth Camden’s ability to weave a compelling romance around a combination of a little-known historical fact and a heroine with an unusual occupation.

And I was not disappointed.

Caroline works for Ida Garfield, a First Lady with a temper who suffered from epilepsy and probably depression, a result of losing both her daughters. Caroline basically runs her life, organising social events from a simple morning tea to an inaguration ball. She will do anything to maintain her role because her twin brother, Luke, has been jailed in Cuba for treason, and Caroline believes a presidential pardon is his only hope.

Life is not made easier by Nathaniel Trask, the new White House head of security, appointed after the assassination of the king of Italy. (Those familiar with US history will see the irony, as they will know what happens.) Caroline is attracted to him, but obviously can’t do anything about that without giving up on her brother.

So what did I like about A Guilded Lady?

I liked the inside look at the historical White House (I was less impressed by the cost of Ida McKinley’s ball dress—$8,000 is astronomical now. How much was it in 1900?) I liked Caroline, who was a lot more intelligent and practical than the heroines in most Guilded Age novels I’ve read. I liked the compelling yet understated developing relationship between Caroline and Nathaniel, and the equally compelling yet understated faith aspect.

In fact, I enjoyed the novel so much I then bought and read The Spice King, the first novel in the Hope and Glory series (and one I had discounted because of the uninteresting monochrome cover). It was equally enjoyable, although there are probably advantages in reading The Spice King first …

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Elizabeth Camden

Elizabeth Camden is a research librarian at a small college in central Florida. Her novels have won the coveted RITA and Christy Awards. She has published several articles for academic publications and is the author of four nonfiction history books. Her ongoing fascination with history and love of literature have led her to write inspirational fiction. Elizabeth lives with her husband near Orlando, Florida.

Find Elizabeth Camden online at:

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About A Gilded Lady

Caroline Delacroix is at the pinnacle of Washington high society in her role as secretary to the first lady of the United States. But beneath the facade of her beauty, glamorous wardrobe, and dazzling personality, she’s hiding a terrible secret. If she cannot untangle a web of foreign espionage, her brother will face execution for treason.

Nathaniel Trask is the newly appointed head of the president’s Secret Service team. He is immediately suspicious of Caroline despite his overwhelming attraction to her quick wit and undeniable charm. Desperate to keep the president protected, Nathaniel must battle to keep his focus fully on his job as the threat to the president rises.

Amid the glamorous pageantry of Gilded Age Washington, DC, Caroline and Nathaniel will face adventure, danger, and heartbreak in a race against time that will span the continent and the depth of human emotion.

Find A Gilded Lady online at:

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Read the introduction to A Gilded Lady below:

6 July 2020

Book Review | Fragments of Light by Michele Phoenix

Fragments of Light starts in France on D-Day, then moves to Winfield, Illinois, in the present day.

The past story is crammed into the hours and days of the D-Day landings, while the present story is Ceelie’s story as she recovers from breast cancer … and the devastation of her husband’s desertion.

Ceelie befriends Darlene, another cancer survivor, and the two of them undertake a journey into Darlene’s past, trying to find what happened to her father. Cal was a World War II soldier who went to war, came home, then disappeared. Why? She has nothing more than a few letters and an old photo. But Ceelie gets caught up in the journey, and in finding if there can be good hidden in the bad.

Most of the dual timeline novels I’ve read move between the past and present throughout the novel.

Fragments of Light is different, in that it moves exclusively to the present timeline at about the halfway point. As with all good dual timeline stories, there is no obvious or immediate connection between the past and present stories. That’s only revealed as the story progresses, and it certainly packs a punch when we make the connection. There’s even more of a punch when past and present meet.

I was impressed by Michele Phoenix’s earlier novel, The Space Between Words, and was equally impressed by Fragments of Light. It’s a powerful story of love, redemption, and forgiveness as the characters in the present discover and learn from the past. There’s a lesson there …

Fragments of Light by Michele Phoenix is a powerful story of love, redemption, and forgiveness as the characters in the present discover and learn from the past. #BookReview #ChristianFiction Share on X

Recommended for fans of Christian fiction with a deeper message from authors such as Elizabeth Musser, Susie Finkbeiner, Catherine West, or Christine Dillon.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Michele Phoenix

Born in France to a Canadian father and an American mother, Michèle is a consultant, writer and speaker with an international perspective. She taught for 20 years at Black Forest Academy (Germany) before launching her own venture advocating for Third Culture Kids. Michèle travels globally to consult and teach on topics related to this unique people group. She loves good conversations, mischievous students, French pastry, and paths to healing.

Find Michele Phoenix online at:

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About Fragments of Light

An impossible decision in the chaos of D-Day. Ripples that cascade seventy-five years into the present. And two lives transformed by the tenuous resolve to reach out of the darkness toward fragments of light.

Cancer stole everything from Ceelie—her peace of mind, her self-image, perhaps even her twenty-three-year marriage to her college sweetheart, Nate. Without the support of Darlene, her quirky elderly friend, she may not have been able to endure so much loss.

So when Darlene’s prognosis turns dire, Ceelie can’t refuse her seemingly impossible request—to find a WWII paratrooper named Cal, the father who disappeared when Darlene was an infant, leaving a lifetime of desolation in his wake.

The search that begins in the farmlands of Missouri eventually leads Ceelie to a small town in Normandy, where she uncovers the harrowing tale of the hero who dropped off-target into occupied France.

Alternating between Cal’s D-Day rescue by two young French sisters and Ceelie’s present-day journey through trial and heartbreak, Fragments of Light poses a timeless question: When life becomes unbearable, will you press toward the light or let the darkness win?

Find Fragments of Light online at:

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29 June 2020

Book Review | Dead Silence by Robin Caroll

Dead Silence opens with a bang disguised as a whisper when sign language interpreter Elise lipreads a threat against her mother-in-law. She is then contacted to say her deaf son has fallen in the playground, so she rushes to the hospital and forgets what she saw … until the next morning, when the news reports her mother-in-law has been murdered.

There are a couple of credibility gaps.

No matter how concerned you were about your son, would you really forget to tell someone you “overheard” a death threat? Especially a death threat against your mother-in-law, your child’s grandmother, who also happens to be a US Senator. Also, why did no one call Elise to tell her the Senator was dead?

The family spend a lot of time together during the course of the novel, which adds even more to the credibility gap. Okay, so I can perhaps believe that Elise was too stressed to call her mother-in-law. But then neither the father-in-law or sister-in-law call to say the mother-in-law has been murdered. Instead, they allowed her to find out by watching the TV news. And it’s not a big family: the Senator only had two children and one grandchild.

Yes, that bugged me.

But it didn’t bug me enough to stop reading, because the overall premise was unique, and the story was fast-paced enough that I didn’t stop to think. It picks up pace again after Elise receives a “gift” on her doorstep—a dead rat, an obvious message that she shouldn’t share what she knows.

Another “gift” the next day, and Elise is convinced there is a leak in the FBI. After all, the only people she’s told are the two agents. This got a little frustrating as well—anyone with half a brain could work that out, but not the FBI. Again, that does slightly strain credibility (overall, the FBI do come across as less than competent). But, again, I kept reading because I had to. The story was that compelling.

Elise is an excellent character—a determined single mother with a strong desire to protect her only child from whoever is trying to harm them. She’s independent, but not afraid to ask for help, and her background as a trial interpreter gives her an insight into the legal and investigative process that comes in handy.

Overall, Dead Silence is a fast-paced and compelling thriller featuring a main character with a unique occupation. It’s well worth reading for those looking for a straight thriller with no romance.

Thanks to Shiloh Run Press and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Dead Silence

Political games can be deadly…

Elise Carmichael is a court sign language interpreter who reads lips all the time. As a widow with a young son who is deaf, lip reading is simply second nature, until the day she reads the lips of someone on the phone discussing an attempt to be made on a senator’s life—a senator who just happens to be her mother-in-law. Before she can decide what she needs to do, she receives the information that her son is rushed to the ER and she must leave.

Then she later sees the news report that her mother-in-law has been shot and killed. But when she comes forward, her life, as well as her son’s life, may now be in the crosshairs of the assassin.

Find Dead Silence online at:

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About Robin Caroll

Robin Caroll grew up in Louisiana with her nose in a book. She still has the complete Trixie Belden series, and her love for mysteries and suspense has only increased with her age. Robin’s passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others and come alongside them on their faith journey—aspects Robin weaves into each of her published novels.

Best-selling author of thirty-plus novels, ROBIN CAROLL writes Southern stories of mystery and suspense, with a hint of romance to entertain readers. Her books have been recognized in several awards, including the Carol Award, HOLT Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, RT Reviewer’s Choice Award, and more.

When she isn’t writing, Robin spends quality time with her husband of nearly three decades, her three beautiful daughters and two handsome grandsons, and their character-filled pets at home in the South. Robin serves the writing community as Executive/Conference Director for ACFW.

Find Robin Caroll online at:

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22 June 2020

Book Review | The Widow’s Secret by Katharine Swartz

I read this novel about three months ago, at the beginning of lockdown, but I’m finally writing the review the night before this post goes live. That’s not my usual practice—my routine is to write my review as soon as possible after finishing a book. That’s for two practical reasons: so my reviews don’t pile up, and so I don’t forget the details. Yes, it happens.

Some novels are forgettable. The Widow’s Secret is not.

The Widow’s Secret is a unique dual timeline story set in Whitehaven, a small village in northern England. The present story is about marine archaeologist Rachel Gardener, who tends to place her career ahead of her relationship with her husband, to his annoyance. The past story is about Abigail, the wife of an eighteenth-century maritime trader.

A good dual-timeline story always has a clear relationship between the past and the present story. With The Widow’s Secret, it doesn’t take long to work out that the link must be the ship Rachel is investigating, given that Abigail’s husband was a ship’s captain. We watch Rachel discover aspects of Abigail’s story in the present, then see more of Abigail’s life in the past story.

Abigail is definitely the heroine in this story.

Her prospects for making a good marriage are rapidly declining when she meets Mr Fenton, a newcomer to their village. He is a ship owner, a man with excellent prospects, and she is delighted to marry him. Her delight is tempered when she is unable to present him with a son. He gifts her a slave, a young girl, which raises more discord in their marriage.

As Abigail’s circumstances change, she has to reconsider everything she was raised to believe. And that’s what makes her a brilliant character. She’s not content to believe what everyone around her believes. Instead, she makes her own decisions based on Christian values. And that includes some tough decisions.

As the news is constantly reminding us, the USA is still suffering the aftereffects of slavery. What’s less well-known is the role of the English in the slave trade. The Widow’s Secret is an outstanding novel that shows the power of looking beneath our obvious differences to our underlying humanity.

Recommended.

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

About Katharine Swartz

After spending three years as a diehard New Yorker, Katharine Swartz now lives in the Lake District with her husband, an Anglican minister, their five children, and a Golden Retriever. She enjoys such novel things as long country walks and chatting with people in the street, and her children love the freedom of village life—although she often has to ring four or five people to figure out where they’ve gone off to!

She writes women’s fiction as well as contemporary romance for Mills & Boon Modern under the name Kate Hewitt, and whatever the genre she enjoys delivering a compelling and intensely emotional story.

Find Katharine Swartz online at:

About The Widow’s Secret

Marine archaeologist Rachel Gardener is thrilled to be summoned to the coast of Cumbria to investigate a newly discovered shipwreck. She is also relieved to escape the tensions of her troubled marriage, and to be closer to her ailing mother. Yet the past rises up and confronts Rachel, as seeing her mother surfaces hidden childhood hurts. When the mysteriously sunken ship is discovered to be a slaving ship from the 1700s, Rachel is determined to explore the town of Whitehaven’s link to the slave trade.

Soon she learns of Abigail Fenton, the young wife of a slave trader, who has a surprising secret of her own, lost to the ages. The more Rachel learns about Abigail, the more she wonders if the past can inform the present… Perhaps Rachel can learn from Abigail and break free from her troubled history, and embrace the future she longs to claim for her own?

Find The Widow’s Secret online at:

Amazon | Goodreads | Koorong

15 June 2020

Book Review | The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper

The Woman in the Green Dress was initially published in Australia and has now been republished by Thomas Nelson, an imprint of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. I can’t say there was anything overtly Christian about the novel—there was definitely no clear faith element. There was no bad language, sex, or violence, and there was a disgust of racism that was unfashionable for the time.

It’s a dual timeline story, and one that’s relatively unusual because both timelines are historic.

The story starts in London on 11 November 1918—Armistice Day. Fleur Richards is looking forward to seeing her husband and emigrating with him to his homeland of Australia. Instead, she finds he died of the Spanish Flu a week before the war ended, and she must travel to Australia alone to collect his inheritance.

The past story starts in 1853, and centres on Captain Stefan von Richter, who has travelled to Australia as a favour for an old mentor, and who is searching for opals. He travels from Sydney to the Hawesbury region, where he meets Della Atherton, a taxidermist who also owns a curio shop in Sydney … the same shop Fleur inherits in 1918.

There is always a link between past and present in a good dual timeline story (well, in this case it’s a link between past and further past). That’s certainly present in the locations, although the final connections don’t become apparent until the very end. There is also a mystery element that builds up gradually and delivers a solid finish.

All in all, The Woman in the Green Dress is an excellent novel with lots of linked threads that tie up into a satisfying whole. Recommended for fans of dual timeline stories and Australian colonial fiction.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Tea Cooper

Tea is an award winning Australian author of historical fiction. In a past life she was a teacher, a journalist and a farmer. These days she haunts museums and indulges her passion for storytelling. She is the bestselling author of several novels, including The Horse Thief, The Cedar Cutter, The Currency Lass, The Naturalist’s Daughter, The Woman in the Green Dress and The Girl in the Painting.

Find Tea Cooper online at:

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The Woman in the Green Dress

1853 Mogo Creek, NSW

Della Atterton, bereft at the loss of her parents, is holed up in the place she loves best: the beautiful Hawkesbury in New South Wales. Happiest following the trade her father taught her, taxidermy, Della has no wish to return to Sydney. But the unexpected arrival of Captain Stefan von Richter on a quest to retrieve what could be Australia’s first opal, precipitates Della’s return to Sydney and her Curio Shop of Wonders, where she discovers her enigmatic aunt, Cordelia, is selling more than curiosities to collectors. Strange things are afoot and Della, a fly in a spider’s web, is caught up in events with unimaginable consequences…

1919 Sydney, NSW

When London teashop waitress Fleur Richards inherits land and wealth in Australia from her husband, Hugh, killed in the war, she wants nothing to do with it. After all, accepting it will mean Hugh really is dead. But Hugh’s lawyer is insistent, and so she finds herself ensconced in the Berkeley Hotel on Bent St, Sydney, the reluctant owner of a Hawkesbury property and an old curio shop, now desolate and boarded up.

As the real story of her inheritance unravels, Fleur finds herself in the company of a damaged returned soldier Kip, holding a thread that takes her deep into the past, a thread that could unravel a mystery surrounding an opal and a woman in a green dress; a green that is the colour of envy, the colour buried deep within an opal, the colour of poison…

Find The Woman in the Green Dress online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Koorong