I have been reading a great many books lately by new to me
authors and Buttermilk Sky is
my first read from Jan Watson. It was a
lovely coming of age story about a young woman who is trying to find her own
way in life. Mazy (I really liked that
name) has left her small mountain town of Skip Rock and is going to secretarial
school in the city. This story takes
place during the year 1913. When she
left, she also left the sheriff, Chanis, who is a few years older than her and
very much in love with her. Though they
are apart for most of the story, we get a really good characterization of both
Mazy and Chanis as we are seeing life happen through both of their
viewpoints. I really liked both
characters. Mazy was sweet and innocent
and really had to learn about the world through her own experiences before she
could see the gifts she already had. She
had a couple of harrowing near misses and I enjoyed seeing her relate with her
city friends. Chanis was a really fun
character to get to know. He was a
simple fellow who for the most part knew what he wanted in life. He took care of his responsibilities and he
loved Mazy with his whole heart. Some of
the situations he found himself in, because he was the sheriff, had me laughing
out loud even though they were serious situations that could have taken his
life. Again, he was such a fun character
and Jan Watson’s writing was a delight to read.
I received my review copy from The Book Club Network, Inc. (TBCN) and
the opinions are my own.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Review: The Lady and the Officer by Mary Ellis
The Lady and the
Officer by Mary Ellis was a sweeping Civil War story depicting one
woman’s life and decisions during the last two years of that most brutal
war. Having been widowed due to the war,
Madeline Howard has also lost her late husband’s business (he was a horse
breeder), her home, and purpose in Pennsylvania. Being a Yankee through and through, she still
decided she needed to move to Richmond, Virginia to seek shelter with her
wealthy Uncle, Aunt, and cousin. However,
before she leaves she has managed to capture the attention of a Union officer
by the name of James Downing. He
implores her to stay on the North side during the war however she feels she
still needs to go to family. Since there
is nothing James can do while the war is going on, he promises to write and
vows to her and (himself) that he will find her after the war.
Now what I found very fascinating was how Madeline, being
from the north and very much wanting the Union to win, has learned how to live
her daily life in the very capital of the Confederacy. How she still loves her family and they her,
yet they have very opposing views. There
is intrigue, spies, and a bit of a love triangle when a Confederate soldier steps
into her life in Richmond making Madeline’s decisions more complicated. This is my first Mary Ellis book and her
romantic historical had me right there experiencing the South with Madeline. This story was very unpredictable and I so
very enjoyed the resolution of this book.
One particular scene was just amazing to me with how it played out. Thank you to the The Book Club Network, Inc.
(TBCN) for my review copy. The opinions
are my own.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Review: Tried and True by Mary Connealy
Mary Connealy is one of my go to authors that I know I will
get a great story. Tried and True I do believe is my new favorite of hers. Taking place some months after the Civil War,
we have three sisters and their Pa taking advantage of the homesteading laws
out west, the location of their homesteads being in the Idaho territory. The interesting part is that all three
sisters had disguised themselves as men and fought in the war due to their
father’s goading them in honor of their late brother. Bailey and Shannon, the two oldest, have
taken their roles as men and embraced them.
Kylie, the youngest however, wants to be a woman and has let her hair
grow and wears skirts. She wants to be
taken care of and wants to forget the horrors of the war she fought in. In steps Aaron Masterson, who also fought as
a Union soldier, who is now working as a land agent for the US government. Wanting
to make sure everything is legal, he finds out that Kylie is not who she says
she is and there ensues a legal problem.
That is only the icing on the cake as we meet other folks of the
territory, those who want Kylie’s land and will stoop pretty low to scare her
off and those who want her watering rights.
Told with her trademark style infused with humor, Aaron and Kylie seem
to fall into one mess after another as they are falling in love. And just when everything seems to be looking
up for our characters, we get some unexpected twists and turns. Like I said earlier, I do believe this is my
favorite Mary Connealy book to date. I
look forward to the next two books in the Wilde sisters’ trilogy, especially
after reading the excerpt for book two.
I received my review copy from The Book Club Network, Inc. (TBCN) and
the opinions are my own.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Review: Proper Attire by Danielle Thorn
Proper Attire was a cute and fun swashbuckling adventurous
read about a maiden in distress, pirates, natives, captains, and a mystery guy
taking place in a beautiful West Indie setting.
This regency novel finds our heroine on a ship headed towards her
admiral Uncle’s home. She is being sent
away as she will not marry whom her stepmother has chosen for her. On her way, the ship is attacked by pirates
and she meets John Smith, our very enigmatic hero. From then on there were twists and turns
throughout this story and I read it rather quickly. So if you are looking for a clean, adventurous
short novel with a thread of romance, I think you may enjoy Danielle Thorn’s
story. I myself look forward to more of
her tales. I received an e-copy for review and the
opinions are my own.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Review: A Christmas Gift by Kathy Macias
By the looks of the cover on A Christmas Gift, I thought that I was going to get a sweet,
heartwarming, fuzzy feeling read. Well,
I really should not have judged this book by its cover. This was a first read for me by Kathy Macias. While reading this book I felt a lot of
emotions: heartbreak, familial love, excitement for new adventure, and
fear. Fear? Yes, fear.
I was not sure if this book was going to have a happy ending or not, but
Kathy Macias’s writing did not disappoint.
I was constantly turning the pages to get to a resolution of this poor heroine. From the moment I started the book and read
the prologue I knew I was in for a roller coaster of a ride. Not a typical Christmas story but a well told
story nonetheless. I received my review
copy from The Book Club Network, Inc. (TBCN) and as always the opinions are my
own.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Review: Honor by Lyn Cote
Honor by
Lyn Cote is an extraordinary tale of one Quaker woman’s faith and endurance
during the time period of 1819-1820.
Standing up and having faith in her late father’s abolitionist beliefs,
she goes against her grandfather’s stubborn will and pro-slavery beliefs. Raised on the High Oaks plantation, Honor was
set to inherit her family’s legacy however, she was betrayed by her grandfather
after he passed on. Now left with only
$100 and her maid Royale (a former slave she set free), these two women must
leave the only home they have ever known and embark on a new way of life. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, Honor
finds herself in a marriage of convenience, quite literally, to a man who is
deaf and his three year old nephew who needs a mother. As they head west to Ohio to start their new
lives, they come against prejudice, peril, and man’s inhumanity to man. Facing all kinds of trials and circumstances,
Honor and her little family must learn to trust, depend on, and love each
other. However when secrets come to
light and are revealed, Honor will need to learn to forgive.
I was very caught up in this very riveting yet heartbreaking
tale. The cover is beautiful and just
looking at Honor peering back at me I knew she had an intriguing story to
tell. The history of Ohio and its stand
on slavery and its role that it played in the Underground Railroad was also
very interesting to read about. This was
my first Lyn Cote book and I look forward to reading her previous books and the
second in the Quaker Bride Series, Blessing.
I received this book from The Book Club Network, (TBCN) however, my
opinions are my own and I highly recommend this book.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Review: Silver Bells by Lucinda Brant, Sarah M. Eden, Heather B. Moore, Lu Ann Brobst Staheli, Annette Lyon, and Becca Wilhite
Silver Bells is a historical Christmas collection by six
different authors. They are clean, quick
little stories that all have a Christmas theme within them. I
enjoyed reading stories from familiar authors and I liked that I was able to
sample some authors that I had not read before.
I tend to savor a tale from Sarah
Eden and am always on the lookout for her new releases. I have read Heather B. Moore and Annette Lyon
in the first Christmas anthology volume and I was looking forward to Lucinda
Brant’s story as I have a few of her other books. I enjoyed all the stories, and especially was
interested in learning about Macy’s department store in the early 1920’s. We even get to meet a friend of a young Ebenezer
Scrooge. All in all these were standalone novelettes that
were entertaining to read and to put you in the Christmas spirit. I look forward to more of the Romance
Anthology Collections. I was given an
ebook for review, however the opinions are mine.
Review: Emma Learns To Sprout by Shir Guez
Emma Learns to
Sprout is a cute book for kids that can help them in the understanding
of sprouting lentils. I think this would
be a cute book in using with kids for a science experiment. I think it might be fun for them to watch
their lentils grow, and then eat them. I
also like that this book promotes healthy eating habits in a fun way. I read this to my little guy who is four
however, I think kids even older would enjoy sprouting their own food.
Review: The Last Queen of Sheba by Jill Francis Hudson
The Last Queen of Sheba was a mesmerizing book for me. While reading this and for a whole week, I was
dreaming this book. In my dreams I was
in the halls and court of the great wise king Solomon. I don’t normally read a lot of Biblical
fiction however this book intrigued me due to its subject matter. I always found the account of The Queen of
Sheba and Solomon, found in both I Kings 10:1-3 and 2 Chronicles 9:1-12, as interesting.
Jesus also mentions her in the New
Testament in Mathew 12:42 and also Luke 11:31. Who was this queen, where exactly did she come
from, and what was her background story?
Ms. Hudson gives us a plausible
story and sites her historical information and sources at the end of the
book. In my homeschooling journey with my
children, I had come across the Ethiopian Jews and their journey to Israel to
escape communism, and their belief that they were descended from Menelik, whom
some believe is the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. I have also read accounts that some Ethiopian
Christians believe that the Ark of the Covenant is located and closely guarded
in Ethiopia. Ms. Hudson does mention
this in her historical research and also a great deal more.
Something else I have always wondered about: why did the
wisest man in the world choose to live the latter part of his life in the way
that he did? How in the world could you
have so many wives and concubines and let them set up alters to their gods, especially,
when he started his reign on the right path and the teachings that he was
brought up with? What made this wisest
of men fall?
Told through the eyes of the Queen of Sheba’s uncle Tamrin,
we are told the background of the Queen, we travel to Israel and back over a 20
plus year period, watch the glorious dedication of the Temple, and finally the deterioration
of Israel right before the Nation of Israel split, with 10 tribes separating
themselves from King David’s heirs. I could go on about this book but this review
is long enough. This was a riveting read
for me and I thank The Book Club Network, (TBCN) for my review copy. The opinions expressed are my own.
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