Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Review and Guest Post: A Promise Child by Kathryn Spurgeon

About the Book

Book: A Promise Child
Author: Kathryn Spurgeon
Genre: Inspirational historic fiction
Release Date: September 10, 2017

She can’t survive the ‘30s alone…

Sibyl Trimble does everything she can to keep her family together. Before falling in love with a handsome, penniless hobo, she lived a life of new cars, speakeasies dances, and fancy cloche hats.

Then the Great Depression hits Oklahoma. The wind blows topsoil away, hundreds of jobless men hang around town, and the economy falls apart. Even Fremont, her strong, stable husband, grows discouraged and considers leaving as they struggle to put food on the table.

When disaster strikes again, will Sibyl and Fremont move on to California or try to survive in Oklahoma? Neither option sounds promising.

Click here to get your copy.

My Thoughts:

This is the story of a woman, her family, and her outlook on life as she is living life through the Great Depression. This is the second in the series and as I got to know more about Sybil in this story I felt more connected with her. She is a wife and a mother that loves her family very much. She is determined even when things look bleak, that she will be perfect. I can, and I am sure many women can relate to that thinking. However, we cannot be perfect and that can certainly add more stress as we begin to rely on our own strengths.

This story is not only relatable with fears and joys of lots of women today, but is also a historically and richly detailed account of a family trying to navigate the economic turmoil of the day. Not only that but also the break up of a family by divorce and how the bedrock of one's childhood can be washed away with that act. Sybil though sticks by her beloved husband and tries to make life the best she can for her children. She loved on her mother and sisters and even genuinly loved her father who hurt her family beyond repair. She was a woman doing her best to live in a fallen world and all that entails, while learning to trust the One who would never fail her. This was an enjoyable read.

I received a copy of this novel from the author. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author

Kathryn Spurgeon, an award-winning author and recipient of a 2018 Illumination Book Award, has published over a hundred stories, articles, and poems. She grew up on an Oklahoma farm before moving to South Korea, where she adopted two children. She and her husband, Bill, hold weekly studies in their home for international college students. They have six children and twelve grandchildren.

More from Kathryn

Researching and writing about the 1930s has been a blast, and although it was the economically worst decade of the last century, faith, love, and life went on. It has been fun to glimpse into that historical time and find amazing and uplifting stories.

Sibyl Trimble, my grandmother and the ever up-and-down, emotional but brilliant lady, did her best to create a great family environment. Seeking God, she also studied, taught, and shared about Christ in the midst of heartaches. Based on a true story, I hope this tale will inspire, uplift, and bring a touch of nostalgia to your day.

The strength and courage Sibyl revealed can encourage us all and I am honored to share her tale with you.

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, January 16

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 16

For Him and My Family, January 17

Reflections From My Bookshelves, January 18

Inklings and notions, January 19

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, January 19

A Reader’s Brain, January 20

Christian Bookaholic, January 21

Betti Mace, January 22

For The Love of Books, January 22

Life of Literature, January 23

deb’s Book Review, January 23

Older & Smarter?, January 24

For the Love of Literature, January 25

Mypreciousbitsandmusings, January 26

Bigreadersite, January 26

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 27

Locks, Hooks and Books, January 28

Emily Yager, January 28

Pause for Tales, January 29

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: Freedom in the Mountain Wind by Misty M. Beller

About the Book

Book: Freedom in the Mountain Wind
Author: Misty M. Beller
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Release Date: January 14, 2020

The last epic journey before her life changes forever.

Susanna Wilkins will do anything to make her father’s final dream come true, including trek along the path Lewis and Clark explored into the untamed wilds of the Rocky Mountains. Every mile is more crucial now that lung cancer is stealing Pa’s last days faster than she can come to terms with losing him. The journey becomes harder than she ever expected, but paddling upriver through fierce rapids and fighting hungry grizzlies isn’t what terrifies her the most.

Beaver Tail endured more than he can stand from the women in his Blackfoot camp, but the last disaster gave him the final shove he needed to join this band of brothers searching for one of their group who’s gone missing. The last thing he expected was to find a white woman and her sick father stranded at the base of massive waterfall. His plan is to help them carry their oversize canoe and supplies, then leave them to their strange mission. Yet, the more he learns about the pair, the more he realizes his life is about to be derailed—again.

From a USA Today bestselling author comes another epic journey through breathless landscapes and adventure so intense, lives will never be the same.

Click here for your copy.

My Thoughts:

I expect a wilderness adventure that is both daring and dangerous when I read an author Beller novel. My attention was captured from the very first page when a sick father and his lovely daughter (Susanna) find themselves guideless in the Rocky Mountains while they are off on their grand adventure.

First off, I would never do this sort of adventure, following the trail that Lewis and Clark blazed. Especially with no reliable help and a father who is waisting away for want of a cure to his ailment. But that is where we find our brave adventurers along with Native American Beaver Trail.

Beaver Trail wants to stay away from women after his last disastrous encounter with his chief's daughter. But he has a hard time turning away from Susanna and her father knowing for sure and certain these Boston city folk will not survive where they are going. So against his better judgement, he and his three comrades decide to help.

There is adventure, danger, animal attacks of all kinds, and one of my favorite romance stories. A Native American love story, especially in the wilds of America. I was up very late reading this very hard to put down adventure. This is now my favorite author Beller book and I am so glad this is the start of a new series and we get to travel along with the whole team some more.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author

Misty M. Beller is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love. She was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her Southern roots run deep. Growing up, her family was close, and they continue to keep that priority today. Her husband and children now add another dimension to her life, keeping her both grounded and crazy. God has placed a desire in Misty’s heart to combine her love for Christian fiction and the simpler ranch life, writing historical novels that display God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters.

More from Misty

When God Directs a Google Search…

I’m a history lover, but you may have guessed that since I write historical romance stories. Most of my books are set in the Rocky Mountains during the mid-1800s, but as I began brainstorming ideas for this new series, my heart became drawn earlier to the earlier part of the century—a time period with which I wasn’t quite as familiar with the history.

I love when God orchestrates even the most mundane part of our lives, including Google searches! During one particular search (I can’t even remember what I was originally looking for), I stumbled across part of a journal entry from the Lewis and Clark expedition, which trekked across Montana during the time period I was looking into. I’d forgotten that expedition had even entered the territory that would later become Montana, but now I was fascinated.

After finding an audiobook of the abridged journals of Lewis and Clark, I happily listened to almost 19 hours of fascinating stories from the Corp of Exploration’s journey up the Missouri River and across the mountains to the Pacific Ocean, then back mostly the over the same path they’d come. The stories the men told were so amazing, and the detail of their trials so absorbing, I’ve actually re-listened to the audiobook twice! Many of the true tales wouldn’t be believable in fiction, but as I listened, my mind formed the premise for Freedom in the Mountain Wind: a father/daughter duo who sets out almost two decades after Lewis and Clark’s journey, determined to retrace the steps of that famous expedition.

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I loved writing it! And whether you’re a history lover or not, I pray that you too will be touched by this “epic journey through breathless landscapes and adventure so intense, lives will never be the same.”

Blog Stops

Simple Harvest Reads, January 15 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

Daysong Reflections, January 15

My Devotional Thoughts, January 15

Genesis 5020, January 16

Blossoms and Blessings, January 16

Connect in Fiction, January 17

SPLASHES of Joy, January 17

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, January 17

Emily Yager, January 18

Deanne’s Book Thoughts, January 18

The Meanderings of a Bookworm, January 18

A Baker’s Perspective, January 19

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, January 19

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 20

Jeanette’s Thoughts, January 20

Mary Hake, January 20

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, January 21

Wishful Endings, January 21

All-of-a-kind Mom, January 21

Pause for Tales, January 22

Bigreadersite, January 22

D’S QUILTS & BOOKS, January 22

Through the Fire Blogs, January 23

Betti Mace, January 23

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, January 23

Older & Smarter?, January 24

For the Love of Literature, January 24

Locks, Hooks and Books, January 25

Rebecca Tews, January 25

For Him and My Family, January 25

She Lives to Read, January 26

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 26

Inklings and notions, January 26

Blessed & Bookish, January 27

janicesbookreviews, January 27

deb’s Book Review, January 27

Texas Book-aholic, January 28

Hook Me In A Book, January 28

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Misty is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/f49e/freedom-in-the-mountain-wind-celebration-tour-giveaway

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: Lone Star Ranger by Renae Brumbaugh Green

About the Book

Book: Lone Star Ranger
Author: Renae Brumbaugh Green
Genre: Christian Historical Fictio
Release Date: January 21, 2020

Elizabeth Covington will get her man.

And she has just a week to prove her brother isn’t the murderer Texas Ranger Rett Smith accuses him of being. She’ll show the good-looking lawman he’s wrong, even if it means setting out on a risky race across Texas to catch the real killer.

Rett doesn’t want to convict an innocent man. But he can’t let the Boston beauty sway his senses to set a guilty man free. When Elizabeth follows him on a dangerous trek, the Ranger vows to keep her safe. But who will protect him from the woman whose conviction and courage leave him doubting everything—even his heart?

Click here to get your copy.

My Thoughts:

What happens when mistaken identity takes your loving brother away from you and you must fight against a vigilante crowd and a very stubborn Texas Ranger to prove his innocence. That is what Elizabeth must do if she is going to save her brother, Evan, from a town that hangs first and asks questions later.

What a desperate situation these two siblings find themselves in. They are grieving their late father and have decided to take a vacation. Coming from Boston they step into Texas which appears to be run by very different rules. Both Evan and Elizabeth know time is running out to prove his innocence and I felt the tension radiating off Elizabeth and the hopelessness off of Evan.

Rett, the arresting Texas Ranger, can't get rid of the niggling feeling that maybe this beautiful Elizabeth is who she says she and her 'brother' are. But it is going to take a miracle, like getting the real killer to save him.

The adventure and more danger pick up as that is exactly what Rett and Elizabeth aim to do. Whether they do it together is another question.

The author brought to life a very dangerous time and situation that had me reading quickly and feeling as aggravated as Elizabeth. This is the beginning of a series that I look forward to more of.

I recieved a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Author

Renae Brumbaugh Green is a city-girl-turned-country-diva. She’s married to a handsome country boy named Rick, and she’s mom to four nearly-perfect, nearly-grown children, two rowdy dogs, and some ducks. They live in rural Texas where Renae wears overalls, western boots, and bubblegum pink nail polish. She’s a bestselling author of over 30 books, an award-winning humor columnist, and an online English teacher. In her free time, she can be found leaping tall buildings and rescuing kittens from trees. Or, she’d like to do those things, if she had free time.

More from Renae

I’ve been a fan of historical romance from the moment I graduated from The Babysitter’s Club. A friend of mind introduced me to the Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke, and I was hooked. In college, between exams and extracurricular stuff, I read those books like they were M&Ms. That’s why, when I started writing grown-up fiction, I knew historical was my genre.

But there’s another reason—perhaps a more compelling reason—why I had to write The Texas Rangers series. See, my granddaddy was a Texas Ranger. Not the baseball player kind. The gun-toting, cowboy-hat-and-badge-wearing kind. As far as I know, he was not a master of any kinds of martial arts, so if you’re a fan of Walker, Texas Ranger, I’m sorry to disappoint.

And he was not alive during the late 1800s, as are the characters are in this series. Grandaddy died in 1980 when I was 12 years old. He was a good man, known for rescuing puppies and bringing small gifts and toys to children in stressful situations—i.e. when their parents were arrested. My favorite memory of him is sitting on his lap, falling asleep to the sound of his big, round pocket watch ticking. I have a picture of myself, age three, sitting on his knee while he typed up his reports. I love that typewriter picture, and find it significant since I’m now a writer.

Grandaddy was Robert Everett Smith, and Grandmother (yes, I called her that—she was very formal, but also very sweet) was Ellie Marie (Edgar) Smith. The two lead characters in Lone Star Ranger are named Rett (Everett) and Elizabeth, in their honor.

Like Grandmother, Elizabeth is refined and formal, yet strong headed, with her own lady-like brand of spunk. She hails from Boston, and is a little overwhelmed at the grit and gravel of Texas lawmen. But she’s not intimidated—not even by handsome Texas Ranger Rett Smith.

Thanks so much for sharing in my cherished family memories. I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

—Renae Brumbaugh Green