Between Two Shores

Back Cover

She has always moved between worlds, but now she must choose a side.

The daughter of a Mohawk mother and French father in 1759 Montreal, Catherine Duval would rather remain neutral in a world tearing itself apart.  Content to trade with both the French and the British, Catherine is pulled into the Seven Years' War against her wishes when her British ex-fiance, Samuel Crane, is taken prisoner by her father.  Samuel claims he has information that could help end the war, and he asks Catherine to help him escape.

Peace appeals to Catherine, even if helping the man who broke her heart does not.  But New France is starving, and she and her loved ones may not survive another winter of conflict-induced famine.  When the dangers of war arrive on her doorstep, Catherine and Samuel flee by river toward the epicenter of the battle between England and France.  She and Samuel may impact history, but she fears the ultimate cost will be higher than she can bear.

Review

Oh boy.  What a read!  I love, love Jocelyn Green's historical fiction.  The detailed research she undergoes for each novel is widely evident from the first page.  I'm always blown away by the intricacies of her plots and the depth of her characters. 

 

Set in my native country of Canada, Between Two Shores takes place during a very turbulent time in Canadian history as the French and British fought over who would control the territory.  The French enlisted the help of many of the Mohawk warriors in their fight against the British, even going so far as to pay for the scalps of British immigrants who called the area their home.  The British were equally brutal in their battle tactics in their massacres of Indian villages.  Thus went on the bitter Seven Years' War which divided many families and friends and decimated numerous lives.

 

As set out in the back cover description above, Between Two Shores centres around Catherine Duval, a strong woman caught between two cultures - two different peoples she calls her own.  As she tries to maintain relationships with one side, the other suffers.  She feels like a nation divided, not unlike her native country at the time.  As such, Catherine tries her best to be neutral, both in the war, and in her own life.  But in the end, no one can remain completely neutral.  A side must be chosen, and each chapter in the novel leads up to the climatic question: Which side will it be? 

 

Encapsulating the tension of the time, Jocelyn Green crafted a riveting novel that was difficult to put down.  It was full of heartache and despair, war and trauma, and yet held together with a thread of hope.  Hope for humanity in the middle of a wretched war, hope for fractured relationships, and hope in a heavenly Father who holds the whole world in His hands.      

Book has been provided courtesy of Harvest House and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  

A Bound Heart

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Though Magnus MacLeish and Lark MacDougall grew up on the same castle grounds, Magnus is now laird of the great house and the Isle of Kerrera.  Lark is just the keeper of his bees - and the woman who could provide an elixir to help his ailing wife conceive and bear him an heir.  But when his wife dies suddenly, Magnus and Lark find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of accusations, expelled from their beloved island, and sold as indentured servants across the Atlantic.  Can they make new beginnings in this New World?  Or will their hopes be dashed against the rocky coastline of the Virginia colony?

Laura Frantz's prose sparkles with authenticity as she digs into her own family history to share this breathless tale of love, exile, and courage in colonial America.

Review

Sigh.  What a sweeping and swoon-worthy story!  Full of drama, hardships, forbidden love, and desperate circumstances, A Bound Heart swept me off my feet and kept my head in the clouds.  Set in the oft-romanticized setting of Scotland full of brawny men, fair maidens, and an awe-inspiring landscapes with sandy shores and rocky cliff sides that get beaten by storm-tossed waves...

...Yes, I may have fallen in love with Scotland through the reading of this novel and dearly hope to explore its beautiful land and rich history someday!

Back to the story...the characters in the novel become as storm-tossed as the sea itself as through a series of terrible events, Magnus and Lark are forced to leave all that they know and love to undertake a dangerous sea crossing to an unknown life in a wild and untamed country.  They struggle to hold fast to their faith and the budding affections between them for strength.  At times it appears their very lives are doomed, and I, as a reader, devoured every word breathlessly until the last page.  

A Bound Heart was a fantastic read, of which I'll be revising very soon as reading it just once isn't enough!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Living Lies

Back Cover

In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name - but no one knows your secret.

At least that's what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son.  Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope.  What she finds instead is a dead body.

Lane must work with Walton's newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder.  But when that truth hits too close to home, she'll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret.

Review

What a great first novel in a new series, "Harbored Secrets"!  Complemented by a wonderful, and very likeable, cast of characters, Living Lies is a suspenseful mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.  Natalie Waters has crafted a story combining all my favourite elements: suspense, mystery, and romance.  She does an excellent job at keeping the "who" and "why" under wraps until the climax, making it difficult to put the book down!  

One of the other central themes to this novel is what society often considers a "taboo" topic: depression.  Depression is very real and affects more people that one would realize.  It is more than likely that everyone knows someone who has struggled with depression.  Natalie Waters handled the topic very tactfully, and gave a strong emphasis on how much we need to be there for our friends and loved ones, be an example of Jesus love through thick and thin.  

With such a great start to a new series, I'm super excited to know that the second book is coming out very soon - November 2019!  Some fall/winter reading to look forward to!

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Flight of the Raven

 

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Selene Ravenwood, once the heir to House Ravenwood, is now an exile.  On the run and free of her family's destiny, Selene hopes to find the real reason her family was given the gift of dreamwalking.  But first, she must adapt to her new role as wife to Lord Damien Maris, the man she was originally assigned to kill.

 

While adjusting to her marriage and her home in the north, her power over dreams begins to grow.  As the strongest dreamwalker to exist in ages, her expanding power attracts not only nightmares but the attention of the Dark Lady herself.

 

With a war looming on the horizon and a wicked being after her gift, Selene is faced with a choice: accept the Dark Lady's offer or search out the one who gave her the gift of dreamwalking.  One path offers power, the other freedom.  But time is running out, and if she doesn't choose soon, her decision will be made for her.

 

Review

 

WOW.  Rarely does a second novel live up to the expectations of an amazing debut novel, but I have to say, Flight of the Raven is a smashing success!  Following on the heels of Mark of the Raven, where Lady Selene made a shocking decision to align herself with Lord Damien, this sequel follows Lady Selene as she enters into a new phase of her life as wife to Lord Damien, whose kingdom is perceived an enemy to House Ravenwood.  Lady Selene is still uncertain why his kingdom is such a threat and how it all ties into her family's gift of dreamwalking.  She still cannot reason the purpose behind the dreamwalking gift.  Her immediate ancestors, even her mother, had been utilizing the gift in a cruel and evil way - was it possible the gift can be used for good?

 

As Lady Selene tries to dig deeper into the history of her gift, it is clear that the origins of it have been keep shrouded in mystery.  Ancient tomes of knowledge shed hardly any light on the matter, and she begins having horrid nightmares of being chased by the Dark Lady.  She can't help but wonder: Will the darkness be something she can escape?  Or is it her destiny?  And what of Lord Damien?  Will he yet still be harmed by her and her gift?  Will the affection that begins to grow between them be quickly extinguished?

 

The saddest thing about this book was that it had to come to an end...I literally devoured each and every page.  I will be counting down the days to when the third book comes out in February 2020.  Until then, I will most likely be re-reading the first two novels once or twice...

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

The Number of Love

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Three years into the Great War, England's greatest asset is their intelligence network - field agents risking their lives to gather information, and codebreakers able to crack German telegrams for hints of the enemy's plans.  Margo De Wilde thrives in the environment of the secretive Room 40, where she spends her days deciphering intercepted messages.  But when her world is turned upside down by an unexpected loss, she discovers for the first time in her life that numbers aren't enough.

 

Drake Elton returns wounded from the field, followed by an enemy who just won't give up.  He's smitten quickly by the quick and brainy Margot, but soon the dangers of the war draw ever closer.  Margot and Drake will have to team up to save themselves from the very secrets that brought them together.

 

Review

 

Roseanna M. White's newest series, "The Codebreakers" centralizes around England's "Room 40", a place that was shrouded in mystery during the Great War, and very much remains the same today.  Arguably one of the most integral parts to fighting the Great War, Room 40 was filled with brilliant minds who quickly see patterns and hidden messages not easily picked out by the average person. 

 

Margot De Wilde is one of those gifted individuals.  She was introduced in Book 2 of "Shadows over England" series (A Song Unheard) and I was thrilled to know that she would have her own story.  Margot is a brilliant and complex young lady, preferring her books and puzzles to parties and people.  She can easily be over-stimulated in public settings and is constantly noticing patterns and numbers whether it is the number of bricks in a building or buttons on a blouse.  Margot is definitely not your average girl who fills their head with the newest fashion designs and lipstick trends.

 

Drake Elton, being an intelligence officer, is no slouch either.  Oftentimes, he must rely upon his wits in order to keep him alive.  It's no surprise that he is instantly taken with Margot, whose amazing mind equally matches her beautiful face.  What he is surprised by, is how danger seems to be following him home, making him fearful for not only the outcome of his mission, but for the safety of those he loves.

 

The Number of Love is not a fast-paced suspense novel, but a fascinating historical piece interspersed with romance.  It is clear that the author puts in a lot of research into each and every one of her novels, and never fails to jam as many interesting facts as possible in each story.  I so enjoyed this story and cannot wait until the next book, On Wings of Devotion, comes out in January 2020!  (That will be a fabulous way to kick off the new year!)

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

The Curse of Misty Wayfair

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Left at an orphanage as a child, Thea Reed vowed to find her mother someday.  Now grown, her search takes her to turn-of-the-century Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin.  When the clues she finds lead her to a mental asylum, Thea uses her experience as a postmortem photographer to gain access and assist groundskeeper Simeon Coyle in photographing the patients and uncovering the secrets within.  However, she never expected her personal quest would reawaken the legend of Misty Wayfair, a murdered woman who allegedly haunts the area and whose appearance portends death.

 

A century later, Heidi Lane receives a troubling letter from her mother - who is battling dementia - compelling her to travel to Pleasant Valley for answers to her own questions of identity.  When she catches sight of a ghostly woman haunting the asylum ruins in the woods, the long-standing story of Misty Wayfair returns - and with it, Heidi's fear for her own life.

 

As two women across time seek answers about their identities and heritage, they must overcome the threat of the mysterious curse that has them inextricably intertwined.

 

Review

 

Suspenseful?  Check.  Thrilling?  Check.  Creepy?  Check.  Read with the lights on?  Double-check.

 

The Curse of Misty Wayfair is another exciting read penned by Jaime Jo Wright, who has two other similarly written stories on the market.  They are all stand-alones, but if you are a fan of a suspenseful, slightly creepy read that spans the present and the past, I highly recommend that you read them.

 

This novel in particular is so jam-packed with various historical tidbits such as post-mortem photography, mental asylums, and how superstition can grip not only a person, but a whole town.  As Thea Reed attempts to uncover the secrets of her past, she discovers that facts are shrouded with curses and superstition, making it difficult to find the truth.  In her quest, she unwittingly stumbles upon deadly secrets over which someone will do whatever it takes to keep buried.

 

In present day, Heidi Lane also embarks on a journey into her past, made all the more difficult when she encounters the same superstition that Thea Reed battled many years before.  Through it all, Heidi struggles with knowing what to believe and battling her deepest fear that she is going crazy. 

 

The Curse of Misty Wayfair will grab you from the first page.  I read this book in record time (and then wished I hadn't so I could read yet some more!).  I've thoroughly enjoyed each one of Jaime Jo Wright's books and highly recommend them all for suspense lovers. 

 

 

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
 

A Desperate Hope

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Eloise Drake's prim demeanour hides the turbulent past she believes is finally behind her.  A mathematical genius, she's now a successful accountant for the largest engineering project in 1908 New York.  But to her dismay, her new position puts her back in the path of the man responsible for her deepest heartache.

 

Alex Duval is the mayor of a town about to be wiped off the map.  The state plans to flood the entire valley where his town sits in order to build a new reservoir, and Alex is stunned to discover the woman he once loved on the team charged with the demolition.  With his world crumbling around him, Alex devises a risky plan to save his town - but he needs Eloise's help to succeed.

 

Alex is determined to win back the woman he thought he'd lost forever, but even their combined ingenuity may not be enough to overcome the odds against them.

 

Review

 

Every single book of Elizabeth Camden's that I've read, I have loved - and A Desperate Hope is no exception. 

 

Highlighting another member of the Drake family, A Desperate Hope follows Eloise Drake, an incredibly smart young woman who loves her job and is determined to make her own way in the world.  However, when she is advised she will be sent to Duval Springs to assist in demolition of the town, her love for her job battles with her desire to forever lock away memories of her past with Alex Duval.  When it becomes clear she has no choice but to go with the demolition team to Duval Springs in order to keep her job, she reluctantly packs a suitcase and braces herself for the impending encounter with Alex.  Her orderly, prim personality instantly clashes with Alex's passionate character, awakening forbidden memories and longings she believed were safely buried away.

 

Over the course of the story, there are constant tensions between Eloise and Alex, Eloise and her guardian, Eloise and the townspeople, and Eloise and her boss, who is also a potential suitor.  All the tension threatens to spin Eloise's carefully ordered life out of control, and she struggles between wanting to do her job, and desiring to help a town that she once was enthralled with.  In the midst of all the inner turmoil, danger dogs at Eloise's footsteps, and she is perplexed at who would do her harm.

 

Alex has his own struggles in being torn between his loyalty for his townspeople and his love for Eloise.  He desperately wants both, but has a difficult time in seeing how it can all be possible without someone being hurt in the process.

 

With romance, danger, and wonderful historical detail, A Desperate Hope was an engaging read that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

 

 

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.