Category: Book Review

You can't ignore the thing that keeps your soul alive, because I believe God puts that sort of stuff in us for a reason.

Book Review | The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark

The Dress Shop on King Street is a dual timeline story set in the post-WWII American South, and in the present day. In the present, Harper Dupree’s hopes for a career in fashions have been dashed, so she returns home to Alabama, to the older woman who taught her to sew. Here she meets Peter, an unlikely property developer. Millie Middleton is an expert seamstress who has always wanted to open her own dress shop, but life kept getting in the way. Now she might just achieve her dream, with Harper and Peter’s help.

The Dress Shop on King Street by Ashley Clark is a dual-timeline novel that will stay with you long after you've finished reading. Recommended. #BookReview #ChristianFiction Share on X

The past story is Millie’s and takes us from her initial dream through the many reasons why it never came to pass. It’s obvious from the beginning that Millie has a secret, and not just that she’s a mixed-race woman passing as white in 1960’s Georgia, where the “one-drop rule” is a thing. (I had to look that up. For those of us who are not from the USA, it meant that a person with just “one drop” of non-white ancestry was considered black, and therefore treated as a second-class citizen).

Harper’s story and slow-growing romance with Peter was the bulk of the story, but the impact and the heart of the story belonged to Millie. It forces us to face the injustices of the past, and ask ourselves what we can do to atone for those in the present, and to make sure they don’t happen again. It also shows that some injustices have consequences that last years or even decades. Some injustices can never be fixed or made right.

2020 has been a year of outstanding debut novels in the Christian fiction genre.

The Dress Shop on King Street is one of the best. It’s a novel about identity—our racial or cultural identity, but also our identity as Christians, encouraging us to chase our God-given dreams, no matter how old we are.

The Dress Shop on King Street is a novel that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading. Recommended.

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

About Ashley Clark

Ashley Clark writes romantic women’s fiction set in the South, and The Dress Shop on King Street is her debut novel. With a master’s degree in creative writing, Ashley teaches literature and writing courses at the University of West Florida. Ashley has been an active member of American Christian Fiction Writers for almost a decade. She lives with her husband, son, and two rescued Cocker Spaniels off Florida’s Gulf Coast. When she’s not writing, she’s rescuing stray animals, dreaming of Charleston, and drinking all the English breakfast tea she can get her hands on.

Find Ashley Clark online at:

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About The Dress Shop on King Street

Harper Dupree has pinned all her hopes on a future in fashion design. But when it comes crashing down around her, she returns home to Fairhope, Alabama, and to Millie, the woman who first taught her how to sew. As Harper rethinks her own future, long-hidden secrets about Millie’s past are brought to light.

In 1946, Millie Middleton–the daughter of an Italian man and a black woman–boarded a train and left Charleston to keep half of her heritage hidden. She carried with her two heirloom buttons and the dream of owning a dress store. She never expected to meet a charming train jumper who changed her life forever . . . and led her yet again to a heartbreaking choice about which heritage would define her future.

Now, together, Harper and Millie return to Charleston to find the man who may hold the answers they seek . . . and a chance at the dress shop they’ve both dreamed of. But it’s not until all appears lost that they see the unexpected ways to mend what frayed between the seams.

Find The Dress Shop on King Street online at:

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You give when you want others to believe all is well while you're robbing them blind.

Book Review | Scattered by Nola Lorraine

Maggie O’Loughlin has taken a job as nanny to the Plowhurst family, who are emigrating from England to Nova Scotia. She needs to get to Halifax, because her younger brother and sister were taken there as part of the British Home Children scheme, which brought orphaned children from England to Canada to hopefully give them a better life.

While Jack and Emily are technically orphans, Maggie is old enough to work and care for them. They were shipped away while she was working for another family, and now she wants to find her brother and sister and reunite her family. But her quest is fraught with difficulties, from storm and shipwreck to lies and betrayal … and love.

Maggie is shipwrecked en route to Canada. When she finally makes it to Halifax, circumstances conspire to prevent the family’s reunion as Maggie finds both friends and enemies in unlikely places.

Scattered is an outstanding debut novel.

The characters are compelling, the plot finely woven, and the writing excellent. It’s full of emotion, and is one of those novels I almost wanted to stop reading because poor Maggie just couldn’t get a break. But I also wanted to read it quickly to make sure it was going to have a happy ending, and read slowly to savour the writing. Scattered pulls at the heartstrings both in the initial premise, then in Maggie’s ongoing trials to try and find her brother and sister, especially as circumstances (well, a particular individual) continually conspire to keep them apart.

Scattered is an outstanding debut novel that pulls at the heartstrings. Recommended reading for historical fiction fans. #ChristianFiction #NovaScotia @NolaLorraine1 Share on X

It’s obvious the author has spent a lot of time and effort researching the time and location, but this enhanced the plot and the writing, rather than overwhelming it. I only hope it’s not another seven years until we can read Nola’s next novel.

Recommended for fans of Carrie Turansky, Julie Klaasen, and Dorothy Adamek.

About Nola Lorraine

I’ve always been a creative person

Nola LorraineI wrote my first mystery story in Mr Cuskelly’s class when I was ten. The goodies and baddies were all trying to get their hands on a mysterious package, and there were plenty of thrills and spills. I used the word ‘suddenly’ five times in those 580 words, and Mr Cuskelly circled every one of them. At least I had a killer ending. ‘What was in the package? I guess we’ll never know.’ It’s a wonder Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven didn’t enlist me  right there and then. 

Since that auspicious start, I’ve had more than 150 short pieces published including short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, magazine articles, devotions, inspirational pieces and academic articles. I’ve also been writing songs since primary school. Most of my publications are under my married name of Nola Passmore.

Find Nola Lorraine online at:

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About Scattered

To lose her family was unthinkable … To find them will take a miracle.

While working in Europe, nineteen-year-old Maggie never dreamed that her family would be ripped apart and scattered across the sea, with her young brother and sister sent to Canada as part of the Home Children Migrant Scheme.

Desperation sends Maggie on a search from England to Canada, with a harrowing shipwreck leaving her stranded on Sable Island. Eventually arriving in Halifax, Maggie is devastated to discover the trail to find her sister and brother has gone cold.

An offer of help from industrialist Thaddeus Tharaday seems like an answer to prayer, but is the wealthy Tharaday her benefactor or nemesis?

With the help of a dashing newspaper reporter, Maggie begins to unravel the web of deceit surrounding her siblings’ disappearance. However, the closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous her quest becomes.

With lives on the line and the threat of everything she loves being torn away, can Maggie entrust the scattered pieces of her heart to the one who will never leave?

Set in Victorian-era Nova Scotia, Scattered weaves together elements of mystery, adventure, faith, and romance to take readers on a journey of hope and courage that will resonate with their hearts today.

Find Scattered online at:

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Read the introduction to Scattered below:

First Line Friday

First Line Friday | Week 163 | Told You So by Kristen Heitzmann

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. Today I’m sharing from Told You So by Kristen Heitzmann, a book that’s been on my to-read pile for ages. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Devin Bressard scarcely blinked when Grace tossed her sweet tea in his face.

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

 

About Told You So

From the minute Grace Evangeline throws her sweet tea in Devin Bressard’s face, their battle of wits and cross-purposes overtakes their lives. Sassy “angelic” Grace Evangeline will stop at nothing to see her romance novel produced for Broadway. Devin Bressard knows all about the commercial success of Ms. Evangeline’s “novels”—as far from his literary, nerve-striking plays as anything could be.

Grace intends to pull his head out of the rarified air long enough to make her point, even if it involves stalking him and infiltrating his friends and colleagues. Devin knows she’s trouble, but who would guess the spokesperson for strength and virtue would be a calamity vortex? He mounts a fierce resistance, but when he’s forced to work with Grace, his profession and sanity aren’t the only things at risk. Collapsing walls on both sides bring a détente that could shatter their bond—or resound through more lives than their own.

You can find Told You So online at

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Click the button to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books

You can then click the link which will take you to the master page of all this week’s #FirstLineFriday posts.

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

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

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

He'd never had a job in his life, but most men worked for a living. How hard could it be?

Book Review | The Stable Hand Lord (Escape to the West #9) by Nerys Leigh

Lord Aaron Wetherington, third son of His Lordship The Marquess of Ipswich, has arrived in the tiny town of Green Hill Creek to find Josephine Carter, to determine whether he is the father of her child. If so, he wants to take responsibility for his actions, even though his father has cut off his allowance in punishment for making the journey. He soon finds Josephine is happily married and he is not the father of her baby. But a minor accident introduces him to Miss Jemima Wood, and he decides to stay in town a little longer.

Jemima is visiting her sister, ostensibly to help her care for her newborn. A badly sprained ankle makes that difficult, but it does introduce her to Aaron, who has some handy tips for dealing with a crying baby. He’s also handsome and kind and attractive … a shame he’s only a stable hand, because her parents want her to marry well, especially after neither of her sisters have. As such, she is entertaining the well-off Mr Wilcox.

Yes, that’s a great setup, in that Aaron and Jem are obviously perfect for each other.

The fun is in watching the characters work out what we already know is going to happen, and wondering how they’ll get out of a few less-good situations.

I have read and enjoyed the entire Escape to the West series.

The first five books were a unique concept: concurrent stories of five mail-order brides in the same small Western town. As such, they could be read in any order. The later books run sequentially, so should be read in order (although they don’t have to be, as they are all standalone stories). The Stable Hand Lord also has a link back to one of Nerys Leigh’s Pinkerton Detective stories, which are also great fun.

In The Stable Hand Lord (Escape to the West #9), Nerys Leigh again takes a well-worn Western romance trope and make it her own. #ChristianRomance #BookReview Share on X

The reason I like Nerys Leigh’s writing so much is that she manages to take the well-worn Western romance trope and make it her own. The plot always has a little something extra, often a low-key suspense element. Her characters are excellent–clever and funny–and there is plenty of witty dialogue. The series isn’t specifically Christian fiction, but the characters do all go to church and it’s definitely wholesome fiction.

All in all, The Stable Hand Lord is another winner from Nerys Leigh.

Recommended for fans of historical romantic comedy from authors such as Jen Turano.

Thanks to the author for providing a free ebook for review.

About Nerys Leigh

Nerys LeighNerys Leigh writes thoroughly romantic Christian historical love stories. She loves heroes who are strong but sweet and heroines who are willing to fight for the life they want.

She’s from the UK, which you would think puts her in a unique position to not write about mail order brides in the American west, but the old adage of writing what you know has never appealed to her. She has an actual American read each book before publishing to make sure she hasn’t gone all English on it.

No One’s Bride is the first in the Escape to the West series which tells the stories of a group of women willing to travel across America to find happiness, and the men determined to win their hearts.

You can find Nerys Leigh online relaxing and generally enjoying the view at:

 Website | Facebook

About The Stable Hand Lord

Lord Aaron Wetherington, third son of the Marquess of Ipswich, is a very long way out of his depth.

Having traveled to California to make up for the mistakes of his past, he runs, literally, into Jemima Wood. And his whole world changes.

Jem doesn’t know Aaron is a nobleman, but she likes him anyway, and he decides to stay for as long as it takes to win her heart. He has two problems, however.

First, his father has stopped his allowance, and funds are rapidly running out. And second, there’s a rival for Jem’s affections, one who is, as far as she knows, a far better prospect than Aaron.

So he’ll have to find a job and learn how to attract a woman without using his title, and he has no idea how to accomplish either.

But for Jem, he’ll do anything. He just wants her to love him for who he is.

And for that, he’ll have to risk losing her before he’s even won.

Find The Stable Hand Lord online at:

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Read the introduction to The Stable Hand Lord below:

God has chosen this story for us, and not another one, and I mean to live this story as best I can with the time I'm given.

Book Review | Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green

Things We Didn’t Say is an unusual novel with an unusual heroine.

Johanna Berglund, the main character, speaks seven languages (and is trying to learn Japanese) when she is “persuaded” to return to her hometown of Ironside Lake to serve as a translator for the Germans in the new prisoner of war camp.

Johanna finds herself accused of treason, and the novel is the collection of documents she prepares for her lawyer to prove her innocence—letters to, from, and about her, and a collection of newspaper articles, editorials, and letters to the editor. The letters show Johanna’s virtues and faults in her own eyes, and through the eyes of friends, family, and foe.

I think this country needs a voice willing to speak up and question blind patriotism, and that's what you're doing.

The best historical fiction uses historical events and characters to highlight issues in the present.

Things We Didn’t Say does a masterful job of examining racism and our often irrational feelings towards those who are different to us—whether they look like us or not. It’s also telling that Green has chosen to set her story in a small town that’s home to Americans of Scandinavian descent—people who sometimes look more Aryan than their German enemies, yet people who also discriminate against Japanese Americans and African Americans.

What often has the most impact isn’t the obvious themes of the story, but the offhand comments—like the US Constitution’s definition of treason, or the kitchen hand who owns a copy of “The Negro Motorist Green Book, with safe hotels, filing stations, and eateries marked.” I’ve read my share of travel guides, but they have all aimed to sort the good from the less-good, not the safe from the unsafe.

The unusual structure gives the novel a more slow-paced feel than a “normal” novel might have. It’s also easier to stop reading than in a novel written in more traditional chapters with the cliffhanger or hook at the end of each chapter. Letters have a different structure, and mean it is a little easier to put the novel down. But it’s also easy to pick up again, and to only read one or two letters at a time. If anything, reading slowly is more representative of the timescale covered in the novel.

Every letter has two messages: the one written on the lines and the one written between them. Both are necessary.

The title is also apt, in that a lot of the story is hidden in the things the characters don’t say in writing—another reason to read it slowly. The Things We Didn’t Say is an excellent if unusual novel.

Recommended for historical fiction fans or those interested in a Christian novel written in a non-traditional style.

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

About Amy Lynn Green

Find Amy Lynn Green online at:

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About Things We Didn’t Say

Headstrong Johanna Berglund, a linguistics student at the University of Minnesota, has very definite plans for her future . . . plans that do not include returning to her hometown and the secrets and heartaches she left behind there. But the US Army wants her to work as a translator at a nearby camp for German POWs.

Johanna arrives to find the once-sleepy town exploding with hostility. Most patriotic citizens want nothing to do with German soldiers laboring in their fields, and they’re not afraid to criticize those who work at the camp as well. When Johanna describes the trouble to her friend Peter Ito, a language instructor at a school for military intelligence officers, he encourages her to give the town that rejected her a second chance.

As Johanna interacts with the men of the camp and censors their letters home, she begins to see the prisoners in a more sympathetic light. But advocating for better treatment makes her enemies in the community, especially when charismatic German spokesman Stefan Werner begins to show interest in Johanna and her work. The longer Johanna wages her home-front battle, the more the lines between compassion and treason become blurred–and it’s no longer clear whom she can trust.

You can find Things We Didn’t Say online at

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"She lived in parallel worlds—one literal, one literary. That meant she had twice as much to remember as most people."

Book Review | Murder, Forgotten by Deb Richardson-Moore

Julianna Burke is a murder mystery writer who is experiencing memory issues, cleverly indicated with an odd feeling of distance in the scenes from Julianna’s point of view. As the title implies, Julianna’s memory issues are a key and tragic plot point: Julianna’s husband, Connor, was murdered recently, but Julianna doesn’t remember.

Logan, Julianna’s daughter, returns to the family home to help her mother cope with Connor’s death. The police don’t seem to getting anywhere in the murder investigation, but Logan finds some information that could help … even if she doesn’t like where that information is pointing.

One of the challenges of reading a mystery novel is always seeing if I can work out whodunit.

With Murder, Forgotten I was on the right track in terms of who, but didn’t know why. That ended up being a little convoluted, perhaps because there were a lot of characters and relationships to keep track of. That’s also a key point in a good murder mystery. After all, there have to be several possible evildoers, and Murder, Forgotten had a strong cast of characters, many of whom had motive or opportunity.

There were some writing oddities which annoyed me a little, such as the creative dialogue tags (she thought peevishly), the slips into omniscient point of view (I’m not a fan), and the fact that one factoid was dropped in so often that it was obvious that it was going to be Very Important (and it was).

Murder, Forgotten by Deb Richardson-Moore is an intriguing mystery with a unique plot, and several unexpected twists. A satisfying read. #BookReview #Mystery Share on X

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

About Deb Richardson-Moore

Deb Richardson-Moore is the author of four fiction titles and a memoir, The Weight of Mercy, about her early years as a pastor at the Triune Mercy Center in Greenville, S.C.

A former national award-winning reporter for The Greenville News, Deb is a popular speaker at book clubs, universities and churches. She has won numerous awards for community involvement, including the 2017 Leadership Greenville Distinguished Alumni Award and being named one of Greenville’s 50 Most Influential People by Greenville Business Magazine in 2013.

A graduate of Wake Forest University, Deb and her husband live in South Carolina.

Find Deb Richardson-Moore online at:

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About Murder, Forgotten

Julianna Burke, bestselling mystery novelist, has a secret that those closest to her are hiding from the world. Julianna is losing her memory, and with it her powerful gift for storytelling that propelled her to fame. A further devastating blow comes when Connor, Julianna’s beloved husband, is murdered. Even this is not something Julianna’s mind can hold on to, and every day her assistant has to break the heart-wrenching news all over again.

Julianna is desperate to know what happened to her husband. As she battles her failing mind to investigate, a detail of the murder surfaces that makes Julianna question everything she’s ever known. Somehow she must fight to find the truth, even though her grip on reality is fading…

Find Murder, Forgotten online at:

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Read the introduction to Murder, Forgotten below:

Now she had to put up with Gus, who clearly wished she'd landed in someone else's sheep paddock.

Book Review | Remind Me Why I’m Here by Kat Colmer

Remind Me Why I’m Here is a fun Australian Young Adult fish out of water story.

Maya Sorenson of Chicago, Illinois, thinks she’s headed to Barangaroo in Sydney, Australia, famous for its harbourside views. Instead, she’s headed to a sheep farm in Barangaroo Creek, hours away from the Sydney beaches and cafes. To make things worse, she arrives at the farm to find Ruth, her host sister, has had to leave to nurse a sick family member. Instead, she’s going to be shown around by Gus, Ruth’s brother, who plainly has somewhere he’d rather be.

Gus’s dreams are digital, and he had his summer planned and paid for–a design course in Sydney. Why can’t their brother Pat look after this girl? Pat loves the farm and always wanted to be a farmer. But his dreams are over now he’s in a wheelchair following a farm accident. The result? Two brothers trapped in roles they don’t want, a trapped tourist determined to tick off her to-do list, and more than enough guilt to go around.

Maya and Gus don’t have a good start, especially given May has no interest in staying on a farm.

While Maya learns to enjoy her real Aussie farm experience, she’s also battling with Gus–which gives a lot of opportunity for some fun scenes. Together, they both have to learn to deal with their guilt, and stand up for themselves to get the lives they want.

All that sounds very serious. Remind Me Why I’m Here is anything but. Kat Colmer has a unique ability to deliver soften the blog of potentially tough messages with excellent writing and a healthy dose of humour.

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

About Kat Colmer

Kat ColmerKat Colmer is a Sydney-based Young Adult author who writes coming-of-age stories with humor and heart. She has a Master of Education in Teacher Librarianship and loves working with teens and young adults. When not writing, teaching, or reading the latest in YA fiction, Kat spends time with her husband and two children.

Find Kat Colmer online at:

About Remind Me Why I’m Here

An Australian to-do list. A broody host brother. A disaster in the making.

When Maya leaves Chicago armed with an important Aussie must-do list, she assumes she’s heading to Barangaroo with its beautiful Sydney Harbour views–NOT Barangaroo Creek, a fly-ridden, wi-fi dead zone hours from a decent body of water. Like that’s not bad enough, her home-stay host brother Gus clearly wishes she’d landed in somebody else’s sheep paddock.

Gus has important plans this summer– plans that do NOT involve helping an animal-phobe from the States tick off items on her seriously clichéd must-do list. So he devises a list of his own–one guaranteed to send Maya packing, allowing him to enjoy the last of his freedom before he trudges off to agricultural college.

But Maya doesn’t scare that easily and soon sparks fly. Before long, Gus and Maya discover hidden depths to clichéd bucket-lists and secret summer plans. Because sometimes it takes someone half a world away to remind you why you’re really here.

You can find Remind Me Why I’m Here online at

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Read the introduction to Remind Me Why I’m Here below:

Reading people was part of Wyatt Jenning's job, and judging by the look on his boss's face, the news wasn't good.

Book Review | Autumn Skies (Bluebell Inn #3) by Denise Hunter

I  can’t remember the title of the first Denise Hunter novel I read, but I do remember I wasn’t impressed—the central conflict hinged on the heroine having done something so completely out of character that I couldn’t buy into the concept. The next Denise Hunter book I read had an amnesia plot—one of my favourite tropes, and that got me hooked.

Since then, I think I’ve read every book Denise Hunter has published, and they get better and better.

Some of her novels have a strong and obvious Christian message, such as Sweetbriar Cottage, which was brilliant. Others are less overt—like Autumn Skies, the third and final novel in the Bluebell Inn series.

The Bluebell Inn series centres on the three siblings who co-own the Bluebell Inn, on the shore of Bluebell Lake in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The first two novels paired the other sister and brother off with a world-famous author and a Hollywood actress.

Autumn Skies focuses on the youngest sibling, Grace, who has established a business hiring out bicycles and canoes to tourists. Wyatt Jennings is a Secret Service agent who has been told to take time off for psychological reasons after being shot in the line of duty. He chooses to visit Bluebell Lake, because he wants to find the place where his mother died when he was a boy. They meet when Wyatt checks in to the Bluebell Inn—his childhood vacation home until his mother’s death.

There were two things that didn’t grab me in the beginning.

Grace’s instant attraction to Wyatt, and their age gap. I’m not a fan of instalust (shouldn’t true love be built on a meeting of minds and faith?). I’m also not a fan of big age gaps, and the beginning gave the impression Wyatt was in his thirties, compared to Grace’s mere twenty years. However, that was later clarified: she is twenty-one, and he’s only twenty-six.

That set my mind at ease, and I was able to enjoy the book.

As romance novels go, this one went fairly smoothly. That made for an enjoyable and relaxing read. Both Grace and Wyatt have external issues from their past they had to get over, and there was an unexpected twist near the end which gave the plot extra power. And the final chapter has that all-important aww factor we want from a romance novel 🙂

The story ends with an epilogue which rounds out the trilogy—so while this is a standalone story, Denise Hunter fans will want to read the trilogy in order.

Overall, Autumn Skies by Denise Hunter is a standalone #ChristianRomance that also serves as a fitting finale to the Bluebell Inn trilogy. #BookReview Share on X

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

About Denise Hunter

Denise HunterDenise Hunter is the internationally published bestselling author of more than 30 books, including “The Convenient Groom” and “A December Bride” which have been made into Hallmark movies. She has appeared on the The 700 club and won awards such as The Holt Medallion Award, The Carol Award, The Reader’s Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and is a RITA finalist.

Denise writes heartwarming, small-town love stories. Her readers enjoy the vicarious thrill of falling in love and the promise of a happily-ever-after sigh as they savor the final pages of her books.

In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she’s been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!

When Denise isn’t orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling with her family, drinking good coffee, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband raised three boys and are currently enjoying an empty nest.

Find Denise Hunter online at:

Website | Facebook

About Autumn Skies

When a mysterious man turns up at Grace’s family-run inn, it’s instant attraction. But she’s already got a lot on her plate: running the Bluebell Inn, getting Blue Ridge Outfitters off the ground, and coping with a childhood event she’d thought was long past.

A gunshot wound has resurrected the past for secret service agent Wyatt Jennings, and a mandatory leave of absence lands him in Bluebell, North Carolina. There he must try and come to grips with the crisis that altered his life forever.

Grace needs experience for her new outfitters business, so when Wyatt needs a mountain guide, she’s more than happy to step up to the plate. As their journey progresses, Grace soon has an elusive Wyatt opening up, and Wyatt is unwittingly drawn to Grace’s fresh outlook and sense of humor.

There’s no doubt the two have formed a special bond, but will Wyatt’s secrets bring Grace’s world crashing down? Or will those secrets end up healing them both?

Find Autumn Skies online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

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

The Art Fiasco by Fiona Veitch Smith

Book Review | The Art Fiasco (Polly Denby #5) by Fiona Veitch Smith

I requested a copy of The Art Fiasco for review because the cover struck me. Also, I’m a longtime fan of 1920s and 1930s murder mysteries from the likes of Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer, as well as their more modern counterparts like The Drew Farthering Mysteries by Julianna Deering.

When I opened the book, I found it is actually the fifth book in the Poppy Denby Investigates series. A little investigation of my own showed that the first two books in the series series were on sale on Kindle. So I bought the first book in the series, The Jazz Files, devoured it, and bought and read the second, The Kill Fee (I’ve now bought book three as well, The Death Beat. Unfortunately, The Jazz Files is now full price again, so the paper version is cheaper than the Kindle version).

The Jazz Files opens in 1920.

We are introduced to Poppy Denby, the daughter of a northern clergyman. She moves to London to live and work with her paraplegic aunt, but she gets a job at the Daily Globe newspaper. She makes good use of Aunt Dot’s contacts … and gets involved in solving a murder. The Kill Fee follows Poppy navigating London nightlife in her job as the arts and entertainment reporter, along with another murder, and Russian immigrants and Faberge eggs.

What I liked about The Jazz Files and The Kill Fee were the way Poppy’s murder investigations tied into some of the major events of the era. The Jazz Files incorporated the suffragette and their fight to procure the vote for women in Britain. The Kill Fee was set in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, and the political differences between the White and Red Russians. Both were excellent murder mysteries enhanced by a fascinating historical backdrop.

Poppy Denby Investigates

The Art Fiasco is set in Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1924.

Poppy travels north to visit her parents and to attend the opening of an art exhibition. But her plans for a nice family holiday go astray when she is the sole witness of a woman’s death … or murder.

The story took a long time to get going. While there was a death in the Prologue, this wasn’t the main murder, which I didn’t work out until the main murder occurred at around the one-quarter mark. Also, there was a lot of backstory, and it wasn’t always clear how it related to the main story. That slowed the story down for me.

I didn’t enjoy The Art Fiasco as much as I enjoyed The Jazz Files and The Kill Fee.

It did have a historic crime that linked to the present (well, 1924) crime, but I didn’t think it had the same level of insight into the issues of the day. Yes, it was interesting to see some working-class characters and see how the class divide operated a century ago. Yes, it touched on a few trigger issues like #MeToo and unmarried pregnancy, but they are issues that have been dealt with in fiction before. They weren’t new and unusual in the way Aunt Dot’s experiences as a suffragette were unusual.

The story worked well as a standalone, although there are some ongoing plot threads, such as Poppy’s relationship with her aunt, friendship with Delilah, and her on-off romance with the newspaper’s photographer. Those who have read one or all of the previous books in the series will probably enjoy the threads more, but the novel still works as a standalone murder mystery.

The Poppy Denby Investigates series is published by Lion Fiction, a UK-based publisher of Christian fiction and nonfiction. The series has a different approach to faith than fiction from the major US Christian publishers. Poppy is the daughter of a clergyman, so was raised as a Christian. She still retains her faith, but her circumstances are causing her to question it in a healthy way. Like us, Poppy has to work out for herself what she believes and realise that she can’t simply inherit her faith from her father.

While Poppy retains her Christian values (although she does drink alcohol, which would shock her mother), the other characters are not people of faith, and nor do they act like it. Delilah has many boyfriends, and reminds us that the sexual revolution started long before the 1960s. Poppy’s boss is having a longstanding affair. And Poppy realises her aunt’s live-in companion might be something more. As such, the Poppy Debby novels don’t fit some of the conceptions of “Christian fiction”. Personally, I think they’re stronger for it.

Recommended for fans of Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Julianna Deering.

Thanks to Lion Fiction for providing a free ebook for review.

About Fiona Veitch Smith

Fiona Veitch Smith

Formerly a professional journalist, Fiona Veitch Smith is now an author of books for adults and children. She has also written theatre plays and screenplays. Her adult mystery series, Poppy Denby Investigates, set in the 1920s, is published by Lion Fiction (paperback & ebook) and audiobook (HW Howes). The first book in the series, The Jazz Files, was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Historical Dagger award, 2016. Other titles in the series include: The Kill Fee, The Death Beat, The Cairo Brief, and The Art Fiasco.

She has two standalone novels Pilate’s Daughter (Lume Books – formerly Endeavour Press) and The Peace Garden (Crafty Publishing)

Her books for children include the Young David and the Young Joseph picturebooks, published by SPCK, and a new series of graphic novels called The Time-twisters, published by SPCK in collaboration with the Faraday Institute at Cambridge University.

Fiona lives in Newcastle upon Tyne with her family.

Find Fiona online at:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

About The Art Fiasco

It’s 1924 and Poppy Denby is heading up to Northumberland to celebrate her father’s sixtieth birthday. She stops off in Newcastle en route to visit her Aunt Dot, who has temporarily relocated from London to renovate a house she’s inherited.

One of Aunt Dot’s guests is the world-renowned artist, Agnes Robson, who is staging an exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery. Reluctantly, Poppy is roped in to help when the artist’s press liaison man falls ill.

She soon discovers that the local press has dug up some dirt on Agnes relating to the tragic death of a young art teacher in Ashington Colliery, twenty-seven years earlier. As she tries to suppress the story, Poppy begins to suspect that the teacher might have been murdered and that the killer may still be on the loose…

Find The Art Fiasco online at:

Amazon | Goodreads | Koorong

(If you read on Kindle, the first four books in the series are on sale for USD 1.99 each until the end of November 2020. Click here to check them out.)

Somehow I have been rescued from a furnace only to be thrown into the sun.

Book Review | Apprentice (Collective Underground #1) by Kristen Young

Apprentice Kerr Flick is a teenager about to sit the selection exams which will lead to her future career. Kerr isn’t like the others in her class. She has a perfect memory, which means she can remember everything she’s ever read or seen, and every conversation she’s ever had. That is, she can remember everything since the age of five. Trying to remember before that isn’t a blur. It’s physical pain …

Kerr is part of the Love Collective, ruled by Supreme Lover Midgate. Teachers are called Lovers, and everyone has to speak in the approved lexicon, memorise a range of catechisms (no problem for Memory Freak Kerr), and be on the lookout for Haters so they can be reported to the Collective and sent to Embracement.

The worldbuilding is strong, and puled me in immediately.

This is partly because the novel utilises some familiar speculative fiction tropes, like the Chosen One (well, I assume Kerr is going to end up in that role), and a testing procedure to assign people to occupations or further education (as in Divergent or The Giver).

Apprentice isn’t set on an overt Earth like, say, The Hunger Games or Divergent. In fact, the location is never made clear. But it could be our Earth. Or not. Wherever it is, there are chilling reminders of Nazi Germany, of people being brainwashed into reporting their friends and family as enemies of the state.

In Apprentice, Kristen Young paints a convincing and chilling portrait of a 1984-eque world, and I’m looking forward to the next instalment.

Thanks to Enclave Escape for providing a free ebook for review.

About Kristen Young

Kristen YoungKristen Young was born (and spent a memorable first few months of her life) in the UK, grew up in Sydney, but now lives in the Central West of NSW with her husband, three children, and slightly neurotic dog. She has been involved in church-based ministry for over 20 years, and loves helping people of any age to see how awesome Jesus is.

Kristen has had a number of books published, beginning with The Survival Guide series of devotions for teens. What if? Dealing with Doubt is a book for anyone from high school age onward, and aims to help anyone struggling with doubts about God, Jesus, or faith. In more recent years she has been writing fiction. Apprentice is her first published novel.

Find Kristen Young online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

About Apprentice

The Love Collective is everywhere.
It sees everything.
Be not afraid.

Apprentice Flick remembers everything, except the first five years of her life. And for as long as she can remember, Flick has wanted to enter the Elite Academy—home to the best, brightest, and most loyal members of the Love Collective government.

Flick’s uncanny memory might get her there, too … even if it is the very thing that marks her as a freak. But frightening hallucinations start intruding into her days and threaten to bring down all she has worked so hard to accomplish. Why is she being hijacked by a stranger’s nightmare over and over again?

Moving to the Elite Academy could give Flick the future she’s always wanted. But her search for truth may lead to a danger she cannot escape.

You can find Apprentice online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads

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