Tag: Book Review

30 July 2018

Book Review | More than Meets the Eye by Karen Witemeyer

Evangeline, Zach, and Seth Hamilton are an unlikely family.

In fact, they aren’t a blood family. They created themselves from the ruins of a long-ago orphan train. Now the family farm in the small town of Pecan Gap, Texas. They’ve built a life for themselves.

Logan Fowler grew up in Peacan Gap, but left after his father lost their farm in a card game and killed himself. He’s back for revenge—to win his farm back from Zach Hamilton. Evie Hamilton is the perfect accessory to his plan … until he starts having feelings for her.

Evangeline is a remarkable character.

She has different coloured eyes—one brown, one bright blue—and has been ostracised by the townspeople. As a result, she spends most of her free time roaming the countryside in the company of her pet, a tamed feral pig. That’s unique—it’s the first book I’ve read where the heroine has a pet pig. She’s adventurous and brave and caring, and has somehow managed to develop a strong Christian faith despite

Logan is the first person who hasn’t commented on Evie’s eyes, and that makes him special. He’s also a great character, a man with a goal who will stop at nothing to achieve that goal. But is it the right goal? Evie doesn’t think so.

Logan is clearly the hero, but Zach and Seth are noble characters as well. Zach has sacrificed his own dreams to raise and support Evie and Seth. Seth has his own health issues which make life difficult. But they’re a great team.

I think I’ve read all Karen Witemeyer’s novels.

I love her writing—her characters, her humour, and the way she seamlessly weaves in the Christian faith. Recommended for all lovers of Christian historical romance, especially westerns.

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

About Karen Witemeyer

For those who love to smile as they read, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer offers warm-hearted historical romances with a flair of humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. A transplant from California, Karen came to Texas for college, met a cowboy disguised as a computer nerd, married him, and never left the state that had become home.

Winner of the HOLT Medallion, ACFW Carol Award, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award, National Reader’s Choice Award, and a finalist for both the RITA and Christy Awards, Karen is a firm believer in the power of happy endings. . . and ice cream. She also loves to reward her readers. Every month she gives away two inspirational historical novels to someone from her newsletter list and offers substantial bonus content on her website.

Find Karen Witemeyer online at:

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About More than Meets the Eye

Many consider Evangeline Hamilton cursed. Orphaned at a young age and possessing a pair of mismatched eyes–one bright blue, the other dark brown–Eva has fought to find her way in a world that constantly rejects her. Yet the support of even one person can help overcome the world’s judgments, and Eva has two–Seth and Zach, two former orphans she now counts as brothers.

Seeking justice against the man who stole his birthright and destroyed his family, Logan Fowler arrives in 1880s Pecan Gap, Texas, to confront Zach Hamilton, the hardened criminal responsible for his father’s death. Only instead of finding a solitary ruthless gambler, he discovers a man not much older than himself with an unusual family. When Zach’s sister, Evangeline, insists on dousing Logan with sunshine every time their paths cross, Logan finds his quest completely derailed.

Who is truly responsible for his lost legacy, and will restoring the past satisfy if it means forfeiting a future with Evangeline?

You can find More than Meets the Eye online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

You can read the introduction to More than Meets the Eye below:

23 July 2018

Book Review | Beneath a Prairie Moon by Kim Vogel Sawyer

It was bad enough that Abigail Grant has been forced from her rightful position in society due to her father’s criminal actions. Worse that she has been forced to offer herself as a mail order bride through Mrs Helena Bingham’s matchmaker agency. But she’s now had six matches, and rejected them all … or they’ve rejected her.

She’s down to her last chance when Mrs Bingham offers her a different role.

She has sixteen prospective grooms from a small town in Kansas. Unfortunately, their introductory letters show they are lacking in “social niceties”. But Mrs Bingham has a plan.

She is sending Abigail to Spiveyville to tutor the men and turn them into suitable grooms. And Mrs Bingham is coming to supervise. Unfortunately, the sixteen wife-seeking bachelors of Spiveyville are not well pleased when their brides don’t arrive—only two women who aren’t part of the bridal pool.

It’s a setup ripe with opportunities for humour, and Kim Vogel Sawyer does not disappoint.

The humour is more understated than obvious, but it’s there. There is also a little romance, a little suspense, and a little Christian preaching (although it’s not preachy. It’s just Mrs Bingham sometimes can’t help herself).

Mrs Bingham was a pleasant surprise as a character. My first impression of her was a benevolent dictator with a backbone of steel. She has an element of steel—I expect widowed women needed a healthy sense of their own abilities to run a successful business. But I was impressed by her compassion for the girls she matched, and her genuine desire to make good marriages for her clients.

One thing confused me a little.

I’m used to romance novels where the story is told from the points of view of the heroine and hero (and usually in that order). Under a Prairie Moon had four different points of view, which made me think it was going to be a secondary romance plot. There kind of was, but it didn’t go the way I was expecting (which isn’t bad). But it did leave me wondering why we had the extra points of view.

Overall, I enjoyed Under a Prairie Moon.

I’m sure fans of western romances, especially mail order bride stories, will enjoy it.

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

About Kim Vogel Sawyer

Award-winning, bestselling author Kim Vogel Sawyer wears many hats. As a wife, mother, grandmother, song-singer, cat-petter, and active participant in her church’s music and women’s ministries, her life is happily full.

But her passion lies in penning stories that share the hope we can all possess when we place our lives in God’s capable hands. She and her retired military hubby live on the beautiful plains of Kansas, the setting for many of Kim’s books.

In her free time, she enjoys quilting, traveling with “The Hubs,” and spoiling her quiverful of granddarlings.

You can find Kim Vogel Sawyer online at:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

About Beneath a Prairie Moon

Abigail Brantley grew up in affluence and knows exactly how to behave in high society. But when she is cast from the social registers due to her father’s illegal dealings, she finds herself forced into a role she never imagined: tutoring rough Kansas ranchers in the subjects of manners and morals so they can “marry up” with their mail-order brides. Mack Cleveland, whose father was swindled by a mail-order bride, wants no part of the scheme to bring Eastern women to Spiveyville, Kansas, and he’s put off by the snooty airs and fastidious behavior of the “little city gal” in their midst. But as time goes by, his heart goes out to the teacher who tries so diligently to smooth the rough edges from the down-to-earth men. How can he teach her that perfection won’t bring happiness?

You can find Beneath a Prairie Moon online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

You can read the introduction to Beneath a Prairie Moon below:

16 July 2018

Book Review | Fatal Recall by Carol J Post

I don’t know why, but I’m a total sucker for amnesia stories. Something about the idea of waking up with no idea who you are captures my curiosity. Perhaps it’s because we’re all formed by our unique personal histories, so amnesia raises a question:

Are we the same person if we can’t remember who we are?

Tanner Brody is canoeing on the Nantahala River, on the edge of the North Carolina Smokies, when he hears a gunshot, followed a scream. He searches, and finds an unconscious woman. When she wakes, she has no idea of who she is, or how she got there.

And now someone is shooting at them both.

Our nameless heroine remembers nothing. Except she prays when things are bad. Then she remembers an attack. A knife. And she’s holding it.

One of the criticisms of Christian fiction is that it’s full of perfect people living perfect lives. Okay, that’s an overstatement. But it can be hard to find a Christian novel that’s dealing with mending broken people without making that the main focus of the plot.

Fatal Recall manages to address this while maintaining the focus of the plot on the mystery of who the heroine is, the suspense of who is after her, and the developing romance between her and Tanner.

There is a clear but understated message that our background forms us into the adults we become—good or bad. But we don’t have to stay that person. Faith in God can help us become the adults He meant us to be.

Fatal Recall is a fast read, as is typical for Love Inspired Suspense. But it manages to pack a surprising amount of plot, character, and spiritual depth in those words. Recommended for Christian romantic suspense fans.

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

About Carol J Post

From medical secretary to court reporter to property manager to owner of a special events decorating company, Carol’s resume reads as if she doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up. But one thing that has remained constant through the years is her love for writing. She currently pens fun and fast-paced inspirational romance and romantic suspense stories. Her books have been nominated for a RITA® award and an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award.

Carol lives in sunshiny Central Florida with her husband, who is her own real-life hero, and writes her stories under the shade of the huge oaks in her yard. Besides writing, she works alongside her music minister husband singing and playing the piano. She enjoys sailing, hiking, camping—almost anything outdoors. Her two grown daughters and grandkids live too far away for her liking, so she now pours all that nurturing into taking care of a fat and sassy black cat and a highly spoiled dachshund.

You can find Carol J Post online at:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

About Fatal Recall

Amnesia stole her memory – a killer wants her dead

When Paige Tatem loses her memory, she knows just two things: she has a target on her back, and police officer Tanner Brody is the only man she trusts to protect her. As they piece together her past, Tanner wonders what lies hidden in Paige’s mind. And as the truth begins to emerge, it becomes clear that a ruthless enemy wants certain secrets to stay buried.

You can find Fatal Recall online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

You can read the introduction to Fatal Recall below:

9 July 2018

Book Review | Fort Point (Maine Justice #2) by Susan Page Davis

Fort Point is the second book in the Maine Justice series.

I described Priority Unit, the first book in the series, as an almost-perfect blend of Christian fiction, romance, and suspense. Fort Point has a different feel.

We’ve already seen Detective Harvey Larson and Jennifer Wainthrop fall in love and become Christians in Priority Unit. Fort Point (and, I assume, the later books in the series) are more suspense. The romance and the faith aspects are still there, but they definitely take second place to the suspense plot.

And the suspense is excellent.

Fort Point is a police procedural mystery that begins with the discovery of the body of Maine’s most famous novelist. (Personally, I’ve read enough novels about people who write novels. Perhaps Davis has as well, given her novelist is the victim.)

Detective Larson is part of Maine’s Priority Unit, a special force, so is tasked with investigating the murder. But it’s not easy. The victim wasn’t just a novelist. He was also an investigative journalist, and Larson wonders if one of his investigations may have attracted attention from the wrong people. Soon a second body is discovered, and evidence that suggests corruption in high places …

I didn’t think the writing was as strong in Fort Point (although that could just be that it’s been about a year since I read Priority Unit, and I was so impressed by the three strands of the plot that I didn’t pay much attention to the writing). It wasn’t that the writing is poor. It’s more that it felt a little unpolished in comparison with Davis’s other books.

Overall, Fort Point is a solid suspense novel.

But does have a different flavour than Priority Unit and Susan Page Davis’s earlier romantic suspense novels. If you’re looking for a lightweight romantic suspense novel, Fort Point isn’t what you’re looking for. But if you’re looking for a well-plotted police procedural suspense with plenty of twists and strong characters, Fort Point might be just what you are looking for.

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

About Susan Page Davis

Susan Page Davis writes romantic suspense, historical romance, and mystery. She is a Maine native now living in Kentucky, and a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and KenTen Writers. Her books have won several awards including the Carol Award for her novel The Prisoners Wife; the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award for The Prisoner’s Wife and The Lumberjack’s Lady (Maine Brides series); and the Will Rogers Medallion Award for her novels Captive Trail (Texas Trails series, 2012) and The Outlaw Takes a Bride (2016).

You can find Susan Page Davis online at:

Website | Facebook | Google+ | Twitter

About Fort Point

An ill-fated class reunion at Fort Point. . .

Maine’s most famous author is murdered the night after the reunion. A classmate turns up dead a few days later, apparently drowned at Fort Point. What does a cold case burglary have to do with the deaths? And did a third classmate really commit suicide?

The Priority Unit solves its most challenging case, relying on wits, hard work, and faith. Meanwhile, Jennifer Wainthrop plans her wedding but manages to hand the detectives some important clues.

Detective Harvey Larson is offered a job he doesn’t want, until he learns the police chief has had a tragic accident. Captain Mike Browning is on vacation in Maine’s far north, and proves a difficult man to track down. Harvey and Jennifer continue their faith journey and romance while untangling the evidence.

Despite many obstacles, the Priority Unit is once again serving up Maine Justice.

You can find Fort Point online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads

You can read the introduction to Fort Point below:

21 June 2018

#Throwback Thursday | Book Review | Lu by Beth Troy

It’s Throwback Thursday! Today I’m resharing my review of Lu by Beth Troy. Lu is a great example of what I’d like to see more of in Christian fiction: great characters wrestling with the big issues of God and faith and love.

About Lu

“There’s great hope where the road meets the sky – maybe even an answer. But this road leads home. Just home. I thought I’d finished writing that story years ago, but then yesterday’s story happened – the one about the boy who cheats and the girl who leaves.”

Lu Sokolowski never planned to return to her small hometown of Dunlap’s Creek, but it’s the only place she can think of to go after her boyfriend cheats on her. Moving back in with her family lets her run away from her problems, but it also means suffering their attempts to reassemble her failed life, including arranging a job as the wedding beat writer at the local paper and setting her up with Jackson, the divorced pastor of her family’s church. Unexpected success and friendships restore Lu to the family and faith she’d left behind. But when the small-town life Lu never intended shakes up, will she run again?

Lu’s story is a journey of a woman back to her family, her faith, and herself. It’s about second chances and the unchosen circumstances that press the point of who we are and what we believe. Are we the sum of our successes and failures, or does our identity rest in a greater hope?

My Review

All the stories have been written, including mine.

It’s a great first line, because it’s a strong statement that sounds true, in the same way as the famous opening line to Pride and Prejudice sounds true … until you think about it. Because we’re all unique, so our stories are also unique.

Although our stories also have some common elements:

I thought I’d finished writing that story years ago, but then yesterday’s story happened—the one about the boy who cheats and the girl who leaves. You could dress it up and call it a journey. But there was nothing new in the story about the girl who went home because she had nowhere else to go.

I know not everyone enjoys novels written in first person, but I do—especially when the character has a strong and interesting voice, as Lu (short for Louisa) does.

So Lu is home, with a car that barely runs, a 1970’s crockpot, and no money. She finds a job at the local newspaper, where she is asked to write wedding features. And she befriends the young preacher, back in town after his divorce. Lu isn’t sure if she believes in God and she certainly isn’t following him, despite having been raised in church.

Jackson challenges Lu to come to church, and she does. He’s preaching a series on the Book of Ecclesiastes, which brought him through his own tough time when his wife left him. These sermons start Lu on her own faith journey, reading the Bible and trying to understand what Jackson sees in Jesus. At the same time, she’s developing feelings for Jackson … all the while knowing nothing can come of those feelings if they don’t share a faith, and Jackson isn’t going to change.

Lu isn’t typical Christian fiction.

The characters drink alcohol and swear. Lu has been living with her boyfriend, and Jackson is divorced. Yet there is a lot more Christian content than in most Christian novels I read, and it feels natural, not forced. I liked the way the novel showed Lu’s faith journey warts and all, and that the focus was on finding Jesus for herself.

My one complaint about Lu was that it ended too soon. There was a clear ending to the main plot—Lu’s faith journey—but not to the main subplot. This annoyed me at first, but in hindsight it was the right decision. I only hope that dangling thread means there is a sequel in the works.

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

You can find Beth Troy online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Find Lu online at:

Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK | Goodreads

11 June 2018

Book Review | Just Let Go (Harbor Pointe #2) by Courtney Walsh

Grady Benson is a big-name big-ego Olympic skier who has landed in the small tourist town of Harbor Pointe, Michigan … and finds himself staying longer than planned after an unfortunate run-in with the law. Now he’s stuck in town paying his debt to society with various do-good community service projects when he should be on the slopes, qualifying for the next Olympics.

Quinn Collins is the small-town girl who’s never gone anywhere, and tells herself she doesn’t want to. What she wants is to win Best Design at the upcoming Michigan Floral Expo, in the hope that a win will enable her to reconnect with her mother—the mother who deserted her family years ago.

I have to say that I didn’t like either character at the beginning of the book.

Grady was too full of himself, and I didn’t understand Quinn’s obsession with reconnecting with a mother who abandoned her husband and two small daughters. First, has she never heard of Facebook? Second, many parents have days when they want to abandon their families (or is that just me?). It’s a test of character that we don’t.

Both characters changes and grow as the novel progresses, but it was Grady’s change that most impressed me. By the end of the story I was half in love with him myself, and he’d almost converted me to skiing (I like the concept, but I can no longer deal with the cold). Anyway, Grady’s redemption was definitely the high point of the story.

The writing was excellent, with many quotable lines.

Just Let Go follows Just Look Up in the Harbor Pointe series, but can easily be read as a standalone.

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

About the Author

Courtney Walsh is a novelist, artist, theater director, and playwright. Change of Heart is her fifth novel and is set in the same town as Paper Hearts. Her debut novel, A Sweethaven Summer, hit the New York Times and USA Today e-book bestseller lists and was a Carol Award finalist in the debut author category. She has written two additional books in the Sweethaven series, as well as two craft books and several full-length musicals. Courtney lives in Illinois where she and her husband own a performing and visual arts studio. They have three children.

Find Courtney Walsh online at …

About the Book

For Quinn Collins, buying the flower shop in downtown Harbor Pointe fulfills a childhood dream, but also gives her the chance to stick it to her mom, who owned the store before skipping town twenty years ago and never looking back. Completing much-needed renovations, however, while also competing for a prestigious flower competition with her mother as the head judge, soon has Quinn in over her head. Not that she’d ever ask for help.

Luckily, she may not need to. Quinn’s father and his meddling friends find the perfect solution in notorious Olympic skier Grady Benson, who had only planned on passing through the old-fashioned lakeside town. But when a heated confrontation leads to property damage, helping Quinn as a community-service sentence seems like the quickest way out—and the best way to avoid more negative press.

Quinn finds Grady reckless and entitled; he thinks she’s uptight and too regimented. Yet as the two begin to hammer and saw, Quinn sees glimpses of the vulnerability behind the bravado, and Grady learns from her passion and determination, qualities he seems to have lost along the way. But when a well-intentioned omission has devastating consequences, Grady finds himself cast out of town—and Quinn’s life—possibly forever. Forced to face the hurt holding her back, Quinn must finally let go or risk missing out on the adventure of a lifetime.

Find Just Let Go online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

You can read the introduction online below:

31 May 2018

Book Review | Send Down the Rain by Charles Martin

Send Down the Rain is an unusual story in many ways.

It starts decades ago with two brothers the day their father moves out, then jumps forward to the present. The first part shows three different characters, and it wasn’t until about a quarter of the way through that it became clear who the main character was.

Joseph is a 63-year-old Vietnam war veteran who has been running for more years than seems possible. We get to know him only gradually, as the story bounces back and forth between his past and his present, highlighting his failures (and sometimes his successes), his weaknesses and sometimes his strengths. He’s a strong narrator because he is weak: he’s humble and unpretentious and focuses more on what he’s done wrong than what he’s done right.

I got to about the 90% point in this book and thought it was good, but it hadn’t reached the heights of The Mountain Between Us (now a major movie starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba) or Long Way Gone (a modern retelling of the story of the Prodigal Son).

But by the time I finished Send Down the Rain I had changed my mind.

It’s at least as good as these, but the power builds up and up and only bites at the end. There isn’t an obvious Christian thread or an overt parallel with a Bible story (as there was in Long Way Gone). Send Down the Rain is more of an exploration of love, loyalty, and family, a story of sacrifice and second chances. And that pretty much sums up the gospel.

An outstanding novel of love and faithfulness, in Martin’s trademark understated yet compelling style. Recommended.

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

About Charles Martin

Christy and I married in 1993. If you include dating, I’ve known and loved her for more than half my life. She is and always will be the home for my heart. We have three boys. Charlie, John T. and Rives. Folks often ask me, which of my books do I like the best. You might as well line up my sons and ask me who I love the most.

My hobbies are bow hunting, working out (a blend of old school stuff and martial arts, called Fight Fit) and Tae Kwon Do. In October 2012 I earned my black belt but I’m still the least flexible person you’ve ever met. The guy that trains me, laughs everytime I start warming up. My boys are far better at Tae Kwon Do than I but I doubt they have as much fun – I get to do and watch. They just do.

I also like to write, but that’s another story.

You can find Charles Martin online at:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

About Send Down the Rain

Allie is still recovering from the loss of her family’s beloved waterfront restaurant on Florida’s Gulf Coast when she loses her second husband to a terrifying highway accident. Devastated and losing hope, she shudders to contemplate the future—until a cherished person from her past returns.

Joseph has been adrift for many years, wounded in both body and spirit and unable to come to terms with the trauma of his Vietnam War experiences. Just as he resolves to abandon his search for peace and live alone at a remote cabin in the Carolina mountains, he discovers a mother and her two small children lost in the forest. A man of character and strength, he instinctively steps in to help them get back to their home in Florida. There he will return to his own hometown—and witness the accident that launches a bittersweet reunion with his childhood sweetheart, Allie.

When Joseph offers to help Allie rebuild her restaurant, it seems the flame may reignite—until a 45-year-old secret from the past begins to emerge, threatening to destroy all hope for their second chance at love.

In Send Down the Rain, Charles Martin proves himself to be a storyteller of great wisdom and compassion who bears witness to the dreams we cherish, the struggles we face, and the courage we must summon when life seems to threaten what we hold most dear.

You can find Send Down the Rain online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads

28 May 2018

Book Review | Where Hope Begins by Catherine West

Savannah’s husband of twenty years is leaving her for the other woman. Now the house is empty—their three children are at boarding school, college, and in a grave. Broken, Savannah goes to stay in her parent’s holiday home, where she meets the neighbours: an old woman, her nephew, and his daughter.

A daughter who is the spitting image of Savannah’s dead daughter.

Yes, Where Hope Begins has lots of angst. As the story progresses we find out more about how Shelby died, about how Savannah is convinced Shelby’s death was her fault, and convinced husband Kevin blames her, even though he says he doesn’t. We also see how this tragedy shaped their marriage, and paved the way for it’s destruction.

At the lake house, we see Savannah’s developing relationship with Brock, the bestselling author who is her new next-door neighbour. Her very attractive next-door neighbour. Why not? Her husband has left her for another woman and wants a divorce. That presents Savannah with a dilemma … and us as the reader. We’re convinced we don’t like Kevin, but does that justify Savannah’s growing relationship with Brock?

The intricacies of the relationships are compounded by Savannah’s Christian faith, a faith her husband supposedly shared. As Christians, we have clear views on adultery, but when is a marriage over? When is the wronged spouse allowed to move on?

Where Hope Begins is an intelligent, thought-provoking, and emotional read in a situation where there are lots of hard questions and no right answers.

The writing is excellent, as I’ve come to expect from Catherine West. The characters are well-developed, the plot complex but not convoluted, and the Christian elements threaded through but not overwhelming. Oh, and I cried. It’s been a long time since a novel made me cry.

Recommended for anyone looking for Christian fiction that addresses some of the hard issues of life.

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

About Catherine West

Catherine West writes stories of hope and healing from her island home in Bermuda. When she’s not at the computer working on her next story, you can find her taking her Border Collie for long walks or reading books by her favorite authors. She and her husband have two grown children and one beautiful granddaughter. Catherine is the winner of the 2015 Grace Award (Bridge of Faith) and the Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope & Love Reader’s Choice Award (The Things We Knew). Her most recent novel, The Memory of You, released March 2017 and Where Hope Begins releases in May 2018.

You can find Catherine West online at:

About Where Hope Begins

Sometimes we’re allowed to glimpse the beauty within the brokenness . . .

Savannah Barrington has always found solace at her parents’ lake house in the Berkshires, and it’s the place that she runs to when her husband of over twenty years leaves her. Though her world is shaken, and the future uncertain, she finds hope through an old woman’s wisdom, a little girl’s laughter, and a man who’s willing to risk his own heart to prove to Savannah that she is worthy of love.

But soon Savannah is given a challenge she can’t run away from: Forgiving the unforgivable. Amidst the ancient gardens and musty bookstores of the small town she’s sought refuge in, she must reconcile with the grief that haunts her, the God pursuing her, and the wounds of the past that might be healed after all.

Where Hope Begins is the story of grace in the midst of brokenness, pointing us to the miracles that await when we look beyond our own expectations.

Find Where Hope Begins online at:

Amazon | ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Have you read any novels by Catherine West? What did you think?

24 May 2018

#ThrowbackThursday | Book Review | A Dangerous Legacy

It’s Throwback Thursday! Today I’m resharing my review of A Dangerous Legacy by Elizabeth Camden. The sequel, A Daring Venture, releases soon, and you’ll want to have read A Dangerous Legacy first!

About A Dangerous Legacy

Lucy Drake’s mastery of Morse code has made her a valuable asset to the American news agencies as a telegrapher. But the sudden arrival of Sir Colin Beckwith at rival British news agency Reuters puts her hard-earned livelihood at risk. Newly arrived from London, Colin is talented, handsome, and insufferably charming.

Despite their rivalry, Lucy realizes Colin’s connections could be just what her family needs to turn the tide of their long legal battle over the fortune they were swindled out of forty years ago. When she negotiates an unlikely alliance with him, neither of them realizes how far the web of treachery they’re wading into will take them.

My Review

I am a big fan of Elizabeth Camden’s novels.

She has a unique ability to find lesser-known historical events or situations, and build a novel around them. A Dangerous Legacy includes the politcal background to the buiding of the first Panama Canal, PTSD, and the invention of the plumbing valve which enables us to have water pressure in multi-storey buildings. It also includes the slightly more familiar telegraph operators, and the necessity for British peers to marry American heiresses to shore up their crumbling estates.

Lucy Drake is a telegraph operator for upstart American news agency Associated Press. Sir Colin Beckwith is the manager of Reuters, AP’s rival. He’s one of those impoverished British gentlemen looking for a heiress, and Lucy is not a heiress. Her side of the Drake family lost control of their revolutionary water valve, and their legal battle is ongoing.

But Lucy and Colin keep getting thrown together, and they become allies of sorts after each finds out an awkward secret about the other. But neither of them realise how dangerous finding the truth will be, to their lives, their sanity, and their hearts.

Colin was a great hero.

He’s willing to do the right thing even at a personal cost to himself. He’s British through and through, almost the perfect gentleman. And Lucy was my favorite type of heroine—intelligent, independent, and hard-working. They made a great couple. I loved their conversations and banter, and wanted them to be together. It was r good to see their romance build bit by bit as they got to know each other.

A Dangerous Legacy had a lot more suspense than I was expecting, but I’m a romantic suspense fan so that worked for me! It certainly made the novel hard to put down.

Recommended for fans of Deeanne Gist, especially her later books which are solid historical romance but without an overt Christian element. A Dangerous Legacy had a few time-appropriate nods to Christianity, but the faith aspect wasn’t even a minor plot point.

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:

Website | Facebook

Find A Dangerous Legacy online at:

Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK
ChristianBook | Goodreads | Koorong

Read the introduction to A Dangerous Legacy below:

10 May 2018

#ThrowbackThursday | Book Review | Long Way Gone by Charles Martin

It’s Throwback Thursday, when I share a review of an older book (or reshare a review). Today I’m resharing my review of the brilliant Long Way Gone by Charles Martin. His newest book, Send Down the Rain, released on Wednesday, and I’ll be reviewing it later this month. This review first appeared at Australasian Christian Writers.

About Long Way Gone

No matter where you go, no matter whether you succeed or fail, stand or fall, no gone is too far gone. You can always come home.

At the age of eighteen, musician and songwriter Cooper O’Connor took everything his father held dear and drove 1,200 miles from home to Nashville, his life riding on a six-string guitar and the bold wager that he had talent. But his wager soon proved foolish.

Five years after losing everything, he falls in love with Daley Cross, an angelic voice in need of a song. But just as he realizes his love for Daley, Cooper faces a tragedy that threatens his life as well as his career. With nowhere else to go, he returns home to the remote Colorado mountains, searching for answers about his father and his faith.

When Daley shows up on his street corner twenty years later, he wonders if it’s too late to tell her the truth about his past—and if he is ready to face it himself.

A radical retelling of the prodigal son story, Long Way Gone takes us from tent revivals to the Ryman Auditorium to the tender relationship between a broken man and the father who never stopped calling him home.

My Review

Well, that’s a great first line—I don’t know who is speaking, but by the end of the first page I know he’s a musician. Who else would describe the worn-out guitar as “an old Gibson J-45”? And then he goes on to say:

The residue of musical genius. That’s strong writing—writing I want to read more of. I’m not going to bore you with all the quotes I highlighted in Long Way Gone, but there were a lot. But I hope you’ll forgive me one more, because it’s a great example of how to get a lot of setting across in one short sentence:

But you’re here to read a book review, not a commentary on the writing.

Long Way Gone is a retelling of the story of the Prodigal Son, set in high-country Colorado and among the ups and downs of the Nashville music industry. It’s written in first person from the point of view of Cooper O’Connor, an evangelist’s son with a gift for music.

The writing is outstanding, the plot is excellent, the structure close to perfect.

I was fascinated by the musical information—the Ryman theatre, the Nashville Notation System, the whole music vibe. Anyone who watches Nashville or who has ever visited (or wants to visit) the home of country music will appreciate that side of it (and will be able to relate to the characters). I was impressed with the way so much research and setting was dropped in without it ever getting in the way of the central story.

The story spans decades.

So while we see Cooper’s mistakes through his eyes, we see them through the eyes of a man who has matured enough to realise they were mistakes—mistakes he’s repented from, even if he’s still not fully reconciled to the consequences of those mistakes.

It’s a story about a man (who loves a woman—yes, there is a romance element), and his love for music. It’s a story of a man who makes mistakes in his pursuit of happiness. And it’s a story about how sometimes those mistakes can be made right again, and sometimes they can’t.

Recommended for music fans, romance fans, or anyone who appreciates good writing.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Charles Martin at his website, and you can read the introduction to Long Way Gone below:

About Charles Martin

I also like to write, but that’s another story.

You can find Charles Martin online at:

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