Tuesday, April 26, 2016

The Magnolia Duchess by Beth White - A Book Review


Pelican Bride by Beth White        
I am drawn to words, and have never been one to notice book covers and illustrations, not even in children’s books. Many was the time that my students pointed out an element of the story provided by the illustrator that I had overlooked. However, I frequently found myself flipping back to the cover photo of The Magnolia Duchess, inserting the cover designer’s image into my mental image of the many faces of Fiona Lanier. (Hmmm, that might make a good subtitle: The Many Faces of Fiona Lanier.) There is Fiona the horse wrangler, Fiona the patriot, Fiona the nurse, Fiona the independent, and Fiona the beautiful to name a few. Charlie Kincaid might not have recalled meeting Fiona prior to the day he washed up on the beach near her home, but she made a lasting impression during his period of recuperation among the Lanier family, creating inner turmoil between love of a woman and duty to his country. Many unexpected events occur as Charlie learns to trust God, and to trust the plans He has for his life. Just how will Fiona and her family fit into those plans, or is there a place for them at all? Answering that question is the reader’s quest.
The Magnolia Duchess is book three in the Gulf Coast Chronicles series. The series features independent, brave women who work alongside the men they love to safeguard the growing country they hold dear. Each book can be read as a stand-alone read, but much pleasure can be had by reading them all in sequence. Readers will enjoy meeting the Lanier family and welcoming new generations. It would be amazing if the author continued to expand the family line. We might even one day meet Fiona’s namesake that we might identify as Fiona the western pioneer or Fiona the suffragist.
Below are links to my reviews of the first two books in the series: http://christianfictionandmore.blogspot.com/2014/04/pelicanbrides-by-beth-white-book-review.html written in April of 2014.

I thank Revell Publishers and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for providing The Magnolia Duchess  for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.           

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Mistaken Target by Sharon Dunn - A Comment


Mistaken Target

In the past I almost always finished books I started unless I felt they had inappropriate material. On page 52 of Mistaken Target I decided life is too short and there are too many other books I'd rather be reading to commit any more time to this one. I am not being critical, and this book may be great for a different reader, but the writer's style just wasn't for me.