To Steal a Heart by Jen Turano - A Book Review

   


Jen Turano's quirky characters are always a delight. To Steal a Heart's romance and mystery, set in the Gilded Age, are just plain fun. This lighthearted, feel-good story is perfect for these difficult times. Gabriella Goodhue and Nicholas Quinn, raised together as street children, are now reunited as more reputable adults, but their past is nudging its way into the present. The many secondary characters whose lives are woven into Gabriella's and Nicholas' are key to the story and will embed themselves into readers' hearts, readers who will be thrilled that there are more Bleeker Street Inquiry Agency books to come. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of To Steal a Heart from Bethany House via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green - A Book Review

    

When the first few chapters of Things We Didn't Say consisted of letters and newspaper clippings, I flipped through the book and discovered that the entire book was structured that way. Initially I felt that would cause the book to drag on, but I could not have been more wrong. I was totally sucked into this story, and totally amazed at how the author's unique story structure allowed the tale to unfold. Johanna Berglund,at first a fairly unlikable but brilliant linguistics student, evolves into a caring, compassionate young woman as she is forced into working as a translator and censor in a German POW camp in her hometown of Ironside Lake, Minnesota. There is so much more I want to reveal, but truly want to avoid even the smallest of spoilers that would cause other readers not to get the benefit of the author's true gift of feeding the reader information at just the right spot in the story. This is truly a five star read, and I am more than grateful to have received a complimentary copy from Bethany House via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

The Harbinger II The Return by Jonathan Cahn - A Book Review

    


In this second Harbinger book Jonathan Cahn picks up from where the first book left off with God's first staking, the 9/11 attack on our country. In that book Cahn brought to the readers' attention connections with Biblical events, too many to be coincidental. In this book he brings us into the present, even addressing the current COVID-19 pandemic. He uses Scriptural references to explain why God is working to get our attention, and stresses the need for God's people to repent and seek His face. Cahn also writes about current sexual morality and the broadening of the pro-choice movement. I did find one error in the data presented (or it may be possible it was the on-line source whose data was in error), but it was only a few days' difference in when New York City experienced its peak number of COVID-19 cases. This book gives readers much to ponder. I am grateful to have been gifted a copy of The Harbinger II by a sweet, book-reading friend.

The Right Kind of Fool by Sarah Loudin Thomas - A Book Review

    

Things don't have to be perfect to get the job done. That was something that Creed Raines had been a long time in learning. Sarah Loudin Thomas challenges her readers to consider the cost of seeking perfection, the cost of making safety and security top priorities. She does this through immersing readers in Loyal Raines' coming-of-age story. Having lost his hearing nine years earlier as a four-year-old, Loyal's deep desires to fit in in a hearing world, to be loved and supported by a father who was burdened with guilt, and to be trusted by a mother who wanted to shelter him, propel him through both the difficulties and adventures of the summer of 1934, the summer he found the dead man on the river bank.

I read this book in two days being compelled to put aside much else in order to see how Thomas would work out all of the different aspects of this story. She wove a beautiful tale of learning, trusting, loving, and redemption. I most highly recommend The Right Kind of Fool, and am grateful to have received a complimentary copy from Bethany House via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

The Escape by Lisa Harris - A Book Review

    

Lisa Harris' new series, US Marshals, is top notch. The first book, The Escape, follows two Marshals on a manhunt for an escaped murderer who manages to stay one step ahead of them. The Marshals must continually stay on the move, adjusting their plans to his unexpected tactics, putting themselves at risk in their attempts to successfully complete their mission. Sometimes, however, danger lurks where least expected.

Harris' writing is fast-paced and intense. This is a difficult book to walk away from. Readers will likely finish it in record time because they will continually say, “just one more chapter,” late into the night. The theme of trying to move on from one's circumstances resonates with each character, some by manipulating situations, others by trying to accept the past and to make a better future relying on God and loved ones. I am grateful to have received an advanced copy of The Escape as part of the author's launch team and an e-copy from NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

What You Said to Me by Olivia Newport - A Book Review

    

So many series these days are trilogies, often one book per sibling in the series' main family. I was quite excited to discover that Olivia Newport has added a fourth book to her Tree of Life series featuring only child Julian Parisi-Duffy, a genealogist. In this installment her father, Nolan Duffy, has arranged for her to have “help” with a genealogy project searching for a large number of people who were stolen from their families and placed in adoptive families decades ago, the help being an angry teenager in an alternative sentencing program. As with the other books in this series, there is also an historical backstory which is equally if not more compelling than the contemporary one.

Newport writes believable characters who care deeply for one another and for strangers soon to be friends. She places them in situations that are relevant to today's readers. The historical situations also have themes relevant to today. In this book that is mental health and its impact on future generations, both good and bad. While What You Said to Me is a good stand-alone read; it does carry on events from prior books, and leaves the reader hoping for more.

I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of What You Said to Me from Barbour Publishing via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.