Book Recommendation - Things We Didn't Say

 

Amy Lynn Green is a "new to me" author, but she's one I'm definitely glad I took a chance on. Her debut novel, Things We Didn't Say, is nothing short of spectacular. It's written in epistolary form (letters, notes, telegrams), but she tells the story well within that format, so don't let that deter you! This book takes place during WWII. Main character Johanna is a bright language student, fluent in 5 languages, looking to go to Oxford after college to translate the classics. When her hometown contacts her to be a translator for the German POW camp that is setting up there, she turns them down. But circumstances don't go her way and she eventually takes the job. What happens in the months there change everything - for both Johanna and her small hometown. This was an excellent story with redemptive themes, a solid faith thread, and characters that you can't help cheering for. I laughed a great deal during the reading of this book and also shed more than a few tears. That's the sign of a great novel!

Here's what it's about:

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.

This book releases on November 3, 2020. Check out these links for some additional information:

Amy Lynn Green's website: https://www.amygreenbooks.com/

Amy Lynn Green's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/amygreenbooks

My full 5-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3210265418

Book Recommendation - Backlash

 This book is an inspirational romantic suspense, second in the Capital Intrigue series. This series follows 3 friends who went to law school at Georgetown together and all obtained jobs in Washington DC, working to make the nation safer. Book 1 focused on Bailey, an FBI agent. This book followed Layla, a CIA analyst. I'm assuming book 3 will focus on Vivian, who works for the State department. Another side character, Izzy, who works at NCIS, is a prominent side-character whose story is told throughout. All in all, this is an enjoyable series with likable characters and enjoyable story lines. While I prefer less romance in my suspense stories, fans of romantic suspense that are equal parts suspense and romance will really enjoy this series.

Here's the back cover blurb for this book:

CIA analyst Layla Karam is thrust into a dangerous DEA field operation against a cartel that puts a target on her back. Though Layla never wanted to be a field agent, Langley had other ideas. After one of her team members is murdered because of fallout from the op, Layla is left scrambling to find safety.

At the same time, the CIA opens up an internal investigation against her. Out of options, Layla turns to ex-boyfriend and private investigator Hunter McCoy for help finding out who might want to ruin her career.

Layla and Hunter soon discover a mole inside the DEA has sold out the team's identity to the cartel. She must clear her name with the Agency and protect herself and her teammates from cartel retaliation. With threats on all sides, Layla must put her trust in Hunter--the man who broke her heart--and hope they both come out of it alive. 

This is one book where the author and main character have a lot in common. Both are part Lebanese (daughters of Lebanese fathers), both went to law school and both have degrees in Middle Eastern studies. Both were sought after by intelligence agencies. This is where the similarities end, though. However, Ms. Dylan has opted to let her character do what she didn't - go on with the intelligence community and thrive there. She notes that she was glad to be able to write a Lebanese main character and tell stories of faith as she goes! I love these little tidbits of learning how the author's life intersects with their characters at times!

This book releases on October 6, 2020. For more information, please check the following links:

Author's website: https://www.racheldylan.com/

Author's facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/RachelDylanAuthor

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJfMYAE05Ew&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2IPnIb6yonaLCw_t-Zj9-u0sgGt5mdRUtATdUGHbAnTnqLOWkHnTTx1ms

My full 4.5 star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3197460189

Book Recommendation - The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus

 

Jaime Jo Wright is the queen of creepy dual timeline romantic suspense. I think she created this category all her own as she adds in element from everyone's favorites. You like dual timelines? Check. You like historical? Check. Contemporary? Check. Suspense? Check. Romance? Check. Gothic? Check. There's a little bit of something for everyone, and there's always a solid, but not preachy, faith thread. Her upcoming release (September 1st), The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus is no different. 

Here's a bit about the story:

1928
The Bonaventure Circus is a refuge for many, but Pippa Ripley was rejected from its inner circle as a baby. When she receives mysterious messages from someone called the "Watchman," she is determined to find him and the connection to her birth. As Pippa's search leads her to a man seeking justice for his murdered sister and evidence that a serial killer has been haunting the circus train, she must decide if uncovering her roots is worth putting herself directly in the path of the killer.

Present Day
The old circus train depot will either be torn down or preserved for historical importance, and its future rests on real estate project manager Chandler Faulk's shoulders. As she dives deep into the depot's history, she's also balancing a newly diagnosed autoimmune disease and the pressures of single motherhood. When she discovers clues to the unsolved murders of the past, Chandler is pulled into a story far darker and more haunting than even an abandoned train depot could portend.

As I was waiting to be able to get an interview with the author, Becca-Rae Weidel from "The Becca Files" posted her interview and she had asked several of the questions I had planned to ask, so with her permission, I've copied some of her interview with author Jaime Jo Wright here:

How was the idea of Bonaventure born in your mind?

I grew up in circus city. So the circus has always been a backdrop for my life. It was a natural setting to use and I created Bonaventure so I could have some creative license versus basing it off of the Ringling Bros.

Wow, how fun!

The moment I read “Peter Pan” I knew Peter’s character was inspired by your son who you refer to as Peter Pan on social media. How similar is your son to the character you created? Did he actively help you with that creation?

My son is very similar to Peter in the story. In fact, my son actually created the Nitro Steel and Rustman characters for my book. He was pivotal in making Peter a character.

I bet he really liked being included like that!

Chandler’s character deals with Lyme disease which I know you have yourself. Can you share a little bit of your experience what it was like writing a character with similar struggles to your own? Did you find it easier or more challenging?

Well, honestly, I found it easy to write because I didn’t have to do any research. Chandler’s medical experiences in the story were pulled from my own. So, if you read hers, you’ll pretty much know what it’s like for me on a daily basis.

My heart goes out to you, because that certainly can’t be easy.

It appeared that Chandler was more afraid of people’s reaction to her disease than she was the Lyme itself. Is this something that you relate to or was that more for her character? 

Totally something I relate to. A fear is being patronized and losing credibility as a valuable and effective part of society, but also, of not being taken seriously, either. Because, after all, Lyme isn’t a visual disease that people can see its effects. Often it feels like people think I’m pretending.

I’m so sorry that you feel that way! Hopefully the more awareness for Lyme Disease that gets out there the less you will feel like that.

Chandler’s mom-heart… oh how it read like you bled your own heart onto the pages through Chandler’s. Was it challenging to be that vulnerable or did it feel more freeing that you were able to get your feelings out onto the paper? 

It wasn’t challenging for me. It was freedom to write my own emotion toward my own son. I have a fierce instinct when it comes to him and Chandler’s reactions during the book are precisely how I would envision myself responding. (good or bad, lol)

I can picture this.

The bond between Pippa and Lily was truly heartwarming. Where did the idea for this come from? What do you hope readers would take away from this relationship?

Well, I’ve always loved elephants. I mean, growing up with them practically in my backyard, helped. I wanted people to see the correlation between human and animal. That both are precious and deserve to be treasured and cared for.

So very true 

Overall what do you hope readers will take away from this novel?

Really that they are seen. First and foremost. This is a world that tends to cancel people out instead of hold them within our grasp and show grace. But that grace—that hope—is there, and our Creator never lost sight of us.

There aren’t even words for how much I love this response   

This book releases September 1, 2020. For additional information, please check out the following links:

Jaime Jo Wright's website: https://www.jaimewrightbooks.com/

Jaime Jo Wright's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JaimeJoWright

My full 4-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3187331984?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

The Becca Files full blog post: https://thebeccafiles.com/2020/08/30/the-haunting-at-bonaventure-circus-author-interview-with-jaime-jo-wright/?fbclid=IwAR1ALLIrGKOfDX43fk84tH4eGaJZbiHRTzJzLJCTmEAUyXGsLr_QX-uqrBY

Book Recommendation - The Shepherd's Wife

 

Angela Hunt is a name I have long trusted in Christian fiction and she writes various sub-genres within that genre, namely women's fiction and Biblical historical fiction. Her Biblical historical have been among my favorites in that genre. The Shepherd's Wife is book 2 in the Jerusalem Road series and runs in the same timeline as book 1, which is a bit unique in that the books don't build on each other, picking up where the previous one left off. I'll be interested in seeing how the rest of this series plays out! This book is from the perspective of the earthly sisters of Jesus (daughters of Mary and Joseph) and gave a very interesting perspective! 

Here's the synopsis:

 Yeshua of Nazareth has two sisters: Damaris, married to a wealthy merchant’s son, and Pheodora, wife of a simple shepherd from Bethlehem. When Pheodora’s husband suffers an unexpected reversal of fortune, she returns to Nazareth, where she pins her hope on two she-goats who should give birth to spotless white kids that would be perfect for the upcoming Yom Kippur sacrifice.

In the eighteen months between the kids’ birth and the opportunity to sell them and redeem her husband, Pheodora must call on her wits, her family, and her God in order to provide for her daughters and survive. But when every prayer and ritual she knows is about God’s care for Israel, how can she trust that God will hear and help a lowly shepherd’s wife?

This book releases October 6, 2020. For more information, check out the following links:

Angela Hunt's website: https://www.angelahuntbooks.com/
Angela Hunt's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Angela.e.hunt
My full 4 star review:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3283782372

Book Recommendation - A Portrait of Loyalty

 

For historical romance, Roseanna M. White is one of my go-to authors. This is because of her well fleshed-out characters who you can absolutely relate to (even the villains, most times), as well as the story-line, which always  includes some adventure and mystery, and a solid faith thread. As I don't enjoy romance quite as much, I love it when the romance also includes these elements. And when it teaches me some history in the process, even better! A Portrait of Loyalty is book 3 in her Codebreakers series, which follows cryptographers in WWI employed by the British Admiralty. This book can be read on its own as the story itself stands alone, but if you're reading all 3, I'd recommend reading them in order. This book is absolutely superb with strong characters, a fantastic story and a sweet romance to top it all off. Timing-wise, this one is coming out at a great time as the politicking due to the current events in 1918 in this book feel eerily similar to current events today. I actually reached out to Ms. White about it and she advised that the re-writes/edits of this book were completed in November 2019, so it was purely coincidence that things sounded a lot like 2020. 

Here's a blurb about the book:

Zivon Marin was one of Russia’s top cryptographers, until the October Revolution tore apart his world. Forced to flee after speaking out against Lenin and separated from his brother along the way, he arrives in England driven by a growing anger and determined to offer his services to the Brits.

Lily Blackwell sees the world best through the lens of a camera–and possesses unsurpassed skill when it comes to retouching and recreating photographs. With her father’s connections in propaganda, she’s recruited to the intelligence division, even though her mother would disapprove.

After Captain Blackwell invites Zivon to dinner one evening, a friendship blooms between him and Lily. He sees patterns in what she deems chaos; she sees beauty in a world he thought destroyed. But both have secrets they’re unwilling to share. When her photographs reveal that someone has been following Zivon, his loyalties are called into question–and his enemies are discovered to be far closer than he’d feared.  

This book releases September 8, 2020, though she is currently offering sneak peak pages to her newsletter subscribers. Check out her website to sign up! For additional information, please see some links below:

Roseanna M. White's webpage:https://www.roseannamwhite.com/

Roseanna M. White's facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/RoseannaMWhite

My full 5-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3190081239

Book recommendation - Love and a Little White Lie

 Tammy Gray is well known for her contemporary romances that include real, raw emotions, difficult topics, and realistic relatable characters. Her latest book, which starts her new State of Grace series, is no different. Love and a Little White Lie has those trademark elements of Ms. Gray's, but also includes a bit of humor and of the books of hers I've read, a more solid faith thread. This author generally writes conversion stories and this one is no different, but in this story, Jan is surrounded by Christians throughout the story and that makes the difference in the faith element.

Here's a little blurb about the book:

THERE'S A LOT OF IRONY IN HITTING ROCK BOTTOM

After a heartbreak leaves her reeling, January Sanders is open to anything--including moving into a cabin on her aunt's wedding-venue property and accepting a temporary position at her aunt's church despite being a lifelong skeptic of faith. Choosing to keep her doubts to herself, she's determined to give her all to supporting Grace Community's overworked staff while helping herself move on.

What she doesn't count on is meeting the church's handsome and charming guitarist. It's a match set for disaster, and yet January has no ability to stay away, even if it means pretending to have faith in a God she doesn't believe in.

Only this time, keeping her secret isn't as easy as she thought it would be. Especially when she's constantly running into her aunt's landscape architect, who seems to know everything about her past-and-present sins and makes no apologies about pushing her to deal with feelings she'd rather keep buried.

Torn between two worlds that can't coexist, can January find the healing that's eluded her, or will her resistance to the truth ruin any chance of happiness?

As part of her launch team, I was able to do some Q&A with the author. Here's how that went:

1. Which character most resonates with you and why?

Definitely January. I struggle a lot with trusting people and being vulnerable. Even now after 21 years as a Christian, prayer feels hard to do because it is so intimate. I just love how God pursues her and how people around her show the love of Christ. It was the same for me.

2. You mentioned in your author note (and facebook group) that you'd basically quit writing a couple of years ago and then God gave you this story. Can you tell us a little bit about that time period in between?

It all happened around the same time -- the quitting and the writing. I told my readers I was taking a year off to see what I needed to do and began praying. Pieces of this story would come, and I would write, but I never had a plan to publish it. I was writing for me again. And then suddenly, I was writing for Him, and I knew I had to get these words out to the world.

3. What do you hope readers will glean from this story?

There are so many lessons to take. Each character is struggling in their faith. For me, it was learning to let go of control, and to let God's plan reign. For others, they may feel stagnant in their faith like Cameron or questioning it all together, like Dillon. My hope is that everyone feels inspired by the story in some way.

4. Did anything in this story surprise you as you were writing?

Honestly, the biggest surprise was how much I enjoyed writing humor. Drama has always been my thing, but this time, it was fun to combine both, release the tension, and poke a little fun at some the "churchy" things we all do.

5. What was your inspiration for writing this novel?

I have spent most of my author life writing about shame, addiction and pain prior to belief. This time, I wanted to show a little of what it looked like to be a Christian on the long journey. To show what abundant life looks like. That was my inspiration. The Christian journey.

6. Any fun bits of trivia about this novel or the writing of it that you'd like to share?

I guess some fun trivia would be that the tree I reference in the story is real as is the wedding venue, although it has a different name and resides in Dripping Springs, TX. But I had friends get married under an amazing oak tree, and it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies I've witnessed. I knew immediately it would be in a story one day.

7. What do you have coming next?

Book 2 in the State of Grace series is next! Aug 2021. I've turned it into my editor and I'm so very excited about this story. Just a little hint... you will see some characters from book 1. 🙂

I'm very much looking forward to book 2! Love and a Little White Lie releases August 4, 2020. I strongly recommend checking it out! 

For more information, please check out the following links:

Tammy Gray's website:http://www.tammylgray.com/
Tammy Gray's facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/tlgraybooks/
Tammy Grays reader room on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3068117613234632
My full 5-star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3130890408?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Book Recommendation - Bride of Convenience

When it comes to Christian historical romance, Jody Hedlund is one of the names that comes to mind for a great story. I was introduced to her writing several years ago when I won her biographical fiction piece on John Newton entitled "Newton and Polly". Two years ago, she wrote an amazing series on the orphan trains that I thoroughly enjoyed and she is currently doing a series on the bride ships that brought women from England to the Canadian colonies where miners had settled in and men outnumbered the women 100 to 1. When Ms. Hedlund learned of these ships, she wondered at what sort of desperation would cause women to leave the only home they've ever known, sail for months at a time to come to a colony and plan to marry a stranger. This series looks into those reasons and each leading lady has a different one. Bride of Convenience is the 3rd book in this series. It follows Zoe, who has come to the colonies on the bride ship not only to be a bride, but also to find her brother who immigrated 2 years prior. When she finds herself in custody of an orphan child, she knows that she has to find a husband sooner than later. While I'm generally not overly keen on romance novels in general, a marriage of convenience story is probably my favorite trope within the romance genre. I think this is because the love is built on the solid foundation of commitment, and I appreciate that about a romance novel.

Here's a brief synopsis of this novel:

Unemployed mill worker Zoe Hart jumps at the opportunity to emigrate to British Columbia in 1863 to find a better life and be reunited with her brother, who fled from home after being accused of a crime.

Pastor to miners in the mountains, Abe Merivale discovers an abandoned baby during a routine visit to Victoria and joins efforts with Zoe, one of the newly arrived bride-ship women, to care for the infant. While there, he’s devastated by the news from his fiancee in England that she’s marrying another man.

With mounting pressure to find the baby a home, Zoe accepts a proposal from a miner of questionable character after he promises to help her locate her brother. Intent on protecting Zoe and frustrated by his failed engagement, Abe offers his own hand as groom. After a hasty wedding, they soon realize their marriage of convenience is not so convenient after all.

For more information, check out the following links:
Jody Hedlund's website: https://jodyhedlund.com/
Jody Hedlund's facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jody.hedlund
Jody Hedlund's reader room facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1645996612301613/about
My full 4.5 star review of this one: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3380968885