A MATTER OF HONOR by Laura Frantz ~ charming, engaging. A true delight! 5-star review

Posted on August 1, 2024 by marykaymoody

Having grown up at Wedderburn Castle in the serene Scottish Lowlands, Orin Hume is thrust into the dazzling realm of London society and Court circles as Poet Laureate of Britain. But at the height of his fame a former tragedy and his ties to a lass he once loved lead him home to Berwickshire again. When his return is further marred by lost love letters and scheming kin who conspire to keep the pair apart, can Lady Maryn Lockhart, now Duchess of Fordyce, forgive him? Or will the shadows of the past and the complexities of the present rewrite their love story? [back cover copy]

A MATTER OF HONOR by Laura Frantz is a charming read. A novella, and though shorter and thus having fewer characters and complexity than a full length novel, is every bit as engaging and delightful a journey to her promised happily-ever-afters as are her full-length works.

The story is set in Berwickshire (an area of the Scottish Borders), and the setting comes alive under Frantz’s pen—whether a misty spring morning on the Hume estate.

A windy overlook near Fast Castle ruins along the coast.

Or strolling one of many gardens. Reading this is actually more like watching a movie!

Though we’ve met many of the characters previously in Frantz’s novel THE ROSE AND THE THISTLE, readers need not be concerned if they haven’t read that. The characters are 24 years older, and Frantz presents each one with sufficient clarity and well-chosen detail that we immediately feel acquainted:

Lovell sent Orin a sharp look. “… Why has no English lass turned your head? You’ve been in London for years, ever since the—”

The unfinished sentence held the lash of a whip. “Ever since the accident, aye.” … He’d rather talk of anything but the accident. (p 12)

Summoning every shred of courage she had, and disguising her disfigurement as best she could, she said a prayer and sallied forth. She, who had hidden in a cottage for years, was being forced into the open like a hothouse flower. How she chafed at this new role. But determination to get off on the right foot with Grandfather’s tenants came first. (p 65)

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the person young Orin Hume has become—a kind, contemplative man of great honor and compassion. And his life-long friend, Maryn, who was to become his wife until a cruel accident, and then even crueler kinfolk, interfered. Frantz deftly reveals the depth of caring these two have for each other and the interference they’ve experienced. She deftly peels away layers of subterfuge and shows us the consequences—until it seems all but impossible they can untangle the schemes against them and find their way back to each other.

Should [Orin] seek his brother’s counsel … The laird was a very practical man. Suppose Everard tried to dissuade him? …. In truth, what mattered most was the Almighty’s opinion. Only [Orin] hadn’t asked Him.” (p72)

Would [Maryn] have done anything differently? The facts remained and trumped any fine feeling. She was part invalid. She could not do her own hair, could not dress without help. She could no longer ride a horse nor play the pianoforte … She could not even pick up a child …. Did that not preclude her from marriage? (p 78)

But as each makes decisions to move on with their life, and give of themselves to make the lives of others better, their view of each other changes. They grow and are emboldened to take risks in sharing their hearts. Their journey to each other is WONDERFUL reading—packed with beauty, honor, delightful scenes, and surprises a-plenty.

He looked as magnificent as she felt disheveled. Clad in a blue and black tartan coat and dark breeches, every inch of him was finely tailored but not overplayed. Time had done nothing to diminish his presence. (p 93)

You can purchase A MATTER OF HONOR on Amazon. And meet Laura online at her website or from there on social media.

Photo credit: Spring morning, woods & bluebells — Bing wallpaper; Coastal overlook, Fast Castle — Copyright 2024 Anne Burgess, www.geograph.org.uk/photo/7811838, licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence; Cottage garden — http://www.wandlenews.com/english-cottage-garden/; Letters — Laura Frantz Pinterest.

BORN OF GILDED MOUNTAINS by Amanda Dykes ~ Captivating! 5-star review

Posted on July 9, 2024 by marykaymoody

A lost treasure. A riddled quest. The healing power of friendship.

Legends are tucked into every fold of the Colorado mountains surrounding the quaint town of Mercy Peak, where residents are the stuff of tall tales, the peaks are taller still, and a lost treasure has etched mystery into the very terrain.

In 1948, when outsider Mercy Windsor arrives after a scandal shatters her gilded world as Hollywood’s beloved leading lady, she is determined to forge a new life in obscurity in this time-forgotten Colorado haven. She purchases Wildwood, an abandoned estate with a haunting history, and begins to restore it to its former glory.

But as she does, her every move tugs at the threads of the mountain’s lore, unearthing what became of her long-lost pen pal Rusty Bright, and the whereabouts of the infamous Galloping Goose Railcar No. 8, which vanished years ago–along with the mailbag it carried, whose contents could change the course of countless lives. Not to mention the fabled treasure that–if found–could right so many wrongs.

Among the towering mountains that stand as silent witnesses, the ghosts of the past entangle with the courage of the present to find a place where healing, friendship, and hope can abide amid a world forever changed. [back cover copy]

From the opening lines of Born of Gilded Mountains, Amanda Dykes drew me into her Rocky Mountain hamlet. No. In all honesty, I have to say she accomplished that with the light-sparked cover!

Meeting four boys “orbiting 10 years old” was like a reunion with cousins I knew well. And meeting the rest of the characters was as just as smooth and comfortable. As pages turned I joined old friends, and we walked paths to new places with expansive woodland vistas. Encountered new challenges and old roadblocks. Heartrending loss. Heartwarming sacrifice. Boundless gifts. And the pathway is strewn with glimmering surprises and beautiful turns of phrase.

We meet Mercy Windsor on the downhill slope of her Hollywood career. I find it remarkable how, in only a few pages of prologue, Amanda introduces Mercy to us. This excerpt from a newspaper account is an example:

“She arrived on a train and was on her first Hollywood set three hours later. In a world where aspiring actresses give up by the dozens each day … Mercy Windsor’s rags-to-riches … is the stuff of legends. ,,, Who would take on a 10-minute black-and-white scene in the last silent film? … [Owen Haskell] the famously severe film critic was moved until words evaded him. ‘Go and see it,’ he said simply.

‘The single tear that flooded the world.’ they called it. This unknown actress with the face of a waif … Dared to be understated [rather] than the overwrought twisting hands she was urged to employ. To let a single tear splash upon her hand, so empty of her child’s grip….

Soon, the film was everywhere…. The people’s message ‘Give us more of her!’ …and a star was born…. They loved her … The spotlight grew. Roles followed as Cinderella, Guinevere … She didn’t just live on their screens—she lived in their hearts….

Pinnacle Studios … to the press. ‘Mercy Windsor was a gem … but after an unpleasant set of circumstances, Pinnacle has found it unavoidable to prematurely end its relationship with Miss Windsor, who is, in fact, in breach of contract.’ The Mighty Mercy has fallen … and there does not seem to be anyone to catch her.”

In this marvelous tale characters forge unbreakable bonds as we accompany them through various adventures, explorations, and celebrations, all as we wend our way thru a setting as unique, engrossing, and wonder-filled as Oz, Middle-earth, or Narnia.

I ache to tell you detail of the physical adventures or adventures of the soul ~ but fear I cannot without spoiling some of Amanda’s clever surprises—which are glittering gemstones tucked in every fold of this tale.

But I can say I loved the characters and their relationships; the settings are beautifully rendered and real. I felt queasy at the heights, refreshed by cool breezes whispering through pines and over sparkling streams. I loved the journey. I love the heart in this story. It is packed with beauty, humor, kindness, light, compassion, faith, hope, and is a delight to savor!

ABOUT AMANDA: Amanda Dykes is a spinner of hope-filled tales who spends most days chasing wonder and words with her family. She’s the winner of the 2020 Christy Award Book of the Year, a Booklist 2019 Top Ten title, and the winner of an INSPY award for her debut novel, Whose Waves These Are. She’s also the author of Set the Stars Alight (a Christy Award finalist), Yours is the Night (recipient of the Kipp Award, Christy Award finalist), All the Lost Places (Christy Award finalist, starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Foreword), and three novellas. Find her online at amandadykes.com. Or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authoramandadykes or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/amanda_spins_stories/.

Photo credit: Boys – section of Snap the Whip by Winslow Homer, 1872. Woman with Tear – from Photoplay Magazine, September 1915, Woodland gallery – Mary K. Moody.

EMBERS IN THE LONDON SKY by Sarah Sundin ~ compelling, powerful, riveting. 5 stars!

Posted on May 22, 2024 by marykaymoody

EMBERS IN THE LONDON SKY is a superb story from an author who delights us with every book.

As the German army invades the Netherlands in 1940, Aleida van der Zee Martens escapes to London to wait out the Occupation. Separated from her three-year-old son, Theo, in the process, the young widow desperately searches for her little boy even as she works for an agency responsible for evacuating children to the countryside.

When German bombs set London ablaze, BBC radio correspondent Hugh Collingwood reports on the Blitz, eager to boost morale while walking the fine line between truth and censorship. But the Germans are not the only ones Londoners have to fear as a series of murders flame up amid the ashes.

The deaths hit close to home for Hugh, and Aleida needs his help to locate her missing son. As they work together, they grow closer and closer, both to each other and the answers they seek. But time is running short—and the worst is yet to come. [back cover copy]

EMBERS IN THE LONDON SKY is jammed with drama and hard choices—even before factoring in the war!

Sundin is a marvelous storyteller, skilled at creating a sense of place. We feel as if we’re there, whether on a road through the low countries teeming with frightened people fleeing before the German invasion, walking in London over wet cobblestones below a fleet of barrage balloons or heels sinking in muddy parkland, or through smoke-filled streets amid noise of planes, bombs, sirens, cries. And the roar of a fire.

Sundin’s characters, achingly real, appealed to me immediately. Aleida, despite losing her son and arriving in England with very little, has gumption, grit, and hope. And Hugh, despite his upper-class status is working for the BBC, broadcasting from Dunkirk and among the ravaged buildings and populace of London, has warmth, equanimity … and a secret. A cast of vibrant and interesting secondary characters are also very involved.

Weaving these vivid locations and vibrant characters into the inherent drama of war — bombings, people living on top of one another, families separated, danger, illness, politics, espionage—would be a good story. But Sundin, with great skill, goes well beyond, creating a plot that twists and turns like a living thing, giving readers a satisfying story on every level.

But pointing to the various elements Sundin provides to give us a great story falls short of revealing how good this powerful story of love, courage, and sacrifice is. I think one aspect I love about Sundin’s writing is her ability to reveal something about a character in a tiny detail. A small action. A concise bit of prose.

On page 91, for example: Hugh and Aleida have become acquainted and Hugh goes to her apartment unexpectedly to give her a list, promised her by Hugh’s uncle, of homes and institutions to check in her search for Theo. Aleida isn’t home so he waits for her on the street and takes glee in surprising her when she returns. They go inside.

“Hugh paused inside the door, and his smile collapsed. On the coatrack hung Theo’s little gray cap and blue coat.

‘When I find him,’ she said, ‘I’ll be ready.’”

We learn so much about Hugh’s sensitivity and Aleida’s love, hope, and determination despite already searching 6 months for Theo. If Sundin can pack that into just 29 words, imagine the story packed into 369 pages!

Photo credit: Barrage balloons, London damaged bldg- Wikipedia, London Blitz; plane-wallup.net; Building with flowers: Ray Bullen; Elephant-World Wildlife Fund

THE SEAMSTRESS OF ACADIE ~ a stellar story by Laura Frantz! 5-star review

Posted on February 1, 2024 by marykaymoody

THE SEAMSTRESS OF ACADIE is yet another of the stellar works by Laura Frantz.

As 1754 is drawing to a close, tensions between the French and the British on Canada’s Acadian shore are reaching a fever pitch. Seamstress Sylvie Galant and her family–French-speaking Acadians wishing to remain neutral–are caught in the middle, their land positioned between two forts flying rival flags. Amid preparations for the celebration of Noël, the talk is of unrest, coming war, and William Blackburn, the British Army Ranger raising havoc across North America’s borderlands.

As summer takes hold in 1755 and British ships appear on the horizon, Sylvie encounters Blackburn, who warns her of the coming invasion. Rather than participate in the forced removal of the Acadians from their land, he resigns his commission. But that cannot save Sylvie or her kin. Relocated on a ramshackle ship to Virginia, Sylvie struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. When her path crosses once more with William’s, they must work through the complex tangle of their shared, shattered past to navigate the present and forge an enduring future. [back cover copy]

The Acadian expulsion from Nova Scotia is an event that is seldom used as novel settings. It’s a sad chapter in history, and Frantz makes great use of every opportunity for drama in this engaging story. And while the true events are tragic, Frantz in her typical way creates a story worth reading and easy to stick with. (I have started some books that were so disturbing, I could not make myself finish them. This is not such a book.)

Frantz gives us characters we root for, who grow and change through their trials, and are so appealing and interesting we just have to keep reading.

The settings come alive such that you may shiver in the cold, slip your shoes off thinking they are sopping wet, mop the sweat from your brow, or startle at a creak thinking it is a twig snapping as someone creeps up on you. I admire how well Frantz depicts her settings. I am drawn in every time.

We meet the Acadian families in their natural setting and enjoy their lives and celebrations.

But as British ships amass in the bay, the people who, for over a century, have lived simply, worked the land, fished the waters, and found ways to live peaceably with their neighbors sense their way of life is being threatened. Deceit and treachery abound and we are shocked along with them when they are piled aboard dilapidated vessels, forced to leave almost everything behind, then find families are broken apart.

Hardships multiply—filth, disease, storms, Disaster strikes—even to sinking ships. And we hope that those who survive will find peace and wholeness in the new land.

But humanity is there and humanity brings its own kind of wickedness, and hanging on to integrity and hope can be a very long battle. Add the clash of cultures, few friends and new foes—discerning who is friend or foe becomes critically important.

After reading a Frantz tale, I often try to figure out what it is that makes her novels superior quality. She gives us intriguing plots with many surprises, characters who, though flawed, possess integrity, honor, and kindly ways; and settings that come alive. But something beyond that makes her stories ones where I pause and re-read a scene because it’s so compelling. She has a way of imbuing characters with significance—especially those from less valued echelons of society—children, minorities, the elderly.

Another admirable skill Frantz demonstrates is her ability to choose the perfect, tiny action to focus on to elicit powerful emotional responses from her characters and thus from readers. For example, how often have you been brought to tears watching someone wash a shirt? Or from noticing the wallpaper in a new room you enter? Tiny, almost inconsequential actions that have a profound impact in the story as she tells it.

I suspect there are many other skills Frantz employs that I have not yet identified. But identifying them is not necessary to enjoying this captivating story. And we can be assured that Laura Frantz will always end on a hope-filled note.

You can purchase THE SEAMSTRESS OF ACADIE anywhere books are sold. And meet Laura online at her website or from there on social media.

YESTERDAY’S TIDES by Roseanna White ~ Fascinating! 5 star review

Posted on February 21, 2023 by marykaymoody

In two world ward, intelligence and counterintelligence, prejudice, and self-sacrifice collide across two generations.

In 1942, Evie Farrow is used to life on Ocracoke Island, where every day is the same–until the German U-boats haunting their waters begin to wreak havoc. And when special agent Sterling Bertrand is washed ashore at Evie’s inn, her life is turned upside down. While Sterling’s injuries keep him inn-bound for weeks, making him even more anxious about the SS officer he’s tracking, he becomes increasingly intrigued by Evie, who seems to be hiding secrets of her own.

Decades earlier, in 1914, Englishman Remington Culbreth arrives at the Ocracoke Inn for the summer, never expecting to fall in love with Louisa Adair, the innkeeper’s daughter. But when was breaks out in Europe, their relationship is put in jeopardy and may not survive what lies ahead for them.

As the ripples from the Great War rock Evie and Sterling’s lives in World War II, it seems yesterday’s tides may sweep them all into danger again today. [back cover copy]

YESTERDAY’S TIDES by Roseanna White is a gripping tale of fierce love, loyalty, and sacrifice that spans two world wars and half the globe.

Set largely on Ocracoke Island of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, it reveals some fascinating and new (new to me—but perhaps not to North Carolinians) historical episodes. And while the history is intriguing, the story and characters Roseanna weaves are even more so.

YESTERDAY’S TIDES is a dual-time novel and one of the best technically that I’ve read. The story is chock full of interconnections, immersing the reader in both stories such that each new detail reverberates in both eras.

One tip I’ll give readers: tolerate the ambiguity. Even embrace it. Any “holes” you notice aren’t holes but really partial revelations with more to come. Similar to meeting new neighbors, you don’t learn everything about them immediately. They’re revealed slowly, in layers, over time. That is also true for the characters, complex and believable, that we meet in YESTERDAY’S TIDES.

White shares with readers the characters, settings, and drama of the war and families and sacrifice with a deft hand and a breezy style as fresh as the seashore. A couple of quotes will show you:

“She turned his hand so his palm was up and dropped in a handful of screws. ‘There. I knew you’d prove useful.’

‘Oh, yes. Four years at Cambridge prepared me excellently for being a bowl.’” [p53]

“Habit. That’s what it was. What kept her here. Habit, trussed up with names like ‘duty’ and ‘responsibility.’” [p 285]

I highly recommend YESTERDAY’S TIDES. But be warned ~ I suspect you’ll enjoy meeting this Ocracoke family and be drawn into the story so thoroughly that you’ll postpone bedtime night after night.

Roseanna White is a Christy Award winning author who’s written “a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books.” Find out more or connect with her at http://www.roseannamwhite,com.

THE ROSE AND THE THISTLE by Laura Frantz ~ Captivating! 5 Star Review

Posted on February 2, 2023 by marykaymoody

In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley’s father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Blythe quietly awaits the crowning of a new king. But in a house with seven sons and numerous servants, her presence soon becomes known.

No sooner has Everard Hume lost his father, Lord Wedderburn, than Lady Hedley arrives with her maid in tow. He has his own problems–a volatile brother with dangerous political leanings, an estate to manage, and a very young brother in need of comfort and direction. It would be best for everyone if he could send this misfit heiress on her way as soon as possible.

In this whirlwind of intrigue, ambitions, and shifting alliances, Blythe yearns for someone she can trust. But the same forces that draw her and Everard together also threaten to tear them apart. [back cover copy]

THE ROSE AND THE THISTLE captured me from the first.

Lady Blythe is instantly appealing because she has character, values, and spunk which shine against the plight that engulfs her from her father’s political choices. When she returns to England, she faces losing everything and is sent packing to old family friends in the Scottish Borders. And who wouldn’t instantly care about the braw Scotsman preparing to carry the weight of his large family and the laird’s tenants while grieving his father. This new laird, who learns that for some experiences there’s just no schooling or training that prepares you.

All the characters are strong, compelling, yet flawed and completely realistic. In the scene below, only hours after his father’s death and fewer since he went to bed, Everard is awakened from a deep sleep to news of unexpected visitors.

Below, half a dozen people stood near the castle entrance, all looking up at him … Plus a pair of bedraggled women. … He faced the woman he guessed to be the duke’s daughter. She was dressed, or barely. A flattened gown without hoops, hair in a frayed braid, her face ashen. She appeared to wear no stockings, just slippers….Her eyes were wild. Weary.
‘Who are you and why are ye here,’ he asked …
‘I am Lady Blythe Hedley, the Duke of Northumbria’s daughter. And this is my lady’s companion.” She straightened as if gathering her misplaced dignity, the lift of her chin a rebuke to his bluntness. “And you, sir?”

Hardly the chivalrous behavior one expects from nobility, but understandable considering his circumstances.

Frantz is skilled, at portraying people, places, personalities, landscapes, conveying a person’s viewpoint, thoughts, feelings, assumptions, and struggles with only a few well-chosen details. And she is masterful at weaving into the story tiny threads that hint at a possible romance.

The chancy times mean the characters face plenty of dilemmas with pressure to make alliances—but wrong choices could cost them everything: money, friends, title, lands, even their lives. And Frantz is exceedingly clever at tossing in varied personal challenges as she paints the broad strokes of this troubled history with the fine detail of individual dramas.

All these heavy issues could make for a very dark story. But Frantz sets the story in landscapes come alive and laces it with humor, loveliness, sacrifice, and dashes of pure delight.Some favorite methods she uses are below. (And please feel free to mention your favorites in the comments. I’d love to hear them.)

Sparkling epigraphs

Silence, maiden, thy tongue outruns they discretion. [p 102]

Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked and never well mended. [169]

The path to heaven passes through a teapot. [p 221]

What worries you, masters you. [p 227]

Names:

Mrs. Candlish, the housekeeper, (perhaps I should write it Candle-ish) because she spreads light wherever she goes.

And pets Wallace, the puppy, and Pepys, the sparrow who sings treasonous tunes.

Endearing Characters/Nobleness of Spirit:

A loyal servant referring to a snobbish woman: “Her Royal Loftiness doesna have much to do with it.”

Pure Beauty:

Like tangled gold, [her hair] fell free in all its glory.

Tender Moments:

Frantz gives us plenty of these, though I think the one on page 127 as she closes the funeral chapter may be the best… But it would be unfair of me to tell you about it rather than let you discover it for yourself.

I appreciate how Frantz imbues the humblest of things and people of lowest status with great importance.

An example is Lady Blythe intruding belowstairs to check on Mrs. Candlish’s well-being because the housekeeper has appeared harried and tired. Lady Blythe brings a gift—a simple bowl of fresh blackberries, a humble token of appreciation and honor from a Lady to a servant, but a grateful guest to another woman.

All of these skills and plenty of others are on display throughout THE ROSE AND THE THISTLE. I find it impossible to say that one element is most important, but the rich story that results from her weaving them all is a joy to read. In reviews, we are encouraged to say what we liked and what we didn’t. I can’t determine anything in this story I did not like. (I mean—a couple characters were scoundrels but a good story must have conflict.) The only thing I could suggest is to make the epigraphs in a larger or easier-to-read font. I give it 5 stars and plan to read it again!

Laura Frantz is a Christy Award winner and the ECPA bestselling author of numerous historical novels. You can connect with her on her website and Facebook. She is active on Instagram ~ and right now is participating in a big book giveaway.

IN LOVE’S TIME by Kate Breslin — Riveting! 5-star review

Posted on December 30, 2022 by marykaymoody

At the height of World War I, two sweethearts face impossible odds in this powerful tale of courage, duty, and heartbreak.

In the summer of 1918, Captain Marcus Weatherford arrives in Russia on a secret mission, with a beautiful ballerina posing as his fiancée. He’s there to find the Romanov tsarina and her son and glean information about a plot to assassinate Lenin. As the danger intensifies, Marcus’s sense of duty battles with his desire to return home to Clare, the woman he truly loves, before it’s too late.

Military hospital orderly Clare Danner still suffers from Marcus’s betrayal after learning he’s engaged to another woman. Clare also fears losing her daughter, Daisy, to the heartless family who took her away once before. Only Marcus can provide the critical proof needed to save Daisy, but when an injury leaves him powerless to help, Clare’s fate–and the fate of the top-secret mission–hangs in the balance. [back cover copy]

The title of IN LOVE’S TIME declares it’s a romance. What it doesn’t tell you is that it’s also packed with mystery, intrigue, heroes and villains. And like any good detective story, it’s loaded with surprises and twists throughout. (In fact, one of the biggest caught me totally off guard just pages from the end.) I thoroughly enjoyed searching for clues and guessing which were real and which were misdirection.

But let’s return to the beginning. The book opens amidst a dangerous search for not only the Russian tsarina and her son but also information about a plot to assassinate Lenin. The high stakes story is always engaging and keeps you turning pages. It’s well-balanced ~action never overpowers the romance, and the love story, filled with its own complications, never eclipses the war-time drama.

Breslin draws her characters thoroughly. They stand out clearly as unique people with deeply-held opinions and feelings, and I cared about what they cared about. When it seems they’re about to lose something important, Breslin deftly weaves in another plot twist.

The settings and historical detail are well done, always fresh, clear, and well-balanced. They drew me into the place and time, and I enjoyed the visit.

I’ve read most of Breslin’s novels and they’re all complex, engaging tales with surprises aplenty. I’ve come to expect intrigue, danger, suspense, romance, twists and turns. But she still astonishes me! Laura Frantz says IN LOVE’S TIME is “riveting.” I couldn’t agree more. (As does my husband who is currently reading it!) I heartily recommend IN LOVE’S TIME to readers who enjoy historical drama, intrigue, and romance.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and was not required to provide a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Story GOLD by master storyteller Amanda Dykes ~ ALL THE LOST PLACES. 5 STAR review

Posted on December 15, 2022 by marykaymoody

When all of Venice is unmasked, one man’s identity remains a mystery . . .

1807
When a baby is discovered floating in a basket along the quiet canals of Venice, a guild of artisans takes him in and raises him as a son, skilled in each of their trades. Although the boy, Sebastien Trovato, has wrestled with questions of his origins, it isn’t until a woman washes ashore on his lagoon island that answers begin to emerge. In hunting down his story, Sebastien must make a choice that could alter not just his own future, but also that of the beloved floating city.

**Examples of the Venetian guilds: seafoam satin, printers, lace, Murano glass.**

1904
Daniel Goodman is given a fresh start in life as the century turns. Hoping to redeem a past laden with regrets, he is sent on an assignment from California to Venice to procure and translate a rare book. There, he discovers a city of colliding hope and decay, much like his own life, and a mystery wrapped in the pages of that filigree-covered volume. With the help of Vittoria, a bookshop keeper, Daniel finds himself in a web of shadows, secrets, and discoveries carefully kept within the stones and canals of the ancient city . . . and in the mystery of the man whose story the book does not finish: Sebastien Trovato. [back cover copy]

ALL THE LOST PLACES comes alive under Amanda’s hands, skilled at spinning history and imagination into magical gold like old fairy-tale Rumpelstiltskin.

The characters are captivating and took immediate residence in my heart and mind. (Well, one only in my mind, not heart! But he has so much to tell.) They are flawed and real and resonate as the shimmering story unfurls like a spool of satin ribbon wending its way through the implausible islands, the mirroring rivers, the unyielding social order.

The tale begins with a dilemma to be solved, but each step toward resolution leads to another conundrum. And like all good puzzles, pieces and clues gathered must be turned this way and that to discern where they fit. IF they fit. Or we must simply be patient and let the story emerge. And like sunshine beaming upon a foggy mist ~ this story will reveal hidden longings and questions. And the great love of The One Who Made You.

Umbrellas. Have to read the story. 🙂 Mosaic. Torcello Cathedral, Venice Murano Glass Chandelier

Amanda’s storytelling is poetic and powerful such that one cannot turn pages fast enough to satisfy the desire to know what happens next. Yet as the end drew nearer, I ached at leaving it behind. I highly recommend this book to all those who love stories laced with history, intrigue, romance, and hope.

The flags on the book pictured below indicate spots that touched me, shimmered in a special way. The 60 pages early and late unbedecked reflect the reading done before I found flags and after I ran out of the colorful heralds.

You can get a peek at the first chapter on your computer by clicking this link: http://cdn.bakerpublishinggroup.com/processed/book-resources/files/Excerpt_9780764239502.pdf?1663881818 Happy reading!

And if it touches you like it did me, you can purchase ALL THE LOST PLACES where ever books are sold, but often the best deal is from Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/431757

Amanda Dykes is a drinker of tea, dweller of redemption, and spinner of hope-filled tales who spends most days chasing wonder and words with her family. She’s the winner of the 2020 Christy Award Book of the Year, a Booklist 2019 Top Ten title, and the winner of an INSPY award for her debut novel, Whose Waves These Are. She’s also the author of Set the Stars Alight (a Christy Award finalist), Yours is the Night (recipient of the Kipp Award, Christy Award finalist), All the Lost Places (starred reviews from Booklist, Library Journal, and Foreword), and three novellas. Find her online at amandadykes.com.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and was not required to provide a positive review. All opinions are my own.

AS DAWN BREAKS by Kate Breslin – BRILLIANT! 5-star review

Posted on November 7, 2021 by marykaymoody

Her daring bid for freedom could be her greatest undoing.

Amid the Great War in 1918 England, munitions worker Rosalind Graham is desperate to escape the arranged marriage being forced on her by her ruthless guardian and instead follow her own course. When the Chilwell factory explodes, killing hundreds of unidentified workers, Rose realizes the world believes she perished in the disaster. Seizing the chance to escape, she risks all and assumes a new identity, taking a supervisory position in Gretna, Scotland, as Miss Tilly Lockhart.

RAF Captain Alex Baird is returning home to Gretna on a secret mission to uncover the saboteur suspected in the Chilwell explosion, as Gretna’s factory is likely next. Fearing for his family’s safety, he’s also haunted by guilt after failing to protect his brother. Alex is surprised to discover a young woman, Miss Lockhart, renting his boyhood room, but the two eventually bond over their mutual affection for his family–until Alex receives orders to surveil her.

Rose squirms beneath Alex’s scrutiny while she struggles to gain her workers’ respect. But when her deception turns to danger, she and Alex must find a way to put their painful pasts behind them and together try to safeguard the future. [back cover copy]

Kate Breslin’s story AS DAWN BREAKS is at times as tender as the gentle sunrise painted on the cover, at others as stark as a post-tornado landscape. But above all, it’s BRILLIANT!

2017 Silvertown, London

Against the backdrop of World War I, the drama of Rose Graham’s personal life unfolds. She faces a bleak future imprisoned in an arranged marriage to a wicked bully. A shaft of light pierces her misery when an explosion levels the building she works in at a munitions factory, leaving the world to believe she was killed. If she can act fast enough and boldly enough, she just might begin a new life posing as another. She gathers a dead woman’s few belongings and papers and flees.

As her new life in Gretna, Scotland intersects with others, Rose creates a tolerable existence—if she can just keep her story straight. Especially when Alex Baird, the RAF captain son of her landlords, unexpectedly returns home and seems very interested in Rose’s past. She must discern if he’s friend or foe. But before she can, the threads of their lives begin to tangle and the knots just grow bigger, right along with the risks both to her and those she loves.

Breslin’s story is an intricate weave like a detailed jacquard fabric. She gives us a charming love story amid an adventure and mystery, sprinkled with humor. She layers danger, risks from every direction, and plants clues and misdirection as well as Agatha Christie. And when Rose’s road seems to become a cramped, hopeless dead-end, a door is suddenly flung open streaming light and hope.

AS DAWN BREAKS is populated with well-drawn, believable characters, including a well-developed secondary cast that make us feel right at home in the Baird household. Breslin’s characters leap from the page. Their struggles made me ache; their successes, cheer.

And I must say a word about setting. Breslin is masterful in drawing her story world and characters, which clearly emerge from the historical time and place. Every detail rings true, and the story is perfectly balanced, never overloaded with historical details.

I highly recommend AS DAWN BREAKS for those who enjoy historical mysteries, intrigue, and tender love stories.

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers, but was not required to write a positive review. Opinions expressed here are mine.

YOURS IS THE NIGHT by Amanda Dykes ~ a stellar read. 5-star review

Posted on July 26, 2021 by marykaymoody

A mysterious song in the forest . . .
A discovery in war-torn France . . .
A journey toward hope.
The trenches of the Great War are a shadowed place. Though Platoon Sergeant Matthew Petticrew arrived there with a past long marked by shadow, the realities of battle bring new wounds–carving within him a longing for light, and a resolve to fight for it.

One night, Matthew and his comrades are enraptured by a sound so pure, a voice so ethereal, it offers reprieve–even if only for a moment. Soon, rumors sweep the trenches from others who have heard the lullaby too. “The Angel of Argonne,” they call the voice: a mysterious presence who leaves behind wreaths on unmarked graves.

Raised in the wild depths of the Forest of Argonne, Mireilles finds her reclusive world rocked when war crashes into her idyllic home, taking much from her. When Matthew and his two unlikely companions discover Mireilles, they must embark on a journey that will change each of them forever . . . and perhaps, at long last, spark light into the dark.

[back cover copy]

Trench Art of WW I

Yours is the Night, latest book by Amanda Dykes, is set against the dark days of World War I but it’s an amazing book that shimmers with courageous souls, generous hearts, noble spirits, and the fight for light. A reader might have concern about reading a tale set during World War I, especially since Amanda is known for bringing characters and settings to life. I’ve read many books set in wartime. A few I’ve stopped reading. Some I gritted my way through but felt assaulted in the reading. Amanda is almost unique in her ability to keep the story real while finding and focusing on glints of light and life that not only balance out intense images of battle but make the tale a thing of hope and beauty.

She fills her cast with characters from diverse backgrounds ~ a New York horse farm, Oxford University, a woodland cabin. And I’ve fallen in love with every one of our band of travelers. Each is unique, totally likeable, and has no intention of joining the war. But as we journey with them, each is impacted by some aspect of the conflict and must deal with it or be crushed by it.

As I’ve mentioned in reviewing Amanda’s previous books, she writes delightful, lyrical tales with beauty and tender understanding of the broken places in a person. She writes of the impact of choices and how consequences echo into the future. And always, the fight for light and The Light. This book continues that lovely, powerful writing filled with imagery, symbolism, and surprises. I’ll share just a sample.

…a flock of sheep bleated, eating grass like all was as normal as could be …. The scene sliced clean away when I blinked, that green grass flashing into colorless dirt, the blue sky swallowed up by dark. How long, I wondered, would memory keep doing this? Showing up and slashing into the present? [p 141]

This country so deeply scarred by trenches and terror is beginning to feel its wounds stitched together by Allied forces … victory by victory. [p. 174]

The sticks and curves and letters arranged themselves into words that shattered my world. [p. 205]

… Characteristics that stuck out like odd limbs on a person bumbling through the corridors of life, until he found that they weren’t odd limbs at all, but rather the carefully crafted shape of himself, molded to fit like a puzzle piece into this moment. [p. 257]

At times, writing a book review is difficult because a so-so story or cliché characters don’t inspire. But writing a review for this one is difficult because the story is so good that my words fall so very short of conveying the beauty, the power…the light & joy the author has infused into it. I heartily recommend Yours is the Night for a stellar read (and re-read). Join the journey through fear and fog of war, yearning for life and love and peace, and most of all discovery. Who knows? You may, like me, even want to begin carrying a box of matches with you.

Trench Art photo credit: http://www.trenchartofww1.co.uk/images/Lights_Out_Candle_2014.JPG?298

Some links to sources for a copy of Yours is the Night if you’re so inclined:

Baker Book House (pre-order special through 8/2/21: 40% off + free shipping + free gift while supplies) last): https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/260758

Christianbook.com: https://www.christianbook.com/…/9780764232688/pd/232681…

Bookshop.org (Supports independent bookstores) https://bookshop.org/books/yours-is-the-night/9780764232688

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/…/yours-is…/1137897809…

Wal-Mart: https://www.walmart.com/…/Yours-is-the-Night…/683442923

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764232681

Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/…/Amanda-Dykes/9780764232688

Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780764232688