Tuesday, April 29, 2025

The Ragpicker: Salem Village - Novella by Pegg Thomas

 



Salem Town and Salem Village 1691, taking place before the Salem witch trials. There were struggles between the Puritans and the Quakers - had been for many years before. Little 8 yr old Verity's family all died, and the Puritans gave her to an old, widowed woman who lived in very run-down conditions. She had other orphans as well and took all that was given to her for their care yet provided very little to the children, turning them out to work to support themselves. Verity is pitied by the others in town, but one family, Quakers, especially showed her kindness and determined to get her away. Heart wrenching at times - you'll need tissues and will hold your breath wondering how it will turn out, so believably written. Good faith lessons. It will leave a mark.

I received this book free from the author and publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#TheRagpicker #PeggThomas #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #ChristianMystery&Suspense #SpinnerOfYarnsLLC #ReligiousHistoricalFiction

Synopsis:
In the shadows of Salem Village in 1692, one young girl must navigate the complexities of a divided society.

Often cold and hungry, eight-year-old
 Verity Manton, an orphaned ragpicker, clings to the scraps of love and kindness in her harsh world. Things get tangled as the village Puritans' strange behavior grows more alarming. Verity is caught between the safety of her life and the promise of a better future with a Quaker family who reaches out to her. Yet, she has been warned her whole life that Quakers are evil.

Will Verity have the courage to trust her heart and choose a path that defies everything she has been taught? This powerful prequel novella to the Salem Village series will leave you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Fans of historical fiction and strong female protagonists will love this captivating tale.

About the Author:
Pegg Thomas lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with Michael, her husband of *mumble* years. She creates American stories with real history and fictional characters inspired by her ancestors who immigrated here in the early 1600s.











My reviews:

Saturday, April 26, 2025

Written on My Heart: A Shumard Oak Bend Novel (Discerning God’s Best Book 5) by Heidi Gray McGill

 



It's hard to change, even harder for other people to accept the change. Self-doubt, bullies, people who let us down, make for very good faith lessons. Both Betsy and Gabe have quite a personal journey in this story. Tenderly and faithfully written, a very good read that will keep you engaged. 

I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
 
#WrittenOnMyHeart #HeidiGrayMcGill #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #HeidiGrayMcGillBooksLLC #ChristianHistoricalFiction

My reviews

Monday, April 21, 2025

Perfect: A Sweet Gilded Age Romance (Hearts on Display Book 1) by Kimberly Keagan

 



A perfectly lovely story. Perfectly lovely people on their own, but when they meet, they are just what the other needs. Not perfectly matched in some people's eyes. She's a failing small bookshop owner and he's in town to build his family's new large department store. Interesting - mystery, danger, wealth, condemnation from high society - all make an interesting mix to the perfect ending. Excellent read!

I received this book free from the author and Book Sirens book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#Perfect #BookSirens #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #VentanaPublishingLLC #GildedAgeHistoricalFiction #KimberlyKeagan #ChristianHistoricalFiction @KimberlyKegan @BookSirens

My reviews
Amazon



Land of Dreams (Home to Green Creek Series Book One) By Lauraine Snelling with Kiersti Giron

 



In 1889 on the ship coming to America from Norway Amelia lost her parents to cholera. The people staying by them also died, leaving her as legal guardian to their little daughter. Her obligation as guardian took her to Iowa, to the girl's inherited boarding house which had fallen into much disrepair. Their lives had been changed on the ship and now they faced many new challenges, but good people came into their lives as well. Hard work and loving hearts make all the difference as they form a new family and make a new life for themselves. They're wonderful people you'll quickly love and yet there are some you'll mistrust. Struggles, some heart wrenching times. Melting warmth. People you'd love to know and be neighbors with. Leaves you wanting more to the story!

I received this book free from the author, publisher and CelebrateLit book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#LandofDreams #NetGalley #LauraineSnelling #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #BethanyFiction #ChristianHistoricalFiction #KierstiGiron



About the Book

 

Book: Land of Dreams (Home to Green Creek Series Book One)

Authors: Lauraine Snelling with Kiersti Giron

Genre: FICTION / Christian / Historical

Release date: April 1, 2025

From Norway to America, they must strive for resilience amid unpromising new beginnings.

On the ship to America, Norwegian immigrant Amalia Gunderson makes a solemn promise to a dying mother, vowing to watch over her five-year-old daughter, Ruth. Together, Amalia and Ruth trek to Iowa to claim the farm and former boardinghouse that Ruth has inherited, despite opposition from a difficult cousin. Struggling with an empty house and scarce resources, Amalia resolves to return the boardinghouse to its former purpose, aided by the kindness of strangers and the resilient spirit of her young charge.

As Amalia and Ruth fight for their new home, a trail of orphans shows up on their doorstep, and Amalia makes a promising friend in Absalom Karlsson, the magistrate’s son. With each challenge they face, Amalia and Ruth find hope in believing that faith and determination can overcome even the most daunting of trials.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author



Lauraine Snelling is the award-winning author of more than one hundred books, fiction and nonfiction, for adults and young adults. Her books have sold more than five million copies. She makes her home in Tehachapi, California.

 

 

 

More from Lauraine

Different stories come about different ways.  One of the things I’ve learned through these years of writing is the value of slowly waking up and paying attention to what was going on in my mind. I saw a young woman standing at the railing of a ship tossing on rough seas. A gray day. And I heard the splash as her father’s body sank into the waves. I sniffed, mopped my eyes and settled back, hopefully to sleep awhile longer. But the dream, if that was what it was, continued. A little girl named Rut, or Ruthie, joined Amalia at the rail, slipped her hand into the young woman’s and asked if she could please come, her mother wanted to see her. And my internal game of what if continued for these people on a cholera attacked ship from Norway to Amerika.

I knew a new story had begun but had no idea where it was going. As I said, I treasure that time between sleeping and waking when I can part the curtains to my subconscious mind and see what it has been playing with. What a gift God has created in us.

Around about the same time, something brought a story that one of my aunts on my father’s side told me when I asked her what she remembered of her growing up years. Auntie Harriet chuckled and asked, “Have you heard of the rutabaga years?” I shook my head and settled in to listen. They were a family of eleven children, my dad being the eldest, they lived in a big two story house with a huge garden, a flock of chickens and bad weather. Late spring freeze, early fall freeze and much of the produce killed off. All but the root crops, and rows of rutabagas. Many were dug and stored in the cellar, lots left in the ground, to be dug up later. Rutabagas can be fried, boiled, mashed, grated, turned into soup and stew, mixed with other vegetables, added to pancakes, even turned into pie. Ah, yes, the rutabaga years, Auntie Harriet said she didn’t particularly care for rutabagas for a long time after that. But in the mean time, they became part of Amalia and Ruthie’s new life at a big house Ruthie inherited in Green Creek. North and West of Decorah Iowa in 1819. Come join a delightful cast of characters in Land of Dreams.

Blog Stops

Giveaway


To celebrate her tour, Lauraine is giving away the grand prize of a $25 gift card to the Baker Book House website and paperback copy of the book!!


Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54198


My reviews

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

The Indigo Heiress: (A Marriage of Convenience Historical Romance Novel Set in 1700s Colonial America and Scotland)

 


Enthralling. Become completely immersed and admire Juliet. Set in 1774 she's from a prominent tobacco plantation family but is also involved with the business and understands it's workings and how to run it. It's a shock when on short notice her father orders her to marry a merchant from Scotland. With this wordsmith, it's lovely being engulfed in their lives and lifestyles on each continent, where so much is soon uncovered and with a backdrop of the war in America. This one's a keeper - you'll treasure every moment reading it.

I received this book free from the author and NetGalley bloggers review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
 
#TheIndigoHeiress #NetGalley #LauraFrantz #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #Revell #ChristianHistoricalFiction @LauraFrantz @NetGalley


Description
Virginia plantation life is all she has ever known.
But could the life she was meant to live be waiting on a distant shore?

In 1774, Juliet Catesby lives with her father and sister at Royal Vale, the James River plantation founded by her Virginia family over a century before. Indigo cultivation is her foremost concern, though its export tethers her family to the powerful Buchanan clan of Glasgow, Scotland.

When the heir of the Buchanan firm arrives on their shores, Juliet discovers that her father has arranged for one of his daughters to marry the Scot as a means of canceling the family's crippling debt. Confident it will be her younger, lovelier sister, Juliet is appalled when Leith Buchanan selects her instead.

Despite her initial refusal, Juliet realizes that fleeing Virginia is her only choice after finding herself in the midst of a scandal. The ship just leaving the harbor for Glasgow is her only hope. But she will soon realize that being part of the complex and calculating Buchanan clan is not the sanctuary she imagined--and the man who saved her from ruin is the very one she must now save in return.

About the author
Bestselling, award-winning author, Laura Frantz, has been writing stories since age seven. She is passionate about all things historical, particularly the 18th-century and her novels often incorporate Scottish themes that reflect her family heritage. She is a direct descendant of George Hume, Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland, who was exiled to the American colonies for his role in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, settled in Virginia, and is credited with teaching George Washington surveying in the years 1748-1750. Proud of her heritage, she is also a Daughter of the American Revolution. Though she will always consider Kentucky home, she and her husband live in Washington State. 

According to Publishers Weekly, "Frantz has done her historical homework." With her signature attention to historical detail and emotional depth, she is represented by Janet Kobobel Grant, Literary Agent & Founder, Books & Such Literary Agency of Santa Rosa, California. Foreign language editions include French, Dutch, Spanish, Slovakian, German & Polish.

Readers can find Laura Frantz at www.laurafrantz.net

*Subscribe to Laura's seasonal newsletter and receive new release information, news about contests, giveaways, and reader events, sneak peaks and teasers, signings and appearances, and more! To subscribe, click here or copy and paste this into your browser's address window: 


My reviews

Saturday, April 12, 2025

Minno Laugh and Grow Bible for Kids - Easter

 

Do you have kids or grandkids?

I'm a fan! Even though it's in cartoon form, they stick to scripture and then explain in a "soft" format for kids to understand and be interested in. Since it's the story of Jesus, Easter and His resurrection they get the whole picture and know that Jesus is alive.

This isn't another movie where they make up stories adding to scripture and I love that about it. This format should hold kids' interest to learn about Jesus and the Christian faith. It's a great channel with lots of other Christian bible topics for additional learning and growth.

With the Minno Laugh and Grow Bible for Kids Easter Special available to watch for FREE, every child can hear the story of Easter and the hope that Jesus offers in a way that was made just for them.

Even if you’re not a Minno member - you can stream the Easter special for FREE at this link: https://gominno.com/lp/easter. (It's also on YouTube if that's easier.)

Website: https://gominno.com

#MinnoEasterMIN #MomentumInfluencerNetwork @gominno 


Giveaway: $10 Amazon gift card
(Note: This is limited to US winners only. Please submit your full name and email address by 4/20 in the comments below. Winner will be chosen at random. We will not be able to accept winners submitted after this date.)

Many thanks to Minno for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.




Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Whatever It Takes: A Split-Time Sisters in Arms by Sarah Hanks

 



A dual time frame story with two sets of sisters who are going through very tough times, centering around families. Believably told, you feel like you get to know them and at times wish you could talk to them. One set is in present time, the other during the Civil War. Henrietta signs up to fight in the Civil War disguised as a man because they paid a good wage to men, not women, and she had to support her sisters. Very interesting points of view for each timeline situation and lots to learn about. Great read where you really just have to know how things will end.

I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#WhateverItTakesNovel #SarahHanks #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout  #SonFlowerBooks #ChristianHistoricalFiction @SarahHanks

My reviews

Thursday, April 3, 2025

Show Me Your Glory movie trailer

 


How do you explain … the unexplainable? When does the impossible … become possible? Why are some prayers for healing answered and others … never are? Through true stories of the supernatural crashing into human suffering, a compelling new documentary arrives in theaters this spring—unlocking the possibility that the impossible still happens in our world. Meet experts who have studied miracles and suffering, discover true stories of the seemingly unbelievable, and be reminded that prayers can be answered in ways that we could never expect or imagine. If you or someone you love has ever pondered life’s deepest question—“If there is a loving God, why is there so much suffering and evil in the world?”—experience hope, encouragement, and awe with SHOW ME YOUR GLORY.

I have had my own miracle healing from cancer - Praise the Lord! This looks like it will be interesting to watch.

SHOW ME YOUR GLORY is releasing in theaters only on May 13-15.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jGM8u8TL2I
#ShowMeYourGloryMIN @showmeyourglorymovie #MomentumInfluencers #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout