Reclaiming the Spy (Agents of Espionage Book 2) by Lorri Dudley

 

Another really special, faith filled love story. Full of lessons to rely on God and not on your own understanding.  Abby and Nick were just married when he was called into service for the Crown during the war with Napoleon. He became a valued spy and stayed away from home for 10 years until the death of his Mother. Circumstances made him reveal himself to Abby, when he had planned on leaving again. She had never stopped loving him even though she was told he was dead. Wonderful love story with a great deal of struggle for both of them, heart wrenching at times. The proof of God's faithfulness shines through. Solid faith, very believable characters to get caught up with. Help comes from unexpected places. Second in a series but stands alone (read the first one, you'll be glad you did!)

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.

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About the Book

Book: Reclaiming the Spy

Author: Lorri Dudley

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: August 29, 2023

How can he protect her from himself when she keeps winding up in his arms?

She never gave up hope. After ten years of prayers for her husband, presumed dead in the Peninsula Wars, Abigail Emerson is shocked to discover him alive. Yet what should be the happily ever after of fairy tales becomes a nightmare when he coldly instructs her to forget she’d ever seen him. Abigail refuses to let her beloved slip through her fingers again, and she’s willing to battle for his love, despite the walls he’s created to barricade his heart.

Nicholas Emerson’s time as a spy for the War Office has left physical and mental battle wounds. He can never be the charming, carefree man he once was—the man his wife deserves—but when a threat to Abby’s life returns him to their small Midland village, keeping her safe proves more challenging than expected. If only Abby would forget him and remarry, then he wouldn’t have to face the torment of all the tender, buried feelings she evokes. The consequence of his life as a spy means he can never have her again… 

Click here to get your copy! 

About the Author

Lorri Dudley has been a finalist in numerous writing contests and has a master’s degree in Psychology. She lives in Ashland, Massachusetts with her husband and three teenage sons, where writing romance allows her an escape from her testosterone filled household. Find her online at www.lorridudley.com. 

More from Lorri

When writing stories, I delve into research to provide the best experience for my readers, hoping to transport them to another time and setting, in this case, the lush green rolling hills of England’s Cotswolds at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. However, God had an alternative plan for me during my research and writing of Reclaiming the Spy. To prepare for the beginning scene with Mama Em, I read Glimpses of Heaven by Trudy Harris, RN. Trudy Harris was a hospice nurse and wrote about her clients in their final days. I’ve never sobbed through every book chapter quite like I had this one. At the same time, I was encouraged to hear how many of her patients heard glorious music, observed beautiful scenes, had visions of past friends or family members, witnessed angels, or even saw their Savior, Jesus Christ. 

I didn’t realize that God was preparing me through my research for my dad to go into hospice care. In his final stages, my dad spoke of seeing his parents in vivid dreams, and thanks to reading about similar situations in Glimpses of Heaven, I know they were waiting to welcome him into heaven. I’m so grateful for how God readied my heart, and I was able to draw comfort in seeing how He blurs the lines of this realm and the next to make for an easier transition. God is good all the time, and I felt his presence beside me the entire way. 

I’d initially titled my manuscript Love Never Fails because Abby and Nicholas struggle to learn the qualities of love from 1 Corinthians 13, “Love is patient, love is kind… love believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Nicholas’s debilitating spells and nightmares after serving as a spy in the Napoleonic Wars cause him to fear Bedlam and that he may hurt Abby. Post-traumatic stress disorder wasn’t a mental health diagnosis of the early 1800s, but it did exist. Mental hospitals (or madhouses) were frightening places where inmates were often treated like zoo animals. Spectators would come for enjoyment to stare and laugh at the men and women housed there. 

While my parents didn’t have a wartime story like Abby and Nicholas, they shared a love that endured through good and bad times and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past year. The last few days my dad was alive, he sang Amazing Grace and to my mom a Doris Day song, I Love You a Bushel and a Peck. They shared a love that never failed, and that is the love I hoped to convey through Abby and Nicholas’s story.

Blog Stops

Alena Mentink, August 30
lalkesidelivingsite, August 30
Melissa’s Bookshelf, August 31
Connie’s History Classroom, August 31
Betti Mace, September 1
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, September 2
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, September 2
She Lives To Read, September 3
Texas Book-aholic, September 4
Sylvan Musings, September 4
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, September 5
Locks, Hooks and Books, September 6
The Book Club Network, September 7
Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, September 7
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, September 8
Books You Can Feel Good About, September 8
For Him and My Family, September 9
Lily’s Book Reviews, September 10
Christina’s Corner, September 10
Book Looks by Lisa, September 11
Cover Lover Book Review, September 11
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, September 12 (Author Interview)
Pause for Tales, September 12
Holly’s Book Corner, September 13

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Lorri is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!!

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

https://promosimple.com/ps/278c0/reclaiming-the-spy-celebration-tour-giveaway

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Anchor in the Storm (Waves Of Freedom) by Sarah Sundin

Christian historical romance, murder and mystery, with characters you'll love.

I've read a lot of series, and I've dearly loved many. But this is the first time as I read the first few paragraphs that I instantly knew/remembered each and every character in the series - they came to life once more.  Sarah's writing makes the characters memorable and I've especially enjoyed these. I read a little each night before going to bed; I rarely have the time to sit and just read as long as I like anymore. I so look forward to picking the story back up each evening. It was so hard to put this down and not read it all the way through at one time.  I found myself from time to time during the day wondering if Arch thought or did this or if  Lillian did that.

This book is perfectly named - each of the lead characters rely on God as their anchor in the storms they weather during the difficult times of WW2. Arch is a wealthy aristocrat who finds solace in a Navy career, until he's been through horrible war situations that have left him with battle fatigue. They called it 'weak nerves' back then and didn't recognize it for what it was - often ending their military career. He ends up falling for his best friend's sister. A beautiful girl who lost part of her leg when she was younger and people look down on her because of it. She went to school and became a pharmacist, then moved to Boston where her brother found her a job at a drug store. While she's working she notices something isn't quite right with the prescriptions being dispensed there. Arch notices that many of his Navy colleagues are also having symptoms of battle fatigue, and some are taking medication that is dulling their senses. They begin putting things they've noticed together, and soon they're both in great danger.  Each has finally found someone who loves them for themselves, just as they are, but they're afraid to take that chance. They both have issues with trust, and push each other away as much as they're drawn to one another. As usual, Sarah has written this so well that you feel you know the characters personally. You don't have to read the previous book, but I highly recommend it as well.  I'm glad that we will have Quintessa and Dan's tale next!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Baker Publishing Group, Revell and the Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.

From Booklist in their May 15 issue:
Following the celebrated Through Waters Deep (2015), Sundin returns to the Boston Navy Yard in the latest installment in her Waves of Freedom series. With riveting doses of intrigue and inspiration, this delightfully unexpected plot is driven by action and balanced by iconic 1940s elements. Readers will be swept up by the novel's chilling dramatic irony, heartwarming charm, and rich naval history as Sundin tells a compelling story of rising above appearances and finding one's true anchor in faith.

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The Memory Weaver by Jane Kirkpatrick

Another wonderful Christian Historical by master story teller Jane Kirkpatrick, based on facts about American Indian missionaries Eliza and Henry Spalding, and their daughter Eliza. This is the story about the daughter - expanding on actual diaries and documents - mixed as Jane Kirkpatrick so skillfully does with faith and life wisdoms. 

At the age of 10 young Eliza was among the hostages taken by the Cayuse, a traumatic event (including massacres) that took place for 39 days before the British paid the ransom for their release. Eliza was forced to be an interpreter, since she was the only one who spoke all the languages of the captors and hostages.  This explores her life as she lives on after this tragedy, expected to act as an adult, and goes on to marry and raise children of her own. 

The story of her relationship with her father, her husband and actual events in their lives is very interesting - growing up and still coping with memories of her early life. It's woven with excerpts from her mother's diary, sometimes showing that things were not always the way that she perceived them from her 10 year old vantage point. You can't help but be touched by the story of this strong woman of the 1800's and her story of survival. 

From Eliza's mother's diaries:  

"... suffering arrives when one longs for what is not and can never be again. "

And during her life among the Indians: ". . . she aided me in understanding that the way I saw the world was not the only way to see it. "

As stated by the author: "It's my hope that this story allows each of us shaped by tragic and painful events to see that we are not alone and that there is a way to weave new cloth." 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Baker Publishing Group, Revell Reads - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use ofEndorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”. 

From the book:
Eliza Spalding Warren was just a child when she was taken hostage by the Cayuse Indians during a massacre in 1847. Now the young mother of two children, Eliza faces a different kind of dislocation; her impulsive husband wants them to make a new start in another territory, which will mean leaving her beloved home and her departed mother's grave--and returning to the land of her captivity. Eliza longs to know how her mother, an early missionary to the Nez Perce Indians, dealt with the challenges of life with a sometimes difficult husband and with her daughter's captivity.

When Eliza is finally given her mother's diary, she is stunned to find that her own memories are not necessarily the whole story of what happened. Can she lay the dark past to rest and move on? Or will her childhood memories always hold her hostage?

Based on true events, The Memory Weaver is New York Times bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick's latest literary journey into the past, where threads of western landscapes, family, and faith weave a tapestry of hope inside every pioneering woman's heart. Readers will find themselves swept up in this emotional story of the memories that entangle us and the healing that awaits us when we bravely unravel the threads of the past.

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London Tides by Carla Laureano

  

I loved the cover and the quick review and was eager to read it. This was the second book in the series, but I didn't know it until just now. It works as a stand alone but I think it would have been a better experience to have read book one first. It's a Christian romance, but if you're a strict Christian you may not appreciate the references to when the characters had slept with others (although in this story they do not sleep together). It turned me off.

Grace and Ian have a past - in fact Grace left Ian just before their wedding. She's an Irish girl who's a photographer in war-torn and poverty stricken areas, so she has PTSD. But she's come back to London to see Ian and her best friend, and has an exciting new job offer.

Ian never talked her down after she left, but has not found anyone else. He's not quite sure he can trust Grace not to leave him again though.

This is a steamy off again, on again relationship. I felt that it was very interesting, but in the third quarter I was ready for everyone to make a decision and stick with it - sick of Grace's issues. I actually got to the point where I was going yada yada yada and skipping over paragraphs. I wonder if that happens all too much in the lives of those who have PTSD? I consider myself compassionate, but I just didn't want it dragged out anymore. Maybe that was the point you were supposed to get and it was pretty realistic. I didn't make a personal connection with the characters, so I didn't feel for them. That being said, in the end everything was wrapped up beautifully with a wonderful Christian lesson.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the David C Cook - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Useof Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”. 

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Now and Forever (Wild at Heart Book #2) by Mary Connealy

Adventure and suspense from the beginning to the end!

A new Christian Historical Romance from Bethany House. This is not your girly girl regency style romance - not at all. Of course the setting in the Dakota/Idaho Territory in 1866 might give you a clue to that. As would the great cover of the book with the cute girl who has a short haircut and cowboy hat on.

The girls in this story, folks, all served in the Civil War pretending to be men. That must have been a great story. This is one of the few books that I think I would have been better off reading the previous book first. It took me a bit of perseverance to stick with the explanations at the beginning of the book, and then as the earlier story is revealed bit by bit along the way things start to make more sense. 

This is the story of the middle sister, Shannon, who connects with mountain man Tucker. It's full of adventure right from the beginning, blended with a great deal of humor and biblical & faithful lessons.  You hear these days about people who come back from serving in the military and the issues they deal with. You don't hear as much about those who fought in the Civil War and what it was like when they returned. How they coped. Usually you read about how those left at home survived.  You truly feel for Shannon who was forced to sign up for the war and then had to do things during it that none of us would want to do, let alone a young girl. And a tough girl can still only take so much. And then you wonder if a mountain man is a good match or a bad one. This is a good read with lots of adventure and mystery to keep you page-turning until the end!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the Bethany House Publishers - Netgalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”. http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html

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