Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Finding Us by Tracie Peterson

 



Very similar to the first book yet entirely different. You don't think of the evil people who attend events like the Expo in Seattle 1909. This continuation is a wonderful story of Eleanor who is there to work with a camera at the Expo until the event is over, but loves botany. She meets a botanist also working there, who had been living in Alaska and had recently been on a ship that sank getting to Seattle. There the plot thickens and it's hard to put it down. Characters you'd like to know. Strong lessons of faith. Excellent story. 

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

#FindingUs #NetGalley #TraciePeterson #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #BethenyHouse #ChristianHistoricalFiction #FiveStarHistorical 

Synopsis
One candid photograph will change the lives of four people forever.

While taking photographs at an exposition in Seattle in 1909, Camera Girl Eleanor Bennett snaps an image of a woman in widow's clothes with deep sorrow etched in her expression and a young infant in her arms.

Eleanor longs to study botany at the University of Washington and soon becomes fast friends with botanist Bill Reed, but she can't stop thinking about the widow in the photograph. She is stunned to learn Bill recognizes the woman as the sister-in-law he believed lost in a shipwreck.

As Eleanor and Bill hunt for Amelia Reed to reunite her with her grief-stricken husband, they must stand together to face the danger that follows and learn to trust that God will direct their paths. 

About the author
Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than one hundred books. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.

Visit Tracie's web site at: http://www.traciepeterson.com











My reviews

Wednesday, December 6, 2023

The Prince of Egypt - The Musical

 



This is a new digital musical out that you can purchase. Very beautiful costumes and sets. Beautiful people, beautiful voices and some very beautiful songs. The storyline is pretty and might be a good illustration of Moses life at the beginning of the story, but there are liberties taken and then an almost total break from the bible truth. This is a story of two brothers. 

The real story is about God's love for his chosen people and how He rescued them from slavery, returned them to freedom and prosperity in their promised land. About the miracles that He performed through Moses that made this happen. 

I can't honestly recommend that you watch this for anything other than a fantasy piece. If all you want is entertainment, this has its beauty. It made me sick to see the deviation from the biblical truth and would be very misleading to anyone who wants to know what the story really is. If you decide to see this, please read the bible to know what the true and really most beautiful story is.

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

#PrinceOfEgyptMIN #PrinceOfEgyptMusical #MomentumInfluencerNetwork #FalseBiblical #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout

Synopsis from filmmakers: Filmed live at the West End's Dominion Theatre, London, the show features a cast and orchestra of 60 performers, making it one of the biggest musicals ever staged. The Prince of Egypt: The Musical is the must-see event for all fans of musical theatre. Based on the classic DreamWorks Animation film the classic story has been brought to life by Stephen Schwartz’s “miraculous music” (Time Out), including Academy Award®-winning song ‘When You Believe’ and Sean Cheesman’s “astonishing choreography” (The Guardian). This epic, critically acclaimed production tells an inspiring tale of resilience and hope. Journey through the wonders of Ancient Egypt as two young men, raised together as brothers in a kingdom of privilege, find themselves suddenly divided by a secret past. One must rule as Pharaoh, the other must rise up and free his true people; both face a destiny that will change history forever.


Giveaway: $10 Amazon giftcard
(Note: This is limited to US winners only. Please submit your full name and email address in comments by 12/8. Winner will be chosen at random.)

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Forever Lovely by Linore Rose Burkard

 

What a joy, a pure pleasure to read. Margaret, an English bluestocking, believes that she's hopeless. To try to improve her fortune, she begs her relative to escort her to the future where her sister is. Only things don't happen as they normally do for him when he time travels. She's soon left alone in New York City in the future with little to go on, and her adventure begins. A Jane Austen event is happening nearby, so she has a cover as she figures out what to do. A lovely predicament that leaves you turning the pages and loath to put it down. As the story builds, situations snowball for her and for those trying to help her. Enriching and fun. I highly recommend this! What an escape!

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.

#ForeverLovely #LinoreRoseBurkard #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #LilliputPress #ChristianHistoricalRomance #FiveStarHistorical 


Note: This sequel can be read as a stand-alone.

When Miss Margaret Andrews travels to the future to find her missing sister, she never expected to find true love. In 1819 England, Margaret is a bluestocking with dreams of becoming an inventress, but when the Tallit, a magical time-travel shawl, goes awry she finds herself stranded in 21st Century Manhattan. At a Jane Austen conference, she meets Stewart Russell, a grad student studying early British female writers. Stewart is immediately taken with Margaret and her effortless use of the speech and manners of Jane's day—until she claims to be FROM Jane's day! Worse, due to a mix-up, he is a wanted man and the clock is ticking. Margaret must find a way to get them both back to 1819—before the unthinkable happens.

If you enjoyed the time-travel romance of Outlander, then you'll love Margret and Stewart's story in Forever Lovely. Buy now before the price changes!


Linore Rose Burkard

Goodreads Author


Born
The United States
Website


Twitter


Genre


Influences
author: Georgette Heyer/311150, Pearl S. Buck, Jane Austen, Eleanor Es ...more


Member Since
December 2008


URL



Linore Rose Burkard ( L.R.Burkard) is a serious watcher of period films, a Janeite, and hopeless romantic. An award winning author best known for Inspirational Regency Romance, her first novel (Before the Season Ends) opened the genre for the CBA. Besides historical romance, Linore writes contemporary suspense (The Pulse Effex Series, as L.R. Burkard), contemporary romance, and romantic short stories. Linore has a magna cum laude English Lit. degree from CUNY which she earned while taking herself far too seriously. She now resides in Ohio with her husband and family, where she turns her youthful angst into character or humor-driven plots.

Sign up for Linore's newsletter to get updates on new books, works in progress, giveaways, special sales, and more. You'll receive a free Regency "flash fiction" story, Sign up at HERE

Linore is Vice President of the Dayton Christian Scribes, and a Regional Director of CAN, Christian Authors Network. Her biggest guilty pleasure aside from ice cream is cheering the NY Mets. Her husband knows how they're doing from the other side of the house! (It's true what they say, "You can take the girl out of New York, but....." )

My reviews

Monday, December 4, 2023

Capturing Hope by Angela K Couch

 



During the thirty-six-day invasion, it is estimated that close to two hundred thousand Poles were killed, with many more injured or captured and thousands left homeless.

Amazing. No matter how many stories you hear about war it's always heart wrenching in its own unique way. Nadia is a girl who was raised in Polish nobility. Her father befriended an American photographer and confided in him. As the Germans begin to invade Poland, things change rapidly, and David promises her father to see Nadia safely to England. Their journey changes their lives forever, as well as some of those they encounter. Gripping story...you just have to know what will happen next, how they'll get out. So much sadness, but they also learn to recognize the miracles that happen along the way. Very well told, mostly documenting actual events.

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.

#CapturingHope #AngelaKCouch #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #ChristianHistoricalFiction #FiveStarNovel 


About the Book

Book: Capturing Hope

Author: Angela K Couch

Genre: Historical Christian Fiction

Release Date: November, 2023

One step ahead of the Nazis. . .leaves Nadia little room for hope.

Full of intrigue, adventure, and romance, this new series celebrates the unsung heroes—the heroines of WWII.

After her father is murdered by Nazis and her mother flees to her native Germany, hope is something of which Nadia Roenne feels little—even if it is the meaning of her name. It isn’t until an American photographer sacrifices his escape from Poland to save a Jewish family, that she finds a purpose. David Reid is very familiar with failure, but when he is charged with getting Nadia safely out of Poland, he is determined to succeed—even if she works against him at every turn, putting other’s lives ahead of her own. While they race against the daily shower of bombs over Warsaw and the ever-nearing German army, Nadia grows used to risking her life. . .but dare she risk her heart?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

To keep from freezing in the great white north, Angela K Couch cuddles under quilts with her laptop. Winning short story contests, being a semi-finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest, and a finalist in the 2016 International Digital Awards also helped warm her up. As a passionate believer in Christ, her faith permeates the stories she tells. Her martial arts training, experience with horses, and appreciation for good romance sneak in as well. When not writing, she stays fit (and toasty warm) by chasing after five munchkins.


 

 

More from Angela

When I first decided to set a story during the invasion of Poland, I was woefully unprepared for the pain and horror I found there. I wasn’t new to World War II and had just finished writing A Rose for the Resistance, which is set in France during the war and deals with the resistance and the Normandy invasion. The atrocities and genocide in Poland cut so much deeper.

In the early hours of September 1, 1939, the small town of Wielun, Poland, woke to a shower of bombs on their community. They did not house an army or warehouses, only homes and civilian businesses. Wielun was not the only town or village targeted—demonstrating the Nazi goal to spread fear and death. Six months earlier, Hitler had promised that if Poland did not bow to his wishes, he would wipe them off the map. Over the next month, and more so in the following six years, he came very close to succeeding.

For the full month of September 1939, while German armies rolled across the country, the city of Warsaw endured daily bombardment. Homes, workplaces, churches on Sunday morning, the Warsaw maternity hospital— nowhere was safe. On the tenth of September, someone recorded seventeen separate air raids over the city. I was moved to tears while viewing photographs of women and children who had been shot in the streets and fields by the bombers after they had dropped their payloads over the city.

No one came to their rescue.

Poland was abandoned by its allies to the Nazis.

So how do you write about all that and more while still trying to keep hope alive in the story and in the characters who have to live through such a frightening and demoralizing history?

I invite you to read Capturing Hope to find out.

Blog Stops

An Author’s Take, November 30
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 30
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, December 1
Lily’s Corner, December 1
Texas Book-aholic, December 2
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 2
Locks, Hooks and Books, December 3
For him and My Family, December 3
Betti Mace, December 4
Books You Can Feel Good About, December 4
Life on Chickadee Lane, December 5
Cover Lover Book Review, December 5
Alena Mentink, December 6
lakesidelivingsite, December 6
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 7
Blossoms and Blessings, December 7
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, December 8 (Author Interview)
Devoted to Hope, December 8
Bizwings Book Blog, December 9
Exploring the Written Word, December 9
Holly’s Book Corner, December 10
Pause for Tales, December 10
Connie’s History Classroom, December 11
Labor Not in Vain, December 11
A Good Book and Cup of Tea, December 12
Lights in a Dark World, December 12
Joy Suzanne Hunt, December 13
Books I’ve Read, December 13

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Angela is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon eGift card and copy of the book!!

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/2909b/capturing-hope-celebration-tour-giveaway




My reviews

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

The Shift from Angel Studios

 


Another meaningful movie. A twisted shift on the Book of Job. Quite twisted - in a deep way. After a tense encounter with a mysterious stranger with otherworldly powers, a man is banished to a tyrannical, parallel Earth where he fights to get back to the woman he loves. Really makes you wonder what will happen next. So very well filmed and acted, with some very familiar faces. You simply HAVE to feel something when watching this. No one is ever beyond hope, too far gone or lost, that they can't be helped if they have faith and hold on to it. No one is ever alone who has faith in God. Choose faith, you will be found. When you let your light shine in what you do, how you interact/treat others, you may spread hope without even knowing it. If you have a chance to see this in movie theaters, see it! You won't feel sorry. From Angel Studios (The Chosen, Sound of Freedom). Get your tickets to see this movie in theaters starting 12/1!

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

Giveaway: 2 tickets to see the film in theaters (Note: This is limited to US winners only. Please submit your full name and email address below by 12/3. Winner will be chosen at random from the comments.)

 #TheShiftMIN #TheShiftFilm #MomentumInfluencerNetwork #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #FiveStarMovie


• Featuring Sean Astin (The Goonies, Rudy, The Lord of the Rings), Neal McDonough (Band of Brothers), and Elizabeth Tabish (The Chosen), THE SHIFT is a movie you and your friends won’t want to miss!

• You can help pay for other people's tickets to come to the film at angel.com/pay-itforward/the-shift.

• Synopsis: In The Shift, a dystopian drama and sci-fi thriller, one man is faced with infinite worlds and impossible choices. When Kevin Garner meets a nefarious adversary known as The Benefactor and refuses his offer of wealth and power, he must escape an alternate totalitarian reality. With survival on the line, Kevin fights to make it back to the world he knows and the woman he loves.


Website: LINK 

Pay-It-Forward: LINK 

Buy Tickets: LINK 

Trailer: LINK

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Hearts of Gold by Grace Hitchcock

 



Three novellas set in the 1800s with the depth of full length books. Easy to sink deeply into the stories and become attached to each of them. Each has obstacles to overcome and build their lives, each has a handsome helpmeet to become close to. Strong yet sweet girls you'll love to champion! Excellent read.

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.

#HeartsOfGold #GraceHitchcock #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #ChristianHistoricalFiction #FiveStarNovel 

About the Book


Book: Hearts of Gold

Author: Grace Hitchcock

Genre: Historical Romance

Release Date: August 14, 2023

The Bridal Shop

Alice Turner, the owner of one of Charleston’s finest bridal shops, is determined never to be dependent on a man for anything after the disgrace of her father’s prison time. When her best friend requests Alice to be her maid of honor, she reluctantly sets aside her feelings on marriage and dons a stylish bridesmaid’s gown, never intending to catch the eye of the handsome groomsman. Will he be able to convince Alice to open her heart again?

Miss Beaumont’s Companion

When Italian lady’s companion Aria St. Angelo is coerced into posing as her political employer’s absent daughter for the evening at the Louisiana Governor’s masquerade ball, she wasn’t planning on falling for Byron Roderick—the most eligible bachelor in the capitol. But, when he pays call at the Beaumont’s home, Aria is quickly shuffled into the shadows once more, forced to watch him fall in love with another woman.

The Becoming of Miss Blanche

Content to remain a Harvey Girl forever, fiery Tacy Blanche has worked in nearly every Harvey House down the Santa Fe line. But, when she accepts the position of second waitress at the new Montezuma resort, Tacy isn’t expecting her former fiancé’s brother to return to her life—

Pinkerton Jasper Caffery had long abandoned hope of ever finding Tacy again, but while on holiday in New Mexico, Jasper collides with the woman who had never noticed him before. He decides to take his chances and attempt to woo her. However, when Tacy’s past catches up with her, more than Jasper’s heart is at stake.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Grace Hitchcock is the award-winning author of multiple historical novels and novellas. She holds a Masters in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in History. Grace lives in the New Orleans area with her husband, Dakota, sons, and daughter. Connect with her online at GraceHitchcock.com. 

More from Grace

Q: What do you love about writing historical fiction?

Grace: I absolutely love the research aspect. I love learning and discovering little known pieces of history. In that research, I love asking the great “what if” question and see where it takes me while still having to follow the guidelines set up for historical fiction.

I’m pretty certain every author started as an avid reader who dreamed of how they would change an ending or change who the heroine ended up with if they could write the book instead. (Anyone else think Theodore Laurence should have married Jo March?) It’s that ever-beautiful question of “what if” that has haunted some of my favorite stories and often drives my own stories to spark to life.

Q: Have you traveled to any places you’ve written about?

Grace: My books have been set in Chicago, many in New York, Newport, New Orleans, and Charleston, which I’ve been able to visit! My upcoming Regency Romance, To Catch a Coronet, is set in London, which I toured many years ago. After writing my Regency, I’ve added an overflowing number of places to visit in England, and even Scotland where my third book will be set.

Want to know which book is set where?

Hearts of Gold: Charleston, Baton Rouge, and New Mexico

The Finding of Miss Fairfield: Charleston and New Mexico

The Pursuit of Miss Parish: New Mexico

To Catch a Coronet: London

My Dear Miss Dupré: New York and Newport

Her Darling Mr. Day: New Orleans

His Delightful Lady Delia: New York

The Gray Chamber: New York

The White City: Chicago

Q: How do you incorporate faith into your storylines?

Grace: I always weave in a faith theme, or verse, into the story. My goal with this novella collection, Hearts of Gold, is to provide readers with clean entertainment while subtly pointing them to Christ. And as with all of my books, something that I am learning inevitably ends up in the story in some form or another. Even though it feels a bit vulnerable to put my personal lessons in a book, I think that it offers a level of genuineness that can bring life to the story and hope to the reader.

Q: What aspect of romance do you enjoy writing about?

Grace: Before I started writing for publication, I would be reading and get very aggravated if the heroine chose the wrong hero in my eyes and I would rewrite the ending in my head, or even set aside the book with only pages left so I didn’t mess up the ending I wanted. Writing a romance is so much fun because now I understand the “formula” if you will about the obstacles placed in the lover’s path and the beauty of when they finally are together.

Q: Please tell us about your most recent book.

Grace: To Catch a Coronet releases with Kregel Publications in May 2024! This Regency Romance has been so much fun to research and while it is a challenge to change eras from Gilded Age to Regency, I’ve loved finding new, unique ways to get my heroines into trouble that inevitably has them meeting their true hero!

About To Catch a Coronet:

London, 1813

Sometimes the only way to out stride scandal is to catch a crown big enough to silence it.

After breaking off two arranged engagements, country baker turned heiress Muriel Beau takes matters into her own hands and asks the visiting baron she loves to marry her in a very public proposal and is met with an emphatic rejection. With no other course but to flee Kent society, Muriel knows the only way out of this debacle is to out stride it by catching what every society matron dreams of obtaining—a coronet with a sumptuous title to match. And after a glittering reception in the courts of London, Muriel’s best laid plans might come true after all.

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, November 18
DevotedToHope, November 18
Locks, Hooks and Books, November 19
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, November 20 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 20
Lakesidelivingsite, November 21
Texas Book-aholic, November 22
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 23
Alena Mentink, November 23
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, November 24
Cover Lover Book Review, November 25
Hannahbandanarama, November 25
For Him and My Family, November 26
Books You Can Feel Good About, November 26
Back Porch Reads, November 27
Exploring the Written Word, November 27
Blossoms and Blessings, November 28
Holly’s Book Corner, November 29
Splashes of Joy, November 29
Pause for Tales, November 30
Connie’s History Classroom, December 1
Lights in a Dark World, December 1

Giveway

To celebrate her tour, Grace is giving away the grand prize package of an autographed Copy of My Dear Miss Dupré, Her Darling Mr. Day, and His Delightful Lady Delia!!

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/28ef0/hearts-of-gold-celebration-tour-giveaway




My reviews



Friday, November 17, 2023

What I Promise You by Liz Tolsma - launch team and preorder

 

Yay! So looking forward to this book. Timely!!

The preorder link is: https://www.amazon.com/What-Promise-Echoes-Past-Book-ebook/dp/B0CJ4CKYRY/

#LizTolsma @LizTolsma #booksyoucanfeelgoodabout #BarbourFiction #christianhistoricalfiction

A Family’s History Is Lost to the Ravages of WWII in Southwest France
 
1942
Noémie Treves, a young, pregnant Jewish woman, had her entire world shattered when she is arrested and taken to the Camp de Rivesaltes transit camp in Southwest France. No sooner does she arrive, though, than she assists in helping two young girls scheduled for transport escape to a nearby maternity hospital. The matron there befriends her and changes her name to help hide her. But nothing goes according to plan, and Hannah finds herself doing the unimaginable to save one precious life.
 
2022
Caitlyn Laurant is haunted by recent events in her life and hopes becoming a nurse on the mission field will help her forget. While in training, she and her friends travel to France where her grandfather was born. What should have been an easy search for his birthplace turns into anything but and reveals secrets that no one alive has ever heard.


Liz Tolsma

Passionate might best describe Liz Tolsma. She loves writing, research, and editing. Her passion shone through in her first novel which was a double award finalist. On any given day, you might find her pulling weeds in her perennial garden, walking her hyperactive dog, or curled up with a good book. Nothing means more to her than her family. She’s married her high-school sweetheart twenty-eight years ago. Get her talking about international adoption, and you might never get her to stop. She and her husband adopted three children, including a son who is a U.S. Marine, and two daughters.

Author * Editor * Speaker * Podcaster

2023 Christian Market Book of the Year Award Winner

2023 Angel Book Award winner historical fiction

What I Promise You (February 2024)

What I Would Tell You (January 2023)

A Picture of Hope (Heroines of WWII series)

Website

Christian Historical Fiction Talk podcast