A Tree, A Book, and A Breeze

Once Upon a Prince Rachel Hauck Zondervan Well, as I am sure many of you know, I don’t read a lot of contemporary fiction. I’m just not fond of it- I have very “old-fashioned” morals and ideas, so it just comes down to the fact that I don’t agree with/relate to most contemporary fiction. But I’ve been meaning to find some novels set in present day that I actually would enjoy. I saw Once Upon a Prince available for review- and let’s face it: I love anything to do with royalty. So this book seemed like a good place to start. When crown prince Nathaniel takes an American holiday to St. Simon's Island, he's  not  looking for love. Like everything else in his life, the choice of a bride is out of his hands---a matter dictated by his royal position. But when he meets Susanna under the ancient Lover's Oak in southern Georgia, will romance trump responsibility? Once Upon a Prince kind of reminded me of those Hallmark channel chick flicks, both the pros ...

The Heiress of Winterwood Sarah E. Ladd Thomas Nelson Darbury, England, 1814 Amelia Barrett, heiress to an estate nestled in the English moors, defies family expectations and promises to raise her dying friend’s baby. She'll risk everything to keep her word—even to the point of proposing to the child’s father—a sea captain she’s never met. When the child vanishes with little more than an ominous ransom note hinting to her whereabouts, Amelia and Graham are driven to test the boundaries of their love for this little one. Amelia’s detailed plans would normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she’s forced to examine her soul and face her one weakness: pride. Graham’s strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own discipline. And away from the family he has sworn to love and protect. Both must learn to accept God’s sovereignty and relinquish control...

A Noble Groom Jody Hedlund Bethany House Publishers I read Jody Hedlund’s The Preacher’s Bride not that long ago and quite enjoyed it, so while I admit I couldn’t take the cover of this book seriously (handsome man looking off in the distance with his tie blowing in the wind…*giggles*) I decided to check it out. Recently widowed Analisa Weiss has the feeling her husband was murdered but can't prove it. Alone with her young daughter in 1881 Michigan, she has six months left to finish raising the money needed to pay back the land contract her husband purchased, and the land is difficult to toil by herself. She needs a husband. With unmarried men scarce, her father sends a letter to his brother in the Old Country, asking him to find Analisa a groom. I did enjoy this book. It was rather more romance-y than I usually like (quite a few skippable kisses, in my humble opinion) But I think Mrs. Hedlund is a good writer, and I loved the fairy tale references used through...