A Tree, A Book, and A Breeze

The Blackout Book Club Amy Lynn Green Bethany House Publishers   An impulsive promise to her brother before he goes off to the European Front puts Avis Montgomery in the unlikely position of head librarian in small-town Maine. Though she has never been much of a reader, when wartime needs threaten to close the library, she invents a book club to keep its doors open. The women she convinces to attend the first meeting couldn't be more different--a wealthy spinster determined to aid the war effort, an exhausted mother looking for a fresh start, and a determined young war worker. At first, the struggles of the home front are all the club members have in common, but over time, the books they choose become more than an escape from the hardships of life and the fear of the U-boat battles that rage just past their shores. As the women face personal challenges and band together in the face of danger, they find they share more in common with each other than they think. But whe

  When the Day Comes Gabrielle Meyer Bethany House Publishers   Libby has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 Colonial Williamsburg and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one life, she wakes up in the other without any time passing. On her twenty-first birthday, Libby must choose one path and forfeit the other--but how can she possibly decide when she has so much to lose? This is one of the most unique premises for a Christian fiction book that I've yet found. The idea of living in one world and waking in another is something I have read before (any of y'all remember Ted Dekker's Circle Trilogy?) But I've never seen it done with historical time periods.  I do admit some of this one was difficult to read, being both stressful and anger-inducing. (In one time period, our main character is forced into marriage and basically raped by her husband). The uncertainty also made it difficult for me to really get attached to

  Carved in Ebony Jasmine L. Holmes Bethany House Publishers This book wasn't quite what I expected, although now that I'm taking a better look at the title, I'm realizing I should have guessed that. Rather than being straight-up biographical (as I thought) this mixes biography and memoir. Some of the book was a little repetitive (although, granted, there isn't a whole lot of information to work with for a few of the women) and I would have loved it if it had included at least a few pictures. I think the chapter I enjoyed the most was on Charlotte Forten Grimke; I recognized the last name, and then she was described as a "folklorist" (among many other things!) and then it turns out that she collected folklore from South Carolina's sea islands! All of the ladies included led interesting lives, but I think she's the one I'd most love to have a conversation with. I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for

  Shadows of Swanford Abbey Julie Klassen Bethany House Publishers In pursuit of an author who could help get her brother published, Rebecca Lane stays at Swanford Abbey, a grand hotel rumored to be haunted. It is there she encounters Sir Frederick--the man who broke her heart. When a mysterious death occurs, Rebecca is one of the suspects, and Frederick is torn between his feelings for her and his search for the truth. I enjoyed this one just as much as I have Julie Klassen's other books. This one had a well-developed mystery that reminded me of Charles Dickens (which makes sense, since in the afterward she mentions one of his characters as a particular inspiration.) I especially enjoyed the setting and while this book was lighter on the romance than a lot of the author's other books, I really did love the characters together. In fact, this one had a pretty distinctive cast of characters altogether, and after watching Death on the Nile the other night, I couldn't hel