A Tree, A Book, and A Breeze

Of Gold and Shadows Michelle Griep Bethany House Publishers In 1888 Victorian England, Ami Dalton navigates a clandestine dual life. By day, she strives to establish herself as a respected Egyptologist, overcoming the gender biases that permeate academia. But with a heart for rescuing black-market artifacts, she is most often disguised as her alter ego, the Shadow Broker. After eight years in India, Oxford's most eligible bachelor, Edmund Price, has come out of the shadows to run for Parliament and is in search of an Egyptologist to value a newly acquired collection. Expecting a renowned Oxford professor, Edmund instead finds himself entangled with Ami, the professor's determined daughter. As they delve into the treasures, their connection deepens, but trouble emerges when a golden griffin--rumored to bear the curse of Amentuk--surfaces and they're left to wonder if the curse really is at play, or if something more nefarious is hi ding among the shadows. . . . ...

The Lady With the Dark Hair Erin Bartels Revell      Esther Markstrom and her artist mother have always been proud of their ancestor, painter Francisco Vella. They even run a small museum and gallery dedicated to raising awareness of his scandalously underappreciated work. But when Esther reconnects with her former art history professor, she finds her once-solid family history on shaky ground as questions arise about Vella's greatest work--a portrait entitled The Lady with the Dark Hair .      In 1879, Catalan orphan-turned-fugitive Viviana Torrens has found sanctuary serving in the home of an aging artist in Southern France. It is in his studio that she meets Francisco Vella, a Gibraltarian merchant who sells artists' pigments. When her past catches up to her, she is compelled to pose as Vella's sister and join him on his travels or be deported back to Spain to stand trial. Along the way she will discover that the many parts she has been playi...

As 1754 is drawing to a close, tensions between the French and the British on Canada's Acadian shore are reaching a fever pitch. Seamstress Sylvie Galant and her family--French-speaking Acadians wishing to remain neutral--are caught in the middle, their land positioned between two forts flying rival flags. Amid preparations for the celebration of Noël, the talk is of unrest, coming war, and William Blackburn, the British Army Ranger raising havoc across North America's borderlands. As summer takes hold in 1755 and British ships appear on the horizon, Sylvie encounters Blackburn, who warns her of the coming invasion. Rather than participate in the forced removal of the Acadians from their land, he resigns his commission. But that cannot save Sylvie or her kin. Relocated on a ramshackle ship to Virginia, Sylvie struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. When her path crosses once more with William's, they must work through the complex tangle of their shared, shattered past ...

  In This Moment Gabrielle Meyer Bethany House Publishers Maggie inherited a gift from her time-crossing parents that allows her to live three separate lives in 1861, 1941, and 2001. Each night she goes to sleep in one time period and wakes up in another. Until, that is, she turns twenty-one, when she will have to forfeit two of those lives--and everyone she knows in them--forever. In 1861, Maggie is the daughter of an influential senator at the outbreak of the Civil War, navigating a capital full of Southern spies and wounded soldiers. In 1941, she is a Navy nurse, grappling with her knowledge of the future when she's asked to join a hospital ship being sent to Pearl Harbor. And in 2001, she's a brilliant young medical student, fulfilling her dream of becoming a surgeon, yet unable to use her modern skills in her other paths. While Maggie has sworn off romance until she makes her final choice, an intriguing man tugs at her heart in each era. The mysterious Brit...

The Words We Lost Nicole Deese Bethany House Publishers I truly had no idea how much I would enjoy this book when I picked it up. My relationship with contemporary fiction is rocky, but I'm so glad I took a chance on this one. Upon reflection, I think what really makes or breaks a contemporary book for me is the voice and writing style- and Nicole Deese passed that test with flying colors. Speaking of my past with contemporary fiction, grief seems a common denominator in the last several that I have read, and I think this one landed the best and most true for me, without being overwhelming in its depiction. After reading this, I'm not only looking forward to the next book in this series, but exploring this author's previous works as well. (and a heads up that though there is a lovely romance in this book, I wouldn't say that it is as heavily featured/relied on as the series title might suggest). I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my hone...

The Sound of Light Sarah Sundin Revell When the Germans march into Denmark, Baron Henrik Ahlefeldt exchanges his nobility for anonymity, assuming a new identity so he can secretly row messages for the Danish Resistance across the waters to Sweden. American physicist Dr. Else Jensen refuses to leave Copenhagen and abandon her research--her life's dream. While printing resistance newspapers, she hears stories of the movement's legendary Havmand--the merman--and wonders if the mysterious and silent shipyard worker living in the same boardinghouse has something to hide. When the Occupation cracks down on the Danes, these two passionate people will discover if there is more power in speech . . . or in silence. Bestselling author of more than a dozen WWII novels, Sarah Sundin offers pens another story of ordinary people responding to extraordinary circumstances with faith, fortitude, and hope for a brighter future.      I haven't read many books that take pla...

What Happens Next Christina Suzanne Nelson Bethany House Publishers   Popular podcaster and ex-reporter Faith Byrne has made a name for herself telling stories of greatness after tragedy--but her real life does not mirror the stories she tells. When she's asked to spotlight her childhood best friend's missing-person case on her podcast, she uncovers desperate secrets and must face the truth before she can move forward. This marks my fourth consecutive read from a genre I don't typically explore, and honestly, I'm not quite sure it was actually the genre I was expecting. Told from three different viewpoints (one of them in the past), this book lacked the suspense or tense mystery I was anticipating, and instead focused more on dealing with grief.  As I surmised most of the mystery's resolution fairly quickly, I found the book difficult to enjoy due to its slow pace. Of course, I'm not sure this is a book that's really suppose to be "enjoyed?" ...

Everything is Just Beginning Erin Bartels Revell Michael Sullivan is a talented lyricist and a decent guitarist, but since he was kicked out of his band (and his apartment), he's not sure he'll ever get a record deal. Living with his loser uncle in a beat-up trailer and working a dead-end job, Michael has little reason to hope for a better future. Until the invitation for a swanky New Year's Eve party shows up in the mailbox. It's for his uncle, with whom he shares his name, but his uncle is going out of town . . . On the effervescent night of December 31, 1989--as the Berlin Wall is coming down, the Soviet Union is inching toward democracy, and anything seems possible--Michael will cross paths with the accomplished and enigmatic young heir to a fading musical dynasty, forever altering both of their futures. Award-winning novelist Erin Bartels enchants with this story of two lonely souls who have exactly what the other one needs--if they could simply turn ...

All the Lost Places Amanda Dykes Bethany House Publishers   Discovered floating in a basket along the canals of Venice, Sebastien Trovato wrestles with questions of his origins. Decades later, on an assignment to translate a rare book, Daniel Goodman finds himself embroiled in a web of secrets carefully kept within the ancient city and in the mystery of the man whose story the book does not finish: Sebastien. This is one of those books I really wish I could say I enjoyed more, but I admit I struggled with it. I don't know if I would say it is the book or just me , as I think some readers would enjoy it for the same reasons I didn't. Not that there weren't moments I enjoyed- I especially liked the character of Vittoria and Daniel's interactions with her. But the writing style of this one, while poetical, is also a little more abstract and lofty, which isn't really my preference. I didn't hate this one, and there were moments were I found myself invested, bu...

The Rose and the Thistle Laura Frantz Revell In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley's father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Lady Blythe awaits who will ultimately be crowned king. But in a house with seven sons and numerous servants, her presence soon becomes known. No sooner has Everard Hume lost his father, Lord Wedderburn, than Lady Hedley arrives with the clothes on her back and her mistress in tow. He has his own problems--a volatile brother with dangerous political leanings, an estate to manage, and a very young brother in need of comfort and direction in the wake of losing his father. It would be best for everyone if he could send this misfit heiress on her way as soon as possible. Drawn into a whirlwind of intrigue, shifting alliances, and ambitions, Lady Blythe must be careful whom she trusts. Her fortune, her future, ...

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...

 A Heart Adrift Laura Franz Revell   It is 1755, and the threat of war with France looms over colonial York, Virginia. Chocolatier Esmee Shaw is fighting her own battle of the heart. Having reached her twenty-eighth birthday, she is reconciled to life alone after a decade-old failed love affair from which she's never quite recovered. But she longs to find something worthwhile to do with her life. Captain Henri Lennox has returned to port after a lengthy absence, intent on completing the lighthouse in the dangerous Chesapeake Bay, a dream he once shared with Esmee. But when the colonial government asks him to lead a secret naval expedition against the French, his future is plunged into uncertainty. Will a war and a cache of regrets keep them apart, or can their shared vision and dedication to the colonial cause heal the wounds of the past? Bestselling and award-winning author Laura Frantz whisks you away to a time fraught with peril--on the sea and in the heart--...

  A Midnight Dance Joanna Davidson Politano Revell   All theater romances are tragedies. Ella Blythe knows this. Still, she cannot help but hope her own story may turn out different than most--and certainly different than the tragic story of the Ghost of Craven Street Theater. Yet as she struggles to maintain her tenuous place in the ever-shrinking ballet company, win the attentions of principal dancer Philippe, and avoid company flirt Jack, Ella cannot deny the uncanny feeling that her life is mirroring that of the dead ballerina. Is she dancing ever closer to the edge of her own tragic end? Or will the secrets that are about to come to light offer release from the past? Full of twists and turns, A Midnight Dance is centered by a compelling mystery, complicated characters, and an evocative setting. It's not a short novel, but it's an easy one to get sucked into. In reading this book, though, I've realized that I'm actually not a fan of ballet stories- there...

  The Barrister and the Letter of Marque Todd M. Johnson Bethany House   As a barrister in 1818 London, William Snopes has witnessed firsthand the danger of only the wealthy having their voices heard, and he's a strong advocate who defends the poorer classes against the powerful. That changes the day a struggling heiress, Lady Madeleine Jameson, arrives at his door. In a last-ditch effort to save her faltering estate, Lady Jameson invested in a merchant brig, the Padget. The ship was granted a rare privilege by the king's regent: a Letter of Marque authorizing the captain to seize the cargo of French traders operating illegally in the Indian Sea. Yet when the Padget returns to London, her crew is met by soldiers ready to take possession of their goods and arrest the captain for piracy. And the Letter--the sole proof his actions were legal--has mysteriously vanished. Moved by the lady's distress, intrigued by the Letter, and goaded by an opposing solicitor, Snop...

   The Nature of a Lady Roseanna M. White Bethany House Publishers   1906 Lady Elizabeth "Libby" Sinclair, with her love of microscopes and nature, isn't favored in society. She flees to the beautiful Isles of Scilly for the summer and stumbles into the dangerous secrets left behind by her holiday cottage's former occupant, also named Elizabeth, who mysteriously vanished. Oliver Tremayne--gentleman and clergyman--is determined to discover what happened to his sister, and he's happy to accept the help of the girl now living in what should have been Beth's summer cottage . . . especially when he realizes it's the curious young lady he met briefly two years ago, who shares his love of botany and biology. But the hunt for his sister involves far more than nature walks, and he can't quite believe all the secrets Beth had been keeping from him. As Libby and Oliver work together, they find ancient legends, pirate wrecks, betrayal, and the most my...

When Twilight Breaks Sarah Sundin Revell Munich, 1938. Evelyn Brand is an American foreign correspondent as determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession as she is to expose the growing tyranny in Nazi Germany. To do so, she must walk a thin line. If she offends the government, she could be expelled from the country--or worse. If she fails to truthfully report on major stories, she'll never be able to give a voice to the oppressed--and wake up the folks back home. In another part of the city, American graduate student Peter Lang is working on his PhD in German. Disillusioned with the chaos in the world due to the Great Depression, he is impressed with the prosperity and order of German society. But when the brutality of the regime hits close, he discovers a far better way to use his contacts within the Nazi party--to feed information to the shrewd reporter he can't get off his mind. This electric standalone novel from fan-favorite Sarah Sundin puts you right at t...

Tidewater Bride Laura Franz Bethany House Publishers Virginia Colony's most eligible woman is busy matchmaking for a ship of brides, though she has no interest in finding her own mate. Will she reconsider when new revelations about the colony's most eligible landowner come to light?  Selah Hopewell seems to be the only woman in the Virginia colony who has no wish to marry. True, Jamestown has a shortage of potential wives---but Selah has her hands full assisting in her family's shop. Xander Renick is the most eligible tobacco lord in the settlement. But can he convince Selah to become his Tidewater Bride?  While this isn't a genre I read too much anymore, there is something very nostalgic for me in coming back to Christian historical fiction. This one wasn't quite as much of a romance as I was expecting, but I enjoyed it more than the last book I read by this author ( A Bound Heart , if you're wondering). This novel's backstory is highly influenced by Pocaho...