Book Review - Of Gold And Shadows

Michelle Griep has a new release and it is rich with intrigue. Of Gold and Shadows is the first book in the Time’s Lost Treasures series, a Victorian era adventure involving Egyptologist Ami Dalton and Oxford’s most eligible bachelor, Edmund Price. Ami is accustomed to not belonging; raised by her widowed father, a well respected Egyptologist and Oxford professor, she developed a strong sense of self and a passion for all things Egyptian. In need of an expert, and unable to contract her father for the position, Edmund brings Ami to his country estate to value an extensive collection of artifacts. Intrigue abounds on all levels: mythical, criminal, and personal as Ami’s lesser known exploits surface to interfere with Edmund’s artifacts and someone interferes with Ami and Edmund. With intricate scene setting and relatable characters, Griep pulls us along on a goosebump inducing romp through jolly old England, minds and hearts alert for danger and romance.

Of Gold and Shadows by Michelle Griep, the first in her new Time’s Lost Treasures series, is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

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Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - The Seamstress of Acadie

For those who revel in Longfellow’s Evangeline, Laura Frantz has delivered a sumptuous novel length romance set in the time of Le Grand Derangement and the turmoil of that event through the eyes of a young Acadian woman and a New England Ranger caught up in the madness of this mass deportation. With beautifully written prose, Frantz creates ties to the Galant home and surrounding lands which bonds the reader to Acadie and incites the proper heartache as Sophie’s family is rounded up among thousands of other Neutrals amidst the troubles between the French and British who covet their land. This is a book that will keep you flipping to the internet to refresh your history in a new light, personalizing the struggles that continued beyond being crammed into the dank, dark, unsanitary holds of ships with uncertain destinations and arriving to the consternation of locals who distrust and despise them based on their language. The character of William is crafted with great care, balancing the determination of a man set to avenge the brutal massacre of his family with that of one who is awakened and determined to make progress for the Acadians. Even the background characters, people and places alike, develop as driving forces in this deeply moving historical tale of home lost and found.

The Seamstress of Acadie by Laura Frantz is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

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Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - The Lost Melody

Certain books are felt physically even as they are read. Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are two of my favorite examples, and I would add The Lost Melody by Joanna Davidson Politano to that list. I dare suggest that I would rank it right there with my two favorite Gothic romances of all time. Politano threads music through the atmosphere of a Victorian pauper asylum to express the sheer determination and subtle delicacies of Vivienne Mordant’s character. The great mystery of the lost melody and the beautiful woman who played it carry the reader and our beloved concert pianist into the bowels of darkness, through seething depravity, into the mind of madness. And yet, are we not all just a bit mad? And it is so terribly dreadful to be just a tad mad? And can one be the kind of light in the darkness who uses their God given gifts to reach those lost in the depths of that hopeless existence? Politano explores themes of value with a most deliciously troubling romance in her latest release.

The Lost Melody by Joanna Davidson Politano is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

Baker Book House        Christian Book        Barnes & Noble        Amazon

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - No Journey Too Far

How far would you go to find the ones you love? In No Ocean Too Wide, Carrie Turansky gave us the story of a family torn apart by the child welfare system and spread across the ocean. The younger McAlister children were taken into care as their mother fought for her life in a London hospital, but instead of being restored to their family when she recovered, Garth, Katie and Grace were sent to Canada as orphans. In No Journey Too Far, Turansky tells us just how far the McAlister family will go to restore their loved ones to the family.

Garth has fulfilled the terms of his indenture and been discharged from his military service at the end of the Great War. Now it is time to return to Canada, claim Emma as his bride, and find little sister Grace. But life has been exceedingly difficult for Emma in Garth's absence, and she's beginning to wonder if he will indeed return for her. Since he hasn't replied to her letters in months, she isn't even sure if he will be able to find her, and a murder charge is just one more roadblock to happiness for this orphan. Grace, on the other hand, remembers that she has a loving family out there somewhere. She also knows that her adoptive parents have always tried to conceal the fact that was not born to them. On the cusp of adulthood and her entry into the marriage market, Grace's greatest challenge is understanding her identity. For all they have endured, there are still more hurdles to clear before they can see the Lord's plan for their lives.

With the McAlister Family series, Carrie Turansky has shown us just some of the benefits and great costs of the British child emigration system. She has created a family for whom we can cry in the pits of their despair and rejoice in their triumphs. There is certainly no journey too far for this family, and through them we can see there is no journey too far for our loving Father to restore His loved ones to His family.

No Journey Too Far by Carrie Turansky is currently available from your favorite local bookseller or online:

Christian Book        Barnes & Noble        Amazon

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.