Book Review - Daughter of the Rebellion

Daughter of the Rebellion, the latest release from author Jamie Ogle, is the deeply emotional and vividly entertaining story of Visigoth war daughter Adelgard. Captured when the Roman army defeated her rebellious clan and sent to train and perform as one of the favored gladiatrices in the violent entertainment culture of Rome, Adel has leaned into her role as Amazon and endeavored to set aside thoughts of a home to which she can no longer return. The abuses she must endure are the consequences of decisions she has made that brought shame to herself and to her family. There is no path but forward.

Working in the ludus is not an appropriate occupation for a Christian, but medicus Felix must do what he has to do in order to provide for his mother and sisters. There he provides medical care for the injured gladiators and gladiatrices, making ends meet and dodging creditors in search of restitution for debts his father acquired before he disappeared. However, the Lord uses circumstances and individuals regardless of how appropriate or qualified they seem to human eyes and Felix has some heavy decisions to make when approached with a difficult offer.

This is a book I throughly devoured, regardless of every attempt to slow down and savor it. The scenes moved as though on film, expertly crafted descriptions and deeply human characters flowed in real time as pages turned and the story progressed. The messages of mercy and understanding unfold beautifully, bit by bit as our flawed and relatable characters begin to digest the concepts and embrace their identities in the eyes of the Father. The further blooming of identity is executed as deftly as the Amazon delivering the winning strike to an exhausted and unsettled opponent. Without giving away too much, it is safe to say that this is truly a story that does not end until the author strikes her final punctuation. Daughter of the Rebellion will stick with me for a satisfyingly long time.

Daughter of the Rebellion is available from your favorite local bookseller or online:

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I received a NetGalley ARC of this book. It did not influence my review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Book Review - The Women of Oak Ridge

Michelle Shocklee delivers a thoughtful perspective on human nature and the repercussions of shame in The Women of Oak Ridge. Focusing on Maebelle Willet, a young woman from a coal mining family who answered the call for workers in the secret city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee in late 1941, this novel shifts between Mae’s experiences in the secret city and her experience in 1979, when her niece Laurel arrives in Oak Ridge to research those experiences for her dissertation. The memories and questions that Laurel opens up set off an inevitable reaction in her aunt that have consequences beyond anything anyone who knows Mae Willet could imagine.

Secrets have consequences, and Shocklee explores these on several levels in The Women of Oak Ridge. The characters there in both seasons of Oak Ridge are developed with excellent craftsmanship so that they are very real and relevant to the reader. Both the desperate need for secrecy during the war years, as the residents who live and work there are consistently reminded that loose lips sink ships and even your roommate may be a spy, and the lingering effects of the weight that secrecy. Shocklee also develops a rich setting in Oak Ridge, in the mud town that does not appear on any map and is largely unknown to the postal service, and the one where people live in the spaces left behind when the uranium enrichment facilities were left behind after the war. The reader is fully immersed in this setting with these characters and their complexities so that this book could easily be a quick read, but carries a weight that is worth sitting with for a while. The heaviness of secrecy and shame are very carefully and realistically brought to light in the scope of grace and mercy.

The Women of Oak Ridge by Michelle Shocklee is available from your favorite local booksellers or online:

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I received an ARC of this book. It did not influence my review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Book Review - The Collector of Burned Books

What is it about the written word that causes people to fear it? And what kind of beliefs must one have that they cannot stand against reading what is written from a different point of view? Roseanna M. White probes these questions in her upcoming release, The Collector of Burned Books, in which two literature professors in very different circumstances find themselves both thrown together and pulled apart.

Set during the occupation of Paris in 1940, Corinne Bastien and Christian Bauer find themselves on opposing sides politically. But despite the glaring differences, they find that free thinking and literature brings them together in a dangerous way. Bauer is assigned the task of library protector, including responsibilities at the rather curious Library of the Burned Books, a place with which Corinne is quite familiar. Though their political responsibilities are as different as darkness and light, their intellect and sensibilities find each other in the city filled with strife. White’s research shines in this novel, allowing the reader to see the contrasts and similarities in humanity through focused shaping of the setting and characters. The debates about literature, censorship, and free thought are well balanced and provocative, inspiring the reader to consider their own stance on the situation. The reader is reminded that there is often a very true person hiding beneath the projected facade. Though Corinne and Christian are the main characters, understanding and openness shine in their small corner of the City of Lights. The Collector of Burned Books is an enthralling read for its fiction, and an inspiring one for the light it shines on literature as a valuable conduit for thoughts and ideas.

The Collector of Burned Books by Roseanna M. White releases July 15, 2025 and is currently available for preorder from your favorite local bookseller or online:

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

Book Review - The Pharisee’s Wife

It is widely accepted that Janette Oke books would be selected by readers based solely on the author’s name. After all, Oke is the origin point for many readers’ passionate journey through inspirational fiction. Her days on my must-read list stem from my early teen years, back when my grandmother purchased her novels via mail order and tried faithfully to keep up with my appetite for her clean and uplifting prose. In that spirit, I pounced on her latest release and savored it from cover to cover.

The Pharisee’s Wife unfolds methodically and in an unhurried pace, as the tale is told of a young girl who is given a high honor she does not want and must make what she will of it. Pulled from her family home and dumped into the home of a Pharisee in training who cares more for adulation than for her, Mary is then left to pick up the pieces and find her way forward when the unthinkable happens. This story of the early church is respectful and introspective. It is not surprising that the author’s note is as impactful as the novel itself. The urgency is not in the storyline, but in a decision each person must make at some point. And the climax of the story, well… Oke writes that (second) best, so you are just going to have to read The Pharisee’s Wife cover to cover to understand.

The Pharisee’s Wife by Janette Oke 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 - Under the Magnolias

 Sometimes I read books that I don’t review. I love writing reviews to share amazing books with y’all and I love supporting some truly exciting authors. But every now and then it is nice to simply read a book without thinking about just the right quote, just the right image background, or sitting down to write the review while the story is fresh in my mind. That’s exactly what I had planned for Under the Magnolias by T. I. Lowe and our scheduled beach trip: toes in the sand, book in my hand.

There’s just one problem with that plan. I can’t let this book just pass as a beach read. T. I. Lowe did something I don’t remember ever seeing in a storyline about mental health. All too often, the storyline focuses on a family sucked into the vortex of a parent’s mental health issues and struggles that end only when the children run away or grow up and escape the madness. And all too often in life, this is reality; I am in no way dismissing the painful reality of families battling mental illness. But who is fighting for these families?

Austin Foster’s pa has been prone to seasons of darkness for as long as she can remember, but her mama always did what needed to be done to shelter the children from the worst of his lows. When Mama passes away while giving birth to twins, the weight of her family’s world falls squarely on her shoulders, and that includes protecting her younger siblings while weathering Pa’s highs and lows. Austin doesn’t have time for silly teenage activities or romances, and she certainly can’t take the chance that someone in town might find out what demons they are hiding under the magnolias out at Nolia Farms.

The thing about Dave Foster is that he loves fiercely. He takes the call to be the hands and feet of Jesus very seriously, so it is no surprise that the congregation meeting in the little white chapel at Nolia Farms includes a ragtag band of the town’s riffraff outcasts. But these are the people God uses to be his hands and feet when the secrets Austin has tried to keep buried claw their way into the light. They are the ones who support the Foster family through the struggles of finding help for Dave, and who encourage Austin and her siblings to begin to dream of a life beyond the swirling vortex of his instability. Lowe does not sugarcoat the struggles, and I really appreciate the way she highlights the value of a fierce support system in the family’s healing process. 

Under the Magnolias by T. I. Lowe is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

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