One More River to Cross

One More River to CrossOne More River to Cross by Jane Kirkpatrick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I love Jane Kirkpatrick’s books! I haven’t read a clunker yet. She writes about real historical people who survived incredible hardships to settle America’s far western states. Her stories are gritty, realistic, and I can get lost in them in a heartbeat. This one is no different. It’s the story of a wagon train that broke new ground getting over the mountains and into California. They faced incredible hardships, things our modern-day softness would not survive. It was a little difficult to follow the whole cast of characters (there are a lot of them) but worth the effort to figure them out.

The Siege of Detroit in 1763

The Siege Of Detroit In 1763: The Journal Of Pontiac's Conspiracy And John Rutherfurd's Narrative Of A CaptivityThe Siege Of Detroit In 1763: The Journal Of Pontiac’s Conspiracy And John Rutherfurd’s Narrative Of A Captivity by John Rutherfurd
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my word … where to start? This book contains two first-hand experiences of what happened during Pontiac’s Rebellion in the northern theater of the war. It’s graphic, horrifying in parts, and hard to wrap one’s mind around the atrocities that happened. It’s not a literary book, it’s raw and rough and written by men who had just survived one of the most barbaric wars on our shores. While I’d known some of the things in here, it was still unsettling to read the first-hand accounts of them. We don’t think of cannibalism among the Native American tribes, but it was there. In the two separate accounts, both noted it among two of the tribes. We often hear about how the white man didn’t keep his word to the natives, but in these chapters are numerous citing of the natives not keeping their word to the white man. Proof that the evil in mankind is not assigned to skin color. Both sides were arrogant and overconfident in some aspects, both were unprepared and ignorant in others. The book is peppered with footnotes citing more facts than the first-hand accounts included. If you love history and want to read some unvarnished accounts, this would be a great choice.

New England Citizen Soldiers of the Revolutionary War

New England Citizen Soldiers of the Revolutionary War: Minutemen MarinersNew England Citizen Soldiers of the Revolutionary War: Minutemen Mariners by Robert A. Geake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very good information, a lot of it new to me, about the Patriot militia. I found parts of it a bit hard to follow, however, so I can’t call it an easy read. More – and clearer – maps would have been a huge help. Still, there were some really good nuggets in this book and I’m glad I read it.

The Twin Bargain

The Twin BargainThe Twin Bargain by Lisa Cox Carter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you like standardized Christian fiction, you’ll love this one. It uses all the catchphrases in Christian fiction today. For me, it used too many of them. But the twin girls in the story are adorable and the hero does the right thing in the end (he has to, it’s a romance) so it’s worth the time to read if you want something a little fluffy and easy on the eyes.

A Rancher to Trust

A Rancher to TrustA Rancher to Trust by Laurel Blount
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don’t read a lot of contemporary romances because my heart lies with the historicals, but I picked up a copy of this one and gave it a try. After all, who doesn’t like a handsome rancher hero, right? This story was fresh and engaging, not a rework of the same old tropes. The writing was very good. I had trouble putting it down!

Jeremy Poldark

Jeremy Poldark (Poldark, #3)Jeremy Poldark by Winston Graham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It’s official. I’m hooked on this series! This one, like Demelza, was followed very closely by the TV series. I could “see” the actors in the scenes as I was reading. But it goes deeper – as books do – into the thoughts behind the actions. There are differences, but they are subtle and, I think, only add to the story. The first book, Ross Poldark, was the most different and in parts was a little draggy, but not the next two. Winston Graham seems to have hit his stride in the writing.

Demelza

Demelza (Poldark, #2)Demelza by Winston Graham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I liked this book even better than Ross Poldark, the first book in the series. That may be because the TV series followed this book more closely, but for whatever reason, it was wonderful. There are differences between the TV series and the books, mostly that the books contain many more characters. And – of course – the books allow us a look inside the characters’ thoughts, which I love. The writing is more old-style than today’s books, but it’s a wonderful read all the same.

Three Little Things

Three Little ThingsThree Little Things by Patti Stockdale
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book gets my #1 Best Cover award. Seriously – look at that cover! Endorsed by Debbie Macomber, received a positive review by Publishers Weekly, you can’t go wrong with this one. It’s a lovely WWI romance inspired by the love letters written during that time period between the author’s grandparents. It touches on the prejudice against German/Americans at that time, as well as the upheaval of the war on the home shores. This is the author’s first book, but I’ll be watching for what she publishes next!

Ross Poldark

Ross Poldark (Poldark #1)Ross Poldark by Winston Graham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved it! Such a great way to finish off watching the Masterpiece Theater series. There are differences between the two, most notably, there are many more characters in the book version. And – of course – no matter how Winston Graham described Ross, he’ll forever look like Aiden Turner to me. Ditto for Demelza and Eleanor Tomlinson. On to book two!