Sand Creek Serenade by Jennifer Uhlarik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A deeply moving story set against the backdrop of a tragic moment in U.S. history. Even amid turmoil, however, love can blossom. When a young female doctor meets a Cheyenne brave, both their worlds expand. However, it’s a dangerous time to be on the plains. Blood has been spilled from both sides. Tensions are impossibly high. Some men aren’t to be trusted–even men in positions of authority. How can two people from such polar-opposite backgrounds find common ground that will allow them to help those who are hurting the most? Read this one and find out.
Tags: Book Review, Christian Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Jennifer Uhlarik, New Release, Pegg Thomas, Sand Creek Massacre, Smitten Historical Romance, The Sheepish Scribe, Twin Willows Farm
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
How can anyone give just three stars to a classic like Les Misérables? When it takes an avid reader almost six weeks to slog through it. Yes, I love the story! Who doesn’t? But the writing is not only old-world writing, it’s positively sloggy. For instance, there are four or five chapters that simply describe the sewer system in Paris and its history. Okay, Jean Valjean must walk through the sewer, but we don’t need chapters of description. (Tell us what time it is, don’t tell us how to build a watch.) There were also multiple chapters describing the street talk of the homeless youth of Paris. And – no – the reader didn’t need to know any of it. So while the story is excellent and the characters are fascinating, digging them out from amid the dross is a flat-out chore. Even for me … and I love reading the classics.
Now I’m ready to watch the new PBS Masterpiece Theater adaptation and I’m sure I will positively love it!
Tags: Classic Literature, Historical Fiction, Les Misérables, Pegg Thomas, The Sheepish Scribe, Twin Willows Farm, Victor Hugo
Songbird and the Spy by J’nell Ciesielski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Romance with a healthy dose of intrigue that will keep you turning the pages. A young American music student is caught behind the lines in occupied France during WWII. Her French relatives try to shield her, but she winds up alone and afraid until a kindly brother and sister take her into their home. They run a local pub, and she sings for her supper–literally. They pass her off as a French girl. When a certain German captain catches her eye, she does everything in her power to avoid him, but he won’t go away. The German captain isn’t what he seems either, and that revelation starts a whole new round of tension, conflict, and danger. A wonderful story by the same author as “Among the Poppies.” Well worth reading!
Tags: Book Review, Christian Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction, Christian Romance, Historical Fiction, J'nell Ciesielski, New Release, Pegg Thomas, The Sheepish Scribe, Twin Willows Farm
The Midwife’s Tale by Delia Parr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this tale by Delia Parr, an author I haven’t read before. The characters are engaging, the setting is very well done, the research into the topic was obvious but didn’t overpower the story. It included a twist that I sort of saw coming, but had talked myself out of. That was nice! I thought the end was a bit rushed, but it didn’t destroy the story or anything.
If you’re interested in the early 1880s, stories set in Pennsylvania, and/or stories dealing with early healthcare, this is the book for you. It’s not a romance, it’s historical, but there is a nice thread of romance that runs throughout. Mostly it’s about the midwife and her life, her disappointments, her achievements, and the lives of the people she touches. Well worth reading.
Tags: Book Review, Christian Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction, Delia Parr, Historical Fiction, Pegg Thomas, The Sheepish Scribe, Twin Willows Farm
The Blessed by Ann H. Gabhart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ve enjoyed all of Ann Gabhart’s shaker books and couldn’t believe I’d missed one … but I had! So I grabbed a copy and read it in a couple of days. As usual, it was full of the characters who had not always experienced the best things in life, had not always made the right choices, and these characters were living through the consequences of their actions. In short, Ann Gabhart writes real-people-type characters the reader can relate to.
What I love about these Shaker books is that while they deal with a group of people we’d label as a cult today, the author treats them with the dignity and respect they deserve as people trying to do their best with what they know and believe. She never demeans them or makes them into caricatures. They are fully-rounded characters with strengths and weaknesses, beauty and warts. And into the lives of these people, the author weaves a tale of hardship and hope.
Well worth reading.
Tags: Ann Gabhart, Book Review, Christian Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction, Christian Romance, Historical Fiction, Pegg Thomas, The Sheepish Scribe, Twin Willows Farm
A Bound Heart by Laura Frantz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another wonderful story by Laura Frantz. This one lands the readers on Scotland’s craggy coastline and then sweeps them out to sea to find hope on distant shores. A delightful blend of cultural norms and national loyalties that clash with the harsh realities of the mid-eighteenth century. Colorful characters in a wide range of personalities pepper the story with enough emotional impact to keep the pages turning. You’ll love some, hate some, and have a hard time figuring where others fit into that spectrum. A beautiful read that releases on January 1st. What a great way to start the year and use those Christmas gift cards!
Tags: Book Review, Christian Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction, Christian Romance, Colonial America, Historical Fiction, Laura Frantz, New Release, Pegg Thomas, The Sheepish Scribe, Twin Willows Farm
The Deepest Sigh by Naomi Dawn Musch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow. I don’t know what I expected in this book, but I was engrossed from start to finish. The characters didn’t let me go even after I’d shut the book. They are deep, complex, and achingly human with their hopes, dreams, faults, and foibles. Sometimes you don’t know whom to root for. Sometimes you want to slap one of them. Sometimes you want to weep for them. Beautifully written in a style that will appeal to any who enjoy historicals and historical romance. Set during WWI at a very pivotal time in our history, a very satisfying story of people who did their best in a world that was shifting and changing before their very eyes. I highly recommend this one.
Tags: Book Review, Christian Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction, Christian Romance, Historical Fiction, Naomi Musch, Pegg Thomas, The Sheepish Scribe, Twin Willows Farm, WWI
Pegg Thomas
