We’ve Moved!
Reveries Reviews has moved to kellynroth.blog!
Click here to read the updated post!
Advertisements
Tag: strong Christian message
The Thief, The Damsel, and The Dragon: Cover Reveal!
Quest for Leviathan by Amanda Tero
Winning Miss Winthrop by Carolyn Miller
Title: Winning Miss Winthrop
Author: Carolyn Miller
Series: Regency Brides: Promise of Hope, #1
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Era: Regency
Setting: English countryside, Bath
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Source: from NetGalley (in exchange for honest review)
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Winning Miss Winthrop by Carolyn Miller
Catherine Winthrop has cried out to God too many times to count. Years ago, the man who stole her heart rejected her–and she’s never recovered. Now tragedy has brought him back into her life. This time it isn’t her heart he’s taking, it’s her home and her family’s good name–and she has no one to share her grief.
Jonathan Carlew’s life may look enviable from the outside–wealthy, handsome, landed–but the mystery surrounding his birth has shadowed his entire life. Now as he ascends to the barony, fresh challenges await, including a scheming mama who wants him to embrace power, even at the cost of losing love. How can he remain the kind, honorable man he strives to be and still meet the demands of his new society responsibilities?
These two broken hearts must decide whether their painful past and bitter present will be all they can share, or if forgiveness can provide a path to freedom for the future.
Swazi Sunrise by Donna Chapman Gilbert
Title: Swazi Sunrise
Author: Donna Chapman Gilbert
Genre: Christian Nonfiction/Biography (missionaries)
Era: early 1900s (1907 through the early 1920s)
Setting: New York, then Africa
Publisher: Donna Chapman Gilbert
Source: from author (in exchange for honest review)
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars
Swazi Sunrise by Donna Chapman Gilbert
19-year-old Lula is bookish and shy. She longs for a husband and children of her own, but gives up that dream to become a missionary. Lula never imagined the life of hair-raising adventure that awaits her. Nor does she expect to meet the most thrilling adventure of all in the form of a handsome young preacher.
Harmon leaves his home in Ohio with only goal in mind—converting Africans to Christ. No one is going to stand in his way. Not even a little brown-eyed slip of a girl with a sweet smile.
Young Emely lives in fear of the snake spirits and the witchdoctor who summons them. Then she encounters a pale man who tells her she can be free from fear. Will she find the courage to defy the witchdoctor and grab hold of that freedom?
Kosa loses his standing as a Swazi prince due to the conniving of his hateful younger brother. To regain his honor and his father’s respect, he trains hard to become a renowned fighter. But he discovers that fame and fortune do nothing to bring peace to his tortured soul.
Swazi Sunrise is a safari ride into early 20th century Africa. Its vivid depiction of life in Swaziland and the trials and triumphs of pioneer missionaries makes for a highly satisfying read.
Cries of Grace by Angela Beach Silverthorne
Title: Cries of Grace
Author: Angela Beach Silverthorne
Series: Cries, Book 2
Genre: Christian Contemporary
Setting: United States
Publisher: Angela Beach Silverthorne
Source: from the author (in exchange for honest review)
Overall Rating: 2/5 stars
Cries of Grace by Angela Beach Silverthorne
The Haven has enjoyed five years of peace after a brutal demonic assault. The land has flourished. People have moved on, reaping a treasure house of blessings and getting comfortable and complacent.
Bren has been away for five years. Now she heads home with a Master’s degree in nursing, hoping to follow her grandmother’s passion as a midwife. Going home holds deep-rooted issues. She must face the death of her grandmother, her father’s involvement in demonic activity, and bitter disappointments.
Going home also means seeing Joseph. Through brief visits, phone calls, and letters, Bren has fallen in love with Joseph. She is indebted to him for helping restore The Haven to its former glory, but she wants more. She wants her love reciprocated to the fullest.
Going home might mean more hurt, more brokenness, but it also might mean love and passion, sharing a future with the man of her dreams.
Cries of Grace weaves a beautiful tale of romance, redemption, faith, and trust, but in the background things are shifting—mistrust, deceit, and corruption begin to slip in and insidiously corrode hope.
Buy on Amazon ~ Add on Goodreads
Continue reading “Cries of Grace by Angela Beach Silverthorne”
Isolated by Jordy Leigh
Title: Isolated
Author: Jordy Leigh
Series: War and Wilderness, #1
Genre: Christian Action/Adventure
Publisher: Jordy Leigh
Source: from author (in exchange for honest review)
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars
ISOLATED BY JORDY LEIGH
Fourteen-year-old Louise Stella flees into the forest to escape an intruder who would take her hostage. But by the time she returns to her house, her country has broken out in war and her home island has become a military base. Sharing the land with enemy soldiers, Louise’s only goal is to stay alive one day at a time. Having no food or water, and little knowledge of how to survive in the forests of Quebec, her biggest adversary is “the Unknown”. Her pride crumbles and she realizes that she can’t sustain herself. She must depend on someone else… but Who?
Isolated is a Young Adult suspense novella with uncertainty lurking at every turn. It will have you asking the big questions about life and death. Will you come to the same conclusion as Louise?
Dandelion Dust by Faith L. Potts
Title: Dandelion Dust
Author: Faith L. Potts
Genre: Christian Contemporary (with light romance)
Setting: United States
Publisher: Faith L. Potts
Source: from author (in exchange for honest review)
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars
Dandelion Dust by Faith L. Potts
Charity always had a dream. It was simple, really. Find a guy, fall in love, and get married.
The day she met Ryder, Charity knew he was the man God had chosen for her. But she never expected their relationship to be tested and tried through the fires of a freak accident. Suddenly, her world is thrown into chaos, and the bleak, white walls and sterile smells of a city hospital fill every spare minute. And then there comes the dreaded news. It was likely Ryder would never make it out of the hospital bed.
As her carefully laid plans for the future come crashing down around her and the sun seems to set on her dreams, can Charity still find hope in the dark of night?
Isolated Blog Tour
Today, I’m going to be spotlighting Miss Jordy Leigh’s new book, Isolated. This novella about a girl struggling to survive alone in the forest is quite fascinating, and I’m looking forward to reviewing it further later on.
However, for now, I’ll just be talking about the main character of Isolated (as well as a little bit about the book, because, honestly, isn’t it more fun to talk about characters when you know where they’re coming from?).
7 Christian Historical Romances
I was just going to have this be a mini review post, but I realized the genres were kind of … exactly the same. So this post is ‘7 Christian Historical Romances.’ Hopefully you enjoy these reviews.
And no, these aren’t any particular Christian Historical Romances. They’re just ones I needed to review that I grouped together to do mini reviews of.
It Happened at the Fair by Deeanne Gist
For the most part, this was a great book. I loved Cullen and Della, and everything about the fair was absolutely fascinating. I also loved reading about the school for deaf children, etc. That was part heartbreaking, part intriguing. I don’t really have any complaints about the characters, plot, setting, or writing … I thought it was all pretty awesome! It even deals with some tough issues of the time.
However, the content was a little much for a book of this particular genre. Cullen’s former fiancée tries to talk him into sleeping with her (basically). It’s a brief scene, but … still. Too much. Also, we kinda-sorta get a peek at the wedding night of the main characters’. It’s not an actual scene, but it’s led up to, if you will. Then Cullen does spend a lot of time staring at Della’s lips … but … if you read the book (or even the synopsis), you’ll understand why. 😉
4/5 stars
All in Good Time by Maureen Lang
This novel deals with a time and place I don’t often visit – Denver, Colorado of 1887. It also touches on a difficult subject – prostitution. Basically, the main character, Dessa Caldwell, is trying to found a refuge for former prostitutes (and needs the help of handsome bank manager Henry Hawkins to do it). However, I thought it was well dealt with. The content didn’t feel like too much (although I still wouldn’t recommend it to younger readers because it just isn’t good subject-matter for them).
I was a little worried that Henry’s secret past wasn’t dealt with as fully as it should have been, but maybe that’s just me. Also, the book seemed to drag in a couple places. I didn’t enjoy it a ton, but it still was interesting, and Della was endearing.
2/5 stars
A Note Yet Unsung by Tamera Alexander
I don’t know if I’ve yet to express how much I love Belmont Mansion and its owner, Adelicia Acklen. Also, I’m a huge fan of Tamera Alexander’s writing style and the settings she chooses for her novels.
Things I loved included Tate, Rebekah, basically everything related to the orchestra and music, seeing characters from the old novel, Adelicia herself, the mansion.
Things I didn’t love so much included a super-rushed ending, quite a lot of kissing (you know, for this genre), and Rebekah’s stepfather (who tried to rape her when she was a young; there is some talk about this, but it’s never described).
4/5 stars
When Hope Springs New by Janette Oke
I feel like there was only meant to be one or two of these books and Janette Oke just kept stringing them out ’cause they were popular. I didn’t really enjoy this book very much. I liked Elizabeth and Wynn still, yes, but I guess I just got sick of them. It’s the same Elizabeth and Wynn of the last three books, and I guess some people really want that, but I just can’t take it anymore.
I guess I just ended up being kinda disappointed with this series as a whole. I did love the first book, but after that they got steadily worse and worse. Yes, there’s a lot of sweet Christian content, but I never absolutely loved Elizabeth. Then, in this book, the ending seemed so random and just there. Not worth the rest, in my opinion.
2/5 stars
The Pelican Bride by Beth White
I loved parts of this book, what with its original setting and interesting characters. The romance took up a small part of the story, which was refreshing.
However, there seemed to be a lot of content. I’m not too worried about the violence. There was nothing gory, but the French were at war with some of the American Indians as well as the Brittish and all sides could be pretty ruthless. I didn’t even mind the mentions of how the French took Indian mistresses and sired illegitimate children. I mean, that actually happened; we can’t just ignore it!
I’m talking about all that talk about the wedding night. Goodness gracious, what was that for? We didn’t need to go that far! Sure, the book doesn’t actually show sex, but it shows what I’d call foreplay. Seriously. Not something I want to read.
Other than that, it was pretty awesome. The author clearly did her homework. I recently studied this period, and seeing it play out in a fictional world was fun for me.
3/5 stars
Promise Me This by Cathy Gohlke
Not a great book, but not a bad book. It skipped forward rather suddenly a couple times, oftentimes skimming over years. It was kind of divided into two parts; the Titantic and the war. Between then, the events are kinda foggy. (And yes, a lot of reviewers said the exact thing, but it bears restating.)
Then there were just too many POVs. Don’t get me wrong; I love seeing the world of a book from as many perspectives as possible. However, this was just too much. A lot of characters just got one scene and for the rest of the book either didn’t exist or weren’t important. This was extremely annoying.
I did enjoy it, I just didn’t love it. I don’t think it was as well-done as it could have been, and it was pretty confusing at times.
3/5 stars
The Widow of Larkspur Inn by Lawana Blackwell
This was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. There were a couple issues (which I’ll address below; I literally wrote them down because I read this on vacation and was bored), but other than that, I really loved it. Great characters, great plot, great setting. I especially loved Julia, Fiona, Mr. Clay, and … okay, yep, I loved all of them.
So, the negatives:
- Trumpets, baritones, etc. aren’t “wind instruments.” Just sayin’.
- I believe housekeepers were called “Mrs.” even when they weren’t? Correct me if I’m wrong. I don’t know for sure.
- What happened to half-mourning? Julia just seems to hop out of mourning at the end of a year, but that wasn’t how it worked. In fact, it seems like a lot of the rules of mourning were ignored.
- The formatting was pretty awful in the Kindle version I had. Not really a problem wit the book, but, um, I wrote it down, so …
- There were a couple places where the author randomly head-hopped at the very end (about 90%+). And a few typos here and there, I think.
- Were American fashions seriously considered fashionable in England? Okay, yes, maybe they were, but … I’d never heard it before. And, again, I wrote it down, so …
- I don’t believe the English school system was at all like the American school system of the time. I believe you had to pay to put your children in school except in the case of charity schools (which this school didn’t appear to be). (Again, I could be wrong!)
- The ending was a little sudden and rushed. It wasn’t too bad, though.
4.5/5 stars
Thanks for reading my reviews! I hope you enjoyed them. I’ll be reviewing a lot in the next couple weeks, and then, once I’m all caught up, there will be some fun posts. Hopefully.
~Kellyn Roth~
Bloglovin’ · Goodreads · Facebook
p.s.
Have you read any of these books? Do you enjoy Christian Historical Romances? If so, do you have any pet peeves about the genre? I sure do …
