Book Review - High Cotton by Debby Mayne

Book Synopsis
Some families are filled with so much love they can’t help but drive each other crazy.

Shay Henke has mixed feelings about going to her family’s next reunion. On the one hand, she’ll get to see everyone in her mama's family—folks she loves unconditionally. On the other hand, she knows there’ll be more drama than you can shake a stick at. 

The days leading up to the event bring one surprise after another. First Shay must deal with her sister-in-law’s deep, dark secret. Then she has to contend with the childish ways of her business-mogul twin cousins. And when her high school crush wants to be her date to the reunion . . . well, it may have been a dream come true for Shay’s teen self, but the woman she’s become doesn’t know what to make of this. 

Shay’s contentment is challenged, and she’s determined to shake things up a bit. But will she find the excitement she’s looking for, or will Shay realize she prefers her quiet and predictable life? One thing is certain: Life in the Bucklin family is never boring.  

My Review
High Cotton is a southern novel set in the small town of Pinewood, Mississippi.  Shay Henke is at the heart of the novel.  She receives an invitation to a family reunion at the same time that she reconnects with her high school crush.  And then there is a lot of family drama, especially from a secret her sister-in-law asks her to help keep and her younger twin cousins, who seek her advice.  This is the first book in the Bucklin Family Reunion Series.

This was a really enjoyable read!   The author, who has clearly spent a lot of time in the south, captured small town southern life perfectly.  I am a native southerner and loved that aspect of this book -- the southernisms of the language, the pacing, the food, the family dynamics.

The book is told in alternating chapters by different members of the family.  At first I was a little wary of this, because it really seems to be Shay's story at heart, but as the novel went on I really got to know the other characters (Missy, Punkin, and Sally) as well and cared about them.  I enjoyed their storylines and seeing the way all the stories fit together.

The dialogue was particularly strong in this novel.  I could just visualize scenes, like a movie, because it was so engaging and well written.

I recommend High Cotton for fans of Southern fiction, women's fiction, and Christian novels.  I am already looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

I received a copy of this book from Gilead Reviewers.  

Book Review - The Heart's Appeal by Jennifer Delamare

Book Synopsis
London, 1881

He Never Expected to See Her Again. Then She Appeared with a Most Unexpected Request. . . .

Strong-minded and independent, Julia Bernay has come to London to study medicine and become a doctor--a profession that has only just opened up to women. When she witnesses a serious accident, her quick action saves the life of an ambitious young barrister named Michael Stephenson. It's only later that she learns he could be instrumental in destroying her dreams for the future.

Coming from a family that long ago lost its status, Michael Stephenson has achieved what many would have thought impossible. Hard work and an aptitude for the law have enabled him to regain the path to wealth and recognition. His latest case puts him in the middle of a debate over the future of a women's medical school. He's supposed to remain objective, but when the beguiling and determined Julia reappears with an unexpected entreaty, he begins to question what he's made most important in his life. But Julia may be hiding her own motivations. As the two are tangled into spending more time together, will their own goals be too much to overcome?

My Review
The Heart's Appeal is the second book in the London Beginnings series by Jennifer Delamare.  I enjoyed reviewing the first book, The Captain's Daughter, last year (see review here). 

The Heart's Appeal is set in Victorian England.  It tells the story of Julia Bernay, who travels to London to study medicine.  She has worked as a nurse but wants to become a doctor, a field that is just beginning to offer some opportunities for women in the 1880's.  As she travels to the university, a train accident changes her life.  She helps an injured passenger, a lawyer named Michael Stephenson.  Their lives becomes entwined, especially as they become friends (with a romantic interest!) and as Julia finds that Michael is working on a lawsuit that threatens the university where she is studying.

I found this novel absolutely fascinating.  I knew nothing about women in medicine in Victorian England and found that aspect of the book immediately interesting.  It took so much courage and determination for women to pursue a career in medicine at that time.

I really liked the character of Julia.  She is independent, brave, and also very caring.  Michael is also an admirable character.  Julia is guided by faith and Michael is guided by a sense of propriety and the desire to do the right thing.  

There was a brief glimpse of Rosalyn from the first book in this series, but the novel really focuses on Julia.  It would work as a standalone read, although I recommend the first book in the series, The Captain's Daughter, highly as well.

The historical details and sense of time and place is very well done and sure to please fans of historical fiction.

My only quibble is that the book ended a bit too soon, right in the middle of a dramatic scene.  I wish it had continued a bit longer!

I recommend The Heart's Appeal, and this series, to fans of historical fiction and Christian fiction.

Author Bio
Jennifer Delamere's debut Victorian romance, An Heiress at Heart, was a 2013 RITA Award finalist in the inspirational category. Her follow-up novel, A Lady Most Lovely, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and the Maggie Award for Excellence from Georgia Romance Writers. Jennifer earned a BA in English from McGill University in Montreal, where she became fluent in French and developed an abiding passion for winter sports. She's been an editor of nonfiction and educational materials for nearly two decades, and lives in North Carolina with her husband.

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House.

Book Spotlight and Giveaway - The Killing at Kaldaire House by Kate Parker

Book Synopsis

A dying man. The painting within her reach. What’s a thief to do?

Talented London milliner Emily Gates creates amazing hats for Society ladies, but to collect from those who don’t pay her bill, she burglarizes their homes. She needs every penny to send her deaf brother to school. Late one night, she sneaks in to find Lord Kaldaire badly injured in his study. Unwilling to abandon him, she calls for help.

When Kaldaire dies without revealing who attacked him, his widow agrees to keep Emily’s secrets ― if Emily will help find her husband’s killer. A bigger danger is a Scotland Yard inspector who threatens to arrest Emily — unless she spies on her father’s family of swindlers and conmen. Worst of all are the attacks from an unknown assailant. What will Emily face first, jail or death?

This cozy mystery is set in the era of My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins, of early automobiles and aeroplanes, and of King Edward VII and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If you enjoyed the Victorian Bookshop Mysteries, you’ll like Emily Gates and the collection of aristocrats and thieves in her world as they step into the 20th century.

Author Bio

Kate Parker has wanted to travel to 1930s England since she read her mother’s Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers mysteries when she was a schoolgirl. After many years of studying science, she decided a time travel machine was out of the question so she found herself limited to reading about the period and visiting historic sites. Her love of this fascinating and challenging period led her to the research from which the Deadly series grew. Eventually, she found it necessary to spend several days in the British Library reading old newspapers, which meant another trip to England. Near Christmas. A sacrifice she’d gladly make every year.

Author Links:
Website:  www.KateParkerbooks.com
Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/Author.Kate.Parker/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/KateParkerbooks
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7123001.Kate_Parker

Purchase Links – Amazon Kindle   Amazon Paperback  B&N    Kobo  BookBub

Giveaway
(1) Copy The Killing at Kaldaire House by Kate Parker - Print U.S. Only - E-Book International

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Dear Abby - Vintage Easter Dogs

Dear Friends,

Just a short and sweet note from me today, wishing you a Happy Easter!   I found a few images of vintage Easter dogs that I thought you might enjoy.

This 1939 illustration by Mabel Rollins Harris features a Cocker Spaniel in an Easter bonnet along with a little girl - and chicks!

A little girl in an Easter bonnet hugs her dog.

A Jack Russell Terrier does not want to share a carrot with some bunny rabbits!

A Scottie dog gets an Easter visitor:

A Cocker Spaniel named Butch wears bunny ears and carries an Easter basket:

 A lovely Dachshund meets a bunny rabbit family:

I hope you enjoyed these vintage images.   Wishing you a wonderful weekend and a Happy Easter!

Love,

Abby xoxoxo

Book Review and Giveaway - A Most Noble Heir by Susan Anne Mason

Book Synopsis

When stable hand Nolan Price learns from his dying mother that he is actually the son of the Earl of Stainsby, his plans for a future with kitchen maid Hannah Burnham are shattered. Once he is officially acknowledged as the earl’s heir, Nolan will be forbidden to marry beneath his station.

Unwilling to give up the girl he loves, he devises a plan to elope--believing once their marriage is sanctioned by God that Lord Stainsby will be forced to accept their union. However, as Nolan struggles to learn the ways of the aristocracy, he finds himself caught between his dreams for tomorrow and his father’s demanding expectations.

Forces work to keep the couple apart at every turn, and a solution to remain together seems farther and farther away. With Nolan’s new life pulling him irrevocably away from Hannah, it seems only a miracle will bring them back together.

My Review
A Most Noble Heir is a historical novel set in 1880's England. Nolan Price is happy working in the stables at a Victorian manor house.  However, as his mother is dying she confesses that his father is the Earl of Stainsby, the owner of the estate.  Nolan has planned to marry Hannah Burnham, who works in the kitchen at the estate.  With this news everything changes for them both.  This novel tells the story of Nolan and Hannah, with many unexpected twists and turns on their path to happiness.

I love historical fiction, and especially enjoy Victorian settings.  Susan Anne Mason did a fine job with the manor house setting of this novel.  The period setting and the upstairs-downstairs details were fascinating.

I really liked both Nolan and Hannah.  They are strong, kind, independent people, and I admired the faith that they maintained even in the most difficult of times.  I really was pulling for their happiness!

I found A Most Noble Heir a very engrossing read - to the extent that I stayed up reading past my bedtime!   I could not put this novel down because I really wanted to know how it would all end up.

I recommend A Most Noble Heir for fans of historical fiction, Victorian settings, manor house novels, and Christian fiction.  It is a lovely read, and I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Author Bio
Susan Anne Mason’s debut historical novel, Irish Meadows, won the Fiction from the Heartland contest from the Mid-American Romance Authors Chapter of RWA. Also a member of ACFW, Susan lives outside of Toronto, Ontario, with her husband and two children. She can be found online at www.susanannemason.com.

Giveaway

If you’d like to enter for a chance to win Susan Anne Mason’s Courage to Dream series, plus A Most Noble Heir, here’s your chance!  (Giveaway ends 4/17)

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4664b04915

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House.