Tag: redemption

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historical fiction

The Seaside Homecoming (On Devonshire Shores Book #3): (Regency Historical Romance Novel about Secrets, Second Chances, and Sisterhood)

400 pages Bethany House publishers Publication date December 3, 2024

ABOUT THE BOOK

A surprise homecoming tests the bonds of sisterhood as a hidden past comes to light . . .

Disgraced eldest sister Claire Summers has been living in exile as companion to a stern great-aunt in Scotland. About to lose her place and longing to be reconciled with her estranged family, Claire sees an advertisement from someone looking for a “respectable female partner” in a Sidmouth boarding house. Is it a sign? She answers the ad, hoping she has not made another reckless mistake. When she meets the handsome, secretive proprietor, she wonders what he’s hiding and if he’s any more trustworthy than the nobleman who betrayed her years ago. Claire is drawn to him even though she fears he will reject her when he discovers her genteel façade hides a less-than-respectable past.

Meanwhile, the Summers family learns their great-aunt has died and Claire has disappeared without a word. The sisters rally together to find their lost sibling, but will their unexpected reunion heal old wounds and rekindle their bonds . . . or deepen the divide?

Return to the captivating Devonshire coast as the Summers sisters navigate romance, second chances, and the enduring strength of sisterhood in the face of adversity.

MY THOUGHTS

t’s always such a treat to read a book by the author and I’m already looking forward to the Christmas release in this series coming out in September.
This is the third of what I believe to be a four-book series.


I’ve enjoyed getting to know the five sisters and their widowed mother. I’d suggest reading the other two books in the series to catch up on the back story, meeting all the sisters and getting to know their personalities.
The author’s books are wonderful, and her storytelling abilities have evolved over the years making for such compelling stories that I’m sure not to miss.


How exciting that the book started out taking place in Scotland.
I’ve really enjoyed the Regency spin she puts on her books. We have romance, forgiveness, strong faith. We have a reunion with the oldest sister and after a troubling past it was so nice to see such strong sisterly bonds are still there as they are there to support her.


Great descriptions and as with the other books I could imagine the rugged seaside coast. Looking forward to the other sister’s stories soon. Great wrap up of this story as it kept me glued to its pages.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own

MEET THE AUTHOR

Julie Klassen loves all things Jane—Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. She worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. Three of her novels have won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. She has also won the Minnesota Book Award, the Midwest Book Award, and Christian Retailing’s BEST Award. Julie is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She and her husband have two sons and live in St. Paul, Minnesota. Visit http://www.julieklassen.com and talesfromivyhill.com for more information.

Thanks for joining me here today.

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Remember Me (Pictures of the Heart Book #1) Tracie Peterson

I just love this beautiful cover and can’t wait to read the others in the series.

About The Book

From the Yukon to Seattle, the hope of a new beginning waits just around the corner.

Addie Bryant is haunted by her past of heartbreak and betrayal. After her beau, Isaac Hanson, left the Yukon, she made a vow to wait for him. When she’s sold to a brothel owner after the death of her father, Addie manages to escape with the hope that she can forever hide her past and the belief that she will never have the future she’s always dreamed of.

Years later, Addie has found peace in her new life as a photographer, training Camera Girls to operate and sell the Brownie camera. During the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo in Seattle, Addie is reunited with Isaac, but after the path her life has taken, she’s afraid to expose the ugliness of her former life and to move toward the future they had pledged to each other.

When her past catches up with her, Addie must decide whether to run or to stay and face her wounds in order to embrace her life, her future, and her hope in God.

My Thoughts

I have long been reading this authors books. She has so many out, I call her the “Queen of Historical Fiction.” Her research is immaculate and makes each story relatable and realistic.
Her books have a beautiful faith message but it’s not overbearing.
Remember Me is the first book in the Pictures of the Heart series.
The setting is 1909 at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo in Seattle.
Addie Bryant has had a very harsh and heartbreaking bringing up. Her brothers and father did not love her, and she had no one. After they betrayed her in the worst way possible, she was able to escape. With memories of a promised love from childhood she holds onto these happy memories as a way to keep going but doesn’t expect anything to come of it.
After she is reunited with Isaac, her past love, she doesn’t feel worthy of forgiveness or to be with him.
The theme here is your past is in the past and God is a forgiving God to be trusted and Addie does come to do this. A strong story line with themes of forgiveness, redemption and love.
I will continue to read books by this author as she’s one of my all-time favorites.

Pub Date: 07 Mar 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

The Author

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than one hundred books. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.

Visit Tracie’s web site at: http://www.traciepeterson.com

Your presence here blesses me. Thank you!

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Somebody like Santa: A Heartwarming Texas Christmas Love Story (The Christmas Tree Ranch #5) By Janet Dailey-Review

About The Book

For Cooper Chapman, moving next door to his newlywed sister in Branding Iron, Texas, is the biggest gift he could ask for this Christmas. The divorced single dad knows his troubled teenaged son only needs the healing balm of big skies and family ties.  But soon after settling into their new home, Trevor falls in with some wild friends at his new school, leaving Cooper leaning hard on youth counselor Jess Graver. With grace and wisdom, Jess soothes Cooper’s worries over his son, even as the elusive beauty stirs romantic feelings to life . . .

With the holiday growing closer, young Trevor finds an unexpected mentor in a local farmer, helping him build a horse-drawn sleigh for the Christmas parade. Now the only thing that could make Cooper’s New Year brighter would be making warm-hearted Jess his own. But when he stumbles upon a secret from her past, it will take more than mistletoe to bring them back together and keep her at his side for all the sweet seasons to come . . .

Grab A Copy Here

My Thoughts

This is the fifth book in the Christmas Tree Ranch series.
Branding Iron, Texas is the home of Cooper Chapman’s newlywed sister and her husband, it’s convenient that there is a rental next to her for him and his young teenaged son to move into for their new start. Moving to the middle of nowhere in this “redneck hell of Branding Iron, Texas” is not Trevor, the thirteen-year-old son’s idea of a good time, he desperately misses Seattle with his friends and where he fit in.
School counselor Jess Graver more than once comes to the aid of Cooper Chapman, calming his worries when his son falls in with a wild crowd at school trying to prove himself worthy.


Jess and Cooper have an immediate attraction to each other, but I wouldn’t call this book a romance as each of them seems to keep pulling away from the other one emotionally for one reason or another.


There are a lot of side stories that could have taken on a book of their own, a hidden secret discovered, working as redemption to right a wrong as an older man gives the teen a chance to make things right, a Christmas parade, violence and abuse, kidnapping.
I did not particularly like the female lead character in this book, in my opinion she is standoffish and not willing to listen to reason.

My favorite characters would have to be Trevor the troubled teen who gains confidence and turns his life around and even goes out of his way to show empathy and help a troubled friend. Another favorite character is Maggie, that firecracker of a little girl, the take charge kind who is everyone’s friend.


For a novella length book, I think there was too much packed into it and some of these side stories should have been explored in the possibility of their own book.

Pub Date 27 Sep 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own. 

The Author

JANET DAILEY’s first book was published in 1976. Since then she has written more than 100 novels and become one of the top-selling female authors in the world, with 300 million copies of her books sold in nineteen languages in ninety-eight countries. She is known for her strong, decisive characters, her extraordinary ability to recreate a time and a place, and her unerring courage to confront important, controversial issues in her stories. You can learn more about Janet at http://www.JanetDailey.com.

With much appreciation for your visit today. May you stay safe and warm.