Whose Waves These Are - A Review

Published - April 2019, Bethany House
Author - Amanda Dykes
Title - Whose Waves These Are
Format - ebook, paper
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About the Book:
In the wake of WWII, a grieving fisherman submits a poem to a local newspaper: a rallying cry for hope, purpose . . . and rocks. Send me a rock for the person you lost, and I will build something life-giving. When the poem spreads farther than he ever intended, Robert Bliss's humble words change the tide of a nation. Boxes of rocks inundate the tiny, coastal Maine town, and he sets his calloused hands to work, but the building halts when tragedy strikes.

Decades later, Annie Bliss is summoned back to Ansel-by-the-Sea when she learns her Great-Uncle Robert, the man who became her refuge during the hardest summer of her youth, is now the one in need of help. What she didn't anticipate was finding a wall of heavy boxes hiding in his home. Long-ago memories of stone ruins on a nearby island trigger her curiosity, igniting a fire in her anthropologist soul to uncover answers.

She joins forces with the handsome and mysterious harbor postman, and all her hopes of mending the decades-old chasm in her family seem to point back to the ruins. But with Robert failing fast, her search for answers battles against time, a foe as relentless as the ever-crashing waves upon the sea.  

My Thoughts:
This was a beautiful book. I've never read anything by this author before, and if I'm not mistaken, this is her debut novel. The two timelines are seamlessly woven together to make a story that I couldn't put down. I loved Annie's search answers and the story behind the rocks. I also loved how it was so much more than I expected when those answers were found. 

This is a book that tells of grief and hope. It tells of forgiveness and love. 

After reading this book, I found myself dwelling on it a bit longer. I didn't want to say goodbye to the characters. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in order to help promote it. I was not required to like the book, only to give my honest opinion of it. My thoughts and my opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of Kristy Cambron, Rachel Hauck

Rating - 5 stars

Reluctant Bride - A Review

Published - June 2019, Bethany House
Series - Bride Ships Book 1
Author - Jody Hedlund
Title - A Reluctant Bride
Format - ebook, paper, audio
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About the book:
Mercy Wilkins is poor. She is one of the oldest children in her family, and in order to keep her parents from sending one of the little boys to the docks, she agrees to leave home. She doesn't want to go to the workhouses, so when she hears of an opportunity to take a ship to British Columbia, she signs up. She doesn't realize that she's going to be part of a group of women who are to be brides for the settlers. Ship surgeon, Joseph Colville, is a titled peer of the realm. He doesn't have to work for a living. But he's not ready to take on all of the duties his title requires. As the ship's surgeon, the health and welfare of the crew and passengers, including the sixty brides, fall to his care. When he takes Mercy on as his assistant, both must fight the attraction they have for each other. Will they take a chance on love or not?

My Thoughts:
I don't know how Jody Hedlund does it, but each book seems to get better and better. I loved both Mercy and Joseph. I loved how their characters developed and the perceptions the had changed over the course of the book. I also loved the way that the history of the ships was portrayed. I've read other mail-order-bride type books in the past and enjoyed them. I think that this is the first one I've read where the brides aren't coming to America but to Canada, and by ship instead of wagon train or train.

I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in order to help promote it. I was not required to like the book, only to give an honest opinion of it. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of Jody Hedlund, historical fiction, Laura Frantz

Rating - 4 stars

Far Side of the Sea - A Review

Published - March 2019, Bethany House
Author - Kate Breslin
Title - Far Side of the Sea
Format - ebook, paper, audio
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About the Book:
In spring 1918, Lieutenant Colin Mabry, a British soldier working with MI8 after suffering injuries on the front, receives a message by carrier pigeon. It is from Jewel Reyer, the woman he once loved and who saved his life--a woman he believed to be dead. Traveling to France to answer her urgent summons, he desperately hopes this mission will ease his guilt and restore the courage he lost on the battlefield. 

Colin is stunned, however, to discover the message came from Jewel's half sister, Johanna. Johanna, who works at a dovecote for French Army Intelligence, found Jewel's diary and believes her sister is alive in the custody of a German agent. With spies everywhere, Colin is skeptical of Johanna, but as they travel across France and Spain, a tentative trust begins to grow between them.

When their pursuit leads them straight into the midst of a treacherous plot, danger and deception turn their search for answers into a battle for their lives.

My Thoughts:
Ever since I read Breslin's debut novel, For Such a Time, I have devoured every book that has come out that she has written. This book has a connection to the one Not By Sight, but I didn't even realize that until I was almost finished with the book when it hit me that some of the characters are in both books. 

Johanna and Colin's character development is probably part of what made me love this book. I think the author's writing style also made me love this book. I really couldn't put it down, though I had to. Life had to go on with things like work and sleep. But it's such a wonderful book. 

I received a copy of the book from the publisher on behalf of the author to help promote it. And while I'll admit that I did forget to talk about it and promote it until now, I wasn't asked to like the book. In fact, all I was asked to do was to help promote it. I certainly didn't expect to love the book. My thoughts are my own.

Recommended to fans of Jody Hedlund, Laura Frantz

Rating - 5 stars

Between Two Shores - A Review

Published - February 2019, Bethany House
Author - Jocelyn Green
Title - Between Two Shores
Format - ebook, paper, audio
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About the Book:
The daughter of a Mohawk mother and French father in 1759 Montreal, Catherine Duval finds it is easier to remain neutral in a world that is tearing itself apart. Content to trade with both the French and the British, Catherine is pulled into the fray against her wishes when her British ex-
fiance, Samuel Crane, is taken prisoner by her father. Samuel asks her to help him escape, claiming he has information that could help end the war. 

Peace appeals to Catherine, but helping the man who broke her heart does not. She delays . . . until attempts on Samuel's life convince her he's in mortal danger. Against her better judgment she helps him flee by river, using knowledge of the landscape to creep ever closer to freedom. Their time together rekindles feelings she thought long buried, and danger seems to hound their every mile. She's risked becoming a traitor by choosing a side, but will the decision cost her even more than she anticipated?

My Thoughts:
I've read a couple of books by Jocelyn Green and I'm always amazed by the depths of the books. The settings just seem to spring to life. This one was no exception. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood to read something deep when I received it. But, I was soon drawn into the author's world. I was remind a lot of Laura Frantz's books while reading it because of how beautifully written it was. 

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in order to share my thoughts and opinions. I was not asked to like the book, only to give an honest opinion of it. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of Laura Frantz, Jody Hedlund

Rating - 4 stars

Living Lies - A Review

Published - May 2019, Revell Books
Series - Harbored Secrets Book 1
Author - Natalie Walters
Title - Living Lies
Format - ebook, paper, audio
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About the book:
In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name--but no one knows your secret. At least that's what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son. Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope. What she finds instead is a dead body.

Lane must work with Walton's newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when that truth hits too close to home, she'll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret.


My Thoughts:
This book kept my interest from the first page. I'm always a little unsure as to what to expect from an author's first book. Do I hope I'll find a new must read author? Will I be bitterly disappointed? This book fell in the first category for me. 

I felt bad for Lane, being the person who literally stumbles upon a dead body. But the way that those outside of her family tried to protect her made me want to just give her a hug. Her family, I didn't care for them. But I kept turning the pages in this book. I think it's the mark of a good author when writing suspense that the reader doesn't figure out who is the mastermind until the author reveals it. I kept trying to figure out how to put the pieces together, but I was missing something. Once it was revealed, I realized that it was obvious and I should have seen it all along. 

I am eagerly waiting for the next book by this author. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in order to share my honest opinion of it. I was not required to like the book, only to give an honest opinion of it. My thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Recommended to fans of Irene Hannon, Lynette Eason, Terri Blackstock

Rating - 4 stars