by Roseanna White | Aug 18, 2009 | What We're Reading
Is there anything better than action, adventure, and romance on the high seas? (Well, maybe a full night’s sleep, but that’s an entry for another time . . .) Those are the key ingredients in MaryLu Tyndall’s latest release, The Blue Enchantress, a book I’m having a hard time putting down.
This won’t be a full review because I’m still in the middle of it, but ahhhhhh. I know when I pick up one of MaryLu’s books that I’m in for some tall ships, some pirates, some spiritual elements that send goosebumps shuddering up my spine, and a love story that will set my heart a-pumping. The Blue Enchantress is the second in the Charles Town Belles trilogy, but it easily stands alone–and stands so well that I’m already looking forward to the next one.
It centers around Hope, a young woman who has always relied on her charm and beauty to get her way. But when bad decisions land her on an auction block in St. Kitts, about to be sold as a slave, she swears she’s going to change. Especially when Nathanial Mason, a man she’s only scoffed at before but who may just be the most gentlemanly man she’s ever met, sells half his belongings to save her. Hope dreams of starting afresh and becoming a true lady–but with the dark shadows haunting her every step, will she ever have the chance?
Thus far, this book has it all. Hurricans, shipwrecks, pirates . . . everybody release a satisfied sigh with me. I was reading it the other night, and my husband started pouting that I wasn’t paying any attention to him. (Guilty.) I replied, “Hold on, they just got stranded on a deserted island. Let me finish this chapter.” And though I did put it down, it was with a huff. “I left the poor guy with a sword at his chin,” I said.
And for the record, last night when I had a rare hour alone (the hubby took the kids to the park) I chose to spend most of it reading this book. That right there speaks to its greatness, because usually I’d be parked in front of my computer the whole time.
Now I’m going to cut this short, because last night I left a sweet character with a pirate. Arg! Have to go read more and see what he wants with her (other than that). So I’ll just leave you with this–miracles and minions, pirates and slave auctions, love and jealousy and some checked-but-searing passion . . . what’s not to like? Check out MaryLu Tyndall’s The Blue Enchantress for a book that will sweep you away.
by Roseanna White | Aug 11, 2009 | What We're Reading
Since last Story Time Tuesday I wrote about a book that dealt with turn-of-the-century orphan issues, I thought today I’d talk about the other one I’ve recently read with the same topic–though the similarities end there.
My Heart Remembers by Kim Vogel Sawyer is a must-read. No surprise that it’s a finalist in ACFW’s Book of the Year contest!
Maelle promised her father that she’d watch after the wee ones in the rush to escape their burning apartment building. All night long, she cared for her little brother, Mattie, and the baby, Molly. But when her parents never emerge, the care for them in taken out of her hands–and not long after, they’re on an orphan train, headed west. As her younger siblings are torn from her arms, Maelle swears she’ll find them again–and sends with each a token to ensure they’ll recognize each other when they meet again.
Through the years, the three siblings lead very different lives. Maelle, known as Mike, becomes a photographer. Her passion? Capturing the plight of the orphaned children who are overworked and under-loved across America. Mattie learns all about ranching–and the hard price a boy might pay if he finds himself under an unfair “guardian.” Molly is raised as a wealthy socialite . . . who is tossed onto the mercies of others when her brother forces her from her home, penniless and alone, after their parents’ death. Will anything bring them together again?
There are so many things I love about this book. First, though it’s not technically a romance, there’s a strong enough thread of that to keep my romantic’s heart a-pumping happily. As always, Kim delivers characterization that will make you sigh, laugh, and cry (or nearly, in my case;-). The plot has hints of suspense, tons of passion, and clearly demonstrates the redemptive and restorative powers of an Almighty God.
This book is like a tapestry–richly woven, beautifully hued, saturated with feeling and depth. I enjoyed following each thread, learning more about each sibling, and their Joy was mine in the end.
For an awesome story of homecoming, faith, and the kind of deep-set love that doesn’t fade, even through the decades, open up My Heart Remembers. It’s a book you’ll never forget.
by Roseanna White | Aug 4, 2009 | What We're Reading
First, let me say that I love Shar MacLaren. Her books are sweet and deep and awesome . . . just like her. =) I’ve emailed her a lot over the years, got to hug her at the ’07 ACFW conference, and (best of all, lol) have had my endorsements appear on or in nearly all of her books. Go, Shar!
Her latest is Maggie Rose, the second in the Daughters of Jacob Kane series. This one takes us to turn-of-the-century New York City, where middle daughter Maggie has gone to volunteer in an orphanage, Sheltering Arms. She knew it would be a lot of work, but she also knows it’s where God called her. What she didn’t expect was Luke Madison, an embittered newspaper reported assigned to write a story about the refuge. He’s the handsomest man she’s ever seen . . . but will anything break through that hardened heart?
Luke’s story is that he lost his aunt, his fiancee, and his fiancee’s mother in a terrible steamboat accident a few months earlier. Ever since then, he’s been burying himself in work, trying to investigate the accident and find those culpable. His boss finally has enough with him neglecting everything else and demands he take a leave of absense, under the guise of writing the article about Sheltering Arms. What Luke finds at the orphanage–aside from the very pretty Miss from Michigan, as he calls her–is a reason. A reason to fight, a reason to work, a reason to be.
They end up going west on one of the Orphan Trains, finding a dose of adventure . . . and of course, falling in love.
This is the second book I’ve read in the last month dealing with the Orphan Trains–amazing, since I think they’re the only two out, LOL. So I was somewhat familiar with the dilemmas of the day and found Shar’s take on it freash and hopeful, as I always do. One thing I really appreciate about her books is that while they have some suspense, it doesn’t overshadow the romance or the story. She never drags it out to make it not resolve until the last page.
Maggie Rose is another must-read from my good friend Shar. Pick it up for a taste of history, a dose of love, and a helping of adventure.
by Roseanna White | Jul 28, 2009 | Books, What We're Reading
When Claudia Mair Burney’s new book out from Cook arrived on my in-pile, I thought something along the lines of “Sigh.” I’d only read one book by this author before, and while I enjoyed most of it, I didn’t care for the ending. I was kinda afraid this would have the same kick-me-while-I’m-down thing going, but I dutifully picked it up anyway. And fell in love.
Zora & Nicky is a look into the lives of the title characters that will redefine your entire way of thinking. Zora is a young, wealthy black woman whose father is an influential minister in the Prosperity movement. Nicky is the down-on-his-luck son of a white Southern Baptist preacher who’d run for the senate not long ago. To the world, these two couldn’t look more different. But after they both walk out of their respective churches one Sunday, fed up with the rhetorics of their fathers, they meet at an informal Bible study–and are never the same again.
This is such a timely, relevant book right now. It’s unafraid to look deep into some popular denominations, it’s unafraid to deal with race issues head one. And Burney arrives at a place where the reader, no matter his/her color, is touched by the honesty of the character’s hearts.
I was raised in a community with next to no minorities, and with the belief that everyone was made equal. When a minority did come into our area, I can honestly say I barely even noted the difference in their skin color. Growing up like that, at once sheltered and well-taught, watching the news could be weird. First of all, what was with all the prejudice? And why did the black community always assume prejudice?
Those two questions are at the heart of this book–Zora sees everything Nicky does as racist, and Nicky has to figure out how to get around that by looking at things through her eyes. He isn’t racist, not in his heart. But before he can convince her of that, he has to understand that she was indeed raised to think that everything’s different for a black person.
This is a story of profound sensitivity and yet hard-hitting facts. It pulls no punches, whether they be concerning the lustful thoughts of the hero or the sad reality of the world as we know it. But it leaves you not only with hope, but with understanding. I couldn’t put this book down, and long after I turned the last page, it’s still with me.
As I watch the latest “race issue” debacle on the news, I shake my head and think, “EVERYONE ought to read Zora & Nicky!” The world might just get a little brighter if they did.
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.