Madame Pommery: Creator of Brut Champagne by Rebecca Rosenberg

 

Title: Madame Pommery:  Creator of Brut Champagne (Champagne Widows Novels)

Author:  Rebecca Rosenberg

Narrated by:  Katherine Anderson

Publisher: Lion Heart Publishing

Length: Approximately 11 hours and 45 minutes

Source: Review Copy from author Rebecca Rosenberg.  Thank you!

 

Do you like champagne?  I think champagne is nice for special occasions.  I love to try out different types of wines and this book made me realize I should be trying out different types of champagne as well.

In 1860, Madame Pommery lost her husband and became a widow at only forty.  Needing to support herself and her children, she sells off her husband’s wool business and decides to focus on his wine business.  She does not really like the red wine that has previously been made, so she focuses on making champagne that is not as sweet as the typical drink.  She wants to be able to drink it all through dinner.  Will she be able to make a success of her new champagne business?  Will she be able to find love again?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Madame Pommery was a fascinating woman.  I thought she was a woman that should be admired.  I like how she ran her husband’s business during a time when that was not common, and she was not afraid to try new things.

·       I thought the descriptions of the champagne making process were fascinating.  I thought it was very interesting that Madame Pommery’s idea for dry champagne was so radical for the times.  The descriptions of the dry crisp taste really make me want to search for a bottle of Brut Champagne.

·       I also was fascinated by the descriptions of her carving out old chalk caves that were being used as a garbage dump in order to store her champagne.  They became tourist attractions and I really want to travel to France to visit them.

·       I also enjoyed the romance in the novel as Madame Pommery must decide if she wants to reunite with an old flame or find love with someone else.  Her daughter, Louise, also has her own charming romance.

·       This is the first historical fiction novel I read that described the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and I found it fascinating.  Although my Great-Great Grandpa was on the Prussian side of that war, and this book did not paint the Prussians in a very good light.

·       I loved the description of her dining with French royalty, and with British high society.

·       This audiobook was a very enjoyable read.  I loved the narrator’s French accent, and she did great voices for all of the characters.

·       This is a standalone novel but is a part of the Champagne Widows series.  I need to read the previous book, The Champagne Widows now.

·       There is a great author’s note at the end of the book to describe the real history on which the story was based.

 Overall, Madame Pommery: Creator of Brut Champagne was an intriguing historical fiction novel that told the story of a fascinating real-life woman, Madame Pommery.  The audiobook is excellent with a great narrator.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

 

What has been your favorite book club read this year?  Our Rogue book club read The Rose Code by Kate Quinn this year and this ranks as one of my favorite book club picks of the year.  I have previously enjoyed The Huntress and The Alice Network.  I was glad The Rose Code was picked for my bookclub so that I put it on the top of my pile!  We read this back in September, but I got sadly behind on my reviews and I am just now posting about it.

In 1940, three very different women answer the call to work on a top-secret project in Bletchley Park in England.  Osla is a young and beautiful debutante who is dating the handsome Prince Phillip of Greece.  Mab grew up in poverty in the East End of London, but she is determined to make a better life for herself. Beth lives a secluded life controlled by her mother.  She has a gift with solving puzzles and finds herself one of the few female cyrptoanalysts at Bletchley Park. The three women become friends, but circumstances tear them apart during the war.  After the war, will they be able to forgive and help each other?

I read this book when I had COVID in early September, and I couldn’t put it down.  I was riveted by the story.  I loved the real history that was included in the author’s note at the end and I loved how different the women’s personalities were.  It was exciting reading about the high society life of Osla dating Prince Phillip, but I also loved how Mab was able to step away from a life of poverty, and how Beth was able to break away from her mother to find herself.  The story was written in a very engaging style in two timelines – one during the war, and the other storyline after.  It keeps the reader wondering, what happened that tore these friends apart?

I am also nerdy and loved the work that they did on breaking the codes during the war.  It was also interesting that women were able to be involved in this important war work, but that they were not able to talk about their roles afterwards.

This book does get emotional, and I did cry during one part of the novel. 

The Rose Code is historical fiction at its best with an engaging storyline and great characters.  I highly recommend it.

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley and William Morrow Books. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Endless Night by Agatha Christie

 

Title:  Endless Night

Author:  Agatha Christie

Narrated by:  Hugh Fraser

Publisher: HarperAudio

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 14 minutes

Source: Checked out with Hoopla through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

What season is your favorite?  Do you like winter?  It seems like an endless night to me with it being dark shortly after 4 PM in Northeastern Wisconsin.  I enjoy it when it snows, but I prefer the sunshine of the other seasons.

I listened to the audiobook of Endless Night by Agatha Christie for #ReachChristie2023 in October. The overall theme for #ReadChristie2023 is Methods and Motives.  Endless Night was my read in November for the motive of Greed.

Michael Rogers dreams of building his dream home on a piece of land he has found in Kingston Bishop, but he does not have the funds.  While walking by the property, he meets Ellie.  They fall in love and Michael is surprised to learn that she is an American heiress.  After they wed, they hired architect Rudolf Santonix to design their dream home.  Their marriage seems idyllic except for a local legend that says their property is cursed.  A local old woman confronts Ellie more than once to warn her off the property.  After a death does occur on the property, was it murder?  If so, who did I and why?

I really liked how unique this novel was compared to Agatha Christie’s other novels.  I enjoy how she kept experimenting with her writing throughout her lifetime.  This novel read like a gothic romantic suspense novel with the murder occurring very late in the story.  The novel is narrated by Michael telling the story.  I really liked the conclusion of this novel and how it related to her other works.  I don’t want to say more than that, as I really liked the ending and surprise of this novel.

What is even more impressive to me is that Agatha Christie was seventy-seven years old when she wrote this novel.  It received critical acclaim and is considered the best of her later works.

I have been enjoying reading Agatha Christie’s novels as part of the #ReadChristie2023 challenge and I am looking forward to #ReadChristie2024!

I enjoyed the audiobook narration by Hugh Fraser.

Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night by Sophie Hannah

 

Do you prefer to read romance or mysteries during the holiday season?  I enjoy reading some of each genre.

Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night by Sophie Hannah was the December pick for the Rogue Book Club.  Unfortunately, I may have been the only person who read it besides the hostess so there was not much discussion of the book.

Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night is set in the 1931 Christmas season.  Inspector Edward Catchpool and Hercule Poirot are besieged by Catchpool’s mother, Cynthia, to head to Norfolk to investigate the murder of a man in a hospital ward.  Catchpool and Poirot stay with Cynthia Catchpool at a friends’ Christmas house party in an crumbling estate by the sea.  The owners, Arnold and Vivienne Laurier, their two sons and their spouses, the in-laws of the sons, and a couple of houseguests are all in the mansion.  Vivienne is sure that the ailing Arnold will be murdered next if he goes to the Norfolk hospital.  Arnold wants to go to be a mole on the inside to help Poirot’s investigation.  Arnold, like the murdered man, is a man that is generally well liked with no enemies.  What could be the motive for the crime?  Will Poirot be able to uncover the murderer before they strike again?

Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night moved rather slow for me, and I had a hard time getting into it.  I thought Sophie Hannah captured the essence of Hercule Poirot the character and I enjoyed him.  I just thought the build-up of the story and characters took a lot longer than I am used to in an Agatha Christie novel.  I also didn’t really like Catchpool too much.  He seemed rather clueless for a Scotland Yard Inspector.  The ending seemed like an Agatha Christie novel, and I enjoyed it.  It was a good cozy mystery for the Christmas season.

This will probably be my December pick for #ReadChristie2023 as I’m not sure I’ll get to a book featuring strangulation before the end of the year.

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

A Winter by the Sea by Julie Klassen (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

What do you look for in a book cover?  I think the cover of A Winter by the Sea is beautiful.  I love the colors, especially the purple dress.  I also like that you can see the entire lady including her face.  I don’t really like the covers with people walking away or that just show a headless torso.

The Summers family run a guest lodging out of their seaside home in Sidmouth in order to make ends meet after their former estate was entailed to a distant cousin after the death of their father.  Winter has become more exciting this year when the Duke and Duchess of Kent, with their infant daughter Victoria, take up residence in a neighboring home for the Duke’s health.  One of the younger sisters, Emily, decides to follow her dreams to become an author by putting together a guidebook for Sidmouth to be published by a local publisher.  As she starts to have feelings for the Duke’s secretary, James Thomson, her previous neighbor and crush, Charles Parker and his parents show up for a visit to Sidmouth.  Will Emily’s dreams of becoming an author come true?  Will her previous dream of marrying Charles Parker and returning to her old neighborhood come true or will she forge a new path with James Thomson?

Julie Klassen is one of my favorite authors.  I love her inspirational Regency novels.  She writes beautiful stories with intriguing characters set in the Regency world that I enjoy.  I loved book one in this On Devonshire Shores series, The Sisters of Sea View. This was a perfect continuation.  While the first book focused on Viola, the second book focuses on her twin sister Emily.  I’m looking forward to getting a book or story for each of the sisters.  I hope that the eldest scandal ridden sister, Claire, who is in Scotland also gets her story told.  A Winter by the Sea can be read as a standalone, but I loved knowing the background of the characters from the first book.  It’s a series worth reading.

I also enjoyed that the characters celebrated a Regency Christmas at the beginning of the novel which made it a fun read for this time of year.  I also enjoyed the love triangle in this novel, and the growth of the character of Emily in both this novel and the first one.  I loved seeing how she had to realize, what did she really want out of life?  Were her childhood dreams still the same dreams she had now?  Was she willing to forgive past slights?

Overall, A Winter by the Sea is an excellent inspirational Regency novel with vivid characters, a great setting, and a pleasing story.  I highly recommend it.

Book Source:  Review copy from Bethany House as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: A Winter by the Sea

·       Series: On Devonshire Shores (Book 2)

·       Author: Julie Klassen

·       Genre: Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Inspirational Fiction

·       Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (December 5, 2023)

·       Length: (448) pages

·       Format: Trade Paperback, eBook, & Audiobook 

·       ISBN: 978-0764234286‎

·       Tour Dates: December 4 – 18, 2023

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Royalty comes to Sidmouth, bringing unexpected danger and the sweet possibility of romance. . . .

When the Duke and Duchess of Kent and their daughter--the future Queen Victoria--rent neighboring Woolbrook Cottage for the winter, the Summers sisters are called upon to host three of the royal family's male staff in their seaside house. But they soon realize they've invited secrets and intrigue into their home.

Meanwhile, Emily Summers longs to become an author. A local publisher offers to consider her novel if she will first write a Sidmouth guidebook for him. Emily agrees and begins researching the area with help from the Duke of Kent's handsome private secretary. But a surprise visitor from her past shows up at Sea View, leaving Emily torn between the desires she's long held dear and her budding dreams for the future.

Return to the Devonshire coast with the Summers sisters, where loyalties are tested, secrets come to light, and new love emerges.

PRAISE FOR A WINTER BY THE SEA

• “Enlivened by historical details of the royal family’s 1819 visit to Devonshire, the narrative is propelled forward by an irrepressible protagonist whose spunk will easily win readers’ sympathy. This breezy and delightful installment is sure to satisfy Klassen’s fans.”— Publisher’s Weekly
• “A Winter by the Sea is a story about finding your purpose and realizing that the things we hope and pray for...might not always be the things we truly need…
  The On Devonshire Shores series is truly a delight.”— Lauren, The Books Script
• “Julie Klassen has provided such a beautiful escape with this series…I can't wait to see what comes next in this series and will be highly anticipating book 3!!”— Tasha, Clean Read Book Club

 

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | PUBLISHER | BOOKSHOP | BOOKBUB |    GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR BIO

Julie Klassen loves all things Jane—Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. Her books have sold more than 1.5 million copies, and she is a three-time recipient of the Christy Award for Historical Romance. The Secret of Pembrooke Park was honored with the Minnesota Book Award for Genre Fiction. Julie has also won the Midwest Book Award and Christian Retailing's Best Award and has been a finalist in the RITA and Carol Awards. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full-time. She and her husband have two sons and live in St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally

 

Title:  Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord

Author:  Celeste Connally

Narrated by:  Eilidh Beaton

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Length: Approximately 11 hours and 15 minutes

Source: Review Copy from NetGalley and Purchased from Amazon.com

 

What is your favorite type of tea?  I love black tea and it must be caffeinated.  I purchase looseleaf tea from TeaSource.  Some of my favorite flavors are Georgia Sunshine and Prairie Passion.

Lady Petra Forsyth is the daughter of an Earl living in Regency England.  After tragically losing the love of her life, she has declared herself a spinster.  This does not sit well with some people, such as her detestable Uncle who believes it is unnatural.  She believes she does not need to give up her freedom and wealth without finding true love.  One of Lady Petra’s friends dies suddenly, but her old servant is sure he saw the friend just the other day in London. This sparks Lady Petra’s curiosity, and she starts to investigate.  Lady Petra soon finds out that there are other missing women amongst the ton.  Where have they gone and why?

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is full of a lot of interesting characters.  I liked Lady Petra’s headstrong ways and inquisitive nature.  Her childhood friend, Duncan, is a perfect foil for her.  I was confused about his place in society though as he was born on the wrong side of the blanket.  It didn’t seem to matter as much in this Regency world as it did in the real Regency world.  I loved his grandmother, the Duchess, and wish she would have been in the book more.  Street urchin Teddy and her lady’s maid, Annie, were also great characters. 

I was intrigued by the mystery and was dismayed when my audiobook copy from NetGalley stopped working at 27% into the book.  I had to purchase it from Amazon.com as I wanted to see where the mystery went and how it would end.  The mystery had a satisfying end and the overall book ended on a cliffhanger.  This is the first book in the Lady Petra Inquires series.  I will be reading the next book in the series.

Eilidth Beaton was a great narrator that gave personality to the different characters.  It was very enjoyable to listen to it while driving.

The storyline was feminist and had a lot of modern thinking about the place of women in society that would not have been prevalent in Regency England.  It reminded me of Enola Holmes in this sense.

 

The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer

 

Title:  The Talisman Ring

Author:  Georgette Heyer

Narrated by:  Joe Jameson

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 39 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

Are you a fan of Georgette Heyer?  I randomly discovered her books at the Kewaunee Public Library fifteen or so years ago.  I read Frederica first and I was hooked.  Her Regency romances are a delight and the next best thing to a Jane Austen novel.

In October for my JASNA Northwoods Book Club, we read and discussed The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer.  I had not previously read The Talisman Ring.  It is truly a delight and fun story.  It seemed that everyone in this book club enjoyed it.

Sir Tristam Shield has been called to the deathbed of his great uncle, Baron Lavenham.  It is the Baron’s dying wish that Sir Tristam marry his granddaughter, Eustacie Lavenham.  She has been raised in France and is looking for an adventure in life.  She is silly and full of ideals, while Sir Tristram is, to her eyes, a bit boring.  They resign themselves to a marriage of convenience.  Eustacie meets another cousin, Basil, or Beau Lavenham, who is a renowned dandy, and she learns of her mysterious cousin Ludovic.  Ludovic is the baron’s heir and whom she was originally intended to marry. Ludovic had allegedly committed a murder over a gambling debt and a missing heirloom Talisman ring.  He has been on the run since that time.  Eustacie decides that Tristam is very boring and does not understand her.  Naturally she runs away.  One the road she meets highwaymen, Cousin Ludovic, and Miss Sarah “Sally” Thane.  Sarah is a woman who is “on the shelf” and traveling with her brother, but she is also up for a bit of adventure.  Will true love prevail?  Will the talisman ring be found?  Did Ludovic really commit the murder?

This was a fun romantic mystery and screwball comedy.  I found myself laughing out loud at some of the antics.  I greatly enjoyed the witty dialogue.  I loved all the characters, and I especially enjoyed it when Sarah Thane and Ludovic joined the story.  This book is set in 1793 so it is in the Georgian era rather than Heyer’s usual Regency era.  The Talisman Ring would be a great first Georgette Heyer book to read.

This was fun to listen to on audiobook and Joe Jameson is a good narrator.

 

The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer

 

Title: The Witching Tide

Author:  Margaret Meyer

Narrated by:  Miranda Raison

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 36 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you @simonandschuster #BookClubFavorites for the free books!

 

When you think about witch trials, do you think about Salem, Massachusetts or do you think about England?  It was only within the last ten years that I found out about the witch finder, Silas Makepeace, in England and the horrors of what happened there.

Martha Hallybread is a midwife and healer who lost her voice as a child.  Her life changes forever when Silas Makepeace, the witchfinder, comes to town.  Her employer and surrogate son, Kit, gets her a job helping Makepeace look for marks of the devil on women.  Martha finds herself in a terrible situation, powerless to help or stop what is happening to the women in her small community.  Will Martha be able to save herself and the other women of her community?

The Witching Tide was a difficult book to read.  It was terrifying how when the witchfinder came to town, neighbors were turning on each other and hysteria ruled the day.  The proof that was used was horrifying and also laughable that such things could be used to condemn women.  They were powerless against the accusations. 

This book was very well written, and Miranda Raison was a good narrator. The one downfall is that it was slow in the middle and tended to get repetitive with Martha’s thoughts circling her mind.  She has a wax doll given to her by her mother that she keeps with her that she constantly worries about.  I just wanted her to throw it away!

The Witching Tide is an interesting story about a terrible time in history. 

The Novelist from Berlin by V.S. Alexander (Bibliolifestyle Book Tour)

 

Title: The Novelist from Berlin

Author:  V.S. Alexander

Narrated by:  Deborah Balm

Publisher: HighBridge Audio

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 1 minute

Source: Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @kensingtonbooks @netgalley for the review copy of The Novelist from Berlin.

Who is your favorite author?  Do you ever read about their life?

Marie (Niki) Rittenhaus is a young woman in 1920’s Germany.  She considers herself a “new German woman” who lives a free lifestyle moving from man to man as she tries to break into a career in film.  She meets the head of a film studio, stars in his films, and falls in love.  But as the Nazis take over Germany, her husband falls into step with them in order to continue with business as usual. She lives through tumultuous times and must decide what is the most important thing to her?  Can she save her own life?  What about the people she loves?

I really liked the time period that this book covered – from the 1920’s through the 1960’s.  The book not only covered the Nazi rule, but also the takeover of East Berlin and East Germany by communist rule.  The book had great moments of suspense and great characters.  I really liked Niki.  She was an independent and strong woman.  She had great love and loss in her life.  I wanted to keep reading to see where life would take her, her family and friends. 

I also liked how this book followed Niki’s life as an author.  Her books were daring when they were first published, but also the books that ended up on the Nazi’s fires.  Nikki tried to write again later, but she lost her zest for writing a happy story.  The topic of censorship was fascinating and relevant with the book banning that has been occurring in modern times.

I thought it fascinating that Niki’s story was loosely based on the life of Irmgard Keun, a writer who “was forced into exile because her novels defied the accepted norms of the National Socialists as they rose to power.” The Author’s note details what is known about Keun’s fascinating real-life story.  There are also great discussion questions for a book club to use at the end of the book.

I listened to The Novelist from Berlin on audiobook.  Deborah Balm was a great narrator, and it was a great book to listen to keep me awake and riveted on long drives for work in October.  I loved the way she pronounced “Laura.”  Laura was Niki’s daughter.

This book was published on September 26, 2023.  

See my Instagram Post for a great giveaway of one copy of this book!  (Instagram link on top left of this blog).

Jane and the Final Mystery by Stephanie Barron (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Do you have any favorite series that you have read all of the way through?  How did you feel when they ended?  I have loved reading the “Being a Jane Austen Mystery” series for the last twenty years. It was bittersweet reading the conclusion of this series.

It is the year 1817, the last year of author Jane Austen’s life, but she doesn’t know it.  She has been feeling more tired and weak as of late, but it is from unknown causes.  When the son of a good friend is accused of murder, Jane goes with her nephew Edward to Wincester to investigate the crime.  Once there, Jane discovers that the boarding school has a history of ill treatment of its pupils by other pupils.  Was young William Heathcote tormented so far that he took vengeance on his tormentor or are there other intrigues at play?

As I have been with the other books in the “ Being a Jane Austen Mystery,” I was instantly drawn into the story and Jane’s world.   Barron channels Jane Austen’s voice, personality, and the time period perfectly.  I loved getting to see her relationship with her friend Elizabeth as well as with her nephew Edward.  Edward will one day write her memoir.  I was horrified by the description of the treatment of the boys at the boarding school.   I also thought the discussion of speech impediments and how they were dealt with at the time was very interesting.

I also loved seeing terms I really know from Harry Potter, such as “prefect” pop up in the story.  As usual, Barron has great footnotes that describe the details or history of certain parts of the story.  The afterword does a great job of filling in even more historical details.

I quite like how the book ended on a hopeful note and not with the death of Jane Austen.  I am still sad to see this series end, but what a series has Stephanie Barron put together that can continue to be enjoyed.  I think it’s time for me to start the series over again.

Book Source:  Review copy from Soho Crime as a part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: Jane and the Final Mystery

·       Series: Being a Jane Austen Mystery (Book 15)

·       Author: Stephanie Barron

·       Genre: Historical Mystery, Austenesque Fiction

·       Publisher: Soho Crime (October 24, 2023)

·       Length: (312) pages

·       Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook 

·       ISBN: 978-1641295055

·       Tour Dates: October 16 – 31, 2023

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

The final volume of the critically acclaimed mystery series featuring Jane Austen as amateur sleuth

March 1817: As winter turns to spring, Jane Austen’s health is in slow decline, and threatens to cease progress on her latest manuscript. But when her nephew Edward brings chilling news of a death at his former school, Winchester College, not even her debilitating ailment can keep Jane from seeking out the truth. Arthur Prendergast, a senior pupil at the prestigious all-boys’ boarding school, has been found dead in a culvert near the schoolgrounds—and in the pocket of his drenched waistcoat is an incriminating note penned by the young William Heathcote, the son of Jane’s dear friend Elizabeth. Winchester College is a world unto itself, with its own language and rites of passage, cruel hazing and dangerous pranks. Can Jane clear William’s name before her illness gets the better of her?
 
Over the course of fourteen previous novels in the critically acclaimed Being a Jane Austen Mystery series, Stephanie Barron has won the hearts of thousands of fans—crime fiction aficionados and Janeites alike—with her tricky plotting and breathtaking evocation of Austen’s voice. Now, she brings Jane’s final season—and final murder investigation—to brilliant, poignant life in this unforgettable conclusion.

 

PRAISE FOR JANE AND THE FINAL MYSTERY

• “Poignant . . . Elicits deep emotion out of Jane’s struggles against her own mortality. This is a fitting send-off for a beautifully realized series.”— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
• “Barron developed Jane’s narrative voice by reading Austen’s collected and published letters, and it is neither spoiler nor surprise to say that series readers will be sorry to say goodbye to Jane Austen, amateur sleuth.”— Booklist
• "[Barron] has brilliantly combined authentic historical and biographical details with skillful plotting and a credible evocation of Austen’s wry, distinctive voice. She brings the English author’s final investigation to a poignant, unforgettable close. Fans of this historical series will not be disappointed.”— First Clue

 

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | PUBLISHER | BOOKSHOP | GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR BIO

Stephanie Barron is a graduate of Princeton and Stanford, where she received her Masters in History as an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow in the Humanities. Her novel, THAT CHURCHILL WOMAN (Ballantine, January 22, 2019) traces the turbulent career of Jennie Jerome, Winston Churchill's captivating American mother. Barron is perhaps best known for the critically acclaimed Jane Austen Mystery Series, in which the intrepid and witty author of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE details her secret detective career in Regency England. A former intelligence analyst for the CIA, Stephanie—who also writes under the name Francine Mathews—drew on her experience in the field of espionage for such novels as JACK 1939, which The New Yorker described as "the most deliciously high-concept thriller imaginable." She lives and works in Denver, CO.

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | BOOKBUB |

GOODREADS

The Secrets Beneath by Kimberley Woodhouse (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Have you ever discovered a buried fossil or other treasure?  I found a cool fossil in the St. Joseph River as a child . . . but I threw it back into the river!

Anna Lakeman works with her father, Peter, on paleontology digs of dinosaur bones.  Anna makes sketches of the digs.  When they discover dinosaur bones near their home, they become involved in the Bone Wars.  Anna has felt great sadness due to the loss of her true love, Joshua Ziegler.  He left for medical school and never returned or wrote.  When her father falls ill and Joshua returns, will Anna be able to navigate what life has thrown at her?

I enjoyed that this novel had it all:  well developed characters, romance, mystery, suspense, fascinating history on the Bone Wars.  I didn’t know much at all about the Bone Wars and how competitive they were on finding dinosaur bones in the American west.  I loved the note at the beginning of the novel where author Kimberley Woodhouse discussed how she came up with the idea for the book and talked to the granddaughter of a famous paleontologist, Earl Douglass.  In an author’s note in the back of the novel there is more information and set up for the rest of the books in this series.  I am looking forward to them!

The Secrets Beneath is a clean read and had Christian themes and wisdom woven throughout the novel.

This novel had a great opening line – “The garden – his garden – was alive with color today, while the inside of him was black as death.  Especially when he thought of his father.”

Book Source:  Review copy from Bethany House as a part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: The Secrets Beneath

·       Series: Treasures of the Earth (Book 1)

·       Author: Kimberley Woodhouse

·       Genre: Historical Fiction, Western Romance, Inspirational Fiction

·       Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (September 26, 2023)

·       Length: (336) pages

·       Format: Trade Paperback, eBook, & Audiobook 

·       ISBN: 978-0764241680‎

·       Tour Dates: October 9 – October 23, 2023

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Some secrets can only stay buried for so long. . . .

Anna Lakeman has spent her life working alongside her paleontologist father, drawing intricate sketches at every dig. When they find dinosaur bones near their home in Wyoming Territory, they're given the opportunity of a lifetime and are swiftly caught up in the competitive era of the Bone Wars. But after her father becomes sick and Joshua Ziegler, an old beau, returns for the summer, Anna's world is upended, and the practical, orderly life she has made for herself shatters.

Medical student Joshua Ziegler left his hometown to forget Anna, the one woman he truly loved and deeply hurt. But when he returns, time hasn't erased the feelings they've always had for each other. After Joshua's nephew goes missing—just like his sister did years ago—and Anna's job is threatened, tensions mount and dangerous secrets are unearthed.

PRAISE FOR THE SECRETS BENEATH

• “…a propulsive launch with plenty of fuel for future adventures.”— Publisher’s Weekly
• "This book is full of intrigue and adventure, twists and turns…I highly recommend you pick up a copy and enjoy the journey."— Tracie Peterson, author of Pictures of the Heart
• “Fans of Kimberley Woodhouse will rejoice in this launch to a unique and engaging new series."— Jocelyn Green, author of The Metropolitan Affair

 

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | PUBLISHER | BOOKSHOP | BOOKBUB |    GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR BIO

Kimberley Woodhouse is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 30 fiction and nonfiction books. Kim and her incredible husband of 30-plus years live in Colorado, where they play golf together, spend time with their kids and grandbaby, and research all the history around them.

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