The Christmas Spirit by Debbie Macomber

 

What is your favorite Christmas or holiday cookie or treat?

It’s not Christmas without a Debbie Macomber book.  This book was my December read for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  I still need to watch the meeting!  They are posted each month on Brenda Novak’s Facebook page and are delightful.

Peter Armstrong and Hank Colfax are best friends in the 1970’s.  Both lead very different lives.  Peter is the pastor at a local church, while Hank runs a local tavern.  Both believe the other has an easier time at their job so they decide to switch jobs for a week before Christmas.  Both discover that the other has a much harder job than they thought.  They also find that they can make a difference at their new jobs and perhaps find love along the way.

I loved this story.  I thought it was very heartwarming and really looked at the true meaning of Christmas.  I find it interesting that many books labeled “Christian” really are just stories that are a clean read, but have nothing about faith.  This book is not labeled as a Christian read, but it was a great one.  It had many thoughtful points such as are the church ladies judging rather than helping people in town?  Who should they be helping?  Do you know what anyone is going through if you haven’t walked in their shoes.   Everyone kept being surprised that Hank the bartender knew scripture and applied it in his life.  There are strippers and a biker gang in this book, which are not traditionally in a Christmas story.

The story is framed with a grandmother telling this story to her grandkids.  I kept wondering who she was going to end of being and it had a satisfying conclusion. 

Review Copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

All the Lost Places by Amanda Dykes (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Do you enjoy reading books where a character has a journey or second chance?  I know I do, and this was a good book for me.

All the Lost Places is a historical fiction novel with a dual narrative.  One narrative is set the 1800’s and is the story of a lost baby boy, Sabastian Trovato, who is found in Venice and is raised by a guild of five artisans.  The other narrative is set in the 1900’s and involves a man named Daniel.  Daniel has led a troubled life but is trying to start over by going on a journey to Venice to procure a rare book for a wealthy man.  While there, he discovers who Sebastian Trovato is and why his story was unfinished.

All of the Lost Places was a beautifully written book with an interesting story.  I’ll admit that it did take me awhile to get into the story.   It’s the kind of story that you need time to read and immerse yourself in.  Once you get into the story, it is hard to put down. I have always wanted to visit Venice and this story was a love letter to the City.  It made me want to visit even more.  I loved the stories of both Daniel and Sebastian.  I like mysteries and I loved learning more about The Book of Waters as Daniel made his discoveries.

Review Copy from Bethany House Books as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: All the Lost Places: A Novel

·       Author: Amanda Dykes

·       Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Inspirational Fiction

·       Publisher: ‎Bethany House Publishers (December 13, 2022)

·       Length: (400) pages

·       Format: Hardcover, Trade paperback, & eBook 

·       ISBN: 978-0764239502

·       Tour Dates: December 5 – December 19, 2022

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

When all of Venice is unmasked, one man's identity remains a mystery . . .

1807
When a baby is discovered floating in a basket along the quiet canals of Venice, a guild of artisans takes him in and raises him as a son, skilled in each of their trades. Although the boy, Sebastien Trovato, has wrestled with questions of his origins, it isn't until a woman washes ashore on his lagoon island that answers begin to emerge. In hunting down his story, Sebastien must make a choice that could alter not just his own future, but also that of the beloved floating city.

1904
Daniel Goodman is given a fresh start in life as the century turns. Hoping to redeem a past laden with regrets, he is sent on an assignment from California to Venice to procure and translate a rare book. There, he discovers a city of colliding hope and decay, much like his own life, and a mystery wrapped in the pages of that filigree-covered volume. With the help of Vittoria, a bookshop keeper, Daniel finds himself in a web of shadows, secrets, and discoveries carefully kept within the stones and canals of the ancient city . . . and in the mystery of the man whose story the book does not finish: Sebastien Trovato.

 
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR AMANDA DYKES

https://austenprose.com/2022/11/16/an-exclusive-interview-with-amanda-dykes-author-of-all-the-lost-places/

 

ADVANCE PRAISE

• “This lyrical dual-narrative historical from Dykes (Set the Stars Alight) dives into the histories of Venice, Italy, and Venice Beach, California.”— Publisher’s Weekly
• "Introspective, surprising, and achingly beautiful."— Booklist starred review
• "Dykes's pen is fused with magic and poetry. Every word's a gentle wave building into the splendor that is All the Lost Places, where struggles for identity and a place to belong find hope between the pages of a timeless story."— J'Nell Ciesielski, bestselling author of The Socialite
• "Luscious writing, authentic characters, and an ending that satisfies to the core of the spirit, this novel is another winner from Amanda Dykes."— Heidi Chiavaroli, Carol Award-winning author of Freedom's Ring and Hope Beyond the Waves

 

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | BOOKSHOP | GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR BIO

Amanda Dykes's debut novel, Whose Waves These Are, is the winner of the prestigious 2020 Christy Award Book of the Year, a Booklist 2019 Top Ten Romance debut, and the winner of an INSPY Award. She's also the author of Yours Is the Night and Set the Stars Alight, a 2021 Christy Award finalist.

 

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

 

 

The Sisters of Sea View by Julie Klassen (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Do you have an auto-read author?  An author that as soon as they publish something new, you have to read it right away?  Julie Klassen is just such an author for me.  I was happy to be invited to be a part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour and to be able to post my review on the release day of The Sisters of Sea view.

The Summers Sisters and their Mother are left without a sufficient income at the death of their father.  Luckily for them, while their father’s estate was entailed away, he did manage to buy a house on the shores of Devonshire in Sidmouth, Sea View.  Sarah, the eldest, is determined to keep the family together and comes up with a plan.  Can they open their home to guests in order to stay together and make a living? 

Viola and Emily are twins.  While Emily loves the spotlight, Viola remains in the shadows wearing a veil.  She was born with a harelip which was fixed surgically.  She does not want to help with hosting visitors, so she starts to read to invalids for money.  Her first client is gruff man in his thirties who has returned with wounds from India.  Will she be able to see past his exterior to the man inside? 

Georgina is the youngest sister and full of fun.  She wonders what happened to her eldest sister, Claire.  Claire suddenly left to become a companion to an elderly aunt in Scotland.  Why have they never heard from her again?

I loved, loved, loved this novel.  I couldn’t put it down and it was pure joy to read it.  The setting was intriguing, and the characters were wonderful and fully developed.  I loved the sisters, their servants, and getting to know the people that stayed at Sea View.  The sweet romances that were started were also very romantic.  I can’t see what happens next.  This is the first novel in a planned series.

One of my favorite parts of reading this were all of the fun call-backs to Jane Austen.  At first when Mr. and Mrs. Elton showed up as guests, I thought they shared the names of Austen characters.  Then I was pleasantly surprised to discover they were the characters from Emma by Jane Austen.  You can read the novel not knowing this and be fine, but it makes it extra delightful for fans of Jane Austen.  The theme of five sisters and their mother trying to find their way after the estate is entailed is straight from Pride and Prejudice.  It felt like the Bennet sisters and their invalid mother, except they were in a better place with owning Sea View.  This story also shared a “ruined” sister.  The characters were completely different than Pride and Prejudice, but I loved the call backs.

I highly recommend The Sisters of Sea View if you love Jane Austen, regency romance, great character driven stories, or just a great book overall.

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

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: The Sisters of Sea View

·       Series: On Devonshire Shores (Book 1)

·       Author: Julie Klassen

·       Genre: Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Inspirational Fiction

·       Publisher: ‎Bethany House Publishers (December 6, 2022)

·       Length: (448) pages

·       Format: hardcover, trade paperback, & eBook 

·       ISBN: 978-0764234262

·       Tour Dates: November 28 – December 12, 2022

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Some guests have come for a holiday, others for hidden reasons of their own . . .

When their father's death leaves them impoverished, Sarah Summers and her genteel sisters fear they will be forced to sell the house and separate to earn livelihoods as governesses or companions. Determined to stay together, Sarah convinces them to open their seaside home to guests to make ends meet and provide for their ailing mother. Instead of the elderly invalids they expect to receive, however, they find themselves hosting eligible gentlemen. Sarah is soon torn between a growing attraction to a mysterious Scottish widower and duty to her family.

Viola Summers wears a veil to cover her scar. When forced to choose between helping in her family's new guest house and earning money to hire a maid to do her share, she chooses the latter. She reluctantly agrees to read to some of Sidmouth's many invalids, preferring the company of a few elders with failing eyesight to the fashionable guests staying in their home. But when her first client turns out to be a wounded officer in his thirties, Viola soon wishes she had chosen differently. Her new situation exposes her scars--both visible and those hidden deep within--and her cloistered heart will never be the same.

Join the Summers sisters on the Devonshire coast, where they discover the power of friendship, loyalty, love, and new beginnings.

 
VIDEO INTRODUCTION TO THE SISTERS OF SEA VIEW BY JULIE KLASSEN

https://youtu.be/EZDjSuBtFEU

 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR JULIE KLASSEN

https://austenprose.com/2022/11/09/an-exclusive-interview-with-julie-klassen-author-of-the-sisters-of-sea-view/

 

ADVANCE PRAISE

·       “Jane Austen fans will delight in this nimble series launch…Klassen excels at weaving her various story lines, each emphasizing the colorful qualities of her characters and allowing them the space to shine. Readers will be eager for the next installment.” —Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)

 

PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF JULIE KLASSEN 

• “Julie Klassen delights with a winsome love story…” —Publisher’s Weekly, on A Castaway in Cornwall
• “I couldn’t put it down! It you are a historical fiction fan you need this one on your radar! It was a spooky delight full of heart. ”—Anne Mendez, The Lit Bitch, on Shadows of Swanford Abbey
• “…a wonderfully engaging novel full of intriguing characters and storylines. I highly recommend it and can’t wait for more in the series.” —Laura Gerold, Laura’s Reviews, on The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill

 

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | BOOKSHOP | GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR BIO

Julie Klassen loves all things Jane—Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. Her books have sold over a 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 a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

 

4:50 to Paddington by Agatha Christie

 

Title:  4:50 to Paddington

Author:  Agatha Christie

Narrated by:  Emilia Fox

Publisher: HarperAudio

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 8 minutes

Source: Purchased from Audible.

Who is your favorite audiobook narrator?  I have always loved Alison Larkin and enjoy her narration of classic stories such as the Jane Austen novels.  I also love Lorelei King and her excellent narration of the Stephanie Plum series.  I’m adding a new favorite narrator to my list, Emilia Fox.  To me, she will always be Georgiana Darcy from the 1995 Pride and Prejudice, but she has many other film credits to her name.  She is also an excellent voice actor.  Her narration for 4:50 to Paddington was excellent with different voices for each character and she acted out the story.  It made it a pleasure to listen to on my long car trip to Michigan.

4:50 to Paddington is the November selection for the #ReadChristie2022 Challenge.  The prompt is “a story featuring train travel.”  This is a Miss Marple Mystery and it’s original title in the United States was What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!

Elspeth McGrillicuddy is in a train watching out her window when a second train passes running parallel.  In the window she sees a man strangling a woman in the other train.  She is horrified and immediately reports it.  With no body, the authorities are sure that Mrs. McGillicuddy has imagined the event.  Troubled, she turns to her friend Miss Marple for help.  Miss Marple isn’t feeling well physically, but she is still able to use her smarts to determine what train the murder occurred and where the likely place was that the body would have been disposed of.  She also enlists her young friend, Lucy Eyelesbarrow to infiltrate the family where she believes the body was disposed of, Rutherford Hall.  The Crackenthorpe family is completed.  As the patriarch crankily rolls the roast, his children stand to inherit the estate and considerable money upon his death.  Once the body is found and a murder is confirmed, Miss Marple requests Inspector Craddock from Scotland Yard to assist in solving the murder.

I thought this mystery was inventive and delightful.  I did not guess the ending.  I like how Miss Marple was involved in the mystery from afar.  She was the brains behind the entire operation.  I love how she had to prove that a crime had even happened before working on who had committed it.  I also loved the characters, in particular Lucy Eyelesbarrow.  I like that she had a romance of her own in the story. 

I realized while listening to this audiobook that The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins heavily borrowed from this Agatha Christie classic.  The narrator of The Girl on the Train also sees a murder from her train window, but as an unreliable witness, she is not believed. 

Favorite Quote:

“The truth is people are an extraordinary mixture of heroism and cowardice.”

Under a Veiled Moon by Karen Odden (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Have you ever taken a cruise?   If so, where have you gone?  I have never been on an ocean cruise, and with a husband that gets seasick, I don’t think it’s in my future.  I have been across Lake Michigan many times on the SS Badger and that is a fun cruise.

Under a Veiled Moon by Karen Odden is a historical mystery novel set in 1878.  The wooden pleasure craft Princess Alice has collided with an iron-hulled collier, the Bywell Castle, on the River Thames.  This disaster killed hundreds of people and was the worst maritime disaster in London history. Was this truly an accident or was it a sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood?  Scotland Yard Inspector, Michael Corravan in on the case.  His investigation is made more difficult by the fact that he is Irish born himself and the newspapers have whipped up a frenzy of anti-Irish sentiment.

I greatly enjoyed this historical mystery.  I thought Michael Corravan was an intriguing character and I loved learning more about him and his world.  The novel does a great job of world building in Victorian London, giving the reader a sense of walking through the streets and seeing the City as it once was.  It also gave a good description of politics and prejudices at the time.  I found the mystery to be intriguing and read through this relatively quickly as I wanted to know what would happen next. The writing was very compelling. 

Under a Veiled Moon is the second novel in the Inspector Corravan Mystery series with the first novel being Down at a Dark River.  I read this as a stand alone novel and it worked. I do want to go back now and read Down at a Dark River.

The ending was good and left me intrigued to find out more about Inspector Corravan’s past.  The author also had a great note explaining the real history of the events in the novel.  There are also great questions for a book club to use.

Long time readers of my blog will know that I am always looking for wastewater or water treatment in books I read as I am an environmental engineer and I focus on wastewater compliance with my job.  I was interested in this novel that they referenced Erith as London’s sewage treatment plant and the Crossness Pumping Station.  I took a look on Wikipedia and found a beautiful picture of this pumping station.  It is much more architecturally beautiful than the wastewater plants I usually visit.  Edward, the Prince of Wales, opened this pumping station.  Why did it stink so much in the novel when they pass by in the river in 1878?  Pumping stations were used by big cities at the time to pump wastewater out in the waterways away from the city.  Positive, it’s out of the city, but negative, it’s now in your river, lake, estuary, or ocean.  This was the start of wastewater treatment, but many advancements would take place of the next fifty years including at this particular pumping station.  I was intrigued to see it’s now a museum so I’m adding to my list of things I want to see in London.  My wastewater sidebar is now over . . .

Favorite Quotes:

“We all carry pieces of our past with us.  Sometimes they’re shiny and worthy as new half crowns in our pockets.  Sometimes they’re bits of lint or scraps of paper shredded beyond use.  Plenty of my memories carry a stab of regret or a burn of shame with them, and honestly, there are times when I wonder how we all bloody well live with the fool things we’ve done.” – Great opening paragraph.

“I hadn’t meant that.  But there was no point in speaking.  I’d felt loss like his before, a loss that shredded all reason, a loss that tore language from its meaning, so that nothing anyone said made a whit of difference.”

Overall, Under a Veiled Moon by Karen Odden is one of the best historical mysteries I’ve read this year and I am eager to read more by this author.

Review Copy from author Karen Odden as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour.  Thank-you! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: Under a Veiled Moon

·       Series:  An Inspector Corravan Mystery (Book 2)

·       Author: Karen Odden

·       Genre: Historical Mystery, Detective Mystery, Victorian Mystery

·       Publisher: ‎Crooked Lane Books (October 11, 2022)

·       Length: (336) pages

·       Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook 

·       ISBN: 978-1639101191

·       Tour Dates: November 14 – December 19, 2022

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

In the tradition of C. S. Harris and Anne Perry, a fatal disaster on the Thames and a roiling political conflict set the stage for Karen Odden’s second Inspector Corravan historical mystery.

September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat the Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600 passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who believe violence is the path to restoring Irish Home Rule. 
 
For Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, born in Ireland and adopted by the Irish Doyle family, the case presents a challenge. Accused by the Home Office of willfully disregarding the obvious conclusion and berated by his Irish friends for bowing to prejudice, Corravan doggedly pursues the truth, knowing that if the Princess Alice disaster is pinned on the IRB, hopes for Home Rule could be dashed forever.

Corrovan’s dilemma is compounded by Colin, the youngest Doyle, who has joined James McCabe’s Irish gang. As violence in Whitechapel rises, Corravan strikes a deal with McCabe to get Colin out of harm’s way. But unbeknownst to Corravan, Colin bears longstanding resentments against his adopted brother and scorns his help.
 
As the newspapers link the IRB to further accidents, London threatens to devolve into terror and chaos. With the help of his young colleague, the loyal Mr. Stiles, and his friend Belinda Gale, Corravan uncovers the harrowing truth—one that will shake his faith in his countrymen, the law, and himself.

 

ADVANCE PRAISE

• “[An] exceptional sequel . . . Fans of Lyndsay Faye’s Gods of Gotham trilogy will be enthralled.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
• “Victorian skulduggery with a heaping side of Irish troubles.” —Kirkus Reviews
• “Charismatic police superintendent Michael Corravan is back in a gripping sequel about the mysterious sinking of the Princess Alice. Odden deftly weaves together English and Irish history, along with her detective's own story, in a way that will keep readers flipping pages long into the night.” —Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times bestselling author of Mother Daughter Traitor Spy and the Maggie Hope series.

 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

• Read an exclusive interview with author Karen Odden

 

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY | BOOKSHOP | GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR BIO

Karen Odden

earned her Ph.D. in English from New York University and subsequently taught literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has contributed essays to numerous books and journals, written introductions for Victorian novels in the Barnes & Noble classics series and edited for the journal Victorian Literature and Culture (Cambridge UP). Her previous novels, also set in 1870s London, have won awards for historical fiction and mystery. A member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime and the recipient of a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Karen lives in Arizona with her family and her rescue beagle Rosy.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | BOOKBUB | GOODREADS

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

 

Title:  The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

Author:  Kim Michele Richardson

Narrated by:  Katie Schorr

Publisher:  Blackstone Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 26 minutes

Source: Purchased from Audible

 What is the last book your book club has read?  The “Rogue” Book club officially started in 2009.  We’ve had members come and go through the years, but it’s been fun meeting and discussing books and lives.  Our kids have all been growing up through the years too.  We’ve had a hiatus the past few months due to crazy kid sports schedule, but we are finally getting together again in December.  Our book is The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. It’s my pick and the meeting will be at my house.  I’ve heard great things about this book for a while, so I was happy to finally read it.  I had a lot of driving over the past few weeks for work, so I listened to it via audiobook.

 Cussy Mary Carter loves her job as a pack horse librarian as part of Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack horse Library Project.  She works in her local area of Troublesome, but while she meets interesting people on her route, it can also be dangerous.   In particular, Cussy Mary is called “Bluet” by locals because she appears blue due to a genetic disorder called, Methemoglobinemia.   She is treated as a “colored” by locals and feared due to her blue skin.  A local pastor stalks her on her path as he wants to “cure” her.  Her father also has old fashioned standards and is determined to wed Cussy Mary to any man that will take her.  Cussy Mary does not want to marry without love and she does not want to give up her librarian position. Will Cussy Mary be able to escape the prejudice and a forced husband and live the life she wants to live?

 I loved the unique setting and plot for this novel.  I had never read about the Pack Horse Library Project nor the blue people of Kentucky.  I thought it was very interesting.  I was intrigued when Cussy Mary became the point of research to figure out what caused her blue skin.  I loved the descriptions of her travels through the hills and hollers and the difference she made in people’s lives.  Sometimes she was the only person they saw for long periods of times.  She brought them news, novels, recipes, and more.  Cussy Mary was a great character.  She had strength and determination.  I was horrified though that such an independent woman could have that independence ripped away when her father forced her into an unwanted and abusive marriage. I was also horrified by the descriptions of the poor children literally starving to death in the novel. The Depression was a hard time, especially in the Appalachian Mountains.

 Katie Schorr was a fine narrator of the audiobook.  I loved that in my physical copy of the book, it has vintage pictures of the pack horse library project.  It also has questions for a book club and a conversation with the author discussing how she got the idea and wrote this novel.  I already have a hold on The Book Woman’s Daughter, the follow-up novel, at the library.