The Seamstress of Acadie by Laura Frantz (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

What period of history would you like to learn more about?  I love all periods of history.

The Seamstress of Acadie is set during a fascinating part of history, during the French and Indian War in Nova Scotia in the 1750’s.  Sylvie is a happy young woman that loves her family.  They are French speaking Acadians and have a large farm, while Sylvie is a seamstress.  As she starts to be courted by an older local doctor, she starts to evaluate what she wants from life and love.  She realizes he does not inspire love in her like she wants a spouse to do.  When she meets the handsome William Blackburn, she feels a passion she has not felt before.  She mistakenly thinks he is a Frenchman in search of her brother, Bleu, but later discovers he is a British Army Ranger.  The British have brought war to Novia Scotia and decide that all Acadians must leave no matter if they fought them or not.  Sylvie and her family, find their farm and all of their belongings confiscated by the British and they are forced onto boats that carry them to the American colonies.  Blackburn resigns from the British military in protest over the forced expulsion of the Acadians.  In Virginia, Sylvie once again meets William Blackburn.  Will Sylvie be able to put her life back together, face prejudice, and will she find love?

I had never heard of the forced expulsion of the Acadians, and I was both fascinated and devastated by this story.  Frantz has a great author’s note at the end of the novel where she describes her research and her real-life inspirations.  For example, William Blackburn is based on the real-life Major Robert Rogers, the founder of Roger’s Rangers which eventually became the US Army Rangers of today. Like the author, I somehow missed the epic poem, Evangeline:  A Tale of Acadie by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, but I will definitely be looking this poem up. 

Frantz beautifully crafted this story.  Once I started reading it, I felt immersed in Sylvie’s plight and had a hard time putting the book down. This is one of those books I was reading too late into the night.  I enjoyed all the characters, but especially Sylvie, William, and Bleu.  William at times seemed like Hawkeye from Last of the Mohicans.  I also loved at the beginning the details of Sylvie’s sewing and beautiful dresses.

I also loved the question in the novel, where is God in such horrifying situations?

I loved this quote that was used in this novel:

“The mind grows narrow in proportion as the soul grows corrupt.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Overall, The Seamstress of Acadie is an engaging, beautifully written novel full of romance and adventure that is a must read for historical fiction fans.

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

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: The Seamstress of Acadie

·       Author: Laura Frantz

·       Genre: Historical Fiction, Inspirational Fiction

·       Publisher: Revell (January 9, 2024)

·       Length: (416) pages

·       Format: Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook, & Audiobook 

·       ISBN: 978-0800740689‎

·       Book Tour Dates: January 8 – 22, 2024

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

As 1754 is drawing to a close, tensions between the French and the British on Canada's Acadian shore are reaching a fever pitch. Seamstress Sylvie Galant and her family--French-speaking Acadians wishing to remain neutral--are caught in the middle, their land positioned between two forts flying rival flags. Amid preparations for the celebration of Noël, the talk is of unrest, coming war, and William Blackburn, the British Army Ranger raising havoc across North America's borderlands.

As summer takes hold in 1755 and British ships appear on the horizon, Sylvie encounters Blackburn, who warns her of the coming invasion. Rather than participate in the forced removal of the Acadians from their land, he resigns his commission. But that cannot save Sylvie or her kin. Relocated on a ramshackle ship to Virginia, Sylvie struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. When her path crosses once more with William's, they must work through the complex tangle of their shared, shattered past to navigate the present and forge an enduring future.

 

PRAISE FOR THE SEAMSTRESS OF ACADIE

• “Frantz’s atmospheric writing is easy to sink into, from the grimness of the disease-riddled voyage to the ethereal Acadian landscape. While William and Sylvie’s romance is a slow burn, there’s a rewarding payoff to this tale of second chances born from tragedy. Frantz’s fans won’t be disappointed.”— Publisher’s Weekly
• “This book is undoubtably one of the best books I've ever read. I loved the faith thread, I loved the light in the darkness theme, I loved the characters, I loved the hope brimming from almost every page. I loved the growth (through every struggle and triumph), and I loved the history embedded into each detail.”— Tasha, The Clean Read Book Club
• “Fantastic story! The beautiful writing engages the reader from the beginning... Laura Frantz's books are exceptional because they evoke an abundance of emotions beyond the typical novel. I highly recommend this book to all historical fiction readers.”— Milena Bookish, Goodreads

 

PURCHASE LINKS

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

AUTHOR BIO

Bestselling, award-winning author, Laura Frantz, has been writing stories since age seven. She is passionate about all things historical, particularly the 18th-century and her novels often incorporate Scottish themes that reflect her family heritage. She is a direct descendant of George Hume, Wedderburn Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland, who was exiled to the American colonies for his role in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, settled in Virginia, and is credited with teaching George Washington surveying in the years 1748-1750. Proud of her heritage, she is also a Daughter of the American Revolution. Though she will always consider Kentucky home, she and her husband live in Washington State.

According to Publishers Weekly, "Frantz has done her historical homework." With her signature attention to historical detail and emotional depth, she is represented by Janet Kobobel Grant, Literary Agent & Founder, Books & Such Literary Agency of Santa Rosa, California. Foreign language editions include French, Dutch, Spanish, Slovakian, German & Polish.

 

WEBSITE | X (Formerly Twitter) | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett

 

Title: The Christmas Appeal

Author:  Janice Hallett

Narrated by:  Aysha Kala, Daniel Philpott, Rachel Adedeji, Sid Sagar

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 3 hours and 36 minutes

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

 

Do you like it when books are narrated in unique styles?  I had heard of The Appeal and really wanted to read it.  I didn’t get to it yet, but I was excited to get a chance to review The Christmas Appeal.  It is a unique story told through a variety of mediums including emails, text messages, police reports, etc.  A full cast brought the story to life.

The Fairway Players are putting on a production of Jack and the Beanstalk for the Christmas season.  The production is trying to get going with arguing players, missing players, egos, etc.  During the first production, a dead skeleton in a Santa suit appears on stage bursting out from the beanstalk.  How did the dead body get into the beanstalk and why?

I thought the way this story was told was very innovative.  I also loved how the mystery went in one direction and was seemingly solved, but then the real story was revealed at the end.  The story was very engaging on audiobook, and I enjoyed also reading along in the physical book.  I loved trying to figure out the mystery, but I also loved the humor as well. This is a standout audiobook production.  If you love audiobooks, you should definitely try this one out.

This is meant to be a follow-up to The Appeal, but I read it fine as a standalone novel.  I do want to go back and read The Appeal now.

The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans

 

Do you have a favorite Christmas story that you like to return to through the years?  I first read The Christmas Box back when it came out thirty years ago!  I was a teenager back then.  I loved it at that time, but it was fun to return to it now as a mother.

Richard and Keri are young parents who have outgrown their small apartment in Salt Lake City, but do not have the means to upgrade their living situation.  They see an advertisement in the paper that offers a living space in return for light housework, yard care, and meal preparation.  They call and meet MaryAnne who is an elderly lady living alone in a Victorian mansion.  They all hit it off immediately and Richard, Keri, and child move in to help MaryAnne.  As they get to know her, they also discover a Christmas box in the attic.  What is the Christmas box and why is it special?

I read this story on Christmas Eve.  It’s a quick novella, but very moving.  I’ll admit, this book made me cry just like it did when I first read it.  It was like reading a new book again for me as it had been so long.  It really makes you think about people who are alone on the holidays or have lost those they’ve loved.  It also looks at the love between parent and child.

The story is told through the first-person narration of Richard, which made the reader feel that they are a part of the story.  This story was inspirational, and faith based.

It’s not Christmas without a Richard Paul Evans novel and I was happy to revisit this old favorite.

I loved the cover of this thirtieth anniversary edition.  It also had an interesting new forward by Richard Paul Evans about the writing of this book and how it changed his life.

Book Source:  Thank you @BookClubFavorites #BookClubFavorites for the free books.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

In The Shelter of Hollythorne House by Sarah E. Ladd

 

Title:  In the Shelter of Hollythorne House

Author:  Sarah E. Ladd

Narrated by:  Jude Mason

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 49 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com on Audible, physical copy won from a Bookclub Giveaway from TLC Book Tours, e-book from NetGalley

Do you like second chance romance novels?  Do you have any favorite romantic tropes that you love or hate?

Second chance romance is one of my favorite romantic tropes.  I was happy it was part of this novel.  Charlotte Grey and Anthony Welbourne fell in love as teenagers, but Anthony left for war in the United States.  Their fathers were enemies, and they knew that their love could go no further.  While Anthony was gone, Charlotte married Roland Prior.  Their marriage was not a happy one, but she did have one son, Henry, whom she adores.  When Roland dies, Charlotte returned home to Hollythorne house with Henry for a chance to live life on her own terms.  Her brother-in-law sent guards to watch her and Henry due to unrest in the mills after Roland’s death.  One of the guards is none other than Anthony.  Will the two be able to live with their new roles in life, or will the spark of love return?

I found this story to be very engaging.  I liked both Charlotte and Anthony and their second chance at romance.  I also liked how there was a mystery and adventure in the story.  I also thought there were hints of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte in this story with the mysterious widow living on the moors after an unhappy marriage.

My JASNA Northwoods Book club won editions of this novel from the TLC Bookclub Giveaway, which was very exciting.  I handed them out at our last meeting in October and we discussed it today.  Most members liked the book, and we had an interesting discussion of marriage during the Regency time period and how women were trapped in unhappy marriages.  We also discussed that Charlotte’s father left a good marriage settlement on her which really helped her out after her father’s death.  Not all women had this.

I listened to the audiobook of the novel while following along in my physical copy.  Jude Mason was a good narrator, and it was an engrossing story to listen to.

The Heroine by Eaton Stannard Barrett

 

Do you like to read books that inspired your favorite authors?  I do as I feel it gives me a great background on why they made the artistic choices that they did about their novels.  This novel was selected as the JASNA Northwoods selection for this month as Jane Austen read and appreciated this book.  I also found a great quote from Edgar Allan Poe about it.

"I finished The Heroine last night and was very much amused by it. It diverted me exceedingly. I have torn through the third volume; I do not think it falls off. It is a delightful burlesque..." - Jane Austen

"Everybody has read [The Heroine]. There is no one so superlatively unhappy as not to have done this thing. But if such there be - if by any possibility such person should exist, we have only a few words to say to him. Go, silly man, and purchase forthwith 'The Heroine: or Adventures of Cherubina.' There are few books written with more tact, spirit, näiveté, or grace, [...] and none more fairly entitled to rank among the classics of English literature than the Heroine of Eaton Stannard Barrett." - Edgar Allan Poe, in The Southern Literary Messenger (1835)

With such praise, I was very excited to read this novel on my Kindle.  Unfortunately, it was a “did not finish” novel for me.  I was not engaged with the story and kept falling asleep whenever I tried to read it.  I made it roughly halfway through and decided to move on to a more engaging book. 

Cherry Wilkinson is the daughter of a country squire and has read too many Gothic novels.  She discovers a scrap of paper with a few words on it that seem to her to mean that she is actually the daughter of a lord.  Her father has informed her that an old childhood friend, Stuart, is coming to visit.  She sets off to London before he arrives to find her “true identity,” renaming herself Cherubina de Willoughby.  She meets an actor and a poet with nefarious purposes, and refuses to return with either her father or Stuart who come to find her.  She has over the top adventures and I just kind of gave up on Cherry.  It was too over the top for me.  This was a popular type of fiction at the time, but I much prefer Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey which is more subtle, better written, and have more believable characters.

We had our book club meeting today and most members, like me, stopped reading it as well.  It is an epistolary novel written by Cherry as letters to her governess.  Luckily, I was able to find out the ending in book club, and it did end the way I assumed it would.

When do you not finish a book?

Book Source:  Purchased on Amazon.com.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Pemberley: Mr. Darcy’s Dragon by Maria Grace

 

Title:  Pemberley:  Mr. Darcy’s Dragon

Author:  Maria Grace

Narrated by:  Benjamin Fife

Publisher: Maria Grace

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 11 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

Do you like to read stories with dragons in them?  If so, what is your favorite dragon related book?

Pemberley:  Mr. Darcy’s Dragon by Maria Grace was the October read for the JASNA Northwoods book club, but I did not get my review up in a timely manner.

Pemberley:  Mr. Darcy’s Dragon was a very imaginative and unique Pride and Prejudice variation.  England has dragons everywhere but most people are unaware of them.  The Pendragon Treaty keeps peace between humans and dragons.  Some people are born with the ability to hear dragons and become their care takers, including Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy.  When the firedrake egg is stolen from Pemberley, Mr. Darcy scours England is search of it.  Will he find it? 

This was a fun adventure and I enjoyed reading it.  It seemed like it was a hit in our JASNA Northwoods Bookclub.  Others have read the series further and say that it is a good series.  I need to continue reading on!

Benjamin Fife is a great narrator.  I loved the voices of the different dragons as well as the sound effects for things such as dragon thunder.  It made it a fun listening experience.

Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

 

Do you have any favorite Christmas shops that you frequent?  I love shopping at Christmas stores, but I don’t have one favorite.  I do love to buy people presents at Seroogy’s Chocolate shop and they have nice Christmas items in that store every year that I like to pick up.

Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop is a follow-up to last year’s The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan.  Carmen’s happily ever after has not quite turned out as it seemed it would.  Her boyfriend, Oke, has returned to Brazil with many questions about the future of their relationship unresolved.  She has worn out her welcome at her sister Sophia’s house and needs to find a new place to live.  Her boss is thinking about selling his shop to have money to fulfill his travel dreams.  With all of this going on, will Carmen be able to get her life back on track and have a merry Christmas?

I enjoyed getting back to the characters of the Christmas Bookshop series and seeing what they’ve been up to.  I love Colgan’s characters, especially the children in this one.  The setting is also wonderful, and I really want to visit this part of Edinburgh someday.  I always love the humor in Colgan’s books as well.  This novel was not as good for me as the first one, mostly because Oke is just gone for most of it with the total loss of contact with Carmen.  Carmen was struggling through most of the book.  There wasn’t as much Christmas spirit in this book.  I did love how she was able to live in what sounds like a fabulous apartment in the upper levels of the bookshop and she did make some new friends.  I’m hoping there will be a next book where Carmen has things more together and it’s more focused on Christmas.

It would work best to read Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop after reading the first book The Christmas Bookshop.  I don’t think it would work well as a standalone novel.

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

Jack Frost by Debbie Macomber

 

Title:  Jack Frost

Author:  Debbie Macomber

Narrated by:  Lisa Negron

Publisher: Debbie Macomber Inc.

Length: Approximately 1 hours and 44 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com on Audible

 

Have you ever met anyone who seemed cranky at first but was really a wonderful person once you got to know them?  I worked at my local Dime Store in high school with an older woman named Ann.  She seemed very cranky when I first started working at the Dime Store, but as I got to know her, she turned out to be a wonderful person who has a reason to be cranky (her beloved husband died young). 

Jack Frost is this type of story.  Lindsay Calhoun’s family is on a cruise, and she will be spending Christmas alone.  She volunteers to organize the office Christmas party.  The office scrooge, Jack, is not happy about an office Christmas party and always seems grumpy.  When the power goes out as the two are tying up things at the end of the party, they find themselves trapped together in the office.  As they get to know each other better, they begin to really understand one another.  Will love blossom between these two?

Jack Frost was the November pick for the Brenda Novak Book Group, but I didn’t get to it until December.  It was a perfect light and uplifting Christmas book, perfect for the season.  I think this one would make a great Hallmark movie.  Lisa Negron was a good narrator.

Christmas Miracles by Karen Kingsbury

 

Do you believe in miracles?  Although I am an engineer and work in a fact-based science world, I do believe in miracles.

Christmas Miracles is a short collection of true stories of miracles that took place during the Christmas season.  I love this description on the back of the book, “We have all experienced miracles.  An incredible chance encounter that changes everything . .. help that suddenly appears from nowhere . . . kindness handed to us when it is least expected.”  These stories were the type that brought shivers down my spine when miraculous events happen.

The author had the first story, “Have I Told You Lately.”  Her father was dying, and he discovered the song “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” by Rod Stewart.  He called his family members and played the song for them to let him know how he loved them.  After he passed, his family members would hear the song during special moments or birthdays on the radio through the years.  When visiting New York City, Karen ran into Rod Stewart at a park out of the blue.  She told him the story of her father and he said that she didn’t know how much that meant to him right now at that moment.  They later reconnected on a TV show, and both told their stories.

I read this book one evening before bed and found it to be very inspirational. It was the perfect book to put me into the Christmas spirit and to realize how God works through mysterious ways.

Favorite Quote:

“I’ve learned over the years that there are some things we on Earth cannot explain when it comes to medical healings.  I like to call them miracles.”

Book Source:  Review copy from Hachette Book Group / Faithwords. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The True Meaning of Christmas by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

 

Title:  The True Meaning of Christmas

Author:  Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Narrated by:  Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and Matthew Arnold

Publisher: Casscom Media

Length: Approximately 47 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

 

Do you listen to or read any religious material during the holiday season?  I feel like with all the decorations, great food, and fun, sometimes it is easy to forget the reason for the season.  I listened to The True Meaning of Christmas on Christmas day and enjoyed it.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen hosted a radio program from 1930 to 1950 and then a television program in the 1950s and 1960s as he also moved up the ranks of the Catholic church.  I have listened to an 18 CD collection of his talks called Life is Worth Living, which is the name of one of his television programs.  I have since purchased the same talks digitally and like to listen to them.  I find Archbishop Fulton Sheen to be a very gifted and inspirational speaker.

In the True Meaning of Christmas, Matthew Arnold reads out the biblical passages on the birth of Christ which are followed by a related discussion by Archbishop Fulton Sheen.  He talked about the foretelling of Christ’s birth, the historical significance, and the deeper meaning of his birth.  It very much put me in the Christmas spirit.  I didn’t really like the music that they overlayed on the talks and would have rather just listened to the talks without the music.

Overall, the reading of the Christmas story from the Bible accompanied by the discussions on the significance by Archbishop Fulton Sheen were wonderful.