Audiobook Review: BLACKWELL’S PARADISE written and read by V.E. Ulett

August 2, 2015July 29, 2015 / drbethnolan / 3 Comments

In conjunction with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, I received an audible edition of Blackwell’s Paradise, part two in the Captain Blackwell trilogy. I had not read the first book in this series, but this title easily stands alone.

In this story, Blackwell and his wife, Mercedes, are sailing for the Royal Navy and spending time in the South Seas and especially in Hawaii. This story has adventure, romance, and lots of history added in. I really liked the characters of Blackwell and Mercedes – and especially how Mercedes was a strong and independent woman. The love between them reminded a bit of Jamie and Claire Fraser – neither of them claimed to be perfect, but they were truly committed to each other. The whole section on Hawaii was my favorite part of the story because if you know me, you know I love Hawaii! I am fascinated by the history and culture and tradition of the islands.

Ms. Ulett reads the audiobook and she has a soothing voice. It runs just under 13 hours.

Thank you for my review materials – I enjoyed listening to Blackwell’s story (and now I want to go back and read book one – Blackwell’s Prize!).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A long time resident of California, V.E. Ulett is an avid reader as well as writer of historical fiction. Proud to be an Old Salt Press author, V.E. is also a member of the National Books Critics Circle and an active member and reviewer for the Historical Novel Society.

Litfuse Blog Tour for A LOVE LIKE OURS by Becky Wade and GIVEAWAY

May 19, 2015May 8, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Well — here I am as part of Becky Wade’s new release tour through Litfuse Publicity for A LOVE LIKE OURS.

If you know me, you know I enjoy Christian fiction, with a little bit of romance, but it’s not all I read and I have to find it relatable to me. All the summary info is below, but to give you a quick idea – this novel focuses on Lyndie James who reconnects with her childhood best friend, Jake Porter, when she comes to train horses for him. Jake is both emotionally and physically scarred from a tour of duty in Iraq. Will Lyndie break down his defenses to help him feel again?

Well, I’m not really doing it justice, because this book was a whole lot more. The other characters really made the book for me, especially Lyndie’s family, and her sister Molly with severe special needs. I loved her neighbor friend. I loved the Porter family. I loved how real these people felt. I loved how it was all about horses (and I’m not even a horse person).

Here’s the thing – I think I’m drawn to Christian fiction because it’s so redeeming. There’s often a message that no matter what mistakes you’ve made, no matter where you are in life, no matter how alone or lost you feel, that you are worth saving. Stories with this theme and the theme of self-forgiveness are often my favorite. This one was no exception.

This was my first Becky Wade book, but I just love Katie Ganshert and I know Katie loves Becky, so now I do, too! 🙂

Here’s info below on the book and a great giveaway that Becky is hosting (n.b. — sometimes with the free version of WordPress codes are stripped upon post publishing. So if something doesn’t link correctly, please look via my twitter feed @BethsBookBlog as I will cross-post).

Thank you for my review copy, via Net Galley, and having me be part of the tour!

About the book:
A Love Like Ours (Bethany House, May 2015)Former Marine Jake Porter has far deeper scars than the one that marks his face. He struggles with symptoms of PTSD, lives a solitary life, and avoids relationships.When Lyndie James, Jake’s childhood best friend, lands back in Holley, Texas, Jake cautiously hires her to exercise his Thoroughbreds. Lyndie is tender-hearted, fiercely determined, and afraid of nothing, just like she was as a child. Jake pairs her with Silver Leaf, a horse full of promise but lacking in results, hoping she can solve the mystery of the stallion’s reluctance to run.Though Jake and Lyndie have grown into very different adults, the bond that existed during their childhood still ties them together. Against Jake’s will, Lyndie’s sparkling, optimistic personality begins to tear down the walls he’s built around his heart. A glimmer of the hope he’d thought he’d lost returns, but fears and regrets still plague him. Will Jake ever be able to love Lyndie like she deserves, or is his heart too shattered to mend?

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1R9Tv8p

About the author:

Becky Wade is a native of California who attended Baylor University, met and married a Texan, and moved to Dallas. She published historical romances for the general market, took time off to raise her children, then felt God nudging her to pursue contemporary Christian fiction. Becky’s work has been a finalist for both a RITA and an INSPY Award.

Find Becky online: website, Facebook, Twitter

Follow the tour!

Landing page:

http://litfusegroup.com/author/bwade

Blog Tour Schedule

5/12/2015
Shanae | Quirky Book Reviews
Michelle | I Hope YOu Dance
Jojo | JoJo’s Corner

5/16/2015
Marcia | Cia Says
Suzanne | Cows and Lasers and Everything in Between

5/17/2015
Jaime | The Mama Games
Leila | All Meant To Shine

5/18/2015
Angela | A Busy Mom of Two
Nicki | Tracks and Chapters, Pages and Characters:Christian or Fiction?
Kathy | Book Reviews & More by Kathy

5/20/2015
Lori | Morning Glories and Moonflowers
Faye | Labor Not in Vain
Paula | Grow Where You’re Planted
Angela | all grown up

5/21/2015
April | Dixie n Dottie
Kemi | Homemaking Organized

5/24/2015
Jenny | Book Reviews By Jenny

5/25/2015
Cheryl | cherylbbookblog
Lindsey | Lindsey Bell: Faith and Family

And here’s exciting giveaway news!!

Fall in love with Becky Wade‘s new book, A Love Like Ours, a story of healing, romance, and cowboys. A glimmer of the hope Jake thought he’d lost returns when Lyndie lands back in Texas, but fears and regrets still plague him. Will Jake ever be able to love Lyndie like she deserves, or is his heart too shattered to mend?

To celebrate the release of her new book, Becky is giving away a $100 cash card and a book-inspired prize pack!

One grand prize winner will receive:

A $100 cash card
A copy of A Love Like Ours
A copy of the Secretariat DVD
A scarf
A dog-tag/cross keychain
A pair of earrings
A Scarf
A Texas-shaped cutting board
A Jake Porter mug

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 26th. Winner will be announced May 27th on Becky’s site.

Review: AT THE WATER’S EDGE by Sara Gruen

March 9, 2015March 8, 2015 / drbethnolan / 6 Comments

I had never read a book by Sara Gruen, though I’ve certainly heard of “Water for Elephants”. I thought this one sounded intriguing, and I was able to get an ARC from Net Galley.

AT THE WATER’S EDGE starts with a young WWII war widow in Scotland losing her baby and then committing suicide by drowning herself in the lake. We then switch to the social scene in Philadelphia and young marrieds, Ellis and Maddie, and their best friend, Hank, whooping it up and causing a scene for New Year’s. Hank and Ellis are both unable to serve in the war due to physical reasons. The three are young, wealthy, immature, and irreverent. When Ellis’ family is angered by their behavior, Ellis decides they will redeem themselves by travelling to Scotland to locate and film the Loch Ness Monster – a task his father tried before him. Ellis is sure this will redeem him in his family’s eyes. Hank goes along with this plan and Maddie is dragged along against her will. Once in Scotland, however, they realize their fun is not appreciated and their attitude and behavior is pretty insensitive and inappropriate. As times passes, Maddie begins to see her husband in a new light (not a favorable one!) and starts to mature and change herself. However, things start to spiral out of control towards the end of the book as Ellis becomes determined to “find the monster” and to not let anyone stand in his way.

I could not put this book down. In other places I’ve seen it reviewed as a romance. While it does have a romantic component to it, I would not classify it as a romance, but as historical fiction. I loved the character of Maddie. I really had hope in the beginning that she would not be as self-centered and callous as her husband, and she lived up to my expectations! Ellis, on the other hand, I could not stand. It’s rare I have such a violent dislike for a character, but there is whole part of this book where Ellis tries to make Maddie think she is mentally frail and anxious and that she needs hospitalization (perhaps a lobotomy!), even though Maddie is fine. I have no sympathy for big manipulators who play mind games with their wives in order to do what they want. On another note, I have seen some reviews that say “the monster in the lake symbolizes Hitler and Ellis, and that’s so obvious, blah blah blah”. However, I had a different take on it. (Ms. Gruen – if you ever do me the honor of reading my humble blog, please let me know if I’m right). I think the monster in the lake lives within all of us — we all have a monster within, and it’s what we do with it that shapes us. Do we become like Ellis — self-centered and self-serving to the point of harming others? Or like Maddie? Remember the “monster” saved Maddie at one point, too. And the vagueness at the end — how did Ellis end up where he ended up? Maybe the monster was seeking justice…

So, I like my “Lord of the Flies” take on the monster idea better than just monster = Ellis/Hitler – which of course can be seen as true as well.

Did you read this book? If so, what did you think? I loved it!

Thank you, Net Galley and Random House, for my copy.

Find it at an indie near you! (I’m an Indie Bound affiliate). It publishes 3/31/15.

Find it at an Indie!

YA Review: THE WICKED AWAKENING OF ANNE MERCHANT by Joanna Wiebe

January 26, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

Last year at this time I read and reviewed THE UNSEEMLY EDUCATION OF ANNE MERCHANT (see review here: https://drbethnolan.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/ya-review-the-unseemly-education-of-anne-merchant-by-joanna-wiebe/).

I liked it, so when the folks at Ben Bella Books offered me the next book in the series, I said yes please!

This novel, book 2 in the trilogy, picks up whether the first one left off. Anne is still fighting for her life, so to speak, and trying to work out her relationship with Ben and save him, too. This installment spends a lot of time giving more background and fleshing out the story of Anne and her family, her powers, etc. To be honest, I didn’t care for this book as much as the first, largely because I felt there was a lot of dialogue. Whenever there was action, though, especially at the end, I could scarcely put it down. I also got confused about what characters were what, given that some used more than one name. And to be honest, this story had a lot more about the demons in it, and demons really aren’t my thing (though I have lots of friends who love paranormal type reading with demons, etc.). I’m more of a ghost or psychic powers person.

Anyway, just wanted to be honest! I still look forward to the next and final book in this series to see how intelligent and fiery Anne will solve her problems!

Thank you for my review copy (I love the cover)!

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The Daring Ladies of Lowell by Kate Alcott

January 24, 2015January 24, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Since I have a bit of commute for school pick-up, I’ve been listening to more audiobooks in the car these past few months. I get them from the local library. Recently I listened to “The Daring Ladies of Lowell” by Kate Alcott (author of The Dressmaker – which I also listened to on audio) which is read by Cassandra Campbell.

I live near the Lowell Mills and I have always found their history fascinating. In this novel, Alice Barrow moves to Lowell to work in the mills. She is a fairly typical “mill girl”, having left her family farm for work in the city and some independence. Alice lives in a boarding house (very typical of the time) with several other mill girls. Then one of them is found dead — suicide is suspected but it turns to murder. Alice becomes involved in the trial and in trying to bring her friend’s murderer to justice. Along the way, the girls are fighting for better working conditions and health protection, and Alice finds herself falling in love with the son of the mill owner.

The following contains SPOILERS!

I enjoyed listening to this book. I have to say I was a bit freaked out by the health issues some of the girls had that I was unaware of — coughing up “cotton balls” of lint from breathing it in during production, and eventually having their lungs ruined. That was quite disturbing. Lovey’s murder is also quite disturbing – she is pregnant and the number one suspect is an itinerant minister. Interestingly, this part of the novel was based on the real life murder of a mill girl, and Alcott even used the trial testimony and some real names. (In real life, though, the murder took place in Fall River – still in Massachusetts but not Lowell).

The only thing that didn’t “work” for me in this story was the romance. It seemed fairly improbable that the mill owner’s son would fall in love with a worker (and I don’t mean “lust after” but truly “fall in love”). The class divide was pretty great in those days and the working class was often “invisible” to the wealthy. It was fine; I just had to suspend my disbelief during those scenes!

Here’s a great article from the Globe about the real murder in Massachusetts that this is based on and how Ms. Alcott came to write about it:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/04/19/the-real-life-murder-behind-novel-about-lowell-mills/bvMBFwckjExNWEGkS87zvI/story.html

You can see this book on Indie Bound where I am an Affiliate:

Find it at an Indie!

Review: DOWN BY THE RIVER by Lin Stepp

January 21, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I received a copy of DOWN BY THE RIVER through Net Galley to review. It looked like a nice story line: widow starts over by taking on a bed and breakfast in the Smoky Mountains. Apparently this is the sixth book in the Smoky Mountain (Christian) series, though I haven’t read any of the others. It can be read on its own.

The story line is fairly straightforward: widowed Grace Conley feels ready to start over. Her children are grown and her former life no longer holds her since her businessman husband passed away. She sells her large house as she is no longer entertaining or helping with his family business, and takes on a beautiful little bed and breakfast in a small town. Grace is learning to rediscover herself and her emotions. There is an interesting cast of characters along the way.

The following contains SPOILERS – beware!

So here’s the thing — I didn’t dislike this book, however, I didn’t really love it. The setting and the characters of Grace and her daughter Margaret and the young twins: yes, I liked them a lot. I liked the underlying Christian themes and messages. Jack grew on me but I found him intolerable at the beginning. (Yes, he changes – predictably – over the course of the book). What I really did not like was the “crazy man” story line. It was odd and disturbing and then suddenly there’s a hasty wrap up of the situation near the end that involves rape, murder, and mental illness. Also the two characters who moved the plot along through their clairvoyance, or whatever you want to call it, bothered me, too. How handy to have a gift that you can know the future and know, according to this story, what God wants from you and what you should do. And there were two characters like this! I don’t know – didn’t work for me.

So – at the end of the day – if I don’t like a book, I don’t finish it and I don’t review it (hence the overwhelming positive “voice” of my blog). I liked it enough to finish it, just not enough to want to gush about it. I would read another one by Ms. Stepp, though, and I do like reading Christian books as they are “clean reads” with positive messages.

Find it at an indie bookstore near you — I am an indie bound affiliate:

Find it at an Indie!

Audiobook Review: A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve (read by Linda Emond)

October 14, 2014April 25, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Now that fall is firmly here, I like an audio book to listen to as I drive to my children’s school and wait for them at pick up. I found A WEDDING IN DECEMBER at the library. I’ve always been an Anita Shreve fan, and I hadn’t read this one.

In A WEDDING IN DECEMBER, several old high school friends gather for the wedding of Bill and Bridget, who reconnected at their 25 year reunion. Each guest has their own skeletons in the closet and past (as well as present!) issues. Bridget is battling cancer. Bill has left his wife for her. Nora is dealing with widowhood and her feelings for past beau, Harrison. Agnes is the most interesting to me – the single friend who never left their old school and remains there as a history teacher, while writing on the side. These friends (and several more) are haunted by the death of Stephen, one of their own, during their senior year.

There’s a lot going on in this story, and at times I had some difficulty keeping everyone straight. I found Agnes’ story which she was writing, about a doctor during the Halifax disaster of 1917, intriguing and while I could see the parallels to the main story, I did find it jarring to suddenly be in Halifax with a host of other people and their problems.

Anita Shreve does here what she does best, though, which is to make people so very real and alive, that they stay with you long after reading. Linda Emond’s soothing voice adds just the right touch to this narrative.

You can see it online or get yours where I got mine: the library!

Review and Giveaway! A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL by Katie Ganshert

September 26, 2014April 26, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

This summer I received a copy of A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL by Christian romance author Katie Ganshert through Blogging for Books. I had read several of Katie’s other novels and found them well-written and enjoyable. I also follow Katie on facebook, where she seems to be a very nice person!

A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL felt slightly different to me than her previous novels. In this story, Ivy Clark, a young fashion model, comes home to model for her stepmother’s new wedding gown line. Ivy was not a character that I liked at first. She was rude and self-centered and a very high opinion of herself. Her interactions with others showed that she basically used her sex appeal and looks to accomplish whatever she wanted and that underneath she had low (or nonexistent) self-esteem for who she was as a person. Ivy has to work with Davis Knights as her photographer, and right from the start, things are different with him. He doesn’t seem taken in my her flirtatious ways and he asks her about her relationship with God. Will Ivy stay detached and self-centered, or is possible that she can open up her heart to others and to God? You’ll need to read to find out!

I enjoy Katie’s writing and I’ll give her credit for creating a story where at first I could not stand the protagonist, but eventually came to feel sorry for her and then to like her. A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL is the perfect title for this story, because beauty after all is only skin deep and the beauty that is found inside is truly the lasting kind.

And I’m hosting a GIVEAWAY, too! Due to a technical error, I received TWO copies of this novel, one which I read and one which I saved to give away to one reader in the USA. Please leave a comment and a way to reach you if you’d like to be entered, and I will use random.org to select a winner. I will mail your book to you via USPS once I contact you for your snail mail address. Entries need to be received by October 10.

Review: THE MAJOR’S DAUGHTER by J. P. Francis

September 10, 2014April 26, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

As I enjoy reading WWII genre novels, I requested THE MAJOR’S DAUGHTER through Net Galley this summer for my kindle. This novel tells the story of star-crossed lovers: Collie, the major’s daughter in a German POW work camp in New Hampshire, and August, a German POW. As Collie feels herself drawn to the young German soldier, she is torn between her feelings of allegiance to her father (a widow) as well as her country, and her attraction to August. August, in return, is smitten by Collie’s beauty and kindness and determines to defy the camp rules and escape with her to a new life.

I tend to gravitate to WWII stories. I think part of my fascination is that was my parents’ time of early adulthood and it seems so close and yet so far away. Collie and August’s story has more romance in it than history, in my opinion (I tend to prefer the reverse); however, I was fascinated to know that there really was a German POW camp in southern New Hampshire during the war (this is only about an hour from where I live). The POW’s worked at logging in the forests and then were returned to Europe when the war ended (actually, they thought they were headed back to Germany but were sent to Britain instead to help with war clean up). Collie and August’s story has “tragedy” written all over it from the start. It was oddly reminiscent of “Summer of my German Soldier” (but without Kristy McNichol).

There are some subplots happening along the way, too. Two brothers who are extremely different in temperament are wreaking a bit of havoc among the ladies. One falls in love with Collie (and ultimately brings about the climax of the book when he tells her confidential information about the next steps for the prisoners). Collie’s best friend, Estelle, is in a star-crossed relationship herself out in Ohio, as she has fallen in love with a Sikh gentleman. Her choices are very different from Collie’s. All these plots tie up at the end, in just under 400 pages.

If you enjoy historical romance, WWII era, you will probably enjoy THE MAJOR’S DAUGHTER. Thank you, Net Galley and Penguin Group, for my copy!

Review: BLOGGER GIRL by Meredith Schorr

August 7, 2014April 27, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I recently received a copy of BLOGGER GIRL to review from the publisher. This story is about a twenty-something legal secretary and book blogger, named Kim, who lives in NYC and spends a lot of time worrying about her blog, her hot co-worker, her clothes, and who she will sleep with next. Kim blogs reviews about “chick lit” (I term I admittedly don’t care for) and has a big following. Then her high school nemesis writes a book and asks her to review it. Kim is determined to hate it and trash it on her blog, but to her dismay, she ends up enjoying it and finding it well-written. What is an honest blogger to do?

This was a light and fun read. I wanted to see how Kim would end up – would she post an honest review? Would she end up with Nicholas? Would she ever grow up and be a bit less self-centered and immature? I enjoyed it, though I have to admit that I felt rather “old” reading this book. While I’m not old enough to be Kim’s mother, I felt like I could be. I grew a bit tired of her inner voice rambling on about her short stature and her large chest, what she should wear, how to attract Nicholas, etc etc. I also found it rather fascinating that Kim blogged regularly while at work, something her co-workers and boss not only knew about but seemed to respect – nice work if you can get it! When I was Kim’s age I was in a very different place in my life, so while it was entertaining, I couldn’t truly relate to Kim. Instead I wanted to make her do some community service for those less fortunate in the hopes that she would become less self-absorbed. What I could relate to, though, was Kim’s blogging life. Schorr does a good job in portraying the sometimes thankless but always busy life of a book blogger.

If you enjoy romantic comedy and twenty-something heroines who are still discovering themselves, you should pick up BLOGGER GIRL by Meredith Schorr!

Thank you for my review copy!