Three-fer

I am so far behind I think I am ahead--so this one will have three reviews. Here goes:

The One Who Waits for Me by Lori Copeland is the story of Beth and Joanie Jornigan and their escape from an abusive uncle and an untenable situation at the end of the War of the Northern Aggression (ya gotta be from the South to understand this one). As Beth and Joanie are running away, they set fire to their shanty, but it unexpectedly catches their uncle's cotton field on fire.

On the way Beth and Joanie and their friend Trella meet up with Pierce, Grey Eagle, and Preach--three veterans returning from the war. The ladies strike a protective chord in the men and they do all they can to save them from the uncle. So many things happen to keep the book moving, it is hard to put it down. Like other Lori Copeland books I've read, this one is definitely a five star, two thumbs up, and a cotton boll book!

Lovelier Than Daylight by Rosslyn Elliott continues the Saddler's Legacy series and brings it to a satisfying conclusion. Susanna is going to live with her Uncle Will and Aunt Ann as she goes to Otterbein College, but on her way, she goes to see her sister Rachel and Rachel's children. She finds Rachel's husband drunk and with the news that Rachel has put her children in an orphanage and run off.

This book takes place during the time of the Temperance Movement, and while Susanna is trying to figure out how to get Rachel's children back, the town of Westerville, Ohio, is dealing with an unwanted saloon. Life just gets more puzzling as time goes on--Rachel wants to take custody of her nieces and nephews, and she begins a confusing relationship with the son of a beer brewer. Rachel's husband shows up and wants money in exchange for his releasing the children to her. Before she can gather the money, he dies, again leaving her with almost no recourse to rescue the children.

This book, as well as the whole series, is well worth your time--Five Stars, two thumbs up, and a baby!

I finished Queen of the Waves by Janice Thompson late last night/early this morning because it was too hard to put down. Jacqui Abingdon's father is trying to arrange a marriage for his daughter that will be advantageous to him and his business. Jacqui's mother wants her to marry for love and arranges passage for Jacqui on the Titanic so that Jacqui can go to her grandmother's in America. Jacqui wants to marry Peter, the gardener, and convinces Peter to get his sister to stand in for her on the ship.

Tessa is happy to escape her drunken father's "rock prayers," where he makes her kneel on broken rocks to confess sins she never committed. Her knees bear the scars of his frequent attempts to cleanse her soul. But, Tessa is a reluctant to trade identities with Jacqui. She follows through but she can't keep up the pretense forever.

On the ship, she meets Nathan and Jessie. Nathan is a man who is intrigued with Tessa's pure beauty and Jessie is the niece of a preacher who points Tessa to the true knowledge of God and His perfect love.

Again a book worth five stars, two thumbs up, and no shipwrecks!