A Single Spark

Judith McCoy Miller is one of the greats in my opinion.  Her Amana Colonies series is one of my favorites, but this differs greatly from that series.  A Single Spark takes place during the Civil War, when civilians are hired by and used by the armies to make their ammunition.  Clara McBride is one of the women who works at the laboratories and through her job she meets Lt. Joseph Brady.  He is wounded veteran for the Union and still in active duty, being assigned to the laboratory in Washington, DC.

During the course of his assignment, he is sent to the Allegheny Ammunition works in Pennsylvania.  While he is inspecting the works, there is an explosion because something sparks the gunpowder.  There were many casualties and quite a few fatalities.  Joseph has observed several safety issues there and returns to Washington with several recommendations for safety improvements. 

Judith has added several other characters to the mix, treasonists, society mavens, and other soldiers.  Each of the characters play their part perfectly to make the book so very hard to put down.  It's worth every minute it takes to read it. 

Five stars, two thumbs up, and an ammunition maker.

Bethany House and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

At Love's Command

Karen Witemeyer is one of my favorite "western" authors and rarely fails to please with her offerings.  Most of her books take place in Texas and this one is no different. 

There are four men who have banded together as a group of vigilantes or mercenaries for hire.  They have a code of conduct they try never to break--never shoot to kill, just shoot to wound enough to stop the outlaw so that he can be taken in to the authority. They are called Hanger's Horsemen and ride to wherever the need is greatest. 

During one of their operations, one of the horsemen gets wounded, so the horsemen are directed to Dr Jo's in Purgatory Springs.  What they didn't realize is that Dr Jo is Josephine Burkett.  She cares for the wounded man and watches the leader of the horsemen care for his wounded  man and begins to fall for him. 

When Josephine gets a letter from her father's housekeeper, saying that her brother was being held hostage by a gang of outlaws.  She follows the horsemen to get them to go after her brother. 

This is a five star book that will not let the reader go from the very beginning to the back of the book.  Two Thumbs Up, and free doctor's care for life.

Bethany House and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

The Way of Love

This is the second and final book in the Willamette Brides Series, and it details the life and love of Faith Kenner.  She is pursuing her certification as a surgeon.  She has very strong opinions of the issues of the day, i.e. the laws prohibiting people of color living in Oregon, and the instigating of Indian wars so that they could be eradicated from Oregon.  Her opinions stir up trouble with those in power and end up getting her expelled from medical school just weeks before she graduates. 

During all this, she meets the captain of the river boat that takes her to her home and back to Portland.  Both are holding secrets that they believe could harm the other, but they can't deny their feelings for each other.

After finishing the book, I read Tracie Peterson's research notes.  Her research of the historical events is spot on.  She used these events as a way to support the plot, which only added to the intrigue of the book.  It is hard to put down and compels the reader to continue reading.  It is a five-star book, with two thumbs up, and a handsome river boat captain to escort you on your trips.

Bethany House and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  The opinions expressed here are my own.

Promise at Pebble Creek

Lisa Jones Baker writes Amish fiction.  She has a light hand with the plots she writes and they are readable, even for young adult readers. 

Her newest in the Hope Chest Series is Promise at Pebble Creek.  There isn't much to the plot, it is an easy reader, and a quick reader.

Hannah Lapp loves reading adventure novels and really wants some extra adventure to come into her life.  Marcus Jackson is a new hire of her brother in his contracting firm.  Marcus is a Christian, but he's not Amish.  Even though they feel something between them, it's still an impossible relationship because of the differences in their religion. 

There is a man breaking into Amish businesses, starting around the same time as Marcus came to town.  Even though he didn't do the burglaries, he is still suspected.  When he decides he wants to join the Amish church, he has a lot to overcome to be fully accepted. 

It's a quick read and enjoyable too.  There just isn't much meat on these bones. Three Stars.  I know Lisa writes good Amish fiction, but this doesn't fit her usual quality. 

Kensington Books and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are my own. 

Home to Stay

Loree Lough writes Amish Fiction that is enjoyable and includes a bit of intrigue. Home to Stay tells the story of a woman, Willa,  hiding in an Amish community for her safety and the safety of her daughter, Frannie.  She finds work with an Amish man and his infirm wife.  Through them, she meets Max, with whom her daughter falls in love.  Max is Dan's (Willa's employer) business partner.  There is something about Max and Willa that attracts them to each other.  Frannie loves Max, so there's always that.  It's easy to tell from the beginning of the book that Max and Willa will get together in the end.  There are some steps that Willa must take in order to marry Max, such as: going through baptism classes and becoming a member of the Amish. 

There were times when the plot moved slowly, but the book has enough to keep the reader involved to the end.  It is a four star book, very much worth it to read.

Kensington Books and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.

A Mosaic of Wings

I don't think I've ever read anything by Kimberly Duffy, but I am happy that I am introduced to her writing through this particular book. Nora is finishing her entomology degree at Cornell University at a time when education for women was frowned upon.  Owen Epps is her competition for valedictorian of the class, and her competition for a scholarship to be given for those going on to get their Master's degree.

There are a few historical people included in the book, especially the professors who have taken Nora under their wings.  He offered Nora a chance of a lifetime to go to India and help an expedition there to identify and illustrate the native insects there--especially the butterflies.  There is one fabled butterfly that has eluded the team, and they dearly want to find it. 

A local girl befriended Nora and she takes her to see where the butterfly is and Nora finds another butterfly, which seems to be the Jezebel butterfly, but there are a few key differences.  The orange spots on the lower wings come to a point, like arrows.  The butterfly Nora found has blunt spots instead of pointed spots.

Kimberly has taken some hard social and cultural practices that are misunderstood and fleshed them out for the understanding of her reader.  The plot flows in a way that keeps the reader involved from the very beginning to the very end.  The characters range from the good guys to the really bad guys, and some in-between.  There are shifty characters and ones the reader can never trust.  She writes smoothly so that the plot moves at a steady pace and keeps the reader intrigued and wanting what happens next.

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a newly found, unclassified butterfly.

Bethany House and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Storing Up Trouble

Jen Turano writes romances about women who use their wits to stay ahead of their own machinations.  The shenanigans of these women are enough to make a mother superior say, "What do we do about a problem like (inset heroine's name here)?"  There is always a reason why these women act the way they do: they are not cut of the same cloth as every one else, their thought processes are not the usual empty-headed thoughts of debutantes, and they are too forward thinking for their times.

These reasons are exactly why Beatrix Waterbury was sent to stay with her Aunt Gladys in Chicago.  She wasn't precisely sure why she was being banished from New York society, but she was determined to make the best of the situation, until she was set upon by train robbers on the way to Chicago.   The robbers were really after some papers that Norman Nesbitt carried with him, but used the robbery as a ruse to get to those papers.  Beatrix and Norman are thrown together often after the train episode, and begin to see something in each other that others don't see.

Storing Up Trouble is a five star book,  two thumbs up, and something from the Bargain Basement at Marshall Fields.

Bethany House and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  The opinions expressed here are my own.

Steadfast Mercy

Jonica Muller has to go to Posen, Michigan, to settle her father's estate, because both her parents died in a tragic accident.  When she gets to Posen, her aenti Edna is rather scattered in her memory and kind of wants to sell the farm and move in with her older sister who "needs help." Edna asked Caleb, who is working Edna's farm, to pick up Jonica and her five-year-old son.    The only problem was that Caleb was the brother of her son's father.  She truly wanted nothing to do with Caleb, until he started helping Jonica with Stephen's health issues.

This is a deeper plot than I usually read in Amish fiction.  Ruth Reid's talent in bringing a compelling and engaging story is above the norm.  I truly enjoyed this book so much that I had a really hard time putting it down.

This is a five-star book, with two thumbs up, and favorable medical results.

Thomas Nelson and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.