The Mistletoe Countess

 

Since I read my first book by Pepper Basham, I will pick up almost anything she writes. I've had a dearth of good ARC books to read lately and I was thrilled to see her newest novel come up in my potential books to read.  Pepper's style runs toward a literary inclusivity, with references to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austen, and others. Books play a huge part of the plot and enhance the characters' attractiveness. 

Frederick Percy, Earl of Astley, has made a deal with Mr. Ferguson to marry one of his daughters in exchange for a sum of money that will save his home.  The promised daughter is Lillias Ferguson, but she's not mentioned specifically in the contract. When Gracelynn finds out Lillias' secret, she offers to stand in for her sister in the marriage contract.  

At times I was confused about the timeline of the events happening in the novel, I thought that the wedding was supposed to happen right at Christmas, but it seemed to have been a few weeks earlier, because when Frederick and Grace get back to England, Grace is given free reign to decorate Havensbrook for Christmas to her heart's content.  

The most important line in the whole book is this:  "There's no need to ponder what ifs.  They steal the truth of what is." This seems to be what Grace lives by.  As events unfold over a short period of time, Frederick and Grace have to put on their sleuthing hats to find the truth, and get caught up in a web of greed, deceit, and murder. The intrigue of those events keep the reader involved until the very last page. 

Pepper has included in her cast of characters a very embittered mother/mother-in-law who would make most other monsters-in-law look kind by comparison, a greedy and power-hungry wench who stoops to murder to get her way, a cast of minions who follow orders a little too exuberantly, and a household staff that falls in love with their new mistress because they simply cannot resist her winsome and caring ways.  I asked Pepper where she came up with Lady Moriah, Frederick's mother.  I wondered if she'd been reading reddit stories about women who live to make their in-law children's lives miserable. She said that Lady Moriah's past figured into her present personality and mood, that she was a broken woman in need of redemption.  And she truly is.  

There is one character that needs his own book, Frederick's friend, Blake.  He seems to have all kinds of knowledge about marriage for someone who has never been married himself.  He always shows up at just the right time to save the day.  He needs someone to shake up his life and make him see what he's missing. 

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a Deerhunter hat for sleuthing.  

Barbour Publishing and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

The Wish Book Christmas

 

If a book comes up with the name Lynn Austin on it, I am jumping at the chance to read it. The Wish Book Christmas fulfills every expectation for a Lynn Austin book.  There's mercy, love, forgiveness, blessings, and grace to be mined through this short novel.  And there's nostalgia. 

The Wish Book came every fall to our house, in fact, we had two wish books at least come to us:  J C Penney and Sears and Roebuck.  My mom set a budget to spend for us for Christmas and birthdays, and then filled in extras with S & H Green Stamps, Gold Bond Stamps, and Wonder Market Stamps.  She saved the stamps all year long and then redeemed them for gifts for all of us.  

Audrey and Eve live in the same house with their two sons, who are the same age.  The boys find the Wish Book and begin wishing for everything in the book that appeals to toys.  Their greed for things is overwhelming to the boys' mothers who want to teach them that it is more blessed to give than to receive.  

Audrey and Eve were first introduced in the book, If I Were You, where Audrey finds out that Eve has been impersonating her for four years.  In that book, Eve finds forgiveness and salvation; and Tom.  In this book, Audrey and Eve find that God longs to be gracious to them and to bless them beyond all they could ask or imagine, but they have to accept what God wants to do for them.  At the same time, they have to teach their sons what truly loving is all about.  

This book is a quick read, but don't let its brevity fool you into thinking there's not much substance in it.  There are a lot of deep spiritual concepts to be mined from this book if the reader takes the time to dig for them.  Pride and greed are two of the most battled concepts in this book, but there are others as well. Mrs. Herder has steeped herself into mourning the loss of her son during the war that ended six years prior has to come to realize that her love for her son didn't die when he did, and that it is no disrespect to him that she continues living.  In coming to that conclusion, she teaches Audrey the same thing, that Audrey's love for her husband didn't die when he did, but it is no disrespect to him that she continue living.  

This is a five star book with two thumbs up and a favorite toy in the Christmas Wish Book. 

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

The Dollmaker's Daughter

First things first, I never found out who the dollmaker was or what significance he/she had.  Other than that, it was a typical light romance where boy meets girl, boy gets girl (loosely), boy loses girl, boy gets girl back.  In the meantime, there is a rock that holds "magical powers" that everyone wants.  Some believe is it the Umim of the Old Testament and a couple of Jewish men read the inscription on the stone and tell Simon Morgan, the one who holds the stone at the time, that they are not able to pronounce the name on the stone, but that it is God's name.  This stone creates some intrigue within the book to keep the reader interested.  

Amity Archer not only wants adventure, she wants to write about it and capture it in words for her brothers and sisters.  When she runs into Mary, a Revolutionary War widow who follows the camp as a laundress/cook, she wants to write Mary's story as well.  When Amity finds that her Aunt Clementine wants to go visit friends in Williamsburg, she decides to go along.  Amity's father asks Simon Morgan to accompany them on the trek over the mountains. Her father's instructions to Simon are almost indecent.  He tells Simon that if Amity is compromised, she will do the right thing and marry him.  Then he asks if Simon understood what he is saying.  That alone gave me pause because I cannot imagine a father asking someone to compromise his daughter so that she will marry.  No father in my acquaintance would have ever done that. 

While this stone, sometimes called the Horeb Stone, is supposed to be powerful, it is not magic, though wielded in the wrong hands could give that impression.  Many people want the stone for their own purposes and one of those people is the widow, Mrs. Blackstone. Her son is dying and she believes the stone will heal him.  She go to extreme lengths to get the stone and try its magic, including compromising Simon. 

Overall, this book is an easy read that doesn't take too long.  There are parts that are more compelling than others, but the reader does stay engaged with the story.  I've not read anything by Izzy James before, but her style is pretty formulaic.  That's neither a positive nor a negative, it is just the way she writes.  I'd give this book 3.5 stars, but I'll round up to 4. 

Pelican Book Group and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

Shiloh

 

Most of the time I love Lori Benton's writings.  Her early American novels are  well-thought out and well-researched, and they give an accurate glimpse into the history and events of the era.  Shiloh does all this, but it does so with a slow-moving plot--almost as slow as molasses in January.  

Ian Carmichael has watched his wife and son die during childbirth, and has made the decision to move back to Boston, where his son and his "hand-fasted" wife live with his parents. He wants to make a family with Seona, the mother of his son.  He has to overcome the animosity of his brother, as well as Seona's reservations toward him.  Every movement Ian makes is explained in excruciating detail, which makes the reading a slog through mud.  

Lori has included the good guys, the bad guys, the hurting guys, and the not entirely good or bad guys.  She has included a couple of romances happening in unexpected places, a kidnapping to make tension in the plot, and a welcome return home.  But, the reading is slow, and I found myself finding excuses not to read the book.  This is not to say that Lori has lost her touch in writing, rather, it is to say that this didn't fit my reading mood.  I just didn't enjoy it as much as I had reading her other books.  Three Stars.  

I do want to say that this won't be the last book by Lori Benton I will read.  Tyndale House and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.