The Lake House by Kate Morton
Atria Books, October 2015
606 pages
Source- Kindle Library Loan
Burton Book Review Rating: 5 stars




This is Morton's fifth novel and I have most- if not all- of her other novels. Time is not my friend however and so this newest release of hers is actually the first one I have read. It was slow going at my first try; it could have been personal pressures etc. but I wondered if I was going to be able to finish this digital library loan before it expired. Then I realized it was six hundred pages and I really worried! Soon though, I was able to dig in, and get completely absorbed in the story of a young girl whose family is perfect on the outside and yet things are never what they seem.

It is one of those stories that flip through different generations back and forth with different characters, which gets a little confusing to explain, but it was very well done this time as we are trying to solve little mysteries along the way of what happened way back when on a glorious family estate in Cornwall.

Little clues are given along the way and you really think it's going this way, but in the end I can definitely say I did not see that coming. It was a feel-good happy ending that made me teary. If you like Susanna Kearsley, you will love this one. It's a chunky one and it was just awesome for when you can settle in and sink your teeth into a great story that has suspense, romance, mystery and drama all rolled up into a pretty engrossing package. Definitely pushing the back-list closer to my will-read-this-lifetime-so-help-me-God pile.

"On a dark night in 1775, Lizzie Boylston is awakened by the sound of cannons. From a hill south of Boston, she watches as fires burn in Charlestown, in a battle that she soon discovers has claimed her husband’s life.
Alone in a new town, Lizzie grieves privately but takes comfort in her deepening friendship with Abigail Adams. Soon, word spreads of Lizzie’s extraordinary midwifery and healing skills, and she begins to channel her grief into caring for those who need her. But when two traveling patriots are poisoned, Lizzie finds herself with far more complicated matters on her hands—she suspects a political plot intended to harm Abigail and her family. Determined to uncover the truth, Lizzie becomes entangled in a conspiracy that could not only destroy her livelihood—and her chance at finding love again—but also lead to the downfall of a new nation."

Absolutely captivating novel on Wyatt Earp and his life

Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral by Mary Doria Russell
March 2015
Borrowed from library
Burton Book Review Rating: 5 stars

Mary Doria Russell, the bestselling, award-winning author of The Sparrow, returns with Epitaph. An American Iliad, this richly detailed and meticulously researched historical novel continues the story she began in Doc, following Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday to Tombstone, Arizona, and to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
A deeply divided nation. Vicious politics. A shamelessly partisan media. A president loathed by half the populace. Smuggling and gang warfare along the Mexican border. Armed citizens willing to stand their ground and take law into their own hands. . . .

That was America in 1881.
All those forces came to bear on the afternoon of October 26 when Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers faced off against the Clantons and the McLaurys in Tombstone, Arizona. It should have been a simple misdemeanor arrest. Thirty seconds and thirty bullets later, three officers were wounded and three citizens lay dead in the dirt.
Wyatt Earp was the last man standing, the only one unscathed. The lies began before the smoke cleared, but the gunfight at the O.K. Corral would soon become central to American beliefs about the Old West.
Epitaph tells Wyatt’s real story, unearthing the Homeric tragedy buried under 130 years of mythology, misrepresentation, and sheer indifference to fact. Epic and intimate, this novel gives voice to the real men and women whose lives were changed forever by those fatal thirty seconds in Tombstone. At its heart is the woman behind the myth: Josephine Sarah Marcus, who loved Wyatt Earp for forty-nine years and who carefully chipped away at the truth until she had crafted the heroic legend that would become the epitaph her husband deserved.

I don't know what prompted me to borrow this book from the library (digital library loan, my new bff!), as I am not a passionate fan of the Earps, the Wild West, or Tombstone. Something told me I would be missing out if I passed this up, based upon the many rave reviews on Amazon. I read this chunky 597 pages in a four day span - with me working full-time and chauffeuring kids etc, and so that tells you something right there.

This is not a novel that is just based on the O.K. Corral shootout - but everything that leads up to it and why. Characters such as the Earp brothers and their ladies are the main draw, but the novel actually opens with Josephine Marcus, aka Sadie, who later became the significant other to Wyatt Earp. Doc Holliday is prominent as well, and I cannot wait to sink my teeth into the author's previous novel, aptly titled 'Doc'. The political scheming of the era, with the law men, Cow-Boys, and newspaper editors all come together to breathe glistening life into the author's story which I just could not put down. I loved every minute of it, and the research of the author shows in her words.

Tombstone movie watchers will find it hard to not have those actors playing through their minds as they are reading the book, but that was not a bad thing for me. I am going to re-watch that movie just to relive it again. A wonderful novel on an epic time period of America that won't disappoint.


This is another book to add to my personal resolution of 2015 to read my own books, and ban review books. 

Lady Maybe by Julie Klassen
Berkley, July 2015
Source- borrowed from my library
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 stars

In the new novel by the three-time Christy Award-winning author of The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, a woman’s startling secrets lead her into unexpected danger and romance in Regency England…
 One final cry…“God almighty, help us!” and suddenly her world shifted violently, until a blinding collision scattered her mind and shook her bones. Then, the pain. The freezing water. And as all sensation drifted away, a hand reached for hers, before all faded into darkness…
Now she has awakened as though from some strange, suffocating dream in a warm and welcoming room she has never seen before, and tended to by kind, unfamiliar faces. But not all has been swept away. She recalls fragments of the accident. She remembers a baby. And a ring on her finger reminds her of a lie.
But most of all, there is a secret. And in this house of strangers she can trust no one but herself to keep it.

One of the quotes/blurbs you will see on Klassen's works is:
“[It’s] what readers love of Jane Austen, Downton Abbey and even a bit of Jane Eyre…everything a historical romance reader looks for.”—Historical Novels Review which is actually from a review I had written for the HNR site. You can read my reviews of Klassen's work here. This novel is written for less of an inspirational perspective as it is not published by Bethany House like most of her other work, and as such could disappoint her most avid readers, and judging from Amazon reviewers I think it did due to the fact that there were some romantic scenes throughout.

The quickest summary of the novel is one of a type of a Cinderella or rags to riches story. The maid gets mistaken for the true wife of a gentleman, thus the title "Lady Maybe". There is a large amount of hiding identity, thus untruthful aspects are applied to our heroine. The gothic tones we come to expect from Klassen are no longer evident, and it really just reads like a regency style romance with a bit of a thrill interlaced which in itself is not a bad thing.

I enjoyed the characters, and the pacing was swift and kept me guessing. The plot deals with the summary above and the heroine having to choose between two men and I ultimately had no idea which way it was going to go as the novel didn't really address a certain back story very thoroughly. While written with less of the gothic and inspirational undertonees, Klassen's beloved compelling writing style is still evident here.While it may not be a favorite Julie Klassen novel and its certainly not an epic read, I am still glad I was able to enjoy this novel for free via my local library's eBook program.

This is another book to add to my personal resolution of 2015 to read my own books, and ban review books. 

Book one of The Gifting Trilogy by K.E. Ganshert

If science is right, then I am crazy. And crazy is dangerous.

Tess Eckhart has always felt things nobody else can feel. Then the Ouija board incident happens at a high school party. Her complete freak out sends her family across the country--next to a nationally-renowned facility for the mentally ill. Worried Tess suffers from the same illness that tormented her grandmother, her parents insist she see a psychiatrist.

Tess is more concerned about fitting in at her new school, and hiding the fact that she's seeing a therapist at the Edward Brooks Facility. She's used to whispers and stares, but when it comes to Luka Williams, a reluctantly popular boy in her class, she's unused to a stare that intense. Then the headaches start, and the seemingly prophetic dreams that haunt her at night. As Tess tries to hide them, she becomes increasingly convinced that Luka knows something--that he might somehow be responsible.

But what if she's wrong? What if Luka Williams is the only thing separating her from a madness too terrifying to fathom?

Somewhere around November 15th I had decided I was going to read something that I wanted to read, something that didn't require a review kind of thing especially since I was coming up on a week long vacation. So I decided to pick up my Kindle Voyage and peruse my large collection. I came upon The Gifting by K.E. Ganshert, (a.k.a Katie Ganshert) and decided this was perfect, and I already had the whole trilogy. A really neat premise - something different when we are talking about supernatural things and how they fit into our reality. I completely loved the character build up of Tess, and the cutest boy in town, Luka along with their relationship. Taking a look back at the whole trilogy, it seems like so long ago when the two of them were sharing classes together in an affluent part of California.

Book #2

I read The Gifting in less than four days, and moved on immediately to book two as I was totally hooked and there was some cliffhanging action going on. In The Awakening there is a lot of action and thrills as we enter into a completely new norm for the characters. The characters have gifts, but the 'other side' is trying very hard to eradicate the world of those people with gifts. The gifts we would normally see as psychosis are actually some really cool abilities that are tailored to fit together in a group attack against evil. More characters are introduced in the second installment which add to the intrigue and the suspense that is building before the ultimate finale: The Gathering.

The final installment

"Darkness is a tricky thing. Especially when it cloaks itself in light."
Luka isn’t dead. He’s not beyond saving. Tess knows because she saw him with her own eyes. After what she saw, she’s sure of one thing: If they don’t rescue him soon, Luka won’t be Luka anymore.
If only she could convince the other members of the hub. They’re not sure Tess saw what she claims she saw. And they’re preoccupied by the fact that their kind is being systematically eradicated. Answers lie in an ancient prophecy, one that revolves around a seventeen-year-old girl who never asked for any of this.
K.E. Ganshert’s final installment in The Gifting Series brings readers on an action-packed journey through loss, sacrifice, betrayal, and the impossible choice between what we want most and what we know is right.

The final installment really did a fantastic job of completely pulling off the whole entire supernatural/good side versus the evil/bad side. I loved the creativity and the imagination of the series, and I was sitting there with tears streaming down my face a couple of times. Such a fantastic job of writing and storytelling, I sincerely hope that Katie Ganshert does another series like this again. Five stars all around. Thank you to Katie for such a wonderful adventure I've had the last ten days with the trilogy. I really enjoyed reading for pleasure again, but I am really going to miss these special characters.

Go check out the first installment on Amazon, it is free for the taking!

Conclusion of a fantastic biblical series

On This Foundation (Restoration Chronicles #3) by Lynn Austin
 -easily read as a stand-alone!
Biblical fiction, paperback 466 pages
Bethany House, September 2015
Review copy provided by Bethany House in exchange for this review
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviews of the previous novels in the series:
Return To Me
Keepers Of The Covenant

The Powerful Concluding Novel to The Restoration Chronicles

When news that the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire, Nehemiah, Jewish cupbearer to King Artaxerxes in Persia, seeks God's guidance. After fasting and prayer, he's given leave to travel to Jerusalem and rebuild the city wall, not anticipating all the dangers that await him on his arrival.

The leaders of the surrounding nations become his fierce enemies, plotting to assassinate him and halt the work. A drought, meanwhile, has left the country impoverished, many families resorting to selling their children as bond servants just to keep from starving.

Capturing the rebuilding of the wall through the eyes of a number of characters, On This Foundation is a powerful exploration of faith in the midst of oppression, and hope that, in spite of appearances, the gracious hand of God is upon those who believe.

The Restoration Chronicles is the newest series by author Lynn Austin; her previous works in this series were easily my favorites. This third installment brings us the story of Nehemeiah as he pursues his calling to rebuild the protective walls surrounding Jerusalem which have been in ruins for nearly one hundred and fifty years. However, upon his return to his ancestral home to act as governor of Judah, Nehemiah realizes it's not only the walls that require rebuilding.

The village is suffering due to drought and the wealthier noblemen find it easy to flaunt their riches and take advantage of the poor, even enacting laws of the Torah to enslave those who are less fortunate. Austin demonstrates this through both the eyes of the rich and the poor with Malkijah and his new bond servant Nava. Nava must work as his bond servant for seven years in order to repay owed taxes, and Nehemiah implores all of the noblemen to return the bond servants to their families and show mercy.

As the community unites to rebuild Jerusalem's wall, God's hand can be seen as his guide as the impossible task seemed to occur seamlessly- yet it demonstrated how the people's simple faith can conquer all. Nehemiah was a smart man who combined his faith with action and had the willingness to fight for those building the wall, some at their peril. He armed the workers, and worked tirelessly to rebuild the walls and gates in record time.

Nehemiah's actions cause a deeper rift with the noblemen when he is soon seen as a savior to the poor, and conspiracies develop among the more powerful to rid them of the governor. Through it all, themes of God's mercy and His love are running as undercurrents, and Nava learns from those more faithful how to rebuild her own faith and trust in the Lord who she feels has abandoned her during troubled times.

The narratives alternate between Malkijah's betrothed, Chana, Nava the servant, and Nehemiah, to fully enhance all points of view of the novel, and each enhanced God's messages through Austin's powerful storytelling. She expertly expands slices of scripture with the culture of biblical times and gives us an unforgettable and believable anecdote of the religious heritage which is a gift in itself. Her stories present theselves as that - a story. I do not find them preachy, nor condemning, I simply relish the author's passion for retelling a biblical source in a very inspiring way. The Restoration Chronicles series is an extraordinary work of biblical fiction and I highly recommend this series as a whole, though they each represent different scripture stories and can be read alone.

The Memory Weaver by Jane Kirkpatrick
Revell, September 2015
Historical/Biographical/Inspirational
Review copy provided in exchange for review for Historical Novels Review
Burton Book Review Rating: 3.5 stars
Read my posts mentioning Jane Kirkpatrick works

Eliza Spalding Warren was just a child when she was taken hostage by the Cayuse Indians during a massacre in 1847. Now the young mother of two children, Eliza faces a different kind of dislocation; her impulsive husband wants them to make a new start in another territory, which will mean leaving her beloved home and her departed mother's grave--and returning to the land of her captivity. Eliza longs to know how her mother, an early missionary to the Nez Perce Indians, dealt with the challenges of life with a sometimes difficult husband and with her daughter's captivity.

When Eliza is finally given her mother's diary, she is stunned to find that her own memories are not necessarily the whole story of what happened. Can she lay the dark past to rest and move on? Or will her childhood memories always hold her hostage?

Based on true events, The Memory Weaver is New York Times bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick's latest literary journey into the past, where threads of western landscapes, family, and faith weave a tapestry of hope inside every pioneering woman's heart. Readers will find themselves swept up in this emotional story of the memories that entangle us and the healing that awaits us when we bravely unravel the threads of the past.

Jane Kirkpatrick's historical novels re-imagine a period of time many have forgotten, usually featuring important members of society of that particular time. The Memory Weaver brings us the story of Eliza Spalding growing up among the wilderness of the Oregon Trail in the mid 1800's and how she and her family dealt with the tragic event of the Indian Massacre of 1847. The Spalding family is a missionary family that traveled with the Whitman family in order to bring the "Book of Heaven" to the Indians across the Rockies.

At age ten, Eliza witnesses the horrible tragedy when the Whitmans were killed along with about a dozen others spurred on by a measles outbreak among the Cayuse Indians. Eliza's life is portrayed as reliving certain memories and how she eventually learns to interpret the memories from what she eventually believed happened and reality. Her tenacity, loyalty, strength and devotion to her family are all traits that we come to admire about Eliza, and the struggles between the Indians and pioneers are just one of the themes interlaced throughout the story. Eliza's relationships with her stubborn father, her sisters, and husband carry the story forward as we marvel at the hardships of the pioneer families.

Since the novel is written to closely mirror actual events, the final push towards the end of the novel focused more on Eliza's need to find peace and understanding with her memories, which stalled the enjoyment of the novel. Even still, the novel imparts an intriguing slice of America's history with several tear-jerking moments as we recount Eliza's steps as the first white baby to survive adulthood in the Oregon Territory.

Sisters of Treason by Elizabeth Fremantle
Simon & Schuster paperback June 2015
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for this honest review
Burton Book Review Rating:

Synopsis:

 From the author People called “a must-read for Philippa Gregory fans,” a “terrifically entertaining” (The Sunday Times, London) novel about two sisters who must survive life in the Tudor court after the execution of their sister Lady Jane Grey who was queen for just nine days.

Early in Mary Tudor’s turbulent reign, Lady Katherine and Lady Mary Grey are reeling after the brutal death of their elder seventeen-year-old sister, and the succession is by no means stable. In Sisters of Treason, Elizabeth Fremantle brings these young women and their perilous times to vivid life.Neither sister is well suited to a dangerous career at court.

 Flirtatious Lady Katherine, thought to be the true heir, cannot control her compulsion to love and be loved. Her sister, clever Lady Mary, has a crooked spine and a tiny stature in an age when physical perfection equates to goodness—and both girls have inherited the Tudor blood that is more curse than blessing. For either girl to marry without royal permission would be a potentially fatal political act.

 It is the royal portrait painter, Levina Teerlinc, who helps the girls survive these troubled times. She becomes their mentor and confidante, but when the Queen’s sister, the hot-headed Elizabeth Tudor, inherits the crown, life at court becomes increasingly treacherous for the surviving Grey sisters. Ultimately each young woman must decide how far she will go to defy her Queen, risk her life, and find the safety and love she longs for.

Other links at Burton Book Review:
Interview with Fremantle for Sisters of Treason paperback release
Interview with Fremantle for Watch The Lady release
Review of Watch The Lady, book 3 of the Tudor Trilogy
Review of Queen's Gambit, book 1 of the Tudor Trilogy



Fremantle's effortless storytelling brings new life to age-old tales, especially those tired Tudor stories. I have thoroughly enjoyed her entire trilogy which featured royal court players of the Tudor courts, along with this one which focuses on the Grey sisters. Lady Jane Grey is best known as the Nine Day Queen, the young girl foisted onto the English throne by eager power grabbing nobles after the young king dies. She lasted a little while until Queen Mary Tudor ordered her death.

While it is a story we know well, the new spin is the point of views from a painter Levina Teerlinc, and the remaining sisters Katherine and Mary. Their mother Frances is portrayed a bit less haughty in this telling, and we can definitely feel a empathy for her as her daughters are merely trying to survive once Elizabeth I rises to the throne. I love how the crook-backed Mary Grey gets a voice through this novel as she seems to have been overlooked many times before. And while Katherine could easily be seen as a flighty, passionate young girl with her trysts, this telling gives her a veil of innocence that we cannot help but to root for her and her romance.

The narrative switches between the sisters and the painter, and we become invested in each of their livelihoods even when we know it will not end happily ever after. A bit of an interesting fictional plotline is thrown in which might turn some folks off, but overall the way the story was presented was done so well that it merits a high rating from me. While the middle started to feel redundant for a bit, it was as I was reading the last pages with tears down my cheeks. So poignant, and so well done. I probably don't need to read Leanda Lisle's biography on the Grey sisters, but I am even more intrigued to do so now.

Thank you Sourcebooks for another winner!

Named of the Dragon by Susanna Kearsley
Sourcebooks Landmark, reissue pub date of October 6, 2015
eGalley provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for this honest review
Burton Book Review Rating: 5 stars
Read my reviews of other works by Susanna Kearsley

A haunting tale of intrigue from New York Times bestselling author Susanna Kearsley.
Although it goes against her workaholic nature, literary agent Lyn Ravenshaw lets herself be whisked off to Wales for the Christmas holidays by her star client, flamboyant children's author Bridget Cooper. She suspects Bridget has ulterior motives, but the lure of South Wales with its castles and myths is irresistible. Perhaps a change of scene will bring relief from the nightmares that have plagued her since the death of her child.
Lyn immerses herself in the peace and quiet of the charming Welsh village, but she soon meets an eccentric young widow who's concerned her baby son is in danger—and inexplicably thinks Lyn is the child's protector.
Lyn's dreams become more and more disturbing as she forms a surprisingly warm friendship with a reclusive, brooding playwright, and is pulled into an ancient world of Arthurian legend and dangerous prophecies. Before she can escape her nightmares, she must uncover the secret of her dreams, which is somehow inextricably located in a time long ago and far away...

I think I've now read about five of Susanna Kearsley's novels, most of which I have really enjoyed. This one I also enjoyed which is intriguing to me simply because this novel isn't quite like her others. My original draw to the author was her dual time-period narratives and yet this one is different. There is no dual time period here though there are themes that redirect your thoughts to eras gone by, such as the Arthurian legends or the quest for Henry VII to win the English crown.

The story itself is that of a writer's agent, Lyn, who goes on holiday with her flirtatious client, Bridget. Lyn is there to perhaps score herself another client, but she prides herself on being of sound ethics and a good judge of character. She is definitely very easy to like which made me want to pursue reading about what was happening to Lyn as she uncovered more and more of a mystery going on in a remote village of Wales and gets a little caught up with romantic thoughts for rogue-ish Welsh guys.

There was a wonderful tension being built up between the fellow inhabitants of the house that Lyn was staying at, and the mystery theme didn't come off as a plain whodunit formula. The story revolved around Lyn's past hurts and how she was coming to terms with grief, and learning about her new friends. When she becomes protective of a baby is when the drama and tension start to take off, and I was sucked in. It wasn't till I finished the novel that I realized, hey this isn't a historical! And I liked it! Good times. I don't like coming up with buzz words or quotable sentences that feel forced, so let me just say I do love this author and her stuff: she is good at what she does. Susanna Kearsley is one of those names that come to mind when someone asks me for recommendations.

Sourcebooks has been reissuing Kearsley's novels, and this is another one. Some readers get perturbed when novels are marketed as "new" so I just wanted to put it out there that this novel was originally issued in the late nineties but long out of print. Some reviewers will also say they don't give five stars for anything unless their socks got knocked off. I don't wear socks too often, but since I read this book in less than two weeks and I actually WANTED to read again (unlike the last read which was over a month long of complete torture), hell yeah: five stars to Kearsley for making me remember what reading for pleasure was all about.

And thank you to Sourcebooks for offering the eGalley for my review. I still need to read some of the originals that Sourcebooks reissued, such as The Winter Sea or Mariana. I had gotten those signed by the author when I got a chance to see her at a signing in Dallas. Sweet!

A fantastic page turner!

Evergreen Falls by Kimberley Freeman
Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (reissue) August 2015
HistFic/Dual Time Period
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for this review, thank you!
Burton Book Review Rating: 4.5 stars

A long-forgotten secret, a scandalous attraction and a place where two women's lives are changed forever - Evergreen Falls is the captivating new novel from Kimberley Freeman. 1926: Violet Armstrong is one of the few remaining members of staff working at the grand Evergreen Spa Hotel as it closes down over winter. Only a handful of guests are left, including the heir to a rich grazing family, his sister and her suave suitor. When a snowstorm moves in, the hotel is cut off and they are all trapped. No one could have predicted what would unfold. When the storm clears they must all keep the devastating secrets hidden.

2014: After years of putting her sick brother's needs before her own, Lauren Beck leaves her home and takes a job at a Blue Mountains cafe, the first stage of the Evergreen Spa Hotel's renovations. There she meets Tomas, the Danish architect who is overseeing the project, and an attraction begins to grow. In a wing of the old hotel, Lauren finds a series of passionate love letters dated back to 1926, alluding to an affair - and a shocking secret.

If she can unravel this long-ago mystery, will it make Lauren brave enough to take a risk and change everything in her own life?

Read reviews of Kimberley Freeman's previous novels here at BurtonBookReview.com


This is the fourth novel of Kimberley Freeman's that I have read, and I have yet to be disappointed. Her novels are similar to another favorite author of mine, Susanna Kearsley, as they follow a dual time period story arc and always seem to be intriguing and fast paced. If I wasn't offered this novel for review, I was all set to buy it! But many thanks to the publisher for originally turning me on to this author in 2011.

Evergreen Falls is a small little town in Australia's Blue Mountains where the contemporary character Lauren Beck is working when she stumbles upon papers in an old hotel that is being remodeled. Her new love interest gives her access to the hotel so she can do some further investigating after finding evocative love letters that were hidden away. The story brings us to the 1920's, set in a classy hotel where servant Victoria Armstrong finds forbidden love with a very wealthy guest, Sam Honeychurch-Black. Both storylines eventually intersect but each mirrors the other with the themes of a building romance, family loyalties and betrayals, and sacrifice.

There are quite a few supporting characters to add realistic touches to the novel: with meddling mothers, and both overbearing men and heroic men. The setting is beautiful, from and enchanting swimming hole and a love cave to a luxury hotel held captive among the snowdrifts.

The author does a very good job with capturing the nuance of both eras, and the switching from one narrative to the next wasn't jarring in any way. Very enjoyable with the suspense of Lauren trying to discover what happened many years ago with Victoria and Sam, and Lauren's current issues with her family were also timely and intriguing. Full of secrets and scandals, Evergreen Falls is a fantastic piece that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. Fair warning: you will find it difficult to put down in order to get a good night's sleep!

Captivating storytelling

Maggie Bright (A Novel of Dunkirk) by Tracy Groot
Tyndale, 2015, $24.99, 368 pages
Review copy provided in exchange for review at Historical Novels Review (Editors Choice)
Burton Book Review Rating: 5 stars

England, 1940.

Clare Childs knew life would change when she unexpectedly inherited the "Maggie Bright"--a noble fifty-two-foot yacht. In fact, she's counting on it. But the boat harbors secrets. When a stranger arrives, searching for documents hidden onboard, Clare is pulled into a Scotland Yard investigation that could shed light on Hitler's darkest schemes and prompt America to action.Across the Channel, Hitler's "Blitzkrieg" has the entire British army in retreat with little hope for rescue at the shallow beaches of Dunkirk. With time running out, Churchill recruits civilian watercraft to help. Hitler is attacking from land, air, and sea, and any boat that goes might not return. Yet Clare knows "Maggie Bright" must answer the call--piloted by an American who has refused to join the war effort until now and a detective with a very personal motive for exposing the truth.The fate of the war hinges on this rescue. While two men join the desperate fight, a nation prays for a miracle.

Tracy Groot packs a powerful punch with her compelling story of characters coming together during terrible times, featuring the Maggie Bright, a little boat that brings hope to all it touches. The novel starts off with seemingly unrelated characters: Clare, a simple woman who wants to learn how to sail her new boat; Jamie, a soldier who wants to do his duty and save England and a captain; Murray, a cartoonist wanting to bail his priest out of jail; and William, a detective wanting to avenge cruelty. Somehow the author makes these simple characters explode onto the pages with several moving plots that climax at the famous Dunkirk evacuation of 1940.

Clare and Detective William begin to work together to find a way to prove certain atrocities, but World War II is about to happen on their doorstep. The very idea of an evacuation is far from anyone’s mind, and the realization of the effects of Germany’s advances is portrayed vividly throughout each character’s story. These are unforgettable characters put in an untenable situation, but they manage to persevere and show us that humanity exists for a reason (keep tissues handy).

Much like Tracy Groot’s last novel of wartime (The Sentinels of Andersonville), Maggie Bright is a page-turner that will stay with you long after you are finished. The portrayal of war and all its ugly facets is written to avoid shock value, but to give the reader a clear vision of why we have to fight in the first place. Without a doubt, Maggie Bright is a favorite novel of 2015.

Read my review of Tracy's previous award winning novel: The Sentinels of Andersonville

To Win Her Favor (A Belle Meade Plantation Novel #2) by Tamera Alexander
Zondervan, May 12 2015
352 pages
Review copy provided in exchange for review at Historical Novels Review
Burton Book Review Rating: 4 stars

A gifted rider in a world where ladies never race, Maggie Linden is determined that her horse will become a champion. But the one man who can help her has vowed to stay away from thoroughbred racing for good.

An Irish-born son far from home, Cullen McGrath left a once prosperous life in England because of a horse racing scandal that nearly ruined him. He’s come to Nashville for a fresh start, hoping to buy land and start a farm, all while determined to stay as far away from thoroughbred racing as possible. But starting over proves harder than he’d wagered, especially when Maggie Linden’s father makes him an offer he shouldn’t accept yet cannot possibly refuse.

Maggie is certain that her mare, Bourbon Belle, can take the top purse in the annual Drayton Stakes at Nashville’s racetrack––the richest race run in America. Maggie only needs the chance to prove it. To give her that chance, and to save Linden Downs from being sold to the highest bidder, Maggie’s father––aging, yet wily as ever––makes a barter. His agreement includes one tiny, troublesome detail––Maggie must marry a man she’s never met. A man she never would have chosen for herself.

Cullen and Maggie need each other in order to achieve their dreams. But their stubborn, wounded hearts––and the escalating violence from a "secret society" responsible for lynchings and midnight raids––may prove too much for even two determined souls.

Tamera Alexander introduces us to new characters in the familiar setting of Belle Meade with To Win Her Favor, easily allowing the novel to be read as a stand alone. The main protagonists are Cullen McGrath and Maggie Linden who are strangers forced to work together to save Maggie's homestead of Linden Downs in Tennessee. It's not an easy life any longer for Maggie in 1869 with her ailing father when Irishman Cullen McGrath befriends her father. Although Cullen is considered an outsider as an Irish immigrant, Mr. Linden can see Cullen's potential when he solicits an intriguing contract with Cullen: "Marry my daughter and you can have Linden Downs."

Maggie has no wish to marry anyone, let alone a lazy Irishman, but she sees the wisdom in her father's wishes if she wants to save her home. With slavery still a painful product of the South's way of life and the racist attitudes, Linden Downs barely has a fighting chance to survive once the crooked leaders of the town set their sights on the property. Cullen already has a target on his back as an immigrant, and his new wife has ideas of horse racing that Cullen cannot sanction for very personal reasons.

The story evolves around the blooming relationship between the newly married couple and their slow to ignite romance due to their mistrust of each other, but romance readers will appreciate the building tension. The novel highlights the struggles for Cullen and Maggie to overcome the town's prejudices while suspense and intrigue accentuate the story.

Cullen stands out as an easy hero to like, though Maggie's sensitivity borders on selfishness as she focuses on entering her horse in Nashville's race. Quiet undertones of a Christian message of seeking redemption while keeping the faith and surrendering to God's will should easily satisfy Tamera Alexander's growing fanbase.


Read my review of the first Belle Meade Plantation Novel, To Whisper Her Name
Read my review of the first Belmont Mansion novel, A Lasting Impression
Read my review of Tamera Alexander's Belmont Mansion novel, A Beauty So Rare

In comparison with Tamera's other novels mentioned above, this novel has a bit more of a romantic feel to it where there were a few more "tinglings" than normally mentioned in Christian novels. This one was also a shorter novel than the others, where To Whisper Her Name was 480 pages and this one was 352 pages. I had always appreciated the longer length of the previously mentioned novels, and wonder why this was shortened. As a historical novel, longer novels seem to be norm, yet Christian romance novels seem to be shorter. I hope that Tamera's upcoming novels are allowed to be longer in length and that this was the exception.

An awesome page-turner

Somebody I Used To Know by David Bell
New American Library Trade Paperback Original; July 7, 2015; $15.00
448 pages kindle Edition

About the book:

You never forget your first love. And in David Bell’s SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW, Nick Hansen has never really gotten over the death of his college girlfriend, Marissa Minor, some twenty years earlier. He managed to move on, but Marissa’s death in a house fire right before college graduation still haunts him.

One day at the grocery store, Nick receives the shock of his life: he comes face-to-face with a young woman who is the spitting image of Marissa. But when Nick tries to speak to the woman, she drops her basket of groceries and runs out of the store. Unfortunately, the next morning, the police come knocking on Nick’s door. The young woman from the grocery store was found murdered in a hotel and the only clue they have is a slip of paper with Nick’s name and address, which Nick knows nothing about.

Convinced that there's a connection between this young woman's murder and Marissa's death years ago, Nick enlists the help of his college friend, Laurel Davidson, to investigate the events leading up to the night of Marissa's death. Nick needs to clear his name and uncover what really happened to the love of his life. Two decades of deceit, heartbreak, and longing will be swept away, and the truth will be more shocking than he ever could have imagined.

When I was offered this one for review, I took a peek at some of the early reviews -- and I was sold on this one! Many readers said they couldn't go to sleep before finishing this one, it was such a pager-turner. I figured it was a perfect read for a get-away from my normal reads and try something a little different.

I am so glad I did! I did read this in one day-- 448 pages all day on a Sunday, despite the spacing issues the eGalley version showed.  Somebody I Used To Know was definitely a thrilling suspense story that kept me guessing. It centers around Nick and the girlfriend he lost twenty years ago due to a house fire. I won't go into the summary of the story as the synopsis does it nicely enough - plus with suspense and mysteries I don't want to give too much away! There were a lot of characters where that started to get a little much but once everything was set in place there was no turning back.

There were a few themes at work in the novel, from small romantic tones to vengeful evil lurking in every corner where you least expect it. I didn't stop too long to think about solving the mystery on my own due to the many moving parts; I just kept turning the pages and let the story play itself out. Nick was a great character, seemingly a a goody-two shoes with all sorts of bad things that just keep happening to him especially with deceitful characters who kept intersecting his path. There were a few female lead characters to spice things up and throw suspicion about, and of course the crime stopping police detective mucking things up when Nick was just getting some answers.

The writing style was perfectly fluid, never giving me a good chance for a stopping point which is why I never did. Very well done, and I will read more from David Bell when I need a swift thrill to get me out of a reading funk. I definitely would love to see this as a movie.

The sister's view of the rise and fall of Essex

Watch The Lady by Elizabeth Fremantle
Simon and Schuster, June 2015
Elizabethan Court Hist-Fic, 560 pages
Review copy provided by the publisher, thank you!
Burton Book Review Rating: Five Stars for Fun Tudor Fiction

The daughter of the Queen’s nemesis, Penelope Devereux, arrives at court blithely unaware of its pitfalls and finds herself in love with one man, yet married off to another. Bestowed with beauty and charm she and her brother, The Earl of Essex, are drawn quickly into the aging Queen’s favour. But Penelope is saddled with a husband who loathes her and chooses to strike out, risking her reputation to seek satisfaction elsewhere. But life at the heart of the court is not only characterised by the highs and lows of romance, there are formidable factions at work who would like to see the Devereux family brought down. It seems The Earl of Essex can do no wrong in the eyes of the Queen but as his influence grows so his enemies gather and it is Penelope who must draw on all her political savvy to prevent the unthinkable from happening.

Told from the perspective of Penelope and her brother’s greatest enemy the politician Cecil, this story, wrought with love, hatred and envy, unfolds over two decades in which we see the last gasps of Elizabeth’s reign, and the deadly scramble for power in a dying dynasty.

I had read Elizabeth Fremantle's Queen's Gambit a few years back and was impressed with the writing skill that the author had which made yet another Katherine Parr novel turn into something inventive and intriguing. When I was offered the chance to review another of her works regarding a royal favorite, I was eager to see what the author would do with the story of Penelope Devereux. Several years ago I had read many books regarding the Elizabethan court and her favorites among the peerage along with the ladies of honor who Elizabeth vowed to keep a tight leash on. Of the women of the era, Lettice Knollys was one who captured my interest very much.

Lettice Knollys was rumored to be close kin to Elizabeth, even bearing a resemblance to the Queen herself. The Queen enjoyed keeping Lettice far from court due to Lettice's far reaching grasp on one of Elizabeth's closest male companions, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. They had married against the Queen's wishes, and while Lettice was banished her children were among the courtiers of the palaces with their fine looks and vivacious personalities. In Watch The Lady, Robert Devereux and his elder sister Penelope are portrayed as fun loving young players among the court despite their weak hold on their wealth and respective legacies. The Queen could be generous or not so generous on a mere whim, and Penelope is portrayed as having a keen mind and knowing how to placate the Queen.

The novel opens up to a scene of intrigue involving Penelope and treasonous letters and much of the novel revolves around these letters going back and forth to the Scottish king. Elizabethan era fans will know the general story of the rise and fall of Essex, Penelope's brother, but we rarely get to hear Penelope's version. Fremantle has obliged our curiosities about the fascinating woman, filling in the gaps with a fast-paced historical romance that will satisfy any lovers of the era.

Robert Cecil is a major counterpart to Penelope's narrative, and the title embodies his own admiration of the slyly scheming Penelope. Thrust into an unwanted marriage, Penelope learns to take care of her own needs and to look after herself and her brother Essex since her husband is seemingly useless and their esteemed step-father Leicester has passed. Penelope's tale of love lost and found is a major theme of the novel, and sets a realistic tone to the spymaster intrigue that Cecil's story offers. While Cecil is always an easy person to despise with his hunched frame and web of spies, Fremantle manages to make him into a more sympathetic character with his flaws and inadequacies.

The novel spans two decades of Penelope's life, inspiring me to finally pick up my copy of the biography written by Sally Varlow. The friends of Penelope are an interesting group and I would love to know more of the facts of Penelope Devereux, the subject of amorous poetry, the woman who managed to keep her head when her brother didn't - even after he betrayed her himself. Elizabeth Fremantle gives new life to the era with her storytelling skills and Watch The Lady is now among my favorite reads of 2015.

The end of the book offered an author's note, reader's guide questions and excerpts from the author's previous two novels noted as being a part of a trilogy. The books are all stand alone and are of different time periods and I will need to go back to read Sisters of Treason as I had no idea that was even printed. The next work to expect from Elizabeth Fremantle will be books regarding the Stuart era, and I will keep my eyes for those as well, as another favorite figure of mine is Arbella Stuart (which I have read a few books on as well). Fremantle's writing should appeal to those who enjoy Alison Weir, Philippa Gregory, Victoria Holt and Margaret George as she expertly gives a voice to women whose history has tried to forget.

Stop by my interview post with Elizabeth Fremantle regarding Watch the Lady here.
Read my review of Queen's Gambit here.

another twist to the iconic story

Secret Brother (The Diaries #3) A Concept by V.C. Andrews
Simon and Schuster Pocket Books May 26, 2015
400 pages Paperback $7.99
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for this review
Burton Book Review Rating: 3.5 stars


Dollanganger Series:
Flowers in The Attic (1979)
Petals on the Wind (1980)
If There Be Thorns (1981)
Seeds of Yesterday (1984)
Garden of Shadows (prequel) (1986) Finished by the ghostwriter

Christopher's Diary: Secrets of Foxworth (October 2014; ghostwritten)
Christopher's Diary: Echoes of Dollanganger (January 2015; ghostwritten)
Secret Brother (May 2015; ghostwritten)
Bittersweet Dreams (October 2015; ghostwritten)


Most readers my age remember reading the family saga that began with Flowers in the Attic which dealt with four young siblings undergoing unimaginable turmoil as they were locked up by their own mother in her rich parent's vast attic. If you haven't read it, you are missing out on something creepy. Something about the wildness and forbidden love kept young readers such as myself going back for more. The books outlined above are all favorite stories of mine. Once we get to the ghostwritten book releases of this decade there is certainly a different feel and taste to the stories. The gothic feel is gone, and more contemporary vibes are evident as the new characters are introduced into the original saga.

Unlike the previous two Diaries releases, Secret Brother does actually attempt to recreate the past by bringing back an original family member from Flowers in The Attic. And since the review is going to be very hard to write without spoiling it for everyone, I will stick to just how I felt about the book as opposed to a summary of the story.

Firstly, I will say that I am glad I read the book. Secondly, it is not for the impatient. I really wanted something more to be going on, something a little more spine tingling, something that would keep me up at night in the way that Flowers in the Attic had done. Instead, the main character Clara Sue (a name that didn't seem suited to the character) is really bratty and selfish - being told in first person narrative doesn't help with this negativity. The plot consists of how Clara Sue engages with her peers as she deals with the loss of her brother, and then how her relationship with the hottest guy on campus develops. In this respect, I would think that perhaps a true young adult reader would appreciate the novel. The other plot point is the tie-in to the original novel, which turned out to be dramatically anti-climatic. There is an excerpt of the next novel, Bittersweet Dreams, where once again we are whisked off to a whole new set of characters which means there doesn't seem to be a conclusion to Secret Brother. Or is there?

For the die-hard V.C. Andrews fan, this is not a form of gold. I have not read book two (Echoes of Dollanganger) as I was not sent it for review, and review books always have to take priority. I was sent book one, however, so I reviewed that here. I did buy book two, and Secret Brother is being called book three. Secret Brother can be read alone (provided you've read Flowers in the Attic) but I get the sense that the first two Diaries novels should be read together as the second installment continues book one.

At $7.99 a pop, you get what you pay for. An intriguing story, a flashback to your youthful past with the original V.C. Andrews novels, and something to look forward to with the other stories. Nothing will ever be written quite like the originals, but there is a reason why the estate continues to allow the ghostwritten stories: they sell. And the Lifetime movies were pretty good, also.

Captivating storytelling of a passionate love between the Hawthornes

The House of Hawthorne by Erika Robuck
NAL Hardcover May 5 2015
eGalley provided via NetGalley in exchange for this review
Burton Book Review Rating:

Beset by crippling headaches from a young age and endowed with a talent for drawing, Sophia is discouraged by her well-known New England family from pursuing a woman's traditional roles. But from their first meeting, Nathaniel and Sophia begin an intense romantic relationship that despite many setbacks leads to their marriage. Together, they will cross continents, raise children, and experience all the beauty and tragedy of an exceptional partnership. Sophia's vivid journals and her masterful paintings kindle a fire in Nathaniel, inspiring his writing. But their children's needs and the death of loved ones steal Sophia's energy and time for her art, fueling in her a perennial tug-of-war between fulfilling her domestic duties and pursuing her own desires.

Spanning the years from the 1830s to the Civil War, and moving from Massachusetts to England, Portugal, and Italy, The House of Hawthorne explores the tension within a famous marriage of two soulful, strong-willed people, each devoted to the other but also driven by a powerful need to explore the far reaches of their creative impulses. It is the story of a forgotten woman in history, who inspired one of the greatest writers of American literature...

A vivid re-imagining of nineteenth century transcendentalists and feminism, The House of Hawthorne introduces us to famous figures of the era while boldly portraying Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne as none have attempted before.

Growing up in Massachusetts when emancipation issues begin to affect society, young Sophia and her sister Mary travel to Cuba in hopes of a healthier existence. While there, they are exposed to slavery and its cruelty firsthand, tormenting her fragile sensibilities further. Her soul is a creative one and it finds an outlet through painting, but this also leads to excruciating headaches. She eventually paints for a rising literary star Nathaniel Hawthorne and after a long courtship they are finally married - each in their thirties.

Author Erika Robuck slowly builds up this romance story, weaving us under the Hawthorne spell. We feel the artistic tension while the couple tries to cope with the daily toil of chores (as opposed to simply doing "what we were born to do") which are too mundane and oppressive for the likes of them. Despite the charities of fellow literary greats such as the Browning and Emerson families, financial struggles plague the couple forcing Nathaniel to take a real job in government through his previous classmate Franklin Pierce.

The novel portrays a palpable passion between Nathaniel and Sophia throughout their marriage, where Sophia is his "dove" and she is willing to give up seemingly everything for his happiness. Their family grows as the years go on, with grief and sorrow permeating the pages even as we feel the intense connection between the two.

Robuck's newest novel brings to life the courage and values of the Hawthornes, displaying both the gloomy and intense sides of creativity as well as the blissful euphoric moments. This exquisite blend of history and emotion is gift wrapped with the prose of Robuck's hypnotic writing style making The House of Hawthorne an easily recommended historical novel.


I will say that that eGalley formatting of this novel was very distracting. Major distractions were the missing quotations where appropriate and the page breaks (where I would assume there was one) were very non-existent. I wrote the review with the hopes that the finished copy corrects these issues.

Erika Robuck is a favorite novelist of mine, and you can find all my reviews of her published work here at the Burton Book Review.

Character driven WWII romance

Into The Storm by Lisa Bingham
Diversion Books, March 31, 2015
Historical Romance/WWII
Review copy provided in exchange for review in Library Journal Xpress
Burton Book Review Rating: 4 stars

RueAnn Boggs meets Charles Tolliver, a handsome Brit with a secret job, and in the course of twenty-four hours, RueAnn is swept off her feet—seduced, wed, and then left by dashing Charlie, who hastily departs for an assignment in England. When weeks go by and she hears nothing from her new husband, RueAnn becomes determined to find out if she’s a wife in name only, and she travels to London for answers. But what she finds there is not at all what she expects…

Susan Blunt has spent her life staying put, retreating into her books while her vivacious twin sister, Sara, lives life to the fullest. The start of the war hasn’t stopped vibrant Sara from collecting a throng of beaus in uniform, including Paul Overdone, an RAF pilot heading for the front. When Sara pressures Susan into switching places and going to a dance with Paul, Susan reluctantly agrees. Little does Susan know that a single night is more than enough time to fall deeply in love with Paul—who returns her ardor, even though he thinks she is someone else…

When the Blitz begins and bombs start raining down on London, both RueAnn and Susan must find the strength and courage they never knew they had in order to survive. They form a friendship out of the city’s ashes, one that helps them weather the storm as they wait for news from the front—from the men they love, have lost, and hope desperately to find once more.

Set against the backdrop of a remarkable era, INTO THE STORM brilliantly explores relationships in wartime, when the passion shared in just one day could sustain love for a lifetime and the love borne of one night’s deception could become the truth that saves a life.

Into The Storm stays true to its title as there is never a dull moment for the characters of this World War II-set novel. Although very character-driven, the plot focuses on the Blunt family and their neighbors, thrust together during London air raids. American RueAnn Tolliver chases after her new husband and finds her reluctantly welcomed by her mother-in-law and the Blunt family. Twins Susan and Sara Blunt struggle to keep their family together during very harsh times of rations and the harsh realities of their country suffering through bombing raids. With a bit of espionage interlaced with Charles Tolliver's storyline, the romance and the historical details make for an intriguing and very promising story.

Into The Storm reads swiftly and easily, with smooth writing that draws the reader in. There were quite a few characters whose stories eventually intermingled but one could sense the rushing of the story to get to the end, where it would have better suited to add a few more pages to the novel to flesh it out. While the story reveals grief and sorrow as the characters develop, the romance brought a happy-ever-after feel with perhaps a touch of incredulity. Still, Into The Storm is a very enjoyable World War II novel with a stronger character development theme than the romance factor, as the heat rating was very low key.