Tag: Book Reviews

Posted on

Above the Fold by Rachel Scott McDaniel

THE BOOK

The audio version of this review was first shared in Episode 44: A Bookchat about The Premonition at Withers Farm with Jaime Jo Wright & a Review of Above the Fold by Rachel Scott McDaniel

After losing the love of her life to a big city journalism job, Elissa Tillman pours herself into the suffragette movement and her secretarial work helping keep her father’s Pittsburgh newspaper afloat. 

Cole Parker returns to the steel city with the phantom failures of his past nipping his heels. All he asks of the future is a second chance with the woman he once spurned. 

The murder of a millionaire offers the perfect chance for Elissa to prove to her father and the world that she’s a serious journalist. But there’s a catch—she has to compete for the story. Against none other than Cole Parker, the very man who shattered her heart.

THE REVIEW

I fell in love with Rachel Scott McDaniel’s writing when I read her hidden gem of a book, “The Red Canary.” Her atmospheric prose and flair for historic detail hooked me from page one, and by The End, I was adding her other titles to my Bookbub wish list.

I’m pleased to report that her debut novel, “Above the Fold,” was everything I’d hoped and more! McDaniel’s evocative writing makes the Roaring Twenties come alive, and her multifaceted characters zing off the page. Cole and Elissa’s snappy dialogue and sleuthing shenanigans made for a fun, fast-paced plot, and the murder mystery kept me guessing to the very end. And by guessing, I mean McDaniel totally got me with that doozy of a plot twist! As a voracious reader, I can usually spot a twist coming a mile away, but this one was executed so deftly, that when it was revealed, my cloche hat flew away with my blown mind. 

If you enjoy quick-witted romances and a good gumshoe mystery, you’re sure to agree that “Above the Fold” is the bee’s knees!

THE AUTHOR

Rachel Scott McDaniel is an award-winning author of historical romance. Winner of the ACFW Genesis Award and the RWA Touched By Love award, Rachel infuses faith and heart into each story. She currently enjoys life in Ohio with her husband and two kids.  

Read more about Rachel at her website. (https://rachelmcdaniel.net/)

Reviewed by

Review by ECPA bestselling author Angela Bell is a 21st century lady with 19th century sensibilities. Her activities consist of reading voraciously, drinking copious amounts of tea, and writing letters with a fountain pen. Learn more about her at AuthorAngelaBell.com

Disclaimer: The publisher offered a complimentary copy of this book. The review was given freely, without payment. All views expressed are only the honest opinion of a member of the Historical Bookworm Review Team.

Posted on

A Bookchat about The Premonition at Withers Farm with Jaime Jo Wright & a Review of Above the Fold by Rachel Scott McDaniel

Subscribe to Historical Bookworm Show Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Pandora | Email | RSS | Subscribe to the Historical Bookworm

Jaime Jo Wright joins us for a chat about creepy houses, startling historical medical treatments, and her latest release The Premonition at Withers Farm. Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of this great book!

Today’s Pinch of the Past  takes us to the Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee, to explore the history behind a little hidden gem called the House of the Fairies.  (Full post here.)

Today’s Bookworm Review is bought to you by Angela Bell. “Above the Fold by Rachel Scott McDaniel was everything I’d hoped and more! If you enjoy quick-witted romances and a good gumshoe mystery, you’re sure to agree that Above the Fold is the bee’s knees!” (Full review here.)

Connect with Jaime: Website, Newsletter, Madlit Mentoring, Madlit Musing Podcast, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, and Instagram.

Posted on

A Bookchat about Beneath the Bending Skies with Jane Kirkpatrick & a Review of The Red Canary by Rachel Scott McDaniel 

Subscribe to Historical Bookworm Show Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Pandora | Email | RSS | Subscribe to the Historical Bookworm

Jane Kirkpatrick joins us for a chat about homesteading, historical research and her latest novel Beneath the Bending Skies. Don’t forget to enter to win a copy of this great book!

Today’s Pinch of the Past  is part 2 of the 1900 Paris Exposition. In this Pinch of the Past we will be looking at the different kinds of exhibits featured at the fair, including one very special exhibit from the United States and a truly unique exhibit that ended in tragedy. (Full post here.)

Today’s Bookworm Review is bought to you by Angela Bell. If you enjoy murder mysteries and are fascinated by the Roaring Twenties, you’re sure to think The Red Canary by Rachel Scott McDaniel is the cat’s meow! (Full review here.)

You can connect with Angela at AuthorAngelaBell.com 

Posted on

The Red Canary by Rachel Scott McDaniel 

The audio version of this review was first shared in A Bookchat about Beneath the Bending Skies with Jane Kirkpatrick & a Review of The Red Canary by Rachel Scott McDaniel 

THE BOOK

In 1928, soot from the local mills and music from speakeasies linger in the Pittsburgh air.

When the manager of The Kelly Club is found dead, nightclub singer Vera Pembroke is thrust into peril. As the only witness to the crime, she’s sentenced to hide away in the Allegheny Forest with a stuffy police sergeant as her guardian.

Sergeant Mick Dinelo harbors a burning hatred for Pittsburgh’s underworld after the devastation it left on his life—and heart. He should be out exposing culpable gangsters rather than tending to the impetuous woman who defies his every effort to keep her safe.

Mick and Vera must set aside their differences to solve the murder that someone wants to keep buried beneath the soot of Steel City.

THE REVIEW 

From chapter one of The Red Canary by Rachel Scott McDaniel‘s atmospheric prose enveloped me like the looming mist of a noir film, transporting my imagination to the 1920’s. 

This book truly has it all! Page-turning action and mystery. A strong spiritual theme ingrained in the narrative. Compelling characters with moxie and heart. Historic details that make the music, fashion, and lingo of the decade come alive. And one laugh-out-loud, hilarious scene I won’t soon forget.

If you enjoy murder mysteries and are fascinated by the Roaring Twenties, you’re sure to think “The Red Canary” is the cat’s meow! 

THE AUTHOR

Rachel Scott McDaniel is an award-winning author of historical romance. Winner of the ACFW Genesis Award and the RWA Touched By Love award, Rachel infuses faith and heart into each story. She currently enjoys life in Ohio with her husband and two kids. 

Read more about Rachel on her website. (www.rachelmcdaniel.net)

Review by ECPA bestselling author Angela Bell is a 21st century lady with 19th century sensibilities. Her activities consist of reading voraciously, drinking copious amounts of tea, and writing letters with a fountain pen. Learn more about her at AuthorAngelaBell.com

Disclaimer: The publisher offered a complimentary copy of this book. The review was given freely, without payment. All views expressed are only the honest opinion of a member of the Historical Bookworm Review Team.

Posted on

This Hallowed Ground by Donna E. Lane

The audio version of this review was first shared in Episode 38: Guest Tracie Peterson  and a Review of This Hallowed Ground by Donna E. Lane

THE BOOK

How much can war steal from one man?

Georgia, 1861. As the tides of war sweep south, Aidan MacAlister is drawn north like water up a reed by the inexorable pull to defend his land. After tragedy strikes at Gettysburg, Aidan spirals into unfamiliar, dark places of unbridled fury, earning him the nickname, the Fourth Horseman.

A hero to his fellow soldiers, Aidan’s self-loathing consumes him, and every lesson his family taught him crumbles to dust beneath its weight. Aidan returns to the farm to find it ravaged by Yankee patrols. War has taken all—perhaps even his soul.

Aidan’s one chance at redemption sends him West to fight the Native people who, like him, are defending their land. His sympathies lie with the people. His lieutenant demands he kill them all. But Aidan’s encounter with the Lakota begins his transformational passage to a different life.

When love offers Aidan renewed hope, will his past thunder across the plains and steal everything from him again?

Dances with Wolves meets the story of Job in this gripping historical epic of tragedy, loss, and redemption.

THE REVIEW

5 things from This Hallowed Ground By Donna E. Lane

1)Mac fights for causes he doesn’t believe in for the South, the North and the Lakota

2)He is wounded and spends time in Richmond recuperating with Mary’s family who adopts him as a brother.

3)After the war, Mac enlists for the North to earn back his family land where he is captured by the Lakota

4) Civil war, Richmond Fire, Western expansion, Native American territory

5) I bend my face to my knees and clutch handfuls of hair. “Please Dear Lord, spare me this torment! I don’t know what to do. Help me. Help me, please.” I realize I’m moanin’ aloud, so I wrap my arms over my head. I don’t wanna think about what others are thinkin’ of me. We have to sort this out, the two of us. I need answers. I’m Jacob, grapplin’ with God. I’m Job, demandin’ an explanation. I don’t want to need Him, but, Lord help me, I do.

Another fantastic book by Donna E Lane!! This book plunges you deep into grief and despair many times. And just as many times, drags you onto the shore of hope to let you to let you bask in the sun to heal.

 If you enjoyed the tv series, Doctor Quinn Medicine Woman and loong books, you should read this! This story is real and raw. You will need tissues.

THE AUTHOR

Donna E. Lane, Ph.D., is an Adjunct Professor of Counseling at Mercer University, and a Christian counselor practicing since 1978. She is a Charter Member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. She has published numerous articles in professional journals in the field of counseling, and has presented internationally and nationally on trauma, grief and loss, narrative counseling, faith in counseling, and prayer. Donna is also the founder of the Cody Lane Foundation, which provides individual and small group spiritual direction and Christian education. She has led numerous retreats for church groups and women’s groups and presented about her writings at a variety of churches as well as multiple Christian organizations. She is an author of both fiction and nonfiction Christian books.

Reviewed by Naomi Craig from NaomiCraig.com

Hi, I’m Naomi.

Author of Biblical fiction, avid reader, Pastor’s wife, and mom to an amazing young lady. I love reading the Bible and imagining how things were at the time.  When I’m not serving in various areas at church, or trying to stay on top of mountains of dishes, you’ll most likely find me enjoying a good book and a cup of coffee.

Disclaimer: The author offered a complimentary copy of this book. The review was given freely, without payment. All views expressed are only the honest opinion of a member of the Historical Bookworm Review Team.

Posted on

Episode 34: Lynn Austin and a Review of On the Cliffs of Foxglove Manor by Jaime Jo Wright

Subscribe to Historical Bookworm Show Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Pandora | Email | RSS | Subscribe to the Historical Bookworm

Interview Lynn Austin shares the development of her story Long Way Home. In this gripping portrait of war and its aftermath from bestselling author Lynn, a young woman searches for the truth her childhood friend won’t discuss after returning from World War II, revealing a story of courage, friendship, and faith.

Pinch of the Past: Newspapers discovered that train wrecks fascinated their readers, and took to covering them in gory detail, even giving sensational names to individual accidents. One accident involving the deaths of 42 people after a car fell off a bridge and caught fire was called the “Angola Horror.” (Read full article here.)

Bookworm Review:  On the Cliffs of Foxglove Manor by Jaime Jo Wright is another great time split story from Wright with characters everyone can relate to—a man battling past scars through addiction and two women from different time periods trying to find their worth and handling that trauma in unhealthy ways.  (Read full article here.)

You can connect with Lynn at her website LynnAustin.org, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Posted on

A Review of: On the Cliffs of Foxglove Manor  by Jaime Jo Wright

The audio version of this review was first shared in Episode 34: Lynn Austin and a Review of On the Cliffs of Foxglove Manor by Jaime Jo Wright

THE BOOK

1885.

Adria Fontaine has been sent to recover goods her father pirated on the Great Lakes during the war. But when she arrives at Foxglove Manor–a stone house on a cliff overlooking Lake Superior–Adria senses wickedness hovering over the property. The mistress of Foxglove is an eccentric and seemingly cruel old woman who has filled her house with dangerous secrets, ones that may cost Adria her life. 

Present day.

Kailey Gibson is a new nurse’s aide at a senior home in a renovated old stone manor. Kidnapped as a child, she has nothing but locked-up memories of secrets and death, overshadowed by the chilling promise from her abductors that they would return. When the residents of Foxglove start sharing stories of whispers in the night, hidden treasure, and a love willing to kill, it becomes clear this home is far from a haven. She’ll have to risk it all to banish the past’s demons, including her own. 

THE REVIEW

Another great time split story from Wright with characters everyone can relate to—a man battling past scars through addiction and two women from different time periods trying to find their worth and handling that trauma in unhealthy ways. Mental health messages abound without being preachy, and Wright has handled this well in previous novels. While both timelines have strong plots, I tend to gravitate toward the historical arc. 

As always—I will keep reading anything Jaime Jo Wright writes because her characters and plots are engaging! You can purchase On the Cliffs of Foxglove Manor here.

THE AUTHOR

Jaime Jo Wright is the winner of the Christy, Carol, Daphne du Maurier, and INSPY Awards. She’s also the PW (publishers weekly)and ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association)  bestselling author of three novellas. She brings to life the stories of the past and intertwines them with the present, to bring readers award-winning time-slip novels.

Disclaimer: The publisher offered a complimentary copy of this book. The review was given freely, without payment. All views expressed are only the honest opinion of a member of the Historical Bookworm Review Team.

Posted on

Episode 32: Guest Jody Hedlund & a Review of Shadows in the Mind’s Eye by Janyre Tromp

Subscribe to Historical Bookworm Show Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Pandora | Email | RSS | Subscribe to the Historical Bookworm

Bestselling author Jody Hedlund shares about her Colorado Cowboys Series, her eventful summer, her latest writing ventures, and her many upcoming books! For your chance to win a copy of  To Tame a Cowboy, check out the giveaway page on our website Historical Bookworm dot com. You also find the giveaway link in the show notes for this episode. 

Today’s Pinch of the Past … started as a look at traditions in raising children and somehow morphed into the practices of children in relation to schools throughout history. (Full post here.)

Book Review: Shadows in the Mind by Janyre Tromp. If you’re in the mood for a realistic depiction of mid-century slice of life with a side helping of mystery, then Shadows in the Mind’s Eye is a great read for you! (Full post here.)

GIVE AWAY: To tame a Cowboy

You can connect with Jody at:

Posted on

When the Day Comes

This review was originally shared in Episode 30: Guest Jaime Jo Wright & a Review of When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer

About the Book

Libby has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 Colonial Williamsburg and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one life, she wakes up in the other without any time passing. On her twenty-first birthday, Libby must choose one path and forfeit the other–but how can she possibly decide when she has so much to lose?

The Review

Time slip novels have gained popularity with readers recently, allowing the reader to enjoy a more modern day storyline as well as a historical storyline. In a unique twist, main character Libby quite literally slips through time, living one life during the cusp of the American Revolution and another in the Gilded Age. Libby is not the only one that is set apart for this kind of life, but rather each person is marked from birth, like Libby’s mother and her grandmother before her. While the details surrounding this could potentially come across as confusing, Meyer’s timelines flow with ease. Libby’s first person narration creates a deep rapport with the reader. As events in her timelines appear to force her to choose where she wants to stay, her desperation is palpable and her courage admirable. She does the right thing, even if it appears to her detriment, yet trusts that God has the ultimate plan for her life.

The comparison of class and the historical details the author includes make for an engrossing reading experience. Thankfully the intrigue promises to continue as this is a series opener, and perhaps there are more details to come as to how these time-crossers came to be. While Libby’s life in the Gilded Age is certainly more pampered, some events hurt my heart for her. While there are no detailed descriptions of violence, events leading to and the aftermath of sexual assault Libby experiences are explored. The romance is tender, if a bit star-crossed, with class (and time travel) keeping them apart. There is a strong faith thread, but it’s never preachy and well-suited to Libby’s singular situation. Readers can look forward to a twist at the end, leaving room to ponder just what might come next for Libby. Meyer doesn’t try to get to the heart of the “how” of it all, but rather allows the readers to ask “what if?” and simply enjoy a well-told story. 

If you love the premise of time travel, enjoy books with a heroine of strong convictions, and are in the mood for a unique series, pick up When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer.

Disclaimer: The publisher offered a complimentary copy of this book. The review was given freely, without payment. All views expressed are only the honest opinion of a member of the Historical Bookworm Review Team.

About the Author

Gabrielle Meyer grew up above a carriage house on a historic estate near the banks of the Mississippi River, imagining real and make-believe stories about the occupants who had lived there. She went on to work for the Minnesota Historical Society and loves writing fiction inspired by real people, places, and events. She currently resides in central Minnesota on the banks of the Mississippi River, not far from where she grew up, with her husband and four children. By day, she’s a busy homeschool mom, and by night she pens fiction and non-fiction filled with hope. Learn more about Gabrielle and her writing by visiting www.gabriellemeyer.com.

Posted on

Long Way Home by Lynn Austin

This review was originally shared in Episode 29: Guest Ann H. Gabhart & a Review of Long Way Home

About the Book

In this gripping portrait of war and its aftermath from bestselling author Lynn Austin, a young woman searches for the truth her childhood friend won’t discuss after returning from World War II, revealing a story of courage, friendship, and faith.

Peggy Serrano couldn’t wait for her best friend to come home from the war. But the Jimmy Barnett who returns is much different from the Jimmy who left, changed so drastically by his experience as a medic in Europe that he can barely function. When he attempts the unthinkable, his parents check him into the VA hospital. Peggy determines to help the Barnetts unravel what might have happened to send their son over the edge. She starts by contacting Jimmy’s war buddies, trying to identify the mysterious woman in the photo they find in Jimmy’s belongings.

Seven years earlier, sensing the rising tide against her people, Gisela Wolff and her family flee Germany aboard the passenger ship St. Louis, bound for Havana, Cuba. Gisela meets Sam Shapiro on board and the two fall quickly in love. But the ship is denied safe harbor and sent back to Europe. Thus begins Gisela’s perilous journey of exile and survival, made possible only by the kindness and courage of a series of strangers she meets along the way, including one man who will change the course of her life.

Review

Long Way Home follows two storylines: a Jewish girl fighting for survival through WWII and an American girl trying to help her friend recover from the horrors of war. It’s easy to look back and admire the courage and resilience of the Greatest Generation, but they were human just like us and endured so much pain. I appreciated this book’s honest approach to recovering from horrors no human was ever meant to see.

Honestly, I felt like this story was a little bit heavy, but appropriately so for the subject matter. I appreciated how the characters struggled to hold onto hope, but kept trying anyway. You want these people to live and thrive. The description offers an attention to detail that takes you right into the story, and once you start reading, you’ll want to keep turning pages.

This story touches on a lot of traumatizing situations, but nothing is too in-your-face. The faith thread is strong and overt, but not preachy. Romance is sweet and tender, and this is really more women’s fiction than romance anyway.

If you enjoy stories of overcoming, of perseverance, and of people whose daily lives and walk with God invite you to reevaluate your own, pick up a copy of Long Way Home by Lynn Austin.

The Author

Lynn Austin has sold more than one and a half million copies of her books worldwide. A former teacher who now writes and speaks full-time, she has won eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction and was one of the first inductees into the Christy Award Hall of Fame. One of her novels, Hidden Places, was made into a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. She and her husband have three grown children and make their home in western Michigan. 

Disclaimer: The publisher offered a complimentary copy of this book. The review was given freely, without payment. All views expressed are only the honest opinion of a member of the Historical Bookworm Review Team.