Review

Christmas at Carnton by Tamera Alexander

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Aletta Prescott struggles to make ends meet for her young son. She just lost her husband in this War Between the States as well as her job. Her baby is due in a couple of months and there’s no money to pay the mortgage. She prays for help.

Captain Jack Winston, a sharpshooter in the Confederate army, is recovering from battle wounds. His eyes aren’t healing as fast as he’d like. He yearns to get back to the battles but instead his colonel assigns him the task of assisting the Women’s Relief Society in Franklin, Tennessee.

Aletta feels fortunate to land a temporary position at the Carnton Plantation but she thinks the captain could better serve his country on the battlefield.

I really liked this story. It was a page turner for me. The characters were lovable and real. The struggles of the wives left back home while their husbands were at war tugged at my heart.

Part of the reason it snagged my interest was the setting—Franklin, Tennessee, in 1863. A portion of my Civil War romance,  A Musket in My Hands, takes place a year later. The tragic Battle of Franklin happened on November 30, 1864, and is an important part of my story.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com

For the Love of Emma by Starr Ayers

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A packet of love letters found among the possessions of the author’s deceased mother sparked this wonderful time slip story.

In 1938, it’s love at first sight for Noah, a medic at Fort Bragg. Emma works as a waitress at Rainbow Restaurant and he goes there often in hopes of talking with her. Emma likes how he stands up for her and a courtship soon begins.

For a time, they must communicate through letters. Those letters from Noah are found by Emma’s daughters after her death in 2011. The contemporary side of this story with the sisters is just as intriguing as the historical aspect as readers receive clues about events.

Nostalgic. Mysterious. Ayers’ skillful weaving of the 1930s realistic characters living in the brink of World War II with the contemporary story snagged my interest from the first chapter.

The characters are believable and likeable. There is more than one man worthy of a good woman in this story. The intrigue of finding out what happened to their romance made this a page turner for me.

I can’t wait to read the second book in the series! Definitely recommend.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

An Ivy Hill Christmas by Julie Klassen

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A Tales from Ivy Hill Novella

Richard Brockwell wouldn’t be going home for Christmas if his mother hadn’t insisted. She held the purse strings so he left London on a cold December day in 1822. He’s lived a selfish lifestyle for so long that he doesn’t know how to rise above it … not that he wants to.

His mother, brother, and sister-in-law have invited guests to stay for the Twelve Days of Christmas. Among them is Arabella Awdry, who makes it clear she’s not interested in him.

But coming home reminds him of all the childhood hurts he has run from for years.

I loved this story! The author does a great job portraying Richard as a selfish bachelor that I didn’t like him for a while. The characters are believable and they tugged at my heart.

An especially fun part of this story for me was taking part (vicariously through the story) in the Christmas traditions of nearly 200 years ago. The parlor games, decorating for Christmas, and Christmas and Boxing Day traditions were an intriguing look at how our ancestors celebrated the holidays.

I’d love to read more books in this series!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com

31 Verses Every Believer Should Know by Sean Bess

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He was Born to be

Jesus was born to be God with us, human like us, our servant, our light, and our Savior.

What a great devotional book for preparing our hearts for Christmas!

Each devotion begins with a scripture. Several of the devotional thoughts used examples from historical figures like Paul Revere, President Abraham Lincoln, and Harriet Tubman. Then it shifts our thoughts back to Jesus’ birth and shows how the example ties in.

Each chapter ends with thought-provoking questions.

I really liked reading this devotional to prepare my heart for the Christmas season. It’s creative with insightful devotions.

A great book for Christians and those seeking to know what the Bible teaches us about Jesus.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

 

2020 Angel Book Award Winners Announced

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The Faith & Fellowship Book Festival announced the 2020 Angel Book Award winners at the conclusion of their online book festival on November 6th.

The Angel Book Awards recognize outstanding books written by Christian authors and published in the previous year. This year there were six categories: Nonfiction, Children’s, Youth Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery/Suspense, and Contemporary Fiction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The winners are:

Nonfiction:

Third place – Know Thyself: The Imperfectionist’s Guide to Sorting Your Stuff

by Lisa Lawmaster Hess

Second place –This Much I Know … The Space Between by Sue Bowles

First place –I Am Cyrus: Harry S. Truman and the Rebirth of Israel by Dr. Craig Von Buseck

 

Children’s:

Third place –Good Night, Fireflies by Janet L. Christensen

Second place –God’s Protection Covers Me by Amy Houts

First place winner with a PERFECT SCORE –How Much Does God Love You? by Michelle Medlock Adams

 

Youth Fiction:

Third place –The Heart Changer by Jarm Del Boccio

Second place –Selah’s Stolen Dream by Susan Count

First place –The Crown and the Axe by Darcy Fornier

 

Historical Fiction:

Third place –Aiming for Love by Mary Connealy

Second place –The List by Buck Storm & Bill Perkins

First place  –Devotion by Olivia Rae

 

Mystery/Suspense:

Angel Book Honorable Mentions:

Deadly Guardian by Deborah Sprinkle

Murder in the Family by Ramona Richards

 

Third place –ROAR by Linda K. Rodante

Second place –The Gryphon Heist by James R. Hannibal

First place—The Silver Lode by Suzanne J. Bratcher

 

Contemporary:

Third place –The Death of Mungo Blackwell by Lauren H. Brandenburg

Second place—Chasing Dreams by Deborah Raney

First place— Meant for Her by Joy Avery Melville

 

For more information about the Angel Book Awards and the Faith & Fellowship Book Festival, visit www.ffbookfestival.com

 

Yolonda Tonette Sanders and Cindy Thomson

cofounders of the Faith & Fellowship Book Festival

Sandra Merville Hart, committee member

 

The Civil War on Hatteras Island, North Carolina by Drew Pullen

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What a wonderful resource of information about the Civil War on Hatteras Island!

Many folks who visit the island on vacation have little idea about its rich history—and even less about what occurred at this strategic location during the Civil War.

I love the photos and sketches from the 1860s included by the author.

Portions of journals and letters from soldiers on both sides enrich this book’s value as a resource for historians, Civil War enthusiasts, and also for novelists like me who write during that time period.

Well-written. Recommend!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

Daughters of Deliverance by Lorry Lutz

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Kate Bushnell Series Book 1

This book begins with Kate Bushnell as a teenager. Her father runs a lighthouse that saves countless lives. She wants to follow his example by saving lives as a doctor.

Before Kate completes her medical studies, she has an important conversation with a missionary to China. She is invited to serve their mission as a doctor.

Daughters of Deliverance spans several years. Kate, a devout Christian, feels that God calls her to one task for a time and then changes course.

Her path takes her to the red light district in Chicago where she meets women and young girls living a life from which they long to escape.

This book reads like a biography. A lot of historical figures grace the page of this book so I wasn’t surprised to read the author’s note and read the confirmation that this is biographical fiction.

Inspired by a true story, parts of the story are very tragic and tough to read. It was inspiring to learn about the women and men who worked tirelessly to bring change.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas

The Widow of Rose Hill by Michelle Shocklee

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Book 2 of The Women of Rose Hill Series

The weight of running a plantation after the deaths of her husband and father-in-law is hard enough for Natalie Ellis without Union troops arriving on the doorstep of her Texas plantation. Not only does Colonel Levi Maish bring news that the war has ended, but also that the Confederates lost.

Levi takes pleasure in hearing the plantation owners read the proclamation that frees the slaves. The widow’s beauty and spirit can’t change the joy that spreads throughout the crowd. Though she offers them a job, most of them pack and leave within minutes.

Everything changes in an instant for Natalie and her young son. She adapts and even begins to change her mind about the handsome colonel who seems to want to help.

This honest, gripping story deals with the difficulties faced by Southerners and abolitionist Northerners as well as formerly enslaved people.

Well-written. Poignant. Tragic. Believable characters that pull readers along a difficult journey with them.

I’ll look for more books by this author.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas

The Names of the Stars by Ann Tatlock

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Annalise Rycroft’s family makes a hard living in a troupe of Vaudeville acts in 1918. Living in rundown hotels in cities across the United States is the only life the thirteen-year-old remembers. Anna longs for the audience applause known by her mother and uncles. It’s the only appreciation her family knows—yet stage-fright silences Anna’s angelic voice.

She doesn’t remember the father that her mother says she’s better off without. Nor does she have a home. Anna rereads her favorite book—A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens—and fears she’s one of the “surplus population.”

Mother tells her to ignore nightmares about a baby that plague her. Dreams mean nothing to Mother unless they are of fame.

The author has skillfully woven an intricate, multi-layered story. Twists and turns deepen the web that entangles the characters.

Well-written. Thought-provoking. Honest. Tragic. Filled with surprises—and surprising wisdom.

One of the marks of a truly great story is that it digs its ways into your soul and pushes you to reevaluate. The story stays with you.

This is one of those stories. Highly recommend this book and this author!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas

A Heart Surrendered by Joy K. Massenburge

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Sharonda Peterson is almost engaged to someone who travels constantly for his job at church so she rarely sees him. All she has to do is set the date for their wedding for their engagement to be official. Yet, as her thirtieth birthday approaches, she hesitates. Her heart yearns for Carl, a gifted man who left her behind years ago to pursue a singing career.

Carl is recovering from a difficult surgery that nearly claimed his life. He wants to get right with God … and Sharonda. He takes a job at the church where he tries to make up for past wrongs to her.

Sharonda has spent so many years trying to please her parents—especially her difficult mother—that she resists her heart’s pleading to reunite with Carl, the only man she ever loved.

Honest, with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. I was so into the story that at times I wanted to shake some of the characters when they made bad choices.

The struggles of the main characters tugged at my heart. Secondary characters also wrestle with difficulties. The author skillfully weaves a story where the struggles of the secondary characters enhance the pain of the main characters. Very well done.

Massenburge also beautifully illustrates how the pain of one generation can be passed down to the next … and then the next.

I will look for more books by this author.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas