Review

CelebrateLit Summer Kickoff Giveaway

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Hello Readers!

Every June Celebrate Lit celebrates summer by doing a huge giveaway just for readers. I have partnered up with them for this amazing giveaway so I can have the opportunity to show my appreciation for you!

I’m excited that Avenue of Betrayal, Book 1 in Spies of the Civil War Series, is my book in the kick-off.

Here is your chance to win over 25 books and a $50 Amazon gift card to buy a ton of books for yourself in Celebrate Lit’s Summer Kick-Off.

Click here to enter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54182/

The giveaway is going on now through June 22.

Betrayed by her brother and the man she loves…whom can she trust when tragedy strikes?

My book in the giveaway is Avenue of Betrayal, Book 1 in my Spies of the Civil War Series. Although the book is about a fictional family, it incorporates actual historical spies.

Avenue of Betrayal is set in Washington City (Washington DC) in 1861. Union soldiers came to the capital to train. There were so many regiments camped in and around the city that citizens saw a sea of tents in every available field. They drilled daily, so the sounds of marching feet, bugles, drums, and musketry permeated the atmosphere.

And there was a lot of spying for the Confederacy that happened within blocks of the White House.

Waiting for Sunset by Starr Ayers

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Summer is Tomorrow, Book 1

Time Slip Novel

Current Day—Interior Designer Olivia Houston takes a working vacation on Sunset Beach to escape her grief over loving her husband the previous year. She walks to a Kindred Spirits mailbox on Sunset Beach where strangers are invited to write in the journals. Not only does she meet Charter Boat Captain Chase Evans on the walk, she also finds something that leads her and Chase on a search to the past.

1945—Sergeant Walter Larsen is on a ship home after the war ends, eager to see his wife and meet his daughter. He’s just as eager to keep his secret, for it can only hurt his wife. When a storm at sea threatens, he tosses a bottle with some items inside, hoping they will reach his family even if he perishes in the storm.

Loveable, believable characters endure many surprises, challenges, jealousy, and heartache in a myriad of twists and turns that kept me riveted to this well-written story.

The contemporary side of this story, where readers will wonder if Olivia’s relationship with Chase has a future, kept me turning pages. The heartache in the historical story and how the two stories collide make this a page-turner.

I can’t wait to read the second book in the series. Highly recommended.  

Amazon

Death Under the Ice by Deborah Sprinkle

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Trouble in Pleasant Valley, Book 4

Homeland Security Analyst Claire Green comes to her brother Alan’s Pleasant Valley home, but he’s missing. She asks for help from Alan’s neighbors, Police Captain Nate Zuberi and his wife, Madison. They invite her to supper along with Private Investigator Rafe O’Connell, her former boyfriend.

He’s the only man Claire has ever loved, but she must focus on finding her brother. Clues that Alan had been involved in illegal activities frighten her. Can they find him in time to save his life?

This well-written and fast-paced story grabbed my attention and held on. Suspenseful. Action-packed. Real, believable characters. I tried to solve the mystery along with the detectives. I didn’t guess correctly.

A page turner! Highly recommended for those who love action-packed cozy mysteries.

I’ll look for more books by this author!

Amazon

Grave Decisions by Debra DuPree Williams

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

A Charlotte Graves Mystery, Book 2

Charlotte Graves now lives in the beautiful Rose Haven mansion with her grandmother. Her grandmother’s offer to give her the whole estate shocks her. Things are going so well with her renewed relationship with Roan Steele and her job as a genealogist. Before she can even consider it, people from her past challenge the home’s ownership.

Now she’s fighting for her family home. Intruders and murder quickly escalate the danger. And then someone close to Charlotte is accused of murder, further entangling her into the mayhem.

This talented author’s latest cozy mystery is another page-turner! Her strong Southern voice shines in Grave Decisions, the second book in the series. This well-written novel draws readers into the mystery from the beginning, one that includes William Shakespeare.  

Lovable, realistic characters invited me into a small Alabama town in the 1960s. Williams weaves such an authentic feel that the characters seem to step off the page.

Highly recommended for those who enjoy cozy mysteries!   

Amazon

Whispers of Fortune by Mary Connealy

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Golden State Treasure, Book 1

Dr. Brody MacKenzie arrives at the Two Harts Ranch in California, determined to find his younger brothers and, if necessary, rescue them. Instead, he is relieved to find them in school and learning trades. No matter what their teacher, Ellie Hart, says, Brody is in a hurry to take them back East where he has a job waiting. His brothers are more interested in searching for their family’s hidden treasure.

Ellie immediately hires Brody as the ranch’s doctor, hoping to keep the man who has snagged her attention in California. Instead, she finds herself caught up in helping the brothers to follow a treasure map.

Unfortunately, they are not the only ones interested in the treasure.

Connealy has woven a multi-layered historical romance that kept me turning pages. Long-time readers of this author will recognize characters from another series within these pages.

My interest was snagged early, and I read the book quickly. I’ve read other books by this author, and they’ve always ended with a significant cliff-hanger. This one did the same. Readers are left with questions about upcoming events.

I liked the book, and can’t wait to read the next one.

Christianbook.com

Windswept Way by Irene Hannon

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

A Hope Harbor Novel

Ashley Scott yearns for a substantial change after her job and a promising relationship come to an end. She becomes part-owner of a beautiful Oregon home in Hope Harbor where she and the reclusive other owner intend to turn it into a wedding venue. The owner of a local landscaping business, Jonathan Gray, intrigues her.

Jonathan’s significant battle scars are only partially visible. His girlfriend at the time of the battle left the former male model. Wearing a mask, he keeps to himself and his dog. But Ashley makes him long for more.

The setting, the amazing historic home, and the characters drew me into the story. Hope Harbor is a place where I, as a reader, wanted to vacation with a book on the beach. Authentic characters with real struggles kept me turning pages.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints. Readers will find several interesting characters in Hope Harbor, possibly from other novels in the series.

A heartwarming series in a beautiful setting. I look forward to reading more of Hannon’s books.

Christianbook.com

The Ragpicker by Pegg Thomas

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Salem Village, Book 1

Eight-year-old Verity Manton is whisked away after her uncle’s funeral by a widow who takes in orphans. Her possessions are sold for food. Cold and hungry, she must beg for rags from the townspeople.

She’s told to stay away from the Quakers. Her uncle had been a Puritan, and they don’t like Quakers. Verity fears them.

The story opens in 1691. The widow’s shack is in Salem Village, where strange stories and chanting in the forest frighten Verity.

This heart-wrenching story snagged my attention from the first page, the first sentence. My heart broke for the little girl who lost her family and now is losing her only relative. She must rely on the kindness of strangers, but not everyone treats her kindly.

The story’s historical setting in the backdrop of the Salem Witch Trials drew me to the series.

Characters I grew to love pulled me into their plight under the author’s skillful storytelling. I can’t wait to read the next book!

This historical fiction story is a page-turner. Highly recommend. 

Amazon

Grave Consequences by Debra DuPree Williams

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Charlotte Graves is the new director of the local historical and genealogical society. She’s back in Loblolly after eight years but old hurts die hard. Or are murdered.

Before she knows what’s happening, Charlotte is arrested for the murder of Boopsie Sweets, an old enemy from her childhood. Worse, she’s arrested by Roan Steele, the man who’d broken her heart back in high school.

There’s mystery afoot that only a genealogist can decipher!

Lovable, realistic characters invited me into a small Alabama town in the 1960s. Williams weaves an authentic feel with details such as music, clothing, decorations, and furniture. The characters seem to step off the page from an era 50 years ago.

The story drew me in immediately. It was a page-turner for me!  

The story is well-written with escalating tension that kept me turning pages. I’ll look for more books by this author. Recommend!

Amazon

A Token of Love by Carrie Turansky

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

This time-slip novel deals with the topic of child trafficking in 1885 and in modern-day London. That made it a tough read for me yet it was also a page-turner.

In 1885, Lillian Freemont has just reunited with her ailing sister. She quickly discovers she has a niece who was left at the Foundling Hospital in infancy. Alice is now eight. Lillian sets out to claim her niece. Unfortunately, the little girl had been whisked away in the night. She enlists the help of Matthew McGivern, an investigative reporter, to find Alice.

In the present day, Janelle Spencer takes over running the Foundling Museum for a few months when her boss’s twins are born early. Jonas Conrad is documenting the museum’s history on film, but he discovers a dark past that he and Janelle probe together. Olivia, a teen volunteer, helps with the research.

Many twists and turns kept me turning pages. I couldn’t put it down even though the plight of the girls deeply troubled me.

This is a well-written novel. I was concerned about what happened in each era. The Author’s Note explains the parts of the story that are based on history.

https://www.christianbook.com/a-token-of-love-softcover/9780764241062/pd/241062

A Storm of Doubts by JPC Allen

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by Sandra Merville Hart

A Rae Riley Mystery

This young adult novel plunges right into the mystery and suspense from the first page.

Rae Riley,20, is just getting used to the idea of having a dad for the first time in her life. She’d lost her mother two years before with only clues to her father’s identity. Now she lives with her father, who is the sheriff, and has a whole slew of relatives.

But there are plenty of folks who want to cause trouble in the small Ohio city, relatives included. Rae’s desire to help others gets her in hot water over and over again until she runs the risk of ruining her new-found relationship with her dad.

There were plenty of twists and turns that led to unexpected outcomes in the story to keep me turning pages. The author does a good job building the suspense.

The story has many characters apparently introduced in earlier books. The author included a two-page chart in the beginning for readers to understand family relationships. However, it was still difficult to ascertain the major characters when there were so many named minor ones.

Even with that, the story held my attention. I believe that reading the Rae Riley Mystery books in order will benefit readers.

A page turner!

Amazon