Review

Home Where She Belongs by Penny Frost McGinnis

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Abbott Island Series, Book 1

Sadie Stewart moves the property she’d inherited on Abbott Island, to escape her ex-boyfriend’s abuse at her father’s company. Happy childhood memories of summers spent with her grandparents are overshadowed by her fear that Bryce will follow her.

Sadie’s childhood friend Joel Grayson is now a policeman on the island. She’d once had feelings for him but can’t trust anyone now—her own father refused to protect her from Bryce.

Joel, who had fallen in love with her while in high school, is determined to protect her.

Danger escalates and it seems that Sadie isn’t safe anywhere from Bryce.

My heart went out to Sadie. I found myself pulling for the characters that I learned to love. Many twists and turns led to escalating danger.

This story kept me turning pages. Recommended!

This is a new-to-me author. It won’t be the last book I read by her!

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Narrative of Sojourner Truth

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Narrative of Sojourner Truth by Sojourner Truth

Isabella Baumfree was born into slavery in New York in 1797. That state passed a law freeing all slaves 40 years and older 1817. Everyone younger than 40, which included Isabella, were to be emancipated ten years later.

Isabella endured many hardships and cruelty during part of that time. Her mother raised her to have faith and to pray to God before she was sold away from her parents at nine. She spoke Dutch only as a young child and didn’t understand English, which made it impossible to understand the new owners. Isabella endured many hardships and cruelty after her separations from her parents just a few miles away.

She wasn’t allowed to marry a man from a neighboring home. Her husband was much older and she had children with him. After her emancipation, Isabella parted from him.

This her story in her words, as dictated to Olive Gilbert, after Isabella changed her name to Sojourner Truth. Sojourner became an inspiring speaker, sharing her faith as well as advocating for black freedom, women’s rights, and temperance.

A powerful story about a powerful woman. Her story held my attention from page one.

Definitely recommend!

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Vicksburg 1863 by Winston Groom

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Excellent resource book for the battle and Siege of Vicksburg!

To capture the city on the bluffs of the Mississippi River was the goal of Union General Ulysses S. Grant as well as President Abraham Lincoln.

Mississippians were equally determined to hold it. They held back an attack of the Union navy from the Mississippi River in 1862, a barrage that lasted 67 days.

The Union navy left but everyone knew they’d be back. The next time, Grant brought his army too.

This book gives an excellent history from the viewpoint of both the Union and Confederate military leaders.

I especially appreciated learning more about what the citizens of Vicksburg experienced before, during, and after the battle and siege.

I purchased this book to discover the history for the siege. I was researching the background for my Spies of the Civil War Series, Streams of Courage, Book 4 and River of Peril, Book 5.

Recommended for readers of American Civil War history and American history.

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My Cave Life in Vicksburg

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

My Cave Life in Vicksburg, with Letters of Trial and Travel By A Lady.

The anonymous author is Mary Webster Loughborough, who arrived on April 15, 1863, for a pleasant visit to Vicksburg. She became an unwilling guest during the bombardment and siege.

Excellent account of the trials and hardships suffered by the townspeople who endured the Siege of Vicksburg in 1863.

Mary’s husband paid to have a cave dug in the city of Vicksburg for her and their toddler. The Union navy shelled the city, sending the citizens scurrying for the relative safety of the caves. Some died from shells that penetrated the ceilings. Others died when they ventured out during lulls in the shelling.

Parrott shells came directly toward their cave often and danger was everywhere.

Food ran low as the siege continued. There is no sense of time in the book so the days and hours must have run together into a nightmare from which they couldn’t awaken.

I purchased this book to discover the history for the siege. I was researching the background for my book, River of Peril, Book 5 in my Spies of the Civil War Series.

Recommended for readers of American Civil War history and American history.

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The Case of the Stolen Memories by Deborah Sprinkle

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

A Mac & Sam Mystery Series, Book 3

Private Investigator Mackenzie Love witnesses a thief running away from a robbery in a park. A body is found that same day. She and fellow investigator Sam are hired to recover items stolen from a time capsule. They need customers to keep their business afloat so they agree, little knowing the danger.

Detective Jake Sanders is assigned to the case and then learns his feisty girlfriend Mac is a witness. Since she’s investigating the crime for a client, the two work separately and share findings with one another.

Escalating mystery and danger at every turn kept me turning pages. Many twists and turns held my interest. Danger faced by multiple characters that I’d grown to love had me on the edge of my seat.

This suspenseful story will keep readers turning pages. Recommended for those who enjoy mystery and suspense novels!

I received an advanced copy from the author and happily endorsed the book. All opinions are my own.

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A Certain Man by Linda Dindzans

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

A Certain Future Series, Book 1 

One finds it difficult to believe this is a Debut Novel. Dindzans has written a mesmerizing story that immerses readers into the dangerous New Testament days when a father’s whim held more sway over whom a woman would marry than she did herself.

Readers of the Bible will note specific events in the life of Jesus and even His parables are woven into this well-written story.

Mara, the daughter of a drunkard, is only important to her father for the money he will receive from the bridegroom. Mara wants to marry her neighbor Samuel in two years when he has saved the bride-price. She’ll be fifteen then. Yet events take a terrible turn.

Dindzans’s depth of research transports readers back to Biblical days. Jewish traditions and culture enrich the storytelling.

The book is edgier than I normally read. There is violence and rape but it’s not explicitly shown. There are characters readers will love and others they definitely will not.

I could not put the book down.

I highly recommend this novel to lovers of Biblical novels.

I received a copy of the book from the author or publisher and was not required to leave a positive review. The thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Behind Love’s Wall by Carrie Fancett Pagels

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Doors to the Past, Book 5

The author skillfully weaves together the stories of two women living in two time periods in this novel.

In 1895, Lily is singing at The Grand on Mackinac Island. Her piano accompanist is her cousin, who has often protected her from unwanted male attention in the past. However, she’d welcome Dr. Stephen DuBlanc’s courtship if not for a terrible secret in her past, one that prompts her to change her name to hide from the Pinkertons.

In 2020, Willa has made a name for herself as an interior decorator, a reputation that lands her at the Grand Hotel to consult for a redesign. She wants to work with Michael, a gifted landscape artist, but must protect her heart. She has too much baggage from her childhood to pursue a relationship.

Then she finds a journal written by a singer at The Grand in 1895 that opens a slew of questions…and secrets.

Lovable, believable characters drew me into their story. Their heartache tugged at my emotions. Many twists kept me turning pages as the story progressed.

Story complexities increase with each chapter with lots of names in common between time periods. For that reason, I’d suggest reading the novel within a week or so to remember the details.

I enjoyed this well-written dual timeline mystery.  

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The Case of the Stolen Memories by Deborah Sprinkle

/ sandramervillehart

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

A Mac & Sam Mystery Series, Book 3

Private Investigator Mackenzie Love witnesses a thief running away from a robbery in a park. A body is found that same day. She and fellow investigator Sam are hired to recover items stolen from a time capsule. They need customers to keep their business afloat so they agree, little knowing the danger.

Detective Jake Sanders is assigned to the case and then learns his feisty girlfriend Mac is a witness. Since she’s investigating the crime for a client, the two work separately and share findings with one another.

Escalating mystery and danger at every turn kept me turning pages. Many twists and turns held my interest. Danger faced by multiple characters that I’d grown to love had me on the edge of my seat.

I received an advanced copy from the author and happily endorsed the book. All opinions are my own.

This suspenseful story will keep readers turning pages. Recommended for those who enjoy mystery and suspense novels!

A Certain Man by Linda Dindzans

/ sandramervillehart

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

A Certain Future Series, Book 1  

One finds it difficult to believe this is a Debut Novel. Dindzans has written a mesmerizing story that immerses readers into the dangerous New Testament days when a father’s whim held more sway over whom a woman would marry than she did herself.

Readers of the Bible will note specific events in the life of Jesus and even His parables are woven into this well-written story.

Mara, the daughter of a drunkard, is only important to her father for the money he will receive from the bridegroom. Mara wants to marry her neighbor Samuel in two years when he has saved the bride-price. She’ll be fifteen then. Yet events take a terrible turn.

Dindzans’s depth of research transports readers back to Biblical days. Jewish traditions and culture enrich the storytelling.

The book is edgier than I normally read. There is violence and rape but it’s not explicitly shown. There are characters readers will love and others they definitely will not.

I could not put the book down.

I highly recommend this novel to lovers of Biblical fiction.

Julia’s Joy by Susan G. Mathis

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Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Love at a Lighthouse, Book 2

Terms in her grandmother’s will send Julia Collins to Sister Island on the St. Lawrence River. Julia is accustomed to an active social life. The island only has two residents when she arrives, the lightkeeper and his mother. Before she arrives, she is certain her grief won’t required this much solitude.

William Dodge, the lightkeeper, is recovering from his fiancé ending their engagement, who broke up with him over his occasional bouts with pleurisy. Julia’s lack of faith troubles him and he gives her room to make that journey.

Surprising twists kept me turning pages. Loveable, believable characters drew me into their story. Their heartache tugged at my emotions.  

This gentle, well-written love story is highly recommended for those who love to immerse themselves in another time with a great book!   

I was given a copy of the book by the author. A positive review was not required.

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