Historical romance

Abigail’s Peace by Pegg Thomas

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by Sandra Merville Hart

Forts of Refuge Series

Book Three

This third book in the series was a page turner for me!

Abigail Aldridge steals away from her brother’s Boston home and catches a schooner to Fort Niagara where her uncle is stationed. Though Uncle Cornelius loves her, he’s not happy to see her because he fears for her safety. It’s 1763, and Pontiac has gathered tribes together to attack other British forts. Abigail feels the bare chests of the fort’s Seneca scouts is scandalous. She fears them.

Koyen finds the wide, brightly-colored dresses the British women wear ridiculous. However, when Abigail befriends his sisters, she captures his attention. Koyen, a Seneca warrior, is torn by his job as a scout for soldiers at Fort Niagara. Part of him wants to join Pontiac’s fight and drive the British forts from Seneca land. The other part doesn’t want to do anything to place Abigail in jeopardy.

Courageous characters touched me with their bravery. Thomas has woven a multi-layered story amidst actual historical events. Real-life people enhance the authenticity of the story. I love learning history as a natural part of a fictional novel.

Thomas has delivered another well-written story with a swoon-worthy hero. I couldn’t put it down!

I will look for more books by this author!

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Sarah’s Choice by Pegg Thomas

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by Sandra Merville Hart

Forts of Refuge Series

Book One

Wow! This story gripped me from the first page.

Sarah Feight’s life on the 1763 Pennsylvania frontier felt like paradise.  She lives with her husband David in their wilderness clearing near his two brothers and their families. One tragic, brutal night changes everything.

Leith McCully, a friend of the Feight brothers, rescues Sarah and takes her to Fort Pitt where many settlers have sought refuge from the Ottawa, Chippewa, and other tribes.

Believable characters touched my heart with their struggles. These are characters I learned to love and hope to see more of in future books in the series.

Well-written. Heart-wrenching. Action-packed. Steeped in historical events. Full of twists and turns I didn’t anticipate. I couldn’t put it down!

I will look for more books by this author. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

In Sheep’s Clothing by Pegg Thomas

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After her fiancé left years ago, Yarrow Fenn resigned herself to being a spinster. She loves her family, who take advantage of her generous nature. Her father had taught her to be a master weaver and spinner, a skill that enriches her greedy sister.

When the handsome bachelor Peter Maltby, a journeyman fuller, comes to town, no one believes Yarrow will capture his attention.

Both have secrets that plague them.

I loved this gentle historical romance! The struggles of the main characters tugged at my heart. Honest, with some unexpected twists. I also loved learning about a little-known law passed by the Crown in the colonies that placed great hardship on colonists.

This novella is a short, satisfying book that can be read in a few hours.   

I’ve read other books by this author and will look for more!

-Sandra Merville Hart

https://www.amazon.com/Sheeps-Clothing-Pegg-Thomas-ebook/dp/B08XPT7DGB/

To Capture Her Heart by Rebecca DeMarino

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The Southold Chronicles, Book 2

Heather Flower’s captors tied her to a tree. She doesn’t want them to return. They had forced her to watch them kill her husband at their wedding feast and then kidnapped her and several other women.

Lieutenant Dirk Van Buren rescues Heather Flower for her family on Long Island. Aware she survived a terrible tragedy, he fights his attraction for the beautiful, brave woman.

Benjamin Horton is also a good man and an old friend. Heather Flower knows he loves her and wants to marry her.

Two good men care for her. Which should she choose? She can’t stop worrying about the women who were kidnapped with her. Are they alive?

This story, set in 1653, captivated me from the beginning. I fell in love with the characters. I love books where I learn some history as a natural part of reading the story. I enjoyed this book, a page-turner for me, and recommend it for historical romance readers.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com

A Joyful Christmas

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What a nice collection—all six historical stories are set during Christmas. They all have a “feel good” ending, which I really like. I read all six stories in a weekend so my interest was captured and held throughout for almost all of them.

Of course, I have my favorites. An Irish Bride for Christmas by Vickie McDonough tugged at my heart. Jackson’s niece is kept from him and Larkin believes the lies told about him.

Christmas Service by Erica Vetsch was a touching story with a great ending.

Under His Wings by Liz Tolsma had characters that readers will love—and one they definitely won’t.

A Star in the Night by Liz Johnson and Shelter in the Storm by Carrie Turansky were page turners for me. Not only were they set during the Civil War, but also the same location as one of my novels—the area of Franklin, Tennessee.

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

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

Caleb’s Destiny by Carole Brown

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Book 1 in Troubles in the West Series

Destiny McColloch travels west to find a man named Caleb. She hasn’t seen him in fifteen years. Her memories of the boy from her childhood are sketchy, but she’s sure she’ll know him. Her search doesn’t start well as a stagecoach robbery lands her as a guest at Mr. Michael’s ranch.

Mr. Michael has enough to do without a feisty guest to watch over. A dangerous foe in town threatens his safety and those around him. How can he keep her safe?

Believable, lovable characters—and some readers will love to hate—drew me with them into the danger and mystery. Readers of historical romance set in the Wild West should enjoy this novel.

I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

-Sandra Merville Hart

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A Malleable Heart by Jennifer Uhlarik

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The Blacksmith Brides Collection

Leah Guthrie bears the heavy burden of raising and caring for her brother and two sisters after the death of their parents. They scrape by on what she earns by washing neighbors’ clothes. Then the wagon wheel breaks.

Blacksmith Bo Allen has earned his reputation for quality work as well for his ornery character. Leah can’t pay him double his rate for a rush job. Something in him softens to see her struggle, especially with the trouble she has with her younger brother.

Yet Bo has endured much abuse in his childhood. He must find a way to deal with it.

This story deals with anger and forgiveness. The characters tugged at my heart and I couldn’t put it down.

I’ve read other books by this author and will look for more. Recommend!

I loved this whole collection.

-Sandra Merville Hart

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A Tempered Heart by Angela K. Couch

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The Blacksmith Brides Collection

Widowed Esther Mathews brings her son, Charlie, back to live in her father’s home after her husband dies. Her father and sister make no efforts to get close to Charlie, who is different from other boys. Her heart breaks that no one loves him like she does. Until she meets the blacksmith.

Thomas Flynn, blacksmith, takes pride in his work, but he’s deeply in debts inherited from the man who apprenticed him. It will take years to pay them. Though he longs for Esther and Charlie to be his family, he can’t marry and saddle them with his debts … to her father.

The struggles faced by the sweet boy in the story raised all my maternal instincts. I fell in love with all the main characters, who each faced their own heartaches.

This story tugged at my heart. Recommend!

I’m loving this collection!

-Sandra Merville Hart

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Forging Forever by Amanda Barratt

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The Blacksmith Brides Collection

Charles Bainbridge receives a deed to his father’s mine—one his father gambled away—from a friend, who was on his deathbed. Charles made a living as a blacksmith, but mining was in his blood. This deed gave him an opportunity to alter his future.

Elowyn Brody has felt the backside of her father’s hand too often not to follow him without questioning. Had she known where he led, she might have escaped what he planned.

But she didn’t know.

Fate draws Charles and Elowyn together at a moment of crisis. How can he, a struggling blacksmith, help her?

The struggle faced by the characters tugged at my heart. I found myself pulling for them as they both dealt with difficult memories from their own past.

I’m loving this collection!

-Sandra Merville Hart

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