Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Patrick Doyle thought he was doing the right thing by fighting for Ireland during World War I, yet he’s treated as an enemy when he returns home, especially by his pregnant girlfriend’s father. Paddy asks Roisin to flee with him to the United States. She refuses. Fearing for his life, he leaves despite his desire to raise his child.

This time-slip novel actually begins in 1950, when he receives a letter from his and Roisin’s daughter, Juniper. It’s written in childish handwriting, and Juniper would now be 30.

Patrick had married an American, and they had a daughter who is now in her twenties. He has never returned to Ireland. He never met Juniper, whom he is certain had died many years before. Is the letter real?

This multi-layered tragic story is told from several viewpoints. The action slips from 1950 to the past in a masterful way. Some parts were so tragic that they were difficult to read, yet it was impossible to put down.

Believable, flawed characters drew me into their plight. This book is a page turner.

This well-written, gripping story tugged at my emotions.

Recommended for readers of historical fiction and Irish history.

I will look for more books by this author.

Amazon

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

A Redwood National Park Novel

A Time Slip Novel

1972—June Turner took a summer job at the new national park at her great-aunt Marion’s prompting. Her leg brace and crutch are constant reminders to others of her childhood bout with polio, yet she hopes she can do all the job requires. When she learns that her boss has hired Adam to replace her, she sets out to prove herself. She’s used to this treatment, having endured it all her life.

1923—Nurse Marion Baker spends the bulk of her free time fighting to establish a national park along with others in the Save the Redwoods League. She has loved the giant trees since childhood and can’t bear to see loggers cut any more of them.

Frank Duncan tries to make up for past mistakes with his father, but the stern timber baron is as unmovable as the trees that irritating nurse loves so passionately. He manages to keep his identity a secret from her. After they begin dating, he worries how his family will accept her—and how she will accept his family.

Loveable, believable characters make mistakes that affect their future and the future of the Redwood Forest. Past heartache rises up to affect the present.

The author has woven a beautifully redemptive story. Readers are pulled into the challenges faced by each character, making us care on so many levels. A myriad of twists and turns in both time periods kept me riveted to this well-written book.

This book will stay with me for a long time.

I will look for other books by this author. Highly recommended.  

Christianbook.com  

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

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

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

A Sequel to On Cue

Current Day—Ginny discovers a hidden compartment in an old desk soon after her marriage to Scott. The ancient typewriter and some manuscripts inside snagged my interest immediately.

In 1946—A WWII soldier boards in the boarding house where Betsy lives and works. She likes Dale but his family owns a farm. No way is she returning to the farm life that was her childhood. Yet she secretly is attracted to him.

There’s also a Civil War element to this story. That’s not part of the time slip element yet is still a thread in the story.

I enjoyed this time slip story. The author weaves a multi-layered tale that binds the present to the past through a beautiful historic home. Each era holds its own tragedy. Realistic, lovable characters snagged my interest from the first chapter and held on.

Recommended for readers of historical romance, time slip, and nostalgia.

Amazon

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Prequel to On Cue

I had read On Cue, Boswell’s contemporary romance that began this series. This prequel to that story is very strong and I had a hard time putting it down.

This novel is a time-slip story. The modern-day story is that Ginny Cline is researching to write a musical as a fundraiser for the Woodson House, a recent addition to a local museum. Ginny’s task is to write a musical showing the Woodson House’s connection to the Underground Railroad.

Missy, the teenaged daughter of an Alabama plantation owner in 1858, has been raised with Early, one of her father’s slaves. The teenagers who bear a striking resemblance to one another are friends, though Early begins to understand that things are not the same between them after Missy’s father remarries. The harsh stepmother is the least of the girls’ worries because Sidney, Missy’s new stepbrother, has evil designs on both young ladies.

To make matters worse, Missy’s father’s health is failing and he does little to protect either girl.

But Missy’s aunt is coming for a visit. Will she help them?

The historical thread comprises over 90% of this story, which was fine with me. My interest was quickly snagged and I couldn’t turn pages fast enough. The danger to both ladies continues throughout, adding to the suspense. The author does a wonderful job building tension and suspense. The relationship between the two ladies changes and revolves through the story.

I couldn’t put the book down. There were punctuation errors that jumped out at me but, on the whole, it’s a great book.

I will look for more books by this author.

Amazon

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Book 2 in “Dream Beyond Tomorrow” Series

A packet of love letters found among the possessions of the author’s deceased mother sparked the first book of the series, a wonderful timeslip story. Emma’s Quest, Book 2, is another timeslip novel with some of the same characters in a continuation of the story.

Two sisters in modern day still try to piece together their mother’s early courtships and her romance with their father. It has plenty of twists and turns…

Emma Rose Walsh’s story begins in 1939. Whe travels to Chicago where the handsome Andrew Brown works as an artist. Things don’t start out well when he isn’t there to pick her up from the train.

Drew’s job takes him to various cities for short jaunts and Emma has only her waitressing job and a few friends in Chicago to keep her busy. She’s lonely and longs for her friends and family back in North Carolina.

And with the war in Europe escalating, there’s plenty happening on all fronts.

This nostalgic story has plenty of suspense. The contemporary story with the sisters intrigues readers with clues about what’s coming in the historical side.

As in the first book, more than one man is worthy of a good woman. I found myself pulling for first one and then the other to win Emma’s heart.

The country marches ever closer to World War II and then is catapulted into it, and every character is affected by. As the story continued, it snagged my interest making it difficult to put down.   

Recommended for readers of inspirational historical romance.

Amazon

Co-written by Mindy Starns Clark and John Campbell Clark

Kelsey Tate has inherited some of her great-grandmother Adele Tate’s business savvy, a Titanic survivor who had kept the family’s company afloat during the depression. Kelsey is working her way up the ladder in her father’s retirement and subsequent stroke. Her coworker’s odd behavior right before an important press event worries her, but there’s no time to figure it out. Then a relative Kelsey has never met accuses Adele Tate of being an imposter.

Two young women—cousins raised together who grew up as close as sisters—and the man who is the father of one of them cross the Atlantic Ocean on Titanic’s maiden voyage. When the ship goes down, only one of the women survive. Which one is it?

The question plunges Kelsey into the fight of her life when a coworker commits what appears to be suicide. Who can help her? If only Cole, the man she loves, was still in her life. She knows she hurt him, but it was just business, right?

This spellbinding time-slip novel tells the story of the women who cross on the Titanic and how their fate ripples down to affect the living even a hundred years later.

Gripping.

I couldn’t put it down! I’ve read other books by Mindy Starns Clark and will look for more.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon