Title: The Making of Mrs. Hale
Author: Carolyn Miller
Publisher: Kregel
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9780825445354
Publication Date: November 27th, 2018

About the Book:

Marry in haste, repent in leisure--Mrs. Hale is about to find out how painful that repentance can truly be.

Julia Hale ran off to be married in Gretna Green, following romance instead of common sense. But her tale isn't turning into a happily ever after. Her new husband is gone and she doesn't know where--or if he's ever coming back. Julia has no option but to head home to the family she betrayed by eloping and to hope they'll forgive her. Especially now that she might be carrying a baby from her brief marriage.

Carolyn Miller's clean and wholesome Regency romances continue with The Making of Mrs. Hale, following familiar characters as they learn how restoration can occur by finding hope and healing through a deep relationship with God. Full of rich historical details and witty banter, this series continues to draw in fans of Jane Austen, Sarah Ladd, and Julie Klassen.

My Thoughts:
I love a good period drama. They are so much fun for me. I love settings, the dialog, the clothes, the mannerisms of it all. Regency settings to me are very rich and fun and just so full of little things that make the story pop. They are unique to me. Jane Austen is my first thought when I think of the time, now I think Julie Klassen and Carolyn Miller.

The Making of Mrs. Hale is only the second book I've read by Carolyn Miller and I want to read the rest. Her attention to detail of her stories is fabulous. She weaves in a lot of factual settings with her characters.

This story I connected with. The marry in haste and repent in leisure. My 20's, that is all I have to say. I have matured....but back on point. This story is one that I think will connect with many. It doesn't matter the times, it will connect and I love that. I love how the themes work so well with today's issues. They are a little mature, but not in a drastic way. I like real life issues in stories.

Julia has a lot to face in this story. She is basically lost and confused. Thomas is in a place he never imagined. We get to see what happens to both of them and how things evolve for them. I didn't mind the different points of view.

I enjoyed this story. If you are a fan of regency, I think this is one you would enjoy as well.

4 out of 5

About the Author:
Carolyn Miller lives in New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. A longtime lover of Regency romance, Carolyn's novels have won a number of RWA and ACFW contests. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Australasian Christian Writers.








Thank you to JustRead Tours, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Series: Music of Hope #2
Author: Liz Tolsma  
Publisher: Gilead Publishing  
Release Date: October 9, 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance  

Natia has a secret, and she’s hiding him right beneath her captor’s nose...

The Nazis have forced Natia and Teodor from their Polish farm to a labor camp. When the couple is separated, Natia is chosen to be the housekeeper for the camp’s overseer, and Teodor is sent to work in the factory. Despite the strict camp rules—and the consequences for disobeying them—Natia finds a way to communicate with Teodor by sending messages through song as she passes Teodor’s dormitory.

The stakes get higher when Natia finds a Jewish orphan on the overseer’s doorstep. She is determined to protect the boy and raise him as the child she and her husband were unable to bear— but if her German captors discover how much she’s hiding, both she and Teodor may pay the ultimate price.  

Excerpt: 

People crowded the tiny station and spilled onto the cobblestone street. The sweetness of ladies’ perfume mingled with the sourness of unwashed farmers. German soldiers patrolled the area with rifles over their shoulders and dogs straining on leashes.

“You there.” One with dark eyes and a downturned mouth hollered at them. “Papers.”

The group stopped and produced what the man demanded. Natia pressed against Teodor.

The Nazi stared at the triangular patch on their coats. “Get in the station. Schnell, schnell. There isn’t time to waste.”

A train whistle bellowed. Teodor jumped, and Natia sucked in a breath. He squeezed her shoulder.

“I’ve never seen so many people in one place at a time.” The chaos of voices filled her head. Women and children cried. Men shouted. Their captors yelled louder. Schnell was the only word she could decipher. Hurry.

To what? An uncertain fate?


PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Christian Book | Book Depository

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CONNECT WITH LIZ: website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

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TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive (US only)

• a print copy of When the Heart Sings
• 'Just One More Chapter' throw pillow seen HERE

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight November 26, 2018 and last through 11:59pm December 3, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

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From the Week:
Top Ten Tuesday: Thanksgiving Freebie
Waiting On Wednesday: The Curse of Misty Wayfair
New Book Cover Love 2019


Have you read anything great this past week?
How was your reading week?

This week I thought it would be fun to focus on a duel time line story. I love history, I love contemporary. Jaime Jo Wright is an author who has been able to mesh the two and weave a story together beautifully. I was able to listen to The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond this summer on a trip and it was fabulous!I need to go back and read her debut The House on Foster Hill, which recently won a Christy Award.
The mix of mystery, suspense, and well thought out and developed characters really make her stories pop. I can't wait to read The Curse of Misty Wayfair. It will be a good way to kick off the new year.

Waiting On:
Title: The Curse of Misty Wayfair
Author: Jaime Jo Wright
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication Date: January 1st, 2019

About the Book:

Left at an orphanage as a child, Thea Reed vowed to find her mother someday. Now grown, her search takes her to Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin, in 1908. When clues lead her to a mental asylum, Thea uses her experience as a post-mortem photographer to gain access and assist groundskeeper Simeon Coyle in photographing the patients and uncovering the secrets within. However, she never expected her personal quest would reawaken the legend of Misty Wayfair, a murdered woman who allegedly haunts the area and whose appearance portends death.
A century later, Heidi Lane receives a troubling letter from her mother--who is battling dementia--compelling her to travel to Pleasant Valley for answers to her own questions of identity. When she catches sight of a ghostly woman who haunts the asylum ruins in the woods, the long-standing story of Misty Wayfair returns--and with it, Heidi's fear for her own life.
As two women across time seek answers about their identities and heritage, can they overcome the threat of the mysterious curse that has them inextricably intertwined?

What are you waiting on this week?

Topic:



What topic did you focus on this week?
Are you reading anything on this Thanksgiving week?

Title: One Thing I Know
Author: Kara Isaac
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019

A fresh, heartfelt romance involving a case of mistaken identity when a ghostwriter masquerades as a relationship expert and the man who is determined to expose her holds not only the key to her success, but also her heart…

Rachel Somers is America’s #1 relationship coach—America just doesn’t know it. Rachel writes the books, but her Aunt Donna plays the face of the operation. Afraid of their secret being exposed, Rachel has no choice but to keep up the charade or lose the big money required to care for her father.

Lucas Grant is a star of late night radio and set on achieving his dream of syndication. When a big-time producer calls, it looks like his hard work is about to pay off. But the offer comes with a catch—the producer is convinced Dr. Donna is not what she seems and he wants Lucas to discover her secret. To do that, he needs to win over her tight-lipped assistant who holds the key to his success and—he begins to suspect—his heart. Can love find a way through the lies that force them apart? 

Left at an orphanage as a child, Thea Reed vowed to find her mother someday. Now grown, her search takes her to Pleasant Valley, Wisconsin, in 1908. When clues lead her to a mental asylum, Thea uses her experience as a post-mortem photographer to gain access and assist groundskeeper Simeon Coyle in photographing the patients and uncovering the secrets within. However, she never expected her personal quest would reawaken the legend of Misty Wayfair, a murdered woman who allegedly haunts the area and whose appearance portends death.

A century later, Heidi Lane receives a troubling letter from her mother--who is battling dementia--compelling her to travel to Pleasant Valley for answers to her own questions of identity. When she catches sight of a ghostly woman who haunts the asylum ruins in the woods, the long-standing story of Misty Wayfair returns--and with it, Heidi's fear for her own life.

As two women across time seek answers about their identities and heritage, can they overcome the threat of the mysterious curse that has them inextricably intertwined?

 Title: The Secret of Paper and Ink
Author: Lindsay Harrel
Publication Date: February 26th, 2019

Lindsay Harrel presents a powerful story of healing, forgiveness, and finding the courage to write your own story.

A year after the death of her abusive fiancé, domestic violence counselor Sophia Barrett finds returning to work too painful. She escapes to Cornwall, England--a place she's learned to love through the words of her favorite author--and finds a place to stay with the requirement that she help out in the bookstore underneath the room she's renting. Given her love of all things literary, it seems like the perfect place to find peace.

Ginny Rose is an American living in Cornwall, sure that if she saves the bookstore she co-owns with her husband then she can save her marriage as well. Fighting to keep the first place she feels like she belongs, she brainstorms with her brother-in-law, William, and Sophia to try to keep the charming bookstore afloat.

Two hundred years before, governess Emily Fairfax knew two things for certain: she wanted to be a published author, and she was in love with her childhood best friend. But he was a wealthy heir and well out of her league. Sophia discovers Emily's journals, and she and William embark on a mission to find out more about this mysterious and determined woman, all the while getting closer to each other as they get closer to the truth.

The lives of the three women intertwine as each learns the power she has over the story of her life. 

Written in Lauren Denton's signature Southern style, Glory Road tells the story of three generations of women navigating the uncertain pathways of their hearts during a summer that promises to bring change--whether they're ready for it or not.

At thirty-eight, garden shop owner Jessie McBride thinks her chances for romance are years behind her and, after her failed marriage, she's fine with that. She lives contentedly with her fiery mother and her quiet, headstrong daughter. But the unexpected arrival of two men on Glory Road make her question if she's really happy with the status quo. Handsome, wealthy Sumner Tate asks her to arrange flowers for his daughter's wedding, and Jessie finds herself drawn to his continued attention. And Ben Bradley, her lingering what-could-have-been from high school days who's known her better than anyone and whom she hasn't seen in years, moves back to the red dirt road. Jessie finds her heart being pulled in directions she never expected.

Meanwhile, Jessie's fourteen-year-old daughter, Evan, is approaching the start of high school and trying to navigate a new world of identity and emotions--particularly as they relate to the cute new guy who's moved in just down the road. At the same time, Jessie's mother, Gus, increasingly finds herself forgetful and faces a potentially frightening future.
As all three women navigate the uncertain paths of their hearts and futures, one summer promises to bring change--whether they're ready for it or not.

 Title: The Printed Letter Bookshop
Author: Katherine Reay
Publication Date: May 14th, 2019

 Amid literature and lattes, three women come together and find that sharing one's journey with best friends makes life richer.

When attorney Madeline Carter inherits her aunt's bookstore in a small town north of Chicago, she plans to sell it and add the proceeds to her nonexistent "investment portfolio." But plans change when Madeline discovers the store isn't making money and she gets passed over for promotion at her firm. She quits in protest, takes the train north, and decides to work at the store to prep it for sale. Madeline soon finds herself at odds with employees Jessica and Courtney; when she also finds herself attracted to an affianced man, it only confuses the entire situation.

After blowing up her marriage two years earlier, Jessica has found solace working at the bookstore and a kindred spirit within its owner, Maddie Cullen. But when Maddie dies and her niece, Madeline, barges in like a bulldozer, Jessica pushes at the new owner in every way--until she trips over common ground. Soon the women are delving into online dating and fashion makeovers, and Jessica feels the pull to rediscover her art, a love she thought long behind her.

After a night of bad decisions leaves the store in peril, Courtney arrives and tries to save the day. While she, too, found sanctuary in the little bookstore, she knows it's under-insured, in the red, and will never survive. When she discovers her teenage daughter has played a part in vandalizing the store, Courtney taps into strength she didn't know existed--or had long forgotten. The quietest of the three, she steps up and finds a way to save her family, the store, and the precious friendships that have grown within it.

The Printed Letter Bookshop is the story of friends who find each other--and themselves--in a place none of them ever expected.

From the RITA Award–winning author of Five Days in Skye comes a sweet, romantic treat that will leave you hungry for more.

Baker and pastry chef Melody Johansson has always believed in finding the positive in every situation, but seven years after she moved to Denver, she can’t deny that she’s stuck in a rut. One relationship after another has ended in disaster, and her classical French training is being wasted on her night job in a mediocre chain bakery. Then the charming and handsome private pilot Justin Keller lands on the doorstep of her workplace in a snowstorm, and Melody feels like it’s a sign that her luck is finally turning around.

Justin is intrigued by the lively bohemian baker, but the last thing he’s looking for is a relationship. His own romantic failures have proven that the demands of his job are incompatible with meaningful connections, and he’s already pledged his life savings to a new business venture across the country—an island air charter in Florida with his sister and brother-in-law.

Against their better judgment, Melody and Justin find themselves drawn together by their unconventional career choices and shared love of adventure. But when an unexpected windfall provides Melody with the chance to open her dream bakery-café in Denver with her best friend, chef Rachel Bishop, she’s faced with an impossible choice: stay and put down roots with the people and place she’s come to call home . . . or give it all up for the man she loves.

From the author of Fawkes comes a magical take on the story of Anastasia Romanov.

The history books say I died.

They don’t know the half of it.

Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them . . . and he’s hunted Romanov before.

Nastya’s only chances of survival are to either release the spell, and deal with the consequences, or enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya’s never dabbled in magic before, but it doesn’t frighten her as much as her growing attraction for Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her . . .

That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other.

Reading Next:


Recent Posts:
Top Ten Tuesday: Backlisted Books
Waiting On Wednesday: To Best the Boys
Review: The Crescent Stone by Matt Mikalatos
New Book Cover Love


What are you reading this week? How has the book week been for you?