Review: Like Flames In the Night by Connilyn Cossette

March 31, 2020

Title: Like Flames In the Night
Author: Connilyn Cossette
Series: City of Refuge, 4
Publisher: Bethany House
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780764234330
Publication Date: March 3rd, 2020

About the Book:
Strong-willed Tirzah wants to join her people in driving the enemy from the land of Israel and undergoes training for a secret mission inside the stronghold of Shechem. But soon after she has infiltrated the ruthless Aramean commander's kitchen, she makes a reckless decision that puts her and her allies in grave danger.

Fresh off the battlefield, Liyam returns home to discover his beloved daughter is dead. After his vow to hunt down her killer leads to months of fruitless pursuit, his last hope is in a family connection that comes with strings attached--strings that force him to pose as a mercenary and rescue an infuriating woman who refuses to leave her mission uncompleted.

When an opportunity to pave a path to a Hebrew victory arises, can Tirzah convince Liyam to fight alongside her in the refuge city of her birth? Or will Liyam's thirst for vengeance outweigh his duty to his people, his God, and the woman he's come to love?
My Thoughts:
Oh my goodness.We have reached the end of this wonderful series! I'm so happy with how this story unfolded and progressed through these books, but I'm also so sad that it has ended! This series has just been one I could let myself sink into and disappear into this time with these people and just get lost for a little while. It was a fabulous journey!

Now I've mourned over the end and gushed over this series, let me tell you why this last book was a cherry on the top this marvelous series!

Connilyn Cossette has a wonderful talent for writing about very strong women characters, but also very strong men characters. Her cast is one of balance and allows their strengths and weakness of each to be shown and highlighted.

In Like Flames in the Night, we follow Tirzah, we have been introduced to her in previous stories. She comes from a very strong and prominent family. She is brought to attention of this story in a very powerful way, with her lack of fear and determination to protect who she is with, but with faith in the protection she knows she is surrounded in. The opening of this book really did set up this story beautifully and it showcased in this book, how God is there to use both men and women to bring in glory and promises.

This story is one that touches on many things. It isn't just about bravery and spies and adventures, it deals with heartache, love, and healing. There are some tough issues Tirzah and Liyam deal with in this story, and the way it unfolded was fantastic and gripping.

Though this is the end of the series, the way that this story wraps up and brings joy to this family, that was originally punished in the first book, is a beautiful conclusion. This book has allowed this story to come full circle and shine a light and it shows, that once was thought as something bad, can in fact lead to an even better path then you could imagine.

I had a hard time putting this book down.  The writing was phenomenal. The setting and the people made you feel apart. This is a series I can go back and re-read over and over again.

I was able to download this story and listen to some of it on Audible....and goodness, the narrator, Rachel Botchen is the voice of this series. The audio of this book is one that can transport you.

This was a fabulous read all around!

5 out of 5

About the Author:
Connilyn Cossette (www.connilyncossette.com) is a Christy Award and Carol Award winning author whose books have been found on ECPA and CBA bestseller lists. When she is not engulfed in the happy chaos of homeschooling two teenagers, devouring books whole, or avoiding housework, she can be found digging into the rich ancient world of the Bible to discover gems of grace that point to Jesus and weaving them into an immersive fiction experience. Although she and her husband have lived all over the country in their twenty-plus years of marriage, they currently call a little town south of Dallas, Texas, their home.





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


Top Ten Tuesday: Books With Single-Word Titles

March 4, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Artsy Read Girl.
Each week features a book related topic to spotlight your Top Ten.

Topic:
Single Word Titles

I'm going to admit, I thought this was going to be hard to do, but once I started looking through my book boxes...still don't have bookshelves yet :-( , I realized this was going to be a lot easier and have a huge selection! There are so many series that are one word titles, I couldn't find the who series for a few of them, but I least had a few to of them to show case. 


by Susan May Warren
Daughters of Fortune Series


by Lisa T. Bergren
River of Time Series


by Siri Mitchell


by Tracy Higley


by Lisa T. Bergren
The Homeward Trilogy


by Dani Pettrey
Alaska Courage Series


by Sigmund Brouwer


How did your single word title search go?
Do we have any duplicates or did you find some I didn't feature?
Let me know in the comments below...I'm always looking for new suggestions. :-)

Review: Veiled In Smoke by Jocelyn Green

March 2, 2020

Title: Veiled In Smoke
Author: Jocelyn Green
Publisher: Bethany House
Pages: 416
ISBN: 9780764233302
Publication Date: February 4th, 2020

About the Book:
The Flames Took So Much.She Can't Lose Her Father As Well.

Meg Townsend and her sister, Sylvie, seek a quiet existence managing the family bookshop. Meg feels responsible for caring for their father, Stephen, whose spirit and health are both damaged from his time as a prisoner during the Civil War. Her one escape is the paintings she creates and sells in the bookshop.

Then the Great Fire sweeps through Chicago's business district. The fiery explosions and chaos stir up memories of war for Stephen as he runs from the blaze and becomes separated from his daughters. Days later, when the smoke has cleared, Meg and Sylvie manage to reunite with him. Their home and shop are lost, and what's left among the ashes may be even more threatening than the flames, for they learn that a close friend was murdered the night of the fire--and Stephen has been charged with the crime. After he is committed to the Cook County Insane Asylum, where they cannot visit him, Stephen feels as lost to them as the shop that now lies in rubble.

Though homeless and suddenly unemployed, Meg must not only gather the pieces of her shattered life but prove the truth of what happened that night, before the asylum truly drives her father mad.
My Thoughts:
I look forward to this time of year. Not because of spring, oh no, it's book season! Several of my favorite authors are releasing new books and it is the most wonderful time. One of my all time favorite authors, Jocelyn Green, just released her newest book. And goodness, what a story it was!

I've only read one other historical fiction book on the Great Chicago Fire and it was very interesting. I was excited to see how the story in Veiled in Smoke would play out. I was not disappointed!

Veiled in Smoke was a book that had the Chicago Fire as the main focus of the story, but the characters we follow deal with so much from before the fire all the way through the rebuild. This book was one that yes, focused on a huge tragedy, but it also a book that brought other historical tragedies into the spotlight as well. The Chicago fire took place not long after the Civil War ended. The men that survived are back home with their families, some fully, some only in body. Their minds were elsewhere.

Meg and Sylvie are two grown sisters doing their best to get by running a bookstore and painting. They lost their mom a few years back, and their dad who served in the war is home, but has been injured mentally.

Having been dealt a hard blow to the family, Meg and Sylvie are close, but they are complete opposites in every fashion. They each view things differently and when that happens, like it does in many families, it can cause tension, when thrown into a huge stressful situation on top of it, family ties are tested. Jocelyn Green was able to write and portray this struggle so well. It is something so many people have gone through, in some form or fashion, and you can see both sides of it when reading this book.

Stephen, Meg and Sylvie's father has lived a hard life during the war. During this time, PTSD wasn't known about, wasn't studied, other then they didn't come back fully from the war and suffered a soldier's heart. Reading about Stephen and the struggles he faced and the internal battles he fights is heartbreaking. This is a struggle that many battle now and Jocelyn Green was able to spotlight the importance of care for someone who has been mentally hurt. You hurt for Stephen and the circumstance he is thrown into and for his family who are battling it in their own way. The emotional connection is strong with this story in so many ways.

Nate Pierce was the strength and the steady head in a lot of this book. He was a reporter. He was after the truth and seeking out details. He tried to not let emotions get to him, but he offered a whole new perspective and visual then what Meg and Sylvie and their father had. He brought a balance to the story. He brought a unique look of the outsider, who wasn't affected by the fire personally, but it affected him through others.

There is so much growth and depth in these characters. The background for this book is one that can be dark and depressing, but Jocelyn Green is able to write in and bring this story to one of hope.

I'm so glad that this is the first book in this saga, I enjoyed getting to know the Townsend family and I wasn't ready to say good-by.

This was just a stunning book in so many way.

5 out of 5

About the Author:
Jocelyn Green (www.jocelyngreen.com) inspires faith and courage as the award-winning and bestselling author of numerous fiction and nonfiction books, including The Mark of the King, Wedded to War, and The 5 Love Languages Military Edition, which she coauthored with bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman. Her books have garnered starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly, and have been honored with the Christy Award, the gold medal from the Military Writers Society of America, and the Golden Scroll Award from the Advanced Writers & Speakers Association. She graduated from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, with a BA in English, concentration in writing. Jocelyn lives with her husband, Rob, and two children in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Visit her at www.jocelyngreen.com.






Thank you to the author, I received a copy of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.


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