Litfuse Blog Tour: The Courier of Caswell Hall by Melanie Dobson

from the Publisher:

An unlikely spy discovers freedom and love in the midst of the American Revolution.

As the British and Continental armies wage war in 1781, the daughter of a wealthy Virginia plantation owner feels conflict raging in her own heart. Lydia Caswell comes from a family of staunch Loyalists, but she cares only about peace. Her friend Sarah Hammond, however, longs to join the fight. Both women’s families have already been divided by a costly war that sets father against son and neighbor against neighbor; a war that makes it impossible to guess who can be trusted.

One snowy night Lydia discovers a wounded man on the riverbank near Caswell Hall, and her decision to save him will change her life. Nathan introduces her to a secret network of spies, couriers, disguises, and coded messages—a network that may be the Patriots’ only hope for winning the war. When British officers take over Caswell Hall and wreak havoc on neighboring plantations, Lydia will have to choose between loyalty and freedom; between her family’s protection and her own heart’s desires.

As both armies gather near Williamsburg for a pivotal battle, both Lydia and Sarah must decide how high a price they are willing to pay to help the men they love.

One of the reasons I  appreciate the Courier of Caswell Hall is that it delves into a period of history that I still feel is largely untouched in Christian historical romance.  C’mon, you guys, your revolutionary war years are fascinating: the espionage, the loyalists and the new americans, the rife and imminent threat of the French Indian wars still hot on your heels.  I find it really fascinating as a new world tries to emerge and the historical details in Dobson’s book reflect her obvious passion for history, and for this integral part of American history.

I also very much appreciated how independent, intelligent and strong-willed our parallel heroines are.  Romance is, certainly, a part of their lives; but their convictions and moral compasses are the driving forces. Their willingness to obey God beyond human expectation and the rigidity of their circumstance.  When romance is granted them it is again a force for the independent: severing them from the apropos and ordinary.

I must confess that, at the beginning, the switch between Lydia and Sarah’s stories felt a little wobbly and forced to me; but the pairing did eventually find solid grounding.

Lately, I have been trying very hard to focus on what makes opening chapters so readable, memorable and fantastic. Here, we are dropped in the action immediately when Lydia goes for a stroll and finds a stranger. The premonition that this might be the enemy weighs heavily on the reader as she tries to do her Christian duty by nursing him to health while hiding him from her conservative father.  The familial tension, Lydia’s severed family ( the disappearance of her brother) and her political unrest of a world torn asunder are made immediately transparent.

There are edges of mystery on every page. The Courier of Caswell Hall is a bittersweet goodbye to the Summerside Press American Tapestry series. Readers should relish the unique setting, vivid historical canvas, and independent and incorrigible heroines who find love and adventure when the novel spins to a satisfying end.   I loved the battlefield sequences and the patchwork quilt of historical references including General Washington and Lord Cornwallis.  This is an exciting, edifying time period made illustrious when pitted against the beautiful Virginia setting of the novel.

If you’re into solid faith fiction with mistaken identities, the promise of love and tons of adventure, then look no further than here.

Litfuse Landing Page

Buy on AMAZON

visit Melanie Dobson on the web

Litfuse Blog Tour: When Jesus Wept by Brock and Bodie Thoene

The Thoenes never disappoint. Their painstaking research, passion for Israel and its compelling history and keen ability to breathe life into Biblical settings leaves me in constant awe.

But, alas, my schedule has been disappointing. What with a full-time job and trying my hand at this author thing, I have fallen behind in my reading and, unfortunately, have not yet completed this book I have been so anxious for.

While it's still fresh in everyone's minds and continually showing up on the  ECPA best-seller lists each week, I wanted to ensure that my readership knew it was out there and available NOW...even if your friendly neighbourhood Rachel has fallen a bit behind.

Our friends at Litfuse offered a Chat with Brock and Bodie regarding the story and... if you missed it... you can catch up by visiting the still-existing facebook site here  . If you're anything like me, you enjoy the moment when readers as voraciously passionate about the written word as yourself have a moment to zealously squeal with the authors of said words.
Check out the Litfuse Landing page 
Visit Bodie and Brock on the web


About the Book:

Book 1 in the Thoene’s new  Jerusalem Chronicles.

Brock and Bodie Thoene’s most powerful and climactic writing project to date, When Jesus Wept, captures the power and the passion of the men and women who lived through the most important days in the history of the world.

Lazarus occupies a surprising position in the Gospel accounts. Widely known as the man Jesus raised from the dead, his story is actually much broader and richer than that. Living as he did at Bethany, near Jerusalem, Lazarus was uniquely placed to witness the swirl of events around Jesus. When Jesus Wept, the first novel in The Jerusalem Chronicles series by bestselling authors Bodie and Brock Thoene, unfolds the turbulent times in Judea during Jesus’ ministry, centering on the friendship between Jesus and Lazarus. With rich insights from vineyard owners and vine dressers, the Thoenes explore the metaphor of Jesus as the True Vine, harvesting the ancient secrets found in the Old Testament.

Weaving the life of Lazarus, who owned a vineyard, into the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ will help you understand it is the hand of Love Divine that holds the knife, that cuts and breaks with such tender and loving touch, and that we who have born some fruit, after the pruning, can bear much more.

Litfuse Blog Tour: " Grave Consequences" by Lisa T. Bergren

There are very few authors who could pull this off.  It's a trilogy about the Grand Tours of yore, flitting between the first person narrative of our hero, Cora, and the third person narrative of the "Bear" (read: Tour guide with the best job in the world. Bar none).

It's not just the play on narrative voice, though. No, it is the attention to detail so that each grand European adventure is pitted out and displayed in sepia-toned snapshot for the reader to mentally emblazon with dialogue and action.

I suppose I could meander at this moment about plot ( young Cora Kensington introduced in Grand Illusions is still traipsing throughout Europe while attempting to find her identity, acclimatizing herself to the her new role as a young heiress, far from the ordinary routine of her American farm, learning to love her new brothers and sisters, juggling her feelings for a dashing Frenchman and the obvious chemistry she has with Will, etc., etc) but I don't find the plot to be the most exceptional part of the story; it is the experience. I love traveling the world with these people. I love re-visiting some places I have been and seeing their great attractions through their eyes and imagining other places I have only read about and how they might look in Will and Cora's Age.

While the first novel in the trilogy did well at examining the whir and change and shift of social classes from an old world ( emblemized further by the ruins and monuments they visit on their tour) on the brink of something new, the second book introduces Cora's fascination with the Suffrage movement. There is a lovely, lovely thought explored when Cora sees her male companions jumping into the river and longs to try it on her own in a scandalous night time leap.  We feel that this represents Cora's longing to lunge into something new---as a young woman on the precipice of something great.  Torn between her need to live up to her familial obligations and appease her "new" family and to stay true to her own passions and convictions.  A few brushes with romance do nothing to untangle her thoughts.


I knew going into this book what relationships and romantic paths are the most integral to Cora's self-realization but the journey, much as the journey which takes our young sojourners across lavish, opulent Europe, is what was worth my investment.

Here's the Litfuse Landing Page 
Visit Lisa on the web

random rant: don't judge this book by its cover. 

Litfuse Blog Tour: Fear, Faith and a Fistful of Chocolate

Fear, Faith and a Fistful of Chocolate, is a light, anecdotal and humorous approach to the little worries which plague us each day.

Christian humourist Deborah Coty doesn't hold back when it comes to infusing her short, devotional-sized motivational chapters with personal experiences making for an easy, short read ideal for women's groups and church book clubs.

Each chapter starts with a scripture verse to get the ball rolling. From there, Coty walks us through a few real-life examples, targeting fears---from general to overt--- and typing them up with discussion questions and thoughts to ponder independently or in a group.

Coty has a light, breezy style with some gentle, clean humour devoid of any edge. If you are looking for a sweet book ( a gift book, perhaps?), this might be the perfect idea--- tied with a bit of chocolate and with the promise of discussing its wisdom after each nugget has been exhumed and pondered.

Enter the Kindle Fire Giveaway!

Enter Today - 2/14 - 3/6!


visit the Litfuse Landing Page here 

Litfuse Blog Tour: Secretly Smitten

Just in time for Valentine's Day, romance lovers have the chance to steal away to the idyllic little logging town of Smitten. Therein, they'll find lampposts wreathed with twinkle lights, a main street with charming old-fashioned shops, a delightful cast of quirky characters and three sisters---and a mom--- who get a chance at love.

Kristin Billerbeck, Colleen Coble, Denise Hunter and Diann Hunt whisk you away in four separate but intertwining vignettes about four prospective relationships.

Think of it like a box of chocolates with a creamy centre.  The outside of the box features the girls' attempt to unravel the mystery of a pair of dog tags found in their grandma's attic and late of the Vietnam War.  This charming mystery provides the outer layer, inside, you can pick and choose whatever your favourite treat, bite in and taste the confectionary delight of four very different but very charming romances.

My favourites included the budding relationship between sweet widower Ryan ( who, ladies, runs the ice cream parlour in town and makes a mean chocolate fudge sundae) and Tess --- whose curves and outgoing demeanour and large heart make it hard for her to believe she will find true love. Especially with someone as handsome as Ryan ( even though she's secretly pined for him for years).

Zoe is eager to help skim off the shyness of her townspeople by creating and marketing a chance for them to get to know each other in a social and romantic setting. Cupid's Arrow seems the perfect match-making service but, unfortunately, William Singer is worried about how the enterprise will mar the perfect town and city regulations and codes he is so set on observing.

This book and its lovely little stories remind me very much of the saccharine fare of the Hallmark television movies (that even though I good-naturedly mock, I obviously enjoy) and that is just what we all need during this month dedicated to love and romance! So get some dark chocolate, pour yourself a sweet glass of pinot and sink into these light and lovely stories.

From  a stylistic viewpoint, I must admit that I was impressed with the way that four different authors with four completely different voices were able to weave together a stories that while quite different, stitch together quite seamlessly.


Litfuse Landing page here

Make sure to join the event:


RSVP Today!

Litfuse Blog Tour: Safe In His Arms by Colleen Coble

Born and raised on sprawling Texas land, Margaret O’Brien prides herself on her competence as a rancher. But her father believes she’s made for more than just dawn-to-dusk work. He wants her to have the love of a good man, to raise children, to build a life. But Margaret gave up such dreams years ago. She’s convinced no man would have her, that the ranch is her life now.

So when Margaret’s father hires Daniel Cutler as a new foreman, she’s frustrated and suspicious. Then an overheard conversation links him with a gang of bank robbers, and she’s downright worried. Daniel swears he’s not involved, but Margaret’s not convinced. She knows the man still has secrets. But would a criminal be so kind and talk so convincingly of his faith? As a series of tragic “accidents” threatens all she holds dear, Margaret must decide what to trust: her own ears, her best judgment . . . or what her heart keeps telling her.

From the author of the best-selling Blue Moon Promise . . . an exciting tale of danger, romance, and faith played out under Texas stars.

I have to confess that this tour crept up on me and I haven't finished reading the book yet. You will note that I have been posting intermittently of late and that is a result of a few personal projects that have been taking my time and that I can share with you later.

I can tell you that devoted readers of Colleen Coble's work ( and there are many ) will feel at home in this world.   Readers who are looking for their next Western romance and adventure have also come to the right party.  I have yet to read the first in the series Blue Moon Promise and while I am aware of over-lapping characters, I have caught on rather quickly ---such is the gift of an author who is able to work on stringing threads from previous novels together while making them work as stand-alones.

Coble has a wide historical and contemporary range and her storytelling ability and light characterization easily sweep all eras.

While, unfortunately, I am not able to infuse more of my personal opinions of the story so early in my reading of it, I can say whole-heartedly that Coble knows her marketplace and writes for the enjoyment of her readers.   I hope you've found your next read! 

I received this copy through the Publisher 

Here's the Litfuse Landing Page

Litfuse Blog Tour: The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen

I am kind of doing double-duty on The Tutor’s Daughter and will be writing a feature review for the Novel Crossing website in the near future.  << UPDATE: HERE IS THAT REVIEW>>

However, OBVIOUSLY, I wanted to take part in the Litfuse blog tour  and want to give you a taste of a few of the exceptionally readable parts of this compelling tale:

Take note….

If you like Jane Austen you have come to the right party. As fast as you can say Northanger Abbey, The Tutor’s Daughter scales the great cliffs of Cornwall, its haunted old stone churches and its treacherous seascapes and paints this lugubrious canvas with mystery, intrigue and ROMANCE…. Yes! ROMANCE!

So, a few snapshots of what you are getting yourself into:

Those Wily Westons:

There’s dashing and amiable Philip and Darcy-esque Henry ( who is, of course, outwardly brooding and tortured and surly for a good reason) and two spirited younger brothers under the tutelage of Emma Smallwood’s father

There’s EMMA:

A feisty bookworm who, just like me, would rather shove her trunks full of books instead of clothes (duh!) when preparing a trip to the coast. Her journal entries? Divine.  Her Jane Eyre-esque penchant for hearing soft noises and music at night? SO Thornfield. Her annoyance with the insufferable flirt Lizzie? The same annoyance I would have.

The world of The Tutor’s Daughter takes us to a different kind of estate than the previous manors introduced in Klassen’s Regency Fiction.  The sea pairing and the whirling history and mystery surrounding the tale will leave you with the best kind of chills. Indeed, I am not usually thrown off the scent as a reader, but even I was left guessing as to motive and outcome…..

Check out this LifeWay video wherein Julie answers questions on Christian fiction and Publishing and her passion for Jane Austen:

Want to WIN stuff? Downton Abbey Stuff? Make sure you RSVP for the January 31st Facebook Party to enter to win a Downton Abbey Kindle Prize Pack! 

Make sure you go to the LITFUSE LANDING PAGE to visit the other tour stops.

I received this book care of Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.

Today's stops:

1/16/2013
Chelsey | Charming Chelsey's
Lydia Harris | Squidmom
Paula | The Phantom Paragrapher
Athena | Our Crazy Life
Rachel | a fair substitute for heaven
LaTawnia | LaTawnia Kintz Reviews
Danielle | The Happy Wife

Litfuse Blog Tour: Every Perfect Gift by Dorothy Love

From the Publisher
Ethan and Sophie long to share a future together. But the secrets they’re not sharing could tear them apart. Sophie Caldwell has returned to Hickory Ridge, Tennessee, after years away. Despite the heartaches of her childhood, Sophie is determined to make a home, and a name, for herself in the growing town. A gifted writer, she plans to resurrect the local newspaper that so enchanted her as a girl.  Ethan Heyward’s idyllic childhood was shattered by a tragedy he has spent years trying to forget. An accomplished businessman and architect, he has built a majestic resort in the mountains above Hickory Ridge, drawing wealthy tourists from all over the country. When Sophie interviews Ethan for the paper, he is impressed with her intelligence and astounded by her beauty. She’s equally intrigued; but fears he will reject her if he learns about her shadowed past. Just as she summons the courage to tell him, Ethan’s own past unexpectedly and violently catches up with him, threatening not only his life but their budding romance. 

 They say that you can’t judge a book by its cover; but, readers, the moment I saw this delicious winter-scape, I wanted to step inside its world.

Unfortunately, for a book that begins with a lot of action: including an orphan finding a home, newspaper interviews between a hard-won hero and an exotic beauty and a riot in the streets, the pace following the first few chapters drops and one is left with a lot of ponderous scenes riddled with forced dialogue and a very slow-booming romance which must eke its way out of initial attraction.

I previously read Beyond All Measure and have found that it doesn’t take long to get into this book and into the stride of the characters, regardless of whether you are initiated to the world of Hickory Ridge.

The sparks immediately fly on Ethan Heyward’s behalf; but they take a little longer to blossom on Sophie’s, only because she has been hurt and neglected in the past. Her safe-guarding of her heart pairs well with her strong and independent spirit as a woman ahead of her time. She is also a woman with a rather exotic and interesting heritage, which immediately put me in mind of a heroine (also named Sophie) from Through Rushing Water by Catherine Richmond. Sophie is a real go-getter, willing to work against the odds to turn the Gazette into a worthy news source. Immediately, with her spunk, cleverness and spirited aplomb, I was put in mind of Olivia King in Road to Avonlea* whose early work the chronicle led her to excavate some of the darker and deeper secrets of a squeaky clean town. 

I expected a lot more from the story; but am settled by the fact that it features my type of spirited woman, an obligatory ball scene to throw its two protagonists into the whirl of a waltz, and a finely-wrapped up ending ---perfectly tied with the singing of a few carols and a reminder of the title's inspirational source.

While the novel ends with Christmas, it is not shrouded in the festive spirit as the title suggests; nonetheless, the action is packaged with a lovely red bow. This book greatly put me in mind of some of the more recent politically-charged historicals of similar time period solidifying my belief that readers who enjoy Elizabeth Camden, Tamara Alexander and Ann Gabhart will find a home in this novel.

*I will do anything to toss in a Road to Avonlea reference. 

My thanks to Litfuse Publicity for receiving this book care of Thomas Nelson.

Please visit the Litfuse landing page for other reviews of this title 

Litfuse Blog Tour: The Heiress by Susan May Warren

Today is a bit of a first on the blog as I introduce the first novel I have reviewed here by Susan May Warren.  This is not my first Warren book, however; but my first historical.

A little about Susan May Warren, one of the best-loved writers in the Christian market:

 Susan May Warren is an award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty-five novels, many of which have won the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, the ACFW Book of the Year award, the Rita Award, and have been Christy finalists. After serving as a missionary for eight years in Russia , Susan returned home to a small town on Minnesota ’s beautiful Lake Superior shore where she, her four children, and her husband are active in their local church.

Susan's larger than life characters and layered plots have won her acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. A seasoned women’s events and retreats speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: From the Inside-Out: discover, create and publish the novel in you!. She is also the founder ofwww.MyBookTherapy.com, a story-crafting service that helps authors discover their voice.

Susan makes her home in northern Minnesota , where she is busy cheering on her two sons in football, and her daughter in local theater productions (and desperately missing her college-age son!)

The Heiress is the first historical novel I have read by Susan May Warren.  Similar to the award-winning novel, She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell, The Heiress is set in the Gilded Age and features a heroine torn between her high society standing and recognizing the tarnished edges beneath the sheen of society’s gloss.

Retelling the story of Jacob and Esau, the novel (the first in the Daughters of Fortune trilogy) spins the tale of high-spirited Esme: the eldest daughter, the first to lay claim to birthright.  Esme follows closely the news unraveling in the tenements and the slums of the cities and remains captivated by the surge of female journalists way-laying their traditional domestic role and by the photos of social documenter Jacob Riis. Esme is desperate to rip away from her father’s newspaper empire and craft a journalist’s life of her own: leaving parties and corsets behind.

Jinx, the youngest, envies her sister’s birthright: most so when a devastating family secret looms near enough to prove she should have right of succession. Beguiled by parties, social outings and the near-looming presence of the wealthy match intended for her elder sister, Jinx wallows in envy: learns the ways of a social flirt and excels at being the opposite to Esme’s social conscious and moral compass.

No two sisters could be more unlike and yet when their separate plots spin wayward, we begin to realize the similarities in their passions, love and plights. While Esme loves the butler’s son, Oliver: a ruffian who lives in Hell’s Kitchen to better understand and unmask the social depravity therein;  Jinx falls in love with a man forbidden her: an emblem of wealth and prosperity made problematic due to the care and attentiveness Jinx is unused to and its clash with her own sense of worthlessness.

Family secrets, violence, underhanded deeds and the claim on birthright propel the story in a fast-paced waltz symbolic of the lavish gatherings these characters populate.

I couldn’t help but think of Downton Abbey or the Foryste Saga while reading this family soap opera.  There is high melodrama here including a rather poorly set up case of mistaken identity in a nightly tryst : it was questionable moments like this that not only made me feel less and less empathy for the lead characters; but also recalled some of Tracie Peterson’s dime-novel tactics (remember the evil/good twins Chase and Jayce in one of the Alaska series?).

I have read a contemporary chicklit of Warren’s and found it rather diverting and pleasant and plotted out.   I count the aforementioned questionable writing methods as rookie mistakes in the historical vein and have high hopes for the series; for I really think she has enough of the captivating story-teller about her to smooth out any glitches in subsequent novels. Thus, I do recommend this book highly, despite its inaugural hiccups.

As mentioned, I found the characters in the novel very hard to empathize with: made more so by the penchant the author has for intruding with historical detail that does not ingrain itself with verisimilitude or sensibility; rather is mushed into dialogue: choppy and uneven. By mid-novel complaints I had of pages and pages of set-up dialogue (often terse, loquacious and inserted as a method of double, no, triple checking that we followed what period she was writing in and the idiosyncrasies therein) tapered off slightly and Warren found her stride.

So, we are told rather than shown of Esme and Jinx’s conflicting beliefs, of their opposing natures and, near middle, of their similar circumstance.  Warren does well at pitting one against society while showing the other’s weakness at the prospect of losing the comfortable lifestyle she is accustomed to.

I must give an upgrade to the book due to the winsome heroes:  Bennett, Jinx’s eventual suitor, is a kind and flawed man who sees the worth beyond her family fortune and upscale name. Oliver holds a torch for Esme for years and watches in periphery as she is catapulted into a life expected by her family.

This is high melodrama; but I do commend Warren on her spicy and sensual approach to the relationships painted in the novel. There is moral fibre, yes, but not at the expense of humanity.  Not unlike Laura Frantz's portrayal of young and vibrant physical relationships and passion in Courting Morrow Little, as one example.  I enjoy that Warren infuses her work with this vitality and, even though her fiction is set in a Christian sphere, I find this enhances its believability and readability.

I appreciate the rather passionate undertones of the book and Warren’s knack for description. She has a way of alluding to the physical in a few, slight words and the book, at times, and given its spicy tone, is well-handled by her talent: leaving  you with just enough to paint in the imaginative blanks in your mind’s eye. I only wish this, one of her obvious strengths, was the same measure taken when painting her historical canvas.

The first in a series full of danger, mystery, social conditioning, tangled love, secrets and betrayal--- enough to make me want to follow through the end and to lose myself in the escapist world of horseless carriages, crinoline and afternoon tennis matches, yachts and dinner parties once more.

I'll be checking out more of Susan May Warren's books and I hope you do, too!

There is a sneak peek chapter on Susan's website so you can get a feel of the story!

Make sure you check out Susan's blog here

You can order the book on amazon!

Also, AWESOME contest care of LITFUSE:  make sure you visit their website for details: Enter to win an opulent Gilded Age prize pack fit for an heiress in Susan May Warren’s fun giveaway ($100 to ModCloth.com, iPod Shuffle, Pearls, Titanic, Music & More!)!

There, you will also find the listings for the full blog tour so that you can read what others think about The Heiress!

My thanks to Litfuse for allowing me to take part in this exciting tour and for the copy of this exciting new novel!