Book Talk Tuesdays: March 2018 New Releases

Note: Clicking on the picture of the book will take you to Amazon. I am an Amazon affiliate. Net Galley sends me advanced digital copies of these books in exchange for my honest opinion on their website. I only feature books that I really love on my blog.

The Innkeeper’s Daughter

By Michelle Griep, published by Shilo Run Press, 322 pages, March 1, 2018

Johanna Langley walks a tightrope between success and the workhouse. In order to keep the Blue Hedge Inn solvent, she must make a crazy border pay his shot, figure out how to raise enough money to pay a looming debt, and keep her mam from doing too much and her little brother from doing too little. So when a handsome guest arrives asking for a place to stay, Johann thinks her woes have ended. Only they haven’t.

Bow Street runner, Officer Alexander Moore takes on a new assignment for his mentor and boss—only this time, he’ll operate on his own with little assurance of help should things go wrong. His task? Find a traitor in Dover before national security gets compromised. After all, Bonaparte could strike at any moment.

Alex bemoans his guardian’s explicit instructions to forego the nice inn in Dover and stay at the derelict Blue Hedge Inn instead. But when he sees the innkeeper’s daughter, he changes his tune. As he gets to know Johanna better, he starts to understand for the first time why men settle down and marry. But he has no time for relationships nor romance, he has a traitor to ferret out.

The plot twists and turns like a sign hanging by one hook in the wind. Can Johanna learn to trust a man who seems just like her father? A man who gambled away the family’s resources and died far too young? Despite his kindness, Alex represents everything she despises in a man. Or does he?

You’ll have a difficult time putting this book down. Readers will enjoy this well-researched tale with an ordinary heroine and hero. Griep proves that a book doesn’t have to feature a duke and a duchess wannabe in order to entertain and inspire.

Beneath the Surface

By Lynn H. Blackburn, published by Revell, 353 pages, March 6, 2018

Homicide investigator Ryan Parker discovers a body on a deep-water dive in Lake Porter. A body the killer had no intention of anyone ever discovering. When he asks Leigh Weston if the police department can borrow her dock for the investigation, he thinks it will provide an easy opportunity to fulfill his best friend’s request—keep an eye out on his little sister, Leigh, while his friend is out of the country.

Leigh has long since grown up. She recently returned home to Carrington, NC, to work as a physician’s assistant in the hospital’s emergency department. When she sees Ryan for the first time in years, she knows that she hasn’t outgrown her crush on him. Now that she’s older, she wonders if perhaps her big brother Kirk might have warned his friends away from her. Whatever the case, she appreciates the police presence around her house. She knows her stalker can longer bother her, but the effects of his actions have her on edge.

When things start happening at work, Leigh wonders whether she had two stalkers—and one has followed her to her new town. Ryan hopes that Kirk’s injunction on dating his kid sister has ended, because no matter how hard he tries, he can’t deny his feelings for her.

Blackburn keeps readers flipping pages late into the night with this thriller. The characters have depth and deal with problems that readers can relate to as well. The secondary characters have interesting lives and intrigues that Blackburn will feature in future books in this new series (Dive Team Investigations).

The Heart’s Appeal

by Jennifer Delamere, published by Bethany House, March 6, 386 pages

The second installment of the London Beginnings series by Jennifer Delamere focuses on Julia Bernay, orphaned daughter of a ship’s captain. She and her sisters, Rosalyn and Cara, grew up in George Müller’s orphanage in Bristol, England. After Rosalyn makes a successful start in London, Julie finds the courage (and resources), to move there as well. She plans on furthering her nursing training and studying medicine.

Whilst riding the underground trains to attend a lecture, the train wrecks and Julia uses her medical knowledge as a nurse to save the life of a fellow passenger. Unbeknownst to her, the life she saves belongs to Michael Stephenson, a young barrister involved in a lawsuit against the medical school for women that Julia hopes to attend.

This well-researched novel explores the British social classes during a time of great change in society. Julia’s training and upbringing question the long-held beliefs of the aristocracy about the place of the poor in the world. She knows God has called her to use her gifts of healing and empathy to minister to the poor in Africa, but it seems as if she’ll never become a doctor.

Her growing friendship with Michael makes her question her calling. For Michael, his friendship with Julia throws into disarray all of his long-held plans. Plans he made with his devoted sister to regain their social standing after their father’s death.

If you love historical inspirational books, you’ll love this one. Careful historical research and attention to details make it a delight to read. You don’t need to read the first book in the series in order to enjoy this one (but you might as well, it’s a great book, too!).

What are you reading these days?