Anita Ojeda Get carried away with these inspirational historical romance titles from some of today’s most talented authors!
I receive free electronic advanced reader copies of these books through an arrangement between the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion on NetGalley’s website. I only review books on my blog that I really love.
What do you keep in your summer book bag? I keep mine stocked with inspirational historical romance, suspense, and a few old classics (Jane Austen tops the list). These three new releases will make you laugh, give you chills, and delight you with faraway scenes.
Storing Up Trouble
By Jen Turano, Bethany House Publishers, May 2020, 363 pages.
Miss Beatrix Waterbury’s parents have banished her to Chicago to stay with her Aunt Gladys because she’s ended up in jail one too many times. They hope a respite from New York society will help her settle down and forget about the suffragette movement. But her train ride proves most unsettling. Robbers board the train and when Beatrix tries to take things in hand (why DO men think a woman can’t shoot a gun?), she ends up having to escape the train with Mr. Norman Nesbit, the most infuriating man she has ever met.
When she finally arrives in Chicago, Mr. Nesbit insists on escorting her to her aunt’s residence. He even picks her up and carries her across the hallway when he questions her aunt’s suitability to act as guardian for Beatrix. While Beatrix admits that her aunt doesn’t seem conventional, she certainly seems harmless enough.
When Aunt Gladys challenges Beatrix to take a job at Marshal Field’s Department Store to experience life as a working girl, Beatrix agrees. She can’t seem to avoid trouble, though, and discovers just how unfairly the store treats women. And for some odd reason, the annoying Mr. Nesbit keeps showing up. Along with more trouble.
Norman Nesbit has grown up believing in his special status as a man who above-average intelligence. He has wanted for nothing his entire life. Something about Miss Beatrix Waterbury shakes him out of his normal routines and causes him to make changes that shock his indulgent family. Now, if he could just figure out who wants to steal his important research, he could set his mind to figuring out the problem of Miss Waterbury.
Why I Love This Book
I love how Turano’s tight prose keeps the story moving along with rollicking scenes of mishap and mayhem. Her characters have quirks and foibles that make them both endearing and relatable. Readers who’ve enjoyed the first two books in the American Heiress series (Flights of Fancy and Diamond in the Rough) will adore this third installment.
I adore the American Heiress series from @JenTurano! You'll fall in love with Norman Nesbit and Beatrix Waterbury from the first gunshot. #amreading #bookreview Click To TweetMasquerade at Middlecrest Abbey
By Abigail Wilson, Thomas Nelson, May 2020, 336 pages.
Elizabeth Cantrell has landed herself in a mess. Just when she thought she had found a way to provide for herself and her son with dignity, her plans get turned upside down—literally. A highwayman causes her coach to roll, and her injuries require that she spend the night in a nearby inn with Lord Torrington.
Lord Torrington offers a marriage of convenience to save Elizabeth’s last morsel of reputation. As a spy for the Crown, he hopes that their marriage will protect his cover and he’ll ferret out vital information from a French spy ring.
Neither one expects Middlecrest Abbey to turn into a hotspot of murder, intrigue, and broken hearts. Elizabeth must keep up the front of a newly-in-love bride while dealing with disgruntled dowagers, grown-up step-daughters, and a cantankerous housekeeper.
Each new danger makes her question both her choice to remain and all she thought she knew about her husband.
Why I Love This Book
Wilson weaves three things I love into her Regency-era novels—mystery, romance, and suspense. The well-developed main characters experience growth, grace, and forgiveness as they navigate the complicated mess they’ve landed in. Wilson’s craft keeps the reader guessing as to the identity of the villain—many characters have motive and opportunity.
If you enjoy Michele Griep’s books, you’ll enjoy Wilson’s books as well. Characters from In the Shadow of Croft Towers appear in this book, but one doesn’t need to read the other book in order to enjoy this one. If you haven’t read Midnight on the River Grey, you’ll want to pick that one up, too!
@acwilsonbooks knows how to write a historical suspense novel that inspires and makes you think. Check out her newest release #MasqueradeatMiddlecrestAbbey today #amreading #bookreview #romance Click To TweetA Mosaic of Wings
By Kimberly Duffy, Bethany House, May 2020, 368 pages.
Nora Shipley wants nothing more than to take over the scientific journal her beloved father started. She feels continuing his legacy will somehow make up for the part she played in his death. Maybe. But women in the 1880s have few options other than what society believes they should do.
Lucius, her stepfather, pressures her to marry—even though Nora wants to continue her studies at Cornell University and obtain her master’s degree. Her invalid mother wants to pin Nora to her side, much like a collector pins a specimen.
When an unfortunate dinner party sparks the loss of all Nora held dear, she decides to accept her professor’s challenge and join a research program in India—far from her churlish stepfather and clinging mother.
While in India, she discovers that people’s attitudes about ‘a woman’s place’ differ little from back home. She also discovers that her annoying classmate, Owen Epps, has a distinctly different attitude. Once rivals in the classroom, they become friends.
As they spend time together, Nora realizes that Owen is far different from what she thought he was. He seems to know her better than she knows herself, and he doesn’t hesitate to encourage her to become all God wants her to be.
When Nora makes a difficult choice to help a local girl, she plunges herself into danger and the possible loss of her budding career.
Why I Love This Book
Normally, etymology fascinates me more than entomology—but Duffy makes the study of insects seem like something I’d want to do. She also has a way of presenting spiritual truths through the voices of her characters in such a way that they grab ahold and make the reader think.
New author #KimberlyDuffy releases a gorgeous, textured tale of India and New York, love and forgiveness. #amreading #bookrelease #netgalley #bookreview Click To Tweet
