Anita Ojeda Between Two Shores
Jocelyn Green’s meticulous historical research meets with lush prose in her latest release, Between Two Shores. Catherine Stands-Apart Duval makes the choice as a young girl to live with her French father when her Mohawk mother dies. She often regrets her decision.
Her choice alienates her from her siblings and her mother’s people. Although she yearns for the Papa she knew as a child, she seldom sees him. He sends her across the river to Montreal to a school that promises to take the ‘savage’ out of her. When that fails, he begrudgingly allows her to stay home and help him at his trading post.
The one person who makes life bearable, Samuel Crane, understands Catherine’s balancing act between two cultures. His life changed forever when raiders kill his parents and carry him off captive to Canada—where Catherine’s father pays a ransom for him. Over the years, he and Catherine become soul mates.
But then he disappears, taking all of Catherine’s dreams of love and family with him. When he shows up again, France and England have turned the area into a battlefield. But this time, he wants Catherine to guide him on a journey that turns her into an enemy of the state.
Kudos for Cultural Sensitivity
I found this story compelling for so many reasons. First of all, Green challenges the notion that Native Americans were the only ‘savage’ people living during this time and place—a more realistic view of history than many books about this era present. She teaches readers about the different customs and ways of seeing that different Native tribes embrace.
For the most part, she identifies Native Americans by their tribe name rather than the general term ‘Indian’ (which would be akin to thinking that everyone from the European continent has a ‘European’ passport). Furthermore, she avoids the epic love story trope while at the same time presenting the readers with the most epic love story of all.
Don't miss @JocelynGreen77 's latest release. It's epic and beautiful AND culturally sensitive. #amreading #bookreview Click To TweetA Desperate Hope
Her entire life, Eloise Drake has wanted to belong. Her parents never seemed to want her, and at the tender age of ten they’d dropped her off at a hillside mansion with her guardian. She spent hours watching the small town of Duval Springs do life in the valley below. The summer she turned fifteen, she finally mustered the courage to visit Duval Springs. And met Alex Duval.
They shared a glorious friendship and fell in love—only to have their castles in the air crash around them when Eloise’s guardian, ‘Bone-Crusher’ Bruce Garret discovered the extent of their relationship.
Twelve years after that fateful discovery, Eloise has remade herself into a proper woman of great accomplishments. She is one of six certified public accountants in the state of New York, and has a respectable job with the New York State Water Board. When her supervisor sends her and three co-workers off to Duval Springs to assess the town for demolition, Eloise almost refuses. After all, Alex Duval acts as the town’s mayor. She has no desire to ever see him again. The past should remain in the past, and her future rests in the logical hands of her by-the-books supervisor.
For the past 12 years, Alex Duval has searched the world over looking for his first and only love, Eloise Drake. He’s served in the army in Cuba and learned valuable leadership skills. He’s written letters and put advertisements in newspapers, but he’s never heard of Eloise again.
For five years he fought the state water board to save his town, and when Duval Springs loses its court case, he resigns himself to the inevitable. And then Eloise Drake shows up as part of the water board’s advance team.
Can a CPA and a Dreamer Find Compatibility?
Once again, Camden weaves a historical tale replete with interesting details, quirky characters, suspense, adventure, and unusual love stories. Characters from other Camden novels make cameo appearances, but readers don’t have to read the series in order to fully enjoy the books.
Readers will cheer Alex on as he tries to woo Eloise (and her guardian) into accepting his hand in marriage. Camden’s understanding of God’s love for his flawed people (and aren’t we all flawed?) shines through on each page, leaving the reader feeling not only satisfied, but redeemed.
If you love a good historical book that inspires and entertains, you’ve come to the right place. Fans of Sarah Ladd and Karen Witemeyer will love this book.
Breach of Trust
Rachel Dylan’s third book in the Atlanta Justice series highlights Mia Shaw, a young attorney working for as a litigator for a big Atlanta law firm. While she doesn’t love her job, she’s dedicated to doing her very best and earning her keep so that she can pay off her expensive law-school education.
When she finds her best friend brutally murdered, Mia vows to do everything in her power to help bring the killer to justice—even if it puts her own life in danger.
Noah Ramirez loves his job at K&R Security. It allows him to work with his best friends and use his considerable computer skills to fight the bad guys. When a friend from his ATF days calls from prison, Noah vows to do everything he can to prove his friend’s innocence.
Mia and Noah butt heads over the question of innocence and guilt. Despite their disagreement, they discover that their mutual respect for each other helps them through the rough spot and that they can work together to fight for justice.
As they dig for information, Mia starts to wonder if her very life is in danger. Noah discovers that he’ll do anything to protect Mia.
Although part of a series, the book stands alone with cameo appearances by the heroines and heroes from the first two books in the series.
Readers who love Cara Putman’s books will enjoy Rachel Dylan’s latest book.
Don't miss the third installment of the Atlanta Justice series by @dylan_rachel! You won't be able to put it down. #BreachofTrust #amreading Click To TweetI 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.
