A Defense of Honor: a book review

A Defense of Honor. Kristi Ann Hunter. 2018. Bethany House Publishers. Pages: 352. [Source: Netgalley/Bethany House Publishers Review Program]

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When Katherine "Kit" FitzGilbert turned her back on London society more than a decade ago, she determined never to set foot in a ballroom again. But when business takes her to London and she's forced to run for her life, she stumbles upon not only a glamorous ballroom but also Graham, Lord Wharton. What should have been a chance encounter becomes much more as Graham embarks on a search for his friend's missing sister and is convinced Kit knows more about the girl than she's telling.

After meeting Graham, Kit finds herself wishing things could have been different for the first time in her life, but what she wants can't matter. Long ago, she dedicated herself to helping women escape the same scorn that drove her from London and raising the innocent children caught in the crossfire. And as much as she desperately wishes to tell Graham everything, revealing the truth isn't worth putting him and everyone she loves in danger.

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Rating: I'm gonna have to give it a 5/5

When I saw this pop up in my email in May, it was the most interesting of the stories that Bethany House Publishers offered to me for that month. I don't think I was that enthused when I chose it, because I didn't feel that I was being given much of a variety to choose from.

All I can say is that I'm so, so glad that I chose this one.

The story begins with handsome Graham at a ball in a lavish ballroom, talking to a couple of "friends" who only seemed interested in gossiping. Then—there! He spots it—something interesting! A flash of green fabric—a hand snaking out between the plants to snag a treat from a passing platter—he gets up to follow, thankful to separate himself from those two.

He finds her in the garden—and thus begins one of the most interesting chapters of his life.

This has to be one of the most original ideas I've come across. When I think about history, about the Regency era, I never thought about what happened to the illegitimate children or the women who were intentionally ruined by greedy men who were only after the biggest dowry available.

The fact that the main character was working to protect those children made me really excited because there's so much that could go wrong when she's going out there and getting those irresponsible men to pay for their mistakes.

I don't think I've ever felt such rage about the unfairness of something since I watched the episode of Blue Bloods where a young man came and punched a pregnant woman in the face, knocking her out so she landed on her front and crushed her baby. I wasn't as violently angry about the injustice as I was then, but it was close.

The book made me think a lot about how tough women have had it for centuries. Yes, there have been powerful queens, women leaders, etc., but when it comes down to it, women have always been the more vulnerable of the two sexes. Kit knew this, but she was able to take advantage of what had happened to her and her friend and do something good, even though it ended up morphing into something not good (i.e. blackmail) until a new face came along and helped her right her ways.

I'm honestly excited for Haven Manor - 2 to come out next year. And once its out I'm definitely going to start collecting the Haven Manor book as paperbacks.

Falling for You: a book review

Falling for You. Becky Wade. 2018. Bethany House Publishers. Pages: 368. [Source: Netgalley/Bethany House Publishers Review Program]

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"Hey," Willow said. "Sorry I missed your call."

"No problem. I was calling because…Well, for a reason that you're not going to be thrilled about."

"Okay. What am I not going to be thrilled about?"

"The fact that it involves Corbin."

Willow winced, then concentrated on swallowing her bite of cookie. Nora was right. She wasn't thrilled.

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Rating: 5/5 ❤︎

You wouldn't believe how excited I was for this book to come out. I was extremely delighted to find out that I could request A Bradford Sisters Romance #2 to review, and didn't hesitate to say YES to reviewing it. A childish part of me had hoped that I would have finished reading this before May 1st just so I could say I finished it before it came out in stores, but I was too busy packing up my apartment since I graduated from college (woot woot~!). And it doesn't matter that I didn't finish it before the 1st, because I wanted to enjoy this and not miss a single thing about it!

I didn't connect with Willow Bradford, Nora Bradford's older sister, as strongly as I had with Nora. But that's probably just because Nora is just so much like me—bookish, creative, a major history buff, absorbing information like a sponge—while Willow is a model who is more into the finer things in life (because her income allows her to indulge). But this didn't stop me from enjoying the book!

At first, I didn't like Corbin. I didn't like Corbin since I was introduced to him near the end of True to You, when John Lawson, Nora's beau, brought him along to a family party. I had been wondering what was up between Willow and Corbin since that encounter, but I wasn't sure if book 2 would feature their story or Britt's and Zander's. It kind of makes me wonder what Britt and Zander are going to have to go through before they get together? hmm...

But as the story progressed, I got to know Corbin more, and I started to like him. I began to sympathize with him whenever he tried to make headway in their relationship. The way he breached Willow's rules did get on my nerves, though, because to me it seemed that he didn't respect boundaries, which can be dangerous in a relationship.

Thankfully, Corbin quickly won my heart, and at one point I was almost yelling because Willow had been told by Corbin's dad to stay away from him and all I wanted was for her to tell him or for him to find out somehow so he could have a serious talk with his dad.

The ending of the story was a bit bittersweet, but Willow and Corbin had completely reconciled by then which made the ending happy as well.

This instalment of showed me a great story about getting back together again without having to go through countless aggravating obstacles. It also reminded me how I need to forgive and not hold grudges for as long as I do—though those I have a grudge against never really work to help me to forgive them, so... yeah.

I would definitely read this one again, and I want to buy it. I so, so want to buy it.

The Accidental Guardian

The Accidental Guardian. Mary Connealy. 2018. Bethany House Publishers. Pages: 305. [Source: Netgalley/Bethany House Publishers Review Program]

***

When Trace Riley finds the smoldering ruins of a small wagon train, he recognizes the hand behind the attack as the same group who left him as sole survivor years ago. Living off the wilderness since then, he'd finally carved out a home and started a herd – while serving as a self-appointed guardian of the trail, driving off dangerous men. He'd hoped those days were over, but the latest attack shows he was wrong.

Deborah Harkness saved her younger sister and two toddlers during the attack, and now finds herself at the mercy of her rescuer. Trace offers them the only shelter for miles around, and agrees to take them in until she can safely continue. His simple bachelor existence never anticipated kids and women in the picture and their arrival is unsettling – yet enticing.

Working to survive the winter and finally bring justice to the trail, Trace and Deborah find themselves drawn together – yet every day approaches the moment she'll leave forever.

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Rating: 3.5/5

I hate to say this, but I wasn't really all that happy with this one. Yes it was engaging, and yet it had a good plot, and it had so much going for it which drives me crazy because Mary Connealy didn't seem to harness it properly.

I'm not the biggest fan of western stories, though once in a while I'll pick up a good one. When I was a teenager, I was in love with Gilbert Morris' Reno series. But, unfortunately, this story just didn't meet my expectations.

Trace was such a sweet man and is the kind of man I dream of finding someday.

The plot of this novel was good, with the climax hitting at the end with a decent resolution afterwards. The novel itself ends rather abruptly, but I can see how it leads immediately to its sequel, The Reluctant Warrior, which comes out later this year. I think I will read it when it comes out, just to quell some curiosities I have.

I guess the biggest problem I have it the fact that there were blocks of dialogue that here paragraphs long. It really didn't work for this novel. When Trace told Deb about his past, he kept talking and talking, instead of switching over to a flashback or something that would have drawn the reader deeper into the world of the story.

The way the story was written made me feel like I was on the 'outside' instead of being sucked in. The goal of the author should be to suck their readers into their story. I like it when I'm sucked into a story, because that way I can escape from the stresses of real life for a while.

This is only a problem, I think, because I've been training myself to become a better writer, and through my countless hours reading articles by other authors, I've begun to notice little things that break little rules I've learned to follow. It's kind of like how my training to become a better photographer has been judging the pictures I've seen and the movies I've watched, to the point I can't look at a blurry photo and call it 'good' anymore.

The Accidental Guardian had its good and its bad, and one day I might reread it when my life isn't as stressful it has been over the last month. But until then, the book will remain at a firm 3.5 out of 5.

Book Review: The Artisan's Wife

The Artisan's Wife. Judith Miller. 2016. Bethany House Publishers. Pages: 333. [Source: Netgalley / Bethany House Publishers review program]

Ainslee McKay's world is shaken when she discovers her twin sister has not only eloped with a man she barely knows but now Ainslee must fulfill their obligation at a tile works in Weston, West Virginia. Ainslee must learn the ropes and, if she can keep the tile works profitable, her brother will help her sell the business. 
When Levi Judson arrives and shows Ainslee his designs for new tiles, she's impressed by his skill and passion for the business. But he's hiding his true reason for coming to Weston. And Ainslee knows he'd be crushed to learn his plans for a long career at McKay Tile Works are in vain since she intends to sell. Can the growing feelings between them survive if the truth comes to light--or is a future together as untenable as the future of the tile works itself?

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Rating: ★★✩✩✩

I was sorely disappointed with this novel. At points I thought the story was going well, but then the jumbled plot soured my opinion of the story. When I chose to read and review this novel, I expected that the story would revolve around Ainslee and how she struggled to keep the fact that she wanted to sell the tile works from the man she fell in love with. Instead, Ainslee's older brother drops the bomb in front of the man she loves, a man who is one of her employees (that's why she was trying to keep the secret from him). And she wasn't madly in love with him at the time - yet.

I couldn't get into this novel, and not because it was the third novel in a series (something I didn't know when I requested the novel). The interactions, reactions, and the way the characters felt stilted, unrealistic to me. I know that Judith Miller put a lot of time and energy and thought into the story, but I didn't like it.

The plot felt strung out. The tension that could have been gained was let go half-way through the novel (the secret about wanting to sell the tile works), and the sudden appearance of "awful" Aunt Margaret and subsequent death seemed unneeded and pointless to the story - it probably would have seemed less pointless to me if I was forewarned about the novel being the third in its series and I had read the first two instalments. There wasn't enough forewarning about Aunt Margaret for her part to mesh with the rest of the story. 

I wish I liked the story more, because I really did like Ainslee. And I really felt for her when her twin sister took off on her and eloped. But that wasn't enough.

The Phantom of the Opera / Le Fantôme de l'Opéra

The Phantom of the Opera / Le Fantôme de l'Opera. Gaston Leroux. 1909-1910/1911. Bantam Classics. Pages: 338. [Source: Library]

When I borrowed The Phantom of the Opera from the library, I didn't really know what I was getting into. I thought that the story would start out with the main characters, which I assumed were the Phantom and the girl, which I later learned was Christine.

But no, The Phantom of the Opera began with a group of characters that had nothing to do with the story at all, and that was when my frustration began.

I was disappointed with The Phantom of the Opera because I my mother told me that it was Phantom/Christine-centric. Yes, the story revolves around Christine and the Phantom, but not as much as I had thought. Hoped. Instead, as I read, I felt removed from the action, unable to connect with the characters.

It was torture for me to get through this novel. In fact, it read less like a novel and more like an autobiography/Leroux's personal opinion of what happened. I went in wanting a novel and didn't get what I wanted.

So, I did not like The Phantom of the Opera. I did not like Erik/The Phantom, nor did like Christine. Christine didn't feel real. She was out there. She infuriated me. I connected with Raoul, more than anyone else because of how Christine played with his heart! She would go to him, and then leave, over and over, and it made me so MAD at her! In my head I imagined throwing the book across the room, and throttling her.

But I made it to the end, and Raoul finally got the girl. I guess I can be slightly pleased with that ending. But, oh boy, I'm never going to pick this book up again.

Book Review: Playing the Part

Playing the Part. Jen Turano. A Class of Their Own Book 3. 2016. Bethany House Publishers. Pages: 352. [Source: Netgalley/ebook from Bethany House Publisher's book review program]

Lucetta Plum is an actress on the rise in New York City, but is forced to abandon her starring role when a fan's interest turns threatening. Lucetta's widowed friend, Abigail Hart, is delighted at the opportunity to meddle in Lucetta's life and promptly whisks her away to her grandson's estate to hide out.

Bram Haverstein may appear to simply be a somewhat eccentric gentleman of means, but a mysterious career and a secret fascination with a certain actress mean there's much more to him than society knows.

Lucetta, who has no interest in Abigail's matchmaking machinations, has the best intentions of remaining cordial but coolly distant to Bram. But when she can't ignore the strange and mysterious things going on in his house, it'll take more than good intentions to keep her from trying to discover who Bram is behind the part he plays.

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When I requested Playing the Part, I was wondering if I would get the same satisfaction I would get from reading a novel such as Julie Klassen's. Jen Turano's Playing the Part did not disappoint, even though her writing style took me a bit to get used to.

Right away I fell in love with all the characters, though I did become a little annoyed at Abigail for trying to hook Lucetta up with someone. I speak from experience when I say that I understand why she wanted to run from Abigail's matchmaking attempts, since my mom and grandmother used to tease me about any cute boy I came across when I was younger.

Bram Haverstein was such a realistic character that I could almost see him standing on the pages. I enjoyed his character, his personality, and found that if I knew him in real life I would assuredly have considered him a good friend of mine.

It's so refreshing to come across a historical fiction novel by an author who isn't one that you're used to. It's also refreshing to find an interesting story that takes place post-Civil War that doesn't take place in the Wild West (no offense, those can be good too if they pique my interest).

Playing the Part was sprinkled with just the right amount of humor, mystery, and suspense that was where it was supposed to be. I would be extremely interested in looking into more of Jen Turano's books once I've worked through my To Be Read pile.

Congratulations, Jen Turano, I think you just gained a new fan!

Book Review: Cold Shot

Cold Shot. Dani Pettrey. Chesapeake Valor Book 1. 2016. Bethany House Publishers. Pages: 336. [Source: Netgalley/ebook from Bethany House Publishers' review program]

In college, Griffin McCray and his four best friends had their lives planned out. Griffin and Luke Gallagher would join the Baltimore PD. Declan Gray would head to the FBI and Parker Mitchell would go on to graduate school as a crime scene analyst. But then Luke vanished before graduation and their world - and friendship - crumbled.

Now Griffin is a park ranger at Gettysburg, having left life as a SWAT-team sniper when a case went bad. The job is mostly quiet - until the day he captures two relic hunters uncovering skeletal remains near Little Round Top. Griffin just wants the case to go away, but charming forensic anthropologist Finley Scott determines that the body is modern - a young social justice lawyer missing since spring - and all evidence points to the work of an expert sniper. When FBI agent Declan Gray takes over the case, past and present collide. Griffin soon realizes he'll need to confront some of the darkest days of his life if he - and those he cares about - are going to escape a downward spiral of murder that crosses continents. - Synopsis

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Cold Shot is the first novel I've reviewed for a publisher in many years. Did I love it? Unfortunately, no. It was an interesting story, but I found many faults that impeded on my ability to enjoy it.

The characterization was pretty good, and I was able to picture the characters as living beings. The relationships were real between Griffin, Declan, and Parker, but I found the relationship between Griffin and Finley to be a little bit strange.

Once they realized that someone was after them, the moments of suspense were impeccable - my chest tightened whenever Griffin and Finley stepped out into the open with the prospect that a sniper might be watching them through a scope from a thousand or more yards/meters off. That's one of my greatest fears - the fact that someone could be watching you, but you don't know where they are or if you're even being watched at all.  It doesn't allow you to relax.

But I'm afraid I'm going to have to be a bit of a grouch now.

There were several aspects of the story where I felt a little bit irked at how it was put together. For one, Finley seemed a little too perfect for me. At one point Griffin and her go out to a shooting range and every man turns to look at her and gawk over her beauty as if she was God's gift to men. Then, when she shoots at a target, she hits the bullseye with her first shot, even though she's never picked up a gun or shot one before. And Griffin seems to stop and think: "Wow, she's hot" (in general terms) as soon as he lays eyes on her. I honestly have to say that it almost feels like the author forgot that "love at first sight" is more like "infatuation at first sight" - which is really how Griffin felt about her and how it was described. In my opinion, it wasn't all that realistic with how Griffin seemed to like every aspect about her almost right away.

In my opinion, she teeters too close to point of being able to achieve the label of "Mary-Sue". I'm sad to say that I didn't seem to read about enough of her faults to help balance out all of her attributes.

I found Griffin's desire to resist temptation revolving around Finley's beauty to be rather admirable, and the Christian message contained between the lines was powerful. It screamed to me: this is a story about trusting in God to protect you and guide your paths. God protected Griffin, Finley, Declan, and Parker in this novel.

There were some plotholes in the story, but I'll leave it to you to find them for yourselves, lol ;)

One more thing bothered me - in a scene where Finley is running an autopsy of sorts on the body found on Little Round Top, I found the examination to be a little plain and rushed. But that could be just me and the fact that I took Forensic Science in high school. 

As a note, I would like those who read this review to know that you, yes, can find the gender of the skeleton through the shape of the skull and the pelvic bone, but you cannot simply find out the race of the individual through the shape of the face of the skull (though it is possible). According to my FS textbook, there are three types of skull characteristics: Negroid, Mongoloid, and Caucasoid. 

The victim in Cold Shot was most likely Caucasoid, as it was described in the book, but there is a chance for Mongoloid to be mixed in since Native Americans are descended from those who came over from Mongolia and the Asian continent. All I am saying is that the author should have been a little more specific since Finley is a forensic anthropologist. It could have been a little more specific without being gory or gritty.

All in all, Cold Shot was okay (in my opinion), but wasn't what I was looking for when I wanted to read a mystery/suspense novel.