By Kelly Bridgewater
Historical Romance books that will be published from January 1st through April 30, 2025 that I can not wait to read.
All covers come from Goodreads.
When Stars Light the Sky by Elizabeth Camden
Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin
Tempest at Annabell's Lighthouse by Jaime Jo Wright
The Curious Inheritance of Blakely House by Joanna Davidson Politano
This Promised Land by Cathy Gohlke
I love this genre. What other books are you looking for to?
By Kelly Bridgewater
Usually
for Christmas, I hunt sales at Thriftbooks, Amazon, or Christianbook and then
gift myself the books that I want to read. There is usually a stack under that
tree that I tie a bow around, but I don’t spend the time wrapping since I
already know what the books are, and they are for me.
Today,
I want to share 5 favorite books that I love. (Images and
Synopsis come from Goodreads.)
Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke
The Writing Desk by Rachel Hauck
The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright
Don't forget to read and purchase books just in time for Christmas!
By Kelly Bridgewater
After two young women’s deep bond is torn
apart, what will it take to bring them together again? In The Ladies of
the Lake, the beloved author of Saving Amelie and Night
Bird Calling returns with a transformative new historical novel about
the wonder and complexities of friendship, love, and belonging.
When she is forced to leave her beloved Prince Edward Island to attend Lakeside
Ladies Academy after the death of her parents, the last thing Adelaide Rose
MacNeill expects to find is three kindred spirits. The ‘Ladies of the Lake,’
as the four girls call themselves, quickly bond like sisters, vowing that
wherever life takes them, they will always be there for each other. But that
is before: Before love and
jealousy come between Adelaide and Dorothy, the closest of the friends. Before
the dawn of World War I upends their world and casts baseless suspicion onto
the German American man they both love. Before a terrible explosion in Halifax
Harbor rips the sisterhood irrevocably apart.
Seventeen years later, Rosaline Murray receives an unsuspecting telephone call
from Dorothy, now headmistress of Lakeside, inviting her to attend the
graduation of a new generation of girls, including Rosaline’s beloved daughter.
With that call, Rosaline is drawn into a past she’d determined to put
behind her. To memories of a man she once loved . . . of a sisterhood she
abandoned . . . and of the day she stopped being Adelaide MacNeill.
My Thoughts:
Ladies of the Lake
by Cathy Gohlke is a heartwarming story of best friends during pre-World War II
and how life gets in the way. Gohlke does a fabulous job at diving into the
hurts of Dot and Rosaline and making them realistic for the readers. Readers
will enjoy the simpleness of the times, but the turmoil of the looming war that
will tear the world and their friendship apart. Gohlke is one of my favorite
writers at taking deeply hurting characters and allowing the readers to
empathize with their plight. The plot idea with friends and their struggles is
nothing new. While the concept is not original, the story is still told in an
informative and entertaining way that kept me glued to the pages. The writing
style flows nicely, filled with the descriptions of the setting and the
personality of the characters. Overall, Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke is a
nicely handled coming of age story with heartache flowing from the hearts of
the characters. I recommend this for fans of Gohlke’s other stories and fans of
a good story. Also, Rachel Hauck has a story entitled The Best Summer of Our
Lives released in June 2023.
I received a complimentary copy of Ladies of
the Lake by Cathy Gohlke from Tyndale Publishing, but the opinions stated
are all my own.
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Purchase Ladies of the Lake
By Kelly Bridgewater
Most Anticipated Historical Romance that is published from May 1, 2023 through August 31st, 2023.
All images come from Amazon.
Enjoy!
In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer
The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee
Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer
Man of Shadow and Mist by Michelle Griep
Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke
To Free the Stars by J'nell Ciesielski
In the Shelter of the Hollythorne House by Sarah E. Ladd
Voice of the Ancients by Connilyn Cossette
The Scarlet Spy by Rachel Scott McDaniel
What about you? Any to add!
By Kelly Bridgewater
In wars eighty
years apart, two young women living on the same Appalachian estate determine to
aid soldiers dear to them and fight for justice, no matter the cost.
1944. When a violent storm rips through the
Belvidere attic in No Creek, North Carolina, exposing a hidden room and trunk
long forgotten, secrets dating back to the Civil War are revealed. Celia Percy,
whose family lives and works in the home, suspects the truth could transform
the future for her friend Marshall, now fighting overseas, whose ancestors were
once enslaved by the Belvidere family. When Marshall’s Army friend, Joe,
returns to No Creek with shocking news for Marshall’s family, Celia determines
to right a long-standing wrong, whether or not the town is ready for it.
1861. After her mother’s death, Minnie Belvidere
works desperately to keep her household running and her family together as
North Carolina secedes. Her beloved older brother clings to his Union
loyalties, despite grave danger, while her hotheaded younger brother entangles
himself and the family’s finances within the Confederacy. As the country and
her own home are torn in two, Minnie risks her life and her future in a
desperate fight to gain liberty and land for those her parents intended to
free, before it’s too late.
My
Thoughts:
A
Hundred Crickets Singing is a standalone novel, but I
highly recommend readers reader the first book Night Bird Calling, so the back stories that are hinted at are
familiar and help tightening the elements during the Civil War era. Right away,
it was nice to see Celia again. She is a returning character, but she is not a
little girl anymore. She has grown into quite a young lady. I love her as a
character. She is strong, forceful and stands up for what is right no matter
what others think or might do to her. Reminds me a lot of me. I do like how
readers will see her compose letters to Joe, a friend of Marshall, while he is
serving overseas during World War II. I do enjoy the peeks into the letters in
the story. They deepen the story, not subtract from the overall action. There
is some romance in the present story line too. Of course, this did happen
during World War II. On the other hand, the Civil War era story really gripped
my heart. I agree with Minnie, her father, and her older brother Elliot. I
really hated her younger brother, Grayson. I wanted to see him get his just
rewards. He was a spiteful character filled with plenty of hate and anger. I do
enjoy how Gohlke tied the two stories together nicely and had me happy in the
end. Overall, I am not a fan of Civil War era stories, but Gohlke does a
wonderful job at the story that I forgot I was reading a part Civil War story.
I highly recommend everyone read this story.
I received a complimentary copy of A Hundred Crickets Singing by Cathy
Gohlke from Tyndale Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.
My
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Purchase A Hundred Crickets Singing
By Kelly Bridgewater
From
award-winning author Cathy Gohlke, whose novels have been called
"haunting" (Library Journal on Saving Amelie)
and "page-turning" (Francine Rivers on Secrets She Kept),
comes a historical fiction story of courage and transformation set in rural
Appalachia on the eve of WWII.
When Lilliana Swope's beloved mother dies, Lilliana gathers her last ounce of
courage and flees her abusive husband for the home of her only living relative
in the foothills of No Creek, North Carolina. Though Hyacinth Belvidere hasn't
seen Lilliana since she was five, she offers her cherished great-niece a safe
harbor. Their joyful reunion inspires plans to revive Aunt Hyacinth's estate
and open a public library where everyone is welcome, no matter the color of
their skin.
Slowly Lilliana finds revival and friendship in No Creek--with precocious
eleven-year-old Celia Percy, with kindhearted Reverend Jesse Willard, and with
Ruby Lynne Wishon, a young woman whose secrets could destroy both them and the
town. When the plans for the library also incite the wrath of the Klan, the
dangers of Lilliana's past and present threaten to topple her before she's
learned to stand.
With war brewing for the nation and for her newfound community, Lilliana must
overcome a hard truth voiced by her young friend Celia: Wishing comes
easy. Change don't.
My Thoughts:
Night Bird Calling by Cathy Gohlke is a story about racism in the south during the early 1940's. The story is heart-wrenching and thought provoking. With realistic hurt and shame, the story hit on harsh realities of the past. The plot kept moving forward and kept my attention. I had a hard time putting the novel down. While I have read Gohlke's World War II novels, this story is definitely something completely different. It is set in American soil and features basically the same time period; however, it deals with a completely different evil than Hitler. It deals with race and the KKK. While this story touches on issues that the media wants their audience to believe is still around, it is a timely story even if it takes place almost eighty years ago. I felt bad for Lilliana Grace. I really enjoyed the curiosity of Celia Percy. She loves books and solving mysteries. Because of her curiosity, it can get her in trouble and good things happen too. She was my favorite character in the novel. Overall, Night Bird Calling was an enticing read, filled with lessons readers should ponder and think about for a while.
I received a complimentary copy of Night Bird Calling by Cathy Gohlke by Tyndale Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Purchase Night Bird Calling
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| From Goodreads |
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| From Amazon |
