Roseanna M. White: The Lost Heiress

By Kelly Bridgewater

From Amazon

Back Cover Copy:

Brook Eden has never known where she truly belongs. Though raised in the palace of Monaco, she's British by birth and was brought to the Grimaldis under suspicious circumstances as a babe. When Brook's friend Justin uncovers the fact that Brook is likely a missing heiress from Yorkshire, Brook leaves the sun of the Mediterranean to travel to the moors of the North Sea to the estate of her supposed family.

The mystery of her mother's death haunts her, and though her father is quick to accept her, the rest of the family and the servants of Whitby Park are not. Only when Brook's life is threatened do they draw close--but their loyalty may come too late to save Brook from the same threat that led to tragedy for her mother.

As heir to a dukedom, Justin is no stranger to balancing responsibilities. When the matters of his estate force him far from Brook, the distance between them reveals that what began as friendship has grown into something much more. But how can their very different loyalties and responsibilities ever come together?

And then, for a second time, the heiress of Whitby Park is stolen away because of 
the very rare treasure in her possession--and this time only the servants of Whitby can save her.

My Thoughts:

I have never read anything from Roseanna White. I have seen her books, but they were very historical looking covers with the lady in the long dress and the ships in the background. I didn’t feel any urge to pick them up and buy them. But with her newest release The Lost Heiress by Bethany House publishers, I loved the image of Brook on the cover and the synopsis on the back sounded intriguing. So I picked up a copy.

White does a good job at creating the historical time period with the descriptive words. I enjoyed the struggle the characters had with the differences between driving the new “automobiles” or riding their horses. It made me wonder if I would have had the same dilemma if I lived in 1910. One of White’s greatest strengths, in my humble opinion, is her ability to paint a picture with her words. I really felt like I was roaming Brook’s father’s home and riding the horse through the back pasture. Her attention to detail really drew me in.

The conflict surrounding the red diamond aka Fire Eyes grabbed my attention. I wanted to know as much as Brook did why she didn’t live with her father after her mother died. I kept waiting for the journal to explain, but after finishing the complete novel and writing this review, I realized that White never explained why Brook went to live with the opera singer’s family. Why didn’t she return home? There was a mention of a newspaper article sent to her mother. I don’t know if this was what White wanted to satisfy that question, but it didn’t work for me. As an avid fan of suspense, this mystery seemed alright. It didn’t leave me begging for more and staying up all night to read, but fans of lighter mysteries might enjoy this one.

The characters weren’t that two dimensional. I really didn’t relate to either of them. Jack and Brook wanted nothing more than to be together and have their happily-ever-after. They were characters that I didn’t hate, but I wished I could have liked them more. The mystery element gripped my attention more.

Overall, Roseanna M. White’s The Lost Heiress is a cozy historical mystery with lackluster characters, but White’s attention to detail will grab any readers of historical dramas.

From Amazon

Roseanna M. White’s Writing Bio:

Roseanna M. White grew up in the mountains of West Virginia, the beauty of which inspired her to begin writing as soon as she learned to pair subjects with verbs. She spent her middle and high school days penning novels in class, and her love of books took her to a school renowned for them. After graduating from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, she and her husband moved back to the Maryland side of the same mountains they equate with home. 

Roseanna is the author of two biblical novels, A Stray Drop of Blood and Jewel of Persia, both from WhiteFire Publishing (www.WhiteFire-Publishing.com), and Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland, a historical romance, with Summerside Press. She is the senior reviewer at the Christian Review of Books, which she and her husband founded, the senior editor at WhiteFire Publishing, and a member of ACFW, HisWriters, HEWN Marketing, and Colonial Christian Fiction Writers.

Where to connect with Roseanna M. White:

Personal Website

Facebook

Where to purchase The Lost Heiress:

Amazon

Barnes and Nobles

Christianbook

Your local Favorite Bookstore

What element of historical mysteries do you enjoy the most? What makes you pick up a historical romance novel?

What Frances Hodgson Burnett Means to Me

By Kelly Bridgewater

Continuing with my theme of authors that have helped shape who I am today as a writer and an avid reader, today I’m going to discuss Frances Hodgson Burnett. If you missed any of the other five entries that encompass 2015, please visit my past posts. I have talked about C.S. Lewis, J.R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Alexandre Dumas.

Frances Hodgson Burnett is an English writer who wrote books for young adults. The Lost Prince, The Secret Garden, and The Little Princess are among the three most popular ones, and the ones I loved as a little child.

The stories appeared simple on the surface, but as you delve deeper, they were masterfully written with lessons for the young readers to unbury.

While reading The Secret Garden, I love traveling around the Misselthwaite Manor with Mary as she uncovered a hidden key in an abandoned part of the huge house. She used the key to open and bring life back to a hidden garden. Along the way, she learned to love and be loved by her cousin, Colin, and her uncle, Mr. Craven.

The Little Princess showed the hardship of the lower class among the wealthy. Poor Sarah believed in stories such much that even when her father was announced dead, she still captivated the servant girl, Becky, with stories to pass the horrible, cold nights while they were both trapped in the attic as a curiosity from Ms. Minchin.

I loved these stories as a child and still read them to my boys and my niece. My father also purchased the leather bound editions from Barnes and Nobles for me. They sit next to my edition of Sherlock Holmes and The Count of Monte Cristo.

Frances Hodgson Burnett taught me that if a child’s story is written well then it can be read by any age. Like C. S. Lewis states, “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” This is proven by J. K. Rowling with her Harry Potter masterpieces that have been enjoyed by young adults and adults alike. I completely agree with C.S. Lewis, if an adult can’t return to the books they enjoyed as a child, then the story wasn’t well-written to begin with. Being a parent of three small boys, I want my children to return to the stories that have captured their heart when they were innocent and young. A simple written story can capture the imagination and steal the hearts of the readers, which any great story should do.

Have you ever read any of the books mentioned by Frances Hodgson Burnett? What books do you return to that you read as a child?

Lisa Wingate: The Sea Keeper’s Daughters

By Kelly Bridgewater

Back Cover Copy:

From Amazon

From modern-day Roanoke Island to the sweeping backdrop of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains and Roosevelt’s WPA folklore writers, past and present intertwine to create an unexpected destiny.

Restaurant owner Whitney Monroe is desperate to save her business from a hostile takeover. The inheritance of a decaying Gilded Age hotel on North Carolina’s Outer Banks may provide just the ray of hope she needs. But things at the Excelsior are more complicated than they seem. Whitney’s estranged stepfather is entrenched on the third floor, and the downstairs tenants are determined to save the historic building. Searching through years of stored family heirlooms may be Whitney’s only hope of quick cash, but will the discovery of an old necklace and a Depression-era love story change everything?

My Thoughts:

I have never read anything by Lisa Wingate, but the synopsis for the story sounded interested. I couldn’t wait to jump in and read the story of Whitney and her search for the truth of her family. Wingate is a great writer, who captures many reader’s attention with her story. Her contemporary novel deals with issues that readers could relate to and draw them into the plot of the story.

For someone who is a fan of mysteries and suspense stories, the idea of reading letters from the past and trying to figure out the mysteries from the past captured my action-driven thirst in a story. But as I read this story, it really did not capture my attention. The letters were long and I personally felt like the story went on and on.  There was some mystery and Whitney uncovered the letters and tried to piece together her families past; the plot was very slow moving.

While Wingate does a great job at using the dialogue to move the story forward, her use of prose really did not enhance the story. There were moments where Whitney was talking to someone, and she would drift off into a page or more of internal dialogue. If this was real life, the person she was talking to might have waved their hand in front of her face and accuse her of spacing off. But that never happened. The other people just moved on in the conversation liked Whitney didn’t drift off, allowing her thoughts to overtake her.

Wingate’s story world came to life for me. She did a great job at creating the world with the elaborate hotel and all the treasures on the second floor. I enjoyed hunting through all the treasure with Whitney and learning the history about all the objects.

In short, Lisa Wingate is a great master at using contemporary issues to draw her readers into her plot, but for me, the story moved really, really slow, and I couldn’t wait to finish the book to move onto the next one.  Fans of her past work might enjoy this book.

I received a complimentary copy of The Seakeeper’s Daughters from Tyndale Publishing through Netgalley and the opinions stated are all my own.

From Amazon

Lisa Wingate’s Writing Bio:

Lisa Wingate is a former journalist, inspirational speaker, and the author of over twenty mainstream fiction novels, including the national bestseller, Tending Roses, now in its nineteenth printing. She is a seven-time ACFW Carol award nominee, a Christy Award nominee, an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, and a two-time Carol Award winner. Her novels are known for taking on gritty subjects while offering redemptive and uplifting themes. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. 

Where to connect with Lisa Wingate:

Personal Website

Facebook

Where to purchase The Seakeeper’s Daughters:

Amazon

Barnes and Nobles

Christianbook

Your local Favorite Bookstore

Dina Sleiman: Chivalrous

By Kelly Bridgewater

Description:

Strong and adventurous Gwendolyn Barnes longs to be a knight like her chivalrous brothers. However, that is not an option for her, not even in the Arthurian-inspired Eden where she dwells. Her parents view her only as a marriage pawn, and her domineering father is determined to see her wed to a brutish man who will break her spirit. 

When handsome, good-hearted Allen of Ellsworth arrives in Edendale searching for his place in the world, Gwendolyn spies in him the sort of fellow she could imagine marrying. Yet fate seems determined to keep them apart. Tournaments, intrigue, and battles--along with twists and turns aplenty--await these two as they struggle to find love, identity, and their true destinies.

My Thoughts:

From Amazon

Dina Sleiman’s Chivalrous captures the barely told reality of what occurs to women during the early thirteenth century. After reading and loving Sleiman’s first book in this series, Dauntless, I couldn’t wait to be transported back to the medieval period and read the story of Gwendolyn and Allen.

A girl with her own ideas, caught in extraordinary events. Gwendolyn pushed the envelope with her own desires to run free and be seen as an equal with men. But her father bruised her spirit and saw her only as a piece of meat on the chopping block, being sold to the highest bidder. No matter how cruel the winner would be. As long as they had money and could control her. Gwendolyn wanted nothing more than to fall in love with a gentle and chivalrous man who would love her and allow her to be who God made her to be.

Just like Gwendolyn, I enjoyed spending more time with Allen. Allen was part of the love triangle involving Timothy and Merry in Dauntless. Returning to a familiar character helped anchored me. The difference was seeing Allen and understanding his noble intentions and love for God. I really admired his soft and gentle spirit, but he wasn’t a weakingly. Allen could fight against the strongest men in the country and win.

Majority of the conflict centers on Gwendolyn, internally and externally. She has to decide whether to be the noble woman she was brought up to be and allow the man her father chooses  to marry her. Or should she choose to follow her heart and marry the man she has fallen head over heels in love with, who appreciates her true spirit as a wild mustang roaming the outer realms, wild and carefree.  

Sleiman does a great job at inviting the readers into the story world. Since the plot takes place in the early thirteenth century, no one can tell us first-hand accounts of what happened in the century. I believe Sleiman did her research and made the world come to life. She studied what the knights would wear when they joust and studied how women were actually treated. I felt Gwendolyn’s sympathy and struggle against marrying a man who would control her with an iron fist. Majority of stories or movies that I have watched do not really focus on the mistreatment of women during this time period; most of them glamorize living in a castle and having a knight fight for a woman’s hand.

I would have liked to less of  Rosalind, Gwendolyn’s hand-maiden perspective. It felt like I got taken out of the story and thrust into her head. Characters are supposed to add something to the overall plot, but she really did not. Almost everything she told us could have been told through Gwendolyn’s perspective. Sleiman enjoyed using the word chivalrous and putting Gwendolyn on the spot with the abusive man over and over again. It got annoying after a while.

In conclusion, Dina L. Sleiman’s Chivalrous, is a slow moving story with a strong heroine and hero who stand up for the rights of the downtrodden by empathizing the underside of how woman were treated. Fans of Sleiman’s first book and Melanie Dickerson’s fairy tale writings would enjoy this story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers and the opinions stated are all my own. 

My Rating:  3.5 out of 5 stars

Purchase Chivalrous