It’s time for a new season of the Unlocking the Past Reading Challenge: Unlock an Adventure. I’m so excited to be joining you on an adventure this year with guest reviews from members of our reading challenge participants. If you have a review you’d like to submit for upcoming months, feel free to sign up for a month here and use the Google form to submit your review. As my time has become too limited to do a suggestions post each month, I encourage you to jump over to the Unlocking the Past Reading Challenge page and ask for suggestions from there or from any of a number of amazing reader groups like Avid Readers of Christian Fiction and you can visit Christian Historical Fiction Index.
*The list of prizes available from my prize shelf can be found here.*
June’s Theme: Treasure Hunt
July’s Theme: Heroines in Unusual Professions for Their Time
The Maid of Ballymacool
by Jennifer Deibel
Review by: Crystal Caudill
This was my first Jennifer Deibel book, but it will not be my last. I was thoroughly transported to early 20th-century Ireland–so much so that after listening to the audiobook, my accent was slightly altered for days. Oops. The mystery surrounding Brianna’s life was enjoyable and had several twists I hadn’t expected despite having a good idea of where things were going. The spiritual thread was natural and refreshing. The romance was sweet in ways that become even sweeter as more of the story was revealed. The characters were multi-layered, real, and became some of my best friends. When you are an avid reader (and now a writer in my case) it becomes harder and harder to find stories that just completely absorb you. This one did, and I’m looking forward to reading through Mrs. Deibel’s other books.
For Fans of: Irish settings, family mysteries, historical romances that make you feel a part of the world, spiritual threads that refresh and make you think without hitting you over the head
Genre: Historical Romance, early 1900s
Plot Overview:
Brianna Kelly was abandoned at Ballymacool House and Boarding School as an infant. She has worked there since she was a wee girl and will likely die there. Despite a sense that she was made for something more, Brianna feels powerless to change her situation, so she consoles herself by exploring the Ballymacool grounds, looking for hidden treasures to add to the secret trove beneath the floorboards of her room.
When Michael Wray, the son of local gentry, is sent to Ballymacool to deal with his unruly cousin, he finds himself drawn to Brianna, immediately and inescapably. There is something about her that feels so . . . familiar. When Brianna finds a piece of silver in the woods, she commits to learning its origins, with the help of Michael. What they discover may change everything.
Fan favorite Jennifer Deibel invites you back to the Emerald Isle in the 1930s for this fresh take on the Cinderella story, complete with a tantalizing mystery, a budding romance, and a chance at redemption.
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Baker Bookhouse | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | Christianbook.com
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month, and you will also be entered into the year-end Grand Prize Reader Basket. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 7th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced don’t the Rafflecopter widget. (This month’s giveaway will be drawn later as I will have limited internet connectivity until the middle of the month, meaning my response comments will also come at the middle of the month.)
*Open to all residents of the contiguous USA, legally able to enter, and an e-book format or Amazon Gift Card will be awarded to those outside that range who are legally able to enter.
Suggested reads for July:
Courting Misfortune & Engaging Deception by Regina Jennings
Angelinga’s Resolve by Cindy Ervin Huff
Enduring Dreams by Sandra Ardoin
The Icecutter’s Daughter by Tracie Peterson
To Disguise the Truth by Jen Turano
A Model of Devotion by Mary Connealy
I just finished The Shadows of Swanford Abbey by Julie Klassen. She’s one of my new favorite authors and I’m really enjoying reading through her backlist!
Oh, that one is on my TBR! My first from her was The Silent Governess.
Oh fantastic! I’ve read Secrets of Pembrooke Park, The Painter’s Daughter, Sisters of Sea View, and now Shadows of Swanford Abbey. My favorite has been Sisters of Sea View. That book is a comfort read for me!
I read the Maid of Ballymacool and it was amazing. I love all things Ireland and can’t wait to read more from this author.
For July I recommend Guide Me Home by Kim Vogel Sawyer
Oh! I’ve read The Painter’s Daughter I think, but that is it. Love Julie’s books.
I read The Golden Bride by Kimberly Woodhouse, A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Politano, and Dangerous Depths by Colleen Coble for June… they were all good!
For July I have The Express Bride by Kimberly Woodhouse… heroine runs/ manages a Pony Express station. Thank you, Crystal for posting recommendations for us!
Oops, I forgot to mention that I also read Worthy of Legend by Roseanna White in June too…good book and series!
I’m reading “The Story of the Trapp Family Singers” (The story which inspired The Sound of Music) by Maria Augusta Trapp. It’s been a great read as you get to learn more about the real story of their lives, how they were invited to sing for Hitler’s birthday celebration, and their real escape to the USA. (Which is nothing like the movie.)
I read ‘I’ll Be Seeing You” by Robin Lee Hatcher, a duel timeline WWII romance. It was soo good! The only other Robin L. Hatcher book I started was DNF’d, so I’m glad this one was a good experience!!
I read Worthy of Legend by Roseanna M. White. It was so very good! I loved how she wove Arthurian legends throughout the book as they went looking for an artifact from King Arthur himself.
OH SWEET!!! I didn’t know that was a part of the book! I used to be a HUGE fan of anything King Arthur.
I read A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Davidson Politano. 10/10 recommend! Fast paced, clean romance, pageturning suspense! And since I compulsively read the acknowledgements (for no apparent reason), I happened to see the name Crystal Caudill.
I LOVED A Rumored Fortune, and I had the privilege of watching it grow into what it is now. Joanna is a wonderful woman, just like her books.
My June read is The Nature of a Lady by Roseanna M. White. I would highly recommend it. It has sweet romance, friendship, mystery, treasure and made me giggle from time to time. For July I plan to read Robin Lee Hatcher’s book A Vote of Confidence. I have been saving it for this month since January so I’m excited to get started on it.
Yay! I’m excited for you! And The Nature of a Lady has been on my TBR for a while. I need to up it on the list.
I read the Maid of Ballymacool and it was amazing. I love all things Ireland and can’t wait to read more from this author.
For July I recommend Guide Me Home by Kim Vogel Sawyer
Great recommendation, and yes! I am looking forward to reading more of Jennifer’s books!
I read two books. I was on the launch team for This is Where it Ends by Cindy K Sproles and I realized it would fit this theme. It wasn’t my usual genre, but I really enjoyed it and definitely want to check out more of her books. The other book I read was Timeless Treasure by MaryLu Tyndall. This was the book I had planned for the month. I decided to read it because I also needed a book with a body of water on the cover, and I had to read a book with pirates this year. I loved this dual timeline book and can’t wait to read more by MaryLu Tyndall.
For next month, I have a bunch of books on hold. I’m not exactly sure which one I will read yet.
I have the 2nd and 3rd books out from Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse. I just realized Under the Midnight Sun will work for July’s challenge.
I also have The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy out.
Every Word Unsaid by Kimberly Duffy
I also just got The Metropolitan Affair by Jocelyn Green for my birthday, so might read that one.
Lol, I was gonna say almost the exact same thing about Metropolitan Affair 🙂 !
I have been looking forward to that one so much.
There are so many great books that fit the category!
Oops, after writing all that, I forgot to mention that the Maid of Ballymacool sounds really good and I have now added it to my TBR list.
It was a great read!
I read the Master Craftsman by Kelli Stuart. I’m planning on reading A Daring Venture by Elizabeth Camden (the character is a biochemist in the early 1900s), but some of those suggestions look really good too!
That was a REALLY good book. (A Daring Venture) I love Elizabeth Camden’s books. I’m actually reading her debut, The Lady of Bolton Hill, for my book club. I’m reading To Write a Wrong by Jen Turano for the challenge. It’s been on my TBR for a long time.
I read “A Sparkle of Silver” & “A Glitter of Gold”, both by Liz Johnson. I enjoyed both these books, and would recommend them! 🙂
Oh! I’m not familiar with them! I’ll have to check them out!
I read “The Mystery of the Missing Mystery” by Criswell and Carli Freeman (YA). The description implies they hunt for a stolen book manuscript. They actually end up hunting for clues about who stole it, rather than the book itself.
It’s new to me author/s and series (mysteries set partially on a train, which sounded interesting). The mystery itself was quite good, kept me guessing. Characters are likeable, and kind to each other.
I wish there’d been more background on why they got a private train car, and that readers got to really know the main characters better. I also find the manuscript’s value ludicrous (I can’t see any mystery besides Christie or Doyle going for that much).
I’m frustrated that it had a librarian refer to 1800s dictionaries as ‘random old books from the basement that only got pulled out to fill an empty display case’. Librarians are some of the world’s biggest book and word lovers, and the most knowledgable! I could believe her not thinking they were valuable though.
Overall a 3 out of 5 stars. I’ll definitely try one or two more from this series (esp the 1st) before I decide if I’ll read them all.
Sounds like an interesting series, and I agree with you about the librarians!