by Crystal Caudill | Feb 28, 2023 | Book Reviews, Reading Challenge
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.
*The list of prizes available from my prize shelf can be found here.*
February’s Theme: Underground Railroad
March’s Theme: Gold Rush
The Underground Railroad Brides Collection
Review by: Crystal Caudill
With it being release month for Counterfeit Hope, my reading time was really limited and I only managed to read one novella out of this collection. I’m not a huge fan of straight romances, so the story I ended up choosing wasn’t actually to my taste. I thought by the description there would be some tension and chances of getting caught working for the Underground Railroad with dire consequences, but I either got the stories mixed or the description just didn’t match the story. (Actually, now that I go back, it was the former.) HOWEVER, I think those who love sweet romances will enjoy the ones in this collection. There were a wide variety of characters, including a couple of stories where the main characters were slaves, former slaves, or wealthy black citizens. Given the tendency for historicals to lack that perspective, it was refreshing to see. All the stories sounded interesting, even if not always to my personal preference, and I look forward to reading more of them as my time allows.
Genre: Historical Romance
Plot Overview:
Love Guides Hearts Along the Road to Freedom
Nine historical couples walk the road to love even as they dare to escape and help others break free from the injustices of slavery between 1849 and 1860. From Southern states of Georgia and South Carolina to above the Mason-Dixon Line in Indiana and Pennsylvania, they work within the network known as the Underground Railroad.
Emma Underground by Barbara Tifft Blakey
Follow the Christmas Star by Ramona K. Cecil
Under the Sails of Love by Lynn A. Coleman
The Bakery Bride by Cecelia Dowdy
Place of Refuge by Patty Smith Hall
Free to Love by Terri J. Haynes
The Winter Quilt by Debby Lee
The Song of Hearts Set Free by Darlene Panzera
Freedom’s Flight by Penny Zeller
There is hope for the future when people come together to fight evil, and when men and women find love in the midst of great challenges. And through it all, faith is the key to victory in these stories from nine inspiring Christian authors.
Purchase Links:
Amazon
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.
*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.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What did you read for the challenge? What were your thoughts on it? Would you recommend it?
by Crystal Caudill | Jan 31, 2023 | Book Reviews, Reading Challenge
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.
*The list of prizes available from my prize shelf can be found here.*
January’s Theme: Spies
February’s Theme: Underground Railroad
The Prince of Spies
by Elizabeth Camden
Review by: Crystal Caudill
I am a HUGE fan of Elizabeth Camden’s books, and The Prince of Spies did not disappoint. This Romeo & Juliet style story has a much better outcome than its Shakespearean inspiration. The depth of spiritual growth experienced by the characters was surprising, refreshing, and personally needed. There is no such thing as a perfect family, and this book’s family dynamics are emotionally complex yet real. On the romance side of things, the storyline was exactly what it needed to be. I’m not an over-the-top romance reader, but the sweet moments in this book, the challenges they face as a couple, and the love they shared made for a perfect balance. This story ended up being the perfect wrap-up to the series, and I usually dislike Romeo and Juliet-type stories. I definitely recommend you run out and get a copy.
For Fans of: Gilded Age romances, historical details, Romeo & Juliet type stories
Genre: Historical Romance
Plot Overview:
Luke Delacroix has long had a reputation of being an impulsive adventurer, the wild son of one of Gilded Age Washington’s most prominent families. In reality, he has been secretly carrying out an ambitious agenda in Congress. His current mission: to thwart the reelection of Congressman Clyde Magruder, his only real enemy in the world.
Trouble begins when Luke meets Marianne Magruder, the congressman’s only daughter. Luke is fascinated by the vibrant Marianne and her daring work as a government photographer, leading them into a forbidden romance. Now they must embark on a dangerous gamble to reconcile their growing feelings with Luke’s driving passion for vital reforms in Congress.
Can their newfound love survive a political firestorm, or will three generations of family rivalry drive them apart forever?
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Baker Book House | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | 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 following month at midnight EST (January = February 7, etc), and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced on the Rafflecopter widget.
*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.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What did you read for the challenge? What were your thoughts on it? Would you recommend it?
by Crystal Caudill | Dec 31, 2022 | Book Reviews, Reading Challenge
We’ve finished the last month of the Unlocking the Past 2022 Reading Challenge: Around the World. This month we traveled to any country, so long as it was Christmas, and my choice of story was actually the Christmas collection from Karen Witemeyer, Under the Texas Mistletoe Once you read my review, don’t forget to comment to be entered for your chance to win a copy.
January 2023’s Theme: A Book with a Spy
*Want more interaction and/or suggestions each month? Join the Facebook Group. Need a reminder of the details of the challenge? Go to the Unlocking the Past Reading Challenge page or sign up for my newsletter to have reminders at the beginning of the month in your inbox.*
Under the Texas Mistletoe
by Karen Witemeyer
Karen Witemeyer is a Christy Award winner for a reason. I listened to the first story in the collection called “A Texas Christmas Carol” last Christmas and loved all the creative connections to the beloved Christmas story. I definitely understand why it won the Christy. While I did not reread that particular novella this Christmas, I did get the chance to listen to the last two and an exclusive short story during the drives back and forth to my parents during my Nanny’s decline and ultimate passing.
“An Archer Family Christmas” ultimately was my favorite one. The Archers have long been my favorite, but it was the sweet story of Jim’s and Cassie’s married life and struggles that really touched me the most out of the entire collection. Cassie and Jim lost their only child and were told it would be impossible to have another a few years previous to the setting of this story. Watching them go through Christmas in such a family-oriented and child-heavy family was poignant and beautiful. Without giving away spoilers, the danger, love, and beautiful weaving of this story were one that will long stick with me. Far longer than any of the other stories.
“Gift of the Heart” was another beautiful story with unique characters–a strong widowed mother who will do anything to provide for her daughter, even confront a rich and reclusive resort owner. The romance and growth they brought to each other was one I also enjoyed. I especially like that the hero had an arm that had been crippled as a child, and that we got to see how he adapted to life and how it molded him into the man he was.
I can’t remember the name of the short story as it was on audio, but it had to do with the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and a man’s determination to prove to a father that he was the right man for his daughter to marry. It was a super cute story with a fun twist on the song.
I definitely recommend this series to those who enjoy Christmas stories connected to other stories and Christmas songs, stories with depth, romance, and unique characters, and fans of Karen Witemeyer.
Genre: Historical Romance, Texas, Late 1800s
Plot Overview:
Three Charming and Festive Holiday Novellas Spiced with Humor, Frontier Action, and Sweet Romance
In this 3-in-1 novella collection, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer presents the new story “A Texas Christmas Carol,” in which a town’s wealthy, Scrooge-like bachelor finds his world invaded by a woman set on earning his donation for helping the local poor, and by the penetrating questions of three mysterious visitors.
It also includes, for the first time in print, “An Archer Family Christmas.” When the Archer clan gathers for the Christmas holiday, an unexpected request for help leaves Cassandra Archer directly in the path of a dangerous outlaw. Desperate to protect the woman he loves, Jim Archer races to the rescue, only to find that Cassie’s life is not the only one in peril. It will take a Christmas miracle–and the entire Archer clan–to keep a second Archer Christmas from ending in disaster.
In previously published “Gift of the Heart,” a widow and her young daughter move to Hope Springs for a fresh start. But with no money to secure a home, Ruth must convince a wealthy resort owner to accept her heirloom brooch as collateral. Will the pin that brought love to three generations soften the heart of a wounded recluse and give Ruth a second chance at love as the holidays draw near?
Sprinkled throughout the collection, you’ll find a hope-filled Christmas devotion, Witemeyer holiday recipes, and fun facts about nineteenth-century Christmas celebrations!
PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon Baker Bookhouse Barnes & Noble Books-a-Million Book Depository Bookshop.org Christianbook.com Indiebound.org
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 January 7th 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. *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.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What did you read for December’s Challenge? Are you going to be joining the 2023 Reading challenge?
by Crystal Caudill | Nov 30, 2022 | Book Reviews, Reading Challenge
We’ve finished the eleventh month of the Unlocking the Past 2022 Reading Challenge: Around the World. This month we traveled to any country you want to go to but have never been, and my choice of story was Millstone of Doubt by Erica Vestch Once you read my review, don’t forget to comment to be entered for your chance to win a copy.
*Want more interaction and/or suggestions each month? Join the Facebook Group. Need a reminder on the details of the challenge? Go to the Unlocking the Past Reading Challenge page.*
Millstone of Doubt
by Erica Vetsch
What can I say? I adore Erica Vetsch’s books and this series has definitely ranked top of my list from her. Millstone of Doubt is the exciting sequel to The Debutante’s Code. Just as in the first book, Millstone of Doubt is filled with excitement, suspicious relationships, unexpected twists, and best of all danger. Well maybe, second best. I’m not a huge romance girl, but this book had the perfect amount of romance and a swoon-worthy ending. I’m looking forward to seeing how things wrap up with the next book, Children of the Shadows, which is not yet up for preorder but I am eagerly anticipating its release next year.
This book is great for lovers of Regency romance, spy stories, and romances where you’re never sure who is holding back secrets. It’s a thrilling adventure with depth, romance, and characters you can’t wait to continue to follow.
Genre: Regency Mystery Romance
Plot Overview:
Caught in the explosion of the Hammersmith Mill in London, Bow Street runner Daniel Swann rushes to help any survivors only to find the mill’s owner dead of an apparent gunshot–but no sign of the killer.
Even though the owner’s daughter, Agatha Montgomery, mourns his death, she may be the only one. It seems there are more than a few people with motive for murder. But Daniel can’t take this investigation slow and steady. Instead, he must dig through all the suspects as quickly as he can, because the clock is ticking until his mysterious patronage–and his job as a runner–comes to an abrupt and painful end. It seems to Daniel that, like his earthly father, his heavenly Father has abandoned him.
Lady Juliette Thorndike is Agatha’s bosom friend and has the inside knowledge of the wealthy London ton to be invaluable to Daniel. She should be in a perfect position to help with the case. But when her trusted instructor in the art of spy craft orders her to stay out of the investigation, Lady Juliette obeys. That is, until circumstances intervene, and she drops right into the middle of the deadly pursuit.
When a dreadful accident ends in another death on the mill floor, Daniel discovers a connection to his murder case–and to his own secret past. Now he and Juliette are in a race to find the killer before his time runs out.
Purchase Links:
Amazon Baker Bookhouse Barnes & Noble Books-a-Million Book Depository Bookshop.org Christianbook.com Indiebound.org
Giveaway
*Special Giveaway note: Erica Vetsch is going to give this month’s winner a copy of her Thorndike and Swann paper dolls.*
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 December 7th 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. *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.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What did you read for November’s Challenge? What do you hope to read in December?
by Crystal Caudill | Oct 31, 2022 | Book Reviews, Reading Challenge
We’ve finished the tenth month of the Unlocking the Past 2022 Reading Challenge: Around the World. This month we traveled to South America. Don’t forget to comment to be entered for your chance to win a book from my book stash.
*Want more interaction and/or suggestions each month? Join the Facebook Group. Need a reminder on the details of the challenge? Go to the Unlocking the Past Reading Challenge page.*
So I’ll be honest. I totally BOMBED this month and failed the challenge. SO this month I’m reversing the blog post to ask YOU to post a review of what YOU read. Also, since I totally bombed this month, I figured, maybe now was a good time to announce next year’s challenge.
Unlocking the Past Reading Challenge 2023:
Unlocking an Adventure
January – A Book with Spies
February – A Book with the Underground Railroad
March – A Book with a Gold Rush
April – A Book with a Law Man Hero
May – A Book with Exploration or Pioneering
June – A Book with a Treasure Hunt
July – A Book focused with Heroines in Unusual Professions for Their Time
August – A Book with a Bounty Hunter
September – A Time Travel Novel
October – A Book with a Medieval Setting
November – Book with an Archeologist or Paleontologist
December – A Christmas Novel/Novella set somewhere you’ve never been
(2024 I have plans for a trope-based challenge. 🙂 )
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 November 7th 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. *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.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What did you read for October’s Challenge? Leave a quick review.
