A FEELING OF HOME by SUSAN ANNE MASON

Publication date 7/7/22

A FEELING OF HOME is the third novel in the Redemption’s Light series by SUSAN ANNE MASON. It is a lovely read with exceptional characters whose emotions are very real, and with a strong Christian message of grace, forgiveness and redemption on which the novel is based. We are reminded that everyone is precious in the sight of God. The subject of what finding a home entails is beautifully brought out by the author.
The story takes place in 1944 in Toronto. The Bennington Maternity Home and its owners, Ruth and Olivia, play a big part in the story. Although the book can stand alone, I suggest you read the second novel for pure enjoyment and in  order to get more background. 
Isabelle Wardrop’s demand that Dr Mark Henshaw leave his patient in labour at the Bennington Maternity Home, risking both her life and the baby’s, and go with her to attend to her dying mother, who refused to go by ambulance to hospital, shows us, not only her love for her mother, but also the result of her entitled upbringing.
However, we see what she is really made of when she loses her fortune and home and she and her seventeen year old  sister Marissa end up living near the tenements with Fiona, a devoted servant, and Fiona’s Aunt Rosie. Isabelle struggles to find employment, but ends up getting a maid’s job at a hotel. She is determined to do all she can to give Marissa a future,  but her sister is behaving strangely and will not cooperate by working hard at school. She soon sees the fickleness of her society friends and finds Mark Henshaw extremely helpful and forgiving.
Mark’s brother, Josh, is rebellious and angry, and Mark worries that his brother is going to lose his chance of studying medicine at university the way he is missing classes. His Friend Olivia from the maternity home gives him some good advice. Like Isabelle with her sister, Mark is worrying too much about his brother…..
I cannot recommend A Feeling of Home strongly enough as a most enjoyable, inspirational and thought provoking read.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

IN HONOR’S DEFENSE by KAREN WITEMEYER

Publocation date 7/6/22

IN HONOR’S DEFENSE is thr third novel in the Hanger’s Horsemen series by KAREN WITEMEYER, and although it can easily stand alone I suggest you read the whole lovely series if you possibly can.

The story starts in 1895 in St Louis Missouri where Damaris Baxter, the unassuming and almost invisible youngest of eight children, hears of her older brother Douglas’ death and learns that she is named as his fourteen year old son Nathaniel’s guardian. She moves to Madison county where she is faced with an angry, rebellious boy who does not respond to her affection. Luke Davenport, who comes from a broken and abusive childhood, sees himself in Nate, who is acting out badly after losing both his parents and seems to be asking for trouble.

Luke, or Preach as he is called by the rest of Hanger’s Horsemen, is employed by Nate’s neighbour Oliver Grimes to catch the rustlers who are stealing his cattle. I like the way Luke relies on his relationship with the Lord and his vast knowledge of scripture verses to guide him. The Horsemen are his only family and he has never really had a home. He wonders if someone with his past will ever be able to settle down and have a family. He is fiercely protective by nature and sees something in Damaris that others have not seen. In fact they bring out the best in each other.. 

Add to this a large company wanting to buy Nate’s land, false accusations against him and the mystery surrounding his father’s drowning “accident”, and you have an exciting and suspenseful read.  There is also a sweet romance, some unforgettable characters and a strong Christian message.. I highly recommend In Honor’s Defense to anyone who enjoys this genre.

I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

WRITTEN ON THE WIND by ELIZABETH CAMDEN

Publication date3/5/22

WRITTEN ON THE WIND is the second novel in the Blackstone Legacy series by ELIZABETH CAMDEN, but it can easily be read as a stand alone. It is a book that will really stay with you as you read of the strong friendship between Natalia Blackstone, a leading analyst in her father’s New York bank, and Russian Count Dimitri Sokolov. In spite of them communicating with one another from opposite parts of the world they really understand one another. It is inspirational to see how far he is prepared to go in order to follow his conscience and how far she is prepared to go in order to help him.

I really love the characters, especially Dimitri, with his strength, heroism, sense of the dramatic, flirtatiousness,  hypochondria, and poetic nature. I like to see how he is prepared to stand up to the Czar in order to have the 1858 Treaty of Aigun reinstated and protected. I like to see how committed Natalia is to her family, especially her baby brother Alexander, and to her work. After her Russian ballerina mother died, her father married Poppy, a woman close to her own age, who never misses an opportunity to put Natalia down.  It is interesting to see how similar the entitled upper classes are in America and Russia, and the growing unrest among the lower classes in both countries.

I do not want to tell you any more for fear of spoiling the read for you. 

I found Written on the Wind inspirational, interesting and exciting and cannot recommend the book highly enough for the unforgettable characters, great story and underlying Christian message.

I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bathany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.