Book Review: The Law and Miss Mary

Author: Dorothy Clark
Title: The Law & Miss Mary
Publisher: Love Inspired Historical
Publish Date: Aug 11, 2009
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb:It's disgraceful how St. Louis's orphans are treated. And Mary Randolph plans to do something about it. She's lost her faith, but she still has compassion and a drive to help innocents in need. If she has to battle with by-the-book police captain Samuel Benton to protect them...well, she'll give him a00000000000000000000 challenge he'll never forget.

A poverty-stricken childhood left Sam hungry for the social acceptance now within his reach. All he has to do is follow through with the city fathers' plans. But Miss Randolph's feisty perseverance gives him second thoughts, reigniting his faith--and showing him how true love can fulfill all their dreams...

Review:  This was really a beautiful story. Its very unrealistic , but it was a wonderful story anyway. Mary and her brother are in St Louis because her brother has taken over a steam boat line.

It doesn't take long for Mary to get involved with the city's orphans who are being sent to jail and made to work for free, simply because they have the misfortune of being without parents. This causes her to have some issues with the city's police captain. He is currently courting the daughter of the city's mayor. She's very beautiful, but very shallow. It is very easy to hate her. Its also hard not to want to shake Sam, for even considering her as a wife. She's just a pretty arm decoration.

I loved Mary's determination to keep the children out of jail. Though this story took place during the time of orphan trains and an orphanage such as Mary's just wasn't the norm. Things were not good for orphans in this period of time in America, not that they are ever good.

This particular story was very "God" focused. Love Inspired novels are Christian fiction but the level of faith in each story is different. This one is definitely one of the more faith focused stories. God was always sending answers and people to Mary and Sam. It was a little bit much at times, but I loved Mary.

The other thing this story tried to drum down our throats was how you can be beautiful on the outside but be ugly on the inside. The big example her is Lavina,  the mayor's daughter. She was easy on the eyes, but her personality was sorely lacking. Mary is described as plain by her ex fiancee and the other "beautiful" people, but her personality makes her beautiful.

I totally enjoyed this book even though nothing could have happened.

Rating: 4 flowers

Book Review: A Gift From The Sea

Author: Anna Schmidt
Title: Gift From The Sea
Publisher: Love Inspired Historical
Publish Date: May 1, 2009
Book Blurb: A steadfast faith kept nurse Maggie Hunter going through the darkest days of the Great War. But her fiance's death overseas shattered her trust in God and her heart.

Now an injured man has washed up on the shores of her Nantucket home, and to save him, Maggie must put more than her skill and dedication on the line....Wartime tragedy cost Stefan Witte everything--and converted him to the cause of peace.


But to deliver vital information to American authorities, he must fight Maggie's stubborn refusal to believe or forgive. Soon he will risk his life to win her trust--and their heaven-sent future together.


Review: I was so intrigued by a historical set in Nantucket during WWI. I just wish the story delivered more. When Stefan is found washed up on shores, Maggie's parents rush to care for the man they much later learn is a German.

Maggie has lost all faith from the loss of her intended to the Great War, and is full of mistrust for the injured man.

I wish I could say I loved this book, but the story offered little to recommend it for me. It sort of plodded along with things happening that finally saw the two main characters coming to a common ground. (Love?)

For me the romance, and I couldn't figure out how it actually happened was lackluster. While I came to care for all of the characters, and your heart could break for Maggie's loss as well as Stefan's the story is perhaps too "clean" for it to have any oomph in the romance department.

The premise of a love that crosses the sides of a war might have worked if this were set in Europe or if it just had a little spice, and by spice I don't mean sex. I'm not a huge fan of super sexy romance, but it needed a few stolen kisses or something that really would have shown these two people falling in love. It went from I don't trust you to I love you without enough development for me.

The ending had some nice drama though, both for the couple and family.

It was a sweet little story, but it was just a little bit lacking.

Rating: 3 flowers

Book Review: Want Ad Wedding

Author: Cheryl St. John
Title: Want Ad Wedding
Publisher: Love Inspired Historical
Publish Date: April 5, 2016
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: When Daniel Gardner convinced the residents of his Kansas boomtown to advertise for mail-order brides, he never expected the woman he once loved to respond. But Leah Swann steps off the bride train…pregnant and widowed and in need of a husband. Drawn to protect his fragile childhood friend, Daniel proposes a marriage of convenience.

Seeing her onetime best friend waiting to meet the bride train is a wonderful shock for Leah. After her first rocky marriage, a practical partnership with Daniel sounds perfect—as long as her heart doesn't get involved. But when she starts to fall for her husband, will her plans of a fresh start be ruined…or is a real marriage to Daniel exactly what she needs?

Cowboy Creek: Bringing mail-order brides, and new beginnings, to a Kansas boomtown.

Review: I normally love Love Inspired Historicals, but Want Ad Wedding was a little too choppy to be a great read. It took me days to slog through this one, and it was a book with a lot of potential.

Three friends reunited because of a search for brides for their Kansas boomtown. Daniel and Will both knew Leah in their younger days, in fact, Leah was engaged to Will at one point before the Civil War, and Daniel has always harbored secret feelings for her.

That alone should be enough to make for a great read, except there was too much tossed in to act as drama, that didn't quite make the cut. For starters Leah and Daniel's marriage which is one of convenience. Then Will and Dora's not so perfect relationship. Oh and a gang of troublemakers shooting up the town and stealing things and possibly harming the ranchers livestock.

So much of it didn't really do anything to move the story along, though the outcome of Will and Dora's relationship may set things up for another book in this mini-series.

Then there's Leah, who is pregnant. Her husband was killed months before. She is also seeking work as a midwife. She's also suffered several miscarriages in the past and was under doctor's orders to take it easy.

With a lot of things centering around her and the baby, the story ended without her giving birth. It did have a happy ending, but this is a romance, so that's to be expected.

I just felt like there was so much going on that didn't take the story anywhere. I'm anxious to see if some of the brides that arrived with Leah are part of the next book, and more importantly if Noah, Daniel and Will's friend who was a secondary character here finds love.

Rating: 3 flowers

Book Review: A Family For Christmas

Author: Winnie Griggs
Title: A Family For Christmas
Publisher: Love Inspired Historical
Publish Date: Oct 1, 2013
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley

Book Blurb: 

An Unexpected Gift

Eve Pickering knows what it's like to be judged for your past. So she's not about to leave the orphaned boy she's befriended alone in this unfamiliar Texas town. Since Chance Dawson's offer of shelter is the only way to look after Leo, Eve is determined they'll have a warm, welcoming home for the holidays.

Chance came from the big city to make it on his own despite a painful secret. But Eve's strength is giving him a confidence he never expected—and a new direction for his dream. With a little Christmas blessing, he'll dare to win her heart—and make their family one for a lifetime.

Review: This is a holiday novel, but the focus on the story was really not on Christmas but on Eve and Chance and the little boy Leo.

Eve rescues Leo when he is tossed off a train as a stowaway. He's a troubled youth and Eve becomes his champion, Chance who was on the same train becomes Eve's champion as well offering them a place to stay until all their affairs are situated.

An older woman, Dotty, stays with them as a chaperon.

This is a Christian romance so everything is clean, but that doesn't make any difference to the story.

Both the hero and heroine have their own difficulties as a result of their families. Eve's grandmother takes her mother's indiscretions out on her and as a result, Eve has very low self esteem. Chance and his father have a strained relationship as well. He also is unable to read, something he keeps secret from most everyone. It isn't mentioned, but I think he suffers from dyslexia.

In a small Texas town these two come together and start to build their lives. Eve blossoms in the new town especially as her business starts to take off and even when Chance's father arrives things stay on the up and up.

The best character in the story, is Leo. He's such a sweetie pie. He's had a rough life, losing his parents and then his home. He really knows how to speak his mind, and I particularly enjoyed the scene where he was left alone with Chance's father. See his dad cares a lot for his son, but he doesn't have the faith in his son's abilities that he should have. He also wants him to be something he's not. There's a lot of tension between these two.

In between all the tension, there is a wonderful love blossoming in a small pioneer Texas town, right at the start of the holiday season.

If you like historical romance or sweet romance, this is a must read.

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: Family Lessons

Author: Allie Pleiter
Title: Family Lessons
Publisher: Love Inspired Historical
Publish Date: April 2, 2013
Buy: Amazon

Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley

Book Blurb: 

Next Stop: Home After a catastrophe strands a train—and eight orphaned children—near Evans Grove, Nebraska, schoolteacher Holly Sanders sees hope in the chaos. These children are the new start her community needs. And Holly is stubbornly determined to give the townspeople, the children…and even gruff sheriff Mason Wright…the happy families they deserve.

How can anyone so petite have so much gumption? Watching Holly rally her young charges wins Mason's admiration—and reminds him of his own failures. No matter what Holly or the orphan boy Liam think, Mason's no hero and he doesn't merit a second chance. Can Holly's faith, Liam's trust and God's grace open Mason's heart to love's greatest lesson?

Review: Love Inspired Historical is my favorite line and Allie Pleiter is on of my favorite authors. She really creates stories that pull you in and make you feel a deep connection for the characters, although sometimes the characters aren't the ones you'd expect to fall in love with.

In this case, it is the orphans, all of them. In fact their story along with everyone who dealt with the train robbery and murder of Mr. Arlington take precedent over the romance. The emotions between Mason and Holly seem secondary to the plight of the children and the town, and do you know what? It isn't a bad thing.

It is nice to see Holly and Mason get together, but it really feels more important to see the children find homes and for Beatrice Ward to shut her trap.

I don't think I've ever read a story with a character I wanted to pop in the nose as much as I did Beatrice Ward.

She was one bitter, nasty old lady masquerading as a good Christian. (There are a lot of Beatrice Wards in the world)

I would have loved to have got a bit more back story on her, to find out why she was the way she was. Just as I would have liked to have known what brought Holly to Evans City when she had family in St Louis.

But in the long run, that isn't the stuff that mattered. It is the happiness of the children, though the end results are just the perfect happily ever after.

This was such a sweet story that you won't be able to put down.

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: A Groom For Greta

Author: Anna Schmidt
Title: A Groom For Greta
Publisher: Love Inspired Historical
Publish Date: Oct 2, 2012
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley & the publisher

Book Blurb: Everyone in their small Amish community expects Greta Goodloe to marry her longtime sweetheart—Greta included. So when he publicly ends their engagement, in front of newcomer Luke Starns no less, she is utterly humiliated. At least she can take comfort in matchmaking between Luke and her quiet schoolmarm sister. Yet the more she tries to throw them together, the more Luke fascinates her. A serious, no-nonsense schoolmarm should be exactly what Luke wants in a wife. Still, he can't help but be charmed by Greta's warm smile and impulsive ways. Does he dare to stray from the sensible choice and take a chance on happiness?

Review: This was one of the best romances I've read in a long time. I couldn't put it down until I finished reading it and considering that it is 280 pages, well that's really saying something. Lately I've been having a hard time reading books the length of a Harlequin Romance!

So what was it about this story that made it stand out from all the others I've been reading

Greta, Lydia and Luke were really engaging characters. Greta at first seems a little flighty and flirty but that isn't the case really. She's really just a people person. And Luke and Lydia both appear serious but they have their own secrets too. Luke's deals with his past life in Canada, and Lydia's deals with a certain someone that we meet near the end of the book.

I also liked the setting of the book, Depression Era Florida.

It is so nice to read Amish stories that aren't always set in PA or OH!

Plus, even though Love Inspired is a Christian line, this book was pure sweet romance, which isn't something that you get with a lot of Amish fiction out there. This is really a love story between Greta and Luke, and it has some ups and downs do to the way the two of them find each other.

Greta has just been jilted by her sweetheart, just a few days before they planned to announce their engagement and Luke thinks he wants to wed Greta's sister Lydia. How the two finally decide to court is quite amusing, but you'll have to read that for yourself. I will give you a hint that Lydia has something to do with it.

But things aren't always easy and fires and secrets make their courtship a little bumpy.

Anna tied the story together nicely without making things too obvious. This is a great afternoon romance and one that I can see myself revisiting again down the line

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: Homefront Hero

Author: Allie Pleiter
Title: Homefront Heroes
Publisher: Love Inspired Historical
Publish Date: May 1, 2012
Buy:Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: The author
Book Blurb: Dashing and valiantly wounded, Captain John Gallows could have stepped straight out of an army recruitment poster. Leanne Sample can't help being impressed—although the lovely Red Cross nurse tries to hide it. She knows better than to get attached to the daring captain who is only home to heal and help rally support for the war's final push. As soon as he's well enough, he'll rush back to Europe, back to war—and far away from South Carolina and Leanne. But when an epidemic strikes close to home, John comes to realize what it truly means to be a hero—Leanne's hero.

Review: Allie's Homefront Hero is set in one of my favorite periods of modern history, World War One. So much time is spent on Nazi Germany that The Great War is often ignored these days. So when I had the opportunity to read this book, I jumped at it.

The first thing I noticed about this book was how wonderfully real the characters were. Leanne was so real and so was John. I loved the scenes at the beginning of the book where she's trying to teach him to knit for the war effort.

John is an injured soldier that Leanne and her friend Ida meet when he's giving a speech to recruit new soldiers. His injury has made him a hero and he has a way with words that make men and women want to do his bidding. I really expected his character to be more arrogant than he was. Harlequin's are full of alpha males. But he didn't really strike me as that. What he did strike me as was very human. You could feel his frustration with his injury and you could definitely feel his desire to get back to the front lines.

John Gallows was probably the most real hero I've read in a romance novel. To make John even more wonderful, he ends up staying in SC to help the sick (Leanne included) when an influenza epidemic occurs, rather than travel to Chicago and then to flight training.

This is a sweet wartime love story. It is also Christian fiction, so there is a good measure of faith involved and the story is clean, so it can be read by any age group.

Lovely book! Oh and can I just say, I adore the cover for this book. The Love Inspired Historicals always have the prettiest covers!

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: The Cowboy Father

Author: Linda Ford
Title: The Cowboy Father
Publisher: Love Inspired Historical
Publish Date: Feb 2012
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: Net Galley
Book Blurb: With Alberta in the grip of the Depression, Louisa Morgan is desperate to bolster her family's finances. But how can she tutor bedridden Ellie Hamilton? The little tomboy is more interested in making mischief than studying sums. And the girl's bond with her handsome papa is another reminder to Louisa of the children she'll never have.

For Emmet Hamilton, strength means shouldering burdens alone. He never thought he'd let himself share his child, or his heart, ever again. But before long, Louisa's kindness and optimism start to change the cowboy's mind. Maybe he can gain the courage to trust again—in Louisa, in God's grace, and in this new family.…

Review: The Cowboy Father is a very sweet love story. It takes place during the depression in Alberta, Canada. While the plot is something we've seen before, the characters are so real that it is easily overlooked.

Your first impression of Emmet's daughter, Ellie, is not a good one. She's in a body cast after a fall from a tree, breaks her leg. (I'm not sure why a broken leg would require a body cast, but I'm going to assume Ms. Ford did her research and that this is correct). She is the most stubborn obnoxious child, I've ever read about. However, she is a motherless little girl and she's cooped up in a house with nothing to do while she recovers, so her misbehavior is almost understandable.

Louisa is totally sweet and hardworking. However the diagnosis of her barrenness after a long illness is taking over her life. In a way, she comes across as feeling sorry for herself. No one could love her because she couldn't have a baby. The same is true for Emmet. He lets what he feels are failures from his past dictate his future. The reason for his guilt is revealed toward the end of the story, and deals with the death of his parents. I don't want to spoil the story for any of you, but I will say, when you read it, you will cry. I know I did.

This two broken people are definitely suited for each other, but it takes a lot to get them together. Oh and not to worry, there's another child for both Louisa and Emmet, but you'll have to read the book to find out more!

Rating: 4 flowers