The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson

November 25, 2015

The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson was a good book. This is a retelling of the fairy tale “Rapunzel” and if I am being honest I vaguely remember the story so I can’t really say much at it in that sense but I can talk about the writing and the things I liked about it and the things I didn’t like about it. I really enjoyed the author’s writing and this entire story. This was a quick read and even though it was about 225 pages the reading of it was super easy and light hearted. I loved watching as Rapunzel goes through adapting to a new city along with learning how to read. This story brought the fairy tale to life and made it even more relatable to younger generations. If you love fantasy books than I would for sure recommend this book to you.

About The Book

The Golden Braid (Thomas Nelson, November 2015)

The one who needs rescuing isn’t always the one in the tower…

Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man. She paints beautiful flowering vines on the walls of her plaster houses. She sings so sweetly she can coax even a beast to sleep. But there are two things she is afraid her mother might never allow her to do: learn to read and marry.

Fiercely devoted to Rapunzel, her mother is suspicious of every man who so much as looks at her daughter and warns her that no man can be trusted. After a young village farmer asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides to move them once again—this time, to the large city of Hagenheim.

The journey proves treacherous, and after being rescued by a knight—Sir Gerek—Rapunzel, in turn, rescues him farther down the road. As a result, Sir Gerek agrees to repay his debt to Rapunzel by teaching her to read. Could there be more to him than his arrogance and desire to marry for riches and position?

As Rapunzel acclimates to life in a new city, she uncovers a mystery that will forever change her life. In this Rapunzel story unlike any other, a world of secrets and treachery are about to be revealed after seventeen years. How will Rapunzel finally take control of her own destiny? And who will prove faithful to a lowly peasant girl with no one to turn to?

About The Author

Melanie Dickerson is the author of The Healer’s Apprentice, a Christy Award finalist and winner of the National Reader’s Choice Award for Best First Book. Melanie earned a bachelor’s degree in special education from the University of Alabama and has been a teacher and a missionary. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Huntsville, Alabama.

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Crimson Path Of Honor by M.B. Tosi

November 19, 2015

Crimson Path Of Honor by M.B. Tosi was so different from anything that I have read before. I have read a ton of historical fiction books but none that dealt with Native Americans like this book does. This is the third book in “The Indian Path Series” but you don’t have to read the other two books to know what is going on in this book. It is the third book but all books can stand alone because they all focus on a different Indian tribe. I love watching and Luci turn into Morning Star after she is captured and taken with them instead of being killed when the other people in her party were killed. This was an amazing book and I am so glad that I chose to review. I can’t wait to read the other books in this series in the future.

About The Book

Each of the three books in The Indian Path Series focuses on a different Native American tribe during the Indian Wars in the late 1800s, and the lives of fictional characters are woven into the true events. The books can be read in any order as each book stands alone with different characters, tribes, settings, and events in the Indian Wars.

In the newest book, The Crimson Path of Honor (Book Three), the Civil War is over, and a violent period known as the Indian Wars is erupting. Ignoring the danger, a feisty young woman from Boston rebels against her tyrannical father’s plans to marry her off to a family friend, and she seizes an opportunity to go west to teach. On the way to the Oregon Territory, her stagecoach is attacked, and she is captured by a marauding band of Lakota (Sioux) Indians who call the Rocky Mountains home.

Accepting her perilous situation, the young woman courageously confronts the daily hardships inherent in early Native American life. At first treated like an outcast, she eventually adapts to her circumstances and comes to respect the camaraderie of the Indians, even falling in love with her captor. Over time, she begins to challenge her abductor’s traditional views on bloodletting and violence as the path of honor. Torn by her inability to justify her growing feelings for her captor in a culture of violence,she continually wonders why God has abandoned her in such a desolate place.

The theme of The Indian Path Series is how to find life’s purpose and a path of peace, love, courage, and faith in times of trouble. As American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, “If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”

Other books in The Indian Path Series include The Sacred Path of Tears (Book One) and The Secret Path of Destiny (Book Two). In The Sacred Path of Tears, a young Cheyenne woman in Kansas is torn between two worlds at war and the two men she loves after the Sand Creek Massacre. The Secret Path of Destiny is about the Comanche in Texas and a young German-American girl who seeks refuge with the Comanche when her wicked stepfather pursues her.

About The Author

M.B. TOSI is the bestselling author of The Indian Path Series, which includes Book One The Sacred Path of Tears, Book Two The Secret Path of Destiny, Book Three The Crimson Path of Honor. Book Four, The Thundering Path of Spirit, and Book Five, The Solitary Path of Courage. She also has been an editor of non-fiction books and a weekly newspaper. She teaches piano and has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s degree in education. Born in Pierre, South Dakota, she has lived in Alexandria, Virginia; Bucks County, Pennsylvania; and Toledo, Ohio. She has three children and five grandchildren.

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The Courtship of Utopia Miner by Linda Gilman

November 18, 2015

The Courtship of Utopia Miner by Linda Gilman was such a cute book to read. The entire time I was reading this book the only thing I thought was how great this story was. I couldn’t help but laugh and love Utopia because of what she wanted to do with her life and the fact that she had 3 dads. I loved this author’s style of writing. There were times when I laughed out loud because the entire situation was crazy but the author wrote about in a way that makes you laugh. If you are looking for a great historical fiction novel than I know you won’t want to miss this one.

About The Book

Title: The Courtship of Utopia Miner

Author: Linda Gilman

Series: Gold Rush

Genre: Historical Romance

Release Date: November 9^th 2015

Publisher: Indie Published

Print Length: 289 pages

Format: Paperback and Digital

Print ISBN: 9781517538941

Digital ISBN: 1517538947

Utopia Miner is tired of hunting gold and caring for her three adopted fathers. Living in a Rocky Mountain mining camp is holding up her dream of becoming a saloon girl. If only she could learn the essential skills of singing, dancing and kissing, she’d be on her way to a glamorous life. When Utopia discovers she’s the prize in her three fathers’ marrying scheme, she sees benefits in going along with the courting contest. She now has a kissing teacher. And wow, what a teacher. One starter kiss from Lance and her body’s sweating in places it never had before.

Lancelot Jones wants to turn in his life-risking marshal’s badge for a much safer job as a reporter, but the newspaper wants articles as proof of his qualifications. When his editor sends him to a mining camp to get the scoop on a courtship contest, Lance discovers the privilege of covering the story hinges upon chaperoning the bride-to-be. He soon finds himself ensconced in Utopia’s innocent charms and demanding saloon girl lessons. In short order, chaperoning the bride-to-be becomes risky business.

About The Author

Linda Gilman is known for writing humorous western romance novels. Her stories are centered on independent, strong-willed women, and courageous heroes who always protect the innocent without violating their personal code of conduct. It’s the cowboy west readers are so enamored with and a twist of zany plot. From first page to last, her books are loaded with pain-in-your-side laughable moments.

She has a deep love of the American gold rush era and often uses this as an excuse to do book research and travel to ghost towns in the western states.

Born into a city girl life, her parents raised her in St. Louis County. However, Linda has always felt her country girl roots calling her to move west young woman. She currently lives in rural Missouri with her hubby and the oldest of her three sons.

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A Respectable Actress by Dorothy Love

October 25, 2015

A Respectable Actress by Dorothy Love was an amazing historical fiction book. I have read several books by this author and I loved each of them so this book had big shoes to fill and in short I loved everything about this book. I love this authors style of writing because she can make you understand how the characters are feeling and why they do the things that they do. I also love that she uses just enough details so you don’t get lost in the details but you also can understand why and what is going on with the characters. I liked India throughout the entire book and I wanted everything to work out for her. If you love historical novels than you aren’t going to want to miss book.

About The Book

When the illustrious India Hartley is accused of murder, she has to uncover the deceptions of others to save herself.

India Hartley, the famous and beautiful actress, is now alone in the world after her father’s death and embarks upon a tour of theaters across the South. Her first stop is Savannah’s Southern Palace. On the eve of the second night’s performance, something goes horribly wrong. Her co-star, Arthur Sterling, is shot dead on stage in front of a packed house, and India is arrested and accused of the crime.

A benefactor hires Philip Sinclair, the best—and handsomest—lawyer in Savannah to defend India. A widower, Philip is struggling to reinvent his worn-out plantation on St. Simons Island. He needs to increase his income from his law practice in order to restore Indigo Point, and hardly anything will bring him more new clients than successfully defending a famous actress on a murder charge.

Because India can’t go anywhere in town without being mobbed, Philip persuades the judge handling her case to let him take her to Indigo Point until her trial date. India is charmed by the beauty of the Georgia low country and is increasingly drawn to Philip. But a locked room that appears to be a shrine to Philip’s dead wife and the unsolved disappearance of a former slave girl raise troubling questions. Piecing together clues in an abandoned boat and a burned-out chapel, India discovers a trail of dark secrets that lead back to Philip, secrets that ultimately may hold the key to her freedom. If only he will believe her.

About The Author

Before returning to her writing roots in historical fiction, Dorothy Love published twelve novels for young adults. Her work has garnered numerous honors from the American Library Association, the Friends of American Writers, the International Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and many others.