Archive | September 2020

The Christmas Swap by Melody Carlson

Sep8

A Winter Wonderland

The Christmas Swap by Melody Carlson is a delightful contemporary festive offering that will leave you smiling.

I always look forward to autumn and the latest Christmas themed book from Melody Carlson. This year’s novel is totally charming and will get you in the mood for cold December days.

Set in a lodge in snow covered mountains, there is a wonderful warm atmosphere. All is cosy and charming. There is an eclectic mix of characters – some with huge, welcoming hearts.

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The Death Of Mungo Blackwell by Lauren Brandenburg

Sep5

Of Faith And Family

The Death Of Mungo Blackwell by Lauren Brandenburg is a beautiful contemporary Christian novel about the most important things in life – faith and family.

Some people chase wealth but the richest people are those with others to love them.

The family unit is important. Within the novel there is a family who has a change of circumstances and with it, a reorganising of priorities.

Life in the city is stifling. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, it is all chasing the wind – we work to get money to buy things we do not need. We spend our lives chasing the next ‘big’ thing. We entrap ourselves. In contrast life in the country brings freedom – freedom to be who we were created to be. The family unit is strong. It pulls together to offer love and support.

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A Dazzle Of Diamonds by Liz Johnson

Sep4

A True Gem

A Dazzle Of Diamonds by Liz Johnson is a most charming contemporary Christian romance with a mystery thrown in too. It is the third book in the Georgia Coast Romance series but can be read as a stand-alone.

There is a family reputation to delve into following a hundred and fifty year old accusation. It seems like the sins of the fathers have travelled down the years as lives are tarnished due to their ancestor’s behaviour. Letters from 1864 and a diary will reveal the truth.

There is the theme of treasure. For some treasure is in wealth and status. For others they realise that true treasure is always to be found in people – people from all sorts of walks of life. “Kids with faces and names and hopes and dreams.” Making a difference in the lives of the disadvantaged brings treasures beyond measure.

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The Black Midnight by Kathleen Y’Barbo

Sep4

Fact Meets Imagination

The Black Midnight by Kathleen Y’Barbo is a marvellous historical murder mystery novel. It is part of the True colors series which is fabulous.

The author has woven her story around the Whitechapel murders of 1889 and the Austen, Texas murders of 1885. It is believed, in reality and in fiction that these murders may have been committed by the same person. As a historian living in England, I have read widely around the crimes of Jack the Ripper so I found the whole story absorbing and fascinating.

Underneath the surface a romance bubbles away. The reader senses the tension between being a professional and the attraction for another.

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