Tag Archives: dual timelines

Top 10 Tuesday — Spring TBR

19 Mar

Spring has definitely sprung in my corner of the sunny South. Looking out the window of our office I can see redbuds, cherry trees, wisteria, and azaleas blooming. If a freak freeze doesn’t sneak in, we are in for a beautiful Easter! I also have some great looking books on my Spring TBR. I have a variety of genres to keep me from falling into any kind of reading rut. And really with this lineup, I am not worried!

For more fabulous Spring TBRs, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Books on My Spring TBR

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

Darkness Calls The Tiger by Janyre Tromp

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner

Embers in The London Sky by Sarah Sundin

Falling Night by Phil Clarke

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright

Sandcastle Inn by Irene Hannon

Water’s Break by Sophia L. Hansen

The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass by Katie Powner

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Top 10 Tuesday — Books That Made Me Google!

5 Mar

I confess that I use “the Google” when reading. Mostly it occurs when I read historical novels, but it can strike at any time if there is something I just have to know or see. In the past few months I have looked up recipes for food that was mentioned in a book, dresses by a a famous dress designer, buildings/landmarks that books are set in and around, and characters that lived in real life. Sometimes I can stray down rabbit trails, but I eventually return to the book until another Google-fancy hits me. This week I am featuring the last 10 books that caused me to Google. I hope one piques your interest.

For more Google-inspired lists, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

These Books Made Me Google!

By Her Own Design by Piper Hugely (Jackie Kennedy’s wedding gown)

Hope Beyond The Waves by Heidi Chiavaroli (treatment of leprosy)

The Juliet Code by Pepper Basham (sites in Venice, Italy)

A Lady’s Guide to Marvels And Misadventure by Angela Bell (food specialities of Amsterdam and Prague)

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb (Grasse, France)

Queen of Exiles by Vanessa Riley (Marie-Louise Christophe)

The Rhythm of Fractured Grace by Amanda Wen (people who survived scalping)

A Shadow in Moscow by Katherine Reay (American’s who spied for the USSR)

The Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barratt (pictures from the Warsaw Ghetto in WWII)

Whiskers, Wreaths, And Murder by Kathy Manos Penn (sites in the Cotswolds, UK)

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First Line Friday — The Rhythm Of Fractured Grace

9 Feb

Happy Friday! I am pleased to feature The Rhythm of Fractured Grace by Amanda Wen today. I so much enjoyed the first two books in her Sedgwick County Chronicles series, that I jumped on the chance to read/review book 3. These dual timeline novels set in Kansas are so good! My review will be posted later this month.

But for now, here’s the first line . . .

This was not how Matt Buchanan’s life in Wichita was supposed to start.

Is Siobhan too far gone to respond to the song of a God who’s calling her back to him?

When a new customer brings a badly damaged violin into Siobhan Walsh’s shop, it is exactly the sort of challenge she craves. The man who brought it in is not. He’s too close to the painful past that left her heart and her faith in shambles.

Matt Buchanan has had a rough start as the new worship pastor. A car accident on his way into town left him with a nearly totaled truck, and an heirloom violin in pieces. When he takes it to a repair shop, he’s fascinated with the restoration process–and with the edgy, closed-off woman doing the work.

As their friendship deepens and turns into more, they both discover secrets that force them to face past wounds. And the history of the violin reveals more about their current problems than they could have ever expected.

On the nineteenth-century frontier, a gruesome tomahawk attack wiped out most of Deborah Caldwell’s family. Her greatest solace after the tragedy is the music from her father’s prized violin. Given her horrendous scars, she’d resigned herself to a spinster’s life. But Levi Martinson’s gentle love starts to chip away at her hardened heart, until devastating details about the attack are revealed, putting their love–and Deborah’s shaky faith–to the ultimate test.

Full of forgiveness and the message that no one is too damaged for God’s healing touch, the final book in the split-time Sedgwick County Chronicles will thrill fans of Rachel Hauck, Lisa Wingate, and Kristy Cambron.

Amanda Wen’s novels have released to both reader and critical acclaim, including a 2023 Selah Award for The Songs That Could Have Been and a Foreword Indies Gold Award and a Christy Award nomination for Roots of Wood and Stone. In addition to her writing, Amanda is an accomplished professional cellist and pianist who frequently performs with orchestras, chamber groups, and her church’s worship team, as well as serving as a choral accompanist. A lifelong denizen of the flatlands, Amanda currently lives in Kansas with her patient, loving, and hilarious husband, their three adorable Wenlets, and a snuggly Siamese cat.

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Top 10 Tuesday — New-To-Me Authors From 2023

30 Jan

Happy Tuesday! Whew! The inaugural Turning A New Page Book Festival is officially in the books 😉 . If comments from readers and authors alike can be trusted (and they can) it was a roaring success! Over 40 authors shared their books and writing journeys with 200+ attendees. The board members are all pooped, but eager to get on with the planning for 2025!

Today’s TTT topic is new-to-me authors in 2023. My list today features the writers I discovered while working on the book festival planning. I hope you find a new author to increase your TBR!

For more great new books and authors, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top New-To-Me Authors in 2023

Valerie Burns — Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder

Brandy Heineman — Whispers in The Branches

Jennifer Q. Hunt — Through Thorny Ways

Rhonda McKnight — Something About Home

Kathy Manos Penn — Bells, Tails, And Murder

Randy Pierce — Missy

William Rawlings — Crypto

Vanessa Riley — Queen of Exiles

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Mini-Book Review — The Songs That Could Have Been

29 Jan

The Songs That Could Have Been is the second book in Amanda Wen‘s outstanding Sedgwick County Chronicles series. This Wichita, Kansas set novel explores important themes including identity/worth and interracial relationships with its dual timeline plots set in the 1950s and the present day. Lauren has battled body dysphoria and bulimia, but has come out on the other side, until a meeting with a long ago summer love upends her structured world. Lauren’s grandmother, Rosie, is quickly losing herself to Alzheimer’s, but a secret romance from the past begins to merge with her present. Each story is well-crafted, but as a whole they make this novel sing. The book is mostly told in the third person, but Rosie’s first person recollections add a depth and poignancy to the narrative. There is also a naturally developed faith message that God is enough that runs throughout the pages.

While you can certainly read The Songs That Could Have Been as a standalone novel, I would not recommend that. Characters from the first book in the series, Roots of Wood and Stone, play a part in the second book. Besides, this series is too good to miss out on anything! Book three, The Rhythm of Fractured Grace, releases in February.

Highly Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(I purchased a copy of this book. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

Two couples in love. Two sets of impossible circumstances. One powerful God of grace.

After a tailspin in her late teens, Lauren Anderson’s life is finally back on track. Her battle with bulimia is under control, her career is taking off, and she’s surrounded by a loving family. Then a chance meeting with Carter Douglas, her first love and the man who broke her heart, leads to old feelings returning with new strength. And suddenly her well-balanced world is thrown off kilter.

Now a TV meteorologist, Carter is determined to make amends with Lauren. After all, she still owns his heart. But the reasons they broke up aren’t lost–and those old demons are forcing him toward the same decision he faced in the past. He isn’t sure he’s courageous enough to make a different choice this time around. 

When Lauren’s elderly grandmother, Rosie, begins having nightmares about a man named Ephraim–a name her family has never heard before–a fascinating and forbidden past love comes to light. As Lauren and Carter work to uncover the untold stories of Rosie’s past in 1950s Wichita, they embark on a journey of forgiveness and second chances that will change their lives–and Rosie’s–forever. Along the way they’ll learn that God wastes nothing, his timing is perfect, and nothing is beyond his grace and redemption.

Amanda Wen’s novels have released to both reader and critical acclaim, including a 2023 Selah Award for The Songs That Could Have Been and a Foreword Indies Gold Award and a Christy Award nomination for Roots of Wood and Stone. In addition to her writing, Amanda is an accomplished professional cellist and pianist who frequently performs with orchestras, chamber groups, and her church’s worship team, as well as serving as a choral accompanist. A lifelong denizen of the flatlands, Amanda currently lives in Kansas with her patient, loving, and hilarious husband, their three adorable Wenlets, and a snuggly Siamese cat.

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Top 10 Tuesday — Best Books Read in 2023

2 Jan

Happy New Year! Today at TTT, bloggers are looking back at the best books read in 2023. I read fewer books in 2023 than in years past, but the ones I read were excellent. I am focusing on quality reading experiences as I balance the real world with the fictional world. 😉 I was surprised that almost all of the books on the list involve dual timelines, although the time periods vary. And all are steeped in history. It just goes to show that the past influences and illuminates the present. Lots of favorite authors too. I hope you find your next favorite book from one on my list.

For more Best of 2023, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Best Books Read in 2023

By Way of The Moonlight by Elizabeth Musser

Hope Beyond The Waves by Heidi Chiavaroli

In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer

The Long March Home by Tosca Lee and Marcus Brotherton

A Shadow in Moscow by Katherine Reay

Songs That Could Have Been by Amanda Wen

The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright

The Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barratt

What Happens Next by Christina Suzann Nelson

Within These Walls of Sorrow by Amanda Barratt

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Mini-Book Review — A Brighter Dawn

22 Dec

A Brighter Dawn is an Amish/Mennonite dual timeline novel from Leslie Gould. Set in modern-day America and WWII-era Germany, the book explores both white supremacy and the Nazi eugenics experiments. It was interesting to read about Mennonite communities in the present and in the past and their struggles with keeping separate from the “world”. As in most spiritual communities some people better adhere to their principals than others. Main character Ivy Zimmerman has a lot to deal with — guilt over her parents’ deaths in a car accident, her struggles with faith, and the newfound family she knew little about. Add to that a mystery surrounding her great-aunt Clare, and you have a complex, yet cohesive story to fall into. I enjoyed the book overall, though I did find the historical thread more compelling. The scientific research, the growing anti-semitism, and the ambivalence of those of faith were all too relevant for the modern reader. I had trouble connecting with the younger characters in the present-day story — probably due to my own advanced years. 😉 I do think that older teens and young adults would like this book. It certainly is a recommended read.

Recommended.

Audience: older teens and adults.

(I purchased this book from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

Ivy Zimmerman is successfully navigating her life as a young Mennonite woman, one generation removed from her parents’ Old Order Amish upbringing. But when her parents are killed in a tragic accident, Ivy’s way of life is upended. As she deals with her grief, her sisters’ needs, and her Dawdi and Mammi’s strict rules, Ivy finds solace in both an upcoming trip to Germany for an international Mennonite youth gathering and in her great-aunt’s story about Ivy’s great-grandmother’s visit to Germany in the late 1930s.

As Ivy grows suspicious that her parents’ deaths weren’t, in fact, an accident, she gains courage from what she learns of her great-grandmother’s time in pre-World War II Germany. With her great-aunt’s encouragement and the inspiration of her great-grandmother, Ivy seeks justice for her parents, her sisters, and herself. From the talented pen of bestselling author Leslie Gould comes a powerful and evocative dual-time story partly set on the eve of World War II.

Leslie Gould is the best-selling and award-winning author of over forty novels. She loves research, traveling, and church history. She and her husband live in Portland, Oregon and have four grown children and one grandchild. http://www.lesliegould.com/.

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Mini-Book Review — The Master Craftsman

18 Dec

Kelli Stuart is one of my favorite authors. The Russian and Ukrainian connections found in her books give an added dimension to her excellent writing. The Master Craftsman is a dual timeline novel with lots of elements of suspense and has both historical and fictional characters. I found the historical story fascinating — the Fabrege workshop that created the famous Easter eggs against the backdrop of a failing Imperial system and revolution showed the peril of those even peripherally tied to Tsar Nicholas. The modern-day treasure hunt was suspense-filled and action-packed with lots of shady characters. Who can you really trust!? All the priceless treasures the characters created and pursued served as reminders of just Who gives us personal value. I loved the adventure, the historical elements, and the subtle, yet important, spiritual themes. This novel is a recommended read.

Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

In 1917, Alma Pihl, a master craftsman in the House of Fabergé, was charged to protect one of the greatest secrets in Russian history–an unknown Fabergé Egg that Peter Karl Fabergé secretly created to honor his divided allegiance to both the people of Russia and the Imperial tsar’s family. When Alma and her husband escaped Russia for their native Finland in 1921, she took the secret with her, guarding her past connection to the Romanov family. 

Three generations later, world-renowned treasure hunter Nick Laine is sick and fears the secret of the missing egg will die with him. With time running out, he entrusts the mission of retrieving the egg to his estranged daughter, Ava, who has little idea of the dangers she is about to face. As the stakes are raised, Ava is forced to declare her own allegiance–and the consequences are greater than she could have imagined.

This modern-day treasure hunt from award-winning author Kelli Stuart transports you into the opulent and treacherous world of the Russian Revolution to unearth mysteries long buried.

Kelli Stuart is a writer and a storyteller at heart. A graduate of Baylor University with a degree in English Professional Writing, and a minor in the Russian language, Kelli has honed her skills in the written word through editing, ghostwriting, blogging, and traveling the world.

Kelli is the author of the Carol-award winning novel, Like a River From Its Course, based on true stories from Ukrainian World War II survivors. Her second novel, A Silver Willow by the Shore, was the NIEA winner for literary fiction and received the IPPY silver award for literary fiction in 2020.

Kelli’s third book, The Fabulous Freaks of Monsieur Beaumont released in August, 2021. She will release her fourth novel, The Master Craftsman in April, 2022 with Revell books. In addition, Kelli is part of a collection of short stories in the Christmas release, It’s a Wonderful Christmas: Classics Reimagined.

Kelli has co-authored the non-fiction books Dare 2B Wise with Joe White, and Life Creative: Inspiration for Today’s Renaissance Mom with Wendy Speake. Kelli lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband and five children.

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Mini-Book Review — Hope Beyond The Waves

8 Dec

Heidi Chiavaroli hit it out of the park with her dual timeline novel, Hope Beyond The Waves. With its intriguing subject matter, complex characters, and a hope-filled message, this novel was one of the highlights of my summer reading. The two main characters Emily (1993) and Atta (1916) are burdened by sin and guilt and wrestle with the concepts of penance and forgiveness. Both are abandoned by those closest to them. Emily, shipped off to her grandmother’s home because of her pregnancy, discovers the seemingly untold story of her great-aunt Atta who was sent to live on an island serving as Massachusetts’ leper colony. While Emily is an appealing and relatable character, it is Atta’s story that took hold of my imagination. Atta’s overwhelming fear of a diagnosis of Hansen’s disease is further aggravated by the isolation of her care. I really became invested in her life which seemed so hopeless. Little was known about Hansen’s at the time, and the treatment for it was pretty horrific. But . . . Hope Beyond The Waves is not a bleak book. Far from it. Strong spiritual messages spoke to the hearts of the suffering characters, as well as this reader. Atta finds God’s strength through her weakness.

Hope Beyond The Waves is an excellently written novel that left me thinking long after I closed its cover. It is definitely a highly recommended read.

Highly Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(I purchased this novel from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

Massachusetts, 1993

After making a grievous mistake that will change her life forever, Emily Robertson is sent away to live with her grandmother on Cape Cod. When Emily finds a timeworn photograph buried in a drawer, she realizes her grandmother has concealed a secret even bigger than her own. Will convincing Gram to reveal their family history help Emily make the most important decision of her life or will it prove her parents right—that family scandal is better off buried and forgotten?

Massachusetts, 1916

Atta Schaeffer plans to marry the man of her dreams and whisk her little sister away from their abusive father. But when she is diagnosed with a dreaded malady, Atta is forced into a life of exile, leaving her sister in harm’s way.

On Penikese Island, Atta’s best hope lies with Harry Mayhew, a doctor who seeks a cure for his patients at any cost. But when experiments fail, Atta runs from Harry—and from God. Can she return to her sister before it’s too late? Or will her illness consume both her body and soul?

A testament to faith and love, Hope Beyond the Waves is the raw account of the journey of two generations of women running from desperate situations toward irresistible hope.

Heidi Chiavaroli is a hope-inspired storyteller writing from the deep curiosity of her own heart. Her debut novel, Freedom’s Ring, was a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist, a Romantic Times Top Pick, and a Booklist Top Ten Romance Debut. Her second Carol Award-winning novel, The Orchard House, is inspired by the lesser-known events in Louisa May Alcott’s life and led her to write The Orchard House Bed and Breakfast series, a contemporary twist on Little Women. Heidi makes her home in Massachusetts with her husband and two sons.

Connect with Heidi online at her website (heidichiavaroli.com).

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Top 10 Tuesday — Hospitals!

5 Dec

Today is a TTT Freebie, s0 I thought I would tackle the depressing setting of hospitals. LOL! My husband laughed and rolled his eyes at me when I announced the topic. Surely I could have found a cheerier setting for the first TTT of December 2023? Probably, but I am in a rebellious mood. 😉 The books I am featuring all revolve around a hospital of some sort and encompass various time periods and genres. They are great for whatever ails you. Ugh!

For cheerier Freebie topics, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Books Set In And Around Hospitals

Airborne by DiAnn Mills

Ghost Heart by Lisa Harris and Lynne Gentry

Hope Beyond The Waves by Heidi Chiavaroli

In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer

Step by Step by Candace Calvert

Surgeon’s Choice by Richard Mabry

Wedded to War by Jocelyn Green

When I Close My Eyes by Elizabeth Musser

With Every Breath by Elizabeth Camden

With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin

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