A Heart Revealed by Josi S. Kilpack

 Posted by  Book Reviews
Apr 082015
 

 

23453182A Heart Revealed

Author: Josi S. Kilpack

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Published: April 7th, 2015

ISBN13: 9781609079901

Paperback: 336 pages

FTC FYI: Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Reviewed by Mindy

Goodreads Summary

Amber Marie Sterlington, the Rage of the Season in Regency-era London, has her pick of men, and she knows what she wants most in a husband: a title and a fortune. Why would she ever marry for something as fickle as love? And why would she ever look twice at Thomas Richards, a third son of a country lord?

But when Amber’s social standing is threatened, the character of her future husband becomes far more important than his position. After a public humiliation, she finds herself exiled to Yorkshire. Alone except for her maid, Amber is faced with a future she never expected in a circumstance far below what she has known all her life. Humbled and lonely, Amber begins to wonder if isolation is for the best. Who could ever love her now?

My Review

First off, I want to congratulate Josi on this amazing book.  It is already getting rave reviews, and I now that I am finished I can see why!  Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, and so on and so on, all agree it is a fabulous book.  Way to go, Josi!!

This book was beautiful.  The writing was flawless and the characters were strong and developed well.  I loved how the author took her time in helping the reader learn to like Amber, because I admit, I didn’t like her at first.  I LOVED Suzanne.  She was so wonderful.  I loved how she was with Amber and how she didn’t take any guff from her, and was brave enough to tell her.   I loved how their relationship grew into a treasured friendship.  I also loved when Amber was sent to Yorkshire, her friendship/relationship with Thomas took time and I appreciated the fact that Thomas knew some things about her that Amber didn’t know and how they learned to love each other.  One of my favorite things happened at the end of the story with Amber’s sister Darra, I was in tears.  As the story progressed, my heart broke for Amber, not knowing what was happening to her and learning her new life in her tiny cottage.  I loved how she learned to take care of herself and appreciated her friendship and need for Suzanne.  I honestly could go on and on, but you will need to read it for yourself, and love it as much as I did.

5 ouf 5 stars!  Josi is also the author of the Sadie Hoffmiller culinary mystery series, another favorite of mine.  Plus many other novels and novellas.  She is amazing, and I am a huge fan of her writing and Josi herself.

Author Links

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook 

Purchase Links

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Deseret Book

 

 

Keeping Kate by Lauren Winder Farnsworth — Blog Tour

 Posted by  Book Reviews
Jan 212015
 

22616865Keeping Kate

Author: Lauren Winder Farnsworth

Publisher: Cedar Fort

Published: January 13th, 2015

ISBN13: 9781462115631

Paperback: 320 pages

FTC FYI: Received a PDF copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Reviewed by Mindy

Summary

“Don’t you love me, Kate? Has everything you ever felt for me really disappeared in less than ten minutes?”

“I do love you,” I said woodenly. “I always will. But you’ll never hear it from me again.”

Kate Evans has never had a real family—and she’s never dreamed of falling in love. But when she gets a job taking care of a little girl on a lonely Utah ranch, Kate’s determined to make a life for herself.

Right up until the moment she meets her irritable employer . . .

Sparks fly in this LDS twist on the classic Jane Eyre. Equal parts suspenseful, entertaining, and romantic, it’s an addicting read that’s sure to capture your heart.

My Review

Confession.  I have never read Jane Eyre.  I know, I know, you can throw your arrows now.  LOL!  I did, however, really enjoy this retelling of Jane Eyre.  Kate has had a very sad life, but I loved that she didn’t let it break her spirit and her faith in her Heavenly Father.  I was also glad that the author didn’t let that back story be the whole focus of the book.  The glimpses into her life, told by Kate to others, was perfect.  I thought Kate was amazing.  A little stubborn at times, but that is what made her enduring.  Kate arrives in Oakley (which had me dying since my grandparents have a cabin up there that we still go to) and is right away taken with Thorne Field, not so much taken with Tyler.  I loved the progression in their relationship and especially how she was able show him how much he really did love Addie too.  Of course, nothing in life goes how you plan and I enjoyed the turn the story makes with some fun characters and a new life.  I did wonder about one character, but happy she was no longer in the picture.  Tyler also grew on me when he stopped being a stinker and I was thrilled with the end result of the book!

4 out of 5 stars.  I look forward to more books from this debut author.

About the Author

Lauren Winder Farnsworth was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is an avid reader, a chocolate enthusiast, a musicophile and a CPA—which, yes, is somewhat unusual for a novelist, but don’t let that freak you out. She obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from the University of Utah, went to work as an auditor of various financial statements, and then decided that writing down the stories swimming in her head sounded like a good creative outlet on the side. Having obtained two degrees from the same institution has made Lauren somewhat of a compound collegiate fan, and the only entity that holds more of her heart than the University of Utah is her husband, Bryan. Lauren currently lives in South Jordan, Utah, where she spends entirely too much time watching Gilmore Girls and looking for excuses not to clean.

Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Purchase Links

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Deseret Book / Cedar Fort

Blog Tour Stops

Keeping-Kate-blog-tour2

The Color of Snow by Brenda Stanley — Blog Tour

 Posted by  Blog Tours, Mindy's Reviews
Aug 082012
 

The Color of Snow

Author: Brenda Stanley

Publisher: Tribute Books

Published: June 1st, 2012

ISBN13: 9780983741893

eBook: 413 pages

Genre: YA General

FTC FYI: Review copy

Reviewed by Mindy

Goodreads summary: Can a troubled young girl reenter society after living in isolation?

When a beautiful 16-year-old girl named Sophie is found sequestered in a cage-like room in a rundown house in the desolate hills of Arbon Valley, Idaho, the entire community is shocked to learn she is the legendary Callidora–a baby girl who was kidnapped from her crib almost seventeen years ago and canonized in missing posters with portraits of what the fabled girl might resemble. Authorities soon learn that the cage was there to protect people from Sophie, because her biological father believes she is cursed.

Sophie is discovered after the man she knows as Papa, shoots and injures Damien, a young man who is trying to rescue her. Now, unsocialized and thrust into the world, and into a family she has never met, Sophie must decide whether she should accept her Papa’s claims that she is cursed and he was only trying to protect others, or trust the new people in her life who have their own agendas. Guided by a wise cousin, Sophie realizes that her most heartbreaking challenge is to decide if her love for Damien will destroy him like her Papa claims, or free her from past demons that haunt her mind.

My Review

Sophie has just been “rescued” from living a life of isolation thrust on her by her father.  As he is being taken away by the police, he tells her,

I love you Sophie. Please know that.  I’ve always loved you.  That is why this happening now.

It was the only time my father ever told me he loved me, and now he did it with such fervor it made my skin prickle.  The words didn’t comfort, they left me feeling scared and abandoned.  I nodded and sat on my bed.  He took a last look at me, then put his hand to his mouth and left my doorway.  I knew we were in trouble, but I didn’t know what would happen next.

Sophie’s life has not only been of isolation, but of fear.  Not from her father necessarily, but of the curse that he said follows them.  Papa tells her of ghosts in the fields, and how he needed to protect their secret.  Now she is living with her grandparents, scared and confused.  She befriends her step cousin Stephanie, and is home schooled by her Uncle Lonny.  Her aunt Elise’s new husband.

There is so much more to this story, I don’t want to give many more details.  Just know this, I loved how this story is told.  It is told in past and present, with a couple POV changes. I was always kept in the story, and the author would brilliantly end the chapters with me wanting more.   The story is told from Sophie’s point of view in the present and past, and her father’s in the past as well.  We learn so much through his eyes, just as much as Sophie’s.  Sophie’s fear is the curse, will she get over it for her to move with her life.  You will enjoy reading for that answer.

Content

There are a few content issues I should warn you about.  There is pre-maritial sex, but no details. An icky uncle.  Smoking, and language.  Nothing I was offended by.

4 out of 5 stars.  This is the first book I have read from Brenda Stanley.  I really enjoyed it.  Brenda Stanley is the former news anchor at her NBC affiliate KPVI in Eastern Iadho. Her writing has been recognized by the Scripps Howard Foundation, the Hearst Journalism Awards, the Idaho Press Club and the Society for Professional Journalists. She is a graduate of Dixie College in St. George, Utah, and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Brenda lived for two years in Ballard, Utah, within the Fort Duchesne reservation where the novel is set. She and her husband live on a small ranch near the Snake River with their horses and dogs.

Follow her on Facebook / Twitter / Website

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