Art, Royalty, and a Secret World-wide Society

 

The Crown Conspiracy  by Connie Mann

A secret world-wide team of women who are flawed, talented and dedicated to helping women and children in need, work to find the missing portraits of the Princess Johanna and her children.  Meanwhile, other women are going missing.  Sophie and her newly discovered Speranza group must find her friend Lise and the missing women and solve the mystery of the 3 portraits.

This book contains a swiftly moving plot, uniquely talented characters, a European setting and royalty, which combine to keep the reader engaged.

I enjoyed this book and am grateful to the publisher for the complimentary arc, in exchange for this, my honest review.

Sequel to Steven James' Broker of Lies

 

 Fatal Domain by Steven James

Travis Brock, redactor for the Department of Defense, discovers that parts of his past have now returned to haunt his present.  He and his newly formed team must determine why a terrorist group wants to steal some very valuable military technology.  As they dig deeper, the conspiracy grows larger sweeping from a refugee camp in Uganda to the doors of the Pentagon and involving a pharmaceutical giant, as well as a villain from a previous book.

  As Travis struggles to know who to trust, he must also come to grips with his past while grappling with forgiveness.  His budding relationship with Adira is put to the test.  At the same time, the author puts a new villain in place and sets up a new challenge for Brock, Adira and Gunnar.

This book had a good mix of action and pondering.  The characters were further developed by this story and I could easily see another book in the series.  I would likely read another book because the characters were intriguing, and the conclusion left me wondering.

This is the second book of the series and would be better understood by reading the first, Broker of Lies. I am grateful to the publisher for this book in return for this, my honest review.

New to Me Writer

 

Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles

This book is based on the true story of Jessie “Kit” Carson, who travels to France in 1918 to join the CARDS, an organization of women dedicated to helping the devastated French people. Jessie’s job was to set up libraries to encourage the women and children of the French countryside.

The dual storyline also follows a NYPL librarian and aspiring writer in 1987 who has discovered Jessie’s story and wants to bring it to life.  She meets one of Jessie’s assistants and learns the rest of the story.

Both sets of characters are realistic, strong and grew through difficult circumstances. They made different choices than I would have and the author included a few scenes that I would have preferred not to read.

But overall, I enjoyed the book.  I am grateful to the publisher for the arc in exchange for this, my honest opinion.   

New Novel Set at the Biltmore Estate

 

These Tangled Threads  by Sarah Loudin Thomas

The Biltmore estate is the site of industries supporting the tradespeople of the Appalachian mountains.  Lorna is a grieving, accomplished weaver who is teaching orphaned Gentry the trade. Arthur is a talented wood carver.  The three of them become woven together as the story progresses.

Lorna is desperate to keep her job by designing an unusual fabric.  She comes across some beautiful patterns belonging to Gentry’s dead mother.  Can she use them to rescue her position? 

Arthur has loved Lorna but she seems not to notice him.  Can he forget her and move on with his life?

Gentry is desperate to find the woman whom she has thought dead for years, but hardly knows where to start.

The questions keep the reader involved in the plot as these threads become even more tangled as the story progresses.  The characters are lovable but flawed.  The setting is interesting, letting the reader experience what the life and times on the Biltmore was like.

The most difficult part of the book was keeping up with the timeline.  It kept shifting from past to present in the different characters’ lives.  The setting often changed too.  Even though it was clearly marked, it still was confusing.

Readers who have enjoyed Sarah Loudin Thomas’ other books will likely enjoy this one, too.  I am grateful to the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion. 

New Novel by a Michigan Writer

 

The Lady with the Dark Hair by Erin Bartels

Esther Markstrom is the curator of an art museum featuring the work of her famous ancestor, Francisco Vella.  She runs the museum and cares for her mentally ill mother.  She wonders if she is destined to live an uneventful, boring even, life, when she encounters her former college art professor, who turns her world upside down by a recent discovery.

Bartels skillfully weaves the two storylines of Esther and Vivienne, a 19^th century artist together to reveal the mystery of the lady with the dark hair.  Not only does she tell the story skillfully, but she illuminates the process by which artists paint and how the pigments themselves were created and distributed.

The main point of the story is the struggle that women painters encountered as they tried to break into an art dominated by men in the late 1800s.  The spiritual content of this book seemed a little lighter than Bartels’ other works, but Vivienne especially references Him in her trials.  However, this was a very enjoyable and clean novel and should be palatable to readers who may be offended by spiritual references.  It doesn’t contain pithy life lessons like a Lynn Austin novel or showcase spiritual growth like a Jamie Langston Turner novel, but it does contain two women who come to terms with what they want from life and take action to get it.

I enjoyed this novel and appreciate the arc I received from the publisher in exchange for this, my honest review.

 

 

 

 

 

The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay

This book reads like a spy novel because, well, it is!  Luisa Voekler remembers very little of her childhood in East Berlin.  And she knows only that her parents died in an automobile accident and her grandparents cared for her as she was growing up.  Then she finds something that turns everything that she knows about her family upside down.  Secrets-- or are they lies-- cover her past and now she must return to East Berlin to uncover the truth.

This novel is set in East Berlin during the tumultuous years prior to the wall being torn down.  No one is what they seem and danger looms around every corner.  The suspense keeps readers turning pages and wondering who Luisa can trust.

The characters are well-drawn and three-dimensional.  Luisa is strong and determined but not overly confident.  The supporting characters are much easier to understand as Luisa uncovers her past more completely.  There are also some unique characters who play a pivotal role in the plot.

This is my favorite type of book, with lots of action, interesting characterization and a satisfying conclusion.  I have enjoyed the author’s other novels, but this is my favorite.  I am grateful to the publisher for a complimentary arc in exchange for this, my honest review.

New Book on Noah's Wife

 

The Ark and the Dove by Jill Eileen Smith

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if God gave your husband an unusual command to keep your family safe?  The author has given this much thought and study as she wrote this novel.  It gave me a new respect for Noah and his family and the unusual task God gave them.

Jill Eileen Smith uses her sanctified imagination and research at the Ark Encounter to flesh out a story of obedience to God against the background of the culture’s unbelief.  Scripture does not name the wives who made this journey with their husbands.  Nor is it specific with the types of technology that would have been necessary to house, feed and dispose of waste from an ark full of animals.  With her research she enables readers to see what life aboard the ark would have looked like.  Those of us who lived through 2019 and 2020 can appreciate what life in a confined space with just your family was like, let alone needing to care for the many animals that daily depended on them.

I could really empathize with Noah’s wife.  Her desire was to have a healthy relationship with each of her daughters-in-law.  (I do not have a Keziah among mine!)  As a woman, I am sure she valued the relationships with her family and made it a priority to maintain them, even with a difficult family member in close proximity.  I also appreciated how she trusted her husband and didn’t try manipulate him even when she didn’t understand him.

This book seemed very realistic in the way the characters related to each other.  Even though the outcome was already known, it was still very interesting to read about their daily life.  Readers who enjoy Biblical fiction will enjoy this book and the way it brings Noah and Zara’s story to life.  I received an arc from the publisher, in exchange for this, my honest review.