Review: The Silence of Winter By Wanda E. Brunstetter

Publication Date: March 1, 2013
Series: The Discovery - A Lancaster County Saga (Book 2)
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Barbour Books
ISBN-10: 1620291436

About The Book:
Book 2 of an exclusive 6-consecutive-month release Amish serial novel. In The Silence of Winter, part two of New York Times Bestselling author, Wanda E. Brunstetter's The Discovery--A Lancaster County Saga, Meredith anxiously waits to hear that Luke has arrived safely in Indiana for a new job opportunity. . .but Luke’s call never comes. Instead, Meredith receives news that tears her heart to shreds and leaves her just barely living—and only for the sake of the little one growing within her. How will Meredith ever go on without Luke?

Review: Room No.10 By Åke Edwardson

Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: March 5, 2013
ISBN-10: 1451608527
Genres: Crime Fiction, Mystery, Thrillers

About The Book:
A YOUNG WOMAN IS DISCOVERED hanged in a room in a decrepit hotel, and Gothenburg’s Chief Inspector Erik Winter must try to figure out what happened. As Winter looks around, he realizes that he was in the same hotel room many years earlier, when it was the last known location of a woman who subsequently disappeared and was never found. The two women seem to have nothing in common except for this hotel room, but Winter suspects that there may be other connections...

Review: Garden Of Stones By Sophie Littlefield

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA; Original edition
Release Date: February 26, 2013
ISBN-10: 0778313522
Genres: Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Women's Fiction

Review: From The Kitchen Of Half Truths By Maria Goodin

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Release Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN-10: 1402279485
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction

Review: The Tutor's Daughter By Julie Klassen

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Release Date: January 1, 2013
ISBN-10: 0764210696
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

About The Book:
Emma Smallwood, determined to help her widowed father regain his spirits when his academy fails, agrees to travel with him to the distant Cornwall coast, to the cliff-top manor of a baronet and his four sons. But after they arrive and begin teaching the younger boys, mysterious things begin to happen and danger mounts. Who does Emma hear playing the pianoforte, only to find the music room empty?

Who sneaks into her room at night? Who rips a page from her journal, only to return it with a chilling illustration? The baronet's older sons, Phillip and Henry, wrestle with problems--and secrets--of their own. They both remember Emma Smallwood from their days at her father's academy. She had been an awkward, studious girl. But now one of them finds himself unexpectedly drawn to her.
When the suspicious acts escalate, can the clever tutor's daughter figure out which brother to blame... and which brother to trust with her heart?

My Thoughts:
Julie Klassen has very skillfully created a regency romance that is astonishingly reminiscent of Jane Austin and Jane Eyre. Set against the backdrop of 19th Century England's beautiful Cornwall coast, The Tutor's Daughter is everything I could possible want in a Regency Romance novel: well-researched and full of historical descriptions, a wide array of characters with very distinct personalities, blossoming romance, and enough suspense and intrigue that kept me in anticipation for the next page. Klassen has certainly proven herself a gifted storyteller and one who has done her research extremely well. Each time I opened this book I felt as though I were transported back in time. And the character of Emma Smallwood is just so endearing and admirable with her sense of determination and self-reliance, as well as her "blue-stocking" ways. I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end and highly recommend it to fans of Jane Austen or historical fiction in general. Overall an excellent novel and one that I can easily give five stars!

Review: Summerset Abbey By T.J. Brown

Series: Summerset Abbey Book 1
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Gallery Books; Original edition (January 15, 2013)
ISBN-10: 1451698984

About The Book: 

1913: In a sprawling manor on the outskirts of London, three young women seek to fulfill their destinies and desires amidst the unspoken rules of society and the distant rumblings of war...

Rowena Buxton 
Sir Philip Buxton raised three girls into beautiful and capable young women in a bohemian household that defied Edwardian tradition. Eldest sister Rowena was taught to value people, not wealth or status. But everything she believes will be tested when Sir Philip dies, and the girls must live under their uncle’s guardianship at the vast family estate, Summerset Abbey. Standing up for a beloved family member sequestered to the “underclass” in this privileged new world, and drawn into the Cunning Coterie, an exclusive social circle of aristocratic “rebels,” Rowena must decide where her true passions—and loyalties—lie.
Victoria Buxton
Frail in body but filled with an audacious spirit, Victoria secretly dreams of attending university to become a botanist like her father. But this most unladylike wish is not her only secret—Victoria has stumbled upon a family scandal that, if revealed, has the potential to change lives forever. . . .
Prudence Tate
Prudence was lovingly brought up alongside Victoria and Rowena, and their bond is as strong as blood. But by birth she is a governess’s daughter, and to the lord of Summerset Abbey, that makes her a commoner who must take her true place in society—as lady’s maid to her beloved “sisters.” But Pru doesn’t belong in the downstairs world of the household staff any more than she belongs upstairs with the Buxton girls. And when a young lord catches her eye, she begins to wonder if she’ll ever truly carve out a place for herself at Summerset Abbey.

My Thoughts:
 In her debut novel set within Edwardian England, T.J, Brown has created a wonderful tale full of intrigue and suspense with a vibrant cast of characters. Upon the death of Sir Philip Buxton, the three young women are immediately swept away to Summerset Abbey and their lives are forever changed within this clash of the upstairs and downstairs class system. The characters were extremely well-developed with unique personalities of their own...(although Rowena is just a rather weak and despicable person). The plot itself is well-developed with just enough twists and turns that prompted me to keep reading as I tried to guess the ending. The historical descriptions, for the most part, remained true to the time period and exemplified Brown's extensive research. As a debut novel, this was a delightful reading experience and one that I would recommend to any fan of the highly-acclaimed PBS series, Downton Abbey and historical fiction in general. I'm anxiously awaiting to meet up with Rowena, Victoria, Prudence, and the many other colorful characters in Brown's second book, A Bloom In Winter, scheduled for release in March 2013. Overall, a wonderful novel that I easily give four stars!

Review: The Flight of the Earls By Michael K. Reynolds

Release date: January 1, 2013 
Series: An Heirs of Ireland Novel
About The Book:
It’s 1846 in Ireland. When her family’s small farm is struck by famine, Clare Hanley and her younger brother, Seamus, set out across the ocean to the Promised Land of America. Five years prior, Clare’s older sister Margaret and her Uncle Tomas emigrated in similar fashion and were not to be heard from again. But Clare must face her fears as she lands in the coming-of-age city of New York. There she discovers love, adventure, tragedy, and a terrible secret which threatens to destroy her family and all she believes. Flight of the Earls is the first book in a historical novel trilogy based on Irish immigration in the 1840s.

Are You Irish?/ Michael K. Reynolds, Author Heirs of Ireland Series:

My Thoughts: 
In his first novel in the Heirs of Ireland saga, Michael K. Reynolds presents an astounding detail of Irish immigrants in America and their unwavering determination in the midst of famine and shattered dreams. Claire, her brother Seamus, and family-friend, Pierce embark upon a journey to the land of plenty with hopes of relieving the hardships faced by family back home in Ireland only to be met with equal hardships in the new world, as well as the discovery of heart-wrenching family secrets. Reynolds has written a mesmerizing tale filled with remarkable characters and amazing historical details. He's certainly an author who has done his research and extremely well at that. I was immediately transported back in time with his vivid imagery and attention to detail. The sights, the sounds, the smells, and the raw emotions of the characters were brought to life and kept me reading to the wee hours of the morning. Flight of the Earls is a must for any fan of historical fiction and one that I highly recommend. I easily give this novel a FIVE! I'm eagerly awaiting the second installment of this series, In Golden Splendor, currently scheduled to be released this summer on July 15th, 2013.

Review: Goodbye to Yesterday by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Goodbye to Yesterday: Part 1 (The Discovery - A Lancaster County Saga)
By Wanda E. Brunstetter
Publication Date: February 1, 2013

About The Book:
Join Meredith and Luke Stoltzfus, an Amish couple who are faced with the greatest challenge of their young lives. Financial struggles. Arguments. A suspected pregnancy. A last-minute trip to Middlebury, Indiana. A deadly encounter at a Philadelphia bus station. Will their love and faith be enough to bring them back together again, against all odds?


My Thoughts:
This first installment of Brunstetter's new Amish series has a great deal of potential and will certainly leave you wanting to read to more.  Like many couples these days, Luke and Meredith are faced with some difficult decisions in a struggling economy and Luke must make a choice to learn a new trade skill.  This decision will take him away from home but afterwards is sure to enable him to better provide for his family.  However, Luke's bus trip to Indiana will challenge their faith and forever change their marriage.  Brunstetter is certainly off to a great start in developing an intriguing story here!  However, I am disappointed that this was so short....130 pages according the print edition's description but the Kindle version seems so much shorter.  It seems as though I no sooner got comfortable in this story and it was over.  In this short of a reading, I'm not sure there was really enough to make an honest opinion of my impression.  I am intrigued with the story line, but the characters weren't well developed and often times felt rather "flat".  As with any novel I read, I enjoy a great deal of descriptions.  I want to be able to close my eyes and imagine myself in that particular place at that particular moment, and with this I just wasn't able to do that (at least not until the last four pages or so).  The cliff-hanger was certainly surprising and I intend to read the rest of the series but for now I feel a bit cheated as a reader.  Rather than a six-part series perhaps three would have done this more justice.  Overall, I would have to give this a three and hope the next installment changes my opinion.