Fairer Than Morning by Rosslyn Elliott

Picture visiting Pittsburgh in the early and mid-nineteenth century, think about the Underground Railroad and those who were involved, live the life of a young man who was forced by circumstances to become an apprentice and you have the setting for Fairer Than Morning, a historical fiction.

Now meet the main characters: Ann Miller, her father Samuel Miller, Will Hanby, and Jacob Good. Samuel Miller is a preacher/saddler who has been helping escaping slaves reach freedom. Jacob Good is also a saddler and the cruel taskmaster over two apprentices. Ann and Will are two young adults who find their daily lives dramatically affected by the circumstances they find themselves in.

Rosslyn Elliott has taken real people who lived in this time and woven a story around their lives to give us Fairer Than Morning. She researched the lives of Ann and Will who actually married. Many of the facts regarding their pre-marriage lives are based on real events, though the circumstances have been altered in the interest of producing a very good book.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate

“There’s something about Moses Lake that changes people. It’s anybody’s guess as to why that is, but I think that’s what my mama was hoping for when we came here all those years ago…For folks who stay a little longer, the hills, and the draws, and the water, and the people piece together like an old quilt, wrapping around, comfortable and warm. Safe. There’s no mystery to it after a while. You just know you’re in the right place. You feel it deep in your soul.”

And so begins the last chapter of Larkspur Cove.

I wasn’t sure when I started this book that I would be able to get into the story because the chapters alternate between two characters. Andrea Henderson has come through a divorce that no one saw coming. She and her teenage son, Dustin, return to the summer home of her parents on Larkspur Cove in Moses Lake, Texas. All she wants is to rebuild her life, protect her son for whatever life brings his way and do her job as a Child Protective Service employee. The other character is game warden Mart McClendon. Mart has been trying to recover from the death of his brother and young nephew. He blames himself that they died in a boating accident. Return to an area where he lived as a youth, Mart is a local game warden who catches Dustin and other local youth diving off a dangerous rock in the lake.

After an explosive confrontational first meeting, Mart and Andrea find their lives intertwined as they deal with a local recluse and his granddaughter. As an attraction grows between them, each must come to terms with the reasons they returned to Moses Lake.

I enjoyed Larkspur Cove and recommend it to others. I received this book to review for free from Bethany House.

The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen.

A difficult book to put down, Julie Klassen has woven a story that incorporates elements from her favorite author, Jane Austin. Like Jane Austin, Miriah Aubrey is a secret authoress, though this is not why she now lives in the gatehouse.

Mariah has been sent away from her family home and banished to the gatehouse of Windrush Court, the estate where her aunt lives. When her Aunt Fran gives her a key to a trunk and then has that trunk moved to the gatehouse prior to her dying, a series of secrets begin to unfold. Secrets that Miriah, Hugh Prin-Hallsey (the heir), Captain Matthew Bryant (the new tenant of Windrush Court) and a mysterious Captain Prince all have. As you move through the book, the secrets begin to be revealed. Don’t expect to find out all before you reach the end of the book though.   

Each of these characters has a story to tell that will eventually affect Miriah and the future of Windrush Court.

I suggest that you, the reader of historical fiction, take the time to enjoy The Girl in the Gatehouse. You may find it as difficult to put down as I did.

I received this book to review for free from Bethany House.

Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs

The sequel to Here Burns My Candle, Mine is the Night is also a standalone book. Set in 1746 Selkirk, Scotland the book tells the story of three women who find love, forgiveness and peace.

Lady Marjory Kerr has lost two sons to Prince Charlie when he led the rebellion against the Crown of England. Because of this act of treason, she has lost her home and title. Marjory finds that as she adjusts to the life of the common people, she cares more for those around her and eventually marries the man who faithfully served her family when she was Lady Marjory.

Her daughter-in-law, Lady Elizabeth, must return to dressmaking to support the household. An unfaithful husband has made her cautious of marriage until she meets Lord Jack Buchanan. Lord Jack recognizes that Elizabeth is a lady of quality even though she is employed as a dressmaker in his home.

Annie, the third woman, is a distant cousin of Marjory and has never married. Disappointed in love when Michael, a local tailor, married someone else, Annie has never sought the love of another man.  That is until the now widowed Michael and his son come to see what Annie means to them.

As each woman comes to terms with the situation they find themselves in, we find them developing into women full of caring and love. The reader will rejoice with them as they renew friendships, develop new ones, and find that life has not passed them by.

Liz Curtis Higgs stayed true to what 1746 towns in Scotland looked like. I had the opportunity to read Here Burns My Candle prior to Mine is the Night. I thoroughly enjoyed both books and recommend them to any reader of historical fiction.

 

Mine is the Night - Book Trailer

SneakPeek of Mine is the Night 

 I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.