Synopsis: Liberty, Indiana, is home to a stop on the Underground Railroad operated by Anna Brent and her father, covert abolitionists who harbor runaway slaves traveling toward freedom. When Anna’s work on the Underground Railroad is threatened, can she turn to newspaper editor, Daniel Stanton, a man she barely knows, to ensure the safety of the slaves so dear to her? Will she and Daniel be willing to risk everything for their beliefs including their personal liberty? My Review: Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana, by Melanie Dobson, has kept me captive for the past few days. This was a novel that defied all expectations. It broke the mold of...
Review: The Piano Teacher
This was one of those cases (we’ve all read at least one) where the premise was perfectly set up and the potential for knocking the wind out of the reader was there…but the author simply failed to deliver. Janice Y.K. Lee’s The Piano Teacher, a historical romance set in Hong Kong during and after World War II, is about two love affairs in different times. In 1942, Will Truesdale and Trudy Liang are swept up in the glamour of pre-war Hong Kong, but quickly find their world ripped from their under their feet. Ten years later, Claire comes to Hong Kong with her husband and finds a job as a...
What I’m Reading: The Life of Pi
My book club tackled “The Life of Pi” by Yann Martel for December, and it was quite the experience. We’ve read a novel where children were killed (“The Hunger Games”) and yet, “The Life of Pi” was disturbing in a whole new way. The brutality of the animal kingdom comes through these pages, as a 15-year-old boy is stranded on a large lifeboat with a 450-pound Bengal tiger. At first, there are a few other animals on the boat, which the tiger picks off one at a time. While the gory descriptions and detail didn’t bother me, it made me sad and my book club and I were surprised to...
Review: Thicker than Blood
Synopsis: Christy Williams finally has her life on track. She’s putting her past behind her and working hard to build a career as an antiquarian book buyer. But things begin to unravel when a stolen Hemingway first edition is found in her possession, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. With no one to turn to, she yearns for her estranged younger sister, May, whom she abandoned after their parents’ untimely deaths. Soon, Christy’s fleeing from her shattered dreams, her ex-boyfriend, and God. Could May’s Triple Cross Ranch be the safe haven she’s searching for? Will the sisters realize that each possesses what the other desperately needs before it’s...
Book Review: Paper Roses
In Paper Roses, by Amanda Cabot (Revell, 2009), Sarah Dobbs replies to a man in Texas, agreeing to be his bride after a tragedy pushes her to leave Philadelphia. When she arrives in Texas, her husband-to-be, Austin, is dead and his brother, Clay, is determined to find the killer. She struggles to make a home for herself and her young sister in this Texas town. In the process, she learns the true meaning of forgiveness and love. Paper Roses is an uplifting, heartwarming tale set in the 1800s. The main character, Sarah, is a determined, strong character with compassion. She instantly connects with the reader and her situation is realistic....