Book Review: Huckleberry Hill

Author: Jennifer Beckstrand
Publication Date: January 7, 2014
Publisher: Zebra
Series: The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill # 1

In her parents’ estimation, LIA SHETLER is the most unpromising girl in her Amish community. As her dat often reminds her, she is too tall for most boys, and with her mousy brown hair and grossly scarred fingers, how can she ever hope to find a husband? With her family dismissing her as an old maid before she even reaches the ripe old age of twenty-four, her most important job is watching out for younger sister, Rachel, and seeing to it that Rachel marries well. That is until Felty and Anna Helmuth introduce Lia to their grandson, Moses, and she can’t ignore her racing pulse when he is near. Will Moses awaken the heart she locked away long ago?

At twenty-six, MOSES ZIMMERMAN, is a bit long in the tooth for a single Amish fellow. Three years ago, his fiancé abandoned him and left the Church, and he promised her he’d wait for her return. But, his scheming grandparents make other plans. Moses tries to resist their meddling, but this time, their plans include someone who is tall enough to look him in the eye, someone whose soul is as beautiful as her staggeringly lovely face, and someone who might help him trade the painful past for a hopeful future.

No escape. He’d have to buck up, meet this girl, and get it over with, although he dreaded the introduction almost as much as he dreaded the root canal last year.

She turned her face to him, and he almost fell over. He had expected a girl and he had expected Amish, but he hadn’t expected beautiful.

It shouldn’t be allowed in the Ordnung to be that handsome. His good looks would be thoroughly distracting at church.

My fiancé’s family lives in Ohio, and on our last visit there I had the pleasure of being introduced to the Amish community. I found it to be a fascinating group of people and beliefs. I visited their stores, met some of them, and bought so many of their fabulous homemade goodies! Ever since that time I have been trying to read more Amish fiction. I was so glad when I stumbled across this new series, The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill, and I knew after reading several reviews that I would probably love it as well. This book introduces two characters, Lia and Moses, who both have their doubts about this whole “love” thing. Fortunately for readers, they are about to be proven wrong!

You may be surprised to find out that my two favorite characters in this book were not Lia and Moses, but they were in fact Anna and Felty Helmuth who are the grandparents of Moses. Anna, his grandmother, decides that it is time for her grandson to settle down, marry, and raise a family. Lia thinks she is coming to stay with the Helmuths to provide extra hands around their home, but this wonderfully charming couple have other plans in mind! They were just so precious and made me feel right at home just like they did for Lia!

Moses is such an honorable man and his love and admiration for Lia makes me love him even more. Their relationship starts as a friendship but quickly blooms into something more. This romance was not one that was hard to believe, but was written so realistically that by the time I finished reading I could have sworn I had just met these two people. I got to see a little into both of their lives and was happy to meet both of their families, even though I was not so crazy about Lia’s sister, Rachel! This book was a delightful start to a brand new series!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Zebra in exchange for my honest review***

Book Review: Neverwas

Author: Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, & Larkin Reed
Publication Date: January 7, 2014
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic Press
Series: The Amber House Trilogy # 2

At the end of AMBER HOUSE, Sarah made a choice that transformed everything--and now she must choose it all again.

"I was sixteen the second time I had my first kiss...."

After growing up in the free country of the Pacific Northwest, Sarah Parsons has settled in at Amber House, the stately Maryland home that's been in her family for generations. But the world surrounding the House feels deeply wrong to Sarah. It's a place where the colonists lost the 1776 Insurrection, where the American Confederation of States still struggles with segregation, and where Sarah is haunted by echoes of a better world that she knows never existed.

Her friend Jackson shares these visions of a different world--and together, they manage both to remember the way things ought to be, and to plan a daring mission that will reset the universe once again. It will involve objects from the past, knowledge of the future, a leap into the unknown ... and in the end, a sacrifice Sarah never imagined.

My mom had told me when I was small not to pay attention to the house’s “creepies,” as she called them.

I was sixteen the second time I had my first kiss.

Maybe we all have more than one first kiss – maybe an infinite number – and we just don’t remember. First kisses. First loves. First sorrows. Until we get it right. Until we become who we were meant to be.

Seek the point where past and future meet.

I fell in love with the first book in this series, The Amber House, and I must admit that I was a little scared to pick up the sequel because often times I find that they never do the first book justice. I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading this book because it picked up ultimately right where the last one left off and the suspense, creepy twists and turns have gotten even better the second time around. We pick back up with the same loveable characters, some more creepy and mysterious than others, and we are off on another mystery provided to us by these three talented authors!

The plot, while being already intricate in the first book, became even more so in the second installment in this trilogy. While reading the first book, which I read in October of 2012, I could literally feel eerie chills go up my spine and the hairs stand up on my arms. The authors have really put together a story that is suspenseful and will have you squinting your eyes around every turn. That is the beauty of Amber House; you just never really know what is waiting down the long, dark hallways.

Sarah’s family and the idea of family plays a really big part in this novel. I especially liked that there was a family tree provided in the front of this book and I was able to learn even more about some of Sarah’s ancestors and their past. I love that I am able to discover new secrets and truths right alongside Sarah because I believe she is an awesome storyteller and her voice really adds the finishing touches on an already amazing plot line!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Arthur A. Levine Books in exchange for my honest review***

Book Review: The Headmistress of Rosemere

Author: Sarah E. Ladd
Publication Date: December 31, 2013
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Series: Whispers on the Moors # 2

Patience Creighton will finally find the peace she lost years ago--if she can open her heart and forgive the man who loves her.

Bright, sensible Patience knows what is expected of her. At twenty-five, her opportunity for a family of her own has passed, so she finds contentment teaching at her father's school for girls. When her father dies suddenly and her brother moves away to London, she is determined to keep her father's dream alive.

Confirmed bachelor William Sterling also knows what is expected of him, but mistake after mistake has left him teetering on ruin's edge. As master of Eastmore Hall he owns a great deal of land but possesses little money to manage the upkeep. He is desperate to find a new source of income, including the sacrifice of land connected to Rosemere.

When her brother returns with a new wife to take over management of the school, Patience is heartbroken to no longer be responsible for her beloved school and is forced to reassess God's purpose for her life. After her sister-in-law's matchmaking brings Patience and William together, they both learn new truths about their character and find a common goal in restoring Eastmore's legacy.

Patience loved the school – and her young charges within its walls. It had been her home since the day she was born. But the heavy weight of seeing to all the details alone wore on her. She set her lips, angry that her brother had abandoned her. She dipped her quill in ink and pressed the tip to the paper. She would tell him just that.

The memory of that bold expression in his ice-blues eyes refused to leave her alone. Perhaps it was the lure of things unknown. Of things beyond the walls of Rosemere. Of a world – a life – she would never know or understand. Or simply the thrill of possible romance.

For today at least, she resolved to put her troubles aside and enjoy her day.

Patience smiled at her little girls, all gathered by the fire, their stocking feet poking out from the hems of their plain, white muslin gowns. The scent of lavender water from recent baths hung sweetly in the air. Their cheeks, rosy and fresh, glowed with smiles, and their eyes held the glimmer of promised secrets and shared dreams.

Sarah E. Ladd is a charming author who in the last two books has been able to climb the charts as one of my favorite authors. On the cover of this book reads the following blurb, “If you are a fan of Jane Austen and Jane Eyre, you will love Sarah E. Ladd…” I find this blurb to be incredible accurate. Her writing is very eloquent and descriptive, much like Jane Austen’s. The characters and the places she describes, like Rosemere and Winterwood, leap off the page with so much detail that it feels as if you are dances down their halls and corridors. Patience Creighton is our leading lady in this book, accompanied by William Sterling, a reckless man with a bit of a gambling problem. The two meet on a cold, winter’s night and nothing was quite the same after that!

I connected with Patience mostly because of her calling; she serves as a mentor, role model, and guidance for the girls in school at Rosemere. She values her work and her purpose, and manages to get by with all odds against her. Her father recently deceased, her mother critically mourning his death, and her brother running off for the past six months leaving the financial concerns lying at her feet. Patience is a strong character which I can appreciate mostly because of her intelligence and patience, no pun intended. She thinks situations through before she approaches them and is strong of mind and heart. She is a phenomenal heroine!

This story is full of mystery with an overarching theme of forgiveness and learning to move on and remember the lessons the past has taught you, but not to dwell on it by any means. Patience and William were obviously my favorite characters but not for the reasons you would probably expect. Yes, their relationship blossomed and the chemistry between them was obvious from the start, but I mainly loved them both because of how different they were and how well their differences seemed to work together. By the end of the book it was obvious to me that they were both meant to teach each other things!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Thomas Nelson in exchange for my honest review***

ARC Book Review: Bitter Spirits

Author: Jenn Bennett
Publication Date: January 7, 2014
Publisher: Berkley
Series: Roaring Twenties # 1

First in a new romance series: It’s the roaring twenties, and San Francisco is a hotbed of illegal boozing, raw lust, and black magic. The fog-covered Bay Area can be an intoxicating scene, particularly when you specialize in spirits…

Aida Palmer performs a spirit medium show onstage at Chinatown’s illustrious Gris-Gris speakeasy. However, her ability to summon (and expel) the dead is more than just an act.

Winter Magnusson is a notorious bootlegger who’s more comfortable with guns than ghosts—unfortunately for him, he’s the recent target of a malevolent hex that renders him a magnet for hauntings. After Aida’s supernatural assistance is enlisted to banish the ghosts, her spirit-chilled aura heats up as the charming bootlegger casts a different sort of spell on her...

On the hunt for the curseworker responsible for the hex, Aida and Winter become drunk on passion. And the closer they become, the more they realize they have ghosts of their own to exorcise…

Gossip and cigarette smoke wafted under streetlights shrouded with cool summer fog.

Gris-Gris was one of the largest black-and-tan speakeasies in the city. Social rules concerning race and class went unheeded here. Anyone who bought a membership card was welcome, and patrons dined and danced with whomever they pleased. Like many of the other acts appearing onstage, Aida was only booked through early July.

As she passed through the room, her breath rushed out in a wintery white puff. Ghost.

Winter Magnusson wasn’t superstitious. If anyone would’ve asked if he believed in ghosts a week ago he might’ve laughed. He wasn’t laughing now.

1920’s San Francisco. You can never go wrong with the 1920’s, just saying! This book features a little bit of everything: illegal bootlegging, a little black magic, some suspense, some romance, and a dash of intrigue. Winter Magnusson is a notorious bootlegger with a serious reputation. Nothing shakes him. Nothing moves him. Until his is haunted by a mysterious spirit and the incredibly sexy Aida Palmer, the spirit medium, runs the spirit out of his life. After this little incident Winter believes two things: ghosts are real and this woman has some type of hold on him. When Aida and Winter realize that Winter has become the target of an evil curse, they must work together to defeat the evil that is after them.

Two of my favorite genres blend together in this book: historical fiction and paranormal romance! Aida Palmer swept me off my feet from the very first page. She is confident, charming, and extremely sophisticated. It’s no wonder Winter finds her irresistible from the very moment he lays eyes on her. The chemistry that these two share is exactly what I was in the mood to read. From the very start Aida breaks through Winter’s tough guy act. She even takes to insulting him within the opening pages. He is in total shock because no person, not to mention woman, has ever spoken to him this way. This interaction set the stage for the rest of the book!

Of course I cannot post this review without addressing the time period. Ah, the 1920’s! How I wish I could have lived then. I loved the fact that Winter and Aida both have such versatile roles that fit well in what we now know as the “Roaring Twenties!” Winter being a bootlegger automatically makes him a wanted man, which ties in nicely when readers find out that a curse is upon him. I pictured Aida as one of the prettiest flappers around, and with a lot more class than some. She fit her role nicely, and wasn’t some fake medium trying to make a quick buck. They were both rebels in a way and I associate this with the 1920’s, but in a positive way. It was a new time and new fads were circulating the block!

P.S. The next book in this series releases in June!!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Berkley in exchange for my honest review***