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Stories That Bind Us
Stories That Bind Us
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was my first time reading a book by Susie Finkbeiner, and I had no idea what I was walking into when I opened up her book. It with so much bittersweetness, and about finding joy in the everyday moments. Susie Finkbeiner took the bad things that happen and made them into a blessing in disguise. This book came out at the perfect time for the world today, it deals with loss, racism, and mental health. It takes those themes and shows God’s love through them in such a good way. A very heart-warming story filled with great life lessons and a great example of faith lived out. The synopsis does not do this book justice. Readers of historical fiction will enjoy this journey down memory lane.
I give this book 4 out of 5 stars for the compelling story, the great characters, and the themes discussed within this book. The only thing that could have made it better was something that happened at the beginning of the book (I am NOT going to give a spoiler) but you will understand when you read it.
*I volunteered to read this book in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
  
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Mar 15, 2021  
Sneak a peek at the Western historical fiction novel ALL THE COWBOYS AIN'T GONE by John J. Jacobson on my blog, and enter the giveaway to win your own print copy of the book - five winners!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2021/03/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-all-cowboys.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
All the Cowboys Ain’t Gone is the rollicking adventure story of Lincoln Smith, a young Texan living at the beginning of the twentieth century, who thinks of himself as the last true cowboy. He longs for the days of the Old West, when men like his father, a famous Texas Ranger, lived by the chivalric code. Lincoln finds himself hopelessly out of time and place in the fast-changing United States of the new century. When he gets his heart broken by a sweetheart who doesn’t appreciate his anachronistic tendencies, he does what any sensible young romantic would do: he joins the French Foreign Legion.

On his way to an ancient and exotic country at the edge of the Sahara, Lincoln encounters a number of curious characters and strange adventures, from a desert hermit who can slow up time to a battle with a crocodile cult that worships the god of death. He meets them all with his own charming brand of courage and resourcefulness.
     
The Virgin Elizabeth: A Novel
The Virgin Elizabeth: A Novel
Robin Maxwell | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
41 of 250
Book
Virgin
By Robin Maxwell

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

 
...a riveting portrait of Elizabeth I as a romantic and

vulnerable teenager, dangerously awakening to a perilous

liaison with the wrong man.

England, 1547: King Henry is dead. Elizabeth's half-brother, nine-year-old Edward, is king in name only. Thomas Seymour, brother to the ambitious duke who has seized power in this time of crisis, calculatingly works his way into Elizabeth's home in genteel Chelsea House. He marries Henry's widow, Catherine Parr, and uses his venerable charms and sexual magnetism to indulge his infatuation for young Elizabeth. Caught hopelessly under Thomas Seymour's spell, surrounded by kind friends and hidden enemies, Elizabeth can only follow her heart to ensure survival.



I’m fascinated by the Tudors and our English history and I love historical fiction so this was right up my street! Robin Maxwell certainly knows how to spin a tail! Elizabeth is definitely one of my favourite royals and to have an insight of her young life after already overcoming the embarrassment of her mother’s demise then this scandal truly shows why she remained unmarried and one of the longest strongest rulers!!
  
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Aug 3, 2021  
Happy book birthday to the Christian historical fiction novel UNDER THE BAYOU MOON by Valerie Fraser Luesse Books! Read some of the author's favorite quotes from the book on my blog, and enter the giveaway to win a copy of the book, a Flavors of the Bayou seasonings gift box, and a $10 Starbucks gift card!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2021/08/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-under-bayou.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
When Ellie Fields accepts a teaching job in a tiny Louisiana town deep in bayou country in 1949, she knows her life will change--but she could never imagine just how dramatically.

Though rightfully suspicious of outsiders, who have threatened both their language and their unique culture, most of the residents come to appreciate the young and idealistic schoolteacher, and she's soon teaching just about everyone, despite opposition from both the school board and a politician with ulterior motives. Yet it's the lessons Ellie herself will learn--from new friends, a captivating Cajun fisherman, and even a legendary white alligator haunting the bayou--that will make all the difference.

Take a step away from the familiar and enter the shadowy waters of bayou country for a story of risk, resilience, and romance.
     
The Fountains of Silence
The Fountains of Silence
Ruta Sepetys | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Young Adult (YA)
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Fountains of Silence is about Texan teen Daniel visiting Francisco Franco's Spain in the 1950's. Franco is a dictator who needs business men to invest in his country so he opens it to Americans. Daniel visits with his parents to see his mother's birthplace. Ana works at the hotel Daniel and his parents are staying in and is assigned to their rooms. Daniel and Ana quickly become friends but Ana is guarded with him. Her family were Republicans, those who were against Franco's rein, and now are either shunned to live as second class citizens or died horrific deaths. Daniel quickly learns that Spain isn't what the government likes to show and there are secrets everyone is hiding.

I was fascinated with this novel as it's something I have never really learned of this time in history in school. I knew of before, during World War II, but never afterward with Franco's dictation. I cared about the characters and wanted to know the outcome. I could tell when some things would happen and cried during some of them too.

It was a heartfelt novel set in a dark time that had family and love and exploration. A must read for historical fiction readers and lovers of Ruta Sepetys.