Review: To Wager Her Heart

Synopsis:

With fates bound by a shared tragedy, a reformed gambler from the Colorado Territory and a Southern Belle bent on breaking free from society’s expectations must work together to achieve their dreams—provided that the truth doesn’t tear them apart first. 
Sylas Rutledge, the new owner of the Northeast Line Railroad, invests everything he has into this venture, partly for the sake of the challenge. But mostly to clear his father’s name. One man holds the key to Sy’s success—General William Giles Harding of Nashville’s Belle Meade Plantation. But Harding is champagne and thoroughbreds, and Sy Rutledge is beer and bullocks. Sy needs someone to help him maneuver his way through Nashville’s society, and when he meets Alexandra Jamison, he quickly decides he’s found his tutor. Only, he soon discovers that the very train accident his father is blamed for causing is what killed Alexandra Jamison’s fiancee—and what has broken her heart. 
Spurning an arranged marriage by her father, Alexandra instead pursues her passion for teaching at Fisk University, the first freedmen’s university in the United States. But family—and Nashville society—do not approve, and she soon finds herself cast out from both. Through connections with the Harding family, Alexandra and Sy become unlikely allies. And despite her first impressions, Alexandra gradually finds herself coming to respect, and even care for this man. But how can she, when her heart is still spoken for? And when Sy’s roguish qualities and adventuresome spirit smack more of recklessness than responsibility and honor? 
Sylas Rutledge will risk everything to win over the woman he loves. What he doesn’t count on is having to wager her heart to do it. 
Set against the real history of Nashville’s Belle Meade Plantation and the original Fisk University Jubilee Singers ensemble, To Wager Her Heart is a stirring love story about seeking justice and restoring honor at a time in history when both were tenuous and hard-won. 

Rating: 4.5-stars 

Review:

To Wager Her Heart by Tamera Alexander is a brilliant historical romance. Full of emotions. Both protagonists find themselves in  a world of hurt that binds them together. Each one seeking something with the help of the other. Tamera Alexander brought me back into the era of railroads and their danger. High clout families, politics, and the risks of falling in love. The stakes are high and the scenes are engaging. Themes of loss, honor, and hope are found here. I was intrigued with both the southern belle determined to make her own way and the troubled man taking on a huge task. Heartfelt, entertaining, and well-developed. Alexandra Jamison is a strong female character. She worked hard and it paid off…the feeling of accomplishment back then in her time period was the best part of the book. To Wager Her Heart has won my heart over many times. I highly recommend it to readers worldwide. 

Review: Threads of Supsicion

Synopsis:

Dee Henderson Pens Another Compelling Cold Case Mystery
Evie Blackwell’s reputation as a top investigator for the Illinois State Police has landed her an appointment to the governor’s new Missing Persons Task Force. This elite investigative team is launched with plenty of public fanfare. The governor has made this initiative a high priority, so they will have to produce results–and quickly.
Evie and her new partner, David Marshal, are assigned to a pair of unrelated cases in suburban Chicago, and while both involve persons now missing for several years, the cases couldn’t be more different. While Evie opens old wounds in a close-knit neighborhood to find a missing college student, David searches for a private investigator working for a high-powered client.
With a deep conviction that “justice for all” truly matters, Evie and David are unrelenting in their search for the truth. But Evie must also find answers to the questions that lie just beneath the surface in her personal life.

Rating: 4-stars

Review: 

Threads of Suspicion by Dee Henderson is a deep Chase after the truth. Missing persons cases are being investigated and the blur between work and personal lives will blur. The pressure to solve them is high. As the cold cases connect with one another and with other cold cases, the duo team has their hands full. Murders…old wounds…and an engaging plot. Mystery, intrigue, and some romance. I enjoyed following Evie and her partner David as they went about getting answers. I haven’t read any previous novels by this talented writer, but I am happy that I read this book. After reading Threads of Suspicion, I look forward to reading more by the bestselling writer, Dee Henderson. 

Review: Pray for Justice

Synopsis:

At the core of the Christian message lies a deep and fundamental commitment to issues of peace and social justice. At the core of a Christian’s spiritual life lies a deep and fundamental commitment to a robust cycle of prayer and contemplation. Pray for Justice links the two in a masterful re-working of the Liturgy of Hours. A welcome resource for anyone who takes the intersection of prayer and social justice seriously.

Bro. Mark Elliott Newman, OC

Servant Leader Emeritus, Ecumenical Order of Charity
Lou Bordisso’s new book is a helpful guide to accompany one’s prayer life. Reading Lou’s powerful quotes from saints and holy figures throughout history will no doubt inspire you, and his inclusion of a journal will challenge you to model your life on these great figures.

Ryan Hall from Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service
Lou Bordisso’s short book takes the very traditional prayers of Catholic monastics and partners them with nuggets from the great saints on the issues of peace and justice, creates a morning and evening ritual that, when followed as he instructs, amounts to a mini thirty day retreat in the world. It offers a disciple, a routine, a ritual that can re-focus and dedicate our days, pointing them in the direction that we would have them go. Having witnessed the happiness and presence of mind that Lou brings to his ministry at The Gubbio Project and the joy that he exudes among our homeless guests, I can say that, if in this book he is sharing his daily prayer practice, we can’t go wrong seeing how these prayer practices might help draw us closer to God and the people that we want to be in the world. 

Laura Slattery, Executive Director of The Gubbio Project.

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

Pray for Justice by Lou A. Bordisso, O.C. is a spiritual journey all must read. What I loved most about this book was that it was setup for everyone regardless of their religious background. I found the materials inside inspiring and well-done. I was truly amazed by Lou A. Bordisso, O.C. Inside this nonfiction book full of prayers, are thirty-days of morning and night prayers, quotes, and journal questions for the reader to reflect upon as he or she continues this journey. Absolutely, a beautifully written book for all. This guide book, will always stay on my shelf to be used daily. I can’t believe the value found within every page. Pray for Justice challenges readers worldwide. It speaks heavily on and of prayer for justice. Overall, I highly recommend it. Don’t believe me, then, dive into it and see for yourself! 

Review: Death at Breakfast

 

Synopsis:

From the acclaimed New York Times, bestselling author of Still Missing, More Than You Know, and Gossip comes the first entry in a stylish and witty mystery series featuring a pair of unlikely investigators—a shrewd novel of manners with a dark heart of murder at its center, set in small-town New England.

Indulging their pleasure in travel and new experiences, recently retired private school head Maggie Detweiler and her old friend, socialite Hope Babbin, are heading to Maine. The trip—to attend a weeklong master cooking class at the picturesque Victorian-era Oquossoc Mountain Inn—is an experiment to test their compatibility for future expeditions.

Hope and Maggie have barely finished their first aperitifs when the inn’s tranquility is shattered by the arrival of Alexander and Lisa Antippas and Lisa’s actress sister, Glory. Imperious and rude, these Hollywood one-percenters quickly turn the inn upside-down with their demanding behavior, igniting a flurry of speculation and gossip among staff and guests alike.

But the disruption soon turns deadly. After a suspicious late-night fire is brought under control, Alex’s charred body is found in the ashes. Enter the town’s deputy sheriff, Buster Babbin, Hope’s long-estranged son and Maggie’s former student. A man who’s finally found his footing in life, Buster needs a win. But he’s quickly pushed aside by the “big boys,” senior law enforcement and high-powered state’s attorneys who swoop in to make a quick arrest.

Maggie knows that Buster has his deficits and his strengths. She also knows that justice does not always prevail—and that the difference between conviction and exoneration too often depends on lazy police work and the ambitions of prosecutors. She knows too, after a lifetime of observing human nature, that you have a great advantage in doing the right thing if you don’t care who gets the credit or whom you annoy.

Feeling that justice could use a helping hand–as could the deputy sheriff—Maggie and Hope decide that two women of experience equipped with a healthy curiosity, plenty of common sense, and a cheerfully cynical sense of humor have a useful role to play in uncovering the truth.

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Death at Breakfast by Beth Gutcheon is a highly entertaining murder mystery that delighted me from the beginning. When two women arrive at an inn to take a cooking class together their stay turns into an unexpected adventure. What was meant to test how well the two companions travel together turned into an experiment of solving a murder…first there are the celebrities who like always act like they are bigger than life and charge through places like it’s their right. The make the lives of others serving them totally chaotic…and unsettles the rest of the people at the inn. Soon, there is a room that catches fire and it’s not long until a dead body is found. The two companions both Maggie and Hope decide that it’s up to them to solve the case before the wrong person is charged. They know with high profile people involved that the pressure on the police, as well as the deputy sheriff, will prove to be a struggle. All want the case closed and solved asap. Can the two women solve it before it’s too late?

Beth Gutheon’s latest novel, Death at Breakfast, provides us readers with a pair of sleuth women and a cozy atmosphere that turns into a deadly mysterious setting. The women pair with the deputy sheriff and it’s a race against time to solve the death. The masterfully woven tale brings a lot of humor, wit, and suspense to every page. The plot moved by fast creating an urge to read faster…then there’s the intrigue of who done it and why that lured me deeper into the heart of this novel. I loved the variety of characters…their personalities, as well as careers, varied and that, too made this one highly entertaining read. Both Maggie and Hope reminded me of Miss Fletcher and Miss Marple. I can definitely see this novel becoming a big TV hit with fans everywhere. Overall, I highly recommend this thriller and crime title to readers worldwide.

 

Review: The Girl Called Princess Charlotte

 

Synopsis:

A Priceless Treasure with a Mysterious Past… Boston attorney Theodore Murphy, Teddy to his friends, has been handed a seemingly straightforward case: to recover a valuable painting by Franz Winterhalter, Young Girl Called Princess Charlotte, which was stolen by the Nazis from Jewish art dealer Dr. Markus Steiner. When the charitable organization founded in his will by Steiner learns that Anna Vogler has put the painting up for auction they demand its return. But Teddy Murphy finds that Vogler’s attorneys aren’t prepared to give up without a fight…and as the widow of a World War II veteran, she makes a sympathetic witness.

Teddy learns that she has no proof of purchase, her husband sent the painting home from Europe near the end of the war, and a mystery surrounds where and how he got it. Armed with this information and Markus Steiner’s diary, Teddy sets out to prove that the Steiner Foundation should rightfully own the painting. Joined by his girlfriend Judith Frazer, Teddy learns about Markus from the trenches of World War I to his daring escape from Nazi Germany, as together they watch a remarkable life story unfold in the pages of Markus’ diary, while they pursue every available avenue, to find out the truth about the painting.

This vivid, beautifully researched historical thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat, while introducing you to the suffering of World War I soldiers, the shocking nightlife of Berlin, the intrigues of the international art world, the horror of the rising Third Reich…and the compassionate dedication of those who still work to bring justice to the Jews of Europe.

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

The Girl Called Princess Charlotte is a must read for all. Especially for fans of the movie, Woman in Gold. This historical fiction takes readers back to World War II and leads them on a journey for the truth. Art, history, and intrigue will sweep readers off their feet and back in time.

The Girl Called Princess Charlotte by Gerard Shirar is spectacular. The characters leave readers on edge as the court process begins…readers hold their breath hoping for a good outcome. Similarities from this to the Woman in Gold movie is fascinating. A Jewish painting with a long line of history is now worth millions. World War II in Germany was a terrifying endless moment in history that those in the present day will never forget. Nazi take what once belonged to the Jewish people of Germany. They had their rights stripped, their possessions taken, and countless thousands were killed. Families were torn, fear in every direction…any kind of resistance lured not only the Jewish owner but the owner’s family to death. The Girl Called Princess Charlotte by Gerard Shirar is a startling truth that should be uncovered and read by all. Gerard Shirar’s writing is well-developed and awe-inspiring. It shows readers that even after so much time has gone by that justice can prevail. Overall, I highly recommend this historical novel to readers worldwide.