"A Love So True" by Melissa Jagears

A Love So True (May 2, 2017) by Melissa Jagears.*

A servant’s heart. That is the kind of heart Evelyn Wisely has. She loves working at the local orphanage with her parents and feels called to do so. The children there are offspring of “women of ill repute.” But her love doesn’t stop at the children, for she wishes to help those women, too. She wants to build a shelter for them, and her boss will help fund it, but not without the financial support of at least two other businessmen. One of those men might be David Kingsman. He only plans to be in Teaville, Kansas, long enough to turn a business around and then he’s straight back to Kansas City. There’s little time to connect, right? Wrong. Evelyn and David are drawn to each other, but Evelyn holds back. She’s convinced society that she’ll reject any man’s attentions, because she has convinced herself she’s not worthy of love. But she has plenty of love for those children and the women of the red-light district. Can she keep the faith when the odds seem stacked against her?

            Although I missed the first book in the Teaville Moral Society series, Jagears has written this second installment so smartly that I was not running lost in a shifty neighborhood. Her characters are fleshed out and believable, Evelyn’s servant attitude is inspiring, and the romance is charming. The storyline is thought-provoking and shows the goodness of charity, but also the commitment and hard work that it involves. This compelling story opens readers’ eyes to embracing everyone, every neighbor, no matter their circumstance. This series appears to have substance and yes, it has faith and abundant love. Although referring to Evelyn and David, it also applies to us that God’s love is “a love so true, so consuming, and so good.” Don’t forget that!

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

"Behind the Scenes" by Jen Turano

Behind the Scenes (Apr. 18, 2017) by Jen Turano.*

Just because she’s long been a member of the wallflower set doesn’t mean that Miss Permilia Griswold twiddles her thumbs. Indeed not! Working under the pseudonym “Miss Quill,” she fills the society gossip column of the New York Sun with such goings-on of the upper-crust that only an insider would know. With a reporter’s ear, she overhears a threat against Mr. Asher Rutherford, a dashing fellow, most eligible bachelor and owner of a top up-and-coming department store in New York City. When she informs him ever-so-helpfully, he doesn’t believe her, so she takes it upon herself to look out for him. Her fellow wallflower, Miss Gertrude Cadwalader, provides an assist, as does Asher’s good friend, Mr. Harrison Sinclair. Asher eventually realizes the threat to him is real, and Permilia, in trying to protect him, puts herself in danger as well. When they’re not annoying each other, they will find that they make a pretty good team. Now all they have to do is pinpoint their would-be killer. And would it hurt Asher to understand the value of a progressive woman in 1883?

            I love Turano’s books, and I don’t say that lightly. There are only a few authors that I’ve been introduced to through the blogger review program of whom I’ve gone out of my way to purchase their books if I didn’t already have them, and Jen Turano is one of them!

            This first story in her Apart from the Crowd series has me hooked. It has the charm of a picturesque village, the satisfaction of any happily-ever-after story and humor to tickle the funny bone. The sweet romance is tempered with a fascinatingly impulsive leading lady butting heads with a charming man, a dash of danger, a sense of fashion and cupfuls of faith. “Behind the Scenes” has dimension and history, but does not skimp on the light-hearted moments. It’s an inspirational fictional tale for the [Gilded] ages!

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Positive Page-turner's Challenge: Take 3

Though a handful of days into May, I made the final decision that I will, in fact, hand myself another Positive Page-turner’s Challenge. These books have been accumulating since the Challenge I posted on February 1, with the exception that one of the books I’d inadvertently left out of that photo is now in this one. Currently, only one book from this photo is in progress, so I’ve a ways to go!

            As in February, I plan to donate $25 for every 500 pages I read. My donation will go toward a fund through my home church. There’s a good chance I’ll gift it to the Haiti Project, but I’m leaving myself open to donating it to another fund (e.g. Sunday School).

            Do you have a passion project coursing through you? If so, what is it? Remember that a project doesn’t have to start off huge. There is nothing wrong with starting small and watching that small flame rise higher and become brighter. There is also nothing wrong with staying steady with your project, as endurance is a test as well. Take soap for example. Soap bars are small and seem like such a simple, minute thing. But there is nothing small about soap when you’re in need of it and you have none available to you. Recently, I sent a box of soap with a trailer full of items (including food packaged through Real Hope for the Hungry) to GoServ Global. It doesn’t take up much space, but it was crammed full. A box that can fit in the mailbox that contained 22 pounds of bar soap!