This
inspirational fiction compilation features stories from authors I’m already a
fan of. No contemporary fiction here. You will find write-ups featuring
historical fiction and/or Amish fiction.
*This is the third book in a series.*
After a
difficult beginning in America, everything is finally going right for Nilda
Carlson. Together with her relatives, she works the family farm, which now
includes a second house for her brother and sister-in-law and their family. When
she and her brother, Ivar, first arrived in Minnesota, they were offered a warm
place to stay in Blackduck at Schoenleber House. They made a good impression on
the wealthy businesswoman and hostess, Mrs. Gertrude Schoenleber, as she invites
them both to a social at her house. It’s a gathering of young people. The
social brings a new surprise to Nilda’s life when Mrs. Schoenleber offers her a
job. It’s a lot of work. Not only is she getting a crash course in learning
English, she’s learning how to navigate the confusing worlds of both commerce
and high society. Unfortunately, the same young man from her hometown of
Valders, Norway, who tried to assault her, is in Blackduck. He asserts that he’s
a new man, and Nilda would like to think it were possible. However, when she
sees him mouthing to her “I’ll get you,” it definitely connotes that he has, in
fact, not turned over that new leaf.
Can she learn to forgive him even if he cannot be truly trusted?
With life moving successfully
forward for Nilda, Lauraine Snelling shines rays of hope and promise on the
character, but she also adds danger with the appearance of Dreng. During the
pinnacle encounter with him, the author creates an emotional scenario that isn’t
stuck in 1910. It’s a theme that resonates even today. Yet again, I am
impressed by Snelling’s ability to paint a canvas of words that are so
realistic that I feel like I should be out felling trees (I’d be terrible at
this) or canning beets (sounds messy, but I do love beets). This third in
Snelling’s Under Northern Skies
series is a powerful historical drama, and I loved every page of it.
Book One: The Promise of Dawn
Book Two: A Breath of Hope
An Hour Unspent (Sept. 4, 2018) by Roseanna M. White.
*This is the final book in a trilogy.*
Once London’s
top thief, Barclay Pearce is reformed. Thanks to V, he and his family (not by
blood) have been using their suspect skills to help their nation. It’s 1915,
and World War I is going on. Barclay has been tasked with contacting a
clockmaker-engineer. He is honest with Cecil Manning early on. He is to help
Mr. Manning finish a prototype of something that could be a game-changer for
the RNAS (Royal Naval Air Service), and with V’s connections to the Admiralty,
Barclay can help Mr. Manning obtain the parts he needs. What he does not expect
is Manning’s daughter, Evelina “Lina” Manning. She’s recently been dumped by
her betrothed, suddenly ending their engagement, because he decided he was
inspired to enlist in the army. Her mother blames the fractured engagement on
Lina. But as she gets to know Barclay more, she may discover that she doesn’t
know him at all. When her father leaves unexpectedly, Lina feels hurt and angry,
but what if there’s more to his exit? With war going on, the race has
long-since begun for any technological edge. Ideas are in supply. But it’s the
great ideas that are in demand, and too many may know of Manning’s great idea.
For England to obtain what it needs to help their war effort, they’re going to
need a reformed thief.
Since the first book in the Shadows Over England series, I’ve been
hoping for Barclay Pearce’s story. “An Hour Unspent” is a concluding novel in
an exquisite series of investigation, cunning, family and faith steeped with
history. All the characters – even the supporting ones and especially those in
Barclay’s family – are distinct. Roseanna M. White’s craft is strong and her
female protagonists are mostly resilient. I am looking forward to what’s next
in store from the author; next up is a main character that readers of this
trilogy will recognize!
Book One: A Name Unknown
Book Two: A Song Unheard
The Tinderbox (Apr. 2, 2019) by Beverly Lewis.
*This is the first of two but is not
a series and can be read as a standalone.*
Her father’s
tinderbox has always resided on a top shelf, and it has always been locked.
Sylvia “Sylvie” Miller hasn’t been tempted to know its contents since she was a
young girl, but when she sees it’s unlocked as she’s dusting her father’s
clock-making shop, curiosity gets the best of her. What she finds is innocuous
save for one expensive-looking and well-crafted timepiece with an inscription
of love from an unfamiliar name. When Earnest notices the tinderbox’s key has
fallen out of hiding and notes fingerprints on the timepiece, he knows his
secret of 20+ years has been found out. It’s a secret he’s kept all these years
from his family and the ministerial brethren, but he can keep it no longer and
lays down the entire story to Rhoda, his wife of 20 years. It rocks their
marriage, to be sure. Rhoda convinces Earnest to at first keep it a secret, but
it weighs heavily on them. After a goodwill trip to Maryland to help repair
damaged horse stables, where he reconnects with a great uncle, he and Rhoda
decide he should declare an admission of guilt. Will others in the community
shun Earnest and his family? Will the Bann
be temporary or permanent?
Eighteen-year-old Sylvie, the eldest
Miller and only daughter, struggles with the knowledge of her father’s past.
Now wishing she’d heeded words from long ago and not opened the tinderbox, she
and her family question all they thought they knew of Earnest. It complicates
matters, too, that her betrothed, Titus Kauffman, is a son of their Old Order
Amish preacher. How will her father’s history affect her future with Titus? Was
it actually Titus who tattled on her father when he noticed Earnest talking to
his Mennonite great uncle, a relative?
Although not officially part of a
series that I can tell, there are familiar characters from multiple stories,
namely Ella Mae Zook, the Wise Woman. This Amish fiction story will have a
conclusion in the succeeding novel, so it’s a duology without a series. The
story ended in a direction I expected, so surprises were negligible, but it
remained fast-paced for me.
Despite the character’s faith,
multiple characters need to find forgiveness for themselves and others. With
all of the turmoil of Earnest’s secret and the rippling effect of its
devastation once it’s out, I felt the story was less sunny-bright than usual.
Where I struggled was with Sylvie. Without full-on complaining, she still
managed to be brooding, not unusual, considering the circumstances, but not the
type of character I expected. I don’t condone the secrets her father kept, but
Sylvie is the one who gave into temptation, snooped into something that wasn’t
hers and looked into something that she knew she shouldn’t. The story is classic
Lewis with a twist. I look forward to the next story and, hopefully, positive
outcomes all-around. Because right now, I’m not a fan of Titus. But that Andy
Zook seems like a good fella. Wonder if his character is single?
Lauraine Snelling: I haven't read this book, but am familiar with this author. Have read a few of her other books, found them very enjoyable.
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