Rutabaga's Reads 2023: Part 6

To balance the amount of YA novels that I read, here is a compilation of inspirational fiction novels. All authors included here are familiar-to-me authors.

The Orchard (Sept. 6, 2022) by Beverly Lewis.

*This is a standalone novel.*

The Hostetler family are orchardists in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and have been for generations. For Ellie, the orchard must be as beautiful as the Garden of Eden, such is her love of God’s beauty at work amongst the fruit trees. Her twin, Evan, as the youngest son, will one day manage the orchard that their Dat currently manages and their Dawdi before him. Once close siblings, Evan’s been continuing his Rumschpringe as Ellie’s about to be baptized. It’s 1970 and when Evan’s draft number is called up in the lottery for the Vietnam War, the family is shocked to learn that he never sought conscientious objector status, as would support the Old Order Amish belief in non-resistance and non-violence. The community reacts to this development with some community members and even some of their own relatives giving them the cold shoulder for Evan’s wayward ways. Though she’s seemed to catch the attention of another young Amishman, Ellie finds easy conversation with Sol Bontrager. Not only is he the brother of her best friend, Leah, he’s a conscientious objector and is already baptized. Sol’s steady presence is a balm in Ellie’s shifting world. With Evan serving in the Army, who will take over the orchard? Will Evan return home alive?

            With her peaceful, heartwarming, cleanly romantic, faith-based novels, it’s easy to see how Beverly Lewis continues as best of the best in Amish fiction. This novel explores ground I’ve not seen from her by adding a Vietnam War-era backdrop to the familiar Lancaster County setting. Her plot includes twists in Ellie’s relationships and the tumult that the Amish community endured because of their pacifism. The Hostetler family’s orchard is a gentle place of solitude, perfect for reflection or even falling in love, the story a soothing escape from the contemporary, despite characters facing uncertainty in a nation fractured by war. Another star story from my favorite author of Amish fiction.

To Disguise the Truth (Jan. 18, 2022) by Jen Turano.

*This is the final novel in a trilogy.*

The past is catching up to her. When Mr. Arthur Livingston arrives at the Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency in September of 1887 determined to hire them to locate missing heiress Miss Eugenia Howland, Eunice Holbrooke knows her gig might be up. Despite the widow’s weeds she’s worn for seven years and the veils over her face, secrets are going to come to light. She is Eugenia. Arthur’s goal is to be known as a leading mining industrialist, even though his family name precedes him as a member of the New York Four Hundred. Mason Mines has been successful with Arthur in the picture, but that picture changed somewhat seven years ago when Eunice’s patriarch grandfather, who was a tyrant, even to his relatives, was murdered. James Mason had not a compassionate bone in his body, so the list of suspects isn’t short. Eunice refuses to return to Butte, Montana, but she isn’t quick to share why. Arthur, an annoyingly handsome yet irksome man, may not be the “scourge of the earth” that Eunice describes him as. In fact, both of them may be more sensitive and romantic than the other thinks. It won’t be easy to discover with Eunice prepared to avoid him; she even takes an out-in-the-field assignment that lands her in Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum, but Arthur is no ordinary gentleman. Confronting her past may set Eunice free, but it’ll be dangerous, as there’s still a murderer or murderess out there. Good thing Eunice is skilled with a gun and has boxing skills to boot.

            Turano’s stories are always a delight to read and this closing novel in The Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency trilogy is no exception. Turano has a flair for writing historical fiction that is true to the times as far as setting/fashions/etc., while giving readers captivating characters, especially strong, independent women, witty dialogue, chaste romance and potentially dangerous situations that you know the main characters will make it through to a satisfying ending. The women of the Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency are definitely women I’d want on my case if I needed their assistance. The story moves fluidly with its clever writing, bustling plot and the banter of the characters. I’ve been reading Turano’s books for years now, and I don’t plan to quit!

            Book One: To Steal a Heart

            Book Two: To Write a Wrong

To Treasure an Heiress (Jan. 4, 2022) by Roseanna M. White.

*This is the second novel in a series.*

Adventure can be found amongst the Isles of Scilly, and Elizabeth “Beth” Tremayne has always felt the pull of adventure. Adventure pulls at her now as she seeks more of a pirate (Mucknell) or pirate prince’s treasure (Prince Rupert), long thought to be tall tales and Tas-gwyn Gibson’s storied blustering. Turns out there is truth to all of those tales, evidenced by the old collection of letters and a map Beth has found (letters from 1650, and it’s now 1906) and the silverware recently found. She’d been searching on her own, but after mistaken identity pulls others into the fray, there are now too many hands in the cookie jar. One of those involved includes the 26-year-old Marquess of Sheridan, Theodore (Theo) Howe, a man that Beth finds insufferable. Beth’s big chip on her shoulder is that the beloved, inherited trinket box she entrusted to Lord Scofield – who’s a vile man – got sold to Sheridan instead of returned to her, and Sheridan refuses to return it to Beth. Sheridan loves a good archaeological adventure and inserts himself into Beth’s adventure. He’s enamored with her, and Beth doesn’t despise him quite so much as she’d like to think she does. With the villainous Scofields (father and son, Nigel) and their dastardly ways a real threat, will Beth’s impulsive choices and the call for adventure find her in a dangerous trap?

            The second installment in The Secrets of the Isles is as fresh as I imagine the air was in 1906. Crisp and refreshing, fitting for an adventure. Beth is headstrong and impulsive where her brother is calm and grounded and Sheridan is good-hearted and patient (and a bit incorrigible, too!). Sometimes Beth’s strong will had me picturing a petulant child and not a young woman, but it’s part of what makes Beth Beth. I love the humor, laughing aloud at Sheridan turning whatever Beth says into a proposal (“That’s brilliant.” “I do.” “You do what?” “Weren’t those your marriage vows?” p. 147). White is adept at creating historical fiction characters that are of the time, but the lead female characters are filled with spunk, independence and assertiveness. The plot isn’t mired in extra tangents, the story of  tragic love and piratical adventure melding with newfound love and island adventures mixing with a secondary character’s struggle to forgive herself and release her internal shame, which may then open her heart to accepting someone who truly loves her. It’s not a sappy story, though it does have moments that make the reader say, “Awww!” Another strong inspirational, historical fiction novel from White.

            Book One: The Nature of a Lady