"Into the Starlight" by Amanda Cabot

Into the Starlight (July 16, 2024) by Amanda Cabot.*

<This is the third novel in a series.>

Returning home to Sweetwater Crossing after more than a year in Europe should bring joy. Instead, Joanna Vaughn Richter’s dreams of becoming a concert pianist have shattered, as battling scarlet fever and subsequent pneumonia have left her lungs unable to withstand the exertion of a hectic concert tour, and she’s mourning the double loss of her husband of one month and her grandmother, whom she was traveling with. The thought of her childhood home sustained her return to Texas, but now that eldest sister, Emily Ferguson, has turned Finley House into a boardinghouse, her home no longer feels like home. Dr. Burke Finley arrives with Aunt Della Samuels the same day that Joanna returns. Burke is the nephew of the late Clive Finley, who built Finley House for Della, his intended. After his partner and his fiancée blame him for a patient’s death, and his former flame falls out of love with him for said partner, Burke is happy to leave the practice he’d started in Samuels, Alabama. He knows he will not return there. A two-week trek to Sweetwater Crossing seems to be turning into an extended (permanent?) stay.

            Della is looking for answers into Clive’s disappearance. She believes he died after contracting dysentery. The Vaughn sisters (two of three who are now married) and their late parents believed that he left for the war without saying goodbye and was killed in battle. Secrets are coming to light and ghosts are coming to call. Burke is drawn to Joanna and not only because her music draws him closer. Joanna is likewise drawn to him, but she wonders if she has room in her heart to love another. Will secrets from the past and Burke’s uncanny resemblance to Clive take the sweet out of Sweetwater Crossing?

            Discovered secrets and a murky history give this Christian, historical fiction romance an intriguing mystery. Cabot treats readers to a smart plot with twists to keep one guessing, world-building to make us feel as though we’re walking the streets of Sweetwater Crossing, taking tea at Porter’s, grabbing food at Ma’s and visiting Della at the town’s small-but-cozy library, and characters to captivate us. She welcomes us back to town for the third Vaughn sister’s story. I’ve been fortunate to enjoy this gracefully well-crafted trilogy in its entirety. For those who enjoy historical page-turners under a Christian umbrella with suspenseful elements, this is for you!

            Book One: After the Shadows

            Book Two: Against the Wind

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. 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.”

"Against the Wind" by Amanda Cabot

Against the Wind (Oct. 3, 2023) by Amanda Cabot.*

<This is the second novel in a series.>

Time away from Sweetwater Crossing has done wonders for Louisa Vaughn. She’s a doctor-in-training with midwifery instruction. Louisa plans to be back for a few days to help a friend, but when she finds an injured man along the roadside, she won’t abandon him. She isn’t yet a fully qualified doctor, but she’s got the skills and the passion. Josh Porter plans to win his grandfather’s challenge to win control of the family business, Porter & Sons (P&S). He’s laid up for several weeks with his broken leg in a cast without his horse, Zeus, and his saddlebags containing recipes that he believes will clinch his win. It’s a roadblock, but having to pause in Sweetwater Crossing prompts new ideas. When he puts his plan into action, with Louisa’s perceptive ideas, this reality lights a spark that he didn’t know he’d been missing. Now, if only the town would accept Louisa as a doctor (this is Texas Hill country in 1883). The disparaging comments are bad enough, but someone in the town wants her to abandon her passion for healing others. Can Louisa and Josh find the person behind the threats? Is there a future for them as a couple when neither plan to stay?

            I’d been looking forward to the second installment in the “Secrets of Sweetwater Crossing” series, hoping for reconciliation between Emily and youngest sister, Louisa. This story did not disappoint. From Louisa’s fervent determination to become a doctor to big-city Josh finding comfort and new direction in a small town, this story is sweet on forgiveness, ambition, family, friendship, faith and belonging. The challenge that Louisa faces as a woman in a “man’s field” is inspiring, as well as frustrating to me, a woman in the 21st Century, but it makes rooting for Louisa and Josh all the easier. Cabot’s characters are authentic, her writing even-keeled, including during moments of turmoil for her characters. This Christian, historical fiction romance is a delight.

            Book One: After the Shadows

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. 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.”

"After the Shadows" by Amanda Cabot

After the Shadows (Mar. 21, 2023) by Amanda Cabot.*

*This is the first novel in a series.*

When her abusive husband is killed in a bar fight, Emily [Vaughn] Leland sheds no tears. Free to return to her family’s home in Sweetwater Crossing, her homecoming is far from comforting. Her mother’s recently passed away after an illness and now her father’s died by apparent suicide, meaning he can’t be buried by her mother. Her youngest sister, Louisa, resents Emily, and she eventually leaves town. Her other sister, Joanna, is in Europe growing her musical talent. The house where Craig Ferguson, the new schoolteacher, and his two-year-old son, Noah, were set to board with Mrs. Carmichael burns, and Emily opens their home as a boardinghouse (this was the straw that set Louisa to leaving), despite Emily’s fear of men. The Vaughn name is tainted in controversy, but Emily knows her father didn’t kill himself. Craig proves himself to be a man to trust. Not only is he a devoted father, he’s a resourceful teacher and the ally Emily didn’t know she needed. Craig brings “radical” ideas (for the 1880s) to his classroom, from how he handles classroom discipline to welcoming 12-year-old Beulah Douglas with Emily’s support and despite the townsfolk’s protests, whom Emily defends as the child of God that she is. Meanwhile, death continues to come for the residents of Sweetwater Crossing, many of them around 70 years old. As Emily and Craig look to uncover the truth, they find murky depths under the town’s seemingly calm surface.

            The first in the Secrets of Sweetwater Crossing series takes readers back to 1880s Texas Hill Country. Cabot’s narrative is engaging, and her realistic portrayal of characters of the time inflamed me all the more. Not kindhearted Emily, nor compassionate Craig, but the close-minded townspeople, especially outspoken, thinks-he’s-always-right Mayor Alcott, and the uppity Mrs. Dietrich and her vile daughter Lizzie. My parents taught me to be a compassionate person from a young age, and I expect they would have even if we’d been alive in the 1880s. I am curious if Emily will share her story with Louisa in the next installment, as I’d like to see the sisters return to their close-knit bond. Humans have value in this story, no matter how fast they learn or how valuable one thinks one isn’t. Cabot’s new series opener shows courage, grit and determination, more than enough love to go around, and the path that can lie ahead after chasing away the shadows.

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. 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 Spark of Love" by Amanda Cabot

The Spark of Love (Mar. 1, 2022) by Amanda Cabot.*

*This is the final novel in a trilogy.*

With dust in her hair and extra padding around her midsection, Alexandra Tarkington flees her aunt’s New York mansion for Mesquite Springs in the Texas Hill Country. Her father, Calvin, is building a hotel there. By going to Mesquite Springs, she hopes she can throw off Franklin Beckman’s pursuit. She knows he only wants to marry her because she’s an heiress, and his threats scare her. Her father isn’t overjoyed to see her in Texas, but she finds fast friends in Laura Downey, Dorothy Holloway and Evelyn Clark. Encountering Gabe Seymour, an investigator, on the last leg to Mesquite Springs, has been an unexpected delight, too. Unbeknownst to Alexandra, Gabe has been hired by Jason Biddle (who, unbeknownst to Gabe, knows Franklin) to investigate her father for swindling, and, also unbeknownst to Alexandra, Calvin has hired Gabe to court her. He dreads sharing either truth with her. Even more dreadful is newcomer Martin Lewis and his persistent pursuit of Alexandra. Is Martin the one putting her life in danger? Alexandra and Gabe certainly care for one another, but will sparks fly and grow into glowing flames of love? Or will that spark die down like a fire left unattended?

            I have had the opportunity to read all three of the books in the Mesquite Springs trilogy, and this one is my favorite. While I like all of the protagonists over all the stories well enough, this installment is extra busy. Not in a wildly chaotic way, but in a way that keeps a good grip on the plot. You know who the antagonists are, but I didn’t find that it detracted from the danger of certain situations. This Christian fiction novel also gives readers adventure, drama and clean romance against a historical setting (1857). The book is emotive, because the characters are expressive, whether it’s due to fear, love, anger, happiness, frustration or joy. It’s a charming, uplifting story. I’m even pleasantly surprised by the return of Sam Plaut; he has turned himself around and has become a confidant to Gabe. The author writes that her next series will also be situated in the Texas Hill Country, and I hope to read it.

            Book One: Out of the Embers

            Book  Two: Dreams Rekindled

 

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. 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.”

"Dreams Rekindled" by Amanda Cabot

Dreams Rekindled (Mar. 2, 2021) by Amanda Cabot.*

*This is the middle novel in a trilogy.*

The focus turns to Wyatt Clark’s younger sister, Dorothy. While she’s been helping at Polly’s Place while Evelyn is away, her dream is to write something that will challenge people to think like Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” But her hometown of Mesquite Springs, Texas, does not have a newspaperman … until the arrival of Brandon Holloway in the latter part of 1856. He knows the disastrous effects challenging others can have, as he experienced such while in Xavier and so does not plan to write anything to cause dissension. No controversy. He is weighed down by guilt that he’s designed for himself, but Dorothy is a bright spot. It isn’t only her pleasant personality greeting him at Polly’s Place or her obvious knack for writing, but that she has grown to mean so much that he’d “be nothing but an empty shell” without her. Brandon is a man in love. And Dorothy is a woman in love, but her aversion to marriage is based on a fear that runs deep. The two might be able to make it to a place where romance blooms as treasured and beautiful as rare white bluebonnets, but first they must investigate who’s working to divide the town. Someone is clearly trying to drive away their longtime Pastor Coleman and newly settled Brandon.

            While there aren’t any surprises with the plot, the story does move steadily forward in this story of guilt overcome, love accepted and faith found. There is more than one charlatan, though only the one is in Mesquite Springs for an extended time, and both are expectedly despicable. After reading the first story in this trilogy, I almost didn’t give this one a chance, because of all the lines like, “He couldn’t stop thinking about kissing her lips.” Although I vacillate between Brandon’s known interest in Dorothy being sweet and irksome, I was glad that there weren’t all of those similar lines as in the first story. And I’m glad that I gave this story a chance and will look toward the final installment. Whether this story jives with a reader or not, I did find it to be a pleasant story, subtly uplifting.

            Book One: Out of the Embers

 

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. 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.”

"Out of the Embers" by Amanda Cabot

Out of the Embers (Mar. 3, 2020) by Amanda Cabot.*

Now a 23-year-old woman in 1856, Evelyn Radcliffe is homeless once again. The orphanage that became her refuge 10 years before and later on her workplace has been burned. Arson is apparent. Only she and a young orphan girl named Polly have escaped (she won’t share her last name). Evelyn’s certain that the fire is related to her parents’ murder a decade earlier, so she flees with Polly to Texas Hill Country and, specifically, Mesquite Springs. She finds shelter in the home Wyatt Clark lives in with his mom, Isolde, and younger sister, Dorothy. Wyatt is a horse rancher who became one out of obligation when his dad was killed, but his greatest desire is to make the ranch successful so he can get out of Texas. Evelyn just wants to feel safe and keep herself and Polly (whom she’s referring to as her sister) safe. A skilled cook, she opens up the one restaurant in town and quickly becomes known for her oatmeal pecan pie. She’s captured the attention of two men who seem to be in competition with each other: Sam Plaut, the town’s handsome lawyer, and Caleb Smith, considered the town’s handsomest bachelor who’s the son of the town’s blacksmith and who also works at Circle C Stables for Wyatt. But it’s Wyatt that makes Evelyn feel safe and who Polly has declared she wants for a daddy. It’s Wyatt that she finds easy to talk to. And now when Wyatt thinks of leaving, he realizes how much he’d miss Evelyn. With someone likely looking for Evelyn (or Polly), can she and Wyatt build a relationship amidst fear, stress and turmoil?

            Although this inspirational prairie romance was at times sickly sweet, a modicum of suspense and a clearly wicked antagonist kept the first in the Mesquite Springs series pretty lively. The romance did get to me, though. I’m not an eye-roller, but more than once did I want to roll my eyes. If I read one more line along the lines of, “He couldn’t stop thinking about kissing her lips,” I was going to go with a resounding no to any interest in the remainder of the series. And that would’ve been unfair, as this is the first I’ve read from Cabot. Sappy sweet aside, I did root for the main characters and supporting characters like Isolde, Dorothy and Caleb. I appreciate the strength of the women and how the tension and suspense of the plot kept the story moving forward.

            Thought: With such an emphasis on Evelyn’s oatmeal pecan pie, I was expecting there to be a recipe at the end of the story and felt let down when there wasn’t.

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. 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.”