Vamosh (The Scroll) and Everson (The Ornament Keeper) put an empowering spin on the biblical story of Tamar, the daughter of King David. A respected healer in her father’s court, Tamar is commanded to minister to her half-brother Amnon, a “beast of a man” suffering from a mysterious “illness” that was only a pretense to rape her. David refuses to punish him and, worse, it becomes clear that Tamar’s brother Absalom helped orchestrate the rape to usurp power from Amnon, heir to the throne of Judah. Reeling from the assault and her family’s betrayal, Tamar relies on her servant, Mara, and her father’s benevolent advisers Gad, Nathan, and Mephiboseth to help her flee the palace. She strikes out on her own as a healer in the city of Abel, where she gains power and dreams of traveling to Geshur, the home of her long-banished mother Maacah. Vamosh and Everson’s characters are made three-dimensional through evocative descriptive language (Amnon is “a scorpion quietly biding its time beneath a colorful tapestry”). The revisions to the original story—in the Bible, Tamar eventually dies “desolate” in Absalom’s household—uplift, even if the propulsive plot leaves little room to develop her motivations. Still, it’s a welcome and often gripping portrait of the unsung courage of a biblical heroine. (May)

Reviewed on 03/22/2024 | Details & Permalink

Hunt (The Emissaries) sends readers to ancient Rome for the immersive tale of a Christian convert who seeks to maintain her faith in a pagan world. The year is 60 CE and 15-year-old Mariana lives in Corinth, a city filled with worshippers of the Roman god Jupiter, among them her power-hungry father, Narkis, and stepsister Prima. While Mariana and her mother, Hester, feign partial allegiance to the Roman deities, the two have quietly become devoted to the Christian god, Adonai, and his son, Yeshua, since hearing his message from the “fiery emissary” Paulos. The family lives in relative peace until Narkis tries to make a match between one of his daughters and the son of a powerful governor of Achaia. Despite Mariana’s misgivings about marrying an idol worshipper, she and Marcus develop an attraction for each other, fueling jealous Prima’s attempts to break up the two. Meanwhile, Marcus is torn between Jupiter and Mariana’s god, a choice that grows increasingly perilous as Emperor Nero’s suspicion of Christians intensifies, putting Marcus’s hopes of becoming a governor at risk. Chapters alternate between Mariana and Prima to build suspense, and—while her conversion to Christianity is somewhat abruptly explained—Mariana’s fiery devotion to her faith adds energy to the fast-moving plot. Hunt’s fans will be eager to sink their teeth into this evocative historical and its inspiring message of faith in times of trial. (May)

Reviewed on 03/22/2024 | Details & Permalink

Fuller follows up The Courtship Plan with a spirited enemies-to-lovers Amish romance featuring a jaded butcher and a headstrong grocer. After being dumped by one paramour and catching a second with another man, Nelson Bontranger swears off love and moves to the Amish community in Marigold, Ohio, where he plans to open a butcher shop. Unfortunately, the grocery store next door is run by Ella Yoder, “one of the pushiest females he’d ever met.” When sparks fly between Ella’s younger sister Junia and Nelson’s nephew Malachi, they’re forced to chaperone the young lovers on dates. Ella and Nelson squabble as deeper tensions build between the sisters—ostensibly about the grocery store, though the real issue stems from resentments that developed after their mother’s death—leading to a massive blowout. Ella realizes she needs to work on her anger, though God never seems to answer her prayers for patience. As she works to turn over a new leaf, Nelson ignores his growing feelings and resolves to keep her at a distance. God may have other plans, however; when Malachi and Junia’s relationship hits a speed bump, Nelson and Ella must work to bring them back together. The sisters’ relationship serves as the novel’s emotional through line, keeping readers invested in the romantic foibles, clashes, and make-ups. It’s an irresistable charmer. (May)

Reviewed on 03/15/2024 | Details & Permalink

The propulsive latest in Meyer’s Timeless series (after In This Moment) follows time-traveling twin sisters as they bounce between centuries in pursuit of their destinies. Hope and Grace travel each night between 1692 Salem, Mass., where they serve customers at their father’s tavern as the witch trials pick up steam, and 1912 New York City, where Grace works as a newspaper reporter and Hope makes history as the first aviatrix to fly across the English Channel. Both are eager to leave Salem behind for good when they turn 25 and must choose which century to inhabit. Yet trouble arises in 1912 when their parents’ orphanage is put up for sale, and Hope embarks on an ambitious cross-country flight to raise money to save it. Disaster strikes, upending the women’s lives in both timelines, endangering Hope’s budding romance with her handsome flight instructor, and testing their sisterly bond. Meyer keeps the action rolling in parallel timelines that thrum with tension, and brings historical events to vivid life through the twins’ eyes—especially the paranoia and witchcraft accusations swirling around Salem, which come perilously close to Hope and Grace. For fans of feisty female heroines and historical suspense, Meyer’s tale is one to savor. (May)

Reviewed on 03/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

The Appalachian mountains provide an atmospheric backdrop for this textured early 20th-century historical romance from Gabhart (In the Shadow of the River). Mira Dean’s childhood sweetheart died of tuberculosis five years before the start of the novel, taking with him her dreams of motherhood. Since then, she’s accepted a bland though comfortable life as a schoolteacher in Louisville, Ky. When missionary Gordon Covington, a former classmate of Mira’s, asks her to marry him and teach the children of the small Appalachian community of Sourwood, she rejects the offer—but changes her mind a few weeks later, after she loses her job and apartment in quick succession. The two marry and Mira soon becomes enamored with her new students, especially 10-year-old orphan Ada June. As Mira’s desire to be a mother resurfaces, she questions whether she’ll be able to have children, and whether her marriage of convenience will ever transform into one of real love. Gabhart sensitively portrays both the challenges of mountain life—poverty, harsh weather, disease—and the heart and warmth of this hardscrabble community. The slow-burn romance between Mira and Gordon adds just the right amount of sweetness. Gabhart’s fans will swoon. (May)

Reviewed on 03/08/2024 | Details & Permalink

Erlingsson unspools in her charming debut an endearing romance between a down-on-her-luck make up artist and the actor who once got her fired. After Adanne Stewart’s mother dies of kidney failure, she takes a temporary job working on a local film set in her hometown of Hope Springs, Ala. She hopes to earn enough money to stay afloat for the next few months, but her enthusiasm sours when she learns she’ll be working with John Pope, the charismatic actor who unwittingly got her kicked off a movie set in Los Angeles three years before. John has turned over a new leaf after recommitting to God and getting sober two years ago, and as the two spend time together, they begin to envision a shared future. For his part, John learns about Adanne’s Nigerian ancestry and becomes enamored with her charitable, devout nature, even as she struggles to fully open her heart to the former bad boy. The chemistry between the two leaps off the page, and the textured backdrop of Hope Springs balances out one or two less-developed plotlines (little information is given about John’s movie, for example). This promises more good things to come from Erlingsson. (June)

Reviewed on 03/01/2024 | Details & Permalink

Politano (The Lost Melody) takes a fantastical trip through a world of silent movies, fairy tales, and hidden identities in this bewitching historical. In 1903 Britain, Peter Driscoll, a self-professed “finder of lost things, pursuer of truth, restorer of what’s been broken,” is hired by a rich dowager to hunt down the Briarwood Teardrop, a legendary sapphire believed to have healing properties. Driscoll finds it at a movie premiere hanging from the neck of mysterious silent film actor Lily Temple (not her real name), but before he can figure out a way to take it or how it came into her possession, it disappears from off Lily’s neck without her realizing. Intrigued by Lily, Peter recruits her to help on a different case, aiming to unravel her hazy past and restore the faith in God she lost after suffering a nameless betrayal. Meanwhile, a powerful magistrate lurking in the wings seeks information on the gem and threatens harm to them both. Rich with biblical allusions (the sapphire is supposedly a gateway to an otherworldly garden), the layered plot accrues tension and texture by alternating perspectives between Lily and Peter as the mystery intensifies. Readers will be kept guessing through the many twists and turns. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 02/23/2024 | Details & Permalink

Fisher’s sweet third entry in the Cape Cod Creamery series (after The Secret to Happiness) mixes matrimonial misadventures and relationship quandaries with double-vanilla extract ice cream. It’s summertime in small-town Cape Cod when Dawn Dixon Collins, co-owner of an ice cream shop, receives a frantic text that her usually straitlaced friend Brynn Haywood has married a virtual stranger and bolted after the shotgun wedding. Dawn invites Brynn to stay in town to help her sort things out, though the timing isn’t ideal: Dawn and her mother, shop co-owner Marnie, are prepping for the arrival of tourists celebrating July 4, and of Marnie’s boyfriend, Linc, whose daughter is getting married in town. When the wedding caterer cancels at the last minute, everyone pitches in to help, including Brynn, who rediscovers her passion for baking, though as the date approaches, she’s still ruminating over whether to divorce her new husband or learn to love him. Fisher expertly intertwines plot threads that probe the value of unexpected blessings, friendship, and trust in God without losing the lively, gently humorous tone that gives the book its spark (Brynn reflects on the aftermath of her whirlwind wedding: “One impulsive, irrational decision. Then another. Before you knew it, you were heavily medicated and watching Bonanza reruns all day long”). Fisher’s enjoyable latest will whet readers’ appetites for the follow-up. (May)

Reviewed on 02/23/2024 | Details & Permalink

In this propulsive series opener from Gray (His Risk), two outcasts from the Amish community in Crittenden County, Ky., forge a friendship that might become more if their pasts don’t derail it first. Tabitha Yoder has led a reclusive life in the five years since her divorce from her abusive husband forced her to leave the Amish faith and distance herself from her community. She’s skittish and stays inside whenever Good Samaritan Seth Zimmerman comes by to do chores for her, until the day when the two lock eyes through the window while he’s chopping her firewood. When Tabitha goes outside to thank him, she’s smitten. Seth has been ostracized by the Amish community after he indirectly caused a man’s death and spent several years in prison, but he retains an unshakable belief in God that gives Tabitha hope for the future. Just as things start to heat up between them, Tabitha gets word that her ex has been picked up for assault by the police in a nearby community and released. She worries it’s only a matter of time before he returns to stalk her—a fear that quickly comes true and threatens to involve Seth, who can’t afford another mark on his record. Gray’s multifaceted narrative blends uneasy suspense, slow-burning romance, and community drama, all while leaving plenty of secrets yet to be uncovered. Readers will be eager to get their hands on the follow-up. (May)

Reviewed on 02/09/2024 | Details & Permalink

Birdie Clarkson seeks redemption after tragedy forces her into prostitution in the captivating latest from Vogel Sawyer (Still My Forever). It’s 1895 and the penniless 17-year-old is working at a Texas brothel to scrape together a living after her father died and her mother ran off with another man. When Rev. Isaiah Overly and his son, Ephraim, show up, promising the women a new life at their utopian community, Birdie jumps at the chance. She quickly settles in at Hope Hill, singing in Ephraim’s choir and reading the Bible. Ephraim’s intrigued by the angelic-voiced Birdie, who also feels an attraction but fears her “sinful” past will keep her from finding a husband or being loved by God. When the brothel burns down, the madam who ran it unexpectedly arrives at Hope Hill, bringing with her chaos and secrets that bind her to the Overlys. Vogel Sawyer’s immersive narrative gains depth from the characters’ intricately drawn inner lives and momentum from their simmering family secrets. Fans of clean Christian historicals will be happily swept along for the ride. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 02/09/2024 | Details & Permalink