Rhonda's Doings !

" Love's Betrayal by Diann Mills  & bonus story by Jill Stengl Book Description: Meet Delight Butler of Boston 1776, who is a passionate defender of the American patriots. When redcoats bring an injured Henry O’Neil to the Butler home for care and lodging, Delight despises the man. Despite having long discussions and coming to admire the man, Delight struggles to trust that he could desert the British army and join the patriot cause. What will it take to bolster her faith in God and man? Also includes a bonus historical romance,  Faithful Traitor  by Jill Stengl. My Book Review:  I love, love, love reading historical fiction and Diann Mills has certainly fulfilled my expectations.   The colonial period is also one of my favorite time periods.  Women were often treated as property and were expected to remain pure.  When Delight meets the wounded soldier, Henry, there are sparks, but not the loving kind.  Will the hate change to lo...

Mountain Christmas Brides Nine Historical Novellas Celebrate Faith and Love in the Rocky Mountains by  Mildred Colvin, Mary Davis, Susan Page Davis, Lena Nelson Dooley, Darlene Franklin, Debby Lee, Tamela Hancock Murray, Carrie Turansky, Gina Welborn Book Description:   A Trusting Heart / by Carrie Turansky  Home for the Holidays / by Mildred Colvin  One Evergreen Night / by Debby Lee  All Ye Faithful / by Gina Welborn  A Carpenter Christmas / by Mary Davis  Fires of Love / by Tamela Hancock Murray  The Best Medicine / by Lena Nelson Dooley  Almost Home / by Susan Page Davis  Dressed in Scarlet / by Darlene Franklin From a Wyoming ranch in 1880, to a logging camp in Washington Territory in the late 1800s, to Denver, Colorado, in 1913, meet nine couples who find that Christmas is the perfect time for climbing to the heights of romance. Watch as their faith and courage propel them through challenges that come with ...

Clementine & Claudia by Piper Milton The First World War is raging and sisters Clementine and Claudia are coping in very different ways. Clementine is a nurse on the front line, doing her best to save the lives of soldiers wounded while serving their country. Claudia, on the other hand, is living the good life in England, deliberately oblivious to the horrors her sister and so many others are living through. When they both meet their perfect man, their already fractured relationship is tested in ways they could never imagine. The début novel from Piper Milton, Clementine and Claudia is a powerful and beautifully written story of romance and war and a wonderful addition to the romantic traditions of Penny Vincenzi, Soraya Lane, Brief Encounter and Downton Abbey.   MY REVIEW:  Historical fiction fascinates me.  I particularly love to read about the World Wars.   They are sad stories of love and loss, in most cases.   The stories of couples eager t...

The House of Windridge  Review by Tracie Peterson When her mother dies in childbirth, Jessica's father sends his infant daughter from his ranch in Kansas back to New York to be raised by an older aunt. But Aunt Helen only cares for social standing and proprieties. She tells Jessica nothing of her fathers offers to take her back and instead pushes Jessica into an arranged marriage with a man who turns out to be abusive and unfaithful. When her aunt and husband die, Jessica is alone in the world except for her infant son. She learns of her fathers death and determines to rebuild her life at Woodridge, the ranch where her life began. But appearances are not always reliable, and Jessica doesn't know who she can trust. Will Windridge become the home she has always searched for, or will it be the scene of her final betrayal?   MY REVIEW:  I was fortunate to be raised by my mother and father.  Jessica's life begins with pain and sadness when her mother dies giv...

Review of The Christmas Secret:   Will an 1880 Christmas Eve Wedding Be Cancelled by Revelations in an Old Diary? by Wanda E. Brunstetter Bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter delivers a poignant historical story of a couple on the threshold of marriage who are suddenly pulled apart. Elizabeth Canning discovers an awful secret in her aunt's diary. Believing her chances for a happy marriage are spoiled, she leaves her fiancé a letter and flees town. Anticipating a Christmas Eve wedding with Elizabeth, David Stinner is confused by her letter and desperate to find her. Can David root out the truth about the past and bring back his bride? Or is the truth destined to bring an ultimate end to their romance? My Review:  Christmas Eve holds a special meaning for Elizabeth Canning as it is her birthday and she plans to make it even more special.  It will an unforgotten moment.  She and David are working to clean the little cabin they plan to make their f...

Review of Saving the Marquise's Granddaughter by Carrie Fancett Pagels In a land fraught with religious strife, they must break the barriers between status and faith to forge a fresh future in a new world… After her Huguenot father is arrested, aristocrat Suzanne Richelieu escapes Versailles. Handsome German peasant, Johan Rousch, risks his life to bring her to the safety of his family’s farm in the Palatinate duchy, but when Suzanne’s brother and the French army arrive with a warning that they plan to burn the area, she and Johan are forced to flee. With no money or options, both become indentured servants in exchange for safe passage to Philadelphia. Suzanne falls gravely ill aboard ship and marries Johan, only to survive with no memory of the wedding—a reality made worse when Johan spots the “priest” who married them working as a surveyor and later in Quaker cleric garb. Are their wedding vows valid? When Suzanne's former fiancé arrives in port, planning to abduct h...

Review of The Lassoed by Marriage Romance Collection by Mary Connealy, Angela Bell, Angela Breidenbach, Lisa Carter, Rebecca Jepson, Amy Lillard, Gina Welborn, Kathleen Y'Barbo, Rose Ross Zediker Come along on a romantic journey jam-packed with all the angst of marriages founded upon practical choices as well as coercion. Meet nine couples who barely know each other before they find themselves suddenly married—to please family, to stem the tide of gossip, to save the land—and joined for life. But can love grow when duty comes before romance?  The Substitute Bride  by Angela Bell:  London, England, June, 1865, Gwen's mother convinces her to be the substitute bride for her sister, Cynthia, in her marriage to Lord Elliott Carlyle.   Elliott is not happy about the arrangement that he was tricked into, but their love for books and art may just save the day and make their marriage work. My REVIEW of The Substitute Bride:  This is a very well written...

Review of  A Basket Brigade Christmas: Three Women, Three Love Stories, One Country Divided by Judith Miller, Nancy Moser, & Stephanie Grace Whitson Not even the Civil War can smother the spirit of Christmas, especially in the town of Decatur, Illinois, in 1862, where the ladies of the Basket Brigade board trains to minister to Union soldiers, offering fried chicken, pickled peaches, pound cake, and other dainties to men who haven’t eaten a home-cooked meal since enlisting. Join Sarah, Lucy, and Zona, three compassionate members of the brigade, as they care for wounded heroes—and find love along the way. A Stitch in Time by Stephanie Grace Whitson:  Late September 1862, Decatur, Illinois, the Civil War has divided families and hearts and now Lucy Maddox's community has experienced their first personal loss.   Lucy has lost her neighbor and one true love to the war, but Jonah Kincaid only considered her a friend.  That does not stop the ache in her he...