The Love Note - Joanna Davidson Politano

From christianbook.com:
"In this Victorian romantic mystery, finding an unopened love letter in her writing desk sends Willa Duvall on a compulsive hunt to track down its author and the intended recipient. Her new position at Crestwicke Manor offers enticing clues but no real information. Will she be able to locate the pair and reunite them?"

The backcover summary of this book does it little justice; this story is so much bigger than a simple mystery of reuniting a letter with its intended recipient.  Instead, this letter weaves its way through an entire household, igniting hope, sparking new loves, and fanning the flames of old relationships.  The note not only creates new confidence and the possibility of being loved with such passion as the note infers, it opens the eyes of the men perceived as the potential senders to a new way of loving.  While not every character whose heart is touched by the letter is expounded upon, the reader is left with the lovely feeling that Crestwicke Manor has taken on new life and new loves that will leave it forever changed.

"To fall in love with God is the greatest romance;

to seek him the greatest adventure,

to find him, the greatest human achievement."

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Perhaps even better than the romantic possibilities brought on by the wayward letter, is the discovery of love and healing that goes beyond romance.  The entirety of the book points to the right kind of love, God's love, even as modeled by imperfect humans, but mostly in knowing that true love doesn't hinder or seek to change, but rather seeks to set one free in the knowledge that he or she is loved exactly for who they are.

I give this book 5 stars.  This may be my favorite read of 2020 so far.  I have loved every book by this author I've read so far, and this one was even better than anticipated.

You can find The Love Note HERE.
You can find the author HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

To Steal a Heart - Jen Turano

 

From christianbook.com:

After a childhood as a street thief, Gabriella Goodhue thought she'd put her past behind her until a fellow resident at her boardinghouse is unjustly accused of theft. In the middle of breaking into a safe that holds the proof to prove her friend's innocence, Gabriella is interrupted by Nicholas Quinn, the man she once considered her best friend--until he abandoned her.

After being taken under the wing of a professor who introduced him into society and named him as heir, Nicholas is living far removed from his childhood life of crime. As a favor to a friend, Nicholas agreed to help clear the name of an innocent woman, never imagining he'd be reunited with the girl he thought lost to him forever.

As Gabriella and Nicholas are thrown together into one intrigue after another, their childhood affection grows into more, but their newfound feelings are tested when truths about their past are revealed and danger follows their every step.   

This story was an interesting combination of class perspectives.  I especially loved Nicholas's contradictory character of trying to fit into society to please his adoptive uncle, while also caring so strongly for those from his former life, and having a heart for those from the life he'd managed to escape.  I liked that while many of the former criminals Nicholas and Gabriella had associated with were reformed and striving for better lives, it wasn't true of all of them.  While some of that was merely to serve as a plot device, it rang true - some people are going to continue to make bad choices and will despise those who find a better way.

I enjoyed the characters and their growth over the book.  I am excited for this series to continue, and hopefully not only get the rest of the boarding house ladies' stories, but continue to revisit the characters we meet in this one.

I give this book 4 stars.  I always enjoy Ms. Turano's humorous stories and characters.

You can find To Steal a Heart HERE.
You can find the author HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

The Right Kind of Fool - Sarah Loudin Thomas

 

From christianbook.com : 

One hot summer day, 13-year-old deaf Loyal swims in the creek---and discovers a dead body. He rushes to tell his absentee father, Creed, who abandoned the family because he didn't want to deal with his disabled son's hearing loss. When Creed is drawn into a murder investigation, will he solve the killing---and reclaim his family's hearts?

Watching this family draw back together through the solving of a murder case was sweet and compelling.  Both Creed and Delphy had to admit to themselves and each other that they had failed the family, and they learned to allow Loyal to grow up, even through their fears for him.  Loyal is deaf from a childhood illness, and it was a unique view into what it must be like to live with that.  Finding ways to relate to those around him and teaching them communication beyond words was a great reminder that there are always was to connect to those you  might not initially understand.

I give this book 4 stars.  Sarah Loudin Thomas's novels are always a little slower paced, but that really gives the reader the chance to lean into the characters and the setting.

You can find The Right Kind of Fool HERE.
You can find the author  HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Things We Didn't Say - Amy Lynn Green

 

From www.christianbook.com :

When translator Johanna is enlisted to work at a camp for German POWs, she reluctantly returns to her Midwestern hometown. As she gets to know the men and their charismatic spokesman, Stefan, she advocates for their better treatment---which angers the community. When the lines between compassion and treason blur, can she decide where her heart truly lies? 

This was such a gripping story!  From the starting point of a German POW camp in the heartland of America, meant to assist farmers who had sent their sons to war, to the epistolary format, it was a unique read and well done.  Jo was a deeply complicated and unusual character, with her reluctance to come home, her gift for linguistics, and her American-Japanese penpal friend whose family was in a Japanese relocation camp.  This was a setting I was completely unfamiliar with, but Ms. Green does an excellent job weaving the historical setting into her letters and giving the reader a complete picture of the era and her characters.

Things We Didn't Say was a debut novel by Amy Lynn Green, but I can't wait to see what she writes next! 5 stars to this beautiful novel.

You can find Things We Didn't Say HERE.
You can find the author's site HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

The Promised Land - Elizabeth Musser

 

From www.christianbook.com :

"Loss is engulfing Abbie! Her father is going blind; her eldest, Bobby, is taking a year off studies; and her husband is leaving her. Desperate for healing, she follows her son along the famous Camino pilgrimage route---encountering Rasa, an Iranian secretly aiding refugees, and Caroline, a journalist in search of answers. Will their souls find rest?"

There was a lot of depth to this book about needing to let go of control and guilt and the things we're holding onto too tightly that might not be what God wants for us.  As Abbie tried to find the parts of herself that she'd let go of as she tried to control her family under the guise of keeping them safe and organized, she found that she really could listen to others and she was able to bring comfort to those who felt lost.

This book definitely felt like it would be a richer read if I had followed these characters' full stories through the author's previous books; while it read well as a stand alone, I wish I had known the full story to fully appreciate the growth and challenges each of the characters' faced.  

I give this book 4 stars. It was well-written, and had I read the characters' full arcs, it could have easily been a 5-star read for me.

You can find The Promised Land HERE.
You can find connect with the author on Facebook HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

What You Said to Me - Olivia Newport

 

Feeling like she's the latest in a line of women who make bad choices and can't find a way to be happy, Tisha Crowder ends up essentially doing community service time as Jillian's assistant.  Only, Jillian has a hard time seeing that there's any assisting being done.  Yet, between Nolan's unwavering patience and optimism, and Jillian's glimpses into Tisha's life, Jillian gains an understanding of what's inside Tisha, and together, they find that maybe there's some good in her family line after all.

This might have been my favorite of the series!  I really felt like I could put myself in the shoes of all the characters in this book.  I could see Nolan's desire to help Tisha, because he could see that her circumstances were turning her into something she didn't need to be.  I could feel Tisha's discouragement at her situation and her doubt that Jillian and Nolan meant the nice things they said about her, because it conflicted with everything she'd ever heard from her mother, and that made them seem like platitudes.  Even Jillian's reaction to Tisha was totally reasonable, because her project was important to her and her client, and it must have been nerve-wracking to have a lackadaisical, lackluster teenager mope into her workspace with no regard to accuracy.  While Nolan remained steadfast, Jillian and Tisha changed together, and their growth seemed realistic and satisfying.

I give this book 4 stars.  While it was my favorite thus far, and I enjoy this ongoing series and continuing to connect with Jillian and Nolan, they aren't books I see myself rereading, although I found myself wishing I remembered more from the previous installments as I struggled to remember some of the side characters this time around.

You can find What You Said to Me HERE.
You can find the author HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.