The Dancing Master - By Julie Klassen

Julia Midwinter has felt unloved and out of place for most of her life.  Stuck in a small town that seems joyless, due in part to her own mother's influence that has driven dance and frivolity away for the past 20 years, she longs to explore the world, and dreams of marrying any man who might take her away.  When Alec Valcourt arrives, bringing with him his background of dancing master, tensions grow and secrets come out that force the people of the town to look hard at themselves and their pasts to determine what their future might be.

I was drawn into this book by the beautiful cover, and while I enjoyed it, I didn't love it.  The characters stayed stuck in their secrets and selfishness for a large majority of the book, with the only growth or change happening quickly, all at once, at the end.  The epilogue was nice to wrap things up, but even it felt abrupt, tying the loose ends together in just a couple of pages.  I didn't feel very connected to any of the characters, because the main ones weren't likable, and the interesting ones weren't featured enough to be drawn into.  Julia and her mother spend most of the book hiding things from each other and being upset at their lack of connection, without actually ever trying to connect to each other.  Alec spends much of the book only focusing on getting his career back in line, without examining his life or his father's mark on it.

There was enough secret and mystery that I did find myself wanting to find out how everything was to come together, and so I give this book 3 stars.  The humility and self-realizations that happened at the end of the book were vulnerable and refreshing, but I wish there had been more growth along the way.  I freely acknowledge that this time setting and style is not my cup of tea, so it is completely possible that if you are more of a Jane Austen fan, you may enjoy this much more than I did.

You can find The Dancing Master HERE.
You can find Julie Klassen's site HERE.

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers, in exchange for my honest review.

Taken for English - by Olivia Newport

Taken for English is the third installment in the Valley of Choice series.  Annie has committed to the Amish faith through baptism, and is patiently awaiting Rufus' proposal.  Her future sister-in-law, Ruth, who has foregone the Amish baptism in order to pursue a career in nursing is living with Annie while she serves an internship in the town.  Meanwhile, their paths cross with several people new to the town who will cause upheaval in their lives.  How will their encounters affect their life choices?

While I did read the first book in this series, Accidentally Amish, I missed reading the second book, In Plain View.  I can't say that I noticed a gap in the series, but perhaps the characters would have felt more fleshed out in this novel if I had read the series to completion.  The first novel was intriguing for me, to watch Annie's transition from a technology-driven life, to the simple life of the Amish.  This book did not have the same driving interest.  Annie has fully settled into her Amish lifestyle, and does not seem to miss her old life; maybe the second novel was where she experienced doubts as she transitions.  Additionally, the inclusion of the ancestral history seemed almost superfluous to the contemporary story.  I kept wanting the chapters of Joseph and Maura to be over so that I could get back to Annie and Rufus.  Other than the obvious connection of the color of Rufus' eyes, there was no real tie-in or lessons passed down to connect teh stories.

I give this book 2.5 stars; I finished reading it because I felt invested in Annie and Rufus' story from the first book, but I did not feel that there was any growth or developments in this installment to make me love it.

You can find a copy of Taken for English HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.

I received a copy of this e-book from Barbour Publishing, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

What Once Was Lost - by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Christina Willems has been capably running the Brambleville Asylum for the Poor on her own, since her father passed away.  She enjoys the work, enjoys the people, and enjoys feeling like she's doing ministry for God.  When a fire leaves the house uninhabitable, she is forced to find temporary arrangements for each of her charges, including Tommy, an 11-year-old blind boy who people continue to turn away.  She finds refuge for Tommy in the unlikeliest of places, with Levi Johnson, the hermit miller who lives outside of town - both physically and emotionally.  Can Christina salvage the poor farm?  What of her charges?  What of her faith?  And will Tommy ever feel safe and wanted?

I admit that it took me awhile to pick up this book; I've read more than my desired share of historical novels in the last year, and I was afraid that this would be just another one like those.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself quickly engaged in Christina's fight to keep her "family" together and safe.  I found myself wishing for some more depth to her character from time to time, but the challenges to her faith and her struggle to be happy for others when it meant losses for herself felt realistic and genuine.  Several of the supporting characters were fleshed out fairly well, and I was drawn to them perhaps even more than Christina.  They kept the book moving along well, and kept me from being sucked into Christina's discouragement too much.  The romance between Christina and Levi was cute and added to the book without being the focus.  It was well done and felt natural for the period setting of the story.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and give it 4 stars.  The caution to make sure your godly choices are actually from and for God instead of yourself are thought provoking enough to make the book stick with the reader more than just another historical romance.

You can find What Once Was Lost HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.

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I received a copy of this book from WaterBrook Press, as part of their Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review.

The Painted Table - by Suzanne Field

Handcrafted and brought to America from Norway in the early 20th century, the table that stood in Josephine's childhood home served as refuge from dangers both within and without her home.  As she grew, the memories attached to the table seemed to filter into her broken mind and create a strange relationship that fed her frenzies.  Her daughters, observing the oddities of their mother, developed their own methods of coping and growing, never quite knowing what normal should be.  Only as the eldest daughter, Saffee, grew and encountered people in her life willing to work around her rough edges, could she fully examine her own relationship with her mother and find healing in the strangest of places - The Painted Table.

This was a difficult book to read.  The reader is drawn completely into Josephine's drama and mania, her fears and delusions, as well as Saffee's uncertainty and seclusion.  It was so hard to decide whether to feel bad for the characters or dislike them for how they treated others.  For the first portion of the book, I was completely invested and engaged, however, the middle section felt unnecessarily long and drawn out.  There was just too much of the same thing over and over.  Once, Saffee began to become her own person, though, and work through her past through the people in her present, the story became alive again.

It is hard to say if one "likes" a book about mental illness and the complete devastation it can have on families, but this was an interesting read that felt very real and vulnerable.  I give it 3.5 stars.

You can find The Painted Table HERE.
You can find more about the book and author HERE (including a contest for a table!).

I received a copy of this book from Thomas Nelson, in exchange for my honest review.

Glittering Promises - by Lisa T. Bergren

Glittering Promises is the conclusion to Lisa T. Bergren's Grand Tour trilogy.  Cora and her siblings, along with the Morgans, the fathers, their guide, and bodyguards, are attempting to finish their tour of Europe, while also avoiding bad press and potential kidnappers.  Cora must decide once and for all if Will is the man for her, or if her new life would be better suited to a man like Pierre, with a title and money and an estate.  As if all of this weren't enough to handle for this group of young people, they will continue to face tragedy and dangers from both without and within.  How will they handle it?  Will it drive them apart or closer together?  Can Cora decide where her worth and identity come from?

In my reviews of both Grave Consequences, and Glamorous Illusions, I bemoaned the fact that Cora seemed caught up in her new world and enchanted by her pursuers, but that she couldn't look beyond those to do any real searching within her heart, faith, or life.  Finally, within this concluding novel, Cora is able to take some time apart after a family tragedy to find her identity in her true Father.  With this self-revelation comes clarity on her future, and how she can reconcile who she was with who she's become, into who she will be.  Not only did I enjoy Cora's personal journey more in this book, but I also enjoyed watching the personal relationships between the siblings change and grow.

Although I enjoyed this installment better than the second book (isn't that often the way with trilogies? Poor second novel.), I still found the theatrics and dangerous situations a bit over the top, and I'm not entirely sure that several of the scenarios were even partially realistic.  I give it 3.5 stars for bringing the trilogy to a satisfying conclusion, and for including more emotion and character development than was found in book 2.

You can find the book, including and excerpt, HERE.
You can find Lisa T. Bergren's site HERE. (In popping by, I was excited to see that there's a 4th River of Time novel coming out this year!)

I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

Dear Mr. Knightley - by Katherine Reay

Due to a past where the only characters she could trust were fictional, Samantha Moore has developed a habit of retreating from reality when things get tough.  Her life is peppered with "she does not relate" comments and rejections. Now, faced with one last chance for a better future, she is not only pushed into a graduate major she doesn't want, but she is asked to write regular letters to her anonymous donor.  Can she find a way into this future, or will she continue to seek solace between the pages that have encompassed her past?

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book; I liked the idea of Sam's character, who felt more comfortable with fictional characters than real people.  However, and I hesitate to even admit this on a book blog, I am not really a fan of Jane Austen, so most of the references to her works blew by me without adding anything to the book.  Once Sam began to be more of herself and reveal more of her past, she became much more interesting to me, and I became engrossed in her search for how to handle real relationships. While I saw the ending coming fairly early on, it didn't seem ridiculous that Sam did not.  I could really appreciate Sam's efforts to pull herself out of her fictional world and engage with the people in front of her, especially her self-realizations that she had hurt others by retreating.

I give this book 3 stars.  If I were a true Jane Austen fan, I think that my rating would not fall in the middle; I would either hate what the author had done with Austen's fictional characters, or I would love the story with the added understanding of the wealth of quotes and characters.

You can find Dear Mr. Knightley HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.

I received a copy of this book from Thomas Nelson, as part of their BookSneeze program, in exchange for my honest review.

Sisterchicks Do the Hula - by Robin Jones Gunn

Hope and Laurie have been best friends since college - when they first made plans to travel to Hawaii together.  That plan fell through, but now, as they approach their 40th birthdays, they have reconnected and decide that now is the time to do it.  While enjoying the beautiful sites the islands have to offer, they also find themselves digging a little deeper into what they've been made for by the One who created such beauty for them to enjoy.

This was the first Sisterchicks book I've read.  It was light, it was enjoyable; Hope and Laurie weren't especially deep characters, but that's what I was expecting when I started the book.  I loved the idea of two friends turning 40 and taking a trip of a lifetime together to enjoy the trip their way.  It didn't quite ring true that Hope would be concerned about the price of a "bargain" sun tanning lotion, versus the "expensive" one, but then order room service over and over again without blinking an eye, but if you suspend some disbelief and just enjoy the trip with them, then the book is a fun read.  It certainly made me wish I could take a trip like this!

I give this book 3 stars.  It didn't exceed any expectations, but it was a light, easy read.  There's a time and a place for such a book, and this was a good time for one for me.

You can find Sisterchicks Do the Hula HERE.
You can find Robin Jones Gunn's website HERE.

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I received a copy of this book from Waterbrook Multnomah, as part of their Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review.