A Castaway in Cornwall Julie Klassen

Laura Callaway daily walks the windswept Cornwall coast, known for many shipwrecks but few survivors. She feels like a castaway, set adrift on the tides of fate by the deaths of her parents and left wanting answers. Now living with her parson uncle and his parsimonious wife in North Cornwall, Laura is viewed as an outsider even as she yearns to belong somewhere again.

When ships sink, wreckers scour the shore for valuables, while Laura searches for clues to the lives lost. She has written letters to loved ones and returned keepsakes to rightful owners. She collects seashells and mementos, and when a man is washed ashore, she collects him too.

As Laura and a neighbor care for the castaway, the mystery surrounding him grows. He has abrasions and a deep cut that looks suspiciously like a knife wound, and he speaks in careful, educated English, yet his accent seems odd. Other clues wash ashore, and Laura soon realizes he is not who he seems to be. Their attraction grows, and while she longs to return the man to his rightful home, evidence against him mounts. With danger pursuing them from every side, will Laura ever find the answers and love she seeks?

In all transparency, I read this book a few years ago! I read it from Netgalley and never wrote my review for it. I can't remember what was going on at the time, but I feel awful for never having reviewed it. From what I remember I really liked the book and I recall the further I got into the story the more I liked it. I liked Laura. It was like you could feel sorry for her since she had lost her parents and was being raised by family and it seemed almost in competition with her cousin (I think), but not the cousin herself-but her mother. The two young women were fairly different but got along. 

There is a gentleman who she helps take care of, but he definitely doesn't seem to be who he says. He's mysterious and Laura finds herself a bit drawn to him. They go off onto an adventure to return him home and at one point all seems to be over--

I did enjoy this novel. It's a historical Christian fiction. It was a really well written enjoyable read. I don't feel as if it came across as "Christian" as much as a gentle soft story. Good, wholesome and clean are words that come to mind, but there was a well written story. I would absolutely read more books by Julie Klassen. 

As of December 1, 2009, According to The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), product reviewers on blogs must disclose whether they received products for free or received payment for their review. The books I review on this site (A NOVEL REVIEW) are sent to me by publishers, authors or downloaded from Netgalley. This is a very common practice. I never take payments for these reviews and all the reviews on this site are my own thoughts and feelings and are not influenced. Links on this site through Amazon are a part of their affiliate program and I may receive a small compensation if you purchase through one of the links that appear on this blog.

The Missing Pages By: Alyson Richman

    From international bestselling author Alyson Richman comes a love story, a ghost story, and an elegy to the healing power of books.

     Harry Widener boards the Titanic holding tight to a priceless book he just purchased in London. After mayhem strikes the ship, Harry’s last known words are that he must return to his cabin for his treasure. Neither the young man nor the book are seen again. In his honor, his mother builds the Harry Widener Memorial Library at Harvard to memorialize her son and house his extensive book collection.

​     Decades later, Violet Hutchins, a Harvard sophomore recovering from her own great loss, is working as a page at the Widener Library. When strange things begin happening at the library—books falling off shelves or opening to random pages—Violet wonders if Harry Widener’s ghost is trying to communicate the missing pieces of his story from beyond the grave. 

 This powerful and haunting novel is perfect for readers of Marie Benedict’s The Personal Librarian and Sulari Gentill’s The Woman in the Library.

Genres

Historical Fiction

Historical

My thoughts. I always love dual storylines that come together, so I knew this was up my reading aisle so to say. I am going to be honest--I had a couple of hesitations about The Missing Pages. First, a male perspective--I know I know not very enlightened of me, but I don't read a lot of books with a man as the protagonist. Second, this really sounds like a story about a lot of books. Now I'm a bit of a Bibliophile myself, so I was open to the idea, but I just couldn't imagine how a ghost, books, libraries and a historic male protagonist would converge into a great read. The book had my attention with its beautiful cover, a great author and a book synopsis a little different than a lot of books, 

Let me tell you, I fell in love with Harry. I loved his ghost and his story. I honestly enjoyed reading about his part of the story more than Violets. Not that there was anything about her storyline that I didn't like-I did! I just wanted to know his story, understand his motivation! I was willing Violet to go faster in her search for learning more about Harry! I don't want to give any of the story away, but you learn his demise pretty early on, but when you get to the moment---have the Kleenex handy! I was heartbroken!

Violet. Oh, sweet Violet.  Her story was a story of healing. I was rooting for her the entire book. I wanted so much for her. I was angry at how she was treated at one point. I loved her tenacity to uncover Harry's true story. I wanted a happy ever after for her.

I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend! 

As of December 1, 2009, According to The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), product reviewers on blogs must disclose whether they received products for free or received payment for their review. The books I review on this site (A NOVEL REVIEW) are sent to me by publishers, authors or downloaded from Netgalley. This is a very common practice. I never take payments for these reviews and all the reviews on this site are my own thoughts and feelings and are not influenced. Links on this site through Amazon are a part of their affiliate program and I may receive a small compensation if you purchase through one of the links that appear on this blog.

A Magic Deep and Drowning by Hester Fox

Holland, 1650. One fine spring day in Friesland, twenty-year-old Clara van Weiren is faced with an ill a whale, beached and rotting in the noonday sun. But Clara doesn’t believe in magic and superstition, and this portent is quickly dismissed when a proposal from a wealthy merchant arrives, promising Clara the freedom she seeks from her mother’s overbearing rule. When her attempts at overseeing the household at the family’s estate lead to her chance encounter with a young man with russet hair and sparkling eyes the color of the sea, she finds herself strangely drawn to him. 

As Clara grows closer to Maurits, she must choose between the steady, gentle life she has been raised for and the man who makes her blood sing. But Maurits isn’t who he seems to be, and his secrets, once hidden beneath the waves, threaten to rise up and drown them both. And when an ancient bargain, forged in blood between the mythical people of the sea and the rulers of the land, begins to unravel, Clara finds herself at the heart of a deadly struggle for power.

 Not yet published Expected 24 Jun 25 

Genres Fantasy Historical Fiction Historical Fantasy Retellings Romance Fiction Historical Fantasy Romance Mermaids Romantasy 352 pages, Paperback 

My Review: Let me begin with, this is the second book by Hester Fox. I am now a FanGirl!

I honestly didn't read any reviews before requesting to read/review this book. A few of her other books were witch centered, so I just assumed this would be too. I was wrong! 

This is a book unlike most books I have read. The story is a historic fiction (love) about a young woman Clara. She is a wealthy daughter who seems bored with her life. Her parents are either overbearing of checked out. A silver lining is when her dad mentions he has found her a suitable husband. She is actually very excited at the prospect. When a young man appears, she is taken off guard. She knows nothing about him, but she seems smitten. Maurits. Maurits turns her heart and her world upside down. Suddenly her world is underwater--so to say and stories of old are suddenly reality. 

This book was wonderful, because I had no idea what was about to happen. I couldn't even guess what was coming next. It was all sorts of my favorite genres, but with an unexpected story twist. Even though I thought I knew where it was going the story would go in a different direction.

I loved how Clara grew as a character throughout the book. Really allowing her to develop as her life circumstances changed, as her life seemed to test her. There were times I felt the retelling of Little Mermaid was giving me too much foreshadowing--but like I said earlier so many twists! 

There were several times I really didn't want to put the book down. I couldn't wait to find out how all the pieces would be put together. I very much enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from Hester Fox.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Awaking Wonder by Sally Clarkson

Awaking Wonder by Sally Clarkson was really a timely read. I've been homeschooling for seven years and this year the thought of getting back to it was honestly a little daunting. I started reading Awaking Wonder and really felt a sense of peace...maybe not peace, but something that stirred by soul. It was a wake up. A wake up for me. This has really been a tough year...I've lost my own wonder. How can I open the eyes to my children's wonder if I'm over here without it. I don't just want to wake up my children's heart, but also my own. 

I would say my takeaway is less about my children and more about me. To awaken wonder in my children I take my faith and passion for Christ and mix it with my desire and passion for educating my children. Sally gave some wonderful and practical ideas. This was really an inspiring book for homeschool parents. 

As of December 1, 2009, According to The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), product reviewers on blogs must disclose whether they received products for free or received payment for their review. The books I review on this site (A NOVEL REVIEW) are sent to me by publishers, authors or downloaded from Netgalley. This is a very common practice. I never take payments for these reviews and all the reviews on this site are my own thoughts and feelings and are not influenced. Links on this site through Amazon are a part of their affiliate program and I may receive a small compensation if you purchase through one of the links that appear on this blog.

Best field trip EVER!

A few weeks ago we took the kids on a trip to DC! It was amazing! We saw so many things and honestly there was still so much more to see. I am hoping we can take the kids again in the next year of two. I bet we walked 30 miles in just four days!

In front of The White House!

The Metro

I'd have to say I can't imagine a better field trip. It was scary at first because I've never used the metro before, but one of the employees showed us how to buy our passes and how to read the maps. It didn't take us anytime to become experts! By the time we left we saw newbies and it was shocking how comfortable we had become in such a short time. Our son C wasn't a fan with the quick pace and all the people, Z loved the fast 'train' and M--well she loved everything about the bustling city!

dinosaur bones

Butterfly room

Z's favorite part of the trip had to be the
Museum of Natural History! I mean so many dinosaur bones! He was so excited! I let him run around a bit. He honestly spent most of his time in the stroller. There was too many people just let him walk. He had the most fun there. All the kids loved it. On the top floor you could pay to go in with the butterflies! One landed on C's hat. I think M took 100 pictures up close of all the butterflies and Z loved looking at them unless they flew near him! Then he'd get upset. It was really cute.

We took a tour of the US Capitol! Honestly it was my favorite part of the entire trip! We were given a personal tour. I think in total we were there four hours! It was so cool! The intern who gave us the tour knew so much and was so excited to share everything. If you get a chance to go I highly recommend having a tour of the Capitol!

If the kids were older I'm sure we would have been able to squeeze in more things to see, but we would go for a few hours, eat a late lunch and head back to the room. We'd relax for awhile have dinner and hit the pool.