Eye of the Sword by Karyn Henley

★★★★★
Read chapter one here.
Goodreads | Amazon

Where angels walk the ground and the future is told in song, does a man of low rank have a chance at love with a princess?
 
In Camrithia, a land of shadows and mystical secrets, Trevin lives to serve King Laetham. But his heart belongs to the princess, Melaia. When the King sends Trevin on on a dangerous quest to find the missing comains – captains in the king’s army – he must leave Melaia to the advances of a swaggering Dregmoorian prince. 
 
Challenged to prove his worth, Trevin throws himself into his quest. Striving to prove his love, Trevin undertakes a second mission – find the harps Melaia seeks in order to restore the stairway to heaven. Through fire caves, rogue winds, and murderous threats, Trevin remains steadfastly dedicated to his quest – even when he is falsely accused of a heinous crime. As Trevin’s time runs out, he realizes he must face the shame and horror of his own past and the nightmare that has come to life. Will he have the courage to finish what he has started?

This second foray into the mythical land of Camrithia, where humans find themselves walking among angels and half-angels, is nothing less than an entertaining and addicting read. (The Angelaeon Circle series begins with Breath of Angel.) With the tasteful mix of adventure – feats of strength, epic battles, daunting challenges – and endearing romance, I could not stop reading until the end. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone with an interest in the genre of fantasy, though I would advise reading Breath of Angel first, since the knowledge of the back story helps to understand the plot.

I would like to thank WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for providing me with a copy of this novel. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to read and honestly review it.

Waiting for Morning by Margaret Brownley

★★★★★
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If Molly Hatfield's purple attire doesn't blind you, her dazzling smile will.  She doesn't just sing to the cattle, she puts on a whole show. If only she wasn't so stubborn about her brother's care.  Or so distrustful of a certain handsome doctor...

There is nothing Molly wouldn't do for her teenaged brother, Donny. Blaming herself for the accident that left him wheel-chair bound, Molly has dedicated her life to his care. But in 1896, gainful employment for a woman is hard to come by. So when Molly learns that an eccentric rancher in Cactus Patch, Arizona, is looking for an heiress – someone to take over management of the ranch in exchange for future ownership – she jumps at the chance to provide a real home for her brother. 

If she proves to have a knack for ranching and agrees to remain single for life, the ranch can be hers. Neither stipulation worries Molly. She's resourceful and hardworking. And she gave up dreams of marriage long ago when she dedicated her life to her brother's well-being.

However, Molly didn't bank on meeting Dr. Caleb Fairbanks, the town's handsome and charismatic young doctor, whose backfiring automobile almost gets him killed when Molly thinks she's being shot at and fires back. 

But it's how he is with her brother that really alarms her. Caleb sees past the wheelchair and genuinely likes Donny, but Molly fears he's putting unrealistic ideas into her brother's head. Falling in love with Caleb would threaten everything she's worked for, even her brother's future happiness. It'll take an act of congress to convince her otherwise – and maybe even a little help from above.

As with Dawn Comes Early, I thoroughly enjoyed the development of the three central characters and the conflicts that ensue within their relationships. It was a treat to become caught up in the emotion of the pages, eagerly awaiting a hopeful resolution. Though full of new characters and situations, Waiting for Morning contains all the aspects I loved about the previous novel – the western setting, the adventure, the romance. Capable of standing on its own, I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in romantic historical fiction and I greatly appreciate BookSneeze for providing me with yet another free copy of a novel and the opportunity to review it.

A Path Toward Love by Cara Lynn James

★★★★★
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Katherine came home to forget her past. The last thing she expected was to find her future.

Young widow Katherine Osborne returns to her family’s rustic camp on Raquette Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. She’s determined to live a quiet life, but her socialite mother is equally determined to push her into a new marriage while she’s still young.

Andrew Townsend has known Katherine since they were children. An attorney who is successful, but not wealthy, he knows she is socially out of his reach. But he’s curious about what changed the free-spirited girl he once knew into this private, somber young woman.

Katherine has kept hidden the details of her unsuccessful marriage. When past sins come to light, she must turn to God for the courage to be honest. But how can she trust the God she feels has let her down? When she confides in Andrew, their relationship takes a dramatic turn into uncharted territory.

Amid impossible obstacles, two young people must learn to trust enough to walk the path that God has cleared for them. A path that leads to healing and restoration. A path toward love.

As a complete sucker for romantic historical fiction, this look into the life of the early 1900s piqued my interest in many ways. The expectations thrust upon Katherine by her parents and the society in which they abide seems absolutely alien in comparison to today’s world, and for a few moments, I stepped out of my time to stand alongside Katherine, imagining what it might be like to experience her challenges. While this novel is not terribly original in terms of its plot or characters, considering its fairly predictable (and perhaps a bit too easily accomplished) ending, I did enjoy reading it simply because it is a different world – a world of reputation and etiquette, prudent courtship and forbidden romance. A world of entertaining adventure. I would recommend this novel to anyone with an interest in romantic historical fiction, looking for a light read, and I truly appreciate BookSneeze for providing me with a free copy of this novel and the opportunity to review it.

Dawn Comes Early by Margaret Brownley

★★★★★
Goodreads | Amazon

Looking for a woman of good character and pleasant disposition willing to learn the ranching business in Arizona territory. Must be SINGLE and prepared to remain so now and forever more. Will be given ownership of ranch. –Eleanor Walker

Disgraced dime novelist Kate Tenney fled the city that banned her latest book for a fresh start at a cattle ranch in the Arizona Territory. She hopes ranching turns out to be as romantic as she portrayed it in her novels.

But what awaits her is a much harder life. There is no room for mistakes on a working cattle ranch in 1895, and Kate is ill-prepared for her new life. She quickly learns that dawn comes early… every day. But she is tenacious.

Having been abandoned by a string of men, Kate has no intention of ever marrying. But she didn’t expect to meet Luke Adams either. Luke awakens feelings inside Kate she doesn’t recognize, and his steady presence is a constant distraction. She has only written about love in the past, never known it herself. But her feelings for Luke stand in the way of all she has to gain if she is chosen as the heir.

Perhaps God brought Kate to the barrenness of the desert to give new life to her jaded heart.

Throughout the novel, Brownley does a beautiful job of developing the conflict Kate feels about her two choices. Though I had a pretty good guess about what was going to happen in the end, I remained on the edge of my seat until the final pages. It was not a complicated read by any means, but I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of this novel – the western setting, the characters, the adventure, the romance. Brownley provided me with a much-needed break from present-day suburbia and taught me a bit about living on a ranch, allowing me to learn along with Kate. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in romantic historical fiction, particularly in the West, and I truly appreciate BookSneeze for providing me with a free copy of this novel and the opportunity to review it.

A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner

★★★★★
Read the first chapter of
A Sound Among the Trees here.
Goodreads | Amazon

A house shrouded in time. A line of women with a heritage of loss.

As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn’t believe that Susannah’s ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.

When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband’s home, it isn’t long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.

With Adelaide’s richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak – and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.

I did enjoy reading this tale of regrets and redemption. Though the story began a bit slowly, I have always been a sucker for historical fiction – and Meissner does a beautiful job of connecting the past with the present. I do wish that Susannah’s letters – which Marielle reads towards the end of the novel – had been more interspersed throughout the novel, integrated with the story of Holly Oak’s present women, rather than all in the same section. I enjoy more back-and-forth between past and present. Despite this, A Sound Among the Trees still left me satisfied in the end and I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a bit of historical fiction and intrigue.