Winter Husband

By

Lisa Ann Verge

 

SYNOPSIS

She wants no husband. He wants no wife.

Jailed for crimes unbecoming a lady, Marie yearns for liberty even as she refuses the one choice that will set her free: An arranged marriage with a frontier stranger. Then a brawny ex-soldier offers a more dangerous proposal. Spend one winter as his wife in name only, and come spring he will set her free…

REVIEW

 

She was in a prison, but not one of shackles and bars. It was one that went far deeper.  It trapped her very soul.  It was one of her own making and there was no key to unlock the door to freedom.  Looking like she belonged in the salons of Paris, she found herself in the wilds of the Canadian wilderness, with a cold desolate winter coming on.  On top of that, she was trapped in a marriage with a mountain of a man in a remote cabin, locked in by snow and bitter weather till the spring thaw.

Lisa Ann Verge has always been able to take a simple story and turn it into an epic tale that leaves her readers yearning for more with each turn of the page.  She might be listed as a romance author, but in truth her stories are wonderful tales of the long ago that are filled with masterful tellings of times and places long forgotten.  She paints them with such clarity that the settings are as vivid as the best of the HBO movies we sit down to on a Saturday evening.  Her characters burst from the page in full fury as they clash their way across the wilderness or ride the rapids down the unexplored rivers.  She leaves you little chance to breathe, no matter whether you are in the woods or in the bedroom.   

At the same time, she allows you to see the ”human” side of even her most hardened rouge or silent hero.  Yes, even heroes cry. 

One of the masterful twists in the telling and viewpoint of Winter Husband was the introduction of the heroines of the other two books in the series.  Portions of the story was from the viewpoint of the residents in the local village, versus the outlying remote wilderness areas.    “Factual” information about characters from “Heaven In Your Arms”, the first novel, and opinions held by the local residents in “Winter Husband”, didn’t always line up with what we had read as having actually happened in the first novel.  This was a fantastic tool to show how information and opinions were scewed in an age when information and facts did not travel fast nor accurately.  If one was not paying attention, you would not have realized the continuity of the characters between book one and two. 

I find Winter Husband a first rate book and Lisa has once again knocked one out of the park for writing a page turner that only wanted more when it came to the end.  I am looking forward, already to the third book in this series. 

AUTHOR

Lisa Ann Verge is the critically acclaimed RITA-nominated author of eighteen novels that have been published worldwide and translated into as many languages. She started her career writing emotionally intense romances about hot men and dangerous women, and now she also writes life-affirming women's fiction under the name Lisa Verge Higgins. A finalist for Romantic Times' book awards five times over, Lisa has won the Golden Leaf and the Bean Pot, and twice she has cracked Barnes & Noble's General Fiction Forum's top twenty books of the year. She currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and their three daughters, who never fail to make life interesting.

To get a free Lisa Ann Verge novella - THE O'MADDEN - sign up for her mailing list at http://eepurl.com/bSaaDz

You can also connect with her at:

Website: www.lisaannverge.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lisaannverge

Twitter: @lisaannverge

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/LisaAnnVerge

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/lisaannverge/

 

 

 

 

SHADOW MUSIC

 

SHADOW MUSIC

By

Helaine Mario

SYONOPSIS

Late in the Cold War, a young woman escapes from Communist Hungary, vanishing into the night with a priceless painting and a baby girl, setting in motion a decades-old secret that will change lives for generations to come.

Many years later, classical pianist Maggie O'Shea is drawn to Cornwall in search of a long-lost Van Gogh and the truth behind her husband's death. A journal from World War II Paris holds many of the answers, but only two people know where the Van Gogh is hidden now—a courageous nun and a man presumed dead.

Set against the backdrop of the international music and art world, Maggie finds herself on a collision course with three dangerous Russians who threaten all she holds dear—including her life and the life of the man she has come to love.

Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 is at the heart of this story that strikes the chords of every human emotion. Past and present converge in this haunting tale of loss, courage, vengeance and love.

REVIEW

My first “Maggie” novel was The Lost Concerto.  Helaine invited me to read the beautiful work several years ago and I dove into a world of music, art, and love wrapped in skillful intrigue that had me mesmerized and lost to the world outside the pages of the book.  I cried because it ended.  The second novel, Dark Rhapsody was no less compelling and I am in the midst of rereading it as I want to revisit several of the lines of intrigue and look closer at how the characters have developed and grown with the telling of their stories.

Shadow Music reminded me of why this series cherishes precious space on my Much Loved Shelf in my library.  Not many books can reach in and strike the deep chords that allow the reader to identify on so many levels with the characters in a book.  Helaine has accomplished this with me in this series. 

Maybe it is because I am a pianist, but the music literally floats up off the pages of the book and around the room and my body physically aches with Maggie’s as she lifts her head from the keyboard.   The same plays for the artistic descriptions and the art history background that she weaves into the story.  Only someone who has lived and breathed in this world could fully understand the true depth of how well Helaine spins the picture so that we all can get a full sense of the breadth of emotion and physical commitment a creative person devotes to their craft. 

Helaine’s characters are not flat or two dimensional.  They full-bodied and complex.  They are not always who you first perceive them as, and there is not a character in the book that can be easily skimmed over.  Each one is complex and has a multi dimensioned place in the story. 

Interwoven with all this is an intricate, twisted plot of evil vs. good that twists over generations and across continents and countries that leaves the reader breathless and their head spinning.  Life is interconnected.  Only a brilliant, creative mind could pull a consistent thread through such a tangled web and keep a focus on it all.  Helaine did just that and takes us along for the wild ride and barely allows us to breathe. 

I have read the classics, the old greats, the new.  There are authors that write books.  Those that write novels. Those that write stories.  Then there are authors that make the pages sing, that make the reader a part of the story.  They draw you in and immerse you in the world they have created out of letters and words.  They drown you in the world they have created and don’t allow you, the reader, back out until the last words of “The End” come floating up off the page.   This is Helaine Mario.  This is Shadow Music.  Discover it for yourself. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Helaine Mario is the author of four novels of suspense. Firebird (Amazon 2012) is a stand-alone Cold War suspense novel. The three novels in the Maggie O'Shea Classical Music Mystery series are The Lost Concerto (Oceanview Publishing, July 2015), Dark Rhapsody (Oceanview Publishing, July 2018), and Shadow Music (Oceanview Publishing, September 2021).

New York City born and raised, Helaine is a Boston University graduate. She married in 1969 and moved to Connecticut to raise her two children, volunteer at Save the Children, and write for the local newspaper.

In 1985, Helaine’s life took an unpredictable turn when her husband’s career brought her family to Potomac, Maryland. For all eight years of the Clinton Presidency, she was a White House volunteer for Tipper and Al Gore, and continues to be a passionate advocate for public service and women & children’s issues.

Because Helaine believes strongly in “giving back,” she has worked on several non-profit boards and, in 1998, founded The SunDial Foundation, Inc., which benefited our most vulnerable women, children and families for 20 years. She also created Project PJs, offering new books, bears and pajamas to under-served children in the community. Now, the Helaine and Ronald Mario Fund continues to support some 40 charities. All royalties from book sales go to programs that support reading programs and the well-being of children and families.

Helaine and her husband, Ron, now spend their time in Arlington, Virginia—where she continues her advocacy work—and Cape May, New Jersey.

She is grateful to be a cancer survivor and is most proud of her two children and five beautiful grandchildren. Her son, Sean, is the pianist who inspired the classical music background in The Lost Concerto.

When it comes to writing, Helaine wants, more than anything, to tell a good story, create characters with depth, and paint pictures with words. To make people feel. She wants to be a storyteller forever.

BOOK

Author Helaine Mario  trailer and availability

Review: TAKEN WITH YOU

TAKEN WITH YOU by Lisa Ann Verge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



View all my reviews

Review: Shadow Music

Shadow Music by Helaine Mario
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SHADOW MUSIC

By
Helaine Mario

SYONOPSIS
Late in the Cold War, a young woman escapes from Communist Hungary, vanishing into the night with a priceless painting and a baby girl, setting in motion a decades-old secret that will change lives for generations to come.
Many years later, classical pianist Maggie O'Shea is drawn to Cornwall in search of a long-lost Van Gogh and the truth behind her husband's death. A journal from World War II Paris holds many of the answers, but only two people know where the Van Gogh is hidden now—a courageous nun and a man presumed dead.
Set against the backdrop of the international music and art world, Maggie finds herself on a collision course with three dangerous Russians who threaten all she holds dear—including her life and the life of the man she has come to love.
Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 is at the heart of this story that strikes the chords of every human emotion. Past and present converge in this haunting tale of loss, courage, vengeance and love.

REVIEW
My first “Maggie” novel was The Lost Concerto. Helaine invited me to read the beautiful work several years ago and I dove into a world of music, art, and love wrapped in skillful intrigue that had me mesmerized and lost to the world outside the pages of the book. I cried because it ended. The second novel, Dark Rhapsody was no less compelling and I am in the midst of rereading it as I want to revisit several of the lines of intrigue and look closer at how the characters have developed and grown with the telling of their stories.
Shadow Music reminded me of why this series cherishes precious space on my Much Loved Shelf in my library. Not many books can reach in and strike the deep chords that allow the reader to identify on so many levels with the characters in a book. Helaine has accomplished this with me in this series.
Maybe it is because I am a pianist, but the music literally floats up off the pages of the book and around the room and my body physically aches with Maggie’s as she lifts her head from the keyboard. The same plays for the artistic descriptions and the art history background that she weaves into the story. Only someone who has lived and breathed in this world could fully understand the true depth of how well Helaine spins the picture so that we all can get a full sense of the breadth of emotion and physical commitment a creative person devotes to their craft.
Helaine’s characters are not flat or two dimensional. They full-bodied and complex. They are not always who you first perceive them as, and there is not a character in the book that can be easily skimmed over. Each one is complex and has a multi dimensioned place in the story.
Interwoven with all this is an intricate, twisted plot of evil vs. good that twists over generations and across continents and countries that leaves the reader breathless and their head spinning. Life is interconnected. Only a brilliant, creative mind could pull a consistent thread through such a tangled web and keep a focus on it all. Helaine did just that and takes us along for the wild ride and barely allows us to breathe.
I have read the classics, the old greats, the new. There are authors that write books. Those that write novels. Those that write stories. Then there are authors that make the pages sing, that make the reader a part of the story. They draw you in and immerse you in the world they have created out of letters and words. They drown you in the world they have created and don’t allow you, the reader, back out until the last words of “The End” come floating up off the page. This is Helaine Mario. This is Shadow Music. Discover it for yourself.

Helaine Mario

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Helaine Mario is the author of four novels of suspense. Firebird (Amazon 2012) is a stand-alone Cold War suspense novel. The three novels in the Maggie O'Shea Classical Music Mystery series are The Lost Concerto (Oceanview Publishing, July 2015), Dark Rhapsody (Oceanview Publishing, July 2018), and Shadow Music (Oceanview Publishing, September 2021).

New York City born and raised, Helaine is a Boston University graduate. She married in 1969 and moved to Connecticut to raise her two children, volunteer at Save the Children, and write for the local newspaper.

In 1985, Helaine’s life took an unpredictable turn when her husband’s career brought her family to Potomac, Maryland. For all eight years of the Clinton Presidency, she was a White House volunteer for Tipper and Al Gore, and continues to be a passionate advocate for public service and women & children’s issues.

Because Helaine believes strongly in “giving back,” she has worked on several non-profit boards and, in 1998, founded The SunDial Foundation, Inc., which benefited our most vulnerable women, children and families for 20 years. She also created Project PJs, offering new books, bears and pajamas to under-served children in the community. Now, the Helaine and Ronald Mario Fund continues to support some 40 charities. All royalties from book sales go to programs that support reading programs and the well-being of children and families.

Helaine and her husband, Ron, now spend their time in Arlington, Virginia—where she continues her advocacy work—and Cape May, New Jersey.

She is grateful to be a cancer survivor and is most proud of her two children and five beautiful grandchildren. Her son, Sean, is the pianist who inspired the classical music background in The Lost Concerto.

When it comes to writing, Helaine wants, more than anything, to tell a good story, create characters with depth, and paint pictures with words. To make people feel. She wants to be a storyteller forever.

AVAILABLE FOR PRESALE THROUGH AMAZON

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ALONE WITH YOU by Lisa Ann Verge

  

Alone With You

Lisa Ann Verge

 

SYNOPSIS

 Jenny was sure the cabin was hers, until she stepped out of the shower to surprise a brawny man in her bedroom.

The sexy-as-sin stranger leaned his six-foot frame against the doorjamb and stripped off her towel with his gaze. Then he asked what the hell she was doing in his cabin.

His cabin?  She had a key from the owner. He sank a hand into a pocket and pulled out a match. 

No way was she letting a man into her sanctuary. She wasn’t a people-person in the best of times.  How was she going to get any work done under the glow of that slow-fuse grin?

But what choice did she have?  It was only for two weeks.  

Hardly long enough for any man to seduce her...never mind melt her frozen heart. 

Alone with you is a sexy, stuck-together, enemies-to-lovers romance, the first book in the Cabin Fever Series.  It can be read as a stand-alone, with a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

REVIEW

Lisa Ann Verge is known for charming hunks of male flesh that ladies turn into melting puddles of passion when they get within range, no matter the defense system they have built around themselves.  Alone With You is no exception to this scenario. From the opening gambit, our strapping but wounded of spirit doctor (aka the charming male) sends the bombshell unsuspecting lady into a tizzy of visceral reactions as she first lays eyes on his smoldering form standing in the door of HER bedroom as she steps from the shower…  GREAT opening.  Not necessarily great way to meet a guy,  LOL, but Lisa had me hook-line-and-sinker for the rest of the book from that opening of chapter one.

Lisa is one that doesn’t settle for shallow romance novels. Her stories are filled with a depth of character to her protagonists.  She takes the time to drill them down so that you feel like you lived next door to them for years and have had traded postcards from the far corners of the earth over the years.  You feel their pain, you giggle at their foibles, and all but reach into the page to pull them back from their worst mistakes.  In short, Lisa allows her characters to be so human, you can feel their breath fluttering the pages of the book and steaming your glasses as your nose inches closer and closer to the action.

Add to this her scientific knowledge, there is accuracy and living convincing detail in her storylines that carry the story forward with interesting details that keeps this person on the edge of her seat.  I can see, feel, and smell the wilderness scenes that a good portion of this book takes place in.  Only someone who has spent a significant time out there and knows and understands the fauna and flora and the science of it could weave it into the storyline like a second skin.

This book has been worth the wait to get back into reading a story by Lisa Ann Verge.  I look forward to the next in her series.  She is getting better with time and life, if that is possible.

Available on:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Walmart E Books

Google Play

and many other Ebook dealers

STAIRCASE TO THE MOON - Elizabeth Haran

STAIRCASE TO THE MOON

By

Elizabeth Haran

SYNOPSIS:

Perth, Western Australia, 1913:

When her conservative family tries to force Emily into an arranged marriage with a much older, wealthy man, she decides to take destiny into her own hands and escape her strict father and overbearing brothers. She embarks on a ship to North-Western Australia to take up employment as a private seamstress for a large and rich farming family, who welcome her with open arms. Surrounded by the breathtakingly beautiful and remote landscapes of the Kimberly region, Emily starts to believe that happiness and love really are possible in her new life. But storm clouds are gathering, and as the men of Kimberley march off to war in Europe, Emily must step up to prove herself against all the odds.

REVIEW:

The Staircase to the Moon was a wonderful period piece not just about Australian history, but about a beautiful telling of the struggle of young women at the end of the Victorian age and through WWI. This was a time when their role was being re-defined and independence and self-reliance were being forced on many as men went off to fight "The Great War to end all Wars". What it showed me was that the struggles and stories that I have been well aware of about women in the U.S. are far more international. That the event of women coming forward and seeking autonomy was generational, not national. What an exciting discovery.
Elizabeth Haran told a compelling story of one young lady and her struggle for this self-autonomy but also told the stories of a family of ladies and the changes that they went through during this same period that helped to bring on their own independent spirits and growth. She gave depth to her characters that allowed the reader to feel the breath of life flying across the pages as the struggled to survive the battles of living in the "outback" while the men were gone to parts unknown to protect their way of life. I have no doubt that I could walk down the roads and through the halls that Ms. Haran built and recognize them if I came across the crossroads and buildings today. She was able to communicate the emotions and realities of living with such clarity, that the readers felt deep empathy with the characters, laughing and crying as triumphs and tragedies passed through their daily lives. There was no putting down this book. The pages seemed to turn themselves as I walked side-by-side with the characters through sand and mud, seeking a better life, striving to find fulfillment and love - hoping that what they knew their heart longed and desired for would be there for them, in the end. What a journey, what a read. It was as wild as the land from which it grew.

I give this book, Staircase to the Moon, a FIVE STAR review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, when it was known as Southern Rhodesia. It was a wonderful time to be living there, and I have many happy childhood memories. Some of the earliest include spending hours in my tyre swing in a tree, watching chameleon’s change colour as they moved through the branches, and sitting in the chook house (we kept a couple of hundred at one time) with a big chicken on my knee. Thankfully there are a couple of incidents I was too young to remember, like when I was playing with a poisonous snake that I thought was a favourite and harmless ‘giant millipede type creature’ called a chunkalooloo, and mum and my brother beat it to death with a broom while I screamed, and another when I was grabbed by a neighbor’s monkey, understandably irate at having to live it’s life on a chain.
Dad was building houses in Bulawayo at a time when the building industry was booming, and ‘colonial’ life was good. I began school at 8 a.m. and finished at midday. After lunch, at the hottest time of day, we all had an afternoon siesta. (very civilized) By the sixties, dad thought the ‘climate’ was becoming unsafe, so we moved to England, my mother’s birthplace. After surviving the coldest winter on record (barely) in 1963, we migrated to Australia.
I would like to be able to say I wanted to be a writer from the time I was four, but alas that is not the case. I’m one of those people who firmly believe everyone has a talent, but it took me a long time to find mine. I now refer to myself as a “late bloomer”. I just thank God I did bloom! It would be awful to go through life and not ever discover your God given talent. Still one question I am most asked is where did my writing talent come from. My brother is an author and retired journalist, but up until a recent trip to Ireland, my father’s birthplace, I was at a loss to answer this question with any conviction. But while in Sligo, I discovered the city was full of writers and artists. So although dad’s family were farmers, perhaps back there somewhere, hidden in the family tree, there are some writers. They may never have been published, but they might have sat huddled around a turf fire after tending their animals all day, and written stories, or just their thoughts and feelings.
Apparently dad always complained to mum that I was a daydreamer. He was right; I was always imagining scenarios between people and working out the dialogue in my head. I still do it, but now I put those scenes down and paper, and get paid for it. Dad passed away many years ago, but I like to think he’s smiling down on me and thinking all that daydreaming is finally paying off.

I returned to Zimbabwe in 1986 with my brother, sister and mother. It was wonderful to see where my sister and I were born, and the house that dad built and we lived in when I was just a baby, which still looked good. Unfortunately, Bulawayo had made no progress. If anything it had gone backwards, with many shortages, e.g. food, petrol and the general standard of living was very low. With the present political climate, tourism has suffered also. I don’t know what will happen to Zimbabwe, because as it is now, it has a very dismal future, which is a pity because it’s a very beautiful country.
To learn more about Elizabeth Haran and here many novels, visit http://elizabethharan.com/ .  

Review: The Engagement Plot

The Engagement Plot by Krista Phillips
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ready for a weekend read that will keep you in stitches? This comedic rendition of the story after the story of the reality show Price of Love.
The set up of the series hero choosing the "Christian" contestant for his wife, even though she made her stance public and strong to the point of earning the nommer Holy Hanna. What William did in an interview immediately following the show, set the tone and setting for this adorable tale of the foilables of two people in love who don't communicate, and deal with fight or flight all the way to the alter.
This book was a great read and left me laughing and shaking my head time and again.
This book was provided to me for assessment and review through Net Galley.
Buy this Book on Amazon and BN

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Review: Second to None

Second to None by Nancy Herkness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SECOND TO NONE
by
Nancy Herkness

SYNOPSIS:
Billionaire chemist Max Varela is selling his company and leaving New York for good when Emily Wade bursts into his office, desperate for his help in funding her program for disadvantaged kids and shelter dogs. Seven years ago, he fell in love with her when she was married to another man. To fight the unbidden attraction, he cut off all contact but he’s never forgotten her.
Ever since her husband died, Emily has poured her heart and soul into the after-school care center. Seeing Max reawakens the pain of her loss, but it also brings unexpected hope for the future. As emotions thought long gone resurface, they begin a passionate affair that seems destined for a fairytale ending.
Until Max reveals that he’s moving to Chicago in a matter of weeks and wants Emily to uproot her daughter and her life to come with him. If a second chance at love is possible, someone’s got to give.
REVIEW:
Nancy Herkness is a magician of words when it comes to writing in the genre of Romance. She provides her novels with the titillating zing that readers long for, that long drawn sigh that leaves your toes curled and you reaching for that favored drink.
But personally, it is because of something far deeper that I have found myself falling in love with the stories that drip from Nancy’s pen. Her stories take the time to develop characters, to delve into the psyche of why and what makes them tick. You feel like you have fallen beneath their skin and are looking at the world from each character’s eyeballs.
Suddenly, it is you who are catching your breath and feeling the throes of anguish and pain, or ecstasy and joy, as you follow along. Wait! You have felt that very pain before, you have longed that deeply before. Such is the magic that Nancy brings us. She covertly lets us realize that the heroines and heroes of her tales feel the same pain and joy we do, in doing so we become the hero/heroine and experience the joy of the story.
Looking back to my favorite books over the years, be they childhood classics, eternal classics, or modern novels that I have reviewed, it is the works that transcended and allowed the reader to identify with the characters to the point that they could feel the very beats of their hearts that have stayed with me. These are also the ones that I have consistently seen at the tops of the charts and sales. Nancy’s stories consistently reach this height. This is why I love her work and why we consistently see award after award on her works.
Nancy’s newest novella, SECOND TO NONE, will not disappoint. As an introductory novella to her new SECOND CHANCE series, it came out batting 1000. Only so much character development and story line can be pursued in the word limit of a novella, but what Nancy accomplished was masterful. She had the reader eating out of her hand in short order as she introduced us to a widow and her daughter, along with a rag-tag board of directors from a local neighborhood, a feisty group of neighborhood school kids (with a few standouts), and a couple of adorable mutts.
By the end of the novella, the stage was set and this reader is ready and waiting to see who will be entering stage-left to join the fray as Nancy’s heroine and crew work to get a shoestring afterschool program and pet rescue off and running in East Harlem in the new series. My hats off and a definite FIVE STAR rating to this new book and the upcoming series. Congrats, Nancy.
ABOUT NANCY HERKNESS
Nancy Herkness is the author of the award-winning Whisper Horse series, published by Montlake Romance, as well as several other contemporary romance novels. She is a two-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America RITA® award. Her new series, Wager of Hearts, follows the romantic adventures of three very wealthy men who make a life-changing bet.
A member of Romance Writers of America, New Jersey Romance Writers, and Novelists, Inc., Nancy has received many honors for her work, including the Golden Leaf Award, the Maggie Award in Contemporary Romance, and the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award.
Nancy graduated from Princeton University where she majored in English. In addition to her academic work in literature, she was accepted into Princeton's creative writing program, and her senior thesis was a volume of original poetry.
After graduating, Nancy had a varied career which included retail management and buying, COBOL programming, computer systems sales and marketing, and a brief stint as a receptionist at a dental office. Once her children were in school full-time, she sat down and wrote A Bridge to Love, her first romance novel to be published.
Nancy finds nothing odd about writing in the genre she calls “the “Rodney Dangerfield of the literary world. It gets no respect.” She explains: “I was trained as a poet, but from the day my grandmother gave me my first Georgette Heyer novel I wanted to write romance. Romance is the genre of optimism, and that's why I like it.”
A native of West Virginia, Nancy now lives in suburban New Jersey with her husband, two mismatched dogs, and an elderly cat. She cheers loudly for the New Jersey Devils hockey team.
For more information, visit Nancy’s website: www.NancyHerkness.com
Or email Nancy at nancyherkness@comcast.net .





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Review: The VIP Doubles Down

The VIP Doubles Down by Nancy Herkness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

THE VIP DOUBLES DOWN
Wagers of the Heart – Book 3
By
Nancy Herkness

SYNOPSIS
Gavin Miller, the billionaire author of a bestselling thriller series, struggles with a grim secret: he hasn’t written a word in more than a year.
Writer’s block is killing his spirit and jeopardizing his contracts with his publisher and his Hollywood producers. Prodded by his agent, Gavin reluctantly agrees to see Allie Nichols, a sassy physical therapist tasked with treating the novelist’s severe neck and shoulder pain—and maybe his writer’s block, too.
The tempestuous Gavin and no-nonsense Allie soon find themselves entangled in a steamy affair that sparks Gavin’s creativity again. But their manipulative ex-lovers and Gavin’s lingering childhood scars threaten their happily ever after. Can Gavin and Allie find their way to love when the stakes are high and the obstacles are overwhelming?

REVIEW
Every once in a while I have the privilege of reading a story that reaches down deep, that connects on a special level. It is these stories that are filled with the same magic that the fairytales of my youth captivated me and drew me into their special world. A world where the hearts of the hero and heroine twist and bleed in their misery and longing for what we long for most—love, kindness and acceptance.
Within a few opening pages, I began feeling the magic draw me into the story of Gavin and Allie as each fought their own demons. But there was more. Having had the opportunity to read two previous novel series written by Nancy Herkness, I have come to know her and her style of writing. I also have a common touch point with my love of West Virginia and the wonderful years that I had the privilege to live in the same area of the woods where she grew up.
Suddenly, I realized, that this was more than just another of her very well written books. This is a book of her heart. It comes out in the pain of the author struggling to write. It shows in the despair at trying to grasp for words from the thin air of a muse who has left residence and taken her word-craft with her. Only one who has starred into that bleak dark void could understand and write of it with such passion. I felt the pain, saw the tears slide off the page.
Introducing Allie, a gentle woman born and bred in the depths of Appalachian West Virginia, was the light to the darkness of Gavin. Even though she had demons of her own, the light that glowed from within and the prevailing positive outlook on life of her people kept the story light. Overtones of a masterful Literary “Beauty and the Beast” came to mind.
The VIP Doubles Down is the third book in “The Wager of the Heart” Series. Each of the books is easily read as a stand-alone novel, but read together as a unit, each shows the growth and development of her characters as the overall storyline progresses. The growth of maturity in the relationships between the characters and the affect of love on the lives of the couples graces the pages. Love is prevalent in living and lives, not words.
With the writing of this, her third book in the series, Nancy Herkness shared her heart. She poured her laughter and tears into the pages and allowed us to see the soul of a writer. Oh yes, she still had those steamy scenes that readers seek, but the soul of this book went far deeper and touched the very soul of this reader.
I wish there were more than FIVE STARS to give this book. I love how she ended the story and would love to have been able to turn another page or two to see where it went.
A CEO, a quarterback, and a writer walked into a bar. . .”
Gavin waited for the ripple of laughter to die down before he said, “And they came out better men.”

ABOUT NANCY HERKNESS
Nancy Herkness is the author of the award-winning Whisper Horse series, published by Montlake Romance, as well as several other contemporary romance novels. She is a two-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America RITA® award. Her new series, Wager of Hearts, follows the romantic adventures of three very wealthy men who make a life-changing bet.
A member of Romance Writers of America, New Jersey Romance Writers, and Novelists, Inc., Nancy has received many honors for her work, including the Golden Leaf Award, the Maggie Award in Contemporary Romance, and the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award.
Nancy graduated from Princeton University where she majored in English. In addition to her academic work in literature, she was accepted into Princeton's creative writing program, and her senior thesis was a volume of original poetry.
After graduating, Nancy had a varied career which included retail management and buying, COBOL programming, computer systems sales and marketing, and a brief stint as a receptionist at a dental office. Once her children were in school full-time, she sat down and wrote A Bridge to Love, her first romance novel to be published.
Nancy finds nothing odd about writing in the genre she calls “the “Rodney Dangerfield of the literary world. It gets no respect.” She explains: “I was trained as a poet, but from the day my grandmother gave me my first Georgette Heyer novel I wanted to write romance. Romance is the genre of optimism, and that's why I like it.”
A native of West Virginia, Nancy now lives in suburban New Jersey with her husband, two mismatched dogs, and an elderly cat. She cheers loudly for the New Jersey Devils hockey team.

For more information, visit Nancy’s website: www.NancyHerkness.com
Or email Nancy at nancyherkness@comcast.net .



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Review: The VIP Doubles Down

The VIP Doubles Down by Nancy Herkness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SYNOPSIS
Gavin Miller, the billionaire author of a bestselling thriller series, struggles with a grim secret: he hasn’t written a word in more than a year.
Writer’s block is killing his spirit and jeopardizing his contracts with his publisher and his Hollywood producers. Prodded by his agent, Gavin reluctantly agrees to see Allie Nichols, a sassy physical therapist tasked with treating the novelist’s severe neck and shoulder pain—and maybe his writer’s block, too.
The tempestuous Gavin and no-nonsense Allie soon find themselves entangled in a steamy affair that sparks Gavin’s creativity again. But their manipulative ex-lovers and Gavin’s lingering childhood scars threaten their happily ever after. Can Gavin and Allie find their way to love when the stakes are high and the obstacles are overwhelming?

REVIEW
Every once in a while I have the privilege of reading a story that reaches down deep, that connects on a special level. It is these stories that are filled with the same magic that the fairytales of my youth captivated me and drew me into their special world. A world where the hearts of the hero and heroine twist and bleed in their misery and longing for what we long for most—love, kindness and acceptance.
Within a few opening pages, I began feeling the magic draw me into the story of Gavin and Allie as each fought their own demons. But there was more. Having had the opportunity to read two previous novel series written by Nancy Herkness, I have come to know her and her style of writing. I also have a common touch point with my love of West Virginia and the wonderful years that I had the privilege to live in the same area of the woods where she grew up.
Suddenly, I realized, that this was more than just another of her very well written books. This is a book of her heart. It comes out in the pain of the author struggling to write. It shows in the despair at trying to grasp for words from the thin air of a muse who has left residence and taken her word-craft with her. Only one who has starred into that bleak dark void could understand and write of it with such passion. I felt the pain, saw the tears slide off the page.
Introducing Allie, a gentle woman born and bred in the depths of Appalachian West Virginia, was the light to the darkness of Gavin. Even though she had demons of her own, the light that glowed from within and the prevailing positive outlook on life of her people kept the story light. Overtones of a masterful Literary “Beauty and the Beast” came to mind.
The VIP Doubles Down is the third book in “The Wager of the Heart” Series. Each of the books is easily read as a stand-alone novel, but read together as a unit, each shows the growth and development of her characters as the overall storyline progresses. The growth of maturity in the relationships between the characters and the affect of love on the lives of the couples graces the pages. Love is prevalent in living and lives, not words.
With the writing of this, her third book in the series, Nancy Herkness shared her heart. She poured her laughter and tears into the pages and allowed us to see the soul of a writer. Oh yes, she still had those steamy scenes that readers seek, but the soul of this book went far deeper and touched the very soul of this reader.
I wish there were more than FIVE STARS to give this book. I love how she ended the story and would love to have been able to turn another page or two to see where it went.
A CEO, a quarterback, and a writer walked into a bar. . .”
Gavin waited for the ripple of laughter to die down before he said, “And they came out better men.”


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Review: Relativity

Relativity by Antonia Hayes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Relativity was a beautiful, but tragic story. It was a story of struggle and survival by a little boy who knew he was different from others in the world around him. We were provided the opportunity to see life through his eyes, to experience a viewpoint that few are allowed to see. At the same time, through flashbacks, we see the heartbreaking story of a young family torn apart by tragic circumstance and grievous consequence to one night turned upside down. The entire storyline is viewed through the eyes of the mother, the young son with s special genius in mathematics and physics, and later the father. Together, the three telling of the same story come together to give us a spell binding story line that would allow me to put the book down. My heartstrings rooted for healing for the child and the family, but life does not always give us what we want. The ending was a gut twisting surprise that left this reviewer with an empty box of kleenex and a longing for a few more chapters.
Antonia Hayes did a marvelous job of character development for her central characters. You felt every sigh and breath and saw every tear slide down the page as you reached to turn for the next ragged breath.
Though not the easiest read of the year, Relativity is one of my top reads,for dynamic stories. It made me think. It made me feel deeply. It made me,want to live my life to its fullest. If give this book a good 4.5 stars f I r the creativity and story telling skills shared with us by Ms Hayes.
Relativity was provided to me as an ARC to read and assess in exchange for a fair and honest review of the material

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Review: The Girl from Summer Hill

The Girl from Summer Hill by Jude Deveraux
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

The Girl from Summer Hill was one of the most creative and fun re-telling of Pride and Prejudice's' stories that I have come across. I have always loved the way Jude 'Deveraux writes, looking forward to each of her new releases for years. When she took on the challenge of mashing Jane Austin's classic tale up with her own wonderful modern romantic summer style of romance storytelling, I knew we would all be in for a true treat. I was not wrong.
From the opening page, to the final chapter, Jude kept this reader in stitches while simultaneously steamrolling us forward in a rollicking narrative that left us with no doubt that we had landed in the land of Austen (Jane, that is). In the true style of Deveraux, she threw in a good dose of mystery to keep us and the characters within the pages guessing as to what the next turn would bring.
Short of being a royal stick-in-the-mud, I can't think of a reason that any reader who loves Jane Austen and/or Jude Deveraux, or just a fantastic summer read, for that matter, would want to miss a chance to read THE GIRL FROM SUMMER HILL. This reviewer gives this delightful novel a full FIVE STAR review for the storyline, captivating characters, and plain fun of this wonderful summer read.
Blogging Under the Shade Tree aka Shade Tree Book Reviews was provided an ARC of THE GIRL FROM SUMMER HILL to read and assess in exchange for a fair and honest review of the material.

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Review: Stranger on the Shore

Stranger on the Shore by Marilyn Brant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

STRANGER ON THE SHORE
(Mirabelle Harbor, Book 4)
By
Marilyn Brant

REVIEW:
The Mirabelle Harbor Book Series has been a delight for the reading pallet as Marilyn Brant has released each of her continuing stories about the families and interesting characters that have grown-up and live in and around Mirabelle Harbor. With each addition to the series, we have come to know the characters a little more, laughing at their foibles and commiserating with them over their sorrows and mistakes of life.
I first read little hints, snippets and short chapters and tantalizers about this book last year in a group where she was sharing her ideas about Stranger on the Shore. I loved where the story was going then, so was excited to finally have the completed release ARC copy to finally read the whole story.
Unlike the other Mirabelle Harbor stories, this story takes place on the coast and glorious beaches of Florida instead of the Midwest. This time instead of young love finding its way, it is a story of healing and of love coming softly to a woman in her forties who finds herself homeless, childless, and divorced. It wound its way through the hilarity of a gaggle of mismatched women who bonded together through a common love of crafting for a local beach shop, to care for each other and lift each other up through their trials and sorrows. They did this all while having fun and bonding as only women can, along the way.
Love crept softly through the crevices of this story and amongst this gaggle of women as it slowly melted the hard place that had formed in Marianna’s heart. When her elder sister shows up with Marianna’s daughter, it all goes to hell in a handbasket. For it turns out that the healing needs to go deeper than just the loss of a marriage, but also needs to find peace between sisters. In doing so, Marianna finally finds herself free to love again.
The summer on the beach and the stranger on the shore is more than a shallow summer read. Though light with characters who keep you in stitches, as only Marilyn knows how to write about, each one adds her piece of blessing to the recipe for a wonderful story with a magical ending. There is no disappointment in this book that is perfect to carry to the beach (or wherever your vacation takes you) this summer.


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Review: Land of Silence

Land of Silence by Tessa Afshar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this story of the lady with the issue of blood. What a beautiful telling of what life for a woman could be like in Judea during the time of Christ. To give her a voice and that such a beautiful intellectual mind, was over the top. Tessa skillfully inserted other strong women of the era into the storyline seamlessly. By doing so, she allowed the reader to have glimpses into both the Jewish and Roman women's cultures, as well as broaden the panorama of the backdrop for the telling of this tale.
She took stories from the gospels that many are already well acquainted with and touched on them, weaving them into the fabric of her intricate tale, drawing the reader deeper into the culture and helping us to know and understand the true status of women of that day.
This is a book worth reading again and again. Yes, it is a beautiful love story, but it is also a well-written piece of historical women's fiction that speaks to the soul on many levels. I give Land of Silence and Tessa Afghar a good 4 STARS for the beautiful piece. I look forward to reading more of her works in the future.
Land of Silence was provided to Blogging Under the Shade Tree to assess and in exchange for a fair and honest review.

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Review: Tumbledown Manor

Tumbledown Manor by Helen Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

TUMBLEDOWN MANOR
BY
Helen Brown
I have come to love reading fiction by Australian authors. Tumbledown Manor by Helen Brown is a contemporary romance that takes place in Australia is another delight for the palette. It was a combination of romance, mystery, and just plain fun as I worked my way through the pages and watched an Australian who had transplanted to NYC suddenly find herself divorced and headed back home to Australia.
The many foilable situations that she found herself in while working through just about everything life could throw at her kept her hopping almost as much as the local wildlife in the outback where she decided to buy the old family homeplace (mansion) that was up for sale and falling into ruin.
What can you say, when you are recovering from cancer, your husband leaves breastless you for "big-tits", you move to Australia to be near your homosexual son and his latest beau (but can't figure out who it is), your sister wants to run your life for you (now that you are back home), and your anorexic daughter out in L.A. won't talk to you?
Well, for starters, you buy an old haunted mansion that is on its last legs and hired some local bums to start fixing it up. All this, while you are trying to get your next book finished and off to the publisher before the deadline gets here.
Helen manages to take this seeming pile of impossible and turn it into a rock and rolling story that kept this reviewer laughing, even when things didn't look so good. Her writing style made you want to strive to keep going, even when the wildfire was headed to burn down everything you owned and had worked on. Even when the town didn't talk to you and the local librarian didn't have anything good to say about your national bestseller. You were just too busy to stop and feel sorry for yourself. You wanted to find answers to the questions that kept popping up.
In short, I loved this piece. It was great fun. A great read! It earned its FOUR STARS.
Tumbledown Manor was provided to Blogging Under the Shade Tree in exchange for a fair and honest review of the material by Net Galley.


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Review: Mayflowers for November: The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn

Mayflowers for November: The Rise and Fall of Anne Boleyn by Malyn Bromfield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mayflowers for November by Marilyn Bromfield was a historical novel that rose to the occasion. It provided a glimpse into King Henry VIII's Court from a unique and very interesting perspective. Though the story wove around the court and the intrigue that went on particularly with the Boleyn family, that was just one of the fascinating storylines that wove through the book.
This story did not center around the king and his wives. It centered around one of the servant girls and was told from the viewpoint of her looking back over her life. It took us from the time of her being a young kitchen maid, through her being a nurse maid to Anne Boleyn's Mary all the way up through after the time when she was married and had left the court.
Ms. Bromefield did a beautiful job on her research and also gave a new an interesting voice to the Boleyn story. She also gave some new insights and provided a beautiful love story to what life was like below the stairs and out in the stables. I found myself constantly looking wide-eyed through the innocent eyes of this young girl who was thrust into situations that were way above her station and far out of her league in political intrigue.
Mayflowers for November is a historical novel that is well worth the read and a joy for the intellectual pallet. I give this novel a well deserved FIVE STAR rating for story-telling and intellectual intrigue. This is a tome for the permanent shelves. One worth standing next to other great current historical novels for this era.
Mayflowers for November was provided to Blogging Under the Shade Tree to assess and in exchange for a fair and honest review by Net Galley. Blogging Under the Shade Tree is not associated with the publisher or any seller of this material.

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Review: Shower of Stars

Shower of Stars by Nancy Herkness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Shower of Stars by Nancy Herkness is a story of a different vein than the other enchanting novels by her that have come across my desk to read and review. Nancy is known for her enchanting romances that sweep you off your feet. She can leave you short of breath, for many reasons, and still have an underlying story-within-the-story that packs a punch and makes it more than another Saturday afternoon fairytale.
But this, Shower of Stars was different from the start. This was the first of Nancy’s books that I would move from the “Romance” genre to the “Women’s Fiction” genre, for though there was romance folded within the pages and she worked her magic at raising the blood pressure and libido within the context of the story - that was not her focus. The focus of this little gem was about one’s longing for love and family and the journey to find family only to discover love in the process.
With each new book, I am finding that Nancy is learning to give more voice to her characters within her stories. With this she is allowing them to tell their stories and share their souls. In turn this is providing a magic of depth and feeling to her books that only the best authors are able to attain. Suddenly, we are no longer just reading Nancy’s stories, we are living them through her characters; feeling, breathing and sensing life from their point of view. That is true magic. That is what lifts the story off the page and gives it life.
I feel that Shower of Stars is a glimpse of some of the wonder that Nancy will be bringing to her readership in the coming months and years. I am looking forward to falling into the worlds she builds and melting into the stories she creates. This wonderful work receives a FIVE STAR Review from this humble reviewer and blogger.
Shower of Stars was provided to Blogging Under the Shade Tree to read and in exchange for a Fair and honest review of the material. Blogging Under the Shade Tree is not associated with the publisher or seller of this product.


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The All-Star Antes Up -- Nancy Herkness A Review

ALL STAR ANTES UP

WAGER of HEARTS

**BOOK 2**

By

Nancy Herkness

SYNOPSIS:

“No strings, no rings.” That’s Luke Archer’s motto. As the champion quarterback for the New York Empire—not to mention a self-made billionaire—Luke has given up on serious relationships. Women only want him for one thing: the thrill of being with a superstar. And he can’t risk love distracting him from his next Super Bowl victory. But when his best friend announces he’s retiring from football to spend time with his wife and kids, Luke feels like he’s missing out on something much bigger than his career.

The assistant concierge in Luke’s luxury high-rise, Miranda Tate fled her family’s dairy farm to come to the bright lights of New York City. She works hard to move up and sends her spare earnings home to her brother. When she and Luke meet, there’s an instant attraction, but they’re in completely different leagues. Could Miranda be just the woman Luke needs to win the most important game of his life?

REVIEW

This, the All Star Antes Up, is the second installment in Nancy Herkness’ Wager of Hearts Series.  Her first work was a delightful surprise at my first read of one of her works.  After reading The CEO Buys In, I decided that it was a must that I follow this series through and see how all three wagers ended.  The second installment has not been a disappointment.  In fact, it has proven to be even meatier and have more depth to it than her first offering, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Unlike so many other romances where boy meets girl and “bang”, hearts and sparks happen, and the story follows an expected course; Nancy’s heroines are independent women who are not easily swayed by glitter and glam.  They are women who have a focus and have a reason to live.  They are outspoken, bright and know what they want for themselves and those they are responsible for.  They are self-sacrificing and will turn from the thought of a life of ease if it even has a shadow of having an ill-effect on their family or responsibilities.

At the same time the heroine has the propensity to love deeply and with great empathy, but not always the ability to allow themselves to be loved.  Be it for fear of potential hurt and abandonment or just fear of allowing themselves to open up to be loved back, it takes a very special hero and man to break through the restraints and barriers to reach the heart of Nancy’s heroines.  Once they do, it is pure euphoria, for the protagonists and the reader. 

The journey that Nancy takes you on through the pages of the novel to get to nirvana is like a wild ride through the mountains of West Virginia.  The emotional highs and lows of the storyline the wind through the pages dragging your heart along. She leaves you laughing, crying, and reaching for chocolate as you turn each page hoping that it will bring resolution to the twist or turn that the last page left the characters in.  Be it an emotional moment or an erotic encounter, Nancy has the ability to tie your emotions and heart-strings in knots.  It is this ability that keeps drawing me back to her books.  She makes me feel the extremes of my senses, all within a page or two, leaving me breathless.

The hero in the All Star Antes Up, was an interesting and complex character.  I enjoyed that Nancy gave depth and complexity to the hero, like the heroine, in that that was not just another rich “All Star Jock”.  We were allowed to see past the surface level and into the psyche of a man who had wars within himself that dated back to childhood.  Nancy allows her heroes to suffer, to have issues and to be human.  She also allows them to love softly, tenderly, and deeply.  What heroine, or reader doesn’t want to feel secure and loved, sincerely loved? 

Do I know Nancy, personally? No.  Did I ever have the opportunity to know other authors of note that made me be able to feel this same way, such as the Bronte sisters or Jane Austen? No.  But each of them have found the magic to lift us above the mundane, to transport us to a land where we can escape the cares of every day for a few hours and find a magical place to dream, much like we did as young girls.  A place where Prince Charmings really do come true, but Nancy’s are living and breathing, and just a little foil-able (wink).  Finding an author whose writing style and story-telling ability has connected with your heart dictates that you become like a kid at the book store.  I am no better.  I can hardly wait to read Nancy’s next installment, or her next series.  All Star Antes Up is a definite FIVE STAR winner in my book. 

ABOUT NANCY HERKNESS

Nancy Herkness is the author of the award-winning Whisper Horse series, published by Montlake Romance, as well as several other contemporary romance novels.  She is a two-time nominee for the Romance Writers of America RITA^® award. Her new series, Wager of Hearts, follows the romantic adventures of three very wealthy men who make a life-changing bet.

A member of Romance Writers of America, New Jersey Romance Writers, and Novelists, Inc., Nancy has received many honors for her work, including the Golden Leaf Award, the Maggie Award in Contemporary Romance, and the National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award. 

Nancy graduated from Princeton University where she majored in English. In addition to her academic work in literature, she was accepted into Princeton's creative writing program, and her senior thesis was a volume of original poetry.

After graduating, Nancy had a varied career which included retail management and buying, COBOL programming, computer systems sales and marketing, and a brief stint as a receptionist at a dental office. Once her children were in school full-time, she sat down and wrote A Bridge to Love, her first romance novel to be published.

Nancy finds nothing odd about writing in the genre she calls “the “Rodney Dangerfield of the literary world. It gets no respect.”  She explains: “I was trained as a poet, but from the day my grandmother gave me my first Georgette Heyer novel I wanted to write romance. Romance is the genre of optimism, and that's why I like it.”

A native of West Virginia, Nancy now lives in suburban New Jersey with her husband, two mismatched dogs, and an elderly cat. She cheers loudly for the New Jersey Devils hockey team.

For more information, visit Nancy’s website: www.NancyHerkness.com

Or email Nancy at nancyherkness@comcast.net .

AMERICA'S FIRST DAUGHTER- Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie

AMERICA’S FIRST DAUGHTER

By

Stephanie Dray

& Laura Kamoie

SYNOPSIS

In a compelling, richly researched novel that draws from thousands of letters and original sources, bestselling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie tell the fascinating, untold story of Thomas Jefferson’s eldest daughter, Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph—a woman who kept the secrets of our most enigmatic founding father and shaped an American legacy.

From her earliest days, Patsy Jefferson knows that though her father loves his family dearly, his devotion to his country runs deeper still. As Thomas Jefferson’s oldest daughter, she becomes his helpmate, protector, and constant companion in the wake of her mother’s death, traveling with him when he becomes American minister to France.

It is in Paris, at the glittering court and among the first tumultuous days of revolution, that fifteen-year-old Patsy learns about her father’s troubling liaison with Sally Hemings, a slave girl her own age. Meanwhile, Patsy has fallen in love—with her father’s protégé William Short, a staunch abolitionist and ambitious diplomat. Torn between love, principles, and the bonds of family, Patsy questions whether she can choose a life as William’s wife and still be a devoted daughter.

Her choice will follow her in the years to come, to Virginia farmland, Monticello, and even the White House. And as scandal, tragedy, and poverty threaten her family, Patsy must decide how much she will sacrifice to protect her father's reputation, in the process defining not just his political legacy, but that of the nation he founded.

REVIEW

license to tie the ends together and to bridge the gaps, but the fluidity with which she melds the many pieces together into one masterful picture where you cannot even visualize the seams of the knitted pieces that have been laced together creates a sweeping vista of grandeur pure poetry.

From the opening lines of the first chapter of America’s First Daughter, Stephanie Dray and Laurie Kamoie pulled their readers into the roiling, blood-pumping fear and excitement of America’s fight for independence during the great war with England in the late 1700’s.  This time, instead of dried prose and cracked parchment filled with the mundane facts of history that tend to put most readers to sleep; this time, instead of being lulled into thinking that all the details of the first fifty or so years of our nation’s history as dry and stilted and confined to a few men in a room or two gathered around desks, we have the privilege of witnessing the life of Thomas Jefferson through the eyes of his devoted eldest daughter.

To write a work of fiction, based on history and historical fact, is one thing.  But Stephanie and Laurie took this much farther.  They breathed life into the written accounts that have been left behind.  She took the many puzzle pieces from the great variety of sources and with the magic of her pen, wove the details together in such a fashion that there leaves little doubt to this reader that the vast amount of the storyline is close to home.  Granted, there has to be a certain amount of literary

The telling of the story was well beyond just a lesson in history.  It was a time warp into the past.  The attention to detail painted the landscape for the mind so vividly, that the scenes rolled past like cinematography instead of the written word with the turning of pages.  The only pauses, were when this reader’s eyes forced her to put the book down for the night, with great regret.

From the first harrowing escape from the Red Coats as Jefferson and his family fled their home in the opening pages, to the opulent halls of Versailles in France, I could see, hear, and oft even smell the cost of independence as a young girl came of age and continued to devote her life through adulthood to the concept of liberty and its many dimensions.   We were also given unique and human glimpses of the giants of our youth and our history books.  Men that have always been larger than life walked through these pages and sat upon her chairs, living and breathing in the daily life of Patsy and her family.  Through the revealing tales that spilled out, I was constantly reminded that they were indeed only men with fallible issues in their daily lives, but who willingly gave of themselves in ways we cannot totally comprehend to cement the founding of this country.

The counterpoint to the great retelling of the story of Thomas Jefferson, was the telling of the story of a young girl coming of age in the Age of Independence.  These ladies did a fabulous job of addressing various women’s issues that were prevalent.  They told of a story of unrequited love that lasted most of a lifetime.  They also told the compelling story of a mother’s unconditional love for her children and her family.  The love of Martha “Patsy” Jefferson for her large family of eleven children, her husband, and her father was beautiful.  The brilliancy of her mind was amongst the best in the nation, male or female.  She could hold her own with most of the contemporaries who came to visit her father.  But because she was not male, she was barred from everything she could have mastered so well.  Instead, she mastered diplomacy from behind the giant of the man we know as Thomas Jefferson.

Finally, addressed and told, was the story of Sally Hemmings.  A parallel storyline was written of the alliance between Sally and Thomas that wove through the entire work.  It was done beautifully and with dignity and showed a familial love between Thomas’ daughters and the Hemmings.  After all, they were family.  It was through this story that Stephanie showed the Jeffersons’ personal struggles with the moralities with of slavery while they were in the forefront fighting for independence and freedom for the United States of America.  It was a tool used well to discuss the entire political turmoil and breakdown of the plantation society in Virginia during this time period that roiled around slavery.  Though there is no written record in Jefferson’s surviving papers of his alliance with Sally, DNA supports the Hemming family’s years of family history and claims. This sad story of this chapter in our history when we failed to stop slavery with the formation of our nation, along with the even sadder story of a decades long relationship that was hidden and denied for political and “moral” reasons broke this reader’s heart.

There were touch moments in the novel that brought this reader to tears.  There were moments that made me want to stand next to Patsy and be there with her to feel the pride and glory.  Then there were the moments that brought me to my knees as my heart felt the agony.  One of my most moving moments was when Patsy and General Lafayette saw each other again after many years, upon remembering their last prior glimpse of each other through a window, from a distance.  The poignancy of the scene and the depth of the emotion brought me to hiccupping sobs.  Memories of the final scenes of Les’ Miserable’ and the moving music drifted through as I read this scene and piles of Kleenex mounded beside my chair.  This is the price of patriotism.  This was the caliber of people who gave their lives to see to the founding of our land.

The word-craft and story-telling mastery that Stephanie and Laurie poured into America’s First Daughter was a combined labor of love.  They took the time to gather together and seek the counsel of those who know Jefferson and his family best.  Her research on the story is without question.  If there were ten stars available, I would award them.  As it is, this book deserves more than the FIVE STAR review that I give.  It has made it to my much coveted To Be Read Oft and Again Shelf.  Thank you for sharing such a story and making history LIVE for us, Stephanie and Laurie. At what cost our freedom?  At what cost our way of life?

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

STEPHANIE DRAY is an award-winning, bestselling and two-time RITA award nominated author of historical women’s fiction. Her critically acclaimed series about Cleopatra’s daughter has been translated into more than eight different languages and won the Golden Leaf. Her focus on Ptolemaic Egypt and Augustan Age Rome has given her a unique perspective on the consequences of Egypt’s ancient clash with Rome, both in terms of the still-extant tensions between East and West as well as the worldwide decline of female-oriented religion. She’s also fascinated by the founding of the American Republic and its roots in ancient Rome. It’s her mission to illuminate the stories of women in history and inspire the young women of today.

http://www.stephaniedray.com/

LAURA KAMOIE has always been fascinated by the people, stories, and physical presence of the past, which led her to a lifetime of historical and archaeological study and training. She holds a doctoral degree in early American history from The College of William and Mary, published two non-fiction books on early America, and most recently held the position of Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy before transitioning to a full-time career writing genre fiction as the New York Times bestselling author, Laura Kaye. Her debut historical novel, America's First Daughter (March 1, 2016), co-authored with Stephanie Dray, allowed her the exciting opportunity to combine her love of history with her passion for storytelling. Laura lives among the colonial charm of Annapolis, Maryland with her husband and two daughters.

 Laura is currently working on My Dear Hamilton (William Morrow, early 2018) about Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, with co-author Stephanie Dray.

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