book review The Captive Brides Collection

Release date 1 October 2017

Barbour Publishing

Love Brings Freedom in 9 Historical Romances

Journey along as nine historical women are about to make their escape from some of life’s greatest challenges. Can their captive hearts be freed to dream, to dare, to love?

Love’s Labour’s Found by Jennifer AlLee - Montserrat, West Indies, 1655
Temperance Simms only wanted a better life. Instead, she finds herself labeled a criminal and sold as an indentured servant. After a kind man saves her life, can Temperance trust that God will turn her sorrow into something beautiful?

His Indentured Bride by Angela Breidenbach - Pennsylvania, 1770-1775 
Leaving Scotland for a short indenture with her betrothed, Maire Gree’s contract is sold when disaster strikes her kindly owner, and then extended through cruel circumstances. Can Kirk Lachlan’s service in the American Revolution save her or will she lose love and freedom forever?

The Suspect Bride by Susan Page Davis - Oregon, 1890s
Verity Ames cooks at the restaurant where shy lawyer Jack Whitwell eats lunch daily. As Jack works up courage to ask her for a date, the sheriff walks into the restaurant and arrests her for murder.

His Golden Treasure by Darlene Franklin - Barbary Coast, San Francisco, CA, 1873
Goldie Hatfield grows up on in the Barbary Coast until her guardian demands she pay the cost of her upbringing—or work at her brothel. How far will Pastor Joshua Kerr go to set Goldie free?

Through Stormy Waters by Patty Smith Hall - Atlantic Ocean, 1755
Deported to the British colonies for her father’s crimes, Charlotte Singleton helps Captain Andrew Randell when an epidemic breaks out on the ship. Can two battered hearts find love in the midst of a storm?

Moira’s Quest by Cynthia Hickey - New York, 1869
A quest for revenge ends in a marriage of convenience and a feisty Irish lass discovers that not everything is as it seems as family secrets are revealed. An Irish cop, bent on saving the fallen women of Five Points, New York, finds himself thrust into the role of husband with a woman determined to break down a notorious crime boss. Can these two pull together and find a love bigger than they are?

Love’s Escape by Carrie Fancett Pagels - Virginia, 1850
With her life in peril, Lettie seeks escape from slavery. When Nathan offers to “conduct” her North via an unusual segment on the Underground Railroad, will his efforts help or do them both harm?

Waltzing Matilda by Lucy Thompson - Sydney, Australia, 1821
Henry didn’t plan on a runaway convict masquerading as a shepherd. Or on the woman’s baby. Keeping them safe will cost him his freedom—or will it?

A Score to Settle by Gina Welborn - On the Missouri River, 1870
For JoJo the kiss was a means to an end—she wanted his wallet. For Cyrus her kiss changed everything. He vows to help her escape the snake oil salesman she works for, but exposing the man’s lies may mean settling a score at a cost neither JoJo nor Cyrus can pay.

My Review:

Firstly thanks to Netgalley for my review copy.

This book has 9 novellas in it. Each story has a heroine who is a captive in some way. From indentured servant, convict, slave, wrongly convicted, plus a few other scenarios. We also have different locations from the West Indies, Australia to America. Each story is different and most have some danger and tension in the stories. 

While I am not going to review all the stories cos it would make the review to long I will feature a couple.

Through Stormy Waters by Patty Smith Hall - Atlantic Ocean, 1755

I found this story really good, it was different and I loved how even when Charlotte was deported for crimes her father committed she still was able to help in a crisis and held her head up high. The hero Andrew is the captain and has a reputation for being hard on the convicts but has had a change of heart due to circumstances you will read about early in the story. I loved the story and how it plays out.

His Golden Treasure by Darlene Franklin - Barbary Coast, San Francisco, CA, 1873

The story is also interesting and at times the premise of the story is quite sad. Goldie has grown up in a brothel and is being groomed by the madam after her mother passed away. She accidentally bumps into Joshua who is a pastor who has a heart for soiled doves and helping them get out of the business. We see how Goldie really wants a life of her own free of the life her mother had. 

Love’s Escape by Carrie Fancett Pagels - Virginia, 1850

Now this is a story that I love because you don't read as many books involving slaves escaping through the underground railway. Lettie really wants to get away as things have suddenly changed and she is in even more danger. Although if Lettie runs away and is caught she could be in even more danger. Nathan is part of the underground railway and has a plan to get her to safety. I loved how this was planned and how it all worked out. 

The Suspect Bride by Susan Page Davis - Oregon, 1890s

This story was one of my favourites. I was actually in hospital and every time the nurse came to do my ops I was saying I just want this story finished because I want to know what happens. We see Verity arrested for murder and Jack is a lawyer who will represent her. The story takes us through the arrest and why her. I love how Susan keeps the suspense of what will happen next. 

This whole book is a really good read and I would highly recommend it.

Book Review Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands Romance Collection

Seven Brides for Seven Mail-Order Husbands Romance Collection

A Newspaper Ad for Husbands Brings a Wave of Men to a Small Kansas Town

by Susan Page Davis, Susanne Dietze, Darlene Franklin, Patty Smith Hall, Cynthia Hickey, Carrie Fancett Pagels, Gina Welborn

Seven women seek husbands to help them rebuild a Kansas town.

Meet seven of Turtle Springs, Kansas’, finest women who are determined to revive their small town after the War Between the States took most of its men. . .and didn’t return them. The ladies decide to advertise for husbands and devise a plan for weeding out the riff raff. But how can they make the best practical choices when their hearts cry out to be loved?

Abigail’s Proposal by Cynthia Hickey
When her father never returned from the war, Abigail Melton stepped into his role as town mayor. The town needs men, and she needs a husband—and she has a big idea how to find both—but her first duty is to hire a sheriff. And drifter Josiah Ingram will do just fine.

My Review. 
This is the first story in the book and sets up the whole book. After the war there are more women than men and rather than let there town die the women decide to find husbands by sending out advert seeking God Fearing men. While Abigail is mayor she has agreed to look for a husband and in the meantime appoints Josiah as Sheriff. Josiah has no intention of getting married but is attracting attention from all the ladies so says he is engaged to Abigail which makes for an interesting time. With some the day of the auditions coming we learn not is always as it seems. We see just how trustworthy Josiah is and how level headed Abigail is also. A good start to the book.

The Kidnapped Groom by Susan Page Davis
Riding through the Flint Hills on his way to Dodge City, cowboy Sam Cayford finds himself the kidnapping victim of two children. When he meets their lovely mother, Maggie Piner—whom the kids insist he should marry—Sam starts to question God’s plans versus his own.

My Review.
This is my favourite story in the book. I could tell Susan had written the story as it is in her style of writing. I love how Sam is kidnapped by two small children who think they are doing right by their mother. They know she needs help and want her protected and also need some the love of a father. Maggie is horrified when she finds out what the children have done and then circumstances come into play. Add a banker who wants her farm and you have an interesting tale. 
 
A Clean Slate by Susanne Dietze
Schoolmarm Roberta “Birdy” Green won’t marry any of the prospective grooms flocking to town. After losing her fiancé in the war, the only love her broken heart can bear is for her students. But then she takes on a new pupil—Drew Cooper, one of the gentlemen drawn to Kansas by the advertisement for grooms.

My Review
This books is about Birdy who is the schoolmarm who doesn't intend to get married but is out to protect her friend. She lost her fiance in the war and also has issues she needs to comfront. Drew wants to better himself he is estranged from his brother and wants to start a new. Throw into the mix Birdy's friends little girls who tend to be scene steelers. I have to admit I took awhile to warm to Birdy as she is a little controlling and can seem cold but as you learn her story you can understand why she is like she is.

Sunshine of My Heart by Darlene Franklin
Debbie Barker longs to bring beauty to her new home on the prairie, where her family moved after the war, and seeks a husband to help her father run the ranch. Zack Gage returned home from the war to a life in ruins—family dead and business bankrupted. He answers the mail-order husband ad to seek a fresh start. But neither Debbie nor Zeke know what they are doing when it comes to ranching. . .or love.

My Review
This is an fun story. Debbie wants to be married like her sisters. She moved west with her parents and wants to marry someone who will also help with the ranch. Zack came to the auditions because he no longer has anything left in Maine for him. Zack is new to ranching but has taken a real shine to Debbie and will learn for her. I love the way they both have so much in common and try to make a go of it. I got frustrated with Debbie's father at times. Another good read. 

Come What May by Patty Smith Hall
Chardy Stevens is at the end of her rope. Between running her late father’s store and tending to her four younger brothers, she barely has time to breathe, much less look for a husband to help her. The boys scare off most of her prospects and throw Chardy together with her childhood friend Luke, a disabled veteran who seeks her happiness above his own

My Review.

I Have to say Chardy is one of my favourite ladies in these stories. She has her hands full with 4 younger brothers to look after and a store to run as well as a homestead. The boys have been expelled from school. Luke has returned from the war disabled and feels he is inadequate for anyone. Chardy needs help and Luke decides he can help her and in the meantime at least watch over her brothers and maybe help on the homestead. While there he confronts many of his issues. I love the interaction and what both learn about themselves.

Dime Novel Suitor by Carrie Fancett Pagels
Widow Caroline Kane is the proprietor of a restaurant and inn—and responsible for her five teenaged siblings. But she has no plans of finding a mail-order groom. Britisher Barden Granville IV is on a “cowboy holiday” when he finds himself flat broke in Kansas.  When he answers an old “help wanted” ad, Caroline misconstrues Barden is there as a potential husband. Will the beautiful and fiesty widow cause the new vicar to make Kansas his home?
 
My Review
This is another story I really enjoyed I felt for Caroline as she too has so much she has to do she is responsible for siblings and trying to keep a restaurant and inn going and has an older sister who tends to meddle and not listen to Caroline. What is fun in this story is Barden isn't looking to be a groom, in fact has no idea about what is happening but through a misunderstanding becomes a suitor when he is actually applying for a job. Barden is just what she needs for the restaurant and also is so level headed and I couldn't help liking him. Once again we see Caroline struggle with issues that she needs to deal with to move on. 

Louder than Words by Gina Welborn
After years of writing abolitionist pamphlets and chronicling soldier life during the war, J.R. Lockhart is bored and jumps at the opportunity to investigate an advertisement for husbands for an article in Godey’s Lady’s Book. Jane Ransome would like to help the charming-but-oblivious-to-life-out-West man chronicle the courtships developing in town, but she has her own husband to find—one who will fit perfectly in her picket-fenced Kansas home.

My Review 
This is the last story and deals with a journalist who is moving west and writing stories on the way. He is interested in finding out more about the advert for husbands and why they advertised. He meets Jane who is happy in the town and wants to stay. She has been there for a few years now and wants to make it her home town. While she wants a husband and family of her own she also struggles because she feels she is not fully accepted due to her heritage. She has captivated J.R and I love how he works at trying to win her. 

Thanks to Netgalley for my review copy

Book review My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island by Carrie Fancett Pagels

My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island

by 

Carrie Fancett Pagels

Barbour Books (July 1, 2017)

Journey now to Mackinac Island where...

A Tangled Gilded Age Love Story Unfolds.

Although the Winds of Mackinac Inn has been in her mother’s family for generations, Maude Welling’s father refuses to let her run it without the guidance of a husband. So she seeks to prove her worth and independence by working incognito as a maid at the Grand Hotel.

Undercover journalist Ben Steffans, posing as a wealthy industrialist, pursues a story about impoverished men chasing heiresses at the famed hotel.  While undercover, he becomes attracted to an intriguing maid. By an act of heroism Ben endears himself to the closed-mouthed islanders—including Maude—and he digs deep for his story.

But when scandal threatens, will the growing love between Maude and Ben be scuttled when truths are revealed?

My Review:

Firstly thanks to Netgalley for my review copy.

I have read a couple other My Heart Belong books this year all set in the west and more westerns. It was refreshing to have a different location and era. I really loved the story. It made me want to go there and see the island and to also taste some of the famous fudge.

Maude wants to run the inn that has been in her family for generations but her father thinks she needs to be married. When the man she hoped to marry breaks her heart she sets about trying to prove herself to her father. On the flip side Ben is posing as a wealthy industrialist when he is in fact a journalist who is trying to expose how men come to the island pretending to be rich to snare a heiress at the famous hotel. Ben is really struggling with his assignment as he feels more comfortable with the locals than the wealthy. He has a story that has scarred him.

As both Maude and Ben seem to be coming closer there are issues arising they need to deal with. 

I loved the different area of America which I haven't read about before. The places are real with the story fiction, and we get a feel of what it would be like to live on the island. Also what it is like when you live year round on a place where in the summer the wealthy will come and stay at The Grand or other Hotels. It then becomes very much a division of the people. There are also other issues that both Maud and Ben have to deal with, which added to the story. 

I really loved the story and have heard Carrie will be writing about one of the other characters in an upcoming book.

Getting to know you Thursdays with Carrie Fancett Pagels with giveaway

Please join me in welcoming Carrie Fancett Pagels to my blog today. I meet Carrie in Williamsburg in May and we had a fun afternoon. There is also a giveaway thanks to Carrie.

1.    Can you tell us a little about yourself?



I was a psychologist for 25 years.  Married 25 years with a 24 year old daughter and and 11 year old son. I love God, history, and romance!

2. When you were a child did you have a favourite book or books?

Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Tales of the Arabian Nights were a few.

3. Do you have a favourite Genre to both read and right write?



Yes, I prefer to read and write Christian historical romance.

4. Did you have favourite authors growing up who have influenced you?

Lucy Maude Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, and Daphne DuMaurier.

5. When did you know you wanted to be an author?

When I was a child but I decided to become a psychologist.

6. How did you go about becoming an author?



Well, this is a tricky question because I wrote some nonfiction psychology stuff before I began learning the craft of Christian fiction. So I’ll address the Christian fiction author part. I joined a group called American Christian Fiction Writers after I’d gotten a few rejections from submitting my story ideas. I can’t even tell you the amount of classes I have taken, etc., but I felt that I needed to know more about the craft of writing.  But I’ll tell you there are some published authors out there who have never taken a writing class.  There is so much to it, I couldn’t possibly cover it all here, Jenny, but the big thing is doing the work—and writing manuscript after manuscript. 

7. If you were not a writer what would you like to be?



I was a psychologist and I am a mom. Being a mom is a job and a very rewarding one.

8. Outside reading and writing what do you like to do?



Snuggle with my son and tell stories, visit historical sites and do research, travel, go out to eat with my family, do bead work. I like baking, too! Visiting with friends—like Jenny who recently came to Williamsburg and I got to meet with her there and enjoy a lovely day together!

9. Do you have a place you love to visit or would love to visit?



I love Mackinac Island in Michigan, where I worked as a teenager and which is only about 70 miles from my hometown but feels like a world away.  There are no cars allowed there. It is a beautiful and magical place. The sky and water are SO blue and clean!

10. If you could have a meal with 3 living people who would you choose and why?



I am not one of those people who longs to meet famous individuals.  I’m much more interested in getting together with people I believe God wants to put me together with. One person I probably shouldn’t say but she is an editor at a CBA publishing house who has been looking at my proposals but hasn’t offered me a contract (yet!), another person would be another editor who I’d like to encourage and again I won’t name her, and the third person would be Jon Woodhams, our editor for the Guidepost Books “A Cup of Christmas Cheer” that will release in October. I’ve never met any of those three. I should get the opportunity to speak with all these folks at the ACFW conference but I’d love a private supper with all three of them and I’d love her hear what they had to say.

Finally can you tell us about your current books and/or any that will
 be coming out soon. As mentioned, I’ll have a story, “Snowed In: A Northwoods Christmas” that will be published in the Guidepost Books release “A Cup of Christmas Cheer.”  I am very excited about that one because it wouldn’t have been published had it now been for my agent, Joyce Hart, who called me while I was sick to see if I still wanted to submit my story.  I thought the deadline was the day before and I’d decided not to send it in. This story is dear to my heart because it is inspired by a real story about my parents and includes my great-grandmother and great-uncle (okay, not them but a fictionalized account of my imaginings…) But I had such a wonderful time writing this short story!

I am also SO excited that my debut fiction novella “Return to Shirley Plantation” has continued to stay in the top ten highest rated Amazon Civil War books!  This story is about OBEDIENCE—radical obedience and I am so glad people are enjoying this story! 

I also contributed a true story to God’s Provision in Tough Times, A nonfiction book by Cynthia Howerter and LaTan Murphy that just released.  I believe this book, with 25 true stories of God’s provision, will really encourage people.

Also where we can find you on the web.



Bio – Carrie Fancett Pagels, Ph.D.

Carrie Fancett Pagels’ (www.carriefancettpagels.com) Return to Shirley Plantation: A Civil War Romance, is an Amazon Civil War best seller. A contributor to God’s Provision in Tough Times, (July, 2013). Her short story, Snowed In: A Northwoods Christmas, will appear in Guidepost Books “A Christmas Cup of Cheer” (October, 2013).

Contact info

Carrie Fancett Pagels

Facebook Author Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carrie-Fancett-Pagels/317053071710640?fref=ts

Facebook Personal Page http://www.facebook.com/carriefancettpagels

Twitter https://twitter.com/cfpagels

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/carriefpagels/

GoodReads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7043690.Carrie_Fancett_Pagels

LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=131454255&trk=tab_pro

Links to purchase Return to Shirley Plantation: A Civil War Romance 

Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/Murray-Puras-American-Series-ebook/dp/B00C2EZ5L6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1370264197&sr=1-1&keywords=carrie+fancett+pagels

Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murray-puras-cry-of-freedom-volume-1-return-to-shirley-plantation-murray-pura/1114941171?ean=2940016542836

God’s Provision in Tough Times, releasing in July 2013

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Provision-Cynthia-Howerter-La-Tan-Murphy/dp/1938499441/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358266747&sr=8-1&keywords=cynthia+howerter

GIVEAWAY

Carrie is giving one commenter a free ebook of Return to Shirley Plantation: A Civil War Romance. To enter you need to leave a comment with a way to contact you and answer the question Do you have a favourite era you like to read? Please note comments just saying enter me will not be accepted. You have til 15 August 6 pm Australian time to enter.