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A Heart Adrift by Laura Frantz – Review

February 16, 2022 by Suzie Waltner Leave a Comment

About the Book

A Virginia chocolatier and a privateering sea captain collide once more after a failed love affair a decade before. Will a war and a cache of regrets keep them apart? Or will a new shared vision reunite them?

It is 1755, and the threat of war with France looms over colonial York, Virginia. Chocolatier Esmée Shaw is fighting her own battle of the heart. Having reached her twenty-eighth birthday, she is reconciled to life alone after a decade-old failed love affair from which she’s never quite recovered. But she longs to find something worthwhile to do with her life.
Captain Henri Lennox has returned to port after a lengthy absence, intent on completing the lighthouse in the dangerous Chesapeake Bay, a dream he once shared with Esmée. But when the colonial government asks him to lead a secret naval expedition against the French, his future is plunged into uncertainty.

Will a war and a cache of regrets keep them apart, or can their shared vision and dedication to the colonial cause heal the wounds of the past? Bestselling and award-winning author Laura Frantz whisks you away to a time fraught with peril–on the sea and in the heart–in this redemptive, romantic story.

When Twilight Breaks by Sarah Sundin – Review

January 11, 2022 by Suzie Waltner Leave a Comment

About the Book

Munich, 1938. Evelyn Brand is an American foreign correspondent as determined to prove her worth in a male-dominated profession as she is to expose the growing tyranny in Nazi Germany. To do so, she must walk a thin line. If she offends the government, she could be expelled from the country–or worse. If she fails to truthfully report on major stories, she’ll never be able to give a voice to the oppressed–and wake up the folks back home.

In another part of the city, American graduate student Peter Lang is working on his PhD in German. Disillusioned with the chaos in the world due to the Great Depression, he is impressed with the prosperity and order of German society. But when the brutality of the regime hits close, he discovers a far better way to use his contacts within the Nazi party–to feed information to the shrewd reporter he can’t get off his mind.

This electric standalone novel from fan-favorite Sarah Sundin puts you right at the intersection of pulse-pounding suspense and heart-stopping romance.

A Borrowed Dream by Amanda Cabot – Review

March 29, 2018 by Suzie Waltner 1 Comment

March was a month full of historical fiction releases (and oddly, a few of them had heroines named Catherine or Caroline). The names were so close, I had to go back and double check myself a few times while reviewing. Really, that’s just an aside in case you were wondering if I’d mixed up my heroines when I talk about A Borrowed Dream by Amanda Cabot.

In My Opinion

Though this is the second book in Amanda Cabot’s Cimarron Creek trilogy, it stands on its own. In fact, it’s the first book I’ve read by the author and I followed the story just fine.

In this small Texas hill country town, gossip is a favorite pastime, followed closely by matchmaking, and the citizens have their eyes and ears open for the next scandal—especially if it involves any member of the town’s founding families.

The Sea Before Us by Sarah Sundin (Review & Giveaway)

February 26, 2018 by Suzie Waltner 19 Comments

I was long overdue for a Sarah Sundin read, so the start of a new series seemed the perfect time to finally read a book from this author I’ve heard so many wonderful things about.

Y’all, why did I wait?

In My Opinion

In The Sea Before Us, Sundin takes readers behind the scenes and into the precision, planning, and preparation during the months leading to World War II’s D-Day. Anyone who has taken a high school history class knows about this battle and has seen the pictures (and perhaps a movie or two about it).

First Line Friday – Missing Isaac

January 5, 2018 by Suzie Waltner 22 Comments

It’s the first Friday of 2018 and there were so many new releases this week, it was hard to pick which one I wanted to share with you today. I decided to go with a debut author: Valerie Fraser Luesse. This is on my read list for this weekend! Can’t wait to dive in.

What are you reading this week? Leave the first line in the comments then hop on over to the Hoarding Books Blog to check out more first lines.