Sunday, May 30, 2021

Review: Across the Years by Tracie Peterson

I've been behind in posting, so I'll pull this one from my drafts. I wrote this ages ago, as you can probably tell, but here's to hopefully remembering to put the content out there!

The last ten years have been difficult for Ashley Reynolds. Living with her grandfather and raising her daughter, Ashley has finally found an element of peace while working as a Harvey Girl in Winslow, Arizona. When a crew of architects come to build a massive resort hotel, bringing a mysterious man into her life, her world unexpectedly changes."

This book had so many twists and turns. Well, more of just unexpected KAPOWs!!! I mean, I really am just gonna go ahead and say this because if it's in the first five chapters it doesn't count as a spoiler. I couldn't believe that the EJ was actually Ethan and watching him try and get to know his family over the course of the book was so sweet. I loved how he got to know his daughter and seeing their relationship go. And how worried he was about her was so emotionally charged. Ashley was so sweet too. Seeing her fierce Mama Bear mode was the best. And wow. Her mom was a jerk! I felt so bad for Ashley. And cummon! Get your act together lady and love your granddaughter. And you daughter. And your sister. And your dad. For goodness sake! I loved Grandpa. He was the sweetest. The plot of this almost {ALMOST} reminded me of Where My Heart Belongs, but historical. In fact, I loved the time setting of this. You never read books about the Great Depression that aren't set in the Dust Bowl. This one was Arizona though! So cool. And I loved Aunt Lavelle. (Is that her name? I don't remember and I don't have the book with me.... OOPS!) But one of the best {And Worst} things about this book is that it's stand alone, so you don't have to read the other books in this series. It's kind of sad, but also nice.

4.5 Stars

Have you ever read this book or one in the series? What did you like? Let me know in the comments.

Friday, May 7, 2021

CelebrateLit Tour: Review: Hope Between The Pages by Pepper Basham

IT'S GRADUATION DAY!!!! But also it's my day to post for the tour, so I hope you enjoy!🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓🎓

Uncover the Story Behind a One-Hundred-Year-Old Love Letter

Visit historic American landmarks through the Doors to the Past series. History and today collide in stories full of mystery, intrigue, faith, and romance.

Clara Blackwell helps her mother manage a struggling one-hundred-year old family bookshop in Asheville, North Carolina, but the discovery of a forgotten letter opens a mystery of a long-lost romance and undiscovered inheritance which could save its future. Forced to step outside of her predictable world, Clara embarks on an adventure with only the name Oliver as a hint of the man’s identity in her great-great-grandmother’s letter. From the nearby grand estate of the Vanderbilts, to a hamlet in Derbyshire, England, Clara seeks to uncover truth about family and love that may lead to her own unexpected romance.

I have been murdered by this book. I did not see that coming. It took me forever to get invested in this story, which is very unusual. Okay, that is only half true. I was very invested in the historical section. The modern section took me almost half the book to be interested in. I just didn't want to leave Sadie behind. I absolutely adore Pepper's books for mostly one reason: They make me feel like I'm in my mountains again, and I love that Blue Ridge feel. And she even added Biltmore to this book, which of course makes it all the better. We used to go to Biltmore a lot and so every room she was describing had some sort of picture in my head. Reading about places that you know really helps with the whole hallucination thing. <small jest> I'm just gonna say, y'all, I'd be down with marrying Oliver myself. Or Max, if it came down to it. Isn't it every girl's dream to find a man who's equally obsessed with books as she is? I will say that the conflict is more circumstance driven than villain driven, most of the time, and I kind of liked not having a bad guy in my face the whole time. And after I was fully invested in the story, I couldn't put it down. By the end, my emotions were wrapped in a little ball of OH MY GOODNESS. And can we take a minute and appreciate the WWI setting instead of WWII? I think I can really recommend this one, even with my initial disinterest. (Part of the problem is also that I've been reading a lot of fairytales recently, so I had to switch my mood back to real world fiction and I wasn't ready.)

Though I was provided a free copy of this book, you know it's my honestest of honest reviews, per usual.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor with southern Appalachian flair. Both her historical and contemporary novels have garnered recognition in the Grace Awards, Inspys, and ACFW Carol Awards. Her historical romance, The Thorn Healer, was a finalist in the 2018 RT Awards. Her historical romance novels, My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge and The Red Ribbon, and her contemporary novels, the Mitchell’s Crossroads and Pleasant Gap series, showcase her Appalachian heritage, as well as her love for humor and family. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the mom of five great kids, a speech-language pathologist to about fifty more, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus.

More from Pepper

Books are a uniquely portable magic – Stephen King

Appalachia is known for having a high illiteracy rate. A place of beautiful scenery and rugged landscapes, the people of the mountains developed stories through oral storytelling much more than “book learning”. As a young girl growing up in this world, I loved hearing my granny share tales from up to five generations ago, filling in the narrative gaps between a birth date and a death date on a tombstone – giving flesh and breath to the stone-etched names.

It’s no surprise then, with a heart cultivated from rich oral stories, I fell in love with reading. Books became that “portable magic” that took me places my little Appalachian community couldn’t provide. I fell in love with the Boxcar Children and Nancy Drew. Wept through the end of Bridge to Terabithia and Old Yeller. Traveled to the plains with Sarah Plain and Tall and fell in love with horses with The Black Stallion. But when I was in seventh grade, I read my very first “British” novel, The Secret Garden. In that one introduction, my world expanded into mysterious English manor houses and British classics. Before long, I’d consumed Jane Eyre, Austen’s classics, some Dickens, Dracula, Frankenstein…and the list goes on! And then…I found Tolkien and Lewis – and the ‘real’ world swelled into OTHER worlds.

I’m grateful for true stories of book-loving pioneers traveling into the world of Appalachia to provide books and literacy training to “my people”, because I know some of those books made their way to my tiny elementary school library…and not only brought me the chance to discover stories, but to write them too!

Isn’t it amazing how books can do that?

In Hope Between the Pages, I wanted to bring the same awe and discovery I felt as a child (and continue to feel as an adult reader) to the story of two people whose words had seemed small. Stories stretched their worlds, but the stories also gave them wonderful imaginations and positive perspectives. It’s still amazing to me that ink-and-paper words can make such a lasting impact on hearts and minds. They can lead us to dream, teach us new things, encourage our hearts, help us to think outside the box, swell our imaginations, broaden our horizons, and encourage our hope.

Books are not a replacement for real adventures and relationships, but they certainly provide a beautiful “door” into other lives and worlds that we may never have a chance to experience in real life. Sadie, my historical heroine, and Clara, my contemporary heroine, both have kept close to home but traveled greatly through books…and BOTH are given the opportunity to reach beyond the bindings to discover real-life adventures. I’d like to think that their love for stories helped them have the courage to step away from the page and into their own tales even more prepared than they would have been without stories.

What are some of your favorite books you read as a child? Did any of them influence you to become a more avid reader?