Christian Historical Fiction – Rosepoint Publishing

Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

Forever within the memories of my heart.

Always remember, you are perfectly loved.

Bertie Jenkins has spent forty years serving as a midwife for her community in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Out of all the mothers she’s tended, none affects her more than the young teenager who shows up on her doorstep, injured, afraid, and expecting, one warm June day in 1943. As Bertie and her four sisters tenderly nurture Songbird back to health, the bond between the childless midwife and the motherless teen grows strong. But soon Songbird is forced to make a heartbreaking decision that will tear this little family apart.

Thirty years later, the day after his father’s funeral, Walker Wylie is stunned to learn he was adopted as an infant. The famous country singer enlists the help of adoption advocate Reese Chandler in the hopes of learning why he was abandoned by his birth parents. With the only clue he has in hand, Walker and Reese head deep into the Appalachian Mountains to track down Bertie Jenkins, the midwife who holds the secrets to Walker’s past.

My Review:

I can’t help it. I really enjoy dual timeline novels. The storyline of this novel starts in Appalachia during the 30s with five sisters, one of whom, Birdie, is a midwife.

The Jenkins sisters have a small farm in the mountains that manage to eke out just enough to sustain them through the worst. It is late one night when they are alerted about something or someone in the woods and upon investigating discover a young girl, pregnant and with a gunshot wound. They manage to save both she and her baby.

About thirty years later, the death of Walker Wylie’s father sets off a journey he never imagined. His mother divulges he was adopted and they knew very little of the circumstances of his birth.

Not a new or unique plot but the location of the southern mountains and the earlier time places you square in the cabin with the sisters as they nurse Songbird back to health and then the birth of her baby.

Wylie enlists the help of another midwife to find his birth parents. Wylie is apparently very well off having a successful singing career, but takes the time to see the journey of discovery through.

The characters are well drawn, although I was not able to engage with Wylie as much as the sisters. He does mellow out somewhat by the conclusion. There are themes of unwed teen pregnancy, Christian values, family (without the familial connection), and sacrifice.

The pace slows somewhat with the backstory of Wylie, but everything comes together beautifully, if not unexpectedly. A sweet story of adoption and love.

I received a digital copy of this book from my local library that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction, Religious Historical Fiction
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
ASIN: B0BX14RV95
Print Length: 339 pages
Publication Date: October 3, 2023
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels, including COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS, winner of the 2023 Christianity Today Book Award in Fiction, and UNDER THE TULIP TREE, a Christy Award and Selah Award finalist. As a woman of mixed heritage–her father’s family is Hispanic and her mother’s roots go back to Germany–she has always celebrated diversity and feels it’s important to see the world through the eyes of one another. Learning from the past and changing the future is why she writes historical fiction.

With both her sons grown, Michelle and her husband make their home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about.

Michelle loves hearing from readers! Connect with her at http://www.MichelleShocklee.com

#ThrowbackThursday

Reaping the Whirlwind by Rosey Dow – #BookReview – #ChristianHistoricalFiction

Book Blurb:

No one suspects foul play when an old recluse dies behind locked doors.

The doctor claims the old woman’s heart gave out, and Deputy Sheriff Trent Tyson doesn’t give the case another thought until the medical examiner finds poison.

This death is just one in a series of unusual deaths happening in Tyson’s quiet town, which takes the deputy sheriff on the hunt for answers while the rest of the town is caught up in local hysteria, starstruck by visiting celebrities William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. Within a week, Deputy Sheriff Trent Tyson is on the tenuous trail of a serial killer who snuffs out the unwanted, the disabled—the most helpless and lovable—without reason and with no mercy.

Reaping the Whirlwind is a historical mystery set during the real events of the Scopes evolution trial in 1925 Dayton, Tennessee. The mystery weaves through trial events in an accurate portrayal of this pivotal case that forever changed the U.S. education system.

His Review:

Dayton has always been a small town devoid of any fame, but the city wants to be famous so they decide to set up one of their teachers to take the fall. He is arrested for teaching The Theory of Evolution as opposed to Creation as the source of human kind. This radical teaching will not stand in this small Tennessee enclave of Christianity.

The case attracts two of the most famous jurists of the early 20^th century; Charles Darwin and William Jennings Bryant. Newspapers from all over the country begin to sensationalize the trial and the notoriety. The local deputy constable/detective, Tyson, is assigned the case.

Because Bryant and Darwin are coming to town every possible domicile is let. The small town becomes notorious. Meanwhile, some young people are mysteriously dying of poisoning. Between keeping order at the courthouse and trying to solve the cases of murder Tyson has his hands full. Being a single parent, his first obligation must be to his disabled daughter, Lori.

The author weaves a very intricate fabric of suspense into the story. Everyone involved is extremely careful with the town’s young people and yet they keep dying! Guarding the courthouse and maintaining order in this small town becomes a very challenging task. Can Tyson solve the murders and foil the culprit? This is a fun and intricate story and plot line. Enjoy! 4 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to Lana McAra and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction, Religious Historical Fiction, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Morgan James Fiction
ASIN: B0BT141GD6
Print Length: 378 pages
Publication Date: June 13, 2023
Source: Author and Publisher

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Rosey Dow is the pen name of Lana McAra, an award-winning, international best-selling author and ghostwriter of more than 40 titles with a million books sold, including three cookbooks. An author via traditional publishing with Barbour Publishing and WinePress Publishing for 25 years, she has been editing and ghostwriting for more than 20 years, working for WinePress Publishing as well as Author One Stop and individual clients.

She won the national Christy Award for Reaping the Whirlwind in 2001, and her historical cozy mystery series, Colorado, sold more than 250,000 copies. Her titles have appeared around the world in bookstores and libraries in regular print, large print editions and audiobooks. She also has several journals and other titles under the name This Girl Loves Paper.

Originally from Delaware, she lived on the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada for 14 years and now resides in North Florida.

Enjoy Your Sunday!

Elinor: A Riveting Story (Daughters of the Lost Colony) by Shannon McNear – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

A Journey Full of Hope…
Escape into a riveting story based on the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke.

Author Shannon McNear portrays history with vivid authenticity.

In 1587, Elinor White Dare sailed from England heavy with her first child but full of hopes. Her father, a renowned artist and experienced traveler, has convinced her and her bricklayer husband Ananias to make the journey to the New World. Land, they are promised, more goodly and beautiful than they can ever imagine. But nothing goes as planned from landing at the wrong location, to facing starvation, to the endless wait for help to arrive. And, beyond her comprehension, Elinor finds herself utterly alone. . . .
The colony at Roanoke disappeared into the shadows of history. But, what if one survived to leave a lasting legacy?

His Review:

Freedom of religion is one reason to come to “the New World.” Elinor and her husband braved the wild Atlantic Ocean to start a new life across the sea. England has been at war with both Spain and France and has learned to take what they want by force. However, the New World is already populated with indigenous people. How does one make a new country? The usual European way was by the force of arms.

The population of the New World has struggled for centuries with war between themselves. The primary problem with the newcomers were the radical new weapons they possessed. Therefore, it was easier to try to befriend the colonists and assimilate them into the native culture. The pilgrims thought that the natives were “heathens” and had no real god. Knowing the “True God,” they needed to indoctrinate the natives.

Planting, growing livestock, and building housing were the initial goals of the young colonists. The natives already had long houses that were shared by the entire tribe. The colonists set about making bricks and building stockades as well as individual houses for the inhabitants. They depended upon the generosity of the natives to help them get through the first winter. There was simply too much work and too little time to accumulate enough stores for the long winter.

Soon the natives realize that the interlopers would not contribute but rather attempt to take everything they needed by force. Another problem was the diseases that the colonists had brought to the new land, which ran rampant through the tribes and killed as many as 40% of the population. It soon became apparent that the interlopers needed to go. People who were hunting and gathering when caught alone were quickly dispatched.

Shannon McNear has written a very charming story of the “lost” first colonists to the new world. The moral dilemma faced by the principals in the story is very thought provoking. Every population throughout the history of humanity has faced such questions. This saga illuminates the struggles then and the continuing struggles that are going on today around the world. I highly recommend this story to anyone who is a student of history. 5 stars – C.E. Williams

We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are his honest opinions.

Book Details:

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction, Religious Historical Fiction, Historical Christian Romance
Publisher: Barbour Fiction
ISBN: ‎ 1643529544
ASIN: B09GJVTKTD
Print Length: 323 pages
Publication Date: December 1, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s): Elinor [Amazon]
Barnes and Noble

The Author: Shannon McNear loves losing herself in local history. A Midwestern farm girl who lived in Charleston, South Carolina, for more than two decades before being transplanted to North Dakota, she’s a military wife, mother of 8, and a member of ACFW and FHL. When not cooking, researching, or leaking story from her fingertips, she enjoys being outdoors, basking in the beauty of the northern prairies.