Black Friday And Review of The Bridge to Belle Island by Julie Klassen

Hello Friends and Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

I had a wonderful time visiting with friends and today have ordered some goodies online.  A clever code for one item I ordered was GREENFRIDAY.  That came from Dropps.com which has eco-friendly laundry drops.  I thought I would give those a try since they were 40% off today!  I had some Kohl's cash, coupons, and sale price that brought a blender from $150 down to $28!

Some tea-themed items I ordered which you might also enjoy are:
Kimberly Shaw Graphics cards, stickers and book.  Cards are only $2 through Cyber Monday with her code SaveBig2019 AND INCLUDE a Harney and Sons teabag. 

Sample.  Click here for website.

Aren't these stickers the cutest?
CLICK to enlarge the image.

Click here to view book on Amazon,
but it is also on her website.

I also ordered June Chapko's new book.  She is an avid tea lover so her books always reference tea.  Plus she loves and shares Jesus in her stories. 

Click Here to view at Amazon

And now my review for:

The Bridge to Belle Island by Julie Klassen which comes out next week. Click images to enlarge.

*** REGENCY MYSTERY***

1819, London – Thirty-one-year-old Benjamin Booker is an attorney who has risked everything for a female client he fully believes is innocent.  But, when he loses her case, his whole world comes to a crashing halt.

Distraught and frustrated he meets up with his boss at a local pub to discuss the case and his future. As they head out, they discover a scene at the home of Percival Norris, their retired colleague.  Further investigation leads to a dead body that will eventually take Benjamin on a journey to Belle Island, across the Thames and the village of Riverton where his boss has asked him to investigate.  Benjamin will do his best to remain objective and make his boss proud of him again. 

Thirty-year-old Isabelle Wilder is trapped by fear on the island, but has learned to navigate enough to be mistress of the house, despite much of her funds being tied up in a trust.  She is respected by her employees and does her best to create jobs that will help provide for them.  Everything is fairly routine, except for a beloved niece whose upcoming nuptials pull at Isabelle’s heartstrings since the wedding will be off-island.  When a stranger shows up to share the news of the death, everything changes.

Benjamin and Isabelle will have to work together, but neither fully trusts and both have debilitating issues to deal with.  There is a murderer at large and threats move ever closer to the island as the story twists and turns.

Favorite Quote: Psalms leapt out at her. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Though the waters roar and be troubled.

Lovely Tea Moment: Isabelle and Carlota sat side by side on chaise lounges in the boathouse, the double doors thrown wide to reveal the morning sunshine shimmering on the gently rippling water of the Thames. A tray of tea things sat on the small table between them, along with a plate of muffins. Isabelle had tasted them herself and filled the kettle. …A leisurely morning was a rare luxury on Belle Island … and Isabelle and Lotty were determined to enjoy it.

I enjoyed 98% of this book.  I felt the ending suddenly stretched out in an odd way, but that is perhaps my own preference. Overall, this is a very enjoyable book I would be happy to recommend.

Bethany House Publishing

© 12/3/2019

This is a stand-alone novel.  I received an ARC of this book via the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion with no further compensation or expectation.  

Julie Klassen can be found here: https://julieklassen.com/

Wishing you a relaxing weekend and upcoming December filled with all the joys of the Christmas season!

Serving Up Love 4 in 1 Harvey House Brides Collection

Serving Up Love – Four (unrelated) Harvey House Brides Novellas

    

A Flood of Love, Novella by Tracie Peterson •*•Great Ending •*•

[OPENING] August 1929  

Gretchen Gottsacker stepped from the train and looked around at the tiny town of San Marcial, New Mexico. (5 stars)

More Than A Pretty Face, a Patchwork Family Novella by Karen Witemeyer •*• Book 1.5 I loved It!  •*• [OPENING] Gainsesville, TX, 1902

“I’m not going to marry her, Mother.” Caleb Durrington bit the inside of his cheek to keep the rest of the words piling up on his tongue from escaping. (5 stars)

Intrigue al la Mode, a Novella by Regina Jennings •*• Good mystery which is hard to do in a novella •*• [OPENING] Emporia, Kansas, 1898

The breakfast rush had ended, and Willow Kentworth had already reset her station. There was nothing to do now except patrol her table and guard against horseflies dying on the starched tablecloth… (5 stars - Loved the cousin! She needs her own story!)

A Grand Encounter, a Novella by Jen Turano •*•All the wonderful shenanigans one has come to expect from a Jen Turano story! •*•

[OPENING] El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon, AZ, 1908

“I know you mentioned you’ve sworn off gentlemen forever, but Mr. Tall, Dark, and – need I say Delicious is here again, and, unsurprisingly, he’s sitting in your section.” (5 stars I would give it 10 stars if I could!)

I don’t often find a novella collection where all the stories are 5 stars, so this was a great surprise!

Bethany House Publishing © 11/5/2019

Click for Karen's Site

Karen Witemeyer kindly sent me a complimentary book in the hopes of a favorable review, with no further compensation. All opinions are mine alone.

Click for Tracie's Site

Click for Regina's Site

  

Click for Jen's Site

& wherever books are sold.
Click Here for Amazon Link

Until next time, Hugs and a Cup of Tea ~
 

A Pursuit of Home - Fantastic New Regency Read

A Pursuit of Home – Haven Manor Book 3 - by Kristi Ann Hunter (one should read the previous Regency Era books in order)

***Fantastic Characters***

French Countryside, 1806 Jessamine Beauchene - wealthy, royal niece to the King of Verbonne, petite at age 15. Her family attacked in the middle of the night. Shoved into a hole in the floorboards with their family’s secrets.

[Absolutely one of my favorite scenes is when a beloved character from Kristi’s very first novel appears.]

The board lifted and the light from a single lantern revealed a pair of grey eyes… “What’s your name?” he asked. “Jess-“ hiccup – “Jess-” sniffle… “Well, Jess,” the man said, “I’m here to rescue you. How do you feel about going to England?”

[He is somewhat of a hero and definitely has amazing wit.  Without revealing too much I was thrilled to have him back!]

Marlborough, England, 1816

Ch. 1 Sometimes despite time, distance, and a significant amount of ignoring it, the past never quite went away. Over the past two days, everything Jess had run from had spilled over the wall of the past and covered her present like gravy. Lumpy, bitter, burnt gravy. Every emotion she’d worked hard to bury had risen to the surface, making her mind a muddled swarm of incomplete thoughts and sharp colors.

… her current situation irritated her … she was going to have to ask a very bothersome man for his assistance. She needed Derek Thornbury’s help. To get, she was going to have to ask him, which required talking to him, which required, which required being in the same room with him without taking her knife from its hidden sheath and stabbing him in the leg. A tall order, as the man was simply too vexing for words.

“I brought you tea.”

“I see that.” He crossed the room and lifted the top of the pot to gaze into the depths of the brown liquid. “Is it poisoned?”

…Derek was a scholar of antiquities. He worked with things created by dead people.  When he was working he might go days without a significant interaction with anyone who drew breath. Living people, quite inconveniently, required him to recall his manners and finish his sentences. Jess wasn’t merely an inconvenience, though. She was a massive complication, a mystery that was constantly changing, frustrating him to no end even as it kept enticing him closer.

Tea Quote: Anyone who insisted on foisting their romantic notions on her could find themselves with ipecac in their tea.

Faith Quote: …how important it was to seek God in the quiet times in order to know what to cling to in the chaos.

KristiAnneHunter.com

Enjoyable story as always!

Thank you to Bethany House, the author and NetGalley for a copy. My opinion is my own and given freely. Keep updated on the author’s website, Kristi Ann Hunter dot com

Haven Manor Series:

“The Haven Manor series follows a group of women who take what could have been a life-crushing circumstance and turned it into an opportunity to help desperate women and their children from the same fate. Their pasts may have brought these women here, but God has an amazing future in store for them.” -Author’s Website

Book 0.5 A Search for Refuge (Margaretta’s Story) 03/2018 FREE eNovella (available in print 2019 in the 3 author collection Love At Last)

Book 1 A Defense of Honor (Kit’s Story) 06/05/2018

Book 1.5 Legacy of Love (Sarah’s Story) 10/2018 Novella in The Christmas Heirloom Collection featuring 4 different authors

Book 2 A Return of Devotion – Daphne’s Story - coming Feb. 5, 2019

Book 3 A Pursuit of Home - Jess's Story - 11/5/2019

CLICK HERE

Until next time, Hugs and a Cup of Tea (hopefully without ipecac or poison!)