Book Review: The Peasant’s Dream by Melanie Dickerson

The Peasant’s Dream
by Melanie Dickerson
Book 11 in the Hagenheim series
Rating: 4.5/5
Release date: July 7, 2020

Reverse Cinderella story? Yes, please. I always love a good fairytale retelling but when you reverse the roles and fill out the characters and backstory so much, I did not want to put the book down. I am a huge fan of Melanie Dickerson because she takes the time to really develop her characters and fill in the fairytale background. She brings you back into her world of Hagenheim and it was such a fun adventure. Though this is part of a series, you can read this book by itself but I still highly recommend reading the rest of the series because it’s that good.

Frederick is a talented woodcarver who dreams of being able to escape his abusive father’s farm and make a living for his mother and younger twin sisters. When he gets a chance to sell some of his carvings at the market, a priest sees his talent and convinces the bishop to hire Frederick to carve the new doors for the cathedral. While at market, Frederick meets Adela and a friendship begins.

Adela is the youngest daughter of the Duke of Hagenheim who wishes she could travel and pursue her painting and creative side. Her father is very protective of her and Adela just wishes she could explore the world without being recognized as the Duke’s daughter. She disguises herself as a servant and goes off to explore the marketplace where she meets Frederick. She is surprised to find someone who understands her as an artist – someone who is kind and makes her smile. Although her parents are trying to help her find a kind nobleman to marry, Adela doesn’t feel anything for him – at least not what she starts feeling for Frederick, who doesn’t know who she really is.

What happens when Frederick finds out the truth about Adela’s status? What happens when someone wants Frederick out of the way? Can Adela and Frederick find a way to be together?

I am never disappointed with a Melanie Dickerson novel. Her characters have depth and a charm that makes the reader want to cheer them on. She has been building this world of Hagenheim for many years and it’s always such a pleasure to dive back into this fantasy world. I feel like the transformation that the main characters go through could have been developed more but it doesn’t take away from the amazing adventure and the awesome reveals in this story.

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy fairytale retelling with a twist.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

June 24, 2020 by Kim Book Reviews

Book Review: The Heart of a Hero by Susan May Warren

The Heart of a Hero
by Susan May Warren
Book 2 in the Global Search and Rescue series
Rating: 5/5

So I definitely lost some sleep over this amazing ride! I love how Susan May Warren keeps outdoing herself. This is the second book in the series and I highly recommend reading the first but it’s not necessary to enjoy this thrilling adventure. While her first book dealt with blizzards in Alaska, this one deals with hurricanes in Key West. We continue getting to know the main characters after she introduced them in the first book, The Way of the Brave.

“Funny that when skies were clear, he was the storm. But in the middle of the storm…He was the calm.”

As a former sniper and Navy SEAL, Jake Silver was born to help people, and being a part of Jones Inc rescue team was only the next logical step. After helping save Dr. Aria Sinclair and her friends in Alaska, Jake knows that he and Aria have formed a connection that he can’t get away from. He shared things about his past with her that no one else knows, and she shared things with him that only made him want to protect her more. Too bad she doesn’t seem to want anything to do with him. Why does she seem to be running away from a relationship with him?

While Aria can admit that she and Jake have a connection after the traumatic events in Alaska, she is not that girl in real life. On vacation was different. She could be more adventurous like her twin sister, Kia, used to be, but when she returns back home, she has to be back to skilled pediatric heart surgeon with everything under control. There’s no room in her life for Jake and the risk he has on her heart. After a difficult patient loss, Aria’s boss sends her to a medical conference for some R and R. However, things get cut short when she finds herself stuck in Key West when category 4 Hurricane Lucy hits. A misdirected text also brings Jake to her rescue but can she find it in her heart to give their relationship a chance? Can these two heroes find a way to heal from their pasts and find their true identities?

The author has such an authentic way of incorporating her faith into her stories and I love how she is not afraid to deal with hard issues regarding PTSD and all that entails. Her writing always feels so genuine and well-researched. Her characters have their strengths and weaknesses that seem to only draw the readers into their world. The action and suspense force the reader to keep going until they reach the end.

Warning: The author also has a substory with characters from her next book who are part of the rescue team, but that story arc ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.

All in all, I couldn’t put the book down and I highly recommend reading this action-packed suspense thriller with romance and a message about forgiving yourself. I also recommend reading the first book in the series before to get the full effect.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

June 23, 2020 by Kim Book Reviews

Book Review & CelebrateLit Giveaway: When I Meet You by Olivia Newport

About the Book

Book: When I Meet You
Author: Olivia Newport
Genre: Christian fiction
Release Date: May, 2020

Book 3 in the Tree of Life Series: A Father-Daughter Genealogy Team Link Faith Journeys on Family Trees

A trunk abandoned at Denver’s Union Station more than a century ago leads Jillian and Nolan to untangle the mystery of its contents—including correspondence with the head of Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency Denver office. While Nolan digs into the legalities of the findings, Jillian searches for the descendants of a stolen identity who might not be who they think they are on Colorado ranch land. When Drew seems anxious to hear what Jillian has to say but his Great Aunt Min slams the subject closed—twice—Jillian is all the more determined to find out what happened to the woman who never claimed her luggage, why Min doesn’t want to talk about it, and what will happen for Drew if he gets the answers he seeks.

When I Meet You is the third book in the Tree of Life series by Olivia Newport. You’ll want to return to the lovely Colorado mountain town of Canyon Mines again and again to explore and celebrate unforgettable family stories that will inspire you to connect with your own family histories and unique faith journeys.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Olivia Newport’s novels twist through time to find where faith and passions meet. Her husband and twentysomething children provide welcome distraction from the people stomping through her head on their way into her books. She chases joy in stunning Colorado at the foot of Pikes Peak.

My Thoughts

When I Meet You
by Olivia Newport
Book 3 in the Tree of Life series
Rating: 4/5

After reading a fast-paced romantic suspense book, reading this story was a little slow for me but the ending was satisfying and I’m glad I stuck it out to the end. The book goes back and forth between the past and present stories which is something I do enjoy but sometimes, it could get confusing to keep track of who’s who. The author does her best to tell you who’s she’s focusing on but sometimes, I read too fast to keep track. All in all, this was a fascinating story and brilliantly woven together. The author will keep you guessing till the end.

As someone who has not read the previous books in this series, I just want you to know that it is not necessary. The main character, Jillian, is a professional genealogist who has her own family history to solve while delving into another mysterious steamer trunk and its contents. The mystery of all the official documents inside the trunk is what leads her on a merry chase to find out what happened. On the path to discover what happened to the owner of the steamer trunk, she finds Drew and his Aunt Min who seems to be hiding something. Can Jillian and her father figure out what happened to the owner the steamer trunk?

So for some reason I was expecting more romance in this book, but I would categorize this as a mystery with a hint of romance. Though there is some character development, telling the story and unraveling the mystery is the important part. The characters have their flaws but the emphasis is more on finding out the truth and restoring the steamer trunk to its rightful owner. As someone who can’t trace her own ancestry that far back, it was fascinating to see what a genealogist could do. The advances in technology have allowed us to find our ancestors with just one “spit in a tube”, which I have done. I loved the old tied in with the new.

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy history and stories within stories to uncover the truth.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley and CelebrateLit for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

More from Olivia

Stolen Identity or Stolen Secrets?

Years ago I made a business trip to a country in Asia. Somehow I managed to pack for two weeks in carry-on luggage. This was before everyone started carrying electronic devices that required a bag of their own, and the impoverished area I visited had only intermittent electricity anyway.

When it was time to come home, my luggage met the requirements to keep it with me as I traveled halfway around the world through several airports. But at the boarding gate, a woman pushed a cart stacked with six oversized and overstuffed suitcases, insisting she had to take all of them on the plane. Her argument was that she couldn’t risk losing her personal belongings. She was moving back to the States, this was everything she owned, and she just wasn’t having this nonsense about abiding by the same limitations as the other 300 people in line or that none of those bags would fit in an overhead compartment anyway. The airline staff began waving people around her to get the large aircraft boarded on time for an international flight. She was one of the last people to take her seat—without her bags.

I admit I prefer keeping my bags with me and getting in and out of airports quickly. And once my bags didn’t come off the same plane I did, and it took a few hours for them to be delivered to me.

But what happens to truly unclaimed baggage? One-half to one percent of baggage that goes through American airports is never claimed. Airlines will try for ninety days to find the owners. If they can’t, they have to do something with it. Generally it’s sold, sight unseen, to the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Alabama. There it is opened and sorted into what can be cleaned and sold in their store, what might be donated, and what has no value and is disposed of as trash. They find some pretty interesting things!

But my brain goes back to the curious question of why the baggage is unclaimed in the first place.

It’s not just because the airline lost it. We’ve all seen the lines of suitcases that baggage handlers remove from the circling conveyer belt because they’ve been around enough times that it’s obvious no one is there to pick them up after the flight. People got off the plane and left the airport without their bags. Why?

My new book, When I Meet You, raises the same question about travel in the railroad era. A trunk abandoned at Denver’s Union Station more than a century ago surfaces, leading genealogist Jillian and her lawyer father, Nolan, to untangle the mystery of its contents—including correspondence with the head of Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency Denver office. While Nolan digs into the legalities of the findings, Jillian searches for the descendants of a stolen identity who might not be who they think they are on Colorado ranch land. When Drew seems anxious to hear what Jillian has to say but his Great Aunt Min slams the subject closed—twice—Jillian is all the more determined to find out what happened to the woman who never claimed her luggage, why Min doesn’t want to talk about it, and what will happen for Drew if he gets the answers he seeks.

When I Meet You is the third book in the Tree of Life series. Return to the lovely Colorado mountain town of Canyon Mines again and again to explore and celebrate unforgettable family stories that will inspire you to connect with your own family histories and unique faith journeys.

Visit www.olivianewport.com or find me at www.facebook.com/OliviaNewport.