#laboroflove

About the Book

Book: Labor of Love
Series: Gardens in Time #1
Author: Marguerite Martin Gray
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Release date: February 15, 2022

Something sinister lurks in Pitti Palace.

Despite having spent eight years as companion to her cousins, Ana Geovani still questions her role and place in the Medici household. This uncertainty compounds and alarms as her cousin’s marriage approaches and a marriage is arranged for Ana.

With no say in her own future, fear and despair dulls even the splendor of the gardens she holds so dear.

As the newest under gardener at the palace, Marco Rossi should have everything he’s dreamed of–beautiful gardens to tend and master architects and gardeners to learn from. Yet a secret mission threatens his peace of mind, his position, and even the love of Ana. Although God is always with him, reminding him of a bigger plan, Marco feels the weight of the consequences he will face if he challenges a Medici member.

The desires of men and women, both royal and common, create costly dilemmas and potential disasters of hearts and souls. What will it take for Marco and Ana to prevail against everything driving them apart?

Click here to get your copy! Also available on Kindle Unlimited.

About the Author

Marguerite Martin Gray enjoys the study of history, especially when combined with fiction. An avid traveler and reader, she teaches French and Spanish and has degrees in French, Spanish, and Journalism from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and a MA in English from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene. She has two grown children and currently lives with her husband in north Louisiana. She writes historical fiction.

My Review

Labor of Love
by Marguerite Martin Gray
Book 1 in the Gardens in Time series
Rating: 4/5

It’s always fun to be introduced to a new author and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the author can weave a beautiful story about love, life and faith in a historical setting.

First, the book cover is beautiful. They really captured a beautiful garden backdrop which is part of who the heroine is.
Second, the story wastes no time jumping into the story and finding where the conflict is. The story always kept moving along but after reading a lot of suspense, it’s definitely not as fast-paced. It still has some mystery but it is more like a steady stream than a rushing river if that makes sense.
Third, the love story is very fun and flirty while still having to face each of the character’s insecurities and baggage.
Fourth, the way the author weaves in her faith is beautiful and delicately done. The message has a way of staying with you and searching out your own heart.

Highly recommend this historical Christian romance with humor, mystery and a lot of heart!

My thanks to the author and publisher 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 the Author

Are you a gardener? My mom calls me the accidental gardener. Is there such a thing? Well, I threw a pumpkin off my deck into a flower bed in December. By March, I had a garden full of beautiful, big pumpkins and luscious vines.

I love the idea of gardening, although I’m not very successful with my planting and grandiose plans. I stick with zinnias, potatoes, and onions. But I admire all kinds of gardens—flower and vegetable. Gardens are full of surprises—zingers in my ordinary life.

From the beauty of organized formal gardens like Versailles and Boboli to quaint, colorful English gardens, I relish the assault to all the senses. I’m refreshed, renewed, and relaxed just by being in a garden.

The birth of my Gardens in Time series arose from my travels. Labor of Love, set in the Boboli Gardens in Florence, springs from memories of wonder and beauty as I roamed the avenues and paths as a child and then an adult. I never had the adventures of Ana as she struggles and grows in the court of the Medici, but I walked in the Medici’s steps and let my imagination journey with Ana. She now has her own story.

I hope that you can experience some of the awe and amazement through Ana’s wanderings. I invite you to roam the Boboli Gardens with Ana.