Shadow Among Sheaves- Naomi Stephens

My Rating: 3 Stars

Description: A Timeless, Beautiful Allegory of the Biblical Love Story of Ruth and Boaz

The Great Rebellion of 1857 was a remarkably bloody business. At a time when Britain’s imperial influence in India was sparking brutal clashes on both sides, no one could have expected Rena, an Indian woman, to marry a British officer—nor do they understand her decision to follow her mother-in-law to England after her husband’s tragic death.

Once the two widows are in Abbotsville, the stern yet compassionate Lord Barric attempts to help them despite his better judgment. Soon he is torn between the demands of reputation and his increasing desire to capture Rena’s heart for his own.

My Thoughts: I love Biblical fiction and am often interested in historical retellings of these stories. And the premise for this book intrigued me. Ruth as an Indian woman coming to England after the death of her British husband? Definitely a story that appealed to me.

As a historical novel, I thought this was good. The treatment of Rena and her mother-in-law was believable, and I enjoyed learning about how Rena and her first husband met and found their way as a mixed couple. However, I was not as impressed with this story as a retelling of the Biblical story of Ruth.

This book sticks to all of the "plot points" of the original book of Ruth, but it changes the motivation for most of the decisions the characters make. To some extent, this was to be expected. The culture of England during this story was vastly different than that of ancient Israel. However, this meant that some of the events of the Biblical story did not fit as well into this narrative. Also, Barric's character was vastly different from that of the Biblical Boaz in a way that made him less likeable in comparison.

I think this book would have been better had it diverged farther from the book of Ruth, with Ruth's story being the inspiration for the narrative rather than the plot. There are things which were important to the story and culture of the book of Ruth which made no difference in the story of Rena. As such, I liked this book, but not as much as I had felt that I could have with a few changes.

I have provided an honest review after having received an ecopy through Netgalley.

Flight of the Raven- Morgan L. Busse

My Rating: 3 Stars

Description: Exiled and on the run, Selene Ravenwood is in search of the real reason her family was given the gift of dreamwalking but first she must adapt to her marriage with the man she was originally assigned to kill. With war impending and a dark being after her gift, she finds herself at a crossroads but time is running out and soon her choice will be made for her.

My Thoughts: I did not like this book as much as I had hoped. Unfortunately, the issues I had with the first book are still present in this one. As with the last, I still found Selene to be a difficult character to relate with. Whereas before it was because she was blindly following her mother's orders in the beginning of the book, this time it was because I felt like her quest for answers held no sense of urgency. While she does take some steps toward her goal, most of the story revolved around her relationship with Damien. Which is a relationship I loved, but I wish that she had done more outside of that.

We know that off page, Damien is making plans to stop the Empire and that Selene is reading ancient texts about the house gifts. However, neither of them ever really discuss these things with each other, and no one else is enlisted to help Selene scour the texts for the information she needs. And while this later part is because both are afraid of what people will think of Selene's dreamwalking, I was still frustrated that what seems to be a religious question (what was the Light's initial intention for dreamwalking?) was never addressed to the religious leaders they interacted with.

For a fantasy about magical gifts and war, a large portion of this book was dedicated to Damien and Selene coming to know and care for each other. And as someone who is always a sucker for a married couple as the main characters, I did enjoy this aspect. But I also wish that it had been drawn out longer and that more happened in the story in between. Even their falling in love could have been fleshed out more, since there are entire days of their relationship which are skipped over. As a reader, I want to see what Selene and Damien find to talk about for hours in his study, I want to see him show her the beach, and for her to gradually open up to him about who she is beneath her heart of ice.

I still love Damien's character and found his thoughts about his new wife to be adorable. And this book was a pretty easy read, promising a better book to come next. I just wish that this had not hit the middle book slump.

I have provided an honest review after having received an ecopy through Netgalley.

The Noble Guardian- Michelle Griep

My Rating: 2 Stars

Description: A Cross-Country Trip through Regency England Brings Intrigue, Rogues, and High Adventure

The must-read conclusion to Michelle Griep’s Bow Street Runners Trilogy: Life couldn’t be better for Abigail Gilbert—but it’s been a long time in coming. Having lived with a family who hated her, it’s finally her time for love. Abby sets off on a journey across England to marry one of the most prestigious gentlemen in the land—until highwaymen upset her plans and threaten her life.

Horse patrol captain Daniel Thatcher arrives just in time to save Abby. But she’s simply another victim in a job he’s come to despise. Tired of the dark side of humanity, he intends to buy land and retire.

Abby pleads with him to escort her for the rest of her journey. He refuses—until she offers him something he desperately needs to achieve his goal. . .money. Delivering her safely will give him more than enough to buy property.

So begins an impossible trek for the cynical lawman and the proper lady. Each will be indelibly changed by the time they reach her betrothed, if they don’t kill one another first—or fall in love.

My Thoughts: I've not read a lot of Griep's work, only one other book. But I had found that I had enjoyed that one, so I thought to give this a try. However I do not think that this book lived up to her other one. Despite the character's stating where and when it is that they live, I could not help but picture this story as taking place in Western America, a good hundred years later. This is because the details which which should have set up the location were rarely described.

As for the characters, Abby herself is a woman of strength and confidence, neither of which are traits that seemed to fit with her background of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her family. For someone who has been told her whole life that she is unloved and unwanted, she has no problem believing that Sir Jonathan would fall in love with her after one dance. Even thoughts of her family's absolute abandonment of her just before she is to leave only mildly saddens her.

On the other side of the spectrum is Samuel, who sees nothing but the ugliest side of the world after he have survived a drunken and abusive father, war, and life as a lawman. And while his outlook on life is justified, he is unable to recognize the abuse and neglect Abby suffered even after he learns some of her family's treatment of her. And both characters leave behind a woman and her son whom they know are being abused and neglected. Samuel's only aid offered to them is to give the boy a couple of coins to live off of once his mother passes because of disease and malnourishment.

The only true bright spot I could find in the story was Emma. The child and her antics are adorable as is the relationship between her and the two adults. However, that does not make up for the rest of the characters in the story. Characters who willfully allow others to walk into danger because they can't be bothered to warn them, as well as supposedly kind characters who caste scathing judgement on people they have just met. There are other issues I had with the story, such as unnecessary coincidences and a villain who wastes time with threatening messages when he doesn't need to.

I have provided an honest review after having received an ecopy through Netgalley.

Far Side of the Sea- Kate Breslin

My Rating: 5 Stars

Description: In spring 1918, Lieutenant Colin Mabry, a British soldier working with MI8 after suffering injuries on the front, receives a message by carrier pigeon. It is from Jewel Reyer, the woman he once loved and who saved his life--a woman he believed to be dead. Traveling to France to answer her urgent summons, he desperately hopes this mission will ease his guilt and restore the courage he lost on the battlefield.

Colin is stunned, however, to discover the message came from Jewel's half sister, Johanna. Johanna, who works at a dovecote for French Army Intelligence, found Jewel's diary and believes her sister is alive in the custody of a German agent. With spies everywhere, Colin is skeptical of Johanna, but as they travel across France and Spain, a tentative trust begins to grow between them.

When their pursuit leads them straight into the midst of a treacherous plot, danger and deception turn their search for answers into a battle for their lives.

My Thoughts: I've not read anything by Kate Breslin before, but I am glad that I was able to pick up this novel of hers. The first thing which stood out to me while reading was the quality of Breslin's writing. Her descriptions are clear and flow well with the narrative, creating a story that feels real and well thought through.

The attention to historical detail also stands out. I love that she mentions how Colin is able to hear the bombings in Paris from his home in Hastings, England. This is a chilling detail which I had never considered the possibility of before, making the war seem all the more real to me. This, along with a number of other details, set this as a unique story among so many others.

But even with the fantastic writing and research, as story still needs to deliver on its plot and characters, which I feel that Breslin did well with. Both Colin and Johanna come with rich backgrounds as well as complex personalities and desires. And the plot line follows numerous, small twists and turns, which increased the mystery surrounding the complex world of WWI spies. Unlike many a novel I have read, the narrative surrounding espionage in this book felt like it could have actually happened.

I am glad I was able to read this book, and look forward to finding the rest of the author's work. Hopefully they will all live up to this.

I have provided an honest review after having received a copy of the book through the publisher.