Silent Songbird by Melanie Dickerson

Melanie Dickerson

ISBN: 9780718026318

Publisher's Synopsis:

Evangeline is the ward and cousin of King Richard II, and yet she dreams of a life outside of Berkhamsted Castle, where she might be free to marry for love and not politics. But the young king betroths her to his closest advisor, Lord Shiveley, a man twice as old as Evangeline. Desperate to escape a life married to a man she finds revolting, Evangeline runs away from the king and joins a small band of servants on their way back to their home village.

To keep her identity a secret, Evangeline pretends to be mute. Evangeline soon regrets the charade as she gets to know Wesley, the handsome young leader of the servants, whom she later discovers is the son of a wealthy lord. But she cannot reveal her true identity for fear she will be forced to return to King Richard and her arranged marriage.

Wesley le Wyse is intrigued by the beautiful new servant girl. When he learns that she lost her voice from a beating by a cruel former master, he is outraged. But his anger is soon redirected when he learns she has been lying to him. Not only is she not mute, but she isn't even a servant.

Weighed down by remorse for deceiving Wesley, Evangeline fears no one will ever love her. But her future is not the only thing at stake, as she finds herself embroiled in a tangled web that threatens England's monarchy. Should she give herself up to save the only person who cares about her? If she does, who will save the king from a plot to steal his throne?

"She would never be free to go wherever she wanted,

to work and play and live in the sunshine."

MrsK's Review:
In the summer of 1384, Evangeline could sing of the morning but not choose whomever she wanted to marry. Since the king has accepted Lord Shiveley's offer of marriage, Muriel tries to encourage Evangeline that she must follow through with the king's order and not risk his anger. Given the kings refusal to reject the marriage proposal, Evangeline, knew she had no choice. She must run away!

Once Westley had insured that the little girl was safe, he once again glances towards the window in which he had only a momentary glance of the lovely young lady who had been singing with "an ethereally beautiful voice." Never did it occur to Westley that before he reached Glynval there would be an old servant or a mute joining his group as he journeyed home.

At Glynval, Westley asks his mother, Lady le Wyse, to help Eva and the old servant get settled and begin working. Trying to find some type of work for Eva would not be easy. Cooking, sewing, or churning butter would not prove fruitful. What skills did Eva have? What type of disaster might a runaway charge of the king bring upon a small unsuspecting village?

As the days passed, the only thing that Evangeline had learned well was that Westley's parents, Lord and Lady le Wyse, had married for love. If only Muriel would accept her decision to run away. Maybe they both could be happy in Glynval. What Evangeline had not noticed was the depth of Muriel's unhappiness. If Muriel does return to Berkhamsted Castle what sort of danger might follow? Would the king, or even Lord Shiveley search for her? Would Muriel be allowed to live? Would Westley understand her deception? Where should she go?

If you enjoy fairy-tale re-tellings or medieval romance novels, this story is delightfully entertaining. Both Evangeline and Westley are flawed and yet, they are both enchanting characters. The story is as old as any fairy tale, although, the fun is found in their exploits as romance begins weaving a match made for ever after.
MrsK

"God, keep Evangeline safe, and make us victorious."  

Once love finds a way...

Your path becomes your destiny.

Meet the Author:

  Melanie Dickerson is a New York Times bestselling author, a two-time Christy Award finalist, two-time Maggie Award winner, Carol Award winner, two-time winner of the Christian Retailing's Best award, and her book, The Healer's Apprentice, won the National Readers Choice Award for Best First Book. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA). Melanie earned a bachelors degree in special education of the hearing impaired from The University of Alabama and has worked as a teacher in Georgia, Tennessee, and Ukraine. She lives with her husband and two children in Huntsville, Alabama.

More Fairy Tale Retellings

"I received this book for free from the Fiction Guild for this review."

31 Verses to Write on Your Heart by Liz Curtis Higgs

Liz Curtis Higgs

ISBN: 9781601428912

Publisher's Synopsis:

Here are the words of hope you re looking for when your faith needs a boost or a friend needs encouragement. Chosen by more than a thousand women as their favorite verses in the Bible, each one is worth learning, worth sharing, worth remembering,
You ll find verses you already know and love: I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). Others may be less familiar but are no less powerful: Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe (Proverbs 29:25). All of them capture the truth of God s goodness, mercy, and love for His own.
Best-selling author Liz Curtis Higgs invites you to experience
A deeper, richer understanding of thirty-one treasured verses.
A fresh look at how these timeless truths can impact your life.
A new passion for memorizing Scripture, verse by verse.
Thirty-one creative ways to keep them in your heart forever.
With a Study Guide included, 31 Verses to Write on Your Heart is a daily devotional and a small group Bible study, wrapped in a lovely gift book overflowing with joy!"

MrsK's Review:
Learning a scripture passage a day is inspiring and do-able! Not like other devotionals, this book is formatted specifically for memorization and personal reflection. What I adore about this book is the resourcing into each aspect of the chosen passages. Liz breaks apart God's word in such a way that truly adds a depth within your spirit. For some of us, memorizing scripture can seem daunting. With this book, I've discovered personalized connections with in God's beautiful words. Those significant connections has enabled God's word to germinate and produce a strong "root" system. That "rooting," in turn, creates a quicker access of recall.

Each evening, I will re-read the previous passage and ponder the moments during my day that I was able to act on God's word. Then I read the next passage. I journal my discoveries. I discuss the passage with our Lord. It is a wonderful time of discovery.

Discover the blessings and treasures of these passages,
MrsK 

"Be still, and know that I am God..."

PS 46:10

Meet the Author:

Former Bad Girl, grateful for the grace God offers. Happy wife of Bill, one of the Good Guys. Proud mom of two grown-up kids with tender hearts. Lame housekeeper. Marginal cook. Pitiful gardener. Stuff I love? Encouraging my sisters in Christ—across the page, from the platform, online, in person. Unpacking Scripture. Traveling wherever God leads. Listening to his heart. Leaning into his embrace.

Learn More about Liz

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur

Suzanne LaFleur

ISBN: 9780385740302

Publisher's Synopsis:

Elise and Franklin have always been best friends. Elise has always lived in the big house with her loving Uncle and Aunt, because Elise's parents died when she was too young to remember them. There's always been a barn behind the house with eight locked doors on the second floor.
When Elise and Franklin start middle school, things feel all wrong. Bullying. Not fitting in. Franklin suddenly seems babyish. Then, soon after her 12th birthday, Elise receives a mysterious key left for her by her father. A key that unlocks one of the eight doors upstairs in the barn.

"Question.

Believe.

Choose to..."

MrsK's Review:
Elise is starting middle school. During one of her hardest years, she will need to discover her truest sense of self. Thankfully, she is given many opportunities to unravel the mystery of the keys. Each key presents an opportunity to unlock eight rooms. Each room not only leads to an amazing discovery, but provides an insight into her inner perception about life. Can Elise discover the truth about her parents? Will she discover what a "true" friendship really means? How do these keys unlock a "treasure" for a life time?

Franklin is the one friend that knows Elise the best. Yet, now that middle school has begun he finds himself in the dilemma of protecting Elise or letting their friendship go. Thankfully, he has some great science opportunities to keep him going. Yet, when friendship begins to change not everything can be forgiven.

Caroline is the best friend of Elise's locker partner. A locker partner who is a bully, who is mean and nasty to Franklin, and a locker partner who is determined to make Caroline miserable. In reality, Caroline doesn't agree with how Amanda is acting. So when Elise asks her how she feels about a room filled with books, it was a great opportunity to discover a new friendship.

Every key unlocks a new discovery. Each discovery offers a better insight into what the mysterious messages are really about. Every character has a delightful depth of perception about Elise. Every room offers a challenge to embrace a strength.

This novel is worth sharing, discussing, and cherishing the changes that every one can aspire to.
Unlock a great read and then enjoy the journey,
MrsK

Delightfully crafted! 
A must for every classroom and school library.

Meet the Author:

  

I grew up outside Boston in Newton, and later Natick, MA. During the school year I went to Catholic school, did a lot of homework, and read a couple books a week. During the summer I read a couple books a day and spent hours swimming and playing outside at our local pool or beach. I was very much a planner, dreamer, and writer, creating plays and shows for my siblings and the neighborhood kids to be in and filling up entire notebooks with novels. I always read late into the night and slept with a book under my pillow.

I went to college in Lexington, VA at Washington and Lee, where I studied English and European History; I went to grad school in New York City at The New School, where I studied Writing for Children.

Now I divide my time between Natick, MA and New York. Due to my frequent travels, I don't really have a "typical" day, but most days I spend some time writing, reading, exercising (swimming, lifting, or walking), and visiting with friends. I like to warm up for writing by playing computer games. I do my best writing at home in my pajamas, though a lot of days I will venture out to a library to work (in jeans and a sweatshirt, rather than PJ's!). Most days I take a nap, which I tend to do with a book on my chest, whether or not I was actually reading it before I fell asleep. I still read before bed, and, now that I'm older and have a big bed to myself, I slide the book I'm reading under the pillow next to me (rather than the one I'm planning to sleep on!).

Other Titles

Love Bears All Things by Beth Wiseman

Beth Wiseman

ISBN: 9780529118721

Publisher's Synopsis:

Charlo­tte Dolinsky needs time to recover after breaking up with her boyfriend, Ryan. But when a surprise visitor shows up on her doorstep in Texas, she’s forced to put aside her own worries to help her Amish friends in Lancaster County. Soon she is entangled in a web of deception—and this time, she isn’t the only one keeping secrets.

Daniel Byler struggles each day in his Amish community to heal from his fiancée’s betrayal. When he discovers that a member of his family is in danger of being shunned, his pain turns to fear. His only way to help is by partnering with Charlo­tte, a woman he barely knows who has already deceived them all before.

Charlo­tte begins building a friendship with Daniel that she’ll need to lean on when more surprises surface from her past and she once again finds herself torn between two worlds. Will Charlotte’s friends in the Amish community be able to show her the power of redemption and lead her home? And can she help young Jacob realize that God offers second chances at happiness when she isn’t even sure herself?

"I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry."

MrsK's Review:
Charlotte's "visions" are getting more haunting. Unsure of what these images are trying to tell her, Charlotte knows that she is loosing grip on daily life. Could the stress of a break-up and then her brother's suicide be the "trigger" that is setting off these visions, the headaches, and the chest pains?

When Jacob leaves Lancaster County and arrives at Charlotte's doorstep, her communication with Hannah is rekindled. A friendship will always be a vehicle towards inner strength, that is if Charlotte will accept the invite to come and re-start her life in Lancaster. Is it possible to be forgiven?

Daniel is a man of strong principles. When Charlotte first came to Lancaster in search of answers, Daniel like Hannah wanted to help her. Once her deception became apparent, he knew she was not someone to trust. With her return, others might be willing to forgive but for him, her deception was his reason to stand convicted against her entering his life. If getting her brother's house readied for sale would get her further from Lancaster, then he would do what he could.

Shame, will cause much hurt. For Charlotte shame will bring an avenue for healing. For Jacob, shame will bring choices that could lead him home. And for Daniel, shame will open a door for discovering forgiveness and love.

"Never say never..."
MrsK

"Home. Charlotte wondered where her home was going to be."

Her Brother's Keeper

Another great story in the series!

Meet the Author:

 "I wish I had the time to review books and chat with you here, but my writing deadlines just don't allow it. Please like my Fans of Beth Wiseman Page on Facebook where I try to post any news and interact with readers."

Beth is the best-selling and award winning author of the Daughters of the Promise series - Plain Perfect, Plain Pursuit, Plain Promise, Plain Paradise, and Plain Proposal. She is contracted with HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Her other series--the Land of Canaan Novels--begins with Seek Me With All Your Heart, then The Wonder of Your Love and now, His Love Endures Forever. Seek Me With All Your Heart is the first Amish fiction book selected as a Women of Faith novel in 2011. Beth has also written three contemporary Christian fiction novels, Need You Now published in 2012 and The House That Love Built in 2013. In The Promise, (2014) Beth jumps way outside the box.

This story takes readers far away from Amish Country and small Texas towns to a dangerous place on the other side of the world. Inspired by a true story, Beth believes this is the book she’s been working toward for a long time. 2015 brings Beth back to the Pennsylvania Amish with her new series, Amish Secrets. She is currently working on book #2 following much success with book #1, Her Brother's Keeper. 

"I received this book for free from the Fiction Guild for this review."

A Royal Christmas Wedding by Rachel Hauck

Rachel Hauck

ISBN: 9780310344537

Publisher's Synopsis:

It’s been five years since Avery Truitt and Prince Colin of Brighton Kingdom fell in love. But he broke her heart with no explanation.

Fast forward to present day, and Colin is Brighton’s most eligible bachelor now that cousin Stephen has married. When Avery’s father dies of a heart attack, she puts her life on hold and returns home to St. Simons Island, Georgia, to help Mama with the family restaurant. But Mama misses Avery’s sister Susanna, who lives four thousand miles away in Brighton Kingdom—and is expecting her first child. So Mama insists she and Avery spend the Christmas season in Brighton.

Colin and Avery are going to see each other a lot while she’s visiting. But she can’t forget the way he hurt her, and he didn’t expect his feelings to still be so strong.

Avery is torn between considering a future in Brighton and taking a coaching job in Georgia, and Colin is finally pushed to pursue what he really wants. Is it too late to convince Avery that she is his true love? And even if he does, will she make it to the chapel on Christmas Day to give him her heart?

"The good Lord doesn't forget His own, does He?"

MrsK's Review:
In 1834, in the Brighton Kingdom, Prince Michael was determined to climb the Pembroke Chapel's bell tower and ring the bell for his true love. It had been a long standing tradition to ring the bell announcing a royal wedding on Christmas day. Alas, it was not to be... for icy steps and slight push sent Prince Michael to his death.

In the present, Brighton is getting ready for its annual Christmas season. Prince Colin is dodging the crowds, as well as those persistent ladies of the Madeline & Hyacinth Live show. To Colin it appeared that he would be doing a civic duty by going on their show to promote the Christmas season. Never did he imagine that a taunting session about when he might ring the Christmas bell could ever become a possibility. At least not until Avery came back into his life.

Avery was only returning to Brighton because her mother wanted to spend the holiday "praying over" her eldest daughter and the soon to be baby prince or princess. With the death of her father, her mother just wasn't joyous. The news of her sister's pregnancy brought such determination back into her mother's spirit, there was no way Avery could refuse. Even though she never wanted to go back to Brighton. Will Avery be strong enough to handle being around Colin after he had dumped her? "Stowed away emotions" would begin to undermine the peace Avery was able to recover.

Rekindling a love takes a twist of fate when on the night of the Harvest Celebration, the tower bell rings out for the first time since 1834. Is the tower haunted? Is someone playing a cruel joke for the press? Could the bell have been rung as a "nudge" forward for Colin and Avery?

This story is such a delightful read, it will bring a smile to your face as these two perfectly "un-fitted" characters try to deny their feelings.
MrsK 

"God what are You doing?"

Completely joyful!

Excellent read for season!

Meet the Author:

  New York Times, USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Rachel Hauck writes from sunny central Florida.

A RITA finalist and winner of Romantic Times Inspirational Novel of the Year, she writes vivid characters dealing with real life issues.

She loves to hear from readers. She also loves to encourage new writers and sits on the Executive Board of American Christian Fiction Writers..

A graduate of Ohio State University with a BA in Journalism, Rachel is an avid OSU football fan. She hopes to one day stand on the sidelines in the Shoe with Urban Meyer.

"I received this book for free from the Fiction Guild for this review."