The Merchant’s Daughter by Jill Williamson

Review by Jill Williamson

For years Annabel’s family shirked their duties and now that Lord Ranulf is moving to town, they must pay for their crimes. Unfortunately, the responsibility falls to Annabel. She must marry the evil bailiff or become Lord Ranulf’s servant. Choosing the lesser of two evils, she packs her bags and begins three years of indentured servitude.

But life with Lord Ranulf is not as horrible as she feared. Though the man has a horrible temper and is scarred and disfigured, he allows Annabel to read from the bible, something she has always dreamed of doing. But when Annabel is attacked and a man gravely injured, everything good hangs in the balance, including Annabel and Lord Ranulf’s futures.

Oooh, I love a good romance novel! And Melanie Dickerson writes very sweet romance novels. But they’re fairytales, and fairytales always include an evil villain and danger. The Merchant’s Daughter did not disappoint. I loved Annabel and Lord Ranulf’s characters. I loved the initial misunderstandings, and I especially loved how it all worked out in the end. If you love fairytale romances, this one is a must read.

Age Range: 12 and up
Genre: a fairy tale romance
Part of a Series: The second Melanie Dickerson fairy tale romance
Pages: 288 pages
Publisher: Zondervan
Released: 2011

 

Review: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

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Review by Jill Williamson

Michael Hosea is a simple farmer. But when he sees a prostitute in the city one day and hears God’s voice telling him to marry her, Michael knows he has to obey. But Angel has lived a hard life. Sold into prostitution as a little girl, she has no trust for any man, especially one who says God told him to marry her. But each time she sees Michael, he wears her down, chipping away at the hard shell she has put around her heart. But Angel doesn’t think she deserves anything good. Her guilt and shame are overwhelming. And she runs away.

Wowzers. This is such an amazing book! I knew that the story was inspired by the book of Hosea, so I knew a little about how things would play out. And I suspected a happy ending eventually. But it was still so wonderful and agonizing and entertaining to read it. My heart was broken for Angel, then broken for Michael when he starts to love Angel, then broken for them both when Angel runs away time and again!

I thought I knew how it was going to end. I thought I had it all figured out, but I didn’t see the final plot twist coming. I admit that I was a bit disappointed that my predicted plot twist didn’t happen, but that’s okay. The book was still wonderful. This is a book every girl should read. It’s a hair dark in the beginning and later with some of Angel’s memories of what happened to her as a child and later a prostitute, but none of those memories are shown on the pages. The book is clean, despite the heroine being a prostitute. Such a good book. Very highly recommended.

Age Range: 16 and up
Genre: historical romance
Part of a Series: No
Pages: 464
Publisher: Multnomah
Released: 1997—rerelease, 2010

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Jill Williamson is the author of the medieval fantasy novel By Darkness Hid. An avid reader, she started Novel Teen Book Reviews to help teens find clean and entertaining books to read and is excited with the new direction the site has taken. Jill also runs an online website for teen writers at www.teenageauthor.com where she enjoys helping new writers develop their skill. She and her husband have worked with teens in the youth pastor role for the past eleven years. You can learn more about Jill on her website at www.jillwilliamson.com.

Secrets of the Heart by Jillian Kent

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Review by Jill Williamson

Madeline Whittington is still mourning the death of her father, even though the prescribed period of mourning has passed. She meets the Earl of Ravensmoore by chance, and recognizes him as one of the doctors responsible for her father’s death. He tried to tell her how it happened, but she will not hear him. Still, their friendship grows. Madeline’s mother remarries Lord Vale, a man Madeline does not trust. Madeline goes to Ravensmoore for assistance, which leads them both into great danger.

If you love romance stories in the Regency era, you’ll love this one. Kent pens a group of wonderfully complex characters and a plot so surprising and eerie that I couldn’t put the book down. I loved Ravensmoore’s character, and his desire to be a doctor despite his having the title of “earl.” I can’t wait to read whatever Jillian Kent writes next. Highly recommended.

Age Range: 16 and up
Genre: historical romance
Part of a Series: Book one of the Ravensmoore Chronicles
Pages: 289
Publisher: Realms
Released: 2011

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Jill Williamson is the author of the medieval fantasy novel By Darkness Hid. An avid reader, she started Novel Teen Book Reviews to help teens find clean and entertaining books to read and is excited with the new direction the site has taken. Jill also runs an online website for teen writers atwww.teenageauthor.com where she enjoys helping new writers develop their skill. She and her husband have worked with teens in the youth pastor role for the past eleven years. You can learn more about Jill on her website atwww.jillwilliamson.com.

What About Cimmaron? by Lauraine Snelling

Review by Jill Williamson

Sarah lives on a farm in the Toutle Valley of Washington state. She desires one thing in her life: riding her horse, Cimmaron. And Sarah will do anything she can to spend time with that horse, even if that means shirking her chores and disobeying her father. Then Mount Saint Helens blows and Sarah and her family is forced to evacuate. Sarah can think of nothing about Cimmaron, though. Will her horse survive this natural disaster?

I enjoyed reading about a family that lived so near Mount Saint Helens during the eruption in 1980. I found the whole thing very interesting. And I can totally relate to a girl worrying over her horse in such a situation. But it was difficult to like Sarah. She was so set in her ways and rude to her father… even to the point of putting another’s life in danger. She came around in the end, and I think some great dialogue could be raised if you are using this book in a homeschool curriculum way for both history and relationships.

Age Range: 8 and up
Genre: contemporary/historical
Part of a Series: No
Pages: 84
Publisher: BJU Press
Released: 2008

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Jill Williamson is the author of the medieval fantasy novel By Darkness Hid. An avid reader, she started Novel Teen Book Reviews to help teens find clean and entertaining books to read and is excited with the new direction the site has taken. Jill also runs an online website for teen writers at www.teenageauthor.comwhere she enjoys helping new writers develop their skill. She and her husband have worked with teens in the youth pastor role for the past eleven years. You can learn more about Jill on her website at www.jillwilliamson.com.

Review: Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs

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Review by Jill Williamson

Last year I read the first half of this two-book series. I was very excited to get to read the second half of the story. Book one, Here Burns My Candle, was wonderful, but a hard read because of some of the subject matter. Not so with book two. Here our widowed ladies move to a small town and try to start a new life. They are nearly destitute. Elisabeth Kerr begins sewing shirts for the local tailor to bring in some money. But when the tailor hires an apprentice, he has no further need of Elisabeth’s sewing. So Elisabeth must go to the new admiral and apply to be a dressmaker for her new servants. In this man is hope. Will he be able to help the Kerr women out of their poverty? Or will he want nothing to do with anyone who was once a traitor to the crown?

For a book that is over four hundred pages long, I was surprised how quickly the pages flew and how much I savored the story. I love how authentic the story reads. The historical aspects are marvelous. Liz Curtis Higgs does a wonderful job with the Scottish dialect, the descriptions, and the daily ways of life. Her characters are deep and a joy to read. I just loved this story. Very well done.

Age Range: 16 and up
Genre: contemporary
Part of a Series: the sequel to Here Burns My Candle
Publisher: Waterbrook
Pages: 442
Released: 2011

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Jill Williamson is the author of the medieval fantasy novel By Darkness Hid. An avid reader, she started Novel Teen Book Reviews to help teens find clean and entertaining books to read and is excited with the new direction the site has taken. Jill also runs an online website for teen writers at www.teenageauthor.comwhere she enjoys helping new writers develop their skill. She and her husband have worked with teens in the youth pastor role for the past eleven years. You can learn more about Jill on her website at www.jillwilliamson.com.

Review: The Lightkeeper’s Ball by Colleen Coble

Review by Jill Williamson

Olivia Stewart, heiress to an empire, is living a lie. Her family’s money is gone, and she must marry a man named Harrison Bennett—a man she’s never met—in order to keep what little they have. But when news of her sister’s death reaches her, Olivia only wants to learn the truth of how her sister died. She sets out to Mercy Falls, California under a different name, hoping to learn more about her sister’s death and the man her mother intends for her to marry.

What she discovers about both surprises her but only gives her more reasons to continue living a lie with her false name. Will Harrison still want to marry her when he learns how she has been deceiving him? And what if the person responsible for her sister’s death decides to come after her next?

I adore novels set around this time period (1910). I found this story fun. Certain parts were a bit predictable, which is often the case with romance novels—though the murder mystery reveal totally surprised me. I liked that Harrison loved airplanes and built one himself. It was fun to peek into the past in such a way, when air transportation was first being discovered. Overall this was a very enjoyable historical romance read. And doesn’t this book have a gorgeous cover?

Age Range: 16 and up
Genre: contemporary
Part of a Series: a Mercy Falls novel
Pages: 292
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Released: 2011

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Jill Williamson is the author of the medieval fantasy novel By Darkness Hid. An avid reader, she started Novel Teen Book Reviews to help teens find clean and entertaining books to read and is excited with the new direction the site has taken. Jill also runs an online website for teen writers at www.teenageauthor.com where she enjoys helping new writers develop their skill. She and her husband have worked with teens in the youth pastor role for the past eleven years. You can learn more about Jill on her website at www.jillwilliamson.com.

Review: Undercurrent by Michelle Griep

Review by Jill Williamson

Professor Cassie Larson is taking her college students on a trip when she falls overboard into the North Sea and into a different time. Alarik, a Viking accused of a murder he didn’t commit, pulls Cassie out of the water. The two embark on a journey that takes Cassie into tenth-century Norway.

I loved Gallimore, Michelle Griep’s first novel, and she has done it again! Undercurrent is a gripping historical romance that fulfilled my every expectation. It was easy to follow and laced with adventure. Griep captivated me by immersing me, along with Cassie, into the dangers of the tenth-century Viking world. If you love historical romances, this one is a must read.

Age Range: 16 and up
Genre: fantasy
Part of a Series: No
Pages: 306 pages
Publisher: Risen Books
Released: 2011

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Jill Williamson is the author of the medieval fantasy novel By Darkness Hid. An avid reader, she started Novel Teen Book Reviews to help teens find clean and entertaining books to read and is excited with the new direction the site has taken. Jill also runs an online website for teen writers at www.teenageauthor.com where she enjoys helping new writers develop their skill. She and her husband have worked with teens in the youth pastor role for the past eleven years. You can learn more about Jill on her website at www.jillwilliamson.com.

Review: Love Comes Softly by Janet Oke

 

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Review by Jill Williamson

 

When Marty’s husband is tragically killed and Marty is stranded in the Old West, she agrees to marry a stranger. The deal seems fair. Since his wife recently died, he is only looking for a mother for his little daughter. And that would give Marty a place to live through the cold winter. For she would never survive on her own in this land. Marty agrees, though she hates her new husband for feeling as if she had no choice in the matter. But as time passes, Marty comes to see that she isn’t the only one who lost someone.

I loved the movie version of this, so when I saw the book, I grabbed it. If you love historical, inspirational romance, you should read this series. These are sweet books, reminiscent of the Little House on the Prairie series but written for an older age. They are realistic—both heart wrenching and heartwarming. The kind of book you just can’t put down.

Age Range: 16 and up
Genre: historical romance
Part of a Series: Love Comes Softly, book 1
Pages: 237
Publisher: Bethany House
Re-released: 2003

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Jill Williamson is the author of the medieval fantasy novel By Darkness Hid. An avid reader, she started Novel Teen Book Reviews to help teens find clean and entertaining books to read and is excited with the new direction the site has taken. Jill also runs an online website for teen writers at www.teenageauthor.com where she enjoys helping new writers develop their skill. She and her husband have worked with teens in the youth pastor role for the past eleven years. You can learn more about Jill on her website at www.jillwilliamson.com.

Masquerade Marriage

Masquerade Marriage

Review by Elisa Maria Crites

Brody MacCaulay, Scottish Highlander, felt crushed under the weight, and thinking he had died in the terrible battle, wondered why he still felt pain. Then he heard the voices of the English as they casually conversed about finishing off Brody’s fallen comrades. The weight on him was that of his fellow clansmen who had perished in the battle. This was not death. It was worse. His own father and brothers had been slain, leaving him the clan chief to protect and provide for his mother and younger sister.
Brody and a few other warriors who had survived the bloody battle  now hid in a cave. The wounded, hungry, desperate men clung to life, their only hope, God, but Brody wondered where was God in this battle in which the Redcoats even slaughtered women and children or carried them off? And the enemy had taken over the Chief’s lands and homes.
Reverend Fergus brought modest food to the men and presented a plan that would spare at least one of their lives. He would put each man’s name on a slip of paper and a young woman of the MacMurry clan would choose a man to marry. Brody was chosen.
Brody found himself torn between feelings of hatred for his enemy and hope that the young woman he was to marry was the same girl he had fallen in love with as a teen. On his wedding day, his heart leapt when he recognized the fiery red locks of the maiden he longed for peeking out from under the bridal veil. He vowed in his heart that he would love Megan MacMurry always, but had a rude awakening when he learned that that she was marrying for appearances only to spare his life. Or at least that’s what she claimed. When his bride took him home to the protection of her father’s household, Brody was met with hostility and it was then that he found out she had married him to avoid being betrothed to a cruel earl to whom her father had promised her hand.
A proud warrior and a rebellious lass. What chance did they have?
Anne Greene has written a delightful tale and woven in the history of the mid 1700’s Scotland and the turbulence with the British. I didn’t want to see the story come to an end.

Age Range: 16 and up

Genre: Historical

Publisher: White Rose Publishing

Pages: 290

Release Date: October 2010

Book Trailer: Secrets Under the Midnight Sun by Elisa Maria Crites