Book Review with Featured Author: Somebody to Love by Sharon Sala

Somebody to Love by Sharon Sala

 

 

Publisher & Release: Sourcebooks, February 23, 2021

Setting:  Blessings, GA

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Length: 303 Pages

Heat Level: 1 Flame

Rating: 4.25 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

Welcome to Blessings, Georgia! Whether you've lived here your whole life, you're returning after years of being away, or you're new in town, you're sure to find the love in a small town happy ending you're looking for.

Fifteen years ago, a family member stole the money Hunt Knox had saved for college, while three of his siblings and his father hid the truth and told him to get over it. Betrayed by their lies and thievery, Hunt joined the army and wound up flying Apache helicopters in Iraq. Now, he's a chopper pilot for an oil company in Houston, Texas, his father has been dead for six years, and he's finally returning home to Blessings at his mother's dying request.

Ava Ridley, the little girl Hunt's mother used to babysit, has grown up and is a nurse at his mother's bedside when he arrives. Ava is overjoyed to see him. She had a huge crush on him when she was young. And as the two spend more time together, Ava's crush grows to be even more.

Through secrets, lies, family betrayal, and difficult choices, Hunt's not sure he and Ava can make it together in Blessings. But everybody loves somebody, and Hunt isn't willing to lose the one person who makes their small town feel like his forever home.

Grab some sweet tea and sit awhile: This sweet contemporary romance has family betrayal, childhood crushes, a veteran hero, and a second chance to get everything right.

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Somebody-Love-Blessings-Georgia-Book-ebook/dp/B08DHPSRT8

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/somebody-to-love-sharon-sala/1137202149

KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/somebody-to-love-32

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Sharon_Sala_Somebody_to_Love?id=OwkUEAAAQBAJ

 

Add to Goodreads & BookBub:

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54221756-somebody-to-love?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=5W5RiINifJ&rank=1

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/somebody-to-love-count-your-blessings-with-this-emotional-southern-small-town-romance-between-a-veteran-hero-and-the-girl-he-used-to-love-blessings-georgia-book-11-by-sharon-sala

 

Vikki’s Musings

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the electronic copy of Somebody to Love by Sharon Sala. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this engaging novel prior to publication. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced them.

 

Somebody to Love is a lovely addition to the Blessings, Georgia series. The characters are endearing, and the plot is fascinating. I love the small town of Blessings, and all the amazing characters I’ve grown to love as I read this captivating series. 

 

At first, it took a bit of time to get used to Ms. Sala’s writing style, since so many characters have a point of view, and it changes quickly and often. Now that I have adjusted, I no longer find it distracting. In fact, I enjoy it.

 

Ava Ridley is the heroine in this story, and I quickly became vested in her character. She’s determined and loyal to her friends and family. She also has an excellent moral set of rules she lives by.

 

Hunt Knox is our hero, and he has all the characteristics that I most admire. He’s burdened by the past, but he still looks after his siblings when has mother asks him to do so on her deathbed. When he sees Ava, after being gone for years, he’s immediately drawn to her. I loved his conviction regarding his feelings toward her. It’s unwavering.

 

The romance between Ava and Hunt is sweet, and the attraction is strong. The love scenes are more about the emotions and not the physical aspect of making love. I enjoyed their love story and wanted them to have a lovely happy ending!

 

If you enjoy small town romances with characters that will grab you and not let go, and an emotional plot, then you will love Somebody to Love as much as I do. This is an amazing series, and I highly recommend you read this book and the others in it. Happy reading!

 

Author Bio:

 

Sharon Sala is a long-time member of RWA, as well as a member of OKRWA. She has 115 books and novellas in print, published in six different genres – Romance, Young Adult, Western, Fiction, and Women's Fiction and Non-Fiction. First published in 1991, she's an eight-time RITA finalist, winner of the Janet Dailey Award, five-time Career Achievement winner from RT Magazine, five time winner of the National Reader's Choice Award, and five time winner of the Colorado Romance Writer's Award of Excellence, winner of the Heart of Excellence Award, as well as winner of the Booksellers Best Award. In 2011 she was named RWA's recipient of the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2017 Romance Writers of America presented her with the Centennial Award for recognition of her 100th published novel. Her books are New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly best-sellers. Writing changed her life, her world, and her fate. For book list, go to her website: www.sharonsala.net

 

Social Media:

Website: www.sharonsala.net

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharonkaysala/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sharonsala1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharonkaysala/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?rs=ac&len=2&q=sharon sala&eq=sharon sala&etslf=9049&term_meta[]=sharon|autocomplete|1&term_meta[]=sala|autocomplete|1

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sharon-sala

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/40570.Sharon_SalaFacebook:

 

Book Review with Featured Author: Dead to Me by Lesley Pearse

Dead to Me by Lesley Pease

 

Publisher & Release: Agora books, February 18, 2021

Setting:  WWII, England

Genre: Historical Fiction

Length: 459 Pages

Heat Level: 1 Flame

Rating: 5 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

Hampstead Heath, Spring 1935. Two girls meet by chance and become fast friends. They share their romances and heartbreaks, their struggles and dreams. But most of all, they share a sinister secret.

Upon their meeting, Verity and Ruby could not be more different: Verity is the epitome of money and class; Ruby lives a life of squalor and survival. Despite the disparity, an instant affinity forms a resilient bond between the two girls.

Yet, as the outbreak of WWII rumbles throughout Britain, Verity and Ruby’s relationship starts to develop fault lines. Ruby finds herself blissful and in love, while Verity is haunted by a shadow from her past. Separated by more than just distance, the two friends struggle to maintain their relationship until Verity does the one thing she can never take back.

With Britain blitzed by the raging war, will Verity and Ruby find a way back to each other before it’s too late?

In this sweeping wartime saga of friendship and love, Pearse explores the depths of lifelong bonds, compassion, betrayal, and forgiveness.

 

Buy Link:

 

Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Dead-Me-Lesley-Pearse-ebook/dp/B08PS7NTV3

 

Add to Goodreads:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56636007-dead-to-me

 

Vikki’s Musings

 

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the electronic copy of Dead to Me by Lesley Pearse. An historical fiction novel set in WWII England. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this book prior to publication. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced my rating of this book.

 

Dead to Me is a wartime saga that follows Ruby and Verity from the tender age of thirteen into adulthood. It’s a sweeping tale of friendship, betrayal and recovery from a childhood destroyed by uncaring mothers and an abusive father for Verity. The pacing pulled me in from the start and kept me enmeshed until the last page.

 

Verity is the main protagonist. She’s living a posh life with all the advantages a child could want. She meets Ruby, a child who lives in squalor and has to fight to survive. On the surface the two have little in common. 

 

When Verity ends up in trouble for trying to help Ruby, her life is turned upside down when her father almost beats her to death, then disappears before the police can arrest him for embezzlement. Verity and her mother move in with her mother’s sister, Aunt Hazel. 

 

Verity is a flawed character with dark secrets that make it difficult for her to trust, especially males. She makes unwise decisions that have a lasting effect on her life for years. Her teenage years become a struggle when her abusive father disappears, and she and her mother move in with Aunt Hazel. 

 

Ruby is the second protagonist of this tale. At the beginning of the story, she almost a feral child. Her drunken prostitute mother doesn’t protect her, but Ruby quickly learns to keep away from the men who frequent her mother’s bed. When she gets in trouble with the police, she is sent to Devon to live with a woman who helps troubled teens, and she has a chance for a different life.

 

Even though Ruby and Verity weren’t together long, they formed an unbreakable bond that even distance could not break. Even when Ruby’s unwise decisions appear to break it, it’s not permanent. 

 

In the midst of war-torn England, the girls grow into young women. Verity in London where she works for the telephone company, and Ruby works at a hotel that is turned into a hospital in Devon. After years of separation, Ruby and Verity reunite and live together with Wilby, the kind woman who helped Ruby.

 

Wilby is a wonderful character. She loves with her whole heart and does not judge or condemn. She’s generous to a fault and has no hidden agenda. When the war breaks out, she’s the first to open her home to the children fleeing London when the German Blitz starts.

 

Ms. Pearse vivid descriptions of London and Devon during the war put me right in the middle of the bombing. When a church is bombed taking twenty-one children’s lives, I had an amazing visual of what it must have looked like because I saw a bombed-out shell of a church in Devon on a trip to that area in 2016. The tour guide explained that it had been left that way so British citizens would never forget the harsh reality of that brutal war.

 

If you enjoy historical fiction with unforgettable characters and amazing descriptive writing woven into a fantastic plot, then you will love Dead to Me as much as I did. This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Pearse, but it will not be the last. Happy reading!

 

 

Author Bio:

 

Born in Rochester, Kent, Lesley Pearse has lived a life as varied as the adventures in her novels. After working in various offices as a lowly clerk, a children’s nanny, then moving into the more glamorous work of Promotion and a spell as a Playboy Bunny, Pearse eventually turned her hand to writing and published her debut novel, Georgia, in 1993. Now living in a cliff-top house in Devon, alone with her King Charles Cavalier, Stan, Pearse has published over 25 titles and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. 

 

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LesleyPearseAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lesleypearse?lang=en

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lesley-pearse

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/458937.Lesley_Pearse

 

Book Review with Featured Author: The Turncoat's Widow by Mally Becker

The Turncoat’s Widow by Mally Becker

Publisher & Release: Level Best Books, February 16, 2021

Setting:  American Revolutionary War, New Jersey

Genre: Historical Fiction

Length: 355 Pages

Rating: 4.25 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

Recently widowed, Rebecca Parcell is too busy struggling to maintain her farm in Morristown to give a fig who wins the War for Independence. But rumors are spreading in the winter of 1780 that she’s a Loyalist sympathizer who betrayed her husband to the British—quite a tidy way to end her disastrous marriage, the village gossips whisper.

Everyone knows that her husband was a Patriot, a hero who died aboard a British prison ship moored in New York Harbor. But “everyone” is wrong. Parcell was a British spy, and General Washington—who spent that winter in Morristown—can prove it. He swears he’ll safeguard Becca’s farm if she unravels her husband’s secrets. With a mob ready to exile her or worse, it’s an offer she can’t refuse.

Escaped British prisoner of war Daniel Alloway was the last person to see Becca’s husband alive, and Washington throws this unlikely couple together on an espionage mission to British-occupied New York City. Moving from glittering balls to an underworld of brothels and prisons, Becca and Daniel uncover a plot that threatens the new country’s future. But will they move quickly enough to warn General Washington? And can Becca, who’s lost almost everyone she loves, fight her growing attraction to Daniel, a man who always moves on?

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Turncoats-Widow-Revolutionary-War-Mystery-ebook/dp/B08QV7SLKH

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-turncoats-widow-mally-becker/1138723946

KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-turncoat-s-widow

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-turncoats-widow/id1551507925?mt=11&id=1551507925&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

 

Add to Goodreads & BookBub:

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56616848-the-turncoat-s-widow

BookBub: Coming Soon

 

Vikki’s Musings

 

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the electronic copy of The Turncoat’s Widow by Mally Becker. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this novel prior to publication. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced them.

 

The Turncoat’s Widow is a well-written novel with plenty of suspense, intriguing characters and an enthralling plot. The pacing is a bit slow in the first part of this tale, but it picks up dramatically around the halfway mark. From that point on, I couldn’t read fast enough.

 

Rebecca Parcell is the heroine, and I enjoyed her character a great deal. She’s fearless and determined to save her farm and protect her mother-in-law. Her bravery as the story progresses is amazing. The care and concern she shows toward Augusta is touching and helped me become fully vested in her character. Although her struggles are daunting, she never gives up, even when she faces being branded as a traitor.

 

Daniel Alloway is the hero, and he grew on me as the story moves forward. I could feel his fear when he’s presented with the task George Washington and Alexander Hamilton persuade him to undertake. The last thing he wants is to end up on the British prison ship, the Jersey again. His nightmares he experiences concerning his escape are chilling and vivid. There’s a good amount of descriptive writing in this book of those scenes that had me grabbing onto my seat!

 

I loved the spine-chilling espionage in this tale, as Rebecca and Daniel run from the villains of this story. I also enjoyed the historical aspect of the novel. I love novels set during our country’s fight for independence, and Ms. Becker’s research comes through. I can just imagine the excitement she must have experienced when the premise for this book came to her while volunteering at the Morristown Historical Park.

 

If you enjoy historical fiction with nail-biting suspense, incredible characters and a fantastic mystery to solve, then you will love The Turncoat’s Widow as much as I did. I was amazed when I learned this is Ms. Becker’s debut novel. This book is well worth the time it took to read. Happy reading!

 

Author Bio:

 

Mally Becker thought she'd be clearing trails when she volunteered at the Morristown National Historical Park in New Jersey but found herself, instead, sifting through one of the Park's collections of old documents. That's where she found an indictment for the Revolutionary War-era crime of traveling to New York City "without permission or passport." That curious crime became the spark for her historical mystery, The Turncoat's Widow. Mally worked as an attorney for more than 20 years and, later, as an advocate for foster children. She and her husband raised their son in New Jersey, where they still live.

 

Social Media:

Website: https://www.mallybecker.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mally.baumelbecker

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mallybeckerwrites/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21067583.Mally_Becker

 

Book Review with featured Author: From This Moment by Kim Vogel Sawyer

From This Moment by Kim Vogel Sawyer

 

 

Publisher & Release: Waterbrook, February 23, 2021

Setting:  Present Day, Kansas          

Genre: Christian Fiction

Length: 275 Pages

Heat Level: 1 Sweetheart

Rating: 4.5 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

A lost ring brings together two wounded souls—a youth minister haunted by the past and a spunky church custodian—in this heartwarming romance from the bestselling author of The Librarian of Boone’s Hollow.
 
“Kim Vogel Sawyer is an amazing storyteller who crafts each of her stories with page-turning excitement and rich character development.”—Tracie Peterson, bestselling author of the Golden Gate Secrets series

Growing up in the foster care system, Jase Edgar always dreamed of one day starting his own family. But his fiancée's untimely death shattered his plans. Moving to Kansas and serving as a youth minister should be a fresh start, but he can't seem to set aside his doubts about God's goodness long enough to embrace his new life. 

Newly-appointed church custodian, Lori Fowler is battling her own challenges. Her strained relationship with her father and her struggles with overeating convince her she's not worthy enough for love. When an Amish weaver enlists their help locating the owner of a ring found among the donated clothing she uses as fabric, Jase and Lori find themselves drawn to each other. But will they be able to release the past and move forward from this moment into a joyful future?

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/This-Moment-Kim-Vogel-Sawyer-ebook/dp/B08941YKLC

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/from-this-moment-kim-vogel-sawyer/1137077499

KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/from-this-moment-17

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kim_Vogel_Sawyer_From_This_Moment?id=spvmDwAAQBAJ

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/from-this-moment/id1515015577?_bbid=16083355&mt=11&id=1515015577

 

Add to Goodreads & BookBub:

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54306788-from-this-moment

BoobBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/from-this-moment-by-kim-vogel-sawyer

 

Vikki’s Musings

 

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the electronic copy of From This Moment by Kim Vogel Sawyer. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this book prior to publication. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced them.

 

From This Moment is a heartfelt Christian novel with endearing characters and an emotional plot that has a great Christian message. The pacing pulled me into the story from the beginning and kept me engaged until the end. 

 

Lori Fowler is one of the main characters. She has a crush on the new youth minister, and when she’s given the chance to clean the church part-time, she sees it as a way to become friends with him. Her character is sweet and innocent, and she is also a good friend to the recent addition at the quilt shop where she works during the day. 

 

Kenzie is a young woman who left her Amish roots during her rumspringa because she discovered a different path for her faith. While working on a new rug from scraps of discarded clothing, Kenzie finds an engagement ring in the pocket of a pair of jeans. This ring becomes an intricate part of the plot. I enjoyed her character a great deal and loved her gentle influence on Lori.

 

Jase Edgar is the new youth minister. He lost his sweetheart in a car crash and is looking for a fresh start, which he finds with his new position. I truly enjoyed his character as he works with the teens at the church. He accepts Lori’s hand of friendship and looks beyond her physical appearance to the beautiful soul hidden inside her.

 

Ms. Sawyer brings out several difficult topics involving a troubled teen Jase counsels, Lori’s body image issues, her compulsive relationship with food, and her estrangement with her family. Kenzie’s guilt over leaving her Amish family that she hasn’t seen them for years. There’s a strong message of Christ’s acceptance and love woven into this soul-searching tale.

 

If you enjoy Christian fiction with characters that will touch your heart, then you will love From This Momentas much as I did. Kim Vogel Sawyer is an amazing author, and this novel is one I would read again. Happy reading!

 

Author Bio:

 

Award-winning, bestselling author Kim Vogel Sawyer is a wife, mother, gramma, chocolate-lover, cat-petter, and--most importantly--a daughter of the King! With more than 1.5 million books in print in seven different languages, Kim enjoys a full-time writing and speaking ministry. Her "gentle stories of hope" are loved by readers and reviewers alike. Kim and her retired military husband, Don, reside on the plains of Kansas, the setting for many of her novels.

 

Social Media:

Website: https://kimvogelsawyer.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimVogelSawyer.Author.Speaker/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimvogelsawyer?lang=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kim_vogel_sawyer/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kimvogelsawyer/boards/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kim-vogel-sawyer

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/236089.Kim_Vogel_Sawyer

 

 

Book Review with Featured Author: Anne Ever After by Lynne Marshall

Anne Ever After by Lynne Marshall

 

 

Publisher & Release: Independently published, February 15, 2021

Setting: Present, Whispering Oaks 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Length: 144 Pages

Heat Level: 2 Flames

Rating: 4.5 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

Sweet Contemporary Romance

The runaway returns...
Love is complicated, at least that was Anne Grady’s conclusion after a high school love triangle went terribly, and unpredictably wrong. Shortly after the tragic events, she left Whispering Oaks and heartbreak behind. Now twelve years later, she returns home to take care of her injured parents, and almost immediately runs into her first love, Jack Lightfoot.

Jack hasn’t forgotten his feelings for Anne, long after dating and losing Anne’s best friend. Now faced with her in his life again, even though only temporary, he can’t deny the spark still shimmering between them. Neither can she, but her job in Portland is waiting and her plan is to leave town a soon as possible.

Now, with love even more complicated, and those tragic memories threatening to pull them apart, Jack refuses to let history repeat itself. He must prove they are meant to be more than high school best buddies who once shared an amazing secret kiss. This time, no matter what it takes, Jack is determined to convince Anne the only place they belong is together. 

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Anne-Ever-After-Return-Whispering-ebook/dp/B08VF6M2J4

Available through Kindle Unlimited

 

Add to Goodreads & BookBub:

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56929222-anne-ever-after

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/anne-ever-after-return-to-whispering-oaks-book-1-by-lynne-marshall

 

Vikki’s Musings

 

Thanks go to the Book Buzz and Net-Galley for the electronic copy  of Anne Ever After by Lynne Marshall. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this heartfelt romance. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced my rating of this book.

 

Anne Ever After is a small-town romance set in Southern California. The pacing pulled me into the story right away and kept my interest until the end. There’s a good bit of emotion in the plot, and the writing flows beautifully.

 

Anne Grady is the heroine, and I enjoyed many aspects of her character, but I did grow frustrated with her because she vacillates concerning her feelings for the hero. She clings to her old hurts and can’t move beyond it.

 

Jack Lightfoot is a great hero. I became vested in his character from the start. He’s a man of integrity and recognizes the hurt he caused Anne and wants her forgiveness. I felt his pain and wanted him to get his girl.

 

The romance between Anne and Jack is electric, and I enjoyed them as a couple. I just wish Anne had realized she was holding onto a hurt way too long and could miss out on the best man for her. 

 

If you enjoy contemporary romance with strong characters and an emotional plot, then you will love Anne Ever After as much as I did. I enjoyed Ms. Marshall’s writing style and will look for other books by her. Happy reading!

 

 

Author Bio:

 

USA Today Bestselling author Lynne Marshall has penned thirty-six books. She writes Medical Romance for Mills & Boon, contemporary romance for Harlequin Special Edition and Tule Publishing and also self-publishes. She is a Southern California native, has been married to a New Englander for a long time. She is a mother of two, an adoring grandmother, a woman of faith, a dog lover, a cat admirer, a meandering walker, a curious traveler, and an optimistic participant on this wild journey called life.

 

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLynneMarshall.page

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lynnemarshallauthor/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lynne-marshall

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1087597.Lynne_Marshall

 

Book Review with Featured Author: Ground Sweet as Sugar by Catherine C. Heywood

Ground Sweet as Sugar 

by Catherine C. Heywood

 

 

Publisher & Release: Marals Media, January 19, 2021

Setting:  Late 18^th century, Ireland and West Indies

Genre: Historical Romance

Length: 390 Pages

Heat Level: 3 Flames

Rating: 3.5 Gold Crowns

Book Description: 

The unforgettable coming-of-age saga of one girl’s fight for her freedom, her country, and her heart…

1797: After a century of clarifying oppression, Ireland seethes on the brink of rebellion. It waits on one violent tremor—the execution of a seventeen-year-old girl. All Charlotte Dillon wants is to escape. When she slips her fate, she discovers her future lies in the hands of James Blair, a sugar planter with deep ties to her enemies.

Bound to James for seven years, Charlotte must find a way to conceal her true identity and crime, even as they set sail for the West Indies, even as they confront the limits of their endurance, even as they fall in love.

Meanwhile, an ocean away, a rebellion is unfolding and a mystery unraveling that threaten the tender sweetness growing between them. And when the fight comes to her, Charlotte finds herself torn between her cause and her heart.

Sweeping from Ireland’s bleeding battlefields to St. Croix’s burning sugarcane fields, Ground Sweet as Sugar is Book I in an epic saga of power, punishment, and undying love.

 

Buy Links:

 

Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Ground-Sweet-Sugar-Catherine-Heywood-ebook/dp/B08NL9PKV4

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ground-sweet-as-sugar-catherine-c-heywood/1138274827

KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ground-sweet-as-sugar

 

Add to Goodreads & BookBub:

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56124632-ground-sweet-as-sugar

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/ground-sweet-as-sugar-by-catherine-c-heywood

 

Vikki’s Musings

 

Thanks go to the publisher and Net-Galley for the electronic copy of Ground Sweet as Sugar by Catherine Heywood. I voluntarily agreed to read and review this novel. My opinions are my own, and nothing has influenced my rating of this book.

 

In the opening scene of Ground Sweet as Sugar, a seventeen-year-old girl is living through the night before her death as a traitor. Circumstances gives her the chance to escape her punishment, and she becomes a bond servant to a West Indies planter. The action in this novel kept me engaged throughout the story, and I enjoyed that aspect of this adventurous tale. 

 

There were times I was pulled from the story because the author refers to the characters as the planter, the bond servant, the pirate, and that separated me from them. Once a reader knows who’s POV that is narrating, it would be less intrusive for the author to use a pronoun instead. This kept their POVs from becoming as deep as I prefer, so this influenced my rating. 

 

Charlotte Dillon is the heroine of this tale, and she certainly manages to get into a lot of trouble. Her journey is quite a rollercoaster ride, but she’s gutsy and determined, making her an interesting heroine. While I didn’t like some of Charlotte’s decisions, I did enjoy her character. She has several relationships with other male characters, and since this book ends on a cliff hanger, I’m not sure where those relationships are going.

 

I found the Irish rebellion history in this novel fascination, and Ms. Heywood has certainly done her research. This is an intricate part of the plot, so that that’s an important aspect. I also enjoyed the descriptive writing. At times, I became part of the scenes, which is always a benefit.

 

If you enjoy historical novels with plenty of suspense and adventure, then Ground Sweet as Sugar will be an exciting reading experience for you. While there’s much to enjoy in this tale, I don’t plan to read the sequel. Happy reading!

 

Author Bio:

 

Catherine C. Heywood is an Amazon bestselling author of romantic historical fiction novellas, and a former political communications consultant and speech writer.

Raised in Red Wing, Minnesota, she studied international politics at the University of Edinburgh and has degrees in politics, writing, and communications from the University of St. Thomas and Boston College.

She explored the law and improv before settling on storytelling. Her worst job was scraping year-old tobacco spit off a shoe factory wall. Her best is doing this.

She lives in Western Wisconsin with her husband and sons, and her interests include architecture and design, fashion and food.

 

Social Media:

Website: https://www.catherinecheywood.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013040313519

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CCHeywoodauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherinec.heywood/

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