Book Reviews

About the Book:

Book: When Dignity Came to Harlan

Author: Rebecca Duvall Scott

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

Release date: January 17, 2021

I made up my mind right then and there that I would just have to wade into this move like wading into a pond or lake I’d never seen before – slow and steady, feeling around for my footing and trying to avoid the sharp edges at the bottom that you never see coming.

***

News of what really happened to me – to us – spread through town like wildfire. It caught from one dry gossip tree to another and burned them to the ground with shame.

***

“Y’can do this, child – show ’em why I call y’Dignity,” my old friend winked at me.                

Skillfully written and sure to draw you in to its pages, When Dignity Came to Harlan is set in the early 1900s and follows twelve-year-old Anna Beth Atwood as she leaves Missouri with her family dreaming of a better life in the coal-rich mountains of Harlan County, Kentucky. Anna Beth’s parents lose everything on the trip, however, and upon asking strangers to take their girls in until they get on their feet, Anna Beth and her baby sister are dropped into the home of Jack and Grace Grainger – who have plenty of problems of their own. Anna Beth suffers several hardships during her time in Harlan, and if it wasn’t for her humble and wise old friend who peddles his wisdom along with his wares, all would be lost.

Based on a true family history, this is a story of heartbreak and hope, challenges and perseverance, good and evil, justice and merciful redemption. It exemplifies the human experience in all its many facets and shows what it means to have real grit.

Take the journey with us and see how, with the unseen hand of God, one girl changed the heart and soul of an entire town.

My Thoughts:

When I’m looking at books available for review any book that is not straight up romance will catch my eye. When Dignity Came to Harlem sounded quite interesting and very different. The fact that it was based on a true story was also appealing; that is my favourite type of fiction. The description sounded like a book I would really enjoy so I requested it. When I got into it, I wasn’t sure I would actually like it, though. For the first several chapters I only kept reading because I had agreed to read and review it. I struggled with the dialect that was written out all the time; that’s just not my style of book. However, by the time I was about halfway through I could hardly stop thinking about this book. Most of the time I have less than five minutes at a time to read, and then I have to put the book down and get back to whatever it is it needs done. Most of the time I have no trouble doing that. But this book however, was a lot harder to do that with than most books. I really could not tell which way the story was going to go and I just had to find out what happened to Anna Beth.

Every emotion imaginable is present in the story. Love, sadness, despair, hope, peace and joy—I felt all of those with Anna Beth as I read When Dignity Came to Harlem. Even though she experienced severe misstreatment, she also experienced deep love. Don’t pick this book up if you want romance. It isn’t there. If, however, you like to read books about how people can overcome trials victoriously with God’s help this is a book for you. I enjoyed learning, at the back of the book, what was true and what was fiction in the story. This author has done a great job of taking stories from her grandmother’s life and weaving them together into this book. For awhile, I was sure I would not like this book, but I changed my mind.

WARNING: A rape is described in chapter 14, and a beating in chapter 17. Chapter 1: Darn it. Chapter 4: gee, chewed the heck out of it. Chapter 10: try so darn hard.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Rebecca Duvall Scott is an award-winning author with titles holding #1 bestseller within her publishing companies long after release. Her first work was self-help memoir, Sensational Kids, Sensational Families: Hope for Sensory Processing Differences, which she wrote in the years following her son’s sensory processing disorder diagnosis and their family’s successful treatment plan. While her special-needs advocacy helping parents, teachers, and professionals better understand individuals with SPD has a large part of her heart, her roots have always been in historical fiction. Her long-awaited Christian historical fiction novel, When Dignity Came to Harlan, was based on her great-grandmother’s childhood, and Teaching Dignity continues the tender and heroic story. She looks forward to writing more in both the Dignity and Sensational Kids series.

In addition to writing, Rebecca enjoys family, church, educating her children at home, painting, and directing a local homeschool cooperative organization where she works hard to accommodate all special needs.

More from Rebecca:

From the time I was a little girl, my grandmother would gather me around her kitchen table – usually with homemade peach pies – and tell me stories of our forebears. I found the experiences of those who came before me to be both tragic and joyful, but most of all I found them worthy of being told and never forgotten. When I was 16, I started taking notes on everything my grandmother could remember about her mother (one of the humblest and most heroic of my ancestors) and as a senior in college, I turned in the first 70 pages of the manuscript based on her childhood, When Dignity Came to Harlan. I’ll never forget how on graduation day, my creative writing teacher shook my hand and said, “Rebecca, please finish the story.” It took years to finish my debut novel… I think because I had to grow up and develop a deep enough emotional well to do it justice… but finish the story I did. Little did I know, however, this bestselling and award-winning book, the one I was always meant to write, would be the starter of a new, yet powerfully old-fashioned, Christian historical fiction series!

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About the Book:

Book: Free At Last

Author: Marcel Becker, with W.A. Fulkerson

Genre: Memoir/Inspirational

Release date: July 2, 2021

Abused and isolated, Marcel Becker ended up on his own at the age of 15, and his descent into the cycle of addiction, crime, and incarceration followed the typical pattern. He became, in his own words, a “prolific offender” – an outlaw biker, a criminal mastermind, and the sole target of a multi-agency federal task force. When Marcel received custody of his children, however, he knew he had to make a change or the consequences would fall on them. Breaking out of his old life was full of struggle, uncertainty, and setbacks, but it proves that anyone who is willing can find true freedom and escape the dark cloud of the ex-con.

A United States Congressman once called Marcel’s life a story “of redemption and triumph,” and so it is.

My Thoughts:

I always enjoy a good memoir. It’s interesting to read what a person wants to tell about his or her own life, and what he or she emphasizes. When I see a memoir offered for review, I often take a second look at it. Free at Last sounded like a very interesting story, so I signed up for it.

Marcel grew up “on the wrong side of the tracks.” His father suffered from PTSD and took it out on his younger son, who found himself continually being beaten for no real reason. Though his mother loved him, Marcel left home as soon as he could find a way, and quickly became involved in a life of crime and drugs. Going into and out of prison was soon a way of life for him, and eventually the FBI sent a whole task force after him. Then one day, two of Marcel’s children were dumped on him by their mother. What was he to do now?

Marcel’s life changed nearly overnight, when he became responsible for two frightened children. He knew he did not want them to have the same kind of life he had always had; what should he do now? He began looking for honest work, and soon found he had to start at the bottom. He clawed his way to the top—only to find it didn’t satisfy.

I’ll have to say, I didn’t enjoy the first 33% or so of Free at Last. It is not fun to read about crime and prison life and beating people up and getting beaten up. Marcel did not go into too much graphic detail, though, so it wasn’t too bad. I appreciated seeing him become an honest working man and making good in business, but by the time I reached 78% through the book I was starting to wonder if this was really a Christian book! I’m glad to say that the change in Marcel’s life, and the candor with which he describes his Christian walk and the church challenges he faced, are inspiring. At one point, he says, “I stopped going to church. And in retrospect, that turned out to be a very, very bad decision.” I would say that if anyone had a good reason for quitting church, he did—and yet after a time he saw the need of fellowship.

Here are a few more quotes that stood out to me:

But to say that I struggled is to say that I was alive and kicking. You only struggle when you’re fighting against something.

Let me tell you something; freedom isn’t just roaming around doing whatever you want to.

And when you’re trying to do the right thing, that’s a breath of fresh air because you don’t have anything to hide.

If you are interested in hearing a man candidly telling about his life, the good and the bad, the struggles, the failures and the triumphs, read Free at Last. This book is inspiring. When I first started reading it, I wasn’t sure I would like it at all; I mentally prepared myself to struggle through it. It turned out to be very interesting, though, and a fairly quick read for me.

WARNING: Chapter 11—beating up a prison guard. Heck and dang and hell are used occasionally throughout the book.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Marcel Becker is a businessman, a designated community leader, and a motivational speaker. Once a five-time offender, Marcel turned his life around over twenty years ago, and since then has served on innumerable boards, political campaigns, and civil causes, finding great success in all of his endeavors. He is currently the Vice President of Propulsion Controls Engineering, a Job Force Motivational Speaker, has received several certificates of congressional recognition, has had two resolutions introduced in the California Legislature honoring his service to the community, and received a “Hero” award from California State Senator Joel Anderson for his efforts with the Second Chance Program.

Marcel shares stories of his life before and after taking the high road to success in order to encourage others to be the best they can be. He lives in San Diego, California.

More from W. A.:

If Marcel Becker sat down next to you in a coffee shop today, you would assume him to be a respectable, mild-mannered business man, and you would be right. What you would not think is, “I bet that guy has done time – and a LOT of it.”

And yet, he has. Marcel Becker was one of the most notorious criminals to come up from his neighborhood of Oceanside, CA during the eighties and nineties, when his activities landed him behind bars on federal charges five times. His activities also earned him a lot of scars, plenty of fear and admiration among the criminal class, and admission into one of the most dangerous biker gangs in the country. He’s done eighteen months of solitary confinement in a single stretch, been labeled a flight risk and an extremely dangerous martial arts expert, and the government tried to use his rival gang to illegally execute him. His nickname on the streets and throughout police precincts and prisons?

Flash. Because if you mess with him, he’ll knock you out immediately.

When Marcel talks about his past (and shows the newspaper articles to prove it), the experience is quite a rollercoaster ride.

To make a long and fascinating story short, at the height of his life of crime, Marcel became responsible for his two children, and he had to make a change fast. He started at the bottom as a grunt laborer on the docks, and eventually he rose through the ranks to become a majority owner of a ship repair company and a serial entrepreneur. Today, he is a titan of industry, a civil servant, a friend to mayors and senators, and a living testimony that anyone can turn their life around.

When I’ve expressed regret for a boneheaded decision I’ve made and some wasted time, Marcel reminds me that he spent his youth in and out of prison. If he focused on how terrible his mistakes were, he would never have done anything else. The message is, ‘If I can get past my mistakes, so can you. Move forward, hombre.’  I could give example after example like this – knowing Marcel is a real blessing, and he offers more than just interesting stories. He offers hope and encouragement, a reminder of God’s grace and the masterful plan of redemption awaiting us all if we will only turn to it.

You wouldn’t think that this man sitting next to you at a coffee shop was once tormented by an abusive upbringing, a brilliant master of crime, and public enemy number one.

But that’s sort of the point, isn’t it?

• W.A. Fulkerson, Co-Author of Marcel Becker’s memoir Free at Last: Trading a Life of Crime for Family, Faith, and Success in Business

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About the Book:

Book: Live the Impossible

Author: Jenny Smith

Genre: Memoir

Release date: July, 2021

Jenny Smith was a typical teenager—a gymnast and athlete who loved hair and makeup, played in a band, and was active in her church youth group.

Then one bright summer morning, a spinal cord injury left her paralyzed from the chest down and dependent on others for her most basic needs. Privacy and independence seemed like things of the past.

But Jenny refused to give up or give in to her disability, and over time she discovered that a wheelchair could take her places she’d never dared to imagine. She’s traveled multiple times to Afghanistan and Mexico for wheelchair distributions and sports camps, and even rolled the New York City runway as a model during Fashion Week.

Today, Jenny Smith is a spokesperson for independent and vibrant living with a disability. Her speeches, articles, and social media presence have touched thousands of lives.

In Live the Impossible, Smith shares what it looks like to live with paralysis, from the everyday details most people never think about, to the countless people who have impacted her life along the way. With honesty and humor, faith and fortitude, Jenny shows us how we can all live the impossible, even when life doesn’t go as planned.

My Thoughts:

Approximately 35 years ago, we heard the startling news that a friend from another state, the father of eight young children, had been in a car accident, had broken his back, and would never walk again. We often crossed paths with him and his family, and it was always inspiring to see his smile and hear his cheerful laugh. I remember one day, probably 5-10 years after the accident, when a very old lady in our church was commiserating with this man about how terrible it was that he was now confined to a wheelchair. I’ll never forget his response. He exclaimed, “It was the best thing that ever happened to me!” That was the feeling I got from Jenny Smith throughout her story in Live the Impossible. She didn’t feel that way at first, and I’m not sure she would actually say that now, but she certainly sees what she has gained through her disability.

Live the Impossible is a very inspiring story. I really appreciated Jenny’s attitude about counting her blessings, and praising God for everything possible. Her acceptance of what God was doing in her life, though she allowed herself to grieve her losses, is something we can all learn from and put into practice in our own lives. I also learned a lot from this book about life as a quadriplegic. Jenny is very frank about the challenges she faces, and how she copes.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Jenny Smith is an advocate, peer mentor, and encourager for those living with spinal cord injuries, and anyone who has faced unexpected or seemingly impossible challenges. Her popular blog and YouTube channel, Jenny Smith Rolls On, explore the practical aspects of life as a quadriplegic. She also speaks to associations and businesses, schools and universities, and faith-based groups. Jenny works full-time supporting and encouraging cross-cultural workers. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where she rows on the Ohio River with the Louisville Adaptive Rowing program.

You can find out more at www.jennysmithrollson.com.

More from Jenny:

“I will never write a book.”

I can’t tell you how many times I said those words. How and why did I publish a book after saying I will never so many times?

For several years, I was writing as a side job for a medical supply company. To learn more about the craft of writing, I signed up for an online class. The instructor invited me to take her next class on writing your life story.

That’s when it happened. I felt a little tap on my shoulder and heard—or felt—the words, “It’s time.”

I groaned.

Since my spinal cord injury at the age of 16, I said never and that’s impossible innumerable times. I had said the words before traveling to Mexico and Afghanistan. As I dreamed of living independently as a quadriplegic. I’d said never to playing wheelchair tennis, rugby, and para-rowing. My words that’s impossible and never were proved wrong time and again.

So I started writing.

It turns out I’ve lived what I believed was impossible.

In July 2021, on the 32nd anniversary of my spinal cord injury, my family, friends, and community celebrated with me at the launch party for my memoir Live the Impossible.

Although the book centers on my story of becoming a quadriplegic at 16 and the trials and adventures that followed, the lessons I learned in the years to come are universal:

• How I found my identity
• The importance of taking a risk
• How I became comfortable in my own body
• Acknowledging I have little to offer and yet seeing God do things I could never imagine

We all have unexpected circumstances in life. But I believe we can all live the impossible, even when life doesn’t go as planned.

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About the Book:

Book: Reclaiming Hope

Author: Carolyn Miller

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release date: December 7, 2021

Callie Steele might be a bit… focused on work, but despite what her employers say, she enjoys her well-ordered, productive life.

When she’s sent to meet the owners of an estate requiring post-hurricane landscaping, Callie meets their son, Kai Brody, a super-chilled pro surfer, who is as opposite from her as they come. Though initially smitten, Callie knows a relationship with Kai is a bad idea—a very bad idea.

Kai, however, can’t help but be intrigued by someone who challenges him to make something of his life again. He’s determined to pursue her, if she’ll give him half a chance.

The more time they spend together, negotiating the challenges of work, illness, and family, the more their opposing outlooks clash and connect. What do these unlikely friends really want from life?  Is it best to focus on work or recreation?

As Kai and Callie answers from the Lord, they also must consider if such complete opposites have enough in common to make a relationship last.

Reclaiming Hope concludes the Hooper Island stories of the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.

The Independence Islands Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.

My Thoughts:

I signed up for a review copy of Reclaiming Hope with a little trepidation. I have enjoyed most of the Independence Islands books that I have read, and I certainly enjoyed Regaining Mercy, but at the same time I don’t enjoy straight-up romance. Would this book be that, or would there be enough of a plot, otherwise, to make the book one I would enjoy?

I enjoyed seeing Callie figure out how to handle Kai’s overbearing, controlling mother. It got funny at times! I’ll have to admit, though, that I struggled with the focus on romance in Reclaiming Hope. There was a lot more that wasn’t romance in the last book I read by this author, so I was a bit disappointed with that, and with the detailed kisses. I did like, though, the process Kai went through as he figured out what his life should look like after he recovered from his broken leg. It was fun to read about these opposites; Kai needed someone to help him focus more on his future, and Callie needed to learn to enjoy life and not just focus on work all the time! As happens in real life, there were snags in the process, but he and Callie tried to work through them with God’s help.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Carolyn Miller is an Australian author of inspirational romance, particularly that of the Regency era, and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds where flawed people can grow in faith, hope and love through stories that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives.

More from Carolyn:

For Reclaiming Hope, my next book in the Independence Islands series, I was thrilled to finally turn the spotlight onto Callie Steele, whose sassy attitude and words of wisdom in earlier books have made a mark on the other employees at Greener Gardens – and has already endeared her to readers who have been begging to read Callie’s story.

Callie needed a special someone who could help this hyper-organized checklist-loving woman see that there is more to life than meeting a deadline. Enter Kai Brody, a super-chilled and laidback surfer whose enviable travels around the world broaden Callie’s horizons, and watch sparks fly. I consider Reclaiming Hope to be one of my most humorous books yet, as these two trade banter as opposites who attract – but can they last?

And yet Reclaiming Hope isn’t merely froth and sea-foam, bigger questions concerning family, identity and whether God’s plans can be considered good when people are forced to live with the consequences of poor choices. I really enjoy writing fiction like this, fiction that is grounded in truth, with realistic, flawed characters who are on God journeys to find faith, freedom, and hope.

I’m so glad people are really enjoying my new contemporary books, where I can bring my love of gardens (& my horticulturalist hubby’s expertise!) to a new audience. Check out my website www.carolynmillerauthor.com to see what’s growing in my garden here in my corner of Australia.

If you enjoy stories of hope, heart and humor, then you’ll be sure to enjoy this novel about a workaholic and the broken surfer as together they find renewed hope for their hearts.

Happy reading!

Carolyn

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About the Book

Book: Abbie’s Woods: Defending the Nest
Author: Susan Thogerson Maas
Genre: Middle Grade
Release date: December 15, 2021

Twelve-year-old Abbie Keegan loves spending time in the woods behind her house and watching the silly-looking baby robins as they grow. The woods are a retreat from her parents’ constant bickering and from her sweet, but needy, little brother.

Then Abbie sees two boys breaking pop bottles in the pond. She refuses to allow such harm to “her” woods. However, every attempt she makes to stop the boys only provokes them to greater destruction. Her retreat becomes a place of fear instead of peace. A feud is born, and Abbie feels helpless to stop it. At home, her parents seem close to divorce and her brother’s asthma is getting worse. How can Abbie protect the people and places she loves?

My Thoughts:

I don’t very often see a children’s book available for review that sounds good, so when I do see one I take a second look. I wasn’t at all sure about Abbie’s Woods when I saw it, but I decided to give it a go anyway and see what I thought. It was a very fast read; I read the entire book one afternoon when I was laying down with a headache. But what did I think about it?

Abbie’s Woods is a beautiful depiction of how human efforts don’t solve problems—only God can make things better. God’s ways are the only ones that can do any good; trying to use force to change someone’s mind, for example, backfires. Abbie tried to scare off the boys with one thing after another, but each time, she only made them more angry. Woud anything stop them from harming “her” robins and their nest? The schemes she came up with to try to bring her parents back together backfired, too—would her elderly neighbor’s advice to pray do anything?

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Susan Thogerson Maas grew up in the rainy, green state of Oregon. She loved to wander through the woods, discovering new wildflowers and birds. Her second favorite place was the cool grass of the front yard, lost in a book about nature or faraway lands. She still loves camping and hiking, as well as traveling to places she’s never seen before. Life should always be an adventure.

More From Susan:

Abbie’s Woods: Defending the Nest, in its original version, was the first book I ever wrote. Although I had sold a number of short articles and children’s stories, it was my first attempt at a whole book. Being a busy mother and volunteer (den leader for seven years, Sunday school teacher, etc.), homeschooling our boys, growing a big garden for freezing and canning, and all that kept me busy. But my dream since third grade had been to write children’s books. My sweet aunt had paid my way to summer writing conferences, and my shelves were filled with books on writing.

So I began, one slow chapter at a time. I set the story in the woods that lay behind our property when I was a child. “The Wonderful Woods” I called it in the first article I ever sold—sent by my sixth grade teacher to The Horn Book. My book was filled with details about the plants and birds of the woods. I added in symbolism because this would be my masterpiece. After maybe three years, the book was complete. And it was terrible. I showed it to a couple of editors, but the responses told me it was not ready. I was not ready.

I put Abbie’s Woods aside and wrote two chapters books, which now sleep peacefully in old files on my computer. Then came Picture Imperfect, published in 2015 by Ashberry Lane. (now owned by WhiteFire Publishing) After years of study, practice, and critique groups, I finally wrote a book good enough for publication. It even won a couple of awards. And so I thought, why not give Abbie’s Woods another try? I began all over again, changing the characters, adding subplots, and dropping the stilted symbolism. And now here it is!

What do I like most about Abbie’s Woods? Well, for one thing, the woods. That woods is now preserved as part of the Springwater Corridor in the Portland, Oregon area. I learned to identify plants there, including the first flower whose scientific name I learned: arenaria macrophylla. I have no idea how I can still remember that! I especially loved the birds. As a teen, I often roamed the woods with binoculars around my neck and bird book in hand. I learned to recognize bird calls: the Steller’s jay’s screech, the cheerful chickadee’s call, the “chweee” of the towhee as it scratched for seeds in the undergrowth. And the robin’s song, so peacefully filling the air on warm summer evenings. Robins were always special, and robins play an important role in Abbie’s Woods.

But the book is about more than nature. It’s about a girl trying to preserve her little world, only to learn her best efforts often backfire, that many things are not under her control. Can she learn to let go of her pain and forgive those who hurt her? And can she learn to trust God for the things she cannot control? Abbie’s struggles are not so different from those many people face, whether children or adults. I have certainly acted in ways I thought would make things better, only to find the opposite result. I have also tried to control things that are better left in God’s hands. Although the story is entirely fictional, in many ways Abbie is also me, trying to follow God but often getting lost along the way.

Yet, for Abbie as for me, no matter how dark the day, there is always light behind the clouds, always the hope that tomorrow will be better. That hope is the foundation of my faith and a thread through everything I write.

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About the Book

Book: Now That I Know You
Author: Olivia Newport
Genre: Split-Time Contemporary/Historical
Release date: Fall, 2021

Cate Butler is the distant cousin genealogist Jillian was so certain she wanted to find—and the only connection she has to her deceased mother’s Parisi family tree. So why does she wish Cate would stop pestering her? And why can’t Jillian find a paper trail proving Cate is who she says she is?

Cate wants something for her own career that Jillian can’t give, but she also holds the key to family history Jillian can’t bring herself to walk away from. Nolan, Jillian’s father, steps in when Cate’s chronic career chaos requires legal rescue. Drew, the man who holds Jillian’s heart, has a surprising past with Cate. The truths Jillian, Cate, and Drew find while untangling these knotted threads tie them back together in remarkable ways none of them ever would have imagined.

Now That I Know You is Book 5 in the Tree of Life series, exploring and celebrating unforgettable family stories in Canyon Mines, the mountain town that invites you back again and again.

My Thoughts:

I have been enjoying the Tree of Life series ever since the first one was written. Each one has been very interesting, and I think they have gotten better as the series went on! I enjoy split-time novels when they are done well, and these are done very well. The fourth book was supposed to be the last in the series, but, along with many other readers, I wanted another—and Olivia Newport wrote it! Now That I Know You wraps up the series nicely.

Jillian is going crazy, because her phone is going crazy. One notification after another comes in, one text after another—and all from one person. Her long-lost fourth cousin (or fourth cousin once removed?) Cate is blowing up Jillian’s phone with texts begging for help with something, and they haven’t even met yet! What does Cate want, and why can’t Jillian find her name anywhere in Colorado? Who is she really, anyway?

When they finally meet in person, and genealogist Jillian finds out what Cate wants, she knows she can’t help. However, Cate has family history, from Jillian’s mother’s side of the family, that Jillian badly wants, so she can’t just cut off the connection. Then, Cate gets herself into trouble, and Jillian’s father Nolan steps in. When Jillian learns that her boyfriend Drew has known Cate for years—under a different name—things really get interesting!

I really enjoyed this book. There are some very intense scenes, in the historical timeline sections. A little-known event in history is described, which I had never heard of. I found this part very interesting. I also loved the contemporary timeline. Nolan is so fun! I love him singing Italian opera while he cooks delectable meals, and his advice is always timely. He had a mystery going throughout the book, as well as the one with Cate. I also enjoyed revisiting Canyon Mines, Colorado. Thought it is a fictitious town, to my knowledge, it feels very real as I read these books. I love the town and the people in it! It was also fun to meet characters again who were in the other books. This book has a lot to do with Jillian’s Italian relatives, both in the present and in the historical timeline. That was fun, and felt authentic. The one thing I didn’t like quite so well about this book was the kissing. Jillian and Drew kissed every time they met up with each other, and the descriptions were a bit much for me. The language, however, is very clean. Overall, I consider this a good book, and I’m going to miss this series if there are no more installments.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Olivia Newport’s novels blend the truth of how our pasts carry us into where we find ourselves now. Curiosity about history seems to creep into everything she does. Her books include Amish, historical, and contemporary stories that span the centuries from before the Revolutionary War right up to the present moment.

She chases joy in stunning Colorado at the foot of Pikes Peak. Visit www.olivianewport.com.

More From Olivia:

I’ve wanted to write Now That I Know You for nearly 20 years—at least the historical story part of this split-time novel.

When my son was a freshman in high school, he joined the mock trial team, and my husband and I entered the league of parents who watched versions of the same competition over and over. The state bar association selects a case and provides every team with the same documents to study as the basis of preparing both prosecution and defense. Team members play roles of attorneys and witnesses.

That first year, the case was trying a particular individual in connection with his role in events that culminated in the 1914 “Ludlow Massacre,” which is featured in Now That I Know You. My son played a witness for the prosecution. My proudest moment was when one of the scoring judges—who are actual court judges—singled him out for his skill in recognizing and dodging the opposing counsel’s interrogation strategy. Somebody hold me in my chair, because you really are not supposed to jump and cheer at mock trial!

Since I heard the case several times, the history wormed its way into my heart and mind. The injustice and tragedy of the story weighed heavy, but so did the legacy of the events and their eventual impact on history that affects us even today. People often ask where book ideas come from. Sometimes they germinate inside me for a long time before the moment is ripe to put them on the page in the lives of characters who have grown around them. This is one of those stories.

—Olivia Newport

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