I am thankful for so many things today, especially for God who protects us day in and day out. I’m thankful for my husband, family, dogs, and even the cat who is getting on my last nerve. 😆 I am thankful I was introduced to most of you through this blog. It has been five years since I became acquainted with some of you, and it is a pleasure to talk to you about books and whatever topics take our fancy. I’m thankful for God’s grace and the lovely books I’ve been given.
As I’ve been preparing tasty things to eat today, I can feel my Mom beside me, whispering the things she taught me about cooking in my ear. We lost her five years ago but she impacts me every day.
I love writing reviews of Historical Fiction books for the Historical Novel Society! Below are reviews of Books Two and Three in the Winds of Freedom series by Beth Kanell. My review of Book One, The Long Shadow, is here.
Book Description (Historical Fiction)
Alice Sanborn, seventeen years old in October 1852, expects Abolitionist political operative Solomon McBride to court her. Surely he visits for more than her insight and family connections in the Vermont farming village of North Upton! When Almyra Alexander, niece of the local minister, arrives in North Upton, she brings Boston sophistication and advanced political ideas. Temperance! Voting rights for women! Alice wants it all and Almyra’s friendship, too-but is this newcomer a rival for Solomon’s affections?
Friendship with Caroline Clark looks safer. Newly returned to the village, Caroline is deaf and fluent in American Sign Language, which Alice quickly learns. Her friends and her demand for Abolition propel Alice into action. Assist neighbors at risk? Rescue a horse? Capture an arsonist? She’s on it. Betrayal and danger lie ahead. Yet the three young women race into the righteous battle. For Alice and her friends, there’s no other choice. **Historical Fiction**
Book Review (Historical Fiction)
In this second book of the series, we see Alice trying to deal with a great loss. She is also hoping for a romance with Solomon McBride, with whom she shared an adventure in the wilds between Canada and Vermont in Book One.
As in the first book, we learn a lot about Vermont farm life at that time. Even more interesting is the work Alice’s family is doing in the Abolitionist movement and their fight to help free the enslaved. This brings an old friend, Sarah, back into Alice’s life, as the efforts to free Sarah’s family are still ongoing. The Temperance movement of the time also comes to the forefront, as new Temperance laws have important consequences.
Throughout the book, Alice tries to find chances to see Solomon, who is working in the Abolitionist movement behind the scenes. But she also does as much as she can to help the movement herself. Book Two also introduces two new friends, kind and gentle Caroline, who is deaf, and Almyra, a precocious and well-to-do thirteen-year-old with a somewhat absent family.
I enjoyed the descriptions of Vermont life at that time, and the opportunities Alice had to help others, regardless of race or physical challenges. This is a transitional book in the series, as Book Two often is. It is enjoyable, and is really a coming-of-age story for Alice and a glimpse at the future she wants to build. Recommended to all fans of YA Historical Fiction.
Book Description (Historical Fiction)
Home-brewed medicines, a mysterious family of women making them, and a threat to the local funding of the Abolition movement. Fifteen-year-old Almyra Alexander struggles with all of these, as well as adapting to the rough, unpolished life in a northern Vermont village. She’s determined to become a minister, like her politically involved but very absent father. Moving in with her aunt and uncle in Vermont seems the quickest way towards her goal of becoming a minister. **Historical Fiction**
Book Review (Historical Fiction)
In Book 3, our protagonist from Books 1 and 2, Alice Sanborn, has gone west with to teach and to further the cause of freedom. We are now looking at North Upton, Vermont, through the eyes of Almyra Alexander. Almyra is from a prominent Boston family, but has decided to stay with her aunt and uncle in North Upton.
Almyra has already been introduced to the abolitionist movement and begins to step into Alice’s shoes by helping wherever she can. This includes a secret visit on horseback and hiding money for the movement underneath her underwear in a saddlebag! Almyra also begins to get to know the Hall family, a mother and her daughters who have arrived to help Matthew Clark in his inn. Mrs. Hall is skilled in creating herbal remedies, and Almyra learns their value from her. Young Susannah Hall works with horses and wears pantaloons most of the time, often causing raised eyebrows around town. She eventually proves to be a great help to Almyra. Almyra also becomes better acquainted with Alice’s brother John.
I liked watching Almyra adjust to a more country life, and enjoyed how she learned from her aunt and uncle. Her ambitions to be a minister at that time when few women were allowed in that vocation were intriguing. She is even given a chance to preach from her uncle’s pulpit, which I thought was unusual for the time. Her aunt and uncle are good mentors to her, both in the home and out. . I missed Alice as a protagonist, but we are somewhat kept up with her activities via letters to Almyra from Alice and others.
Although there is a change in protagonists in this one, this is a strong continuation of the series. I do hope we get to see Alice again in future books. What I like most about this whole series is that we are walked through the history of the abolitionist movement in Vermont. At the same we watch all the pieces fall in place that will lead to the U.S. Civil War. This is an enjoyable and well-researched young adult series that I highly recommend. **Historical Fiction**
About the Author
Storytelling is Beth Kanell’s native language – and she learned it from her mother, who taught her to fill in the blanks as a story emerged. As a single parent in Vermont, for years she told stories “on the side” and developed a specialty in tales for teens (always starting with something scary!). Endlessly in love with Vermont, she began bringing the most fascinating parts of its history into her narratives, and discovered that what she really likes after all is writing fiction that explores the lives of young people caught up in the force of change. She is also a non-stop mystery reader, so she grapples for new and unusual plot twists, as well as the magic of the Green Mountain state.
Purchase Links
Click on each cover below for a link to each book in The Winds of Freedom serieson Amazon.
*Indie Spotlight is my effort to help Indie authors with marketing. You can help too by sharing this post far and wide. Below please see a book description and links for Path of Treasures by Gail Meath. It is FREE and rest of today and tomorrow.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Erie Canal with this riveting historical murder mystery.
The only man who can save them was hired to kill them.
Erie Canal, 1852. Sara grew up on the canal and loves working as a mule driver on Streeter’s Ark, a small cargo boat. She was raised by the crusty, old peg-legged captain, Jeremiah Streeter, and Sam, the Ark’s bully. In all her nineteen years, she never gave a rat’s ass where she came from…not until their helmsman is murdered.
Bounty hunter Wolfe McKay has another job to do. An easy job. Kill the crew on Streeter’s Ark and collect his bounty from the wealthy railroad tycoon who hired him. Easy, hell. After he lands a job on the Ark, he discovers the misfit crew are nothing at all what he expected. And they’re turning his life upside down.
Follow the loveable Sara, Cappy, and Sam on Streeter’s Ark as they travel from Albany to Buffalo and back again with Sara’s unknown past putting them in danger every step of the way.
LINK TO FREE BOOK
*Click on the images below to get the ebook FREE on Amazon all through today and tomorrow only.
BEFORE YOU GO
If you read this book, please remember to leave a review on Amazon. It does not have to be long or fancy. Just a sentence or two will do, and it will help the author so much. The more reviews a book has, the more Amazon will promote it. Please also share this post with your social media followers so they can get a free book too!
Indie Spotlight is my effort to help promote Indie books. You can help too by sharing this post with all your social media followers. Below see my review of an amazing novel, When Secrets Bloom, the first book of a new series set in 15th Century Transylvania.
BOOK DESCRIPTION (FROM AMAZON)
Transylvania, 1463. A land of fortress cities, whispered heresies, and shadows cast by Vlad Dracula (the man, not the vampire.)
Kate Webber, a 28-year-old Saxon healer, has always lived between reverence and suspicion. Her gift with herbs and midwifery makes her indispensable – and dangerous – in Kronstadt (today Brașov) , a medieval city where fear rules and women are silenced. Her marriage to the powerful, secretive Magyar promised safety, but instead bound her voice.
One bitter Advent night, Kate breaks her husband’s command and saves a dying mother and child. Her defiance sparks awe in some, fury in others. The jealous town physician seizes his chance to destroy her. Rumors flare. A mob gathers. And Kate’s only ally is Iancu – her childhood friend turned militia captain – whose return stirs memories of freedom, laughter and forbidden longing.
Elsewhere in the city, Moise, a Jewish apprentice at the printing press, witnesses a cloaked Shaman haunting the square. When a rare manuscript vanishes, Moise discovers a dangerous secret: a book men will kill for. His search entwines his fate with Kate’s – until both stand accused in a city hungry for scapegoats.
On the day of execution, Kate chooses defiance again. She saves a child. Moise is framed. And in the shadows of fortress walls, a legacy map begins to reveal itself – a secret hidden not in books, but in the hearts of those who guard them.
BOOK REVIEW
When Secrets Bloom is Book One in Patricia Furstenberg’s series, Blood of Kings, Heart of Shadows. The beauty of the writing captured me immediately. A gifted Saxon healer in Krondstadt, Transylvania, who is told she can’t save the “wrong” people on a holy night, Kate does it anyway, at the threat of brutal 15th-Century justice, an example of which is here: “The air thickened in my throat for just a moment. Not because I feared fire, but because I had seen it all before. I knew what it smelled like when flesh blackened. When screams were choked by smoke.” This one quote shows us the fear and brutality of the time.
I could fill this entire review with amazing quotes, and here is one more: “To me Father had always been a pillar–weathered but unbroken. Yet in that moment, against the tide of self-interest, he seemed smaller. Not less, but alone. Like the last tower still standing after the fortress has fallen.” This is just one example of how Furstenberg, throughout this work, displays her strong ability to use people, places, and nature itself to not only convey meaning, but to pull the reader in and show them the story.
The novel’s characters are all intriguing. The relationship between Kate and Iancu is one of longing and regret. This book is not full of love scenes, but whenever they are together, the intensity and deep feelings between them are clear to see. The most mysterious character is the Shaman. He pulses throughout the novel, shadowy and dark, described as an almost mythical figure. But who is he? We first meet the Shaman when we meet Moise, a Jewish apprentice who seems to see the Shaman at every turn, and who begins a search for a missing book that will draw him to Kate. Other characters, many dark, greedy, and judging, seem to be everywhere, and the history of Transylvania at that time flows through it all.
This novel is what happens when exquisite writing meets meticulous, caring research. I look forward to Book Two in the series. Highly recommended.
Amazon Bestseller author, Top 100 Romanians from Everywhere Category Art 2023, Spillwords Press Awards MMXXIII Author of the Year, Patricia Furstenberg writes with passion about history that blends with fiction, about war heroes, human or canine, while the poetry she pens is sometimes incisive, sometimes humorous.
**If you read the book, please leave a review on Amazon. It is so important for Indie authors because the more reviews a book has, the more Amazon will promote it. Please also remember to share this post with your social media followers in order to get the word out about this great book.
It’s November 9th, and fall colors are finally out in full force. They were quite late this year, and not as vibrant as years past. Our peak leaf season was supposed to be the third week of October, and it was still very green then. I took a ride on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad with my friend Lyric, who was visiting, and her Mom, Dale. Although I live in a small tourist town, I don’t usually participate in the “touristy” things, but it’s nice to do that once in a while. We had a great time. We took the first class ride and were served lunch. We stopped in Dillsboro for some shopping and took in great scenes along the way.
**Picture of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in Bryson City, NC is from Shutterstock and was taken in 2023.
Below is a shot of a pretty fall evening at our house. The sun was setting, and the moon was out. I was standing on our porch at the time. I wanted a picture of the full moon, but my phone is just not up to it. It was so much more magnificent than that.
I was told there would be a cold snap starting tomorrow, but so far I see no sign of it. My weather app tells me we will be just above freezing for one day–not cold enough for snow–and then back to 50s and 60s, so we will see. Are you getting snow in your area? EDIT: I just got a Winter Storm Alert, but it seems to be for higher elevations.
LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG
It was all Indie last week. I love that because my heart is with Indie books and authors. I posted reviews of The Weight of Snow and Regret, Amanda in Ireland, and The Washashore. I get a lot of requests from Indie authors, and my list is long, but I try to read as many as I can. I am just one woman, so it can take a long time, but I will continue to do my best to support Indie books.
NEXT WEEK ON THE BLOG
Look for reviews of Books 2 and 3 of Beth Kanell’s Winds of Freedom series, and a review of Patricia Furstenberg’s When Secrets Bloom. I will also participate in Top Ten Tuesday if time permits.
Indie spotlight is my effort to help Indie authors with marketing. You can help too by sharing this post far and wide. Below is a review I did for The Historical Novel Society, The Washashore by Marshall Highet and Bird Jones.
BOOK REVIEW
1929. Emily Cartwright has just lost her mother, and her Aunt Isabel, who was estranged from her mother, has been named as her guardian. She travels from Nebraska to Martha’s Vineyard to live in Aunt Isabel’s grand home. She is immediately made to give up her first name and go by her middle name, because Emily was the name of Aunt Isabel’s daughter who had vanished years before. Emily makes a friend, Fiona, daughter of the housekeeper, and is just finding her way around when Aunt Isabel’s friend, Ann, is found dead. Isabel suspects murder and enlists Emily to be her eyes and ears around the house and town. As Emily starts to investigate, will she find the killer, and are she and Isabel in danger?
This is an enjoyable story with likeable characters and an intriguing mystery. Emily is both an orphan and a “fish out of water,” moving from a country life in Nebraska to her wealthy aunt’s luxurious home. The fact that the skills she learned in Nebraska are great assets is made plain this story, as she is stronger for it, both physically and mentally. Aunt Isabel is the very definition of a “grand lady,” but she also possesses a keen mind and an iron will. There is a theme of grief and moving forward, as Emily is grieving for her mother, and Isabel is grieving for her lost daughter. The Prohibition Era, including the way the rumrunners used the island, is well portrayed. The mystery is intriguing and there are some successful red herrings. There is also an action-packed ending to this story that shouldn’t be missed. Fans of historical mysteries will enjoy this one. Recommended.
I received a copy of this book from the Historical Novel Society. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.
PURCHASE LINK
*Click on the cover below to buy this book on Amazon.
BEFORE YOU GO
If you read this book, be sure to leave a review on Amazon. It is very important for Indie authors because the more reviews a book has, the more Amazon will promote it. It does not have to be a masterpiece. Just a couple of quick lines will make the author’s day. Please also remember to share this post with all of your social media followers.
Indie Spotlight is my effort to help Indie authors with marketing. You can help too by sharing this post far and wide. See below my review of Amanda in Ireland, part of a wonderful series for middle-graders by Darlene Foster that takes kids (and adults) all over the world with Amanda as she travels and solves mysteries.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Twelve-year-old Amanda Jane Ross is invited to be a bridesmaid for her cousin’s wedding in Ireland! She falls in love with the Emerald Isle the moment she lands in Dublin. The warm, friendly Irish people immediately make her feel at home. Towering castles, ancient graveyards, and the stunning green countryside are filled with fascinating legends, enthralling folktales, and alarming secrets.
Things take a dark turn when disaster strikes. Amanda wonders if there will be a wedding at all. As she joins the search for a missing horse, she stumbles upon a world of screaming banshees, bloody battles, and dangerous peat bogs. The closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous things become. Will she become another body in the bog?
BOOK REVIEW
This is another wonderful installment of the Amanda series. We travel with Amanda to her cousin’s wedding in Ireland, and immediately plunge into a mystery, as a valuable horse is missing, and so is the bride! Amanda begins to investigate, but along the way she (and we) learn so much about this beautiful country.
Readers learn something on almost every page as Amanda tours important Irish museums and landmarks, visits a farrier who explains his job to her, and learns about figures in Irish folklore, such as Cu Chulainn, a mythological warrior. One of the most devastating periods of Irish history, the potato famine, is explained to Amanda as well. The mystery is well written and engaging. There are insightful discussion questions at the end of the book which are great for retaining the information learned.
Mystery, history, and travel fans of all ages will enjoy this latest Amanda adventure. Although this is Book 11, they can all be read as standalones. I highly recommend this series to kids, parents, grandparents, and everyone who loves history and travel.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Growing up on a ranch near Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, Darlene Foster dreamt of writing, traveling the world, and meeting interesting people. She also believed in making her dreams come true. It’s no surprise she’s now the award-winning author of Amanda Travels, a children’s adventure series featuring a spunky twelve-year-old who loves to travel to unique places. Readers of all ages enjoy following Amanda as she unravels one mystery after another. When not traveling herself, Darlene divides her time between the west coast of Canada and the Costa Blanca, Spain with her husband and entertaining rescue dogs, Dot and Lia. http://www.darlenefoster.ca
If you read the book, be sure to leave a review on Amazon and/or wherever you purchase books. Reviews are so important to Indie authors, as Amazon will promote a book depending on how many reviews it has. Also please remember to share this post with all your social media followers so this book gets as much exposure as possible.
The changing of the leaves has been late this year, but it’s really feeling like Fall now in the first week of November. I love this time of year–shopping for Christmas presents, baking, and eating. I’m planning to make mini pumpkin pies for myself. Doug doesn’t really like pumpkin pie but he’s currently enjoying a cherry pie I got from Sam’s. I’m also trying to get better at decorating cookies for Christmas, so I’m going to make some Pumpkin shaped and decorated cookies for Thanksgiving. I want to give them a flavor besides vanilla, so either pumpkin spice or orange, I think. I’ll post pictures when I’m done IF they look halfway decent. I had my first cup of cold weather cocoa this week too. I didn’t have marshmallows, so I used whipped cream on top.
Yesterday I was busy sending out emails for The Historical Novel Society. The November reviews were live on the website yesterday, and as a Reviews Editor, I sent links of the reviews I’m responsible for to all of the publishers or authors. Tomorrow I plan to find some end of season apples and get started on some apple butter.
Most of this past week was busy! I traveled on Monday and Tuesday to Winston-Salem to see an audiologist about possibly getting a cochlear implant because my hearing is just getting worse and worse. The result was that I tested as “borderline,” just little bit above the line for a cochlear implant. So I will go back in a year and get tested again. Right now, though, I’m thankful for my new hearing aids, which are not perfect but help more than the old ones.
LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG
I participated in Top Ten Tuesday, and today I posted a review of The Weight of Snow and Regret by Elizabeth Gauffreau. Check out Liz’s wonderful book at the link above. It was a 5-star read for me.
NEXT WEEK ON THE BLOG
I reviewed this one for The Historical Novel Society and I can post the review now that it’s been published on their website.
This is the latest in Darlene Foster’s Amanda Travels series. Although this is a Middle Grade series, people of all ages love following Amanda as she travels around the world.
These are the latest two books in The Winds of Freedom series by Beth Kanell, set in the 19th Century on the frontier between Vermont and Canada. My review of Book One, The Long Shadow, is here.
BOOK HAUL
Lynn Austin is my favorite author of Inspirational Historical Fiction, and I jumped on the chance to read this for The Historical Novel Society. I don’t need to have this read until March, but I can’t wait, so I’m starting it this week.
I don’t usually read hardboiled fiction, but I’m broadening my horizons a bit for this one, which will be in the February issue of Historical Novels Review.
A thriller set in Aspen. A step away from historical fiction for this read. I picked this one up on Netgalley today.
I’m also going to look for some lighthearted Christmas books, so if anyone has a recommendation, let me know. It must be really Christmassy! If it’s an Indie Christmas book–even better!
Indie Spotlight is my effort to help Indie authors with marketing. You can help too by sharing this post far and wide. Below is my review of The Weight of Snow and Regret by Elizabeth Gauffreau. I reviewed it for Historical Novels Review, the magazine of The Historical Novel Society. This is one of those books that is so well written it makes me feel as if I can’t do it justice, but my effort is below.
BOOK REVIEW
Louisiana, June 1967. Claire is working for her husband Roland’s furniture business. She has a good home and a daughter, but this is about to change. She suddenly begins to hear music which draws her inexplicably to its source, a bar where white people don’t generally go and where a musician works his magic. Before the summer is over, she will have walked away from her husband and daughter to follow the music, and by the dawn of 1968, she is sent to the Sheldon Poor Farm in Vermont.
Vermont, 1927. After her father dies, Hazel, her mother, and her brother end up at the Sheldon Poor Farm, which houses the elderly, mentally ill, and others in need. Before long, Hazel has faced more death, is alone, and is sent away to work. But then she meets her husband, Paul, and years later, desperate for jobs, Hazel and Paul are hired to manage the Sheldon Poor Farm.
This masterfully written, heartbreaking story begins with Claire’s arrival at the poor farm, describes the “Summer of Love” in 1967 when she ends up “crossing the line,” looks back to 1927 and beyond with Hazel, and ends with the closure of Vermont’s last poor farm in 1968.
The personalities of the Sheldon Poor Farm residents are so vividly painted that I could see and hear them as clearly as if they were in the room with me. They and the caretakers are the essence of the poor farm at the end of its “life,” for the farm’s closure is like a death. Claire’s journey is one of inexplicable choices, loss, and regret, but closes with some hope. Hazel’s story is layered and richly woven, and through her we see the literal meaning of the title, The Weight of Snow and Regret. Highly recommended.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Gauffreau writes fiction and poetry with a strong connection to family and place. Her work has been widely published in literary magazines, as well as several themed anthologies. Her short story “Henrietta’s Saving Grace” was awarded the 2022 Ben Nyberg prize for fiction by Choeofpleirn Press.
Liz has published a novel, TELLING SONNY: THE STORY OF A GIRL WHO LOVED THE VAUDEVILLE SHOW, and two photopoetry collections: GRIEF SONGS: POEMS OF LOVE & REMEMBRANCE and SIMPLE PLEASURES:HAIKU FROM THE PLACE JUST RIGHT. Her second novel, THE WEIGHT OF SNOW AND REGRET, based on the closing of the last poor farm in Vermont in 1968, was published on October 1, 2025.
Liz’s professional background is in nontraditional higher education, including academic advising, classroom and online teaching, curriculum development, and program administration. She received the Granite State College Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018.
Liz lives in Nottingham, New Hampshire, with her husband.
**If you read the book, please be sure and leave a review on Amazon and other sites where you review books.. This is so important for authors because Amazon will promote books based on the number of reviews they have. The review does not have to be a masterpiece. Just a sentence or two about how the book made you feel will be perfect and will make the author’s day.
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