Monday, August 23, 2010

Book Review: Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson

"April 7, 1871: Another cargo of war widows arrived in Plum Grove last Tuesday morning, sixteen in number, and filed upon claims adjacent to town. This was decidedly the best lot of widows that has arrived so far."  (from newspaper clipping on back cover)


Hamilton Drake has promised land, homesteads, and freedom to sixteen eager and willing widows. Each one embarking on her own personal journey to start a fresh start in the world. What they don't realize is that while it is legal for women to homestead in Americas new territory out west, that is not at all what Mr. Drake has in mind. Men will be lining up to marry these women once they get to Nebraska, and he plans to line his pockets from the matches.
The women find out his plan just in time, and while some don't mind the idea, marrying is the last thing the others have in mind. Teaming together, these brave women build their own homesteads, form new friendships, and even find love out in the wilderness of Nebraska.

I thought this was a great look into this interesting event in history. I really grew to love the characters and cheer them on as they faced obstacles and worked so hard to achieve their dreams. It was a little hard for me to learn all their names, especially when it switched back and forth from their formal names to their Christian names, but besides that I have no complaints. I loved learned each woman's individual personality, history and goals and watching them all come together!

Thank Bethany House for a free copy of this book to review.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Blog Tour Book Review: The Bishop

A grotesque murder, with no trace of evidence has been committed in DC. FBI Agent Patrick Bowers is called to the case even though it seems to be a stand alone crime and his specialty is serial killers. But as he delves deeper into the case, more deaths occur and all he can find are loose threads that lead nowhere.
With his personal life falling apart, trying to solve this case is even harder. Will he be able to find the killer before it's too late and someone close to him gets hurt? Time is running out!

I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the plot and the twists in it, but it was a little too gorey for me. It's not like tv when you can look away at the gross bits - you have to keep reading in a book :-)
I really liked getting to see the relationship between him and his step daughter evolve, but the romantic interests kind of annoyed me.
I spent the entire time trying to figure out who the murderer was, but wasn't able to guess.  I enjoyed how he set up my expectation for the ending - a good page turner. I would recommend this book if you have a strong stomach and like a good mystery, but if you prefer less detail about the gorey side of death you may want to pass on this one. If you are interested in his take on writing about evil, you can visit his blog here.

Thanks so much to Revell Publishing for a free copy of this book to review.

Note: I can't put a cover picture up at this time due to poor internet quality. Will post one as soon as possible.