When the Avalanche Roared by Lauralee Bliss ~ a book review

 

 

This is another offering from Barbour Publishing’s Days to Remember series.  This one continues the precedent set by the other stories.  Suspenseful and tragic circumstances that test the characters’ strength and faith.  These stories are all based on actual events which adds an element of believability.

This story is set in the state of Washington in 1909. Pampered Lillian has traveled to the railroad town of Wellington to help her cousin who is preparing for her first baby. While she’s there, she also helps out in the post office. She is accustomed to having maids and servants and the lifestyle change is eye opening for her as she has to become more independent. She becomes friends with Griffin, an illiterate railroad worker whose faith helps him endure the harsh weather and living conditions and the heartless taunts from his co-workers. 

One morning in 1910, the snowstorms and ice buildup cause a devastating avalanche, taking with it two trains, several buildings and many people.  Lillian and Griffin work together, trying to rescue and care for the survivors. Even though Lillian is engaged to a man who is successful in the timber business, she begins to have feelings for Griffin.

This is a story of tragedy and sadness and the aftermath of disasters. It’s also about the power of faith and prayer.  It deals with the stereotype of literacy, the role of women in society, the contrast between the worker and management, and barriers between the wealthy and the poor.

The characters are well developed and engaging and the suspenseful story line will draw you in.

This is from the publisher’s website:

“The Day Hope Seemed Swept Away
 
Enjoy a series of 6 exciting novels featuring historic disasters that transformed landscapes and multiple lives. Whether by nature or by man, these disasters changed history and were a day to be remembered.
 
Lillian Hartwick has been in the small railroad town of Wellington, Washington, caring for her cousin and assisting the postmaster when February snows bring all train traffic to a halt. Slow-witted but kind Griffin Jones, who works odd jobs for the railway while enduring taunts from other workers, has tried his best to gain Lillian’s interest, but she is engaged and waiting her fiancé’s arrival from California. Predawn thunderstorms on Tuesday, March 1, 1910, trigger a devasting avalanche, sweeping two trains down Stevens Pass. Lillian and Griffin work together to help survivors, including Griffin’s tormentors. In the midst of the catastrophe their feelings for each other grow. But is it enough when Lillian’s fiancé finally arrives in the spring, ready to claim her as his own?”

This is the third book in the series that I have read. I look forward to reading the remaining stories.

Go HERE to read an excerpt

 

I received a complimentary ARC** of this book from Barbour Publishing via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed  are my own.

**A word about ARC books.   Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) are a preview copy and are not a finished product. They may differ from the final published work and may include additional editing. My reviews may include some things that vary from the final published book.

The Seaside Homecoming by Julie Klassen ~ a book review

 

 

This story begins in Scotland in 1820. Claire Summers has been disowned and ‘shunned’ by her family and is living with a bedridden great aunt as a companion and caregiver. When her great aunt dies, Claire is left with little money and no prospects.  On an impulse, she uses all her money to buy into a partnership of a boarding house in the same town that her mother and sisters live.  They also own a boarding house.  Her new partner, Mr. Hammond, is a widower with a small daughter who has a nanny from India, His late wife was also from India. The author deals with the elements of prejudice and class systems.  The topics of dysfunctional families and blended families is prominent.

I really liked this book for the engaging, believable characters and her style of writing that is both entertaining and easy to read. 

This is from the publisher's website:

"A surprise homecoming tests the bonds of sisterhood as a hidden past comes to light . . .

Disgraced eldest sister Claire Summers has been living in exile as companion to a stern great-aunt in Scotland. About to lose her place and longing to be reconciled with her estranged family, Claire sees an advertisement from someone looking for a "respectable female partner" in a Sidmouth boarding house. Is it a sign? She answers the ad, hoping she has not made another reckless mistake. When she meets the handsome, secretive proprietor, she wonders what he's hiding and if he's any more trustworthy than the nobleman who betrayed her years ago. Claire is drawn to him even though she fears he will reject her when he discovers her genteel façade hides a less-than-respectable past.

Meanwhile, the Summers family learns their great-aunt has died and Claire has disappeared without a word. The sisters rally together to find their lost sibling, but will their unexpected reunion heal old wounds and rekindle their bonds . . . or deepen the divide?

Return to the captivating Devonshire coast as the Summers sisters navigate romance, second chances, and the enduring strength of sisterhood in the face of adversity."

If you like reading historical faith based romance with elements of redemption, forgiveness and restoration, you will love this book.  There is also a thread of mystery that keeps you guessing. What did Claire do to get her banished?  Why is Mr. Hammond so secretive about his past? What are all the ‘hush-hush’ meetings about? Will Claire ever be forgiven and embraced by her family? There is also a surprising circumstance involving the late great aunt.

This is book three of the On Devonshire Shores series. 

Go HERE to read an excerpt 

Go HERE to learn more about Julie Klassen and her books 

 

 

 

 I received a complimentary ARC** of this book from Bethany House via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed  are my own.

**A word about ARC books.   Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) are a preview copy and are not a finished product. They may differ from the final published work and may include additional editing. My reviews may include some things that vary from the final published book.

What I Left for You by Liz Tolsma ~ a book review

 

This book begins in 1942, in Poland. Helena, a Christian Jew who works at the university with her friends, Jerzy and Risa. Risa, a Jew has been imprisoned in the ghetto and is about to have a baby.  Helena and Jerzy risk arrest to visit her. They get there just before she dies but not until she asks Helena to take her baby.  Removing the baby is a risky adventure but she is successful and raises Teena as her own. 

The story bounces back and forth between WW2 and current day where we meet McKenna.  Her grandmother asks her to find information about a sister she never knew she had. The relationships get a little confusing at times since there are so many unknowns.  McKenna travels to Poland to investigate her ancestry and in the process learns more details about the occupation and “re-homing” of the Lemko people. McKenna enlists the help of Filip to track down information.

This book is a history lesson with love, faith, and adventure all thrown together. At times its joyful and uplifting and at other times heart wrenching, sad and tragic.

The stories of both women are very intriguing and I found it hard to put down.  There are a lot of questions that come up. Who are McKenna’s ancestors? Did her grandmother really have a sister? What happened to Helena and Teena?

There is a glossary in the beginning that helps with the ethnic vocabulary and the author includes the historical basis for her story. 

This is from the publisher’s website:

“A Family’s Ties Were Broken in Poland of 1939
 
1939
Helena Kostyszak is an oddity—an educated female ethnic minority lecturing at a university in Krakow at the outbreak of WWII. When the Germans close the university and force Jews into the ghetto, she spirits out a friend’s infant daughter and flees to her small village in the southern hills. Helena does everything in her power to protect her family, but it may not be enough. It will take all of her strength and God’s intervention for both of them to survive the war and the ethnic cleansing to come.
 
2023
Recently unengaged social worker McKenna Muir is dealt an awful blow when a two-year-old she’s been working with is murdered. It’s all too much to take, so her friend suggests she dive into her family’s past like she’s always wanted. Putting distance between herself and her problems might help her heal, so she and her friend head on Sabbatical to Poland. But what McKenna discovers about her family shocks everyone, including one long-lost family member.”

I highly recommend this book, especially if you like faith filled, history based romance.

Go HERE to read an excerpt

I received a complimentary ARC** of this book from the publisher, Barbour Publishing via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed  are my own.

 ** A word about ARC books.   Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) are a preview copy and are not a finished product. They may differ from the final published work and may include additional editing.