The Aristocrat’s Lady

Working in a library environment for about ten years now, I occasionally run across what I privately term, “Book Snobs.” They are the ones who won’t deign to pick up a mass-market paperback book; they will only read hardcover, bestseller fiction and/or nonfiction.

I, on the other hand, am always trying different sources for new authors and good reads. Hardback, paperback, new books, out-of-print books, trade paperbacks, mass-market paperbacks, e-books; I try them all. And some of my absolute, all time, go-back-and-read-them-again-and-again stories are those little paperback books. The ones small enough to stick in my purse or pocket and carry with me.

And this week, I found a new author with an absolutely delicious book. ----- Introducing, Mary Moore’s The Aristocrat’s Lady from the Love Inspired Historical line.



Lady Nicole Beaumont is enduring her first London Season at the urging of her mother, but she doesn’t want to be seen as an invalid and insists that her handicap be kept secret; even if that means making herself inconspicuous and sitting in the darkened corners of the ballroom.

Lord Devlin is tired of being fawned over and pursued by women interested only in his title and wealth, but he’s intrigued by the beautiful women he meets on a dark terrace outside the ball room. She doesn’t simper and flirt and can actually carry on an intelligent, witty conversation and unlike most females, is more than willing to excuse herself from his presence.

Lady Nicole is hiding a secret and believes God only has one particular path for her future. Lord Devlin has learned to mistrust women and their secrets and doesn’t believe in a loving God.
Will Lady Nicole and Lord Devlin learn that God’s plans may not be their plans, and let the light of His truth shine on both their secrets and their hearts?

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.                  (Jeremiah 29:11-12.)

I love Regency romances but there are not very many Christian Regency romances and this was both Christian and wonderfully Regency; along with being a well-written, engaging story. It is full of extremely likable secondary characters, too. My favorite was Toby! He needs his own story, in my humble opinion.

If you like historical romances or Regency romances (hint: think Jane-Austen-type stories if you’re not familiar with Regency as a classification), then you need to try this book. I think you’ll like it. It’s going on my to-be-read-again, I-have-to-share-this-one-with-my-friends shelf.

(Psst…it’s currently sitting on Walmart’s bookshelves as part of September’s Love Inspired Historical line, and the price is only about $4.31.) It’s also available at Amazon.com and other booksellers.

The Road to Unafraid

Do you struggle with fear? I do. And if you're honest, you do, too.
Fear is one of Satan's many tools against us in our battle as Christians in a fallen world. That's why God tells us so many times in His Word: Fear not. Do not fear, nor be afraid.

Over and over again, God promises us His Peace, His Comfort, His Protection, and yet, like silly little sheep, we run bleating at the first sign of trouble. And by we, I mean, me, myself and I.

Maybe that's why I like to read about people facing scarier things than I ever have; people who lived to tell about it. People like Marcus Luttrell of Operation RedWing, Lone Survivor fame and Jeff Struecker, author of The Road to Unafraid, survivor of Black Hawk Down in Mogadishu.

Jeff Struecker, winner of Army's Top Ranger competition and now an Army Chaplain, was a Ranger on the front lines in Mogadishu. He saw things, lived through things, faced dangers and terrors, the likes of which most of us will never see. He had things to fear; terrifying things, like death, capture, torture, maiming...

So when he talks about how to be unafraid, you can bet I'm going to listen because this guy knows what fear is. He's lived through situations where there was a high possibility he wouldn't live through the day.

Reading The Road to Unafraid, I learned that fear is fear, whether real or imagined, and soldiers face the same kinds of fears I do. Will my family be okay while I'm away. How will I pay the next bill? What if I lose my job? What if I get hurt or sick? and etc. But we don't have to be immobilized by fear, we don't have to live in fear. God will walk with us and give us peace and comfort in the place of fear when we place our complete trust in Him.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (Isaiah 26:3) That's a promise! And it's a promise Jeff Struecker learned and illustrates so clearly in his book.

Are you struggling with fear? Do you want an inspiring read? Looking for a story about a hero, not only in the world's eyes but in God's? Look no further than The Road to Unafraid. It's well written and will keep you on the edge of your seat; but the best part is learning that if God can keep you safe when the bombs and bullets are falling all around you, He can keep you when the trials of this life are rocking your boat, whatever they may be. He's in the boat with you if you are His child, and He promised never to leave you or forsake you.

Thank you, Captain Jeff Struecker, for showing us the road to Unafraid!

Ships Ahoy!

I admit it.

I am a Christian Fiction lover. 
 

I love historical Christian fiction. I love contemporary Christian fiction. I even like suspense Christian Fiction.

And I love...”Argh, Matey!”… pirate stories!

I loved the seafaring adventures that Linda Chaikin wrote in the nineties called “The Buccaneers”, and I loved MaryLu Tyndall’s series, “Legacy of the King’s Pirates.” And now we have Kaye Dacus’ “The Ransome Trilogy.” 

I just finished reading Ransome’s Quest, the final book in the Ransome Trilogy and I must say, it’s the best of the three. What’s not to love about it? Adventure on the high seas, mistaken identities, hidden identities, dangerous secrets, kidnapping, romance, and of course, PIRATES.

The first two books in this trilogy are seafaring stories featuring ships and officers of His Majesty’s Royal Navy. But in the book that ties up all the loose ends, finishing the series, we get to have some good, old fashioned pirates. Or should I say bad? Nope, I’ll say good and bad pirates; because there’s both.

Ransome’s Quest is such a fun read and the characters so well drawn that I found myself wanting a separate book just to tell the story of El Salvador de los Esclavos. He wound up as my favorite character by the end of the story. And he managed to do that without detracting anything from the characters I’d loved since the very first book. That’s a pirate for you. Always stealing the show!

Check out Ransome’s Quest; it’s a great summer read; especially if you’re like me and enjoy reading stories with a little more adventure in them. This one’s going on my keeper shelf. I’ll have to reread the entire trilogy sometime. It’s that entertaining.

(Thank you, Harvest House Publishers, for providing me with a copy to preview/review.)
(I was not required to give a positive review of this book. All the opinions expressed above are my own. Seriously! They came out of my own little brain. Can't you tell?)

Heroes

The funerals for our warriors killed last weekend in Afghanistan are beginning today, and while I'm incredibly heartsore when I think about their loss and the sacrifice their families are dealing with, I'm also incredibly proud of these heroes. In honor of their service and sacrifice, I'd like to share this poem written by my youngest sister about three years ago.

HEROES

by Lyndee Joy Dees 

He fought a good fight,

For his country and flag.

But when it came to his deeds,

He dared never brag.

Though he had medals,

He'd give them all back,

Or at least he would have,

When he served in Iraq,

But there was one medal,

Which would not depart

From his mother's possession,

It was his purple heart.

He earned it the hard way;

Many others did too.

So we laid him in Arlington,

By the Red, White and Blue.

'Tis a place for our Presidents,

But hardly just that.

It's where we honor our heroes

Who died in combat.

Prayers!

My prayers go out to the family, friends and teammates of those special forces soldiers killed last night when a Chinook helicopter crashed in Afghanistan.

My heart hurt when I heard it on the news this morning, and my first prayer was that the early reports of 31 killed was wrong.

May God cover those working the crash site with protection, and may He give their families support and comfort.

Once again, our freedom is paid for with the blood of those willing to put their lives on the frontlines. May God bless their sacrifice and use us at home to continue to keep our country free.

God Bless our Soldiers! God Bless America! Home of the Free, because of the Brave!

Follow up.

After reading Lone Survivor, I was in the mood for more information on Navy SEALs, so I picked up this:

The Warrior Elite by Dick Couch.

Former Navy SEAL, Dick Couch, followed and wrote about SEAL Class 228, the same class Lone Survivor Marcus Luttrell graduated alongside.

It isn't exactly a light read, but it only took me an evening and the following morning to read the book from cover to cover. If you've ever wanted a fairly in-depth look at what it takes to be a SEAL, this book will give it to you.

It takes a special breed of men to make it all the way through SEAL training; to actually pin on the SEAL Trident. SEAL Warriors aren't some back-woods, country hicks that couldn't make it anywhere else. SEAL Warriors aren't muscle-bound dumb jocks. No...if they were, they couldn't be, wouldn't be SEALs. There are so many levels and kinds of training these men not only have to master, but exell at, it's mind boggling to me.

Yes, they have to be excellent with all kinds of weapons. Yes, they have to have a very high level of physical can-do like jump out of planes into water, in the dark, with a Zodiac, swim underwater for miles... They also have to know things like...medicine...photography...demolitions...satellites...oceanography...physics...etc.  And they have to be able to do these things while cold, wet, in pain and even under fire.

Nope! I couldn't cut it. But they can. And Do! On a daily basis! And that impresses me to no end!

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a Warrior? Check out The Warrior Elite, and find out what it means to "Never Quit."

Promise Kept!

Have you ever promised yourself you'd do something, but put it off? Then when you accomplished your goal you kicked yourself for not doing it sooner?

I have.

Many times.

One of those promises to myself that I kept procrastinating on was to read Marcus Luttrell's Lone Survivor.

I always have a stack of books waiting, but last week I made time to read Lone Survivor. Wow! I don't read much non-fiction, but this one was well worth my time.

I've known the basic information about Operation Redwing since the book first came out. I've seen Marcus Luttrell interviewed on a few news programs and I've looked up articles online. I think I put off reading the book because although Marcus Luttrell survived Operation Redwing, his comrades did not. I knew the story would be somewhat hard to read.

I was right. To some extent. The book was actually very easy to read but extremely hard to put down when I needed to do something else, like go to work. Marcus Luttrell has a wicked sense of humor and since I've always enjoyed learning about anything to do with our Special Forces, the background on Marcus' SEAL training was informative, entertaining and made me even more impressed with the men who make it through.

Then came the hard part. The events of Operation Redwing. Marcus Luttrell is the only survivor after his team is surrounded by Taliban forces in the mountains of Afghanistan. They are severely outnumbered and although his team mates fight on long after the majority of us would have quit/died/surrendered, they are eventually killed. Even the reinforcements that are called in are taken out by a Taliban rocket.

I cried when reading about the actions of these brave American Warriors. They weren't trying to be heroes. They were doing their job as American soldiers in the face of overwhelming odds. I am absolutely honored to meet these men who loved and fought and died for their country and their comrades; to read about their courage under fire.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since I finished it. What an insight into the lives and actions of our men in uniform. These unsung heroes in a day and age of Hollywood starlets and scandals. Our men and women in uniform who quietly go about the business of keeping this country safe against a violent enemy.

I kept a promise to myself to read this book and in doing so, read about greater promises kept. The promise our men and women in uniform make to defend this country. The promise Marcus Luttrell made to a team mate to live to tell his wife he loved her. 

This book touched me like few books have ever done. I am in awe of the 'never quit' attitude of a lone Navy SEAL. I am humbled by the bravery of our soldiers. I have a deeper respect and gratitude then I've ever known. They are in my prayers more then ever before.

God Bless our Soldiers! God Bless the USA!