Surrender the Dawn

And now, the conclusion of the Surrender to Destiny series by MaryLu Tyndall...

Surrender The Dawn.

Cassandra Channing became the head of her household by default when her father and brothers disappeared into the mists of the War of 1812. It is unheard of for a woman to invest her money into a privateer, and no one wants to do business with her for fear of bad luck. But Cassandra is desperate to save her family's finances, and desperate times call for desperate measures.

Luke Heaton has a ship, if you can call it that, and plenty of experience being a privateer, but he needs funds, and that's where Miss Channing comes in. She has the money, he has the ship and the know-how. He may be the town rogue with a more-than-slightly tarnished reputation, but he's willing to do business with Cassandra, which is more than the other privateers can say.

So, Cassandra takes a chance and it pays off. The first voyage is wildly successful, and it looks like their future and finances are saved.

But...

a jealous suitor doesn't want Cassandra Channing to be independent.

And...

someone's out for revenge on Luke Heaton.

When these two join forces, they lay a clever trap, and Luke's brother is kidnapped and used to blackmail him into providing supplies to the British. Cassandra really wants to trust Luke because she's falling in love with him, but she's suspicious of his recent activities. When she sets out to discover the truth for herself, she's caught in the toils of the massive British invasion and held prisoner.

The British may see Luke and Cassandra as mere pawns to be sacrificed on the altar of war, but to God, they are priceless treasures, and He rules their destinys as well as the destiny of a new nation!

Check out what happens in Surrender The Dawn. A great wrap up to the Surrender to Destiny series.

I love history, so these books are right up my alley. But even if you're not a fan of history, you'll enjoy these well-written stories. Who doesn't like a good love story with some swasbuckling adventure thrown in?! Who knows, you might even find that history is not as dry as you thought it was! 

;-)

Surrender The Night

Surrender The Night is book two in MaryLu Tyndall's Surrender to Destiny series.

Rose McGuire has the nightmares to prove why she doesn't trust men, but when an enemy soldier protects her from a brutal attack and is wounded in the process, she can do no less than hide him and treat his wound.

British 2nd Lieutenant Alexander Reed has no reason to trust these backwoods, illiterate Americans, but he also couldn't stand by and see an innocent woman raped, and now that he's been shot, he doesn't have much of a choice but to trust this skittish American.

As you can imagine, hiding a British soldier has all sorts of pitfalls. Not the least of which is an annoyingly persistent suitor of Rose's who is only after her land and will do anything it takes to get it, including blackmailing Rose and Alexander.

Even as war swirls around them and loyalties pull them apart, Rose and Alex begin to wish they had the freedom to fall in love.

Step back in time with Surrender The Night and see what happens to a wounded American woman and a wounded British soldier. It's a wonderful story full of powerful truths about God's ability to use us, wounds and all.

(Warning: You might also learn some things about how God was working in our country to preserve our freedom from British rule.)

This one is on my keeper shelf, so grab your own copy! :-)

Stay tuned for book three in the Surrender to Destiny series.

Surrender The Heart

Surrender The Heart by MaryLu Tyndall is the first book in the Surrender to Destiny series and stars Marianne Denton and Noah Brenin in the days of the War of 1812.

Marianne's family is keeping up the pretense of wealth, but in reality they are destitute until Marianne marries and can obtain her inheritance.

Noah Brenin's family needs money for their shipping business, and they see a marriage with the Denton family as advantageous to the family coffers. The problem is, Noah doesn't want to marry Marianne. He believes he can provide the needed funds by getting a shipload of supplies to England to sell.

But...

(There's always a but in a good story.)

Marianne refuses to let him get away with humiliating her and walking out on their engagement party, and she stows away on his ship to convince him to marry her.

And...

American has just gone to war with England, and Noah and his ship become collateral damage when the ship is captured by an English man-of-war, and Marianne and Noah are impressed into the British navy.

How they survive a crazy British naval captain and learn that God has not forsaken them even amid a world at war is a story well worth reading.

MaryLu Tyndall makes 1812 American history come alive, if you are at all interested in the early years of this great country. But even if you're not a history fan, this story will keep you on the edge of your seat during intense battles at sea and battles of the heart.

Grab a copy of Surrender The Heart for yourself, because my copy is going on my keeper shelf!

Stay tuned for book two in the Surrender to Destiny series...

San Antonio

My sister and I went to San Antonia a couple of weekends ago, and I thought I'd share a few of the pictures I snapped. It was a whirlwind trip, but we did get to snag a couple of hours to sightsee.

Monument to the men who died in the Alamo.

This 100+ year old Live Oak stands in the courtyard of the Alamo and guards the well (which you can see just to the left of the tree trunk).

The purple asters were in full bloom, and the honey bees were quite busy.

Across the street from the Alamo you can go down to the Riverwalk. I took some video of our short time down there, but neglected to take any still photos. Oh, for more time to explore that beautiful spot!

We ate at a barbecue cafe alongside the water. It would have been a beautiful spot except for the pigeons. They were roosting in the trees above the heads of the diners, and they bombed our table more than once. Thankfully, they missed our food and drinks. Yuck!

We were on the road for 22 hours coming home due to road construction delays and detours. Round trip, we covered over 2200 miles. It was good to see that part of the world, but I am thankful I don't have to live and work with the kind of traffic we got snarled up in through Austin, Tx. Yikes! How do people live like that? It took us two hours to make it through Austin's rush hour traffic on the way down, but only 30 minutes on the way back up because we missed rush hour.

There is definitely something to be said about rural, small-town life! No Traffic!

My new toy...

I have a new digital camera, and I've been playing. Here are some of my results:

Run for your life!

When Her Highness Princess Isabelle of Lydia steps into the limousine to go to a routine state dinner, she never imagines her life is about to be turned upside down. The only thing she’s worried about is her enigmatical new bodyguard. She doesn’t trust him, but her father, the King, refuses to replace him or explain the sudden change.

But then an explosion rips through the limousine carrying her brother and Isabelle’s world is shattered. Her bodyguard gets her away from the immediate danger, but can he be trusted, or is he kidnapping her? Is her family all dead? Who can be trusted in this new world where friend is foe and foe is friend?

An assassination attempt. A missing, presumed dead royal family. A country in chaos. A usurper to the now-empty throne. A princess on the run for her very life. These are only a few of the dangers in the new book by Rachelle McCalla; Princess in Peril.

Book one in McCalla’s new Reclaiming the Crown series started out fast and sped up! The plot was intriguing and believable, the characters well-written, and the suspense edge-of-your-seat. I couldn’t wait to get to the end of the story to see what happened, and yet, I didn’t want the story to end. This book will go on my keeper shelf, and I eagerly await the next book in the series.

In stores now. Princess in Peril by Rachelle McCalla. Pick up a copy for yourself, grab a comfy seat, and buckle up for a fast-paced, won’t-want-to-put-it-down read.

Guardians of Justice

I've just finished book two in the Guardians of Justice series, and Irene Hannon continues to be a favorite suspense writer.

 

The Guardians of Justice series tells the stories of the three Taylor siblings. In book one, Fatal Judgement, we meet U.S. Marshal Jake Taylor who is on protection detail for Federal Judge Liz Michaels. An unknown enemy wants Liz dead, and it's Jake's job to protect her. However, Liz's husband was Jake's best friend, and he died under rather suspicious circumstances. Jake believes Liz is ruthlessly obssessed with her career to the point of allowing her marriage to fail, but he just might find he's jumped to some wrong conclusions. But will he figure that out before danger strikes one last, fatal time?

 

 

This story leaves you wanting to know more about the other Taylor siblings, and that's where book two comes in. :-)

In Deadly Pursuit, we meet Jake's sister, Alison Taylor, a social worker with a heart for helping children. But this soft-hearted woman has made someone mad, and that someone is gunning for her. Enter Ex-Navy SEAL, Mitch Morgan. He's the new partner of Alison's brother, Cole Taylor. Alison Taylor has caught his eye, and he's not about to let someone hurt his partner's sister; that would ruin a perfectly good partnership! Not to mention, he wants to get to know Alison better for purely personal reasons...

Deadly Pursuit was a fast read, and even though you know pretty quick who the bad guy is, it still keeps you on the edge of your seat as the story climaxes. I like that this author can tell a story that keeps me in suspense without being graphic when it comes to details of the crimes. (I don't need the gory details described to know that evil is evil.)

If you like romantic suspense, check out the Guardians of Justice series. Books one and two are sitting proudly on my shelf waiting for book three: Cole's story.

P.S.

The Guardians of Justice series is set in and around St. Louis, Missouri. Since I'm a Missouri girl, it was fun to read about places I had been and could picture in my mind.

(Irene Hannon has another series of three books called The Heroes of Quantico. Each book follows an FBI Agent and are more great reads if you like suspense.)