June's Books with Dienece

Hi, I'm Dienece Darling, a historical romance author for Christians.

I read all kinds of genres, but I prefer to stick to Christian books. Those that help me walk closer to God while being entertaining are my favourites.

Without further ado, let's talk about books!

Historical

As Sure As the Sea by Jamie Ogle

This book starts with a bang, and it just gets better as it goes along! I loved how the author weaves a tale so real you feel like you know what it was like for the early Christians, and yet it's easy to read. Plus, their issues are so real, and even the brief dip into theology (because the hero is a pastor) was easy and enlightening all at the same time. I very much enjoyed this fictional (although it has loads of history) retelling of St. Nick.

My tip: Make sure you read the notes at the end which tell you what parts of the story are based on facts!

The Rules of Courtship by Kasey Stockton

This is a 'clean' regency romance rather than Christian. It's a best-friends-to-more. I love those. :) He has loved her for ages but so has his cousin. So, the guy keeps his feelings to himself, and she has made all kinds of rules to keep the cousin at bay. However, that also means it keeps the guy at bay too. But lately the girl has started to have some 'not friend like' thoughts about the guy. So, at a house party she suspends her rules and gives both guys a fair chance.

Add in some mystery and other house guests, and there is plenty to keep you entertained. However, this was least favourite of the three books in the series, for the reasons I've listed below. Content warning: it's clean, but the embraces are a little too passionate and descriptive for my personal tastes, but if you like Judy Hedlund's Matchmaker books, or Mary Conneally and Karen Witemeyer, then you'll be fine. The men use mild oaths which I disliked, but it was the girl using them as well which really bugged me. But if you're okay with those things, it's a good story.

Hope's Enduring Echo by Kim Vogel Sawyer

I LOVED this historical fiction (with a bit of romance).

The girl asks God for a friend, and low and behold one jumps off a train. And he is looking for dinosaur bones. :) I loved the dinosaur part of the story, and how they talk about proving creation with fossils. The girl's dad suffers from depression, and I appreciated how this topic was handled with grace in the book. I especially loved the theme of hope, and I liked how the mother gets a POV too. So, we can see how she feels and what she does with her husband.

I really, really liked this book.

Content warning: I was a little discomforted by the age gap between the characters (she's only 17, and he is portrayed as a very young college student), but the author handles it well by delaying the true romance until the girl is at college herself. And it's also important to note, that while this 'age gap' is a problem for modern readers, many women were married by 17 or younger. That's just how it was back then.

The Dreams We Knew by Rachel Scott McDaniel

Another special historical romance by Rachel Scott McDaniel. She's a rich kid who was adopted and therefore isn't sure where she fits in. Plus, she had a rather large birthmark on her face. He's an orphan who has frostbite damage on his feet from living on the streets. They are both detectives and out to solve a case! There is something else pretty big about them, but I'd give away a lot if I told you that. Let's just say they have history. :)

Content Warning: I missed the memo that this one (like Book 1) is a little steamier than her previous books. But for the most part, I was okay with it due to that secret I can't share without spoiling part of the story.

An Honourable Deception by Roseanna M. White

A great end to a great series.

This covers a heavy topic, but in true Roseanna M. White fashion, she makes a challenging topic an enlightening and even enjoyable read. Which might sound like she treats it flippantly, but that's not what I mean. It's still a challenge, but the grace with which she writes it, makes it easier to learn and open our eyes to topics we shouldn't shut them to.

If you liked the rest of series, you'll like this one too. And if you haven't read the rest of the series, um, why haven't you??? :)

Content Warning: discusses prostitution and sexual violence within families

Contemporary Romance

A Lancaster Amish Christmas by Anne Blackburn and three more

I wanted to read this for Anne's book because it had a Down Syndrome sister. I loved that book. It really taught me more about Down Syndrome. Plus, the story was good too.

I liked the other books, but Anne's contribution was why I read it. And I was happy I did.

Authentically Izzy by Pepper Basham

This was so good!

I've put off reading this because it's told through mostly a collection of emails and text messages. There isn't much "novel" writing until near the end, but I did actually enjoy reading it. The story is great, the writing style unique and interesting. The characters are awesome, and the humour is good. It's a great book.

She's a librarian with no luck dating. He is a bookshop owner in another country (hence the emails) who doesn't get out and is socially awkward. I loved them together!

Warning: I found the email text hard to read in the paperback because of the tight font, and while the use of different fonts for each type of communicate (one for text, one for email, etc) made it easy to tell who was writing to whom at a glance, it also gave me headaches (I'm speaking literally).

The Baby's Christmas Blessing by Meghann Whistler

A Love Inspired romance.

They fell in love as teenagers at church camp, and then she never heard from him again. She needs a job, and he needs a nanny for his orphan nephew. And let's just say that the reason, he never contacted her is a big one. It's well worth the wait to find out what happened. Read the book. :)

Tessa's Christmas Joy by Linore Rose Burkard

Inspirational

She's been in love with him from the start, but he's trying to propose to someone else. And he asked her to help him pick out the ring. Ouch!

I liked how the author showed that the hero, an assistant pastor, had liked Tessa first, but he'd been told she was off limits because she was his assistant. So, he pursued someone else, and because he doesn't want to appear flaky, he intends to 'stick it out' with the other girl.

This may be book 2, but it works as a standalone just fine. And obviously, I didn't bother waiting until Christmas to read it either. ;)

Christian Fantasy

Caligo by J. J. Fischer

This is a spinoff of her earlier series which wraps up a few of the characters there. It could work as a standalone, but it would have some big spoilers from the main series, so I strongly suggest you read the Nightingale Trilogy first.

This one is a little darker than Memoria, the last one I read, but then the characters themselves weren't the knights in shining armour in the other series. So, it stands to reason they've got a bit to work through. He's been a drunk, and he has to get dry at one point in the book. She's fleeing from the death of her fiancé, especially since people think she did it.

I loved getting to see Spartan again in this book. And the rooster (which I wasn't so sure about coming into the story), but he really helps to lighten the mood.

I liked how the author gave this book its own world (it's not the one we were in before), and even though she's only written one book not three, you get to know this world pretty well. And it's got lots going on, and three difference romances too. Fischer really packs a lot into this book!

I definitely recommend it to anyone who read and loved the Nightingale series (mostly because you'll hit a lot of spoilers if you read this one first). However, you don't need to have read the other series for this to work just fine as a book all on its own.

Nonfiction Reads

I've been doing a 'spot' of research for my next book, and I hope to include all the books at a later time. But here are three of them.

Love and marriage in the age of Jane Austen by Rory Muir

This shares so much about LIFE in Austen's day. Not just courting routines, but how a husband's work (barrister, physician etc) would affect the wife. Domestic abuse, FYI it was totally legal for a husband to use physical violence to 'correct' his wife during this time, but it was becoming less socially acceptable for a gentleman (VERY slowly). And so much more.

One of the things I really liked about this resource is that the author uses real couples, real people and situations to share about the topic at hand.

Content warning: contains chapters on gay and lesbians as well as adultery.

Jane Austen's Wardrobe by Hilary Davidson

This is so easy to read!

The author has broken down every time Jane Austen mentioned a dress or some piece of apparel she owned in her letters and then gives pictures of either the article itself from the Jane Austen society or an equivalent.

This starts in 1796 when Jane is 20 turning 21, and the 'regency' fashions were very strongly coming into play!

Style & Society: dressing the Georgians by Anna Reynolds

This has so much excellent info, down to when certain colour dyes were invented, that pink wasn't a colour adjective until the 1700s, and more. And that's just the colour section. It breaks down how the fabrics were made. Who sold them. When things were popular, and so much more. I absolutely loved this resource and secretly hope my library may decide to sell it to me one day. I could easily spend weeks reading this.

Even if you want to write more "regency," you'll find a lot of good info in here.

Older Kids/Teen Books

Mandie and the Invisible Troublemaker by Lois Gladys Leppard

Mandie is headed back to school, but things keep going wrong. Who is the mischief maker and why are they targeting Mandie?

The Pilgrim's Progress by John Buyan retold for Illustrated Christian Classics by Dan Larsen

If you ever had a problem with trying to read Pilgrim's Progress. This will help, A LOT! Now, it's still a little complicated, but I'm used to the KJV and so is my teen so we were fine. And it is very much like the original, just simplified and much easier to understand. So, I highly recommend this.

I couldn't find all the kid's covers, but these ones I could!

Kid's Books

A Question of Yams by Gloria Repp

This is a missionary retelling of a boy whose father decided not to pray to the spirits before planting their yams. He prayed to God instead. A great book for introducing missions to kids and culture.

Squeaky Squirrel's Great Adventure by Hugh F Pyle

This came from Adventures in Animal Land which is a collection of short stories.

Squeaky is sure he is big and strong and can never fall, until the day he goes out over a limb which isn't as sturdy as he thought... Squeaky learns to obey your parents.

Scamper Squirrel and the Big Black Beast by Hugh F Pyle

This came from Adventures in Animal Land which is a collection of short stories.

Scamper hears a tale of a big 'black' thing and decides to find someone brave enough to investigate the mystery with him, even though he knows his parents wouldn't have let him go.

Scamper learns about the company we keep.

Picture Book

You're Beautiful by Chantel & Mauli Bonner

This is a lovely book about how we are all different no matter what our skin colour is, whether we're tall, short, have freckles or glasses. It's about celebrating uniqueness and makes a point to teach kids to notice if someone is feeling 'odd' and to encourage that person. A lovely little book about diversity for kids.

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Check out these Historical Romances!

There are so many in this collection which I know or I've read that I thought I'd write you a list! :)

Books/Authors I've read:

The Letter by Edwina Kiernan

Iris Lim

A.M. Heath

Rachel Knowles

Heart in the Clouds by Jennifer Mistmorgan

These Long Shadows by Jennifer Mistmorgan

On my TBR:

Lord Pennington's Ward by Iris Lim

Camille Elliot

The Bandit's Redemption by Kylee Woodley

The Disappointed Daughter Rachel Knowles

The Mapmaker's Secret by Jennifer Mistmorgan

Wish List:

Miss Vincent's Vow (I've heard good things about this one)

A Lesson in Love by Linda Shenton Matchett

Faith on the Frontier by Vivian Belle

Find these books here!

And that's all from me from this month. Happy reading!

Dienece Darling