“It is not just a ruby, as you say. It is large as a quail’s egg, still untouched and unpolished. And it is rumored to either bless or curse whoever possesses it.”
About The Curiosity Keeper
Camille Iverness can take care of herself. She has done so since the day her mother abandoned her family and left Camille to run their shabby Curiosity Shop. But when a violent betrayal leaves her injured with no place to hide, Camille must allow a mysterious stranger to come to her aid.
Jonathan Gilchrist never wanted to inherit Kettering Hall. As a second son, he was content to work as the village apothecary. But when his brother’s death made him heir just as his father’s foolish decisions put the estate at risk, only the sale of a priceless possession, a ruby called the Bevoy, can save the family from ruin. But the gem has disappeared. And all trails lead to the Iverness Curiosity Shop and the beautiful shop girl who may be the answer to his many questions.
Caught at the intersection of blessings and curses, greed and deceit, these two determined souls must unite to protect what they hold dear. But when a passion that shines far brighter than any gem is ignited, they will have to decide how much they are willing to risk for their future, love, and happiness.
My Thoughts
The Curiosity Keeper is set in one of my favourite time periods and in London. This novel shares the story of a young woman, whose privileged lifestyle raised with the higher class is suddenly changed when her Mother abandons their family. She is forced to move into a rougher area with her Father and work for him in his shop. She has to learn how to support, defend and trust her instincts. Most of all she has learned that she needs to protect herself first.
When a chance meeting with a nobleman changes the course of her future, she is left unsure of what to do. Throw in a stolen ruby, rumours of corruption and thievery from her Father leave her feeling lost and alone. Does she trust the family that has hurt her in the past or this new young man?
The Curiosity Keeper is very well written with well-developed characters. The last few chapters surprised me greatly – but in a good way! It definitely was not the ending I was expecting especially not for Camille. Through some minor romance into the mix and it was the perfect read from start to finish!
You can find more reviews on the Litfuse Blog Tour page. You can purchase a copy here.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Sarah E. Ladd received the 2011 Genesis Award in historical romance for The Heiress of Winterwood. She is a graduate of Ball State University and has more than ten years of marketing experience. Sarah lives in Indiana with her amazing husband, sweet daughter, and spunky Golden Retriever. You can connect with her online,Twitter and Facebook.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Conquer Your Pain in 9 Steps, is all about recognizing your pain and how to overcome its limitations.
About Conquer Your Pain in 9 Steps
From her own years of unnecessary suffering, Carole Staveley makes it her mission to maximize your chances of overcoming health barriers in the shortest possible time. Her 9 Step Health Champion approach shared in this book will help you achieve your full potential. She helps you achieve this by taking you through the process of establishing a Health Champion mindset, building your most effective health team, and maximizing your odds of persevering through it all. Become your own Health Champion and keep your healthy vision alive—no matter what challenges you face!
My Thoughts
Pain is subjective and can be felt differently from person to person based on severity. A headache that may debilitating to one person, is a normal day-to-day functioning health condition for another. Learning how to deal with your pain and conquer it in order to live a fully functional and happy life is so important!
Carole is like so many of us, suffering with chronic pain and being bounced back and forth. When she realized there were no easy answers, she knew she had to take charge of her own health. This is one area that I have always felt strongly about, patients need to be in charge of their own health, they need to ask questions, research (from reputable sources) and question whether treatments are right for them. While similar, all of our bodies respond differently to chronic conditions and treatments, so you need to work together with your health team to develop a treatment plan good for you.
Carole is an incredibly motivating individual that provides ideas and thought starters in order to take charge of your own health. This could range from individuals who suffer from chronic headaches (myself) to others who suffer from chronic diseases and conditions that puts them into positions of chronic pain. Treating your body with not only medication but also healthy food, supplements and exercise is just as important. Carole teaches us how to be an active part of our healing with chronic pain. Her book is one that you can work slowly through and come back to time and time again for a refresher.
After suffering 13 years of debilitation caused by a chronic myofascial pain condition, Carole Staveley realized there was no “magic bullet” coming to her rescue. She took charge of solving her health challenges and went on to complete an IRONMAN triathlon in 2013. Carole’s book, Conquer Your Pain in 9 Steps, takes you through her proven 9-step Health Champion approach to suffering less and achieving more. Carole Staveley is President of Inner Victory Coaching, an organization she founded to empower others to become their own Health Champions and reach their full potential. You can connect with her online, Twitter and Facebook.
Q: There are many books out there about health and wellness. What makes Conquer Your Pain in 9 Steps different?
A: Conquer Your Pain in 9 Steps is not just another general health and wellness book, nor is it focused on tips to overcome pain. It presents a 9-Step approach to dealing with any health challenge you might be faced with – now or in the future. This 9-step approach emerged from a retrospective analysis of how I conquered a 13-year struggle with chronic pain. Once I took control and became my own Health Champion, the improvements in my health were so dramatic that I was able to train for and complete an IRONMAN triathlon just 4 years into my recovery! The book was written with a deep desire to communicate to others that they can achieve things they never dreamt possible by following the process and becoming their own Health Champions.
Q: As a mom, writer, owner of your own company, athlete and Wellness Coach, how do you balance your time?
A: I get asked this a lot, and my answer generally goes like this: The biggest mistake we can make is to envision a “balanced” life in which our time is equally divided into all aspects of our lives (family, workouts, work, etc). This type of utopian expectation is what sets us up for frustration and self-deprecation. There are many priorities in my life: My kids, my husband, my fitness, care of my home, work / income, friends, etc. What I’ve come to accept is that different priorities take precedence at different times, and this makes me feel balanced. For example, in the last few months, my daughter has struggled with a significant health challenge. My priority has been to make sure she fully recovers, which means work and fitness have taken a back seat. And that’s OK. I feel balanced. I’m doing what I need to be doing right now. Your mind is what decides whether you’re balanced or not!
Q: What’s the most courageous thing you’ve ever done.
A: I have to say the most courageous thing I’ve ever done was showing up for my very first triathlon in 2009. I was just beginning to unravel the mysteries behind my chronic pain condition, and wanted to do something physical to celebrate feeling better. So I signed up for a Sprint distance triathlon. I had only begun to swim (other than goofing around in the pool as a child) in 2008, and had never done an open water swim in my life. I hadn’t done a swim or run workout for 6 weeks prior to the race due to nagging injuries (part of the condition I suffer from), but I decided to show up for the race that morning. I was never so scared in my life, which made the reward that much greater when I crossed the finish line and hugged my husband and kids.
Q: What is your favorite travel spot?
A: My absolute favorite family trip was in Loreto, Mexico, in the Baja Peninsula. It was a magical land of natural beauty, where desert meets ocean. We were outside the tiny town of Loreto, and it was practically devoid of humans. The whole family was mesmerized by it.
Q: Is there anything quirky about you that you’d like to share with readers?
A: I have to admit, I’m a Starbucks addict! And I mean it has to be brewed in a Starbucks store! I’ve tried many times to buy their coffee beans and brew it at home, but it never tastes as good. Maybe it’s all in my head, but I really look forward to picking up my “Grande bold in a Venti cup” in the morning.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
In medieval Italy, daughters are expected to marry and raise children. In Alchemy’s Daughter, this whole concept is challenged.
About Alchemy’s Daughter
In San Gimignano, Italy, daughters of merchants are expected to marry. But Santina Pietra cares only for her Calandrino, a brilliant young scholar who is preoccupied with his ancient alchemical texts. He challenges her in her studies and teaches her to aim further then just a wife.
Soon Santina meets Trotula, the village midwife, who might or might not be a “strega,” a witch. Trotula challenges her to forget Calandrino and become the woman she is meant to be. Some say she is a victim of the midwife’s spell, but Santina is determined to follow in Trotula’s footsteps even as calamities strike.
My Thoughts
I love a novel with a strong, female character and Alchemy’s Daughter provides this and more. In a period of history where women were expected to marry and provide heirs, Santina is a strong, confident young woman who goes against convention to follow her dreams of being a midwife. While many people rely on the midwife to provide care and deliver their children, the role of the midwife was cast as a witch in medieval times. Which we now know, that being labelled as a witch had deathly consequences in this time period.
I love how the novel was full of surprises. Like the choice Santina made to learn midwifery, the novel didn’t follow the plot I assumed it would. This made it an even better read than I could have expected! I finished this whole novel in one sitting because I became so attached to Santina’s character and wanted to follow her journey. While in the beginning you may assume it may become a romance, the focus is not on the romance but instead on Santina’s journey of finding herself in a time period where this was frowned on.
Alchemy’s Daughter is the perfect read for all historical fiction genres buffs but also for all young women who want a strong female lead.
Mary A. Osborne is the multiple award-winning author of Alchemy’s Daughter and Nonna’s Book of Mysteries. She is a graduate of Rush University and Knox College, where she was mentored in the Creative Writing Program. Mary is a registered nurse and holds degrees in chemistry and nursing. Her freelance work has appeared in publications such as Hektoen International, Newcity, and the Examiner.com. Mary currently lives in Chicago. You can connect with her online, Twitter and Facebook.
Where better to rebuild and face one’s fears than in 1906 San Francisco, a city rising from the ashes?
About Beyond the Ashes
Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she’ll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn’t anticipate finding new love.
Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed.
Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they’re striving to cure. Together they must ask–is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?
My Thoughts
When I first started reading this novel, I didn’t realize that it was continuing where Out of the Ruins left off. So you can imagine how excited I was when I realized this, as I loved Out of the Ruins!
Ruby has faced many ordeals in a society that is constantly pressuring and signalling her out for her widow status. She wants to escape and be allowed to find out who she is and what she can do. The only place she feels she can escape to is to her brothers, who happens to live in San Francisco, a city that is still recovering from a devastating earth quake.
Gerald is a doctor who has not only struggled with the passing of a family member but is having a hard time dealing with death itself in his journey to find a cure for cancer. When he begins to find symptoms of disease on himself, he ignores them as he struggles to come to grips with this.
Karen is a wonderful writer who draws you into the story she is telling. Her characters are well-developed and while she does include a little bit of romance it is not overwhelming so you can truly enjoy the story she spins. Beyond the Ashes is a great read that you can enjoy by the pool or over a weekend. It is a novel of hope and inspiration, that you can fall in love with over and over again.
You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Karen Barnett is the author of Beyond the Ashes, Out of the Ruins, and Mistaken. Named the 2013 Writer of Promise by Oregon Christian Writers, Karen lives in Albany, Oregon, with her husband and two kids. When she’s not writing novels, she loves speaking at women’s events, libraries, and book clubs.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Letters from My Father’s Murderer is a tale of forgiveness and peace, a story of redemption and how far it can reach.
About Letters from My Father’s Murderer
When her father was murdered, Laurie Coombs sought justice and found it.
His murderer now serves two life sentences with no possibility of parole. Yet, despite the swift punishment of the killer, Laurie found herself increasingly full of pain, bitterness, and anger she couldn’t control. After coming to faith, she realized she was being called to seek something infinitely more difficult than justice: forgiveness.
This is an extraordinary true story of grace, mercy, and the redemptive power of God to change lives. The reader is swept along with Laurie as she undergoes the life-changing transformation of becoming a Christian. As she studies Scripture, seeing God redeeming losses and healing deep wounds time and time again, she starts to understand that her own healing would require her to love her enemy in a real, practical way.
Using her incredible correspondence with the man who killed her father, Laurie reveals a compelling journey of transformation, not only in her life, but in the lives of those whom many would call irredeemable.
My Thoughts
Death is very difficult to deal with. Their is anger, frustration, regret and so many more emotions pooled together. I can’t even begin to imagine how Laurie Coombs felt knowing that not only had her Father died but that he was also murdered.
This book is not a story about murder, nor about the crime that was committed against her Father and family. Instead it is a journey – a journey of acceptance, forgiveness and how this can truly free a person. Without knowing it, Laurie held onto her anger for years until it began to eat away inside at her. She had to find a way to move forward with her life and forgive the man who caused her so much pain (God says we should love even those who hurt us). But how should she do accomplish this?
I felt Laurie’s pain as she discovered her own way of forgiving and learning to love the man who hurt her so much. It was not an easy road for her and she had many questions and doubts along the way. Your heart bleeds for her but I was also amazed with her strength and her courage. It takes a strong person to forgive and to love someone who has hurt us. It is also the most important thing you can do to move forward in your own live.
This is an incredible journey into the life of a young woman, who chose to forgive and to love the man who hurt her. There are many lessons that we can learn from her journey and put into practice in our daily lives.
You can find more reviews on the Litfuse Blog Tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Laurie A. Coombs is a passionate writer and speaker on the issues of forgiveness, redemption, and the hope that is found in Jesus. Her story was featured in Billy Graham’s new film, Heaven. She is a featured writer and blogger for iBelieve and Crosswalk. Laurie and her husband, Travis, make their home in Nevada along with their two daughters.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
About The Curiosity Keeper
