Jean M. Roberts's Blog, page 6
March 6, 2025
Spotlight on Gunbarrel Highway by Sean Bridges
GUNBARREL HIGHWAY
By Sean BridgesSuspense / ThrillerWild Rose PressPages: 264Publication Date: November 20, 2024
SYNOPSIS
Texas trophy wife Claudia Grant dies after she causes an early morning car accident. In the other vehicle, Daniel Morrison, an attorney struggling with a pending divorce and pill addiction, panics and leaves the scene.The victim’s husband, congressional candidate Hayden Grant, is a corrupt politician who seizes the opportunity and places a million-dollar reward on Morrison’s capture. Dead or alive.
Daniel is on the run. Roya Navarro, a determined San Antonio police detective, is hot on his trail with local law enforcement, county sheriffs, a hungry journalist, and trigger-happy citizens all across the Lone Star state out on the hunt for the bounty.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sean Bridges is an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl award-winning screenwriter and author. He's a Stephen King Dollar Baby with his festival winning audio production of One for the Road.His Audible Parade Productions created a serial audio thriller, Triple Six and are currently at work on their next horror/suspense audio series, Parasite Zero.
His latest screenplay, Beginner’s Luck is a 2024 award-winner at the SAFILM-San Antonio Film Festival and Austin Film Festival. He’s also worked on a number of projects for Troublemaker Studios out of Austin, TX. He lives and works in the Texas Hill Country.
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FACEBOOK
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Gunbarrel Highway
GUNBARREL HIGHWAY
By Sean BridgesSuspense / ThrillerWild Rose PressPages: 264Publication Date: November 20, 2024
SYNOPSIS
Texas trophy wife Claudia Grant dies after she causes an early morning car accident. In the other vehicle, Daniel Morrison, an attorney struggling with a pending divorce and pill addiction, panics and leaves the scene.The victim’s husband, congressional candidate Hayden Grant, is a corrupt politician who seizes the opportunity and places a million-dollar reward on Morrison’s capture. Dead or alive.
Daniel is on the run. Roya Navarro, a determined San Antonio police detective, is hot on his trail with local law enforcement, county sheriffs, a hungry journalist, and trigger-happy citizens all across the Lone Star state out on the hunt for the bounty.
CLICK TO PURCHASE:Amazon | B&N | Bookshop.org | Wild Rose PressWalmart | Books-A-Million | Audible
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sean Bridges is an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl award-winning screenwriter and author. He's a Stephen King Dollar Baby with his festival winning audio production of One for the Road.His Audible Parade Productions created a serial audio thriller, Triple Six and are currently at work on their next horror/suspense audio series, Parasite Zero.
His latest screenplay, Beginner’s Luck is a 2024 award-winner at the SAFILM-San Antonio Film Festival and Austin Film Festival. He’s also worked on a number of projects for Troublemaker Studios out of Austin, TX. He lives and works in the Texas Hill Country.
WEBSITE ◆ GOODREADS ◆ INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
ENTER TO WIN!a Rafflecopter giveaway
To learn more about the book, look for #LoneStarLitGunbarrelHighway on your preferred social media platform.
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March 3, 2025
Vanishing into the 100% Dark by Amber Royer
VANISHING INTO THE 100% DARK
By Amber RoyerCozy MysteryPublisher: Golden Tip PressPages: 288Publication Date: March 4, 2025
SYNOPSIS
Bean to chocolate maker Felicity Koerber has been invited to be part of a chocolate festival in Tokyo. It’s a big deal for a Texas gal with a chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand, so a whole group of her friends come along to support her. It’s intimidating enough to be giving a class on chocolate making with the help of a translator – she also stumbles across the scene of a murder, where a quirky group of international actors and stunt performers are making a monster movie. Felicity has already solved half a dozen murders back in Texas, so at this point her friends basically expect her to get involved – even before the young media influencer in Felicity’s group becomes the main suspect. Felicity has taken on the role of chaperone for Chloe, so she can’t imagine how she could explain what went wrong to the girl’s mother. Which gives her even more motivation to figure out the real killer.In the meantime, things get complicated at the chocolate festival when a rival chocolate maker tries to get her disqualified from the awards competition – and claims that her amateur sleuth status is bringing undesirables into the festival. And things are even more complicated as the stress of being in an unfamiliar place brings out secrets about Felicity’s friends – and her fiancé.
Honda the calico cat makes an appearance on the movie set, making Felicity homesick for her pet bunny, left at home. But the cat may know more about what happened than she is letting on. Can Felicity solve the murder in time to keep Chloe from getting arrested, while making things right with the people she cares about, and presenting a good showing at the chocolate festival?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse space opera series and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She is also the author of Story Like a Journalist: a Workbook for Novelists and has co-authored a chocolate-related cookbook with her husband. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach.WEBSITE ◆ INSTAGRAMX/TWITTER ◆ FACEBOOKAMAZON ◆ GOODREADS
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The Border Between Us by Rudy Ruiz
THE BORDER BETWEEN US
By Rudy Ruiz
Literary Fiction
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Pages: 256
Publication Date: August 27, 2024
SYNOPSIS
TheBorder Between Us is a poignant coming-of-age novel from one ofthe most exciting voices in fiction.
RamónLópez was born along the US–Mexico border but is determined to get out andembrace the American dream—and he’s not sure whether his complicated family isa help or a hindrance. As the son of immigrants, as Ramón grows, his admirationfor his entrepreneurial father sours as he watches his dad’s dreams of successwither on the vine. Ramón’s mother is constantly preoccupied with his youngerbrother, who struggles with intellectual disabilities. And the outside world isrife with danger and temptations threatening to distract Ramón from his dreamsof making it to New York and succeeding as an artist.
Asdreams clash with reality and values conflict with desires, Ramón finds theAmerican dream within his reach—but will it demand too big a sacrifice?
Award-winningauthor Rudy Ruiz brilliantly captures the beauty and danger of border life asRamón struggles to understand his home and his place in the world. The BorderBetween Us is a stunning, compassionate story about a son’s fraughtrelationship with his father, the challenges of pursuing a creative life whenone comes from humble beginnings, and the power of embracing one's whole self.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rudy Ruiz is the author of The Resurrectionof Fulgencio Ramirez and Valley ofShadows. He is a winner of the Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Book ofFiction, the Gulf Coast Prize in Fiction, and multiple International LatinoBook Awards. A bilingual native of the US–Mexico border, he earned hisbachelor’s and master’s degrees at Harvard University. Rudy lives and writes inTexas and New England with his wife and children. Visit his website atRudyRuiz.com.
REVIEW
When I picked up this shortnovel, set on the Texas-Mexican border, I thought the ‘border’ in the title wasjust that, the Rio Grande River. But there is more than one kind of border thatseparates people from one another.
Ramón López is a high school kidwho lives with his grandmother in Texas. His parents, his hardworking motherand his father, with several failed businesses, live in Mexico. Ramon also hasa younger brother who suffers from physical and intellectual disabilities. Whilein high school, he is befriended by a senior named Julia and her slackerboyfriend Reeser. His time with Julia opens a different world to him, a worldpowered by the drug trade.
After a tragic accident, Ramónfocuses on his art and is awarded a scholarship to a prestigious NY college. Heleaves the border for the city. There he meets another wealthy girl, Clara,whose opulent lifestyle is funded by her wealthy father. The stark differencesin their lived experiences reveals a different sort of border. What should havebeen Ramón’s ticket to a new life instead robs him of what he holds most dear.
For Ramón, borders are not justgeographic. There’s the border between the rich and the poor. The gulf betweena father and the son who doesn’t understand him. There’s the border betweenwhat is right and what is wrong and what happens if you cross it.
I really enjoyed this story oflife in Southernmost Texas. The close-knit family, divided by the river, bychanging values and the choices they make. I thought the story was beautifullywritten with evocative descriptions the tightknit Hispanic community and thechallenges of growing up torn between what you have and what you think youwant.
I highly recommend thisthoughtful book.
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February 27, 2025
Death of a Princess by R. N. Morris
Welcome to the Book’s Delight and a stop onthe Coffeepot Book Tour for R.N. Morris’ novel, DEATH OF A PRINCESS, book 3 ofthe series, Empire of Shadows. Looks fabulous!
The Details:
Book Title: Death of a Princess
Series: Empire of Shadows, Book #3
Author: R.N. Morris
Publication Date: 5th November 2024
Publisher: Sharpe Books
Pages: 192
Genre: Historical Crime / Mystery
Any Triggers: Description of illness, death, violentcrime, murder, sexual references, sexual threat.
Blurb:
Summer 1880.
Lipetsk, a spa town in Russia.
The elderly and cantankerous PrincessBelskaya suffers a violent reaction while taking a mud bath at the famousLipetsk Sanatorium. Soon after, she dies.
Dr Roldugin, the medical director of the sanatorium, is at a loss toexplain the sudden and shocking death.
He points the finger at Anna Zhdanova, a medical assistant who wassupervising the princess’s treatment.
Suspicion also falls on the princess’s nephew Belsky, who appearsfar from grief-stricken at his aunt’s death.
Meanwhile, investigating magistrate Pavel Pavlovich Virginskyarrives in Lipetsk from St Petersburg, seeking treatment after a nervousbreakdown.
Against his better judgement, Virginsky is drawn in to theinvestigation. But is he getting closer to the truth or walking straightinto a deadly trap?
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mvOpq8
This title is available to read on#KindleUnlimited.
Author Bio:
Roger (R.N) Morris is the author of 18 books,including a quartet of historical crime novels set in St Petersburg featuringPorfiry Petrovich, the investigating magistrate from Dostoevsky’s great novelCrime and Punishment. These were followed by the Silas Quinn series set inLondon in 1914. He has been shortlisted for the CWA Duncan Lawrie Gold Daggerand the CWA Historical Dagger.
A former advertising copywriter, Roger haswritten the libretto for an opera, modern retellings of Frankenstein andMacbeth for French school children. He’s also a scriptwriter for an awardwinning audio producer, working on true crime and history podcasts includingThe Curious History of your Home.
His work has been published in 16 countries.
Married with two grown-up children, Rogerlives in Chichester where he keeps an eye out for seagulls.
AuthorLinks:
Website: www.rogernmorris.co.uk
Twitter: https://x.com/rnmorris
Facebook: www.facebook.com/roger.morris.7547
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/roger-morris-41679518
Instagram: www.instagram.com/rogermorris7988
Threads: www.threads.net/@rogermorris7988
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rnmorris.bsky.social
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/rogernmorris1
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B001JP9XXA
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/608784.R_N_Morris
February 25, 2025
Home To Comfort by Kimbery Fish
HOME TO COMFORT
By Kimberly FishWomen’s Fiction / Contemporary / Cozy MysteryPublisher: Fish Tales PublishingPages: 382Publication Date: October 10, 2024
SYNOPSIS
Gloria Bachman has pivoted so many times this year she has whiplash. Now, in the middle of winter and drenched in Mexican sunshine at a five-star resort, she has a role to play: Mason Lassiter’s “arm candy” in a sting to nab his not-actually-dead, first wife, Patsy. It didn’t make any sense to her either, but who argues with government officials offering an expense-paid trip and a reason for a new beach wardrobe?With Patsy leading resort security, FBI agents, and Mason on a merry chase, Gloria knows that if you want to catch a woman of a certain age, you have to think like a woman of a certain age. Thankfully, she’s got the credentials.
If only she could understand the other people in her life—particularly Gardner Rogers. Gloria returns home to Comfort, Texas with a ring, a pressing need to organize her house, and a custom order of Sweeties signature truffles to be delivered to White House chefs. When her business partner embarks on last-minute travel plans, one of her best friends announces a retirement, romances bloom from unlikely sources, and Gardner and her ex-husband, Harry Rogers, come unhinged—quite publicly—it all forces Gloria to face her strangest challenges yet.
This final book in the Comfort and Joy trilogy weaves happy endings for the townsfolk that readers have come to love, and just deserts for those they don’t. It’s Kimberly Fish at her finest, and a treasure for brave people who don’t retire quietly.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kimberly Fish has been in the writing industry for over 30 years. An amateur historian and fan of cozy mysteries, she weaves history and mystery into her stories of women finding their grit and sweet second chances.WEBSITE ◆ INSTAGRAM ◆ FACEBOOKX/TWITTER ◆ PINTEREST ◆ YOUTUBEAMAZON ◆ GOODREADS ◆ BOOKBUB
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REVIEWWhile I’ve never been to Comfort, Texas, I think I’ve been to small, insular towns like it. Comfort works hard to keep to its roots, even as the suburbs of Austin and San Antonio creep ever closer.Comfort is home to Gloria Bachman, once a high-flying bank executive, now a chocolate shop owner and a force of nature. She’s found her place in little Comfort and her man, the very handsome Mason Lassiter, owner of a swanky Dallas clothing store empire. But all is not perfect as Gloria’s arch enemy is out to destroy everything she’s built for herself. First, she must fend off an attack by Mason’s ex-wife, who’s running wild somewhere in Mexico. When Gloria returns to Texas, she has to tackle her ex BFF Gardner Rogers, the woman with a vendetta.Like the previous two Comfort stories, this one is full of friends and family, gossip, intrigue and infighting, and all the kookiness of a small town. Picking up Home to Comfort is like returning to old friends, catching up on their lives, their comings and goings. It’s like pulling on a comfy old sweater and settling in with a cup of tea before a fire; warm, inviting and safe.While the resolution seems to be a foregone conclusion, it was fun getting there. I really like Gloria as a character. She’s a woman of a certain age who's seen a lot in her life and not willing to put up with a bit of nonsense. A straight shooter. Her friends circle around her, propping her up when she needs it and in return she has their back.I really enjoyed this series and am sad it’s over but I’m happy for Gloria and the gang. I might even take a weekend break in Comfort!
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February 20, 2025
The Many Lives and Loves of Hazel by Lois Cahall
Welcometo the Book’s Delight and a stop on the Coffeepot tour for THE MANY LIVES &LOVES OF HAZEL LAVERY! It sounds delicious!
TheDetails
Book Title: TheMany Lives & Loves of Hazel Lavery
Series: n/a
Author: LoisCahall
Publication Date: January 14th, 2025
Publisher: Historium Press
Pages: 340
Genre: HistoricalBiographical Fiction
Any Triggers: n/a
The Blurb:
In the heart of tumultuous times, amidstthe grandeur of Victorian opulence, there existed an American socialite whoseinfluence altered the course of the Anglo-Irish treaty: Lady Hazel LaveryBoston-born Hazel ascended from her Irish roots tobecome the quintessential Society Queen of Chicago, and later London, where shelived a delicate dance between two worlds: one with her esteemed husband, SirJohn Lavery, a portrait artist to royalty, and the other with Michael Collins,the daring Irish rebel whose fiery spirit ignited her heart. Together, theyformed a love triangle that echoed through the corridors of power at 10 DowningStreet, London.
Hazel's wit and charm touched on the lives of thewho's-who of England, including Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw andEvelyn Waugh. The image of her memorable face graced the Irish note for closeto half-a-century.
BuyLink:
UniversalBuy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4APo7o
Author Bio:
Lois Cahall beganher writing career as a columnist for Cape Cod newspapers and localperiodicals, including Cape Cod Life. She spent a decadewriting for national magazines (Conde Nast/Hearst). Her articles have beenpublished in Cosmo Girl, Seventeen, SELF, Marie Claire, Redbook, LadiesHome Journal, Reader’s Digest, Men’s Journal, and BonAppetit. In the UK she wrote for RED, GQ, Psychologies,and for The Times. In addition, Lois wrote profiles for ThePalm Beach Post.
Lois’s firstnovel, Plan C: Just in Case, was a #1 bestseller in the UK,where it remained in the top three fiction for the year before selling intoforeign translation markets. In July of 2014, her novel hit #1 on the Nook“Daily Deal” in America. Her second novel, Court of the Myrtles, washailed as “Tuesdays with Morrie on estrogen” by the LadiesHome Journal. Her newest book, The Many Lives of Hazel Lavery,is a work of historical fiction and will be published in 2025.
Lois is theformer Creative Director of Development for James Patterson Entertainment. Shecredits her friend, Jim Patterson, the world’s most successful bestsellingauthor, with teaching her about the importance of children’s reading andliteracy. As a result, she founded the Palm Beach Book Festival in 2015, an annual event bringing in NYT bestsellingand celebrity authors. The event is for book lovers, nurturing the written wordfor the children and adults of southern Florida.
In 2024 Lois alsofounded The Cape CodBook Festival, an annualautumn event that promises to be a new cultural footprint in Massachusetts. Itwill be for locals and ‘washashores’ alike – a magical place where charitablyminded readers can rub elbows with great writers and thinkers.
Lois divides herlife between New York and Cape Cod, although her spiritual home is London. Butmost importantly, Lois can do the Hula Hoop for an hour non-stop and clear aThanksgiving table in just under ten minutes.
AuthorLinks:
Website: www.loiscahall.com
Twitter: https://x.com/LoCahall
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoisCahallAuthor/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lois.cahall/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@lois.cahall
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/loiscahall.bsky.social
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/2431811526
AmazonAuthor Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lois-Cahall/author/B0DG3W5QNW
February 19, 2025
Beneath the Broken Oak by Lori Altebaumer
BENEATH THE BROKEN OAK
By Lori AltebaumerMystery / RomancePublisher: One Thousand Hills PublishingPages: 400Publication Date: February 22, 2025
SYNOPSIS
Trees don’t heal. They seal.But Forester Jodee Trevaine isn’t a tree. The wounds of abandonment she’s spent years denying will be ripped open the night she witnesses a child’s abduction.
The hardscrabble West Texas town of El Hueso, where keeping secrets is what keeps you alive, is the last place one would expect to find healing.
Until her job brings her there for a dying tree.
With new friends and the unexpected reacquaintance with the man she loved and left, Jodee has everything to gain—and just as much to lose—as she races against time to rescue the boy.
Could it be that her roots go deeper than she realized into the soil of EL Hueso?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award-winning novelist and Amazon Top New Release author Lori Altebaumer is a lifelong Texan whose family roots run deep in the Lone Star state. Her writing bends the rules for modern Christian fiction, telling bold stories of good and evil in a broken world.WEBSITE ◆ FACEBOOK ◆ NEWSLETTER AMAZON ◆ GOODREADS
REVIEW
The short story: A dual-time mystery with roots in the past.
My review:
Was it fate that brought JodeeTrevaine and Blue Sunday to the same truck stop? Blue is a blast from her past,and not a good one. He brings back troubling memories and stirs old feelings.Once she sends him on his way, she witnesses the kidnapping of a young boy. Herattempts to intervene get her a nasty head wound and a trip to the emergencyroom.
As she tries to recover, Bluereenters her life, but he has his own agenda, one he tries to protect her from.But Jodee is nothing but stubborn and it’ll take more than Blue to stop herfrom doing what she thinks is right.
Beneath the Broken Oaks is an intriguingmulti-layered mystery. A dual timeline sets up a twisty plot with roots deep inthe past that ensnares the lives of the modern-day characters. Told in multiplePOVs, this fast-paced mystery will suck you in. The setting is a creepy WestTexas town, drowning in atmosphere. Jodee, a forester, finds herself revisitingher past, searching for herself and who she wants to be. Blue Sunday has madehis peace with God and the world, but he still needs forgiveness from the womanhe’s loved all his life. Together, they need to piece the clues that will leadto the missing boy, solve the mystery, and get them back on track.
With plenty of surprises, twistsand turns, this page turner will keep you engaged. I admit I did not see theending until late in the game. The book does have a Christian theme, but it complementsrather than overpowers the plot and the cowboy clad guardian angel is a nicetouch. The romantic elements, while an enjoyable addition, are not the drivingforce for the story.
All in all, I really enjoyed thestory and would recommend it to readers who enjoy a good mystery.
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February 16, 2025
The Two Terrors of Tulelake by WM Gunn
THE TWO TERRORS OF TULELAKE
By WM GunnHistorical Fiction / Science Fiction / ThrillerPages: 320Publication Date: October 15, 2024
SYNOPSIS
The horrors of World War II shocked the world. Americans believed it could never happen here in our own borders…until it did.Ichiro Hisakawa and his family were part of the American culture – living the American Dream – until February 19, 1942, when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 that branded them “the others.” Taken from their homes and stripped of their citizenship due to their ancestry, they endured deplorable conditions in the “relocation camps.” Typhus ran rampant through the camp, and riots were a daily occurrence. And for the first time, America was scornful. Life was difficult, and the Hisakawa family did their best to endure it all.
However, 16-year-old Ichiro wasn’t prepared for the betrayal, murder, and escape that was waiting for him. And how did Bobby King, a sixteen-year-old from 2017, find himself in 1942 and friend to Ichiro?
Read The Two Terrors of Tulelake, a story based upon historical facts that many Americans today are unaware of.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
WM Gunn is a native Texan who spent many years in the pharmaceutical industry in sales, sales management, and training and development. He is active in writing groups and volunteering with non-profit groups. He lives in his hometown in Texas with his high school sweetheart and bride of many years.To date, he has written dozens of short stories, novellas, and novels. Holmes, Moriarty, and the Monkeys and Chasing the Sun are two novellas released earlier in 2024. Visit his website, wm-gunn.com.
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REVIEW
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February 8, 2025
The Doctor's Wife by Myra Hargrave McIlvain
The Doctor’s Wife by Myra Hargrave McIlvain
My Review:
This is the second book I’ve readby Texan author Myra Hargrave McIlvain and it did not disappoint.
Amelia sails to Galveston, Texas,hoping for adventure and a new life far from her home in Germany. Almost immediately,her employer abandons her, and she is forced to work as a chambermaid in alocal hotel. But a handsome doctor, whom she’d met aboard ship proposes to her.He prepares her for a rough life in the new port city of Indian Point onMatagorda Bay, but she accepts, willing to face the hardship for the chance ofa better life.
Dr. Stein was truthful about the stateof the town, little more than a refugee camp with dozens of families living in tentsdespite the winter’s cold. The temperature is not the only chill in the air andher marriage remains unconsummated, leaving her lonely and confused. Settingaside her feelings, she stands beside Dr. Stein as they build a prosperous lifetogether, opening a mercantile store as well as his medical practice. Still,she longs for love …
The Doctor’s Wife is setin the 1840s-1850s in Texas, just after it became the 28th US state,after giving up its independence. This is a fascinating time in Texas/Americanhistory. The US immediately declared war on Mexico and the border between thetwo countries was reset and officially became the Rio Grande River.
As in the story, hundreds ofGerman immigrants were pouring into Texas, promised land that turned out to bein Comanche Territory. They eventually settled in the Texas Hill Country, foundingthe towns of New Braunfels, Fredericksburg and many more.
I really enjoyed learning moreabout this time period and McIlvain does a great job laying out the history of theday. Full of descriptions of daily life, the hardships and the joys of life onthe Texas Coast, it made the characters come to life. When Amelia travels toNew Orleans to buy for her store, the author treats us to life in the CrescentCity. The author doesn’t shy away from the ugliness of slavery and the brutalityof life in the 19th century.
Amelia is a wonderful character,and I grew attached to her as she slowly understands her husband and acceptsthe state of their marriage, while also finding love on her own terms.
The book is part of a three-part series,and I look forward to reading more about Amelia and her family.
I highly recommend this book and allof author Myra Hargrave McIlvain’s books. This was a five-star read for me!
