Author CARRIE TURANSKY--wonderfully-written, inspiring historical romance

THE GOVERNESS OF HIGHLAND HALL  by Carrie Turansky 


Worlds lie between the marketplaces of India and the halls of a magnificent country estate like Highland Hall. Will Julia be able to find her place when a governess is neither upstairs family nor downstairs help? 
 

Missionary Julia Foster loves working alongside her parents, ministering and caring for young girls in India. But when the family must return to England due to illness, she readily accepts the burden for her parents’ financial support. Taking on a job at Highland Hall as governess, she quickly finds that teaching her four privileged, ill-mannered charges at a grand estate is more challenging than expected, and she isn’t sure what to make of the estate’s preoccupied master, Sir William Ramsey.


Widowed and left to care for his two young children and his deceased cousin Randolph’s two teenage girls, William is consumed with saving the estate from the financial ruin. The last thing he needs is any distraction coming from the kindhearted-yet-determined governess who seems to be quietly transforming his household with her persuasive personality, vibrant prayer life, and strong faith.


While both are tending past wounds and guarding fragile secrets, Julia and William are determined to do what it takes to save their families—common ground that proves fertile for unexpected feelings. But will William choose Julia’s steadfast heart and faith over the wealth and power he needs to secure Highland Hall’s future?  


MY REVIEW:   


Author Carrie Turansky's "Edwardian Brides" series begins with "The Governess of Highland Hall", which features a most appealing heroine in an early twentieth-century setting. Julia Foster is a young woman of spirit, great heart, and a deep abiding faith. She loved working alongside her parents as missionaries to young girls in India. After more than a decade abroad, her father's failing health forces the family to return to England. Julia knows that she must find a suitable employment position as soon as possible to provide for the care of her parents. All of her hopes lie with being accepted as governess to Highland Hall. On her way up the lane to her interview at the great house, she has an abrupt, inauspicious meeting with a man she presumes to be the chauffeur for the manor house. She is soon mortified to learn that the man was no servant, but the lord of the manor himself, William Ramsey, a widower. Despite their differences, William hires Julia as governess to his to young children, and also to his two young female cousins. William had inherited Highland Hall from a distant cousin, the father of the two teenaged girls, and he also inherited the responsibility for their care. What he had not counted on was the disrepair and debt that came along with his inheritance. Julia had only been told of the two younger children, and not the young ladies for which she would be responsible. As Julia lays spiritual and emotional groundwork to bring the family together and set them on the right course, William works to repair the estate and its finances. There are sparks between them, and a mutual respect and friendship grows in tentative measure. Could there be deeper, more lasting relationship in their future, or will William be forced to find a fortuitous society match in order to secure the future of Highland Hall and its residents? A wonderfully-written, inspiring historical romance from author Carrie Turansky.

Review Copy Gratis Multnomah Books
  

CARRIE TURANSKY 


 


Carrie Turansky is the award-winning author of eleven inspirational romance novels and novellas. Her latest releases are Snowflake Sweethearts, A Man To Trust, and Surrendered Hearts. Her next book will be The Governess of Highland Hall, releasing 10/13. She has been a winner of the ACFW Carol Award, the Crystal Globe Award, and the International Digital Award. Carrie lives in central New Jersey with her husband, Scott, who is a pastor, author, speaker and counselor. They have five young adult children and three grandchildren. She and her family served in Kenya as missionaries, giving them a passion for what God is doing around the world. Carrie leads women's ministry at her church, and she enjoys gardening, reading, flower arranging, and cooking healthy meals for friends and Family. You may contact her through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and her website: www.carrieturansky.com.

Author JESSICA DOTTA: Inspiring historical romance with a fresh look at the "Gothic" genre

BORN OF PERSUASION  by Jessica Dotta  


The year is 1838, and seventeen-year-old Julia Elliston’s position has never been more fragile. Orphaned and unmarried in a time when women are legal property of their fathers, husbands, and guardians, she finds herself at the mercy of an anonymous guardian who plans to establish her as a servant in far-off Scotland. 



With two months to devise a better plan, Julia’s first choice to marry her childhood sweetheart is denied. But when a titled dowager offers to introduce Julia into society, a realm of possibilities opens. However, treachery and deception are as much a part of Victorian society as titles and decorum, and Julia quickly discovers her present is deeply entangled with her mother’s mysterious past. Before she knows what’s happening, Julia finds herself a pawn in a deadly game between two of the country’s most powerful men. With no laws to protect her, she must unravel the secrets on her own. But sometimes truth is elusive and knowledge is deadly.  


MY REVIEW:  


The "Price of Privilege" trilogy from author Jessica Dotta begins with an intriguing first entry, "Born of Persuasion". Young Julia Elliston suddenly finds herself without both her mother and her father, and a previously unknown guardian has plans to send her to Scotland as a elderly lady's companion. Just seventeen, and bound by the societal strictures of Victorian Era England, Julia is desperate to escape exile in Scotland. Raised by an atheist father, and a mother whose mysterious death was called a suicide, Julia has a complicated relationship with faith. When she turns to her childhood friend and sweetheart Edward, she discovers he has become an ordained minister. An unexpected offer of help from a titled older lady will lead Julia into the realm of the upper echelon and into the grasp of Mr. Macy, a man of calculating charm who is twice her age. The more Julia learns of her past, the more the mysteries of her life, including her mother's death, seem to deepen. What is real in her life, and what has been a cover up for the truth of her heritage? Richly atmospheric, with a touch of the great Gothic reads of my youth, "Born of Persuasion" is a fresh look at a beloved genre. Julia's adventures continue with the upcoming "Mark of Distinction" and "Price of Persuasion".

Review Copy Gratis Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
  

UPCOMING   



MARK OF DISTINCTION  by Jessica Dotta (Book Two "Price of Privilege" Trilogy)





PRICE OF PRIVILIGE  by Jessica Dotta (Book Three "Price of Privilege" Trilogy)   




JESSICA DOTTA 

  

Jessica Dotta has always been fascinated by the intricacies of society that existed in England from the Regency through the Edwardian era. She writes in a manner that blends past and modern fiction techniques. She lives in the Nashville area and works as a free lance media consultant and publicist. Her first novel Born of Persuasion released in September of 2013.  

http://www.jessicadotta.com

Book Review: "PIECES OF YOU"--Author Loreth Anne White has created an intriguing tale, perfectly placed in the mountains of Canada, which become a character unto themselves.

PIECES OF YOU  by Loreth Anne White 
   

From the crossroads of small town mystery and dark suspense comes a romance that explores the bonds of family, the power of love, and the potentially explosive collateral damage of the secrets we keep... Sometimes a contract to forget can be as powerful as a promise to remember...

An ex-con, wrongfully convicted of a heinous crime, returns to a small mountain town determined to prove his innocence, reclaim the heart of the woman who helped put him behind bars, and win back the right to meet the daughter he learned about in prison. But his arrival stirs up dark secrets and re-ignites a fierce and consuming passion that just might get the woman he loves, and his child, killed.

Nine years ago Rachel Salonen and Jeb Cullen were soul mates--deeply, irrevocably in love. Until the night two young women went missing from a party in the woods. One was found raped, beaten and pregnant with no memory of what happened. The other is still missing. A small mountain community was torn apart and a young relationship shattered when nineteen-year-old Jeb was arrested for the heinous crime, and Rachel was forced to help put the man she loved behind bars. Now, nine years later, Rachel believes she's finally put the past to rest when her sister dies suddenly in a fire and she's made guardian of her adopted niece. A child, she learns, who was conceived that terrible night of violence, a child whose DNA was used to convict Jeb. And when Jeb is unexpectedly released from max security, Rachel sees that the past has only just begun... ...

Because Jeb has come straight home to Snowy Creek. To prove his innocence, reclaim his life, his home. And to meet the daughter he learned about in prison. A daughter Rachel will do anything to protect. And when the town turns violently on Jeb, Rachel will once again be forced to take sides. This time she chooses with her heart. But her decision could cost everything she holds dear--including her niece's life. Because someone in town will do anything to keep the truth buried...even kill. 


MY REVIEW:   


Richly atmospheric with its rural Canadian setting, "Pieces of You", from author Loreth Anne White, is a terrific romantic suspense thriller. An engrossing story line and compelling characters will keep readers involved from beginning to end. Small towns like the ski resort community of Snowy Creek sometimes hold big secrets. People are very interconnected. What happens to one person affects someone else, and the ripple effect is started. Rachel Salonen and Jeb Cullen met in school and formed a deep friendship which later turned to young love. Jeb was from "the wrong side of the river", his mixed cultural heritage and dark good looks giving him an air of danger. Rachel was a "golden girl", a star athlete and darling daughter of Snowy Creek. Few approved of the relationship, but the bond between them was intense. A heated argument about the course of their involvement had tragic, lasting consequences for Jeb and Rachel. An impetuous mistake placed Jeb in the wrong place at the wrong time, setting him up to take the fall for a brutal rape and kidnapping. Just as his young adult life was beginning, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to prison for a crime he didn't commit. Rachel was devastated, and her hurt led to a traumatic skiing injury which ended her career as a medal-winning competitor. After almost a decade, Jeb's conviction is overturned, and he returns to Snowy Creek determined to find the real perpetrator so that his name can be truly cleared. He also dreams of making amends with Rachel, whom he has never stopped loving. There's someone else he needs to find--the daughter who was conceived on the night that changed all their lives forever. Jeb's return to Snowy Creek brings unease to those who bear the weight of guilt, and violence is once again the outcome. There's more than one danger in the close-knit community, and the real evil is more heinous than anyone suspects. As Rachel and Jeb make their way back toward each other, they are threatened and harassed, and they try desperately to protect Jeb's daughter, Quinn. Rachel's sister Sophia and her husband had adopted Quinn as a baby without telling anyone the identity of her real parents. After Sophia and her husband were killed in a fire, Rachel became Quinn's guardian. But can she guard her heart from Jeb? Can Jeb prove his innocence and protect the lives of his child and the woman holds the key to his heart? Human horrors are not the only things to be feared as drought conditions turn into a raging fire which threatens to consume the community. What truths will be revealed? Who will survive? Author Loreth Anne White has created an intriguing tale, perfectly placed in the mountains of Canada, which become a character unto themselves.

Review Copy Gratis Author  


LORETH ANNE WHITE


  


Loreth Anne White is a multi-published author of award-winning romantic suspense and mystery. Loreth is a double RITA nominee. She has won the Romantic Times Reviewers' choice award for Romantic Suspense, is a double Romantic Times Reviewers' choice award finalist, a double Daphne Du Maurier finalist, and a multiple CataRomance Reviewers' choice winner.

She hails from southern Africa, but now lives in a ski resort in the moody Coast Mountain range. It's a place of vast, wild and often dangerous mountains, larger-than-life characters, epic adventure, and romance -- the perfect place to escape reality. And the perfect inspiration for her Snowy Creek series!

It's no wonder it was here she was inspired to abandon a 16-year newspaper career to escape into a world of romantic fiction filled with dangerous men and adventurous women.​ When she's not writing you will find her skiing, biking or hiking the trails with her Black Dog, and generally trying to avoid the bears - albeit not very successfully. She calls this work, because it's when the best ideas come.

The first in her Snowy Creek small town Romantic Suspense series - PIECES OF YOU - is out now!

www.lorethannewhite.com