Born of Persuasion: Captivating Historical Fiction!

Oh.My.Goodness!! I loved this book! It had me hooked from the first page and I could hardly put it down. It was filled with mystery and wit--the perfect blend of Jane Austen's style with Charlotte Bronte's--and the storyline kept me guessing. I can't wait to read the next book in the series: Mark of Distinction. Highly recommend! However, I do believe it's worth mentioning that there are a few parts of the book that do get a quite steamy for a Christian book. Nothing at all like a worldly romance novel by any means, but there is definitely a lot of chemistry within this interesting love triangle.  If you're extremely sensitive to things like that, you may want to at least prepare yourself to skim over those few scenes or you may want to choose a different, lighter read.

A Short Synopsis:
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.

Check out the first chapter here!

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The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn: Captivating Historical Fiction!

Frontier dangers cannot hold a candle to the risks one woman takes by falling in love...

The last four nights, Bronchitis has kept me up until 3 a.m.--everytime I laid down to sleep, I coughed and couldn't end up falling to sleep until positive exhaustion.  But... since I couldn't sleep, I devoured the newest paperback to hit my doorstep--The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn--and it was one of the most finely written pieces of literature I've read in some time!  The story was woven masterfully, the picture was painted beautifully--the landscape was Tennessee, which is my favorite place in the world, and the author has a very enchanting way with words.  The story was intriguing, keeping me on the edge of my seat so that I couldn't wait to see what would happen.  And the story was not predictable, which is a rare find in fiction.  Most of all, I loved the characters.  Tamsen was just the right combination of charming and feisty, the kind of woman I would want to be friends with.  And her hero was the kind of man you'd want to marry.  The characters seemed very real and I cared about them.  I can't wait to read Lori Benton's other book, Burning Sky! 

You can read the first 2 chapters of the book by clicking the picture above, and can find it here for purchase at Amazon.  Enjoy!

Book Synopsis:
In an act of brave defiance, Tamsen Littlejohn escapes the life her harsh stepfather has forced upon her. Forsaking security and an arranged marriage, she enlists frontiersman Jesse Bird to guide her to the Watauga settlement in western North Carolina. But shedding her old life doesn’t come without cost. As the two cross a vast mountain wilderness, Tamsen faces hardships that test the limits of her faith and endurance.

Convinced that Tamsen has been kidnapped, wealthy suitor Ambrose Kincaid follows after her, in company with her equally determined stepfather. With trouble in pursuit, Tamsen and Jesse find themselves thrust into the conflict of a divided community of Overmountain settlers. The State of Franklin has been declared, but many remain loyal to North Carolina. With one life left behind and chaos on the horizon, Tamsen struggles to adapt to a life for which she was never prepared. But could this challenging frontier life be what her soul has longed for, what God has been leading her toward? As pursuit draws ever nearer, will her faith see her through the greatest danger of all—loving a man who has risked everything for her?