Category: Western Romance

Book Review | The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn by Lori Benton #BloggingForBooks

Posted Wednesday, 22 October, 2014 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

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The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn by Lori Benton

 Published By: WaterBrook Multnomah (@WaterBrookPress),

(an imprint of Random House Publishing Group)

Official Author Websites: Site | Facebook

Available Formats: Trade Paperback & Ebook

Converse on Twitter via: #ThePursuitOfTamsenLittlejohn & #LoriBenton

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Acquired Book By: I decided to join the “Blogging for Books” programme (on 9th July, 2014) which is a book for review programme created by the Crown Publishing Group. I received “The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn” at the end of July, and had 90 days in which to post my review. As a book blogger you are offered books in exchange for an honest review on your book blog as well as the ability to reach new readers when you cross-post your review to the Blogging for Books website. The benefit for the blogger is exposure as a reviewer as they put direct links back to your blog post on the book you select to review as well as your homepage. Therefore, this is my first review as a new book blogger in the programme. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the publisher WaterBrook Multnomah, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

I appreciate compelling historical fiction stories that curate within them a fusion of heart and soul inside the narrative itself. I appreciate reading stories of anguish and angst, where in the ending you feel as though the characters who have walked the hardest path have found not only resolution but redemption through what oppressed them. I have always held a soft spot for stories set in the American West, in the wild lands between the Coasts before progress and civilisation came into existence. There was a lot of untamed townes and cities, where lawbreakers outnumbered the peacekeepers, and where the rules of propriety between the genders was dependent upon the beliefs and views of the individuals you encountered.

I always felt a championing spirit by uncovering the stories that knitted together the realism of the generation where the stories were set but placing within their pages a lead character who could tether your own spirit straight into the story itself. I like taking the journey with a character whose moxie and grit of determined spirit not only inspires you as you read her story unfold, but gives you a hearty prose to stay with you after the book is put down. I love finding writers who stitch their stories alive with an intensity that pulls back with a grace that illuminates the action through a gentle hand of how a story can take you somewhere unexpectedly cosy to visit.

Book Review | The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn by Lori Benton #BloggingForBooksThe Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn
by Lori Benton
Source: Publisher via Blogging for Books

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

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?


 Praise on behalf of the novel:

“Seldom has a tale swept me away so powerfully that I’m left both breathless and bereft at its end, reluctant to let go. The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn is such a book, a gentle masterpiece destined to be treasured and acclaimed.”
—Julie Lessman, award-winning author of the Daughters of Boston and Winds of Change series

“With gorgeous prose and characters that will steal your heart, Benton has breathed live and passion into history. The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn is a captivating example of excellence. Flawless!”
—Roseanna M. White, author of the Culper Ring series 

“In this sweeping colonial saga, author Lori Benton has crafted a powerful tale wherein every element of storytelling is vividly woven together. Poetic, emotional, and rich in historic detail, The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn is a stirring page-turner.”
—Joanne Bischof, award-winning author of Be Still My Soul and Though My Heart Is Torn 

Genres: Historical Fiction, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction



Places to find the book:

Published by WaterBrook Multnomah

on 15th April, 2014

Format: Paperback

Pages: 400

Author Biography:Lori Benton

Lori Benton was raised east of the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by early American and family history going back three hundred years. Her novels transport readers to the 18th century, where she brings to life the Colonial and early Federal periods of American history, creating a melting pot of characters drawn from both sides of a turbulent and shifting frontier, brought together in the bonds of God’s transforming grace. When she isn’t writing, Lori enjoys exploring beautiful Oregon with her husband.

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My Review of The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn:

The opening of The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn brought me back to my readings of Westerns, as there has been a bit of a gap between my readings of frontier life, the open plains, and the trappers who called the woods their home. Cowboy fiction was a bit of a sub-genre of interest for me, and as I started to settle into Jessie Bird’s life moving cattle across the open lands fraught with Native American attacks, it drew me back into the worlds I used to alight inside quite frequently. There is a raw freedom to living off the land, curating your own hours, and taking it upon yourself to draw out a stipend of a living by any which means you’re able. Jessie felt a bit hardened by his lifestyle of choice, but optimistically hopeful about his future at the very same time, wondering why his bunkmates felt it necessary to gloat about another man’s fortune of matrimony when he hadn’t yet found a gal to fancy himself.

I enjoyed seeing a working agreement between the Native Americans and the cowboys, as they were each looking out for each other when a raiding group of rebels attempted to cut the herd by a river. Whilst the men hunkered down for the night by firelight, Tamsen Littlejohn herself took her cue to enter into the story within the next chapter. The segue felt natural to me, as Tamsen’s ability to strike a scene so vivid and endearing of courage held my breath as I watched her handle Ambrose Kincaid’s unsettling display of diffidence towards someone he employs like the true champion I felt she was all along! Tamsen Littlejohn doesn’t seek out trouble, but trouble finds her all the same, yet it is her firm beliefs in what is right and wrong in life that anchor her to speaking her mind when the occasion rises to be filled with words of truth. The 18th Century was not the time of acceptance for expressing the rights of slaves but there were a few who understood the greater scope of the plight all slaves faced and happily I found Tamsen Littlejohn a woman who stood on the side of justice and freedom.

The vile nature of Tamsen’s step-father is enough to see the world painted black and tarnished with a fear that will not end unless you find the bravery necessary to escape – my thoughts were aligned with Tamsen as she plotted to sort out a way to ferret out of his plans. The man had no filters nor boundaries of causing violence inside his home, as he attacked Tamsen’s mother with such a harshness and cruel smugness that I couldn’t wait to see Tamsen exit the house to gain her freedom. Her mother was too passive to understand that staying was not the better option, but watching Tamsen realise the error of her mother’s choices was guttingly emotional.

I had a bit of difficulty staying inside the story after Tamsen starts to make her way out from the shadow of her step-father, not because the writing of the story wasn’t on the same caliber as the first half of the novel itself, but because the intensity of Tamsen’s life never felt like it was going to lesson. I was hoping that once she was out from underneath her step-father’s control, she could start to put the pieces back together, whilst forging a new life and identity elsewhere. The circumstances she left under and the origins of her own heritage she learnt on her mother’s deathbed painted a true portrait of how this story was going to be an emotional read from start to finish. For me personally, it felt a bit too emotionally churning as each time Jesse and Tamsen were a step closer to being on stable ground, something else would alight on their conjoined path and upset the apple cart so to speak. The harsh reality felt a bit crushing at times, and a bit of a difficult reading when your used to having the heaviest bits lesson a bit after awhile.

The writing style of Lori Benton:

Benton has the graceful stroke of understanding the importance of the historical perspective of her story as much as giving realism to the era in which her characters lived by allowing them the chance to speak in words & phrases that would have been readily known. She leaves a breath of intrigue in only giving out certain pieces of information at different junctions of time, giving you a full pause and a measure of wonder at where she is going to guide the story next. She cleverly masked the worst of the brutality from Tamsen’s step-father by giving just enough to feel the full measure of his wrath without pushing the envelope past what you can stomach inside of a historical inspirational novel.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comThis book review is courtesy of: Blogging for Books

Blogging for Books - book for review programme for book bloggers

I wanted to thank the Blogging for Books programme for giving me the opportunity to read this novel! I had hoped to post my review over the Summer, and not on the deadline of 90 days after I received it! I simply had too much on my plate this Summer, and I regret that I was delayed until now to share my thoughts about reading my first Lori Benton novel! The grace of understanding the staff of Blogging for Books gave me in this regard was a true blessing! I am going to wait until mid-November before I make my next selection for Blogging for Books, to allow myself to have more time to soak into my next novel I accept for review through their programme for book bloggers! I am thrilled I can find Inspirational novels like this one available on their website!

I positively *love!* comments in the threads below each of my posts, kindly know that I appreciate each thought you want to share with me and all the posts on my blog are open to new comments & commentary! Short or long, I appreciate the time you spent to leave behind a note of your visit! Return again soon!

Reader Interactive Question:

What are your favourite Inspirational Fiction stories to read? Do you find yourself captured more by historical settings or contemporary modern life? What do you appreciate the most by finding a strong lead character such as Tamsen Littlejohn who defies her era by standing strong in the midst of danger?

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{SOURCES: Book cover for “The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn” (small icon size) was provided by Blogging for Books directly and the larger version seen at the top of this review was saved from the Random House site’s page for the novel itself with permission of Blogging for Books; both versions are used with permission. The Author Photograph was saved from WaterBrook Multnomah site’s page for the author with permission of Blogging for Books. Likewise, the Author’s Biography, the Book Synopsis, and Quotes of Praise were used with permission of Blogging for Books as well. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded due to codes provided by Twitter.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

Comments via Twitter:

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Posted Wednesday, 22 October, 2014 by jorielov in 18th Century, African-American History, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Blog Tour Host, Blogging for Books, Civil Rights, Clever Turns of Phrase, Domestic Violence, Farm and Ranching on the Frontier, Father-Daughter Relationships, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Mother-Daughter Relationships, Native American Fiction, Old West Americana, Psychological Abuse, Sociological Behavior, The American Frontier, The Deep South, Western Fiction, Western Romance

+Blog Book Tour+ Willow Springs by Carolyn Steele #PureRomance a debut from Cedar Fort Publishing & Media!

Posted Sunday, 24 August, 2014 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

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 Willow Springs by Carolyn Steele

Published By: Sweetwater Books (@SweetwaterBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)

Official Author Websites:  Site | @CarolynSteeleUT | Facebook

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse via: #WillowSprings OR #CarolynSteele

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Acquired Book By: 

I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Cedar Fort whereupon I am thankful to have such a diverse amount of novels and non-fiction titles to choose amongst to host. I received a complimentary copy of “Willow Springs” direct from the publisher Sweetwater Books (imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

This particular book launches the new “Pure Romance” line of Inspirational Romance from Cedar Fort! I have a long-standing appreciation of reading inspiring stories of Romance (i.e. one of my original beloved stories was Frontier Lady by Judith Pella; you can read more on my review of Chain of Mercy) whether they are individual novels or novellas in print editions (i.e. Heartsong Presents or Love Inspired series),… I simply love being wrapped inside the lift of joy and spirit of a spiritual-centered romance! When I realised this was going to be the launch of a new series of novels, I simply could not pass up the chance to get to know this line from day one – forward! Besides, I have a soft spot for Westerns — if it has to do with the Frontier American small townes or life on the emerging frontier itself, there is a strong chance I’ll settle inside the story! Hence why I always loved watching Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman! (until the writing went a bit off-kilter in the latter seasons!)

One bit of an interesting connection to the story, is that part of my ancestry lies in Sweden! To read about a Swedish immigrant who was attempting to carve out a new life for herself felt like a natural fit for me! I always love reading stories that form connections to my ancestral past. Little snippets of insight I might not otherwise have had the pleasure of finding revealed.

+Blog Book Tour+ Willow Springs by Carolyn Steele #PureRomance a debut from Cedar Fort Publishing & Media!Willow Springs

Husbands. Crissa had to suppress a shudder at the thought. If I had wanted a husband, I would have stayed in Boston. Indeed, Crissa considered Willow Springs to be the nearest thing to her idea of purgatory. She certainly did not plan to stay here long.

Swedish immigrant Crissa Engleson fled Boston hoping to start a new life, unknown and unencumbered, on the American frontier. The quiet gold mining town of Willow Springs in the Utah desert seemed the perfect spot—until the intrigue of her past and rivalries of the town’s leading families enveloped her.

Unaware that a relentless bounty hunter is pursuing her, Crissa falls in love with Drake Adams, a handsome Pony Express rider and the son of an influential mine owner. While Drake returns Crissa’s interest, their courtship is thwarted by the pursuit of one of Drake’s rivals, who may be motivated more by malice than by love.

To realize her dreams, Crissa must confront her painful past and fight for her future head-on.


Places to find the book:

Series: Pure Romance, No.1


Also in this series: Sophia, The Second Season, To Suit a Suitor, Mischief & Manors, Unexpected Love, Lies & Letters, The Darkest Summer, The Secret of Haversham House, Love and Secrets at Cassfield Manor, Enduring Promises of the Heart, Book Spotlight: The Promise of Miss Spencer, Intangible, Beneath Creek Waters


on 12 August, 2014

Format: Paperback

Pages: 231

Carolyn Steele

Author Biography:

Born and raised in Utah, Carolyn Steele was introduced to western novels at a very young age by her grandfather, the son of a gold miner. She has been writing technical and marketing communications for most of her adult life. Her nonfiction articles have appeared in numerous national magazines. She earned her undergraduate degree in Communications from the University of Utah.

Married and living in Salt Lake City, Utah, Carolyn loves researching obscure history then weaving it into stories. She also enjoys family dinners with her children and grandchildren, photography, travel, golf, reading, and all forms of needlework.

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Frontier Americana : Small Townes & Immigrants:

The American West was such a difficult area for settlers, frontier families, and those who were striving to make a new beginning inside their lives for the better. It is in a small towne on the route of the Pony Express, we enter the life of an immigrant (Crissa) who is living away from her parents in order to make a proper living for all of them. Here on the outskirts of the wilds of the West, we discover that for all the graces of small towne living one of the worst bits is uncovering projected jealousy through misunderstandings! I appreciated how the dusty and exhausted mining towne was brought to life, to show a reflection of difference between those who worked the mines and the townesfolk themselves, who attempted to provide the civilisation! It is rather interesting that I am reading about a second towne on the edge of elsewhere directly supported by a mine! The last story of course, was Flight to Coorah Creek, where I found myself over the moon in love with the inhabitants and the life of an ambulance aeroplane pilot! The similarities had me in a fit of smiles as I started to read Willow Springs!

I always have a particularly keen interest in ‘second chance stories’ and ‘stories of new beginnings’, where people are working hard to redeem their past and/or simply want to take off someplace new and forge a different kind of life than they had previously. I love the adventurous spirit as much as the true strength of belief that leaving everything you knew behind in your old life was necessary to create a new future; once you find where your feet land. Small towne fiction is always an ideal setting where characters can interact and yet, remain apart from each other as long as necessary at the same time. Observing the inter-dramatics of where the towne bends or yields rather to whichever new presence has arrived is part of the delight taking the journey through the story itself! Most of our ancestors, including my own, took it upon themselves to dig deep and strive towards seeking out new land, new experiences, and a new way of living when they originally came over from the United Kingdom, Europe, and beyond. How lovely then it is to curl inside a historical story just a few stones outside our own living history to walk inside a person’s shoes who dared to do what our own ancestors did!

My Review of Willow Springs:

Inns, boarding houses, and restaurants were the bare necessities to keep frontier life on the cusp of being a bit more self-sufficient on a similar vein as their neighbouring large cities. I love how the action of hosting and waitressing inside of a small mining towne opens this inspiring romance to the expanding picture that surrounds Willow Springs! A towne where an unforgiving and oft-times judgmental township of residents eagerly jump on a bandwagon if it suits their fancy to cast aspersions on someone they hardly know properly! The fitting strength of determined grit and the lift of faith in knowing she was on the right path towards supporting her own kin, is what roots Crissa Engleson into the heart of the story; and sympathetically into a reader’s heart as well. Here we find her balancing an honest day’s work against the joys of spending time with the Inn Owner’s (Molly) children. The fact that she finds the dashingly handsome and coy mannerisms of one of the Pony Express Riders rounds out the introductory joy!

Most Western dramas have a darker shade of a soul living near to the main characters, and Steele doesn’t disappoint by including Garth Wight into the folds of the chapters! An ego-ridden brute of a bloke bent against years of angst, drunken reverie, and a path never materialising in front of him to stake a claim for gold, Garth is the type of fellow any girl would be smart to avoid! His bold and curt behaviour towards Crissa was not only uncalled for but it stirred the stoking fire of where the arc of the climax might take this sweet girl from Sweden! Seeing her speak in her native tongue as she attempts to make sense out of her everyday blights and adventures warmed my spirit as I appreciate when speakers of different languages can find their own voices to be heard in fiction. It gives a proper sense of dimension and an equality in literature that strives to reflect the world’s melting pot.

Crissa’s friendship with the Inn’s cook Marida, gives the most comedic moments by far, as the cook is never far from giving her a jolt of common sense intermixed with a reassuring ear when life is turnt upside down. Marida is feisty as she is nurturing, although I’d wager she’d rather be known for the former! Yet, when Crissa was celebrating the good news Marida had given her about her beau, she internally could not help but stop to wonder if a similar life of happiness was indeed meant for her own path. It was in this moment of uncertainty laced with thoughts of the past, Crissa was taken off guard and attacked quite brutally by Garth. His arrogance and aggression left her shattered emotionally, physically bruised, and inside the tight-knit community she found her footing was lost; the eyes of the towne judging her negatively though she did nothing wrong. This is typical of the era in which Crissa lived, but for me, I felt for her dearly in this moment as she was attempting to align herself with a solid group of trusted friends whilst she tried to make Willow Springs her home.

On the footheels of that fated night behind her, Crissa in true fashion to settle down the rumours had to make a quick exit out of towne, which led her directly back to a loving couple who were her surrogate family. Seeing the landscape of Salt Lake City (a city I’ve only seen visually on camera and/or during the Winter Olympics coverage) is painted beautifully for any reader who loves to knit inside of a backdrop which has a propensity for natural beauty. Steele gives out such a breath of wonder for a part of the country I know very little about, I nearly felt as though I were breathing in the vistas as Crissa observed them herself.

Your heart stirs as you read the story, as the drama continues to unfold at an alarming rate, especially after a precognitive dream cuts Crissa’s visiting plans short. The pulse of emotion is tight as the successive chapters reveal a bit of darkness looming over her young shoulders, and a bit of anguished grief as well. Her heart swells and bleeds through the intrepid sorrow of losing a dear friend of hers and in an attempt to bring normalcy to the children left behind, she starts to further question if her own path is going to be set to rights. The inclusion of her letters and her innermost thoughts as she tries to work out the best path through spiritual guidance and a cluster of hope tethered to her frazzled nerves, Crissa once more has to pick up the pieces of her life.

Steele has written an aptly real and raw romantic suspense novel, as just when you think every wicked and evil reason Crissa has turnt to live outside the shadow of her past, something new arises to draw her closer into harm. The vileness of how human behaviour can be quickly turnt to malice under the right circumstances knits the suspense into the backdrop of the romance; half budding and delayed from blooming. Intermixed into the thick of it is a beautiful yet deadly storyline about herbalists and the various uses of apothecary knowledge. All of this accumulates to a thundering run towards the ending — where your lurching forward with eager anticipation and with a bit of shock horror how one woman’s plight could take her so far deep into the psychosis of the human mind.

On the writing style of Carolyn Steele:

As soon as I started to read this novel, I was instantly thinking about a new Hallmark Channel tv series (thankfully, renewed for a second season!) When Calls The Heart (also a small mining towne); mostly as women in both story-lines have to prove their moxy, their faith, and their willingness to forge a life in a place where ‘rough and ready’ has yet to docile the wilds of the West. Her gentleness in conviction of a faith-centered life is a true lift of joy to read, as she allows her characters the grace to experience their lives with a spirituality that shines through their actions. The inner-workings of seeing where their personal thoughts lie (especially Crissa’s) on how their life is stitching together is a bit of bliss, as each shared moment of their internal world is written in italics (the same with the letters). The full effect of the latter years of the 19th Century are representative of the dialogue exchanges Crissa has with Marida, as Marida’s accented (of Italian decent) English is a bit different from Crissa’s who talks more like an avid reader than a regular commoner.

A sturdy voice for a romance, Carolyn Steele’s debut novel is wrapped inside the Inspirational category of offerings creating a heart-warming fixture for any reader of clean romance. The fact it happens to be the launching novel for the new series of stories under the ‘Pure Romance’ line of novels by Cedar Fort, extends the joy of finding it. The joy of reading the story was a double-fold blessing as the lulling canopy of reading this novel helped to ease my own tensions from being a new self-hosted book blogger. I felt a lot of anxiety consume me over the weekend, as the hours spent sorting out a new hosted site and a heap of upgrades made me feel a bit harried to say the least. Soaking inside Willow Springs, is like walking inside the comfort of a familiar tale of a family friend whose strength and spirit helped renew your own. Reading is such a calming balm to me and this story was a pure joy to consume. I cannot wait to discover what Ms. Steele will pen next nor to follow the joy of where the Pure Romance line will be taken through Cedar Fort!

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This Blog Tour Stop is courtesy of Cedar Fort, Inc:

Cedar Fort Publishing & Media

Virtual Road Map of “Willow Springs” Blog Tour can be found here:

Willow Springs Blog Tour with Cedar Fort

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Click-through to mark your calendars for:

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{SOURCES: Author photograph, Author Biography, Book Synopsis and Book Cover of “Willow Springs” were provided by the author Carolyn Steele and used with permission. The Cedar Fort badge was provided by Cedar Fort, Inc. and used by permission. Blog Tour badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Post dividers badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Bookish Events badge created by Jorie in Canva. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • Bout of Books
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Posted Sunday, 24 August, 2014 by jorielov in 19th Century, Apothecary, Balance of Faith whilst Living, Blog Tour Host, Brigham Young, Cedar Fort Publishing & Media, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Debut Author, Debut Novel, Deception Before Matrimony, Domestic Violence, Dreams & Dreamscapes, Equality In Literature, Flashbacks & Recollective Memories, Herbalist, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, Inspirational Fiction & Non-Fiction, Life in Another Country, Mormonism, Naturopathic Medicine, Salt Lake City, Small Towne Fiction, Utah, Western Fiction, Western Romance, Widows & Widowers

+Book Review+ A Bargain Struck by Liz Harris #ChocLitSaturdays

Posted Saturday, 18 January, 2014 by jorielov , , , 18 Comments

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A Bargain Struck by Liz HarrisA Bargain Struck by Liz Harris

Author Connections: Personal Site | Blog

Facebook | Twitter | Converse via: #ABargainStruck

Illustrated By: Berni Stevens

 @circleoflebanon | Writer | Illustrator

Genre(s): Fiction | Romance | Historical | Western

Old West Americana | 19th Century Wyoming

Published by: ChocLitUK, 7 September 2013

Available Formats: Paperback, E-Book & Audiobook Page Count: 336

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Acquired Book By:

I am a ChocLit reviewer who receives books of my choice in exchange for honest reviews! I received a complimentary copy of “A Bargain Struck” from ChocLit via IPM (International Publisher’s Marketing) in exchange for an honest review! The book released on 7th September 2013. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. 

Inspired to Read:

As soon as I read the premise, I was brought back to “Loves Comes Softly” (the motion picture(s), as I did not read the novels)!! I love it when writers infuse romance in a way that arrives as calm as a gentle breeze into the lives of their characters! Love isn’t always fireworks and “bing, bang, boom!”!! Sometimes it takes awhile for a heart to accept the connection its softening towards and sometimes being human brings with it the baggage of not only our life experiences but of broken hearts &/or broken love. Mail-Order Brides. Brides of Convenience. I am drawn to these stories like moths to flame! I love reading them because they are always intrinsically unique! One prime example of a novel I like in this branch of romance is “A Bride in the Bargain” by Deeanne Gist.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comBook Synopsis:

Does a good deal make a marriage?

Widower Connor Maguire advertises for a wife to raise his young daughter, Bridget, work the homestead and bear him a son.

Ellen O’Sullivan longs for a home, a husband and a family. On paper, she is everything Connor needs in a wife. However, it soon becomes clear that Ellen has not been entirely truthful.

Will Connor be able to overlook Ellen’s dishonesty and keep to his side of the bargain? Or will Bridget’s resentment, the attentions of the beautiful Miss Quinn, and the arrival of an unwelcome visitor, combine to prevent the couple from starting anew?

As their personal feelings blur the boundaries of their deal, they begin to wonder if a bargain struck makes a marriage worth keeping.

Set in Wyoming in 1887, a story of a man and a woman brought together through need, not love …

Liz HarrisAuthor Biography:

Liz was born in London and now lives in South Oxfordshire with her husband. After graduating from university with a Law degree, she moved to California where she led a varied life, trying her hand at everything from cocktail waitressing on Sunset Strip to working as secretary to the CEO of a large Japanese trading company, not to mention a stint as ‘resident starlet’ at MGM. On returning to England, Liz completed a degree in English and taught for a number of years before developing her writing career.

Liz’s debut novel, The Road Back, won a 2012 Book of the Year Award from Coffee Time Romance in the USA and her second novel A Bargain Struck was highly praised by the Daily Mail in the UK.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comWyoming, on the fringes of the 20th Century:

Lush open land was the norm for the Western frontier, and Harris pulls the reader back into the days of virgin forest and the beginnings of urban developments to where the natural world remained quite in tact. I had grown up with stories surrounding the West from my Mum who had travelled West with her parents, and I oft remembered how she told me of how impressive and awe-inspiring those forest were to her young eyes! I have nearly felt as though I have all but touched the grace of those lands through the living histories of her and my grandparents she has shared throughout my childhood. I could notice hintings of the author’s travels to Wyoming threaded through the narrative as she gave a clear and conscientious description of the open ranges nestled just outside the organisations of the towne.

I first started to garnish a deep appreciation for Western stories and frontier life whilst a pre-teen reader who was seeking something outside the sphere of Children’s Literature. I sunk into the novels of The Black Stallion quite easily as I was approaching the horse drama genre from the real-life experiences of being a new equestrian in training. I could well relate to the close connections one forges with a horse as a rider who was inclined to cherish the hours she shared with her mount. I was hungry for stories of the Old West as much as the trials of those who dared to travel West from the East. Henceafter I would settle into Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, The Harts of the West, Walker, Texas Ranger, Lonesome Dove (film), Little House on the Prairie, The Young Riders (about the Pony Express), Love Comes Softly Saga, The Wilderness Family (film trilogy), The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., Legend, Peacemakers, and as many horse dramas in motion picture as I could sort out to see via the silver and small screens. I was attracted to the truism of writers such as: Cameron Judd (Fiddler & McCann) and Dana Fuller Ross (Frontier trilogy of the Holts, as previously I hadn’t realised it had continued! I unearthed this information in 2013 through conversations on the Society). Western fiction is a part of my reading life I tend to forget to mention being amongst my absolute favourites to disappear inside!

Which goes to explain why I was lit with eager excitement in finding A Bargain Struck amongst the offerings of ChocLit books! I have been segueing in recent years of taking my appreciation for the West into my inspirational fiction wanderings which is why over the score of 2014 the vast majority of stories set in this genre will be threaded through my 70 Authors Challenge. I am sure I shall never extinguish a passion for seeing the roots of how we settled America nor of our Northernly neighbour (Canada) as well. There is such a rich living history forged out of need and destined out of determined grit. The strength necessary to carve out a living space in the midst of the wilds has a passionate appeal for a girl such as I whose heart is forever entwined to the natural world.

My Review of A Bargain Struck:

The complexity of the story inside A Bargain Struck is hinged to the theory of how well can you know someone you advert to marry and how well you can trust the person who takes up residence in your home after the haste of marriage. Mail-Order brides and marriages of convenience were quite the commonplace a handful of centuries ago due to the extreme consistency of pre-mature death. Men and women were thrown together to make do with the next spouse in line to agree to a partnership which would help them survive and thrive in the harsh realities of a farm or homestead. The work was heavily wrought on physical labour making it made a sound choice to find women and men who could bargain their contract of marriage to offset the chores and duties applied therein to each gender.

Harris paints a very poignant picture whilst opening her novel, as her bride is not a blushing one but one who is vacillating about what she should have writ her soon-to-be-husband and what she omitted. She’s at the cornerstone of her life caught between two worlds of acceptance: society at large ostracising her for her physical deformity and the kindness of a stranger who will wed her as his wife. Her step-daughter’s obsession with punishing her father for bringing a new ‘mother’ into her life had me flicker back a sideways smile towards remembrance of ‘Missy’ from Love Comes Softly. Bridget fills every inch of her red hair with a fierce Irish sensibility!

I did not take a shine towards Conn’s brother Niall nor of Bridget’s teacher Miss Quinn, as both felt to me of having the character towards malicious intent rather than outward sincerity. They were a matched pair in my eyes as they felt self-assured to place their own needs and desires ahead of those of the community, their friends, and family. I was admittedly hoping there would be a turning tide in the story were Riall would be behind the ruckus of disparaging behaviour which was all too common for frontier ranchermen to have dealt with. I normally wouldn’t want ill-will to befall a character but he was writ in such a way as to realise his spots were tattooed throughout his soul. He ought to have been happy to play the part of the rogue but oh, no! He had to be a rakish rat!

I had hoped a bit more flushing out of Peggy & William, the lovely neighbours who would step in to watch Bridget if need be. True salts of the earth, neighbourly and kind with a full heart of bringing together community fortitude. Harris’s research is embodied in the tasks she brings to the center of the story itself, whereupon Ellen is seen going through her daily chores, tasks, and projects. The ones that get me personally excited about one day living through a hearty Winter myself! (i.e. a proper backyard victory garden, canning, drying herbs, cold storage for root veg, etc) I adore wood-stoves and living off the land which inspires a freedom of self-sustainability! A near primer of how to make the land work for you is illuminated inside.

The most endearing bit to the story is how each of us has a choice of how we’re reflected in life and it is not always pinned to our attitudes but rather in a matching of the mirrors in which we present to the world. If our inner selves are aligned with our outer persona, our personality will carry-over any decidedly difference which could cause prejudicial behaviour. However, if a person’s character is shrouded in a double-blade sword of uncertainty behind the merit of their ethical motivations, an invisible line is drawn to ascertain whom is the better person to befriend.

Fly in the Ointment OR is it?

The only discerning flaw I could notice was the repetitive nature of drawing attention to Ellen’s disfigured scar, which felt to me as though the characters and the texture of the story were not following suit of the pacing. Except to say, as I mulled over the choices of when the topic was brought up in the story itself, I realised I was approaching this from an extroverted point of view rather than an introspective and introverted perspective which is the characteristic of the central lead characters! Both Ellen and Conn are quite reserved, less likely to broach their internal feelings and thoughts, as they would typically walk on eggshells around each other than state a straightforward truth. Approaching my issue with the repetition in taking into account their own personalities, I am not sure if its such a flaw as a difference in an approach I would have given them.

I appreciated when their individual discussions would turn reflective and entertain the heart of what was stabbing at their marriage’s stability and civility. One of the true strengths of ChocLit novels that I can foresee having read two of them within a fortnight, is that ChocLit novelists do not shy away from giving out the internal lives of married couples. They do not merely hint at the everyday nuisances of married life nor do they flinch to reveal how each man and woman feel whilst in their marriage. I like the inclusion of dialogue and of passages where you’re not having their everyday motions swept past your view, but rather explored; revealing hidden truths as you are walking with them through their angst or uncertainty rather than merely presuming what they are thinking or doing in those moments of strife.

I truly was rooting for Conn and Ellen to get to the point to where they could say what they felt in their heart rather than lead with a standard response to hide their truer feelings. I think in this regard, this is not a fly in the ointment in the traditional sense but an irksome reality of marriage in the late 19th Century being viewed by a 21st Century strong-willed gal who felt badly for both of them to always fall back on what was their original opinions rather than the change of heart they were equally acknowledging to have had.

A Note of Appreciation on behalf of the writing style of Ms. Harris:

For an American whose own writing voice has moved past her native language and merged into the language and stylings of her ancestors, I personally am drawn into stories evoked out of British & Old English vernaculars. I had received a few bits of feedback in the past to where an American whose written voice is British wouldn’t fly for creating stories set around American life nor for an American audience. I was always boldly bent towards taking the stance to defend not only my right to write a story in the voice and style that is naturally created but to keep my chin tucked up knowing that by remaining true to my own voice in story form was the only course I would be willing to take. I applauded and smiled whilst reading A Bargain Struck because this is the epitome of the critical eyes who could not grasp the fuller picture! The voice of a story isn’t hindered nor deflected by words, language, and phrases as it’s the craft of the story-teller to give the seed of the story through what is painted throughout the texture of the story itself.

I hadn’t even thought to think of the larger picture of this realisation until I was nearly halfway through the novel! I sat back and allowed myself a bit of a bubble of laugh over the seemingly pettiness that sometimes can affect or alter a writer’s perspective on the changing ebbs of publishing. For every solid story writ, there is surely an audience and a publisher who understands the writer’s intentions and merit of writing. I applaud this very British Americana novel for every inch of its contents for being decidedly British with a flair and flavour for homesteading life where the locality of words flow freely through the exchanges between Conn and Ellen.

And, on a very personal level, bless Ms. Harris for confirming what I felt was right in how to properly have spelt the word ‘travelling’! 

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This book review is courtesy of ChocLitUK,

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#ChocLitSaturdays | a feature exclusive to Jorie Loves A Story

*NEWSFLASH* : This marks my second *#ChocLitSaturdays*, where I will be spotlighting a book published by ChocLitUK! Coordinating bonus features will alight on my blog in forthcoming weeks! My next ChocLit review will be for “Close to the Wind” by Zana Bell, on the 25th of January! I will be tweeting about it ahead time if you want to watch the hashtag for future announcements for this Jorie Loves A Story feature!

**UPDATE** : 21 June, 2014 I have cross-posted my review of A Bargain Struck to my BookLikes blog, as well as cross-posting the first two paragraphs of the review to the ChocLitUK book page for the novel.

{SOURCES: Author photograph, Author Biography, Book Synopsis, and Book Cover were provided by ChocLitUK and were used by permission. Book Review badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Ravven with edits by Jorie in FotoFlexer. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}

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Posted Saturday, 18 January, 2014 by jorielov in 19th Century, American Old West, Blog Tour Host, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK, Death, Sorrow, and Loss, Family Drama, Family Life, Farm and Ranching on the Frontier, Father-Daughter Relationships, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Homestead Life, Indie Author, Mail-Order Brides & Marriages of Convenience, Modern British Literature, Old West Americana, Romance Fiction, Second Chance Love, Western Fiction, Western Romance, Women's Fiction, Writing Style & Voice