Veiled in Smoke

GIVEAWAY

GREEN, JOCELYN
VEILED IN SMOKE

The flames took so much. She can't lose her father as well.

Meg Townsend and her sister, Sylvie, seek a quiet existence managing the family bookshop. Meg feels responsible for caring for their father, Stephan, whose spirit and health are both damaged from his time as a prisoner during the Civil War. Her one escape is the paintings she creates and sells in the bookshop.

Then the Great Fire sweeps through Chicago's business district. The fiery explosions and chaos stir up memories of war for Stephen as he runs from the blaze and becomes separated from his daughters. Days later, when the smoke has cleared, Meg and Sylvie manage to reunite with him. Their home and shop are lost, and what's left among the ashes may be even more threatening than the flames, for they learn that a close friend was murdered the night of the fire -- and Stephen has been charged with the crime. After he is committed to the Cook County Insane Asylum, where they cannot visit him, Stephen feels as lost to them as the show that now lies in rubble.

Though homeless and suddenly unemployed, Meg must not only gather the pieces of her shattered life but prove the truth of what happened that night, before the asylum truly drives her father mad.

My Review:

I admit to being a cover snob and this one completely draws me in. The sepia tones and the haze of smoke shrouding the city's ruins...just wow...totally sets the mood. And with the heroine standing on the edge -- visual imagery of the precipice she's teetering on as her whole life tumbles down around her. Whew! What a powerful lure to the unsuspecting reader. (And I might be a tad giddy over the embossed lettering on the cover. I'm tactile nerdy that way.)

This is the first book in The Windy City Saga series and, wowsers, saga is right! It reads like an epic classic with rich descriptive prose and an involved plot that carried me away to another time and place. Jocelyn Green is known for her impeccable research and the historical details in this novel add such rich layers to characterization and plot.

Drama, mystery, intrigue and even a touch of romance -- my bibliophile senses are still swimming. This is the kind of book you lose yourself in. Seriously, I barely came up for air and lost sleep because I couldn't leave these characters to sort out their lives without me there to encourage them on. :-) It's kind of left me tongue-tied, actually. Definitely the kind of multi-sensory delight a reader needs to experience for herself.

Gobsmackingly good!

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of  Veiled in Smoke leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday April 25 2020 . Offer open to International Readers. Good luck

Between Two Shores

GIVEAWAY

GREEN, JOCELYN
BETWEEN TWO SHORES

She has always moved between worlds, but now she must choose a side

The daughter of a Mohawk mother and French father in 1759 Montreal, Catherine Duval would rather remain neutral in a world tearing itself apart. Content to trade with both the French and the British, Catherine is pulled into the Seven Years' War against her wishes where her British ex-fiance, Samuel Crane, is taken prisoner by her father. Samuel claims he has information that could end the war, and he asks Catherine to help him escape.

Peace appeals to Catherine, even if helping the man who broke her heart does not. But New France is starving, and she and her loved ones may not survive another winter of conflict-induced famine. When the dangers of war arrive on her doorstep, Catherine and Samuel flee by river toward the epicenter of the battle between England and France. She and Samuel may impact history, but she fears the ultimate cost will be higher than she can bear.

My Review:

As a Canadian I have to admit to being thrilled over a novel set during a pivotal time in my country's history. Brings me back to my junior high school studies and helps me make sense of the complicated cultural clash that still affects my country today. And I had a literary flashback to a novel study we did on The Plains of Abraham by Brian Connell. So reading Between Two Shores held more than a hint of nostalgia for me.

It's a tough read, though. You can't pretty up the brutality of war and the senseless compulsion to conquer land and people. Catherine is at the heart of it all, battling her own private wars at the same time. Green's impeccable research brings it all to a crescendo of desperation and longing and heartache. It's both appalling and riveting and definitely unsettling.

Love that women are at the heart of this story. Catherine, of course, caught between two cultures, her sister Bright Star and indentured servant/friend Thankful. It boggles my mind to think history is full of heroines like these -- women of strength and resilience who made their way in a world turned upside down by the greed of unscrupulous men.

A compelling novel of courage and faith and the peace that comes from finding a place to belong.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Between Two Shores, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday April 27 2019. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

A Refuge Assured

GIVEAWAY

GREEN, JOCELYN
A REFUGE ASSURED

Fleeing one revolution to the aftermath of another, she seeks and dreams of peace.

Lacemaker Vivienne Rivard never imagined her craft could threaten her life. Yet in revolutionary France, it is a death sentence when the nobility, and those associated with them, are forced to the guillotine. Vivienne flees to Philadelphia, but danger lurks in the French Quarter, as revolutionary sympathizers begin to suspect a young boy left in her care might be the Dauphin. Can the French settlement Asylum offer permanent refuge?

Militiaman Liam Delaney proudly served in the American Revolution, but now that the new government has imposed an oppressive tax that impacts his family, he barely recognizes the democracy he fought for. He wants only to cultivate his hard-won farm near Asylum, but he soon finds himself drawn into the escalating tension of the Whiskey Rebellion. When he meets a beautiful young Frenchwoman recently arrived from Paris, they are drawn together in surprising ways to fight for the peace and safety for which they long.

My Review:

Whoa! This was a historically eye-opening read for me. I knew next to nothing about most of the history in this novel. (Be kind and keep in mind that I'm not American.) To go from the French Revolution to the upheaval of a new country -- breath-snatching and gobsmacking doesn't begin to cover it. I mean, who knew that French aristocrats escaped to Philadelphia? Seriously, Philadelphia? And the decisions that Washington and Hamilton made -- well, I've only heard their 'hero' stories so that was startling...and infuriating. And a whiskey tax? I had no idea! Hair-raising stuff!

So, with all that for a backdrop you can just imagine how riveting A Refuge Assured is. Rich, decadent prose, compelling characters and a plot that never lets up. Honestly, not just twists and turns on the road to a happily ever after but complete u-turns that made a nail-biter out of me.

And can we pause for a moment to swoon over our rough-and-tumble-but-oh-so-noble Irish hero? Serious fainting couch material but does Green ever make him work for his just rewards. :-) Hard. My heart felt like a yoyo for all the dips and dives and loop-de-loops it did. My rib cage is still tender from all that pummeling. And Vivienne's personal journey is just as tumultuous!

An emotional blockbluster of a read!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of A Refuge Assured, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spamers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday July 15 2018. Offer open to International Readers. Good luck!

The Mark of the King

GIVEAWAY

GREEN, JOCELYN
THE MARK OF THE KING

Life in this new world requires more strength than she ever imagined

After the death of her client, midwife Julianne Chevalier is imprisoned and branded, marking her as a criminal beyond redemption. Hoping to reunite with her brother, a soldier, she trades her life sentence for exile to the fledgling French colony of Louisiana. The price of her transport, however, is a forced marriage to a fellow convict.

New Orleans is nothing like Julianne expects. The settlement is steeped in mud and mosquitoes and there is no news of her brother, Benjamin. When tragedy strikes, she turns to military officer Marc-Paul Girard for help, but does he know more about her brother than he will admit?

With her dreams shattered, Julianne must find her way in this dangerous land, where only grace -- and love -- can overcome the stigma of the king's mark upon her shoulder.

My Review:

Wickedly intense. Enthralling. There were times I had to set this book aside because I just couldn't take any more. But I always returned to it after a few fortifying breaths because how could I leave Julianne in that predicament? Or the next one? Or the next?

Mercy, but I'm amazed that this area got settled. Still confused as to why the French wanted to claim it in the first place when they didn't support their troops. The historical information is intriguing and frustrating and unbelievable. How did women survive childbirth? (beware to the faint of heart -- the midwifery details are...detailed!) Only the strong survived -- and then by the grace of God! And don't get me started on the lack of women's rights and the barbaric actions of some of the soldiers. Goodness, but my emotions were all over the place as I devoured this book.

Marc-Paul stands out as a man of dignity and honor. Strict, legalistic, he serves his country devoutly. But he also learns the true meaning of grace as he draws closer to the Lord. And that softens him in delightful ways.

Julianne is strength personified. Defiant. Determined. Unstoppable. She is a survivor -- and the things she survives -- truly unimaginable. How a loving author could treat a heroine so...it's shameful, that's what. :-)

Rife with drama, heavy with sorrow but lifted by faith, The Mark of the King a sweeping tale of love and loss and second chances.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publications and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

Giveaway Opportunity:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of The Mark of the King please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you post a comment and add your email address please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so it's easier for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday February 12 2017.  Offer open to international readers. Good luck!