The Respectable Actress

I believe I have read all of Dorothy Love's novel with the exception of one and I hope to rectify that after reading her latest The Respectable Actress, I feel in love with the background character of Celia MacKay, a woman who comes to the aid of India Hartley who has been accused of murdering her fellow actor in a play at Savannah's Southern Palace. With a last minute change to the script, due to trying to impress a critic, India has been asked to shoot notable thespian Arthur Sterling instead of throwing a vase at his head. The only problem is that the prop gun has been replaced in the moment by India's own hand gun which she didn't realize until it went off, and now has been arrested at the prime suspect. It doesn't help that her earlier comments to make it look good to the audience by Sterling was met with a willingness that if only it wasn't just acting in front of witnesses.

Now that the trial has been set, and of course publicity and rumors are running rampant in Savannah, India's attorney, Philip Sinclair believes that in order to accurately get to the bottom of the case with his client, she should be released into his custody on the island of Indigo Point. The judge agrees and provides them both with time to put their case together. If Philip can win this case, it will help his law career immensely but when mounting evidence that begins to pile up against India, he wonders if he has bitten off more than he can chew. India is met with more hostility as the women who live in Indigo Point don't exactly respect her position as an actress and feel the position is one of a lesser class woman.

She tries as hard as possible to find any friends on the island, and befriends Philip's sister Amelia who is attempting to try and find a way to restore their families land holdings since the war decimated most of what they had once had. She also longs for the opportunity to find true love with the limited supply of eligible bachelors on the island. The one mystery on the island is the locked room in the home that seems to be a bit of a shrine to a woman that no one will discuss as if they expect her to return at any moment. Are there secrets that Philip is hiding as well? Sometimes one's past can truly come back to haunt them after all.

I received The Respectable Actress by Dorothy Love compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation, aside from a free copy of the book in exchange for my honest and personal review. This is the sequel to Dorothy Love's The Bracelet in which the character of Celia MacKay is highlighted and one I fully intend to read. Historical novels like this one take the reader back to a time when society automatically made assumptions based on the classes of people and actors/actresses fell into line almost with prostitutes which I found more than interesting, how many judged India before any of them had read the truth and also how newspapers were more interested in selling papers over getting to the facts of the case before it went to print. A well written novel and one I found myself a silent character in which made it all the more delightful to spend time with Philip and India on the island. I can't wait for more. This one rated a 4.5 out of 5 stars and includes a reader's discussion guide that is great for book clubs.

For more information about The Respectable Actress, Dorothy Love or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Respectable Actress by Dorothy Love

You can find Dorothy Love on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Respectable Actress, please visit Litfuse Publicity's Book Tour Page. 

Carolina Gold

Charlotte Fraser has gumption. A willingness to dig deep even though the men around her believe that she will ultimately fail. With the death of her father behind her, she heads back to her family home in Fairhaven now that the Civil War has ended. She has been told not to expect anything to be left since the freed slaves and Yankees have left nothing of value behind. She knows she will need to do whatever she can to ensure that the rice crop is planted to provide a living for her and to pay back the bank loan she has acquired. The only thing that remains in her name is the property at Fairhaven as well as the summer home at Pelican Cottage. The only question is the validity of her families claims on the property at Fairhaven since a land deed in her father's name can't be found.

Charlotte hopes that the remaining clue her father whispered to her about remembering the fire will lead her to discover some hope that she will not have to leave the only home she has ever known. She is more than pleased to find that some of the families she has grown up with have also moved back to South Carolina but now that all the slaves are free, Charlotte isn't quite sure how she will manage planting rice crops with no labor available. The only few men remaining now realize that they can charge Charlotte whatever the going rate is to restore some of her crops. When she arrives home, she finds the family home literally gutted. Not even the bathtub remains. The barn is in shambles, no live stock remains, and the fields where her family grew lots of rice and vegetables is in a state of disrepair. She soon bands together with the local family to hire a group of men to help plant their rice crops along with selling her stories to the Enterprise newspaper about the Southern Reconstruction efforts.

When Nicholas Betancourt moves back to Willowood, he hopes he can pursued her to tutor his two young girls while he himself attempts to start over, but Charlotte is far from qualified to teach anyone. Her methods don't follow the tradition formal training a teacher would use but she could definitely use the money to help make ends meet. Nicholas is hoping that having a woman's presence back in his daughters lives will help them readjust to a life after the death of their mother. Soon Charlotte finds a friendship with Nicholas she wasn't expecting and wonders if love can possibly arrive from the ashes of war. Being a woman living alone presents some problems for her but nothing she can't manage with raw determination and grit. Now if she can only put her mind at ease and locate the papers her father must have had to show ownership of the property otherwise all the money she is investing will be in vain.

I received Carolina Gold by Dorothy Love compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed are strictly my own. This novel was based on the true story of a Carolina rice plantation owner Elizabeth Allston Pringle. The author Dorothy Love shares just how she came to develop the storyline which gives readers an inside look at how this woman struggles in the midst of coming home after the Civil War and trying to make a start of things when life was extremely difficult with the many changes the war left. I have read every single book that Dorothy Love has written and once again, I give this one a 5 out of 5 stars. I love historical fiction and learning a little bit about history that I had never known before.

For more information about Carolina Gold, Dorothy Love, or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Carolina Gold by Dorothy Love

You can find Dorothy Love on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels. 

To read more reviews on Carolina Gold from the Litfuse Publicity Book Tour, please click here. 

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (December 10, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140168761X
• ISBN-13: 978-1401687618
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches

Don't miss Dorothy Love's latest historical novel, Carolina Gold. Fun news: The release of Carolina Gold coincides with Dorothy's birthday. Celebrate with her by entering the Southern Essentials Giveaway and RSVPing to her Facebook party on January 14th!

 
Between January 3–14, visit Dorothy Love's Facebook Page to enter to win a new giveaway each day and be entered to win the $100 Visa Cash Card grand prize. Winners will be announced at the Facebook Author Chat party on January 14th! (Don't have a Facebook account? Enter here.) RSVP today for Dorothy's Carolina Gold Author Chat Party on Facebook.

During the party Dorothy will be hosting a book chat, testing your trivia skills, announcing the winner of the Southern Essentials Giveaway, and giving away books, gift certificates, and more. Oh, and she'll also be giving partygoers an exclusive look at her next book!

So grab your copy of Carolina Gold and help Dorothy celebrate her birthday on the evening of January 14th! (If you haven’t read the book, don’t let that stop you from coming!)

DON’T MISS A MOMENT OF THE FUN; RSVP TODAY. HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE 14th!

Every Perfect Gift

The problem with secrets is that they are hard to hide and even more difficult to keep hidden. That's just what Sophie Caldwell and Ethan Heyward are figuring out. Both have moved to Hickory Ridge to try and find new beginnings despite their past. For Sophie Caldwell, she has returned to try her hand at running the local paper, The Hickory Ridge Gazette. She had worked for several newspaper companies in the past and with some luck and an open mind she is hoping that people will be willing to overlook her age and the fact she is a woman to give her a fair chance. With an eye for the truth and strong determination to report the fact, Sophie soon finds herself the town's advocate for a women's infirmary. But with lack of funds and the support of the local men of the town, it is unlikely it will be anything but front page news despite the overwhelming need to provide better care for the women and children in town.

Ethan Heyward is trying to put his best foot forward in making a name for himself in Hickory Ridge as the new manager of Blue Smoke, a glamorous resort geared to bring money and the wealthy to stay for vacations in the small town. He is hoping it will bring the vital blood back into the town that seems barely able to hang on. He finds himself enchanted by the beauty and strength of Sophie Caldwell and seems drawn to her in a most unusual way. However when she happens upon a riot during the construction of the resort, she feels compelled to report the truth even though it is simply the opinion of one local worker. Will Sophie's search for the truth uncover more than just the growing popularity of the resort or will she be pulled into a much bigger story that Ethan is trying to keep undercover and hidden.

In the novel Every Perfect Gift by Dorothy Love, the reader is taken back into the town of Hickory Ridge, Tennessee to find strong grit and determination despite overcoming difficult circumstances for both our main characters. They both compliment one another with their secrets and only have to discover that sooner or later, in evidently the truth will always come out. They are both given ample opportunity to share their secrets with one another but soon make more excuses and lies to keep their secrets buried and hidden. Sophie is your historical version of a women's rights advocate even though it still 1886 and the need for women to become accepted as much more than a wife and provider is still many years away from becoming a reality. I love her determination to dig deep when other women may have packed up and went running for the safety and comfort of home. It is that strength that I believe will lead Ethan to find romance and love in Sophie while allowing her the freedom to continue in her passions as a newspaper reporter/owner of the Gazette. How it turns out? Well, you'll have to pick up a copy of this one to find out.

I received Every Perfect Gift by Dorothy Love compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. This is the third book in the Hickory Ridge Romance Series and I can only hope for more by this talented author. This story is charming, heart-warming and truly captivating for the die hard Christian Historical Romance fan. You will not be disappointed. This one can be read as a stand alone but once you read this one, you'll want to go back and check out Beyond All Measure, Book 1, and Beauty for Ashes, the second in this series. For me, I easily rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and each one is completely different but worth reading.

For more information about Every Perfect Gift, Dorothy Love, and where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Every Perfect Gift by Dorothy Love

You can also find Dorothy Love on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest books.

To read more reviews on Every Perfect Gift from the Litfuse Publicity book tour, please click here. 

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (December 4, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595549021
• ISBN-13: 978-1595549020
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches

Beauty for Ashes

Once again Dorothy Love has managed to draw me in as a reader and create such timeless characters that I am immediately rooting for them the entire way through the novel. In the second book in the Hickory Ridge Romance Series, Beauty for Ashes picks up with the life of Carrie Daly who is making preparations to attend her brother Henry's wedding. While retrieving her dress from the dressmakers, she finds herself in immediate danger from a runaway horse who is spooked from the whistle of the train. Just at the last minute, Carrie is rescued by Griffin Rutledge, a handsome horse trainer in town on business.

This is the true definition of falling in love, and the sparks between Carrie and Griffin are immediately lit even though Carrie is being courted by Nate Chastain, the local bookstore owner. Nate's been proposing to Carrie for many years but she just can't seem to find the same feelings for Nate as she did for her husband who left her a widow. Could the sparks between Griffin and Carrie be what has been missing for both of their lives?

When Henry's new wife, Mary and her young sons, Caleb and Joe, leave Carrie with no alternative but to move out of her family home, she finds a room in the Verandah Hotel where she hopes to earn money taking care of the cooking and cleaning. However she finds once more, that she has been replaced by Rosaleen Dupre', a fancy lady with a sorted past, that will weave her way in and around the residents of Hickory Ridge, even though they won't see it coming.

I received Beauty for Ashes compliments of Litfuse Publicity and Thomas Nelson Publishers for my honest review. I love the strength that Carrie possesses, not being afraid of what people think, and isn't afraid to speak her mind. I can't imagine being treated so poorly by her new sister-in-law, Mary who seems to think that Carrie will now be her maid while she is living in the house. Not only that but her younger boys, Caleb and Joe have no manners or respect for Carrie, telling her on one to many occasions that she is not there mother and they don't have to pay her any mind! I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and can't wait for the third book in this series.

If you've never read any of Dorothy Love's book, please pick up this series. She will take you back to Hickory Ridge, Tennessee for a definite adventure in western historical fiction with some great romance thrown in for a treat! The best part of this book is that it can be read as a stand alone, but trust me, you'll want to pick up Beyond All Measure to capture the whole story of the residents of Hickory Ridge!

For more information on this book, the author and where to pick up a copy of this book, please click on the links below:

Beauty for Ashes by Dorothy Love

You can also find Dorothy on Facebook by clicking here.

Beyond All Measure - Giveaway and Review

He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best -
Lovingly, it's part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest. - Carolina Sandell Berg, "Day by Day" (C. 1865)

A broken heart is a difficult thing to bear. Even worse is the ability to let down the walls that we build up to protect the wounds from being hurt even more, while hopefully allowing the heart to mend. Yet in that process, we fail to realize what our actions are really doing. They set us apart from allowing others to see what we truly are like, and block the ability to ever really love and trust again.

Ada Wentworth is looking for a way to begin again. Vowing a personal covenant with herself, she promises to stand strong, become an independent woman and never trust the love of a man again, no matter how kind or attractive he may be. Hickory Ridge, in Tennessee offers her that hope again. Answering an ad in the paper for a ladies companion, she hopes to work long enough to save up the money to move back to Boston and start up a hat shop of her own. Healing from a broken heart, she has hardened herself to everything and everyone including God. Determined and strong-willed, she resolves to do whatever it takes to make it on her own, without the help of anyone, no matter how her heart still hurts inside.

Wyatt Caldwell is the local lumber mill owner, whose ad, Ada has come to answer. Living a bit far away from town, he is looking for someone to care for his aunt Lillian Willis. Since the mill has been busy, Wyatt has built a home near the mill and therefore, needs someone to look after Lillian while he is gone for most of the day. The only problem is that Lillian Willis, is herself set in her ways, strong-willed and cantankerous. She knows just about everyone in town and has an opinion on everything. Not only that, but she has some spells that may just about push poor Miss Ada back to Boston.

What surprises await Ada when she steps off the train and into the hearts of the residents of Hickory Ridge, and what danger also looms under the cover of darkness that may end things for her before she has a chance to find love again.

I received Beyond All Measure by Dorothy Love compliments of TLC Book Tours for my honest review. Being a huge fan of western romances with a twist, this one was a delight to read. I loved the characters that she develops and makes the readers have a real relationship with them. Ada's so determined to not let anyone in, she fails to see the truth that lies right before her eyes at times. Lillian has to be my favorite, being so blunt and honest, she doesn't hold back when something needs to be said. That being said, this book rates a 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion and can't wait to continue the story in the next book in the Hickory Ridge Romance series.

For more information about this book, the author and where to pick up a copy of this amazing book, please click on the links below:

Beyond All Measure by Dorothy Love

You can also find Dorothy on Facebook by clicking here. The rest of the tour schedule can be found here.

Thanks to the generous folks at TLC, they are offering a giveaway copy to one lucky follower of this blog. Here's all you gotta do:

1. Be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart.

2. "Like" my Facebook page, Reviews From The Heart and the review for Beyond All Measure.

3. Be a resident of the US or Canada. Please remember No P.O. Boxes.

4. Leave a comment and let me know why you would love to win a copy of this book in the comment box along with your email address. You can use the words (at) or (dot) instead of the symbols.

The giveaway will end on Nov 1st and I will notify the winner by email at that time.