Christmas At Carnton

It's hard to imagine that war once divide this great country. That men and women both lost those they loved when the North divided against the South. Men ill equipped to go to war went anyway and so much blood was shed on both sides of the country. For Aletta Prescott, she learned that her husband would not be returning home from the war as he had hoped and now she has learned she is about to be laid off from her job at the Chilton Textile Mill. It wasn't due to her work, but as a matter of last hired is those who would have to face the burden of no longer having a job, a ways to provide for their family and for Aletta, now seven months pregnant and with a young boy at home, she struggled to figure out how she was going to pay for their mortgage now with winter coming.

She had hoped that the bank would be understanding regarding her recent loss and now unemployment, but despite all the bank manager's assurances that they might be able to work something out, the bank's board members refused to allow her any more time. They felt they were being generous in letting her have two weeks before they foreclosed on her home. But where could they go? When she learned that the Carnton estate was looking for help in preparation for an upcoming auction to lend financial resources to help the war effort, she felt assured this would be an answer to prayer. She had to find something otherwise she didn't know what she would do or where they would go.

Jake Winston felt that his life was spared when he was shot in the shoulder, but it also allowed him to deal with the loss of his eyesight even temporarily. He would have to wear glasses now to miss seeing the sharp details a marksman like himself would need if he was to be an use of continuing in the war effort, but such was not to be the case just yet. His commanding General has asked him to travel to Carnton Estate and lend in the security of helping the women raise funds to benefit the war. It would also give him time to continue to allow his eyesight to return. But there was no winning this battle with the General. He just didn't plan on having his heart fall for a young mother due with another child and her sweet, young, impressionable son as well. He will have to maintain the respect due to her after learning she had lost her husband while trying to do as ordered, but will God have other plans in store for them all?

I received Christmas at Carnton by Tamera Alexander compliments of NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishers. This is such a heart warming book because it really takes the readers into the very heart of both Aletta and Jake. You can understand how difficult both the timing and the circumstances surrounding them both would be, and with time running out for them both, anxiety only increases the need to figure out the future, even if it is out of their hands for the time being. I love the generosity of Mrs. McGavock, who is the wife of the Carnton Estate in how she is with her hired staff. She keeps the respectability of her position, but treats them all like family. I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about Christmas at Carnton, Tamera Alexander or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Christmas at Carnton by Tamera Alexander

You can find Tamera Alexander on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest books.

To read more reviews on Christmas at Carnton, please visit Thomas Nelson Publisher's website. 

To Wager Her Heart

Sylas Ruthledge has more than just a bit of a dilemma to face. Coming from a start up railroad company in Colorado to the Belle Meade Plantation of Tennessee, he finds himself out of his element. His is missing out on all the Southern genteel ways that might cause him to lose out on his bid to expand his railroad territory all on account of not being like all the other wealthy bidders. To call him an outcast is mild in comparison to some. The other thing that keeps him from being looked upon favorably is that his father was responsible for the death of more than a hundred souls when two railroad engines collided at Dutchman's Curve. He knows his father couldn't have been responsible because he knows what an experienced engineer he was. Now while in Tennessee he hopes he can find a way to clear his father's name.

His only help might just come from his most least likely of places. When Alexandra Jamison is forced by her wealthy socialite family to marry a man she clearly could never love, she is given an ultimatum by her father. If she refuses to marry a man as old as her father, she can find someplace else to live and with that it means she leaves everything behind including all her personal belongings. She will walk out the door with only the clothes on her back. The good thing is that she has managed to secure a job as a teacher for Fisk University, which teaches the Freedmen and women how to read and write among other things, but the pay isn't that good to allow her to purchase some things she will need along with at least more clothes.

So Sylas and Alexandra make a partnership that will benefit them both. She agrees to help teach Sylas the ins and outs of good business dealings as long as he isn't underhanded in his approach. She also agrees that once he obtains new information into the cause of the train accident, he will share what he learns with her. She lost her financè in that crash, while she managed to survive. Even though it goes against what she wants, she knows that without any money, or help, she might be forced to return home and beg for her families help. So she will assist him only until she can get back on her feet and get paid.

I received To Wager Her Heart by Tamera Alexander compliments of Zondervan Publishers and NetGalley. This is the third novel in the Belle Meade Plantation series and if you love anything from that sweet Southern history with a refreshing romance mixed in, you will definitely want to pick up this novel. Alexandra's character is a spitfire, like a bit of Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With The Wind. She isn't about to forced to do anything that isn't what is in her heart even if it flies in the face of Southern society. I love her strong determination to keep Sylas at bay, even though she finds herself drawn to man who will do anything to win her heart in the most genteel and southernly ways! Definitely a 5 out of 5 stars in this readers opinion.

For more information about To Wager Her Heart, Tamera Alexander, or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

To Wager Her Heart by Tamera Alexander

You can find Tamera Alexander on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on To Wager Her Heart, please visit Zondervan Publisher's website.

To Wager Her Heart

Sylas Ruthledge has more than just a bit of a dilemma to face. Coming from a start up railroad company in Colorado to the Belle Meade Plantation of Tennessee, he finds himself out of his element. His is missing out on all the Southern genteel ways that might cause him to lose out on his bid to expand his railroad territory all on account of not being like all the other wealthy bidders. To call him an outcast is mild in comparison to some. The other thing that keeps him from being looked upon favorably is that his father was responsible for the death of more than a hundred souls when two railroad engines collided at Dutchman's Curve. He knows his father couldn't have been responsible because he knows what an experienced engineer he was. Now while in Tennessee he hopes he can find a way to clear his father's name.

His only help might just come from his most least likely of places. When Alexandra Jamison is forced by her wealthy socialite family to marry a man she clearly could never love, she is given an ultimatum by her father. If she refuses to marry a man as old as her father, she can find someplace else to live and with that it means she leaves everything behind including all her personal belongings. She will walk out the door with only the clothes on her back. The good thing is that she has managed to secure a job as a teacher for Fisk University, which teaches the Freedmen and women how to read and write among other things, but the pay isn't that good to allow her to purchase some things she will need along with at least more clothes.

So Sylas and Alexandra make a partnership that will benefit them both. She agrees to help teach Sylas the ins and outs of good business dealings as long as he isn't underhanded in his approach. She also agrees that once he obtains new information into the cause of the train accident, he will share what he learns with her. She lost her financè in that crash, while she managed to survive. Even though it goes against what she wants, she knows that without any money, or help, she might be forced to return home and beg for her families help. So she will assist him only until she can get back on her feet and get paid.

I received To Wager Her Heart by Tamera Alexander compliments of Zondervan Publishers and TLC Book Tours. This is the third novel in the Belle Meade Plantation series and if you love anything from that sweet Southern history with a refreshing romance mixed in, you will definitely want to pick up this novel. Alexandra's character is a spitfire, like a bit of Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With The Wind. She isn't about to forced to do anything that isn't what is in her heart even if it flies in the face of Southern society. I love her strong determination to keep Sylas at bay, even though she finds herself drawn to man who will do anything to win her heart in the most genteel and southernly ways! Definitely a 5 out of 5 stars in this readers opinion.

For more information about To Wager Her Heart, Tamera Alexander, or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

To Wager Her Heart by Tamera Alexander

You can find Tamera Alexander on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on To Wager Her Heart, please visit TLC's Book Tour Page. 

A Note Yet Unsung

It is hard not to pass up any novel by Tamera Alexander and if you never have read one you might just want to pick them up. Not only do you get an exceptional novel, but also a bit of a history lesson as well. In her latest novel in the Belmont Mansion series, A Note Yet Unsung takes readers into the heart of a passion of Rebekah Carrington who has spent the last few years in Vienna pursuing her love of music under one of the great conductors there. She was sent there by her grandmother because for women in the United States, society isn't ready to accept a woman's role in any seat in an orchestra even in private performances. They simply believe they don't have the discipline necessary to be good enough, and while Rebekah would love to prove them wrong, she is about to face her biggest challenge yet.

Coming home on the news of her grandmother's death, she isn't anticipating seeing her step father Barton anytime soon. She remembers the night that he tried to have his way with her but was stopped by one of the families slaves, Demetrius. She longs for a relationship with her mother, but it seems like she is more concerned with abiding by Barton's wishes over the her own daughters. She just hopes to catch her mother home alone. When she learns that her long lost friend, Demetrius has died, she believes she has been dealt more grief than anyone can handle. She also finds out that all of her grandmother's belongings have been sold or given away by Barton because her mother couldn't handle dealing with it.

Rebekah knows she can't stay under the same roof as Barton, and vows to find a job in the city that might provide room and board, even though she dreams of working with an orchestra one day, this will not be the day. When she finds an ad in the local paper as an assistant to the conductor, Maestro Nathaniel Tate Whitcomb, in the local orchestra house, she believes God might just grant her prayers. But as Rebekah will soon learn, a woman's place is not in a man's world and it will have far-reaching implications.

I received A Note Yet Unsung by Tamera Alexander compliments of Bethany House Publishers and Net Galley. I absolutely LOVED this final novel in the Belmont Mansion series, and didn't know how difficult it was as a woman to be accepted by society no matter how talented you were to play in a private or public performance. The term one size fits all does not apply when discussing the vast number of styles of music in this time-treasured art form. Hard to believe that society would consider women too delicate natured for the rigors of practice and dedication required to master a musical instrument in the 19th century considering how they insisted that women play such instruments as the pianoforte as a form of entertaining guests at a party or ball. I even found myself clicking on various websites to listen to the particular music pieces referred to in this novel as a backdrop while reading the novel. This is by far one my favorite novels that Tamera Alexander has written and worthy of 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about A Note Yet Unsung, Tamera Alexander or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

A Note Yet Unsung by Tamera Alexander

You can find Tamera Alexander on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on A Note Yet Unsung, please visit Bethany House Publisher's website. 

To Win Her Favor

Take the love of horses and combine it with the love of history in America and you have the new Belle Meade Plantation series from Tamera Alexander. In the second novel to debut in this series, To Win Her Favor, the reader is transported to Tennessee in 1869. We find the discrimination of the Irish is just as predominant as it is for black slaves. With signs up all around town, the fresh start that Cullen McGrath was looking for in buying some land to begin a new life in America seems to be against him. It doesn't matter that he has plenty of money, no one will do business with him. Armed with the auction listings for farms, he sets out with hope he might be able to convince the owner to sell the property to him before an auction begins and thus secure a home for himself.

For Maggie Linden and her father Gilbert, they need to find a way to pay off the debt on their property or face watching it being auctioned off in the next two weeks. Since the end of the war, families like hers that have owned their land for generations are now watching northerners move in and buy up all the farms leaving them without a way to make a living. Maggie knows if she can convince her father to give her one more shot at racing Bourbon Belle, her thoroughbred mare, she might just win enough to save their property. But with his health failing, Maggie doesn't believe she'll have the time left to do it before the auction or before her father passes on.

When Cullen McGrath appears, her father believes that he is the answer to his prayer. Knowing a good man when he sees him, Cullen offers to pay off the debt on the property and allow Maggie and Gilbert to remain for all long as they have need. But Gilbert knows that once he passes away, Maggie's reputation as a single woman living with a single man would be called into question. The only solution is to have Cullen marry Maggie and offer him a huge reduction in what he was planning on selling the land for. Perhaps they both might benefit if they can only find a way to convince Maggie that their plan is what is best for her. But life isn't that easy!

I received To Win Her Favor by Tamera Alexander compliments of Zondervan Publishing and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside from a free copy of the book for my honest review and the opinions contained here are strictly my own. This is such a beautiful novel because of all the elements that come together to show how much animosity was still prevalent into the nineteenth century and provide historical insight on prejudice. It shows how prejudice will affect not only our lives but our choices  and we see from the characters in this novel how each of them deals with them differently. Well written from a historical perspective I can't wait to see how Tamera will continue this theme in her future novels in the Belle Meade Plantation series to come. Well worth each of the 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about To Win Her Favor, Tamera Alexander, or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

To Win Her Favor by Tamera Alexander

You can find Tamera Alexander on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on To Win Her Favor, please visit Litfuse Publicity's book tour page. 

Can Maggie prove that her mare, Bourbon Belle, can take the top purse in the inaugural Peyton Stakes, the richest race ever run in America? Find out in Tamera Alexander's To Win Her Favor. To give her that chance—and to save Linden Downs from being sold to the highest bidder—Maggie must marry a man she's never met. A man she never would have chosen for herself.

Celebrate the release of To Win Her Favor with a Kindle Fire and book giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire HD 6
• A copy of To Win Her Favor

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 10th. Winner will be announced May 11th on Tamera's blog. Plus stay tuned for more opportunities to win after May 11 with a special Pinterest contest—more details coming soon!

{NOT ON FACEBOOK? ENTER HERE.}

A Beauty So Rare - Giveaway and Review

Sometimes the best reasons for reading historical fiction is to gain insight on how differently things were many years ago. Take for example, Tamera Alexander's latest novel in the Belmont Mansion series, A Beauty So Rare. We understand that for a woman like Eleanor Braddock, women have their place in the late 1800's. For a woman of her social status and living with her Aunt Adelicia Acklen Cheatham her goal in life should be to find a suitor who will allow her to grow in social circles and the wealth she should be accustom to, if she was accustom to it at all.

Having to leave her ailing father at the Tennessee Asylum for the Insane in hopes that the memories he has been losing might be recovered at some point with treatment and she might be reunited with him once again. But lately some of her father's outbursts have gotten violent and even now she fears there may be nothing more that can be done. Thankfully her Aunt has agreed to keep the matter out of the public eye as her father was a well-known attorney and all Eleanor has now is the good name her father left her with. She just wasn't planning for her father and Aunt to collaborate to find her a suitable match with little hope of finding someone that would be willing to marry Eleanor now that she was nearing thirty.

On the heels of recovering from a Civil War, Eleanor has seen the horrors of what war can bring and take away in both the love and lives of men who left their families behind to serve. Vowing to find the man who claimed a piece of her heart in trying to find 'his Mary' while holding on to her hand in his final moments, Eleanor believes her life is destined for more than being a suitable wife to a man she probably won't love but will provide for her and her father in the future.

She wasn't hoping to fall in love with the under gardener at her Aunt's estate, especially since their personalities click so well at the people they each are underneath all the layers of social propriety. Marcus Gottfried is trying to find something more out of life than merely assuming his throne as Archduke of Austria and will do anything to keep anyone from finding out. He finds peace and solace in learning how to graft plants and flowers to produce something better than what nature intended, something like the rare beauty that he sees in Eleanor that she doesn't see in herself. Is there a way for them both to do something with their lives than what society has destined for their future?

I received A Beauty So Rare by Tamera Alexander compliments of TLC Book Tours and Bethany House Publishers. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained in this review are strictly my own. This is the second book in the Belmont Mansion series, with A Lasting Impression being the first. I intend on picking that one up as well because I love Tamera's writing style. She isn't afraid to take her time in getting to the end of the book without rushing unlike so many other authors do. I love that I didn't feel hurried by the time I got to the end and it maintained that level of content that kept me glued to what would happen between Eleanor and Marcus. In a time where society had certain social standards to uphold, I am glad that Tamera took a different road and showed what could happen if they were to each cast off what the world thought they should do and instead embrace the gifts and talents that God gave them. This one easily hits a 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion and I can't wait for more!!!

For more information about A Beauty So Rare, Tamera Alexander, or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

A Beauty So Rare by Tamera Alexander

You can find Tamera Alexander on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on A Beauty So Rare, please visit TLC Book Tour page.

Thanks to the generosity of TLC Book Tours and Bethany House Publishers, they are offering a giveaway copy to one lucky follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart. Here are your guidelines to enter:

1. "Like" my Facebook page, Reviews From The Heart. If you have already "liked" it, just leave me a comment telling me you're stopping by.

2. Be a resident of the US or have a US shipping address. Please No P.O. Boxes.

3. Leave me a comment below telling me why you'd love to win a copy of this novel along with your email address. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols.

If I don't have an email address with your comment, I can't notify you if you're the winner of the giveaway. The giveaway will end on May 15th and I will notify the winner at that time by email.

Within My Heart

Losing the most important person in your life can make you wonder if there is anything reason for you to go on with your life, but when Rachel Boyd loses her husband Thomas, leaving her behind with her two young sons, Mitch and Kurt and a ranch that is barely making ends meet, she questions whether she has the strength to make it.

Rachel Boyd has grown up in the shadow of her father, a great physician whom never seemed to have time for her or her mother growing up yet the skills she learned while watching him has helped her become a bit of an expert in being a mid-wife in the small town of Timber Ridge.

When the new town doctor, Rand Brookston, sets up shop, he soon discovers he needs more than Rachel's trained medical skills to help him. In the latest book from Tamera Alexander in the Timber Ridge Reflections series, we have an opportunity to travel back in time to the Colorado Rockies in the late 1800's in Within My Heart.

Both characters of Rand and Rachel have fears that only love and their faith in God can conquer and they soon will come to realize that they both need one another to face them.

I received this novel, compliments of Bethany House Publishers for my honest review and literally read all 378 pages on a cold rainy day. What a perfect way to escape and I would rate this one a perfect 5 out of 5 stars. I can't wait to pick up the first books in this series, From A Distance and Beyond This Moment. Tamera Alexander has such a profound way with words that she makes you feel like you are a part of this characters lives.

For more information on the book, the author and where to purchase a copy of the book, click on the title below:

Within My Heart

Within My Heart

Losing the most important person in your life can make you wonder if there is anything reason for you to go on with your life, but when Rachel Boyd loses her husband Thomas, leaving her behind with her two young sons, Mitch and Kurt and a ranch that is barely making ends meet, she questions whether she has the strength to make it.

Rachel Boyd has grown up in the shadow of her father, a great physician whom never seemed to have time for her or her mother growing up yet the skills she learned while watching him has helped her become a bit of an expert in being a mid-wife in the small town of Timber Ridge.

When the new town doctor, Rand Brookston, sets up shop, he soon discovers he needs more than Rachel's trained medical skills to help him. In the latest book from Tamera Alexander in the Timber Ridge Reflections series, we have an opportunity to travel back in time to the Colorado Rockies in the late 1800's in Within My Heart.

Both characters of Rand and Rachel have fears that only love and their faith in God can conquer and they soon will come to realize that they both need one another to face them.

I received this novel, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and literally read all 378 pages on a cold rainy day. What a perfect way to escape and I would rate this one a perfect 5 out of 5 stars. I can't wait to pick up the first books in this series, From A Distance and Beyond This Moment. Tamera Alexander has such a profound way with words that she makes you feel like you are a part of this characters lives.

For more information on the book, the author and even a first chapter glimpse, read on:

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Within My Heart Bethany House; Original edition (September 1, 2010)
by Tamera Alexander
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tamera Alexander is the best-selling author of Rekindled, Revealed and Remembered, the critically acclaimed Fountain Creek Chronicles historical series with Bethany House Publishers. Her second historical series, Timber Ridge Reflections (From a Distance, Beyond This Moment, and Within My Heart), penned in her style with deeply drawn characters, thought-provoking plots, and poignant prose have earned her devoted readers—and multiple industry awards.

These awards include the 2009 and 2008 Christy Award, the 2007 RITA for Best Inspirational Romance, the 2009 and 2007 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, 2007 Bookseller’s Best Award, and Library Journal’s Top Christian Fiction for 2006, among others.

After living in Colorado for seventeen years, Tamera has returned to her Southern roots. She and her husband now make their home in Nashville with Tamera's father, Doug. They enjoy life there with Joe and Tamera's two adult children, and Jack, a precious—and precocious—silky terrier.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Widow Rachel Boyd struggles to keep her ranch afloat and provide for her two young sons, though some days it feels as though her efforts are sabotaged at every turn. When her cattle come down with disease and her sons' lives are endangered, she must turn to Rand Brookston, Timber Ridge's physician and reluctant veterinarian. While Rachel appreciates his help, she squelches any feelings she might have for Rand--her own father was a doctor and his patients always took priority over his family. Rachel refuses to repeat the mistakes her mother made. But when she's courted by a wealthy client of the local resort, she faces a choice: self-sufficiency and security or the risk inherent in the deepest of loves.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Within My Heart, go HERE.