1531 Entertainment had two more interesting suggestions, both of them with authors not in my library. I’ve read two chapters of the historical novel and I have to have it. I’ve looked at the author of the mystery and I need it as well.

The Beautiful Pretender (A Medieval Fairy Tale Book 2)

The Margrave of Thornbeck has to find a bride, fast. He invites ten noble born ladies who meet the king’s approval to be his guests at Thornbeck Castle for two weeks, a time to test these ladies and reveal their true character.

Avelina has only two instructions: keep her true identity a secret and make sure the margrave doesn’t select her as his bride. Since the latter seems unlikely, she concentrates on not getting caught. No one must know she is merely a maidservant, sent by the Earl of Plimmwald to stand in for his daughter, Dorothea.

Despite Avelina’s best attempts at diverting attention from herself, the margrave has taken notice. And try as she might, she can’t deny her own growing feelings. But something else is afoot in the castle. Something sinister that could have far worse—far deadlier—consequences

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Tell Her No Lies 

Even the most admired families have secrets to hide . . .

Nina Fischer carries a camera wherever she goes—so she can view life through a filter. Safely. After her mother abandoned her to the streets, Nina has kept people at a distance, including her uncle, who adopted Nina and her sister. Wealthy and proud, he is a good man, a fair judge, and someone many in San Antonio admire. 

But when he is murdered, and the detective assigned to the case accuses Nina of the crime, she knows she must act. She’s determined to use her journalism background to find the real killer. The two men in her life want to help, but can she trust them?

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It has been a good book day.

Happy Reading

Two books. Enjoyed for the same reason.

Different genres with each covering different time periods. Past and present. There were many similarities with these books but there was one major difference.

There was one shared effect that I found intriguing. There are huge differences in the culture of the times and both authors highlighted the differences in interesting ways. By the end I think we had gained an appreciation for the lives our ancestors had to live.

Most of us cannot imagine living without our modern conveniences. On the other hand, if all you’ve ever known is the old style way of life, a sudden exposure to modern life would be traumatic. I think Vestige of Courage did a very good job of making that point. The time travelling character was about undone with some of her first time experiences with modern technology. It was eye opening to see our electronic life from her perspective.

I’ve often thought about that very thing. My grandmother died in 1976 before electronics started taking off. I’ve often thought about what her reaction would look like if she could suddenly come back now in 2021, with all the advances that have been made. Her mind would be blown. Imagine what it would be like for someone from the 1870s, still dependent on a very primitive way of life. Incomprehensible. It’s kind of cool when I think about it. I think the reader will be left with a new appreciation and a new perspective.

Anyway I thoroughly enjoyed both books.

In this first one a young lady from 1879 is suddenly thrust into the year 2019

Vestige of Courage: A Christian Time Travel Romance (Vestige in Time Book 4)

Finding herself in the future is Beatrice’s wildest dream come true, until it shatters her long-held illusions.

Beatrice Thomas lives a simple life on an isolated mountain homestead in 1879, Colorado, but she longs to experience the world past the rugged peaks and lonely months that her life has become. Unfortunately for her, that requires a miracle.

Chase Bennett’s life is on hold while he searches for his missing brother. When he stumbles upon a woman who’s looking for answers of her own, she provides a distraction he doesn’t need.

As their friendship grows, Beatrice is bewildered by the fast pace of the modern world. The adventure she longed for may be more than she can handle.

Torn between the past and the promise of a better future, can Beatrice and Chase move forward and grasp the vestige of courage buried deep within?

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This next one is a mystery. A killer needs to be discovered and while everyone in the story is living in the present the clues are all rooted in the past. And, some of those living in the present have found themselves stuck in the past. Too many secrets were tying them there.

Grave Consequences

Sometimes finding the living is more difficult than searching for the dead.

In 1968, twenty-six-year-old Charlotte Graves wrestles with more than just her decision to return to her hometown, Loblolly, Alabama—she is also fleeing a broken heart, colliding headlong into a second one, and about to stumble onto a deadly secret.

Now settled back in Loblolly, Charlotte is hired to oversee the Woodville County Historical Society, a job she was born for. But no sooner has she banged the gavel to bring order to the first meeting than she is accused of being incompetent to lead the group by her old nemesis, Boopsie Sweets. Later that night, she finds herself arrested by her old beau, the current deputy sheriff, Roan Steele, for killing Boopsie.

After being released on bail, Charlotte uses her skills as a genealogist to leap into the investigation. And when Charlotte goes digging up dirt, she unearths a long-kept family secret. Will it lead to Boopsie’s murderer … or to grave consequences for Charlotte and her family?

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I loved the resourceful characters in these books too.

I would definitely read both of them a second time.

Happy Reading