The Montana Marshalls series by Susan May Warren has been one of my absolute favorite series. I love how the couples in each book are introduced in the previous book. For example, Knox (book one), is about Knox Marshall and Kelsey, yet his brother Tate and Kelsey’s bandmate Glo play a big role in the story as well. Book two, you guessed it, ends up being called Tate. I am also a fan of the expert blend of romance and suspense. These books have scenes that will make you swoon, then the next minute, you’ll be on the edge of your seat.
The Marshalls are a family, not Texas agents, just to be clear. They hail from a ranch in Montana and each brother (and one sister) have dangerous careers. Knox is a bull rider, Tate is an Army Ranger turned bodyguard, Ford is a Navy Seal, Wyatt is a hockey goalie, and Ruby Jane is a CIA agent. Even eldest brother Reuben is a hotshot - a firefighter who jumps from planes into forest fires. He appears in another series by Warren that I now have to read too! Melanie, that sounds so far-fetched! Don’t care. These books are fun, and if men can read series about Jason Bourne and Jack Ryan without people rolling their eyes, then why can’t I read my far-fetched series? Hmmm? Besides, look down at those covers, I mean . . . come on! I just finished Wyatt, and even though it isn’t the last book in the series, I just had to stop and tell you how amazing it was. If I had to sum up each Marshall brother, Knox would be the safe, sweet one (actually, Kelsey thanks him for being safe very early on); Tate would be the bad boy; Ford would be the hero . . . And Wyatt? I call him the soft disaster. Knox is still my favorite, but Wyatt gave him a run for his money. How can you not love this clueless mess of a hockey player who cried the first time he made love to Coco? He’s so clueless, you sometimes want to smack him in the head, but he’s just so adorable about it. Speaking of both he and Coco, the characterization in this book was incredible. Wyatt and Coco were so complex and nuanced, and the way they grew over the course of the story was powerful. There were so many great quotes, I was highlighting on my Kindle like crazy. Check out my Goodreads page for those! One night I stayed up past midnight, which is very rare for me these days, just to finish the last few chapters. The nail biting suspense meant each of the last few chapters ended in a cliffhanger, and I just had to see what happened! Needless to say, I’m eager to read Ruby Jane and find out how things are resolved from the political intrigue to the relationship between Ruby Jane and York. And maybe a wedding or two as well? Weddings and political intrigue? Yep, that’s what makes this series so amazing!
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This is the second series by writer Roseanna M. White that I have started. I thought about waiting until I had read all three to review them, but I just couldn’t wait to share my love for this book! The name of the series is called Shadows Over England, and just like the previous series I read by her (Ladies of the Manor), they are set in Edwardian England. These are late in the Edwardian period, with World War I starting with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in this first book.
In A Name Unknown, tensions are high all over Europe with alliances forming that will inevitably lead to what we know as WWI. In England specifically, there is widespread distrust and even hatred for anyone of German lineage, including the novel’s unlikely hero, Peter Holstein. Peter is a wealthy landowner, and handsome to boot, so why do I call him an unlikely hero? Because I have never read a romantic hero who stuttered. The dialogue is written to convey his stuttering problem, and I will be completely transparent, at first it was off-putting. This made me glaringly aware of my own prejudices. Like the people of Peter’s community, I had a difficult time in the beginning imagining him as charming or intelligent or attractive simply because of his stuttering. Peter isolates himself from all but his closest friends, causing his neighbors to distrust him even more. The key to proving his allegiance to Britain is contained somewhere in the disaster of his family library. Enter Rosemary Gresham, who Peter thinks is a librarian seeking employment in organizing his library and helping him find important family documents. In actuality, Rosemary is a con artist, hired by a mysterious man to find evidence that Peter is a traitor. Rosemary is used to people making assumptions about her. A former street urchin with a found family of fellow thieves and cons, she’s used to being underestimated and having to lie, cheat, and scrape to survive. Her distrust of Peter has nothing to do with his stuttering and everything to do with his wealth. Gentlemen can’t be trusted, yet Peter seems different. The only question is, what does he type all day long in his office? What does he keep locked in that desk drawer? Everything in her says Peter Holstein is a good man, but can she learn to trust when all her life experience has told her not to? As Rosemary slowly falls in love with Peter, the reader falls in love with him too, and like Rosemary, we stop thinking about his stuttering. I also could relate to Peter in so many ways. Like Peter, I’m an introvert, and like Peter, I’m better at expressing my feelings and thoughts when I write them down. I also tend to get lost in the fantasy world in my head like Peter. (The reason he does that is a spoiler, but you might be able to guess!) It also made me think about what my husband went through as a child when he suffered from a stuttering problem. He, of course, had access to speech therapy that wasn’t available or understood in Edwardian times. It made me wonder how things would have been different for him if he still stuttered as an adult. My daughter has also struggled with speech issues, so this book really gave me greater empathy for both she and my husband. Some adults do, even today, have speech problems for various reasons, and this book made me more aware of my prejudices towards them. The final thing I want to praise this book for is a scene in which a character accepts Jesus Christ as savior. I have mentioned in the past that I hate when a book comes to a screeching halt to do a scene like this. It can feel forced like a “we interrupt this story for a very important message” type of thing. That is NOT how White writes this scene, however! It felt so natural and flowed with the rest of the story. Some of my favorite lines in the entire book come from this scene. I cried as the character came to understand the grace of Jesus. Some of my other favorite lines came from the many times Rosemary defends Peter. She despises anyone who judges him because of his stuttering. I love when characters rise to the defense of the person they love, especially when, like Rosemary, they are in denial about their feelings. I also love this line that Rosemary says: “I’ve scarcely noticed if he’s handsome or not.” Which was true. Perhaps he was—certainly he was, if one thought about it—but why would one? It highlights what makes Rosemary truly love Peter: his character. His looks are secondary. The next two books in the series focus on other members of Rosemary’s “family” of con artists, both of whom are introduced in this first book. Has the war affected their “profession?” I refuse to give that one away! I highly recommend this book filled with complex characters, intrigue, and plot twists. I’m looking forward to what’s to come in books two and three! Haley, my nine year old, and Ian, my eight year old, are giggling as we read about Templeton the rat’s huge belly after he gorged himself at the fair. It isn’t the first time they’ve giggled while reading E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, and every time they do, it’s bittersweet. I love the sound because it means they are enjoying a book that has meant so much to me since I first read it as a little girl. It’s bitter because, unlike them, I know the ending.
Reading this children’s classic with my kids is eye-opening in so many ways. I think most of us adults think of two things when someone mentions Charlotte’s Web: the fate of Wilbur the pig hanging in the balance, and Charlotte’s death at the end of the book. We seem to forget all of the life and humor found in the midst of those serious things: we forget about Fern pushing Wilbur around in a baby carriage, Fern’s mean big brother falling on a rotten egg Templeton has hidden away when he tries to knock Charlotte from the beams of the barn, Wilbur turning back flips to prove he is a terrific pig, the Arables concern when Fern tells them the animals can talk, and a dozen other delightful scenes. And isn’t that life? The bitter mixed with the sweet? As a mother, I read many children’s books with different eyes, and Charlotte’s Web is no exception. As a child I would have said the theme of the book is friendship, and that’s true. As a mother, however, I see the theme of seasons coming and going. I see the bittersweet passing of time. Fern starts the book as a little girl who feeds her pet pig with a bottle and spends her afternoons listening to her friends - the animals - talk in the barn. By the book's end, she scarcely cares when Wilbur wins a special prize at the fair: she’s too busy asking for money so she can meet Henry Fussy at the ferris wheel. In short, she’s growing up. Mrs. Arable is relieved because it means Fern is not so obsessed with talking animals. But it’s a little sad too, isn’t it? Any mother understands the tension. We want our kids to grow up and experience all the joys that each season of life will bring. At the same time, we can’t help the tears that well in our eyes when we see the doll carriage that is no longer played with. Fern no longer can hear the animals talk, and we mourn a little. Charlotte’s death follows this thread of time moving on. Spiders don’t live for very long, she tells Wilbur. It’s fitting in a way that she dies quietly at the fair; the same place where Fern begins to grow up. The book, however, isn’t just about endings. The passage of time means new things too, like the hatching of Charlotte’s babies. There’s also the beautiful theme of unconditional love and friendship - the kind of friendship that looks at the heart and not at the outward appearance. Charlotte is a gray spider. Wilbur is a pig. The last two animals in the world we would consider beautiful and cute, yet White writes them in a way that makes us see them that way. As they see the beauty in each other, we see it too, right along with the people flocking to see the words Charlotte writes in her web. Through Charlotte's eyes, Wilbur truly becomes terrific, radiant, and humble - some pig indeed! As I read this book to my kids, I also couldn’t help being filled with hope that love and friendship can overcome differences. Can you think of a more unlikely pair? A spider and a pig? It speaks to the cry of our hearts: peace and love. Something only unconditional love can accomplish. The kind of love Christ brought to the earth. It’s no wonder this book still moves people, no matter how old they are. It can make a child giggle, a mother’s heart break, and a grown up consider that maybe there’s hope after all. It also just happens to have what I believe are the best closing lines ever written: “It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.” |
Melanie TillmanI am a former English teacher turned homeschool mom of three who writes Christian romance novels on the side. You know, in my huge amount of spare time. Archives
August 2022
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