"The Life She Forgot" by Joanna Davidson Politano

About this book:

  “He promised to help her reclaim her forgotten past—no matter what they uncovered.
    Until she began remembering another man.
    As the memories return, her past life threatens to destroy her new marriage, the sweetest love she's ever found, and the life she thought she could have.
    Cornwall, 1913
    Merryn has lived three years without a single memory of the life she lost. With no past to guide her, she fears she may never know who she truly is. When AJ Winthrop—a kind, whimsical stranger—offers her a daring escape, she takes a chance, hoping to uncover the life that was stolen from her.
    As they follow the windswept Cornish coast, memories begin to surface:
    Another man.
    Another wedding.
    A life that may already belong to her.
    Then a hidden portrait reveals her face, and the truth threatens the rare, authentic bond she’s begun to form with AJ.
    Cornwall, 1947
     Haunted by war and estranged from the wife he still loves, William Crawford plans to save her family home by selling the mysterious portrait hidden in his cottage. But the woman captured on the canvas—Merryn Dunn—holds secrets that could unravel everything he thought he knew… or offer the redemption he never dared hope for.
    Step onto the windswept Cornish coast and uncover the secrets a single house can hold.”


Series: Book #1 in “The House on the Edge of the Cliff” series.


Spiritual Content- ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God or Jesus; William screams at God in pain over his actions in the war; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches/chapels & denominations (Methodist & Anglican); Mentions of hymns; A couple mentions of a mosaic of Jesus and His disciples; A mention of a miracle; 
             *Note: Merryn wonders what the “Almighty asks of people” in a marriage that was “wrong to begin with” or one “based on fabrications”; A cat is named “Persephone”; Mentions of places being described as “magical”, being under a “spell” by someone, & being “charmed” or “enchanted” by others or places (not actual magic); A couple mentions of mermaids and sirens; A couple mentions of visions (which someone corrects to be more like dreams); A mention of a seer (which someone corrects as being an observer instead).
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, a ‘blimey’, a ‘bloody’, a ‘bugger’, a ‘drat’, a ‘dumb’, and two ‘blamed’s; A mention of a curse (said, not written); Some eavesdropping & eye rolling; Almost drowning, Amnesia, Pain, & Injuries (up to semi-detailed); Visiting someone in an asylum (who has military PTSD, up to semi-detailed); A nightmare of being in an asylum (up to semi-detailed); Rescuing a kitten that someone was going to drown (barely-above-not-detailed); Remembering explosions, seeing deaths, nightmares of both, & grief/guilt over it (up to semi-detailed); Remembering a carriage accident, near drowning, & grief (up to semi-detailed); *Spoilers* In the middle of the book, Merryn is told that AJ murdered his previous wife and finds out that it was her; *Major Spoilers* At the end, she learns that it was actually an accident that she was involved in which caused amnesia and he grieved her as he believed her to be dead *End of Spoilers*; *Spoilers* William was declared missing in action and presumed dead during the war; He did not go home because of past grief with his family (including the death of a son which he believes he caused) and hopes his wife will move on without him as he believes himself to be broken *End of Spoilers*; Many mentions of World War II, deaths and causing deaths, hearing screams, explosions/bombs, injuries and scars, PTSD, & nightmares of it all (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths & grief (including a man for his son, a man for his wife, & a man for his whole family including a baby daughter); Mentions of car and carriage accidents, someone being hit by a car, a carriage falling off a cliff, injuries, deaths, & a body (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of possible deaths, possible drownings, & possible murder; Mentions of Merryn’s amnesia; Mentions of asylums, people being committed to one (against their will or because of grief or PTSD), & threats of it happening; Mentions of smugglers; Mentions of injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of children being concerned they are going to be abandoned/left (by an adult); Mentions of a child being berated by adults; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & pubs/bars; Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deception; A few mentions of fires; A few mentions of prisons & arrests; A few mentions of a young boy trying to runaway from school; A few mentions of manipulation; A few mentions of gossip & rumors; A couple mentions of possible robberies & thefts; A couple mentions of fights; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of eavesdropping; A couple mentions of a pipe & tobacco; A mention of revolts; A mention of a train collision; A mention of a pickpocket; A mention of a wife slapping her husband after he did something very wrong; 
             *Note: William has PTSD after his time serving in World War II & feels like he is broken because of it (seen on-page with nightmares and envisioning deaths through explosions he set, up to semi-detailed); Quotes from & mentions of authors, books, & fictional characters (Emily Barrett Browning, Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy, C.S. Lewis, & Ernest Hemingway); Mentions of a disease changing a person’s personality and mind (Alzheimer’s); Mentions of a strained mother-daughter relationship (*Spoiler* Merryn and her mother because of the mother’s gentlemen friends who would leer at Merryn; Merryn hated any man her mother brought home and her mother didn’t seem to catch onto why *End of Spoilers*); A few mentions of a woman who struggled with “deep, dark depression”; A couple mentions of a father disapproving of his son’s art career.
 
 
Sexual Content- a fingers-to-lips touch, four hands/fingers kisses, three head/hair/forehead kisses, six jaw/ear/cheek kisses, two neck kisses, a not-detailed kiss, four barely-above-not-detailed kisses, two border-line barely-above-not-detailed / semi-detailed kisses, and four semi-detailed kisses; Remembering kisses & embraces (between married couples, including in bed, up to semi-detailed); Wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces & Sitting in someone’s lap, Dancing, Hand holding, Warmth, Tingles, Butterflies, Nearness (including a married couple when sleeping), & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); A married couple sleeps in the same area and cuddle, but not in a bed (a couple times); Blushes, Flirting, & Winks; Mentions of men leering at a young Merryn; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of touches & embraces; Mentions of flirting, winks, & blushes; A few mentions of possible bigamy & bigamy in a book; Love, falling/being in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Mentions of curves; A mention of a woman having a “passionate dislike” for all men.
 
-Merryn Forsythe (1^st person)
-William Crawford, age 43 (3^rd person)
                                P.O.V. switches between them & a couple others
                                              Set in 1913 & 1947 (Epilogue in 1948)
                                                        358 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating- 

I feel like Joanna Davidson Politano books need to come with a warning: “This book will keep you on your toes. Brace for impact and whiplash over plot twists and reveals.”

 

Because yep, this book was completely that! I honestly feel a bit in a daze over everything that happened in these pages and enjoyed find clues and hints when I went back through the book to grab my content notes. 

 

I started this book not knowing who to trust—not the main character (Merryn) or her potential love interest. Merryn is a very complicated character. I wouldn’t call her an unreliable narrator as she believes parts of her life she does remember, but she’s definitely missing a lot of pieces to her past which makes her seem a bit like one at times. Because of this, however, it added a mystery to the plot and I eagerly read and tried to connect all the dots—but then more and more was revealed and I was off on some guesses. Some events and plot twists felt a little far-fetched, but then again, it added to the suspense of the story. 

 

I’m usually not one for dual-time period books, but because these two were set in two time periods I like, I actually didn’t notice the typical annoyances I have with dual-time period books. 

 

We do follow two married couples in this book, so I was a little hesitant about reading it because one married couple in a book often adds more sexual tension (let alone two married couples). While there were some kisses and longing to embrace or mentions of curves, it was kept on the cleaner side for a married couple romance book, which I really appreciated.

 

There were some conversations or mentions of wanting an anchor or a warning someone not to build a house on sand, which can both be connected to Biblical thoughts and Scriptures, but the conversations didn’t quite go that way. I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed in that because there was a major message of marriage being hard or painful in some seasons of life and how a spouse will let you down because they are also an imperfect human. I kept waiting for the comments that Jesus wouldn’t and to trust your future to Him, but there wasn’t any besides a few mentions here and there. Overall, the faith content was pretty light in both time-periods. 

 

This is a very different “romance” book. It’s not the typical formula of a couple meeting and then falling in love—though, to be fair, I don’t think any of this author’s books can be summed up in such a simple way—but a deeper book that shares about the struggles of marriage, what loving someone really entails rather than just butterflies and sparkles, and even shows characters dealing with amnesia and PTSD. Because it’s a bit more serious than a usual fluffy historical fiction book I might review, it’s a bit more difficult for me to put an age suggestion on it. For the age groups I review for, I think older teen girls (17+) and young women thinking about marriage would enjoy this book and get the most out of it. It could work for ages 15/16, but the focus on marriage and loving your spouse through hard times makes me suggest it for older ages.

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.

"The Dress Shop on King Street" by Ashley Clark

About this book:

  “Harper Albright has pinned all her hopes on a future in fashion design. But when it comes crashing down around her, she returns home to Fairhope, Alabama, and to Millie, the woman who first taught her to sew. As she rethinks her own future, secrets long hidden about Millie's past are brought to light.
    In 1946, Millie Middleton boarded a train and left Charleston to keep half of her heritage hidden. She carried with her two heirloom buttons and the dream of owning a dress store. She never expected to meet a charming train jumper who changed her life forever . . . and led her yet again to a heartbreaking choice about which heritage would define her future.
    Now, together, Harper and Millie return to Charleston and the man who may hold the answers they seek . . . and a chance at the dress shop they've both dreamed of. But it's not until all appears lost that they see the unexpected ways to mend what frayed between the seams.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Heirloom Secrets” series.


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are quoted & remembered; Prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God, His plans, & dreams/goals that are from Him; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Rose in the prologue thinks that “If God thought her life worth living without her daughter, who was she to question His timing?”; Peter notes that it was a lot easier to hear God’s voice when he no longer allowed his stepfather’s “disapproval to scream inadequacy over his life”; Millie senses a voice that is “altogether separate from her own” tell her she is adored and feels purpose by it; *Spoiler* Towards the end, Millie realizes that somewhere along the way, she stopped believing that God was good and trusted in her own ability to keep her daughters safe, which lead to major fear and anxiety; She feels God talk to her in “a place within Millie’s heart so very deep one might call it her soul” and prays for Jesus to be her Savior and to watch over her and her family *End of Spoiler*; Harper questions why God gave her “such an out-of-reach dream”; Towards the end, Harper’s father talks to her about Ezekiel and the dry bones coming alive & *Spoiler* she realizes her gifting/dream is actually to repair broken places and things; Harper feels a voice inside of tell her about her gift and the intent for it (Supposed to be God, but no Scriptures are referenced) *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of God & His plan; Mentions of prayers, praying, Mentions of churches, church going, ministers/preachers, services, & Sunday school; Mentions of a place being called “the Holy City”; A few mentions of Jesus; A couple mentions of Bibles & events from the Bible; A couple mentions of “Amazing Grace” & another song; A mention of the rapture; A mention of the pope; A mention of a place feeling like holy ground; 
             *Note: “Heavens” is exclaimed once and “what the heavens” is said once; The phrases “sweatin’ like a sinner in church”, “come hell or high water”, “thank heavens”, and “Heavens to Betsy” are all said once; Millie thinks about the lowcountry traditional about blue paint keeping ghosts out and while she doesn’t believe in ghosts, she knows about having a haunting past and wonders if ghosts are just a fictional version of the ache when your heart wants something that’s gone; Mentions of places feeling magical or like magic; A few mentions of being lucky (Millie’s mother says this about Millie and Millie disagrees with it); A couple mentions of fate; A mention of shadows turning into monsters or fairies; A mention of a sunshine rain being said to be when “the devil was beatin’ his wife”.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘drat’, a ‘heck’, an ‘idiot’, a ‘stupid’, a ‘suckers’, a ‘what in Sam Hill’, a ‘what in tarnation’, two ‘confounded’s, and three forms of ‘darn/darn it’; Some eye rolling & sarcasm; A young Millie thinks that her mama doesn’t like her using the word ‘darn’, but that “thinking ain’t the same as saying. Restraint had to count for something, right?”; Harper tells Millie that she doesn’t like to swear and instead wants to give her word about keeping a secret; Some pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); Going through a cyclone (up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone punch another & blood/bleeding (barely-above-not-detailed); For a brief moment, Rose in the prologue thinks about using a knife for another purpose (hinted suicide); In the 1940s, Millie sees a Black woman with a baby caught train jumping and being hit by a train worker; Millie doesn’t lie per se to a woman about her relationship with a man, but doesn’t tell the truth until she is directly asked about it; Millie starts to agree with her mother about “some secrets were better kept quiet” as she gets older, but starts to have major fear and anxiety about keeping secrets; Harper tells Peter about the time she nearly drowned (up to semi-detailed); *Spoiler* Millie feels the air sucked from her chest randomly when Franklin, her husband, dies even though she’s not with him *End of Spoiler*; Many mentions of slavery, slaves and a child being sold, & Black people being attacked/beaten (including a young mother in the 1940s and Millie’s father being killed); Mentions of Millie’s father being killed for protecting her when other men tried to attack her for playing with their children and for loving a Black woman (the men weren’t prosecuted because they said it was self-defense); Mentions of deaths (including of a father, mothers, and husbands by a boating accident, murder, illnesses/cancer, and war), grief, & anxiety/fear after the death of a loved one; Mentions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. being arrested, a bomb at a church, & little girls being killed (Millie panics that this could have happened to her family, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of wars, deaths, & the Great Depression; Mentions of illnesses (including coughing up blood and cancer) & deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of illegal train jumping, chain gangs, & injuries; Mentions of a fire; Mentions of thieves & stealing; Mentions of alcohol, a wine cellar, & drunks; Mentions of parents disowning their children (including a stepparent); Mentions of lies, lying, liars, deception, & guilt; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of a young Harper being uncomfortable with seeing crabs dying and eating them; A few mentions of a cyclone & potential deaths; A few mentions of blood/bleeding; A mention of lynchings; A mention of a place burning down; A mention of poison in a movie; A mention of tobacco; A mention of divorce; A mention of college parties; 
             *Note: The prologue opens in 1860 with a Black mother learning her nine-year-old daughter been sold; A young Millie faces a young man looking at her in disgust, calling her “filthy”, and pushing her when he finds out about her being half Black (*Spoilers* He later makes a snide comment about her place and throws a brick in Millie’s family’s home/business; This is the catalyst that makes Millie’s mother want her to pass herself as a white woman and leave to go to another place to start fresh *End of Spoiler*); Millie has a lot of parts where she feels torn and upset at having to hide part of her heritage and it creates major fear in herself especially when *Major Spoilers* she is pregnant and concerned how the baby will look; She gives birth to twin girls, one lighter than the other and gives the light-skin baby to her mother-in-law to raise as her own; This breaks both Millie and Franklin’s hearts to do, and they question often if it is right; Millie tells Franklin the truth about her heritage after giving birth and comes up with this plan, despite neither of them wanting to do it, but having to for the sake of their daughters and what it would mean if they were raised as twins; Millie frequently forgets to eat and wakes up in a panic because of it all; One of the girls tells Millie about a boy calling her an awful name and that if she had any siblings, everyone would see what he already knew—“that either my mother had something to hide or my daddy wasn’t really my father”, adding that “colored people don’t belong beside while people” and that she or her mother will get hurt or someone will light their home on fire (not said with kindness or as a warning, but mean spirited); Towards the end, when the girls are sixteen, Millie tells them the truth about her heritage and the two of them being sisters *End of Spoilers*; Recalling men calling a little biracial girl a horrible name; A man tells Millie that his family doesn’t care about someone’s race, but they do care if there is a scandal following the family name; All about & many, many mentions of prejudice, hatred, racism, racial violence, & different things being illegal based on skin color (such as marriage to someone outside their race & going to places only meant for one race); A young man says that women shouldn’t run businesses (1940s); Peter’s stepfather had lofty expectations for him and they are no longer in contact after the death of Peter’s mother; Peter has a panic attack (up to semi-detailed); Harper feels like a failure at her dream/goal that she’s worked on for years when she is discouraged by an expert in the field & hears a voice inside of her say negative things like “your dreams will never amount to anything” (*Spoiler* At the very end, she realizes that it wasn’t her true dream and discovers the actual version *End of Spoiler*); Millie tells Harper “none of that feminist rubbish” when she wants to carry her own bags and there is a man available for doing that; Millie says she’s usually “the first one to advocate for women having equal opportunities”, but wonders if Harper needs more driving lessons; Harper refers to her shoe collection as “therapy heels” as she often buys them when upset; Going to Starbucks; Many, many mentions of pop culture references, brand names, celebrities, songs, places, TV shows, movies, & books (Coca-Cola, Chanel No. 5, Peanuts comic strips, Tupperware, Swiffer, WD-40, Plinko, Saks Fifth Avenue, Anthropologie, Target, Starbucks, Forever 21, Pacific Sunwear, Hobby Lobby, Lowe’s, Five and Dime, Aiken-Rhett mansion, Oz, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Darcy, Sherlock Holmes, BBC, Gilmore Girls, Saved by the Bell, I Love Lucy, American Bandstand, Titanic, Sabrina, Casablanca, Notorious, The Notebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Etsy, WebMD, Southern Living, Benny Goodman, Hugh Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergam, Lucille Ball, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Seacrest, Meg Ryan, Katharine Hepburn, Reese Witherspoon, J. Lo, Alfred Hitchcock, Edgar Allen Poe, Langston Hughes, Longfellow, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Keats, Emily Dickinson, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Ella Fitzgerald, Celine Dion, Taylor Swift, Etta James, Ed Sheeran, Frank Sinatra, “Rocking’ Robin’”, Walter Cronkite, Coco Chanel, Tiffany & Co., Dior, Vans, Little Golden Books, & ‘The Glass Menagerie’ book); A couple mentions of historical figures (John Wilkes Booth & Rutledge); A couple mentions of Bluetooth; A mention of a car brand; A mention of NASA.
 
 
Sexual Content- An almost kiss (semi-detailed), three hair/head kisses, two not-detailed kisses, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and four semi-detailed kisses; Remembering kisses & an almost kiss (up to semi-detailed); Staring at lips & noticing others doing it (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Warmth, Sparks/Tingles, Flutters, Smelling, & Nearness (x2, up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing & Staring (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes, Flirting, & Winks; A bit of jealousy; Rose in the prologue shares that the father of her daughter is a white man and it can be read into that the man was a wicked owner; *Spoilers, but important content note about a fade-to-black scene* Millie and Franklin are assumed by a innkeeper to be a newly married couple and gives them a room together; Franklin sleeps on the floor while Millie takes the bed, expect for when he was sick and she insisted he sleep in the bed beside her, so he placed two pillows between them; The innkeeper realizes they aren’t married and says she’ll make an honest couple out of them if they agree to get married; They get married and it’s implied they do not consummate the marriage after they’ve been married for five years; Millie needs help from her husband to zip and unzip her dress, it’s mentioned it’s right passed her bra line, he is always a gentleman with his zipping duty, and that she has come to look forward to these close moments between them; A couple mentions of Millie longing for Franklin; A hinted fade-to-black scene happens after they imply they love each other, he kisses her, and then takes her “willing and oh so ready” over the threshold; She is pregnant in the next chapter and after giving birth, tells him the truth about her heritage; At first, Franklin thinks that Millie had loved another man as one of the babies doesn’t look like him and questions if they are even his babies before being told the truth *End of Spoilers*; Harper has a thought that a man (Peter) is good looking enough to be a model for a charity calendar; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of flirting; Mentions of handsome men; Mentions of dances; A few mentions of dates; A couple mentions of possible affairs; A mention of swooning; Love, attraction, falling in love, & the emotions (x2);
             *Note: Labor pain, giving birth, & passing up (including some mentions of blood/bleeding and nearly losing a wife because of blood loss, up to semi-detailed); Harper notices she’s gained some weight because of a sweet treat; A mention of hormones; A couple mentions of nursing & leaking milk.
 
-Millicent “Millie” Middleton
-Franklin Pinckney
-Harper Albright, age 26
-Peter Perkins, age 28
                                P.O.V. switches between them & Rose (Prologue only)
       Dual Time Period (Contemporary & has chapters from 1860, 1946-49, 1952, 1955, 1958, 1963, 1967, 1968, 1992, 2008 & 2011)
                                                        369 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve had this book (and the rest of the series) on my shelf to read for a long while now, particularly because of it being a dual time period. Those aren’t my favorite because I usually prefer one setting over the other and it feels like two connecting novellas smashed into each other. This book had elements of that at times. 

 

After finishing it, I feel as if I’ve been through an emotional rollercoaster. So many parts of this story broke my heart in so many ways. The injustice in this book that these characters face made my vision turn red and make me ready to fight some other characters for being so ugly. This is definitely on the heavier side because of the themes of this book and topics discussed. 

 

I did have a time trying to keep everyone straight and their time period details as there is a lot to keep up with. And then you add in all the connections and possible connections, I almost made a family tree with notes about everyone. 😅 That said, I was impressed with how the author weaved everything together and how it all came together. I wasn’t sure what would happen in the last half of the book as the first half felt like the whole story, but there were still hard times ahead for these characters. 

 

Because of the heavy themes of racism, racial violence, and a very light hinted fade-to-black scene between a married couple, I would put this book at 16/17+ for sure; potentially older for some girls, but if she is interested in or doing a study on African Americans in the 1940-1960s, this book gives an up close and personal—and tough—look into it. 

 

In the contemporary setting, Harper’s excuse for not being able to fall for Peter was really weak, in my opinion, but I struggled with her character anyway. She felt like a Debbie Downer. I really liked Peter and his nerdiness, though, I have to say I wasn’t very invested in the modern day setting of this book in general. I didn’t like the third act break-up/argument between them and thought it was just added in for some tension. It didn’t make sense to me and had a rushed conclusion. 

 

If I could nitpick something, it would be all the pop culture references, particularly in the modern setting. We have a young woman in the historical setting that is going through major and heartbreaking events—and then in the modern time period Harper is being whinny about wasting her time trying to be a designer and listening to Taylor Swift. It was jarring and made me feel very little sympathy for Harper because of her pity-party moments when Millie has been through so much worse. I know we’re not supposed to compare tragedies or grief with others, but it can put our own minor inconveniences into perspective at least. 

 

I’m coming away from this book with a new perspective and having done more research on topics and events discussed that I didn’t really know about prior to reading this book. It was definitely educational in that way and made me realize the amount of change that has happened in the last handful of decades. But it was also heavy. The modern setting tried to lighten it up some, but other parts of the book were so sad. There is an underline of hope, though, that kept the book from dragging down into the pits, so to speak, which I was grateful for.

 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"A Token of Love" by Carrie Turansky

About this book:

  “Separated by centuries, the lives of two women intertwine through their shared pursuit of love, truth, and justice.
    In 1885 London, Lillian Freemont embarks on a treacherous journey to reunite with her long-lost niece, Alice, who was abandoned at the Foundling Hospital eight years ago. Fueled by her sister's plea and armed with the gold token that identifies her niece, Lillian teams up with investigative reporter Matthew McGivern to expose the grim reality of the shadowed streets of London. As Lillian and Matthew unravel the mystery of Alice's disappearance, their partnership blossoms into one of shared purpose and undeniable attraction.
    In present-day London, Janelle Spencer finds herself unexpectedly running the Foundling Museum. When filmmaker Jonas Conrad arrives to document the museum's history, their collaboration takes a surprising turn as they uncover articles from the past that shed light on a haunting connection to the present. As Janelle becomes caught between exposing the truth and protecting the museum's reputation, she must decide if she can risk everything for what she believes.”


Series: No, a stand-alone novel. 


Spiritual Content- Isaiah 58:6-8 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are mentioned, discussed; Prayers, Thanking God, & Blessings over food; Church going; Singing a hymn; Many talks about God, Jesus, asking for forgiveness, turning to Him in grief, caring for others, faiths, & those in the Bible; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Lillian’s sister doesn’t think God can forgive her for what she’s done, but Lillian says that He forgives everyone who asks; Lillian’s sister doesn’t want to pray about something because it didn’t change a past event, bur Lillian encourages her to pray regardless (and also notes in her point of view that God shouldn’t be blamed for the past choices her sister made); Lillian has a very good head on her shoulders & encourages and witnesses to her sister; Janelle is greatly upset to learn about the evil people that did wrong while working at the Foundling Hospital in the historical time-period, but thinks “She shouldn’t expect the Foundling Hospital history to be spotless with no hint of selfishness or sin. They lived in a broken world, and God had given people free will. They could choose to follow Him and live a life guided by His principles of love and justice, or they could chase after their own sinful and selfish desires.”; All four main characters have a faith with both male leads recently renewing their faiths in Christ; Many mentions of God, Jesus, Providence, having faiths, & His timing; Mentions of prayers, praying, blessings over food, & thanking God; Mentions of Bibles, a Bible study, books of the Bible, & those and events in the Bible; Mentions of churches, church going, pastors/reverends/priests, services, sermons, hymnals, & missions; Mentions of children being baptized & baptismal names; Mentions of Being blessed & blessings; A few mentions of sins & the sinful world; A mention of Heaven; A mention of paintings of religious scenes; 
             *Note: A ‘for heaven’s sake’ is said; A couple mentions of luck & being lucky.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’ and two ‘stupid’s; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Some grief; Lillian is a widow after her husband’s ship went down years prior & feels pain when mentioning him; *Spoiler* Lillian mentions a few times about her infant daughter being carried away “by death” a few hours after her birth & it hurts her to talk about her daughter and what could have been *End of Spoiler*; Lillian is almost arrested under the misunderstanding that she is a “woman of the streets”; *Spoilers* Lillian is told that her niece died shortly after being given to the Foundling Hospital, but a maid says that her niece has disappeared and was sent to work downstairs at a brothel; Both of these possibilities are hard for Lillian and her sister to hear, but Lillian vows to look for the truth; Lillian’s sister thinks she’ll never see her daughter again and becomes depressed; Lillian and Matthew recued a young girl from a brothel that was working downstairs and had been beaten; Matthew poses as someone trying to buy a young girl and is set-up and arrested (Matthew’s editor thinks it’s good for the paper as it shows how far they’re willing to go to confront evil and has Matthew write from jail; The charges are dropped and the evil man selling the girls confesses) *End of Spoilers*; Matthew’s father was a drunk & verbally abusive towards him (Matthew tries not to think about what his father used to say about him, but the reminders of his words come to mind); Lillian does not understand how her sister could birth and nurse her child for months and then give her up; All about & many mentions of the Foundling Hospital, children being given there by their parents because of different reasons, children being sent away in domestic work, children disappearing from their care and the abductions, & how most children were not reunited with their families; All about & many mentions of human trafficking, exploited children, abductions of girls and young women, missing girls and young women, the kidnappers, & evil intentions for them (including Jonas telling Janelle about his friend that was taken as a teenager and her escaping a week later, barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of crimes, arrests, prisons, young girls being “locked up” for begging on the streets, stealing, & thieves; Mentions of deaths of loved ones (including parents, a husband, and an infant daughter), dying, illnesses, & grief (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of children dying at the Foundling Hospital (which the matron blames the mothers for abandoning their children & Lillian blames the inadequate nursing at the home); Mentions of abusive situations & teens/children running away from home because of the abuse; Mentions of injuries & beatings (including a young girl being injured and beaten & it happen to other girls, up to semi-detailed on her injuries); Mentions of a drunk driver, accident, & injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of threats; Mentions of bribes & corrupt officials including police officers; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, & pubs; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of eavesdropping; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of divorces; A few mentions of a child sliding down the banister and dying (after this happened, spikes were added to the banister); A couple mentions of a fire; A couple mentions of drugs; A couple mentions of gambling; A mention of a threat about skinning someone alive; A mention of a stalker; A mention of fighting;  A mention of cigar smoke; A mention of jealousy; A mention of a butcher with a bloodstained apron; 
             *Note: Janelle’s parents both “struggled with various issues” (drugs and alcohol) and she went into foster care when she was two to a good foster family (she considers herself one of the lucky ones); Lillian is passionate about allowing women education and employment so they can “lift themselves from poverty and shame to positions of respectability and honor”, gives a speech on it (some of the women agree with her and some are uncomfortable with the topic), & there’s mentions of it throughout the book; In the modern setting, a teenager gets upset often by her father and stepmother’s plans and yells “You don’t care how I feel or what I want! I wish I’d never come!” and often slams her bedroom door (Later, she refers to her father by his first name and lies to them; She doesn’t like their rules, rebels at times, & says they’re ruining her life; She also refers to her siblings as half-brothers and accuses her dad of only taking her stepmother’s side); The teenager is talking to a guy online that has the adults around her concerned & Jonas comments on it being like the guy has an emotional hold on her or is grooming her; Mentions of premature births, concern for the babies making it, & issues arising daily in the NICU (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of Google & Wikipedia; A few mentions of a teen playing League of Legends; A few mentions of social media (Instagram); A few mentions of authors (Charles Dickens & Jane Austen); A few mentions of Uber; A few mentions of the pandemic; A few mentions of iPads; A mention of FaceTime; A mention of a young woman with a nose piercing. 
 
 
Sexual Content- A fingers-to-lips touch, a hand/fingers kiss, a forehead kiss, two cheek kisses, two not-detailed kisses, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and two semi-detailed kisses; Wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Sparks, Nearness, & Smelling (x2, barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to touch (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing (including curves, x2, border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Lillian’s sister ran away with a solider years before the book starts & the only communication she’s heard from her is a birth notice of her daughter five months after she left (out-of-wedlock pregnancy and they never married; Lillian later thinks that her sister allowed herself to be wooed and bedded before they were married); Lillian and Matthew interview teen girls from a home for those who have come out of brothels, prisons, and workhouses (one fourteen-year-old shares that a man tricked her family into sending her with him under the guise of needing a maid, but took her to a brothel instead and adds that she “didn’t know anything about men, but I soon learned” and ran away after two weeks there); *Spoilers* Lillian and Matthew go to a brothel for information, but she stays in the carriage outside; Matthew meets two young girls in the kitchen who are obviously concerned about men being too “friendly” with them (one was brought there and another was born there because her mum worked upstairs before she died); Another young girl is hurt after a beating (up to semi-detailed on her injuries) and he takes her to a doctor; Lillian is almost arrested under the misunderstanding that she is a “woman of the streets” (the officers do not believe her telling them she is not); Matthew makes a plan to pose as someone wanting to buy a girl to nail the man abducting the girls and young women & does so under the guise of having a client who wants a young girl; The evil man takes the bait & Matthew finds out where Lillian’s niece is so they plan to steal her from the brothel she’s at; The first attempt is unsuccessful; The man has a girl available for Matthew’s “client” and Lillian supplies the money; *Bigger Spoiler* It was a set-up and Matthew is arrested and taken to jail; The charges are eventually dropped and the evil man selling the girls confesses; Lillian and other women organize a protest outside a brothel and demand for the underage girls to be released (they are threatened by the men there); The underage girls there (including Lillian’s niece) are released and the men involved arrested *End of Spoilers*; *Spoilers* After Matthew confesses to Lillian about his feelings for her, Lillian finds it difficult to consider opening her heart again and risking loss again; She also thinks about her age and how she would have to get married again soon to have a chance of bearing another child, but that there’s no guarantee she would be blessed and not lose that child as well *End of Spoilers*; *Spoilers* As Janelle and Jonas learn about the human trafficking from 1885, Jonas wants to share a documentary about it in a way that won’t hurt the Foundling Hospital, but Janelle’s boss doesn’t want it to happen as human trafficking is a “hot-button issue”; Janelle is stuck in the middle of the decision *End of Spoiler*; Janelle’s ex-boyfriend was cheating on her during the time they were dating & she is upset at herself for missing the signs; A teenage girl in the modern setting is talking to a guy she met online, but the adults in her life (including Janelle) are concerned about it (Jonas comments on it having similarities to grooming, but Janelle isn’t sure it’s that serious); *Spoiler* Towards the end, the teenager sneaks off to meet the “friend”, is nearly abducted by the man posing as someone younger (her father, Jonas, and Janelle catch them just in time), and is very shaken; The teen girl is told that the man was probably a professional trafficker and “used every trick in the book to lure [her] into a relationship and make [her] believe he truly cared” for her; *End of Spoiler*; Matthew comments to Lillian about not aiming to get a glimpse of her ankle (she gives him a “heated glare” for the comment); Men leer & whistles at Lillian and other women; All about & many mentions of pretty little girls from the Foundling Hospital disappearing & being sent to work “belowstairs” at brothels to do cleaning, washing up, and laundry until they’re old enough for upstairs (girls as young as eight years old working downstairs and others disappearing who are fourteen to sixteen); Many mentions of brothels, women feeling as if they have no choice but to work at one for their survival, fallen women, a home for women who have come out of brothels, women being mistreated by men, men entrapping the young women, & the goal of some good people to raise the age of consent; Mentions of The Contagious Disease Act that allowed police to arrest women suspected of being prostitutes (this is an active act in the historical setting); Mentions of dates, dating, boyfriends/girlfriends, cheating, exes, breakups, & broken hearts; A few mentions of an unfaithful man & him leaving the mother of his child and daughter (no longer claiming either of them); A couple mentions of kisses & kissing; A couple mentions of flirting; A mention of women in the 1700s and 1800s becoming social outcasts if they have a child out of wedlock; Love, attraction, falling in love, & the emotions (x2);
             *Note: A few mentions of Lillian and Janelle’s curves (from Matthew and Jonas’ perspectives).
 
-Lillian Freemont, age 31
-Matthew McGivern
-Janelle Spencer
-Jonas Conrad
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                            Dual-Time Period (set in both 1885 & 2023)
                                                        346 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Though I’ve been looking forward to this book since the author first announced it, besides the back-cover blurb, I didn’t really know too much about it. Once I started reading, however, all I could think was “please let this end happy”. (I might have trust issues with books that deal with hard topics like families being separated and human trafficking.) I’m glad to report that it does end happy and that I found myself tearing up at the epilogue. 

Dual-time period novels aren’t typically my favorite because it usually feels like two novellas smashed into each other and I get pulled out of the story that I was just pulled into when the chapter ends. However, I didn’t feel that way with this book as the two meshed well. I would read another book just on what happened to our historical couple and everyone there, though, because it looked to be the start of a lovely family with one of my favorite tropes, “the found family” trope.  

 

Both relationships/romances are attracted to the other pretty quick, but it didn’t bother me as much as it usually would because it was based on the other’s character and not their physical appearance. As far as romances go, I think I actually preferred the modern-setting relationship between Janelle and Jonas because of their faith conversations. Lillian and Matthew had their cute moments, but I’m afraid I was more invested in seeing justice happen in their time-period.  

 

Human trafficking and abductions are hard to hear about, let alone read books on the topic. For some reason, the back-cover didn’t imply to be that this book would have the first one mentioned, though, now I can see it in-between the lines. It’s handled very delicately, but it’s still sad to see. This may make sense to very few others, but I think the historical human trafficking is sadder than the current day in some ways. In the unfortunately-still-happening modern day human trafficking, we can actively do something and fight against it. But in the historical setting—though this book’s account is fictional, it’s inspired by actual events—what’s done is done and can’t be rewritten for the victims have already passed and I hate the final-ness that it is. It can spur you into action for the current problem, but it still weighs heavy on my heart. 

 

I’ve read multiple books by this author and while it’s not a new favorite, I appreciate her sensitivity to this hard topic. It’s not going to be a book I’ll recommend to most BFCG readers because of said topic, but for older teens wanting a look into a hard setting without being flooded with details from the actual content, this might be a book to check out. 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

"The Legacy of Longdale Manor" by Carrie Turansky

About this book:

  “In 2012, art historian Gwen Monroe travels to England's Lake District to appraise the paintings and antiques of an old family friend, hoping to prove herself to her prestigious grandfather. While at Longdale Manor, she becomes acquainted with David Bradley--the owner's handsome grandson--who is desperate to save the crumbling estate by turning it into a bed-and-breakfast. When Gwen stumbles upon a one-hundred-year-old journal and an intricately carved shepherd's staff similar to one in a photo of her parents, she uncovers a connection to the father she never knew.
   In 1912, after her father's death, Charlotte Harper uncovers a painful family secret she can only confess to her journal. She and her family travel to the Lake District to stay on a sheep farm, hoping eventually to find a home with Charlotte's grandfather at Longdale Manor, but old wounds and bitter regrets make it a difficult challenge. As Charlotte grows closer to shepherd Ian Storey and rebuilds her shattered faith, she must decide whether she will ever trust in love again.”


Series: As of now, no. A stand-alone novel. 


Spiritual Content- Ezekiel 34:11-12 and 16a at the beginning; Scriptures are referenced, mentioned, & quoted in sermons; Many Prayers & Blessings over food; Church going, church events, & sermons; Many talks about God, Jesus, Him being our Father, forgiveness, trusting God, & sin; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Charlotte struggles with her faith after a tragic event & understanding God’s love because she refuses to release the bitterness and hurt *Spoiler* About a third of the way in, she releases those feelings *End of Spoiler*; Gwen has drifted away from her faith after her mother’s passing, but is encouraged and learns from David and his grandmother; Lilly (David’s grandmother) prays and believes she hears from God on what Gwen should do about something; Many mentions of God, forgiveness, & trusting Him; Many mentions of prayers, praying, answered prayers, & blessings over food; Many mentions of churches (including different denominations), pastors/speakers, services, sermons, events, & hymns; Mentions of Bibles, Bible reading, books of the Bible, & those in the Bible (including some questioning their existence and others trying to prove that they were real); Mentions of faiths & godly people; Mentions of a Christian convention, missionaries, & Christian books (theological books, devotionals, & missionaries); Mentions of Heaven; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; Mentions of sins, sinners, temptation, & repenting; 

             *Note: Mentions of May Day and it’s tie to pagan origins (Charlotte’s father wouldn’t let them participate because of that and that the “Maypole dance was like idol worship”; Another says that “it is a very old holiday, so there may have been some connection to pagan rituals in the past, I don’t believe that’s true anymore. [The Reverend] always takes part. He even offers a prayer to open the festival, thanking the Lord for bringing us through the winter and asking Him to bless our crips and herds in the coming season.”); A mention of something being a sign to move forward in a plan.
 

Negative Content- Some eye rolling; Seeing a loved one ill (stroke) & grief over a death (up to semi-detailed); David eavesdrops on a conversation of his grandmother & Gwen; Many mentions of deaths & grief (including for husbands, fathers, a wife, a mother, & a grandfather); Mentions of a car accident & death (Gwen’s mother); Mentions of strokes and cancer (some make it and others pass away); Mentions of injuries & pain; Mentions of divorces/separations & someone leaving their spouse because of their bad choices (Gwen’s parents); Mentions of drinking, alcohol, alcoholic who would “[say] and did hurtful things”, & getting sober; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; A few mentions of wars; A few mentions of gossip; A couple mentions of accidents; A couple mentions of hatred; 
             *Note: David’s father was critical and harsh towards him which caused David to try to gain his approval before leaving home at age eighteen with plans to reconcile later (which was unable to happen); Towards the end of the book, Gwen goes to talk to her mother’s grave (she knows she isn’t there, but wishes that somehow her words would reach her mother in Heaven); Mentions of authors, artists, & paintings; Mentions of iPads; Mentions of a stillborn lamb & skinning it so the ewe thinks another lamb is her own (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of Google.
 
 
Sexual Content- A bit of staring at another’s lips; Two head/forehead kisses, a cheek kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, two almost (semi-detailed) kisses, and three semi-detailed kisses; Remembering kisses & almost kisses (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Warmth, Nearness, & Smelling (x2, up to semi-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Gwen has never known her biological father (her mother wouldn’t tell her much and made her promise to not search for him on her own but does so in this book; *Spoiler* He had an alcohol problem and she left him without telling him she was pregnant *End of Spoiler*); Gwen wonders if not having a father in her life impacted her choices of men and dating relationships; After both couples have their first kiss, they wonder if it was too soon and/or if they are committed/promised to the other and going to work towards having a future together; *Spoiler* After they’ve shared a kiss, Charlotte is heartbroken and upset when she thinks that Ian has another sweetheart and thinks he’s been unfaithful and betrayed her; She thinks at one point that “Love didn’t always last. Sometimes it led to betrayal and heartache”; A reverend talks with Ian about viewing things from Charlotte’s perspective and proving himself to be trustworthy and faithful *End of Spoiler*; Many mentions of an affair, a mistress, betrayal/unfaithfulness, & temptations (*Spoiler* Gwen discovers her father had been having an affair for the last couple of years and doesn’t want to tell her mother because of her grief, so she keeps the burden to herself and it greatly affects her view on trusting men and relationships; *Big Spoiler* The mistress comes to ask her mother for forgiveness towards the end of the book and Gwen’s father had already confessed to her mother about it on his deathbed *End of Spoilers*; All that’s said about their relationship is that they were “involved”, did not sound like spent nights together, & is called the “passing pleasures of sin” by one person); Mentions of kisses, kissing, & being serious about the one they kissed; Mentions of reputations & chaperones, & a man acting unbecomingly towards a young woman; Mentions of dates, dating, boyfriends, & break-ups; A few mentions of an elopement & secret affair; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of blushes; Love, falling in love, & the emotions (x2);
             *Note: A mention of a married couple unable to have biological children.
 
-Gwen Monroe
-David Bradford
-Charlotte Harper
-Ian Storey, age 21
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                     Dual-Time Period (set in both 1912 and 2012)
                                                        351 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve been a fan of this author since I first read “The Governess of Highland Hall” back when this blog first started ten years ago and have eagerly awaited every book she’s written since then. I may have been a little less excited about this book because of it being a Dual-Time Period novel and not typically enjoying those tremendously, but I knew I still had to read this one. I love how Carrie Turansky writes such wholesome romances with fantastic faith content and that’s definitely showcased in this book as well. 

 

Besides the mentions and hints of an affair, I think this would be a fine read for teen girls. Especially ones branching off into the romance category and wanting to have a good, wholesome, faith-filled, and God-honoring romance story. The characters pray often, they pray for their loved ones, and they also pray for having a relationship with someone that interest them. Their romance is also not physical attraction based either—which is pretty common in the Christian Fiction romance genre to be. What was neat in this book that I really liked was the emphasis on having a commitment or a promise to someone you kissed, not just kissing some boy willy-nilly, but having a commitment to the other in terms of having a future together because it’s such a big emotional turning point.

 

Being not a big fan of Dual-Time Period novels because I usually prefer one time period over the other (typically historical), I was about 5% hesitant about this book, but I’m glad I read it anyway because it was a really sweet read. Both of the voices of Gwen and Charlotte felt very similar to me, so I did have a bit of a time trying to keep track of who was who and their details and lives, but was able to keep everyone straight by the end. 

 

Both of the couples in this book make mistakes and hurt the other (and I’ll admit I may have wanted to smack most of them at times), but it’s how they respond and realize about the other person’s outlook and that they sincerely pray about their relationships that I really liked seeing, because it was such a good and healthy reaction or response to have in those situations. 

 

The faith content—like any of this author's books—was knocked out of the park, and my favorite part of the book by far. This book was especially neat because in both relationships, we see it being pointed back to having a relationship with the Lord and to look to Him to lead and guide them for a life that will honor Him. I love that message; it’s truly keeping the Lord at the center of their relationship and such a good reminder for teen girls especially. 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new review! 

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.