"A Perfect Silhouette" by Judith Miller

About this book:

  “In 1850, Mellicent "Mellie" Blanchard takes a job at a mill in Manchester, New Hampshire, to help support her family. In search of additional earning opportunities, she approaches a daguerreotype shop owner with the proposal that he hire her to make paper cuttings or silhouette portraits for those who can't afford an expensive daguerreotype.

  When a particularly charming customer--whose broad smile and twinkling eyes catch her off guard--asks to escort her home, the seeds of romance begin to blossom. All the pieces of her new life seem to have fallen perfectly into place, but when her new venture brings her an unexpected opportunity, she is confronted with the truth that all is not as it seems. Will Mellie, who is keeping secrets of her own, find happiness in the new life she has carved out for herself in the busy mill town?”

Series: As of now, no.

Spiritual Content- A couple Scriptures are quoted & mentioned; Prayers; Talks about God, forgiveness, & His plans; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Church going & a sermon; Mentions of God, forgiveness, & His plans; Mentions of prayers, praying, answered prayers, thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, pastors, sermons, services, hymns, & denominations; A few mentions of those in the Bible; A mention of a Christian’s duty; A mention of martyrdom.

 

 

Negative Content- A bit of eye rolling; Morgan hides his identity & therefore has to tell some lies; Many mentions of embezzlement, gambling, & lotteries (Mellie and Morgan are both against gambling of any kind); Mentions of deception, lies, & lying; Mentions of threats; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of jail & theft; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of a mill accident & death (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of a suicide; A mention of slavery; A mention of drinking; A mention of tobacco;

             *Note: Mentions of authors & books.

 

 

Sexual Content- a cheek kiss, two forehead kisses, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and a semi-detailed kiss; Touches; Noticing; A couple mentions of kisses; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of romance novels; A mention of untoward remarks to a woman; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

             *Note: A mention of a mother who died in childbirth; A mention of a buxom woman.

 

-Mellicent "Mellie" Blanchard

-Morgan Stark

                                P.O.V. switches between them

                                     Set in 1850

                                             336 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

This was, of course, a predicable love story, but it was a cute predicable love story. Pretty cute.

I found the book to be a little slow at the beginning and a little rushed at the end. But I liked how Mellie stuck to her principles against lotteries and how forgiveness was an important topic. I did find it strange that Mellie and Morgan went off without a chaperone (because it is set in 1850) and I wasn’t a fan of how he kissed her (on the cheek and forehead) before they discussed how they felt about each other. Besides these things, it was a very clean book with a good amount of Spiritual Content. 

 

 

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 Brickmaker's Bride" by Judith Miller

About this book:

  “In the Clay-Rich Hill of the Newly Founded State of West Virginia, Tow Families Tentatively Come Together to Rebuild a War-Torn Brickmaking Business.

  Ewan McKay has immigrated to West Virginia with his aunt and uncle, promising to trade his skills in the clay business for financial help. Uncle Hugh purchases a brickmaking operation from a Civil War widow and her daughter, and it’s Ewan’s job to get the company up and running again.

  Ewan seeks help from Laura, the former owner’s daughter, and he quickly feels a connection with her, but she’s being courted by another man—a lawyer with far more social clout and money than Ewan. Resolving that he’ll make the brickworks enough of a success that he can become a partner in the business and be able to afford to bring his sisters over from Ireland, Ewan pours all his energy into the new job.

  But when Hugh signs a bad business deal, all Ewan’s hard work is put in jeopardy. As his hopes for the future crumble, Laura reveals something surprising. Can she help him save the brickworks, and will Ewan finally get a shot at winning her heart?”


Series: Book #1 in the “Refined by Love” series.

Spiritual Content- Genesis 11:3 at the beginning; Ewan has a strong Faith & witnesses as well; Church going; Scriptures are mentioned; Laura questions God’s plan; Many talks about Heaven, God, His plans & Him blessing us; Prayers.

*Note: “folks refer to Pittsburgh as h*ll with the lid taken off” and “some say that living in Pittsburgh is good practice for those who are on their way to that fiery furnace the Bible promises.” are both said once.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a “blarney” and a “shoddy”; Winston says he’s heard that Irish men are prone to drinking; Mentions of gambling & Mentions of drinking; Pipes are smoked.

Sexual Content- six semi-detailed kisses; Notices of lips & touches; *Spoilers* A baby is conceived (and later born) out of wedlock (the jerk told the woman that he doubts the baby is his and “that a girl that was as easily bedded as me had surely been sleeping with every man she ever met.” (which isn’t true); Laura can’t have children because she was thrown from a horse at age 13. *End of Spoilers* Love, falling in love & the emotions.

-Laura Woodfield

-Ewan McKay
                                        P.O.V. switches between them

                                                           Set in 1868-1870

         {Chapters 1-12: 1868; Chap. 13-28: 1869; Chap. 29-End: 1870}                                                    

                                                                   346 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

(and a half)

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

While at first learning about the making of bricks was interesting, it was much slower in the beginning than at the end. It was pretty cute though.

This has been a wonderful week! Thank you so very much for supporting BFCG to 150 reviews and 20,000 page views! I’m still in shock over all of it! Thank you!

See y’all on Monday 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 Publisher (Bethany House) for this review.

"The Carousel Painter" by Judith Miller

 About this book:

  “Carrie loves painting the beautiful carousel horses…but can she stand strong against the many who don’t want her to keep the job?

   When Carrington Brouwer receives the enviable job of painting carousel horses for a factory in Ohio, she believes her future is secure. But after an expensive necklace disappears from the home where she’s been staying, she’s caught up in a search for the truth that puts her entire livelihood—and her developing relationship with the factory manger—at risk. Can she lead police to the real culprit before she loses everything?”


 Series: As of now, no.

Spiritual Content- Carrie says her father thought “God was for weak people who needed a crutch to get through life.”; Church going (some sermons are written or the topic is); Bible reading; Carrie gets told the story of Stephan; Many Prayers and Scriptures are quoted; Many talks about God, why He lets things happen; and Having Faith to stand in our own fiery furnace (She hears the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego).

Negative Content- Lying & Stealing. (Everything works out though.)

Sexual Content- Tyson Farnsworth is a player and flirts many times with Carrie, at one point when Carrie almost falls he says “Careful or we’ll land on the floor. If you want to lie down beside me, I can think of more comfortable places.” (That is the most detailed any flirting gets); Two semi-detailed kisses and a few not detailed kisses.

-Carrington “Carrie” Brouwer
                                         P.O.V. of Carrie (all in first-person, present tense.)

                                                Set in 1890
                                                        335 pages

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 Pre Teens-

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating- 

(and a half)

I never knew how much work went in to making a carousel! Sure, we hit on it in one of the novella’s in the “Sincerely Yours” collection, but “The Carousel Painter” has much more details about the making of a carousel horse. This was a historical mystery (the stealing kind of mystery, not a murder mystery) with a bit more than a touch of romance to it. {Plus, I think the cover is perfect for this book! It's so pretty!}

See y’all on Wednesday for another 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.