"A Note Yet Unsung" by Tamera Alexander

About this book:

  “A master violinist trained in Vienna, Rebekah Carrington manages to wheedle her way into an audition with the maestro at the newly-formed Nashville Philharmonic. But women are "far too fragile and frail" for the rigors of an orchestra, and Rebekah's hopes are swiftly dashed because the conductor--determined to leave his mark on the world of classical music--bows to public opinion. To make matters worse, Adelicia Acklen Cheatham, mistress of Belmont Mansion and Rebekah's new employer, agrees with him.
   Nationally acclaimed conductor Nathaniel Tate Whitcomb is Nashville's new orchestra leader. And despite a reluctant muse--and a strange buzzing and recurring pain in his head--he must finish composing his symphony before the grand opening of the city's new opera hall. But far more pressing, he must finish it for the one who first inspired his love of music--his father, who is dying. As Tate's ailment worsens, he believes Rebekah can help him finish his symphony. But how do you win back a woman's trust when you've robbed her of her dream?”


Series: The last book in the “Belmont Mansion” series. Read reviews of Book #1 Here! & Book #2 Here!

Spiritual Content- Proverbs 5:21 at the beginning; Scriptures are quoted, referenced, read & talked about; A Hymn is played, sung & talked about many times; A song about going to see God is sung; Prayers & a Blessing over food; A bit of being witnessed to; Talks about God, His voice & gifts; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God (expect three aren’t); Rebekah isn’t sure God is patient & generous-hearted as her father always said, but starts praying; Many mentions of God, His plans & gifts from God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, services & songs; Mentions of Bibles; A few mentions of a missionary; A few mentions of blessings & blessing someone; A few mentions of Heaven; A mention of a cathedral;

*Note: A mention of a man looking like Adonis in the flesh.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, a ‘dumb’, a ‘n*gger’, and two forms of ‘idiot’; Sarcasm; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Pain (up to semi-detailed); Stabbing someone with a knife (self-defense, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths, murders, beatings & blood (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a death & wondering if it was murder; Mentions of the war, slaves, slavery, soldiers, deaths & killings; Mentions of mine accidents, deaths, injuries & violence (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of pain & bad headaches & illnesses; Mentions of alcohol, wine, drinking & a drunk; Mentions of moonshine, blood feuds, shooting someone & a slit throat (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of cigars, tobacco & smoking; Mentions of addictions, morphine, laudanum & opium dens; Mentions of a whipping & pain; Mentions of debts; Mentions of lying & lies; Mentions of throwing up; Mentions of squirrel hunting, skinning them & making stew out of them (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of roasted a pig & a young girl feeling sad for him; A few mentions of jealousy & envy; A couple mentions of a poker game; A mention of a hog killing; A mention of a sound like a polecat begging to die.

Sexual Content- two finger-to-lips touches (up to semi-detailed), two almost kisses, a palm kiss, seven hand kisses, a cheek kiss, three forehead kisses, four barely-above-not-detailed kisses, two semi-detailed kisses, and three detailed kisses; Remembering kisses (semi-detailed); Wanting to & Thinking about touch/ing & kiss/ing someone (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to be kissed & desires (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Unwanted touches, Embraces & Warmth (up to semi-detailed); Noticing, Staring at lips, Smelling & Nearness (semi-detailed); Remembering touches & warmth (barely-above-not-detailed); Remembering & many mentions of when she was thirteen, Rebekah’s stepfather tried to rape her (semi-detailed, no true details but mentions of him being pulled off her & her bodice ripped); *Spoiler* He tries to touch her again her the end, mentioning how she felt & tasted before, but before anything else happens, she stabs him with a knife. *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of kisses, kissing & thinking about kissing someone (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of touches (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of reasons a man would be out late at night (none of them respectable); Mentions of noticing & staring; Mentions of flirting & a flirt; A few mentions of a married couple sharing or not sharing a bed (Rebekah also mentions that if she marries she’d want to share her husband’s bed); A few mentions of debauchery; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of blushes; A couple mentions of gentlemen’s clubs & the women there; A couple mentions of young couples sparking mischief; A couple mentions of a stealing a kiss or two from a woman; A couple mentions of reputations & compromising someone; Love, falling in love & the emotions.

           *Note: A few mentions of the painting of Beatrice Cenci & her story of being raped by family members (no details); A few mentions of a fifteen-year-old mother pulling a breast out of her shirt & nursing her infant; A couple mentions of a man’s crude comment about how a woman got a spot in an orchestra; A couple mentions of young women flaunting their womanly charms & then becoming warm-natured as they talked with Tate; A couple mentions of a woman arranging her bodice to show more of her décolletage & men staring at her plentiful assets; A couple mentions of a statue of a woman’s robe falling and showing a breast; A couple mentions of noticing Tate noticing Rebekah’s womanly curves; A couple mentions of the prostitute in the Bible; A mention of a woman’s curves; A mention of an ad for attractive female servers, but nothing on what they would be doing.

-Rebekah Carrington, age 23

-Nathaniel Tate Whitcomb, age 32
                                     P.O.V. switches between them

                                            Set in 1871
                                                 425 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I was very hesitate over reviewing this novel due to the author’s last book having so much sexual content. However, I did highly enjoy the previous two books in this series. Add in that the orchestra and violin music was a large factor of this novel’s plot, I decided to take a chance and read it.

Before I go any further, I should say that I’m very weak for anything with a violin. It’s been my favorite instrument for longer than I can remember. {One reason I loved the quote on page 92, “There are places in the heart where only the violin can reach.”, on which I very much agree.}

I’ve seen other reviewers mention feeling that this book was slow, and while I can understand that, I didn’t feel that way. But, then again, I really do love classical music and orchestra details. Those who don’t feel the same, though, would most likely find all those parts in this story not as interesting as another part. The author also added to the novel by linking the pieces the characters would play in the book on her website so the reader can listen along. I truly appreciate that. :)

There were parts and things I didn’t like, though. And unfortunately those scenes reflect on my ratings. We see many flashbacks and mentions of when Rebekah’s stepfather tried to rape her when she was young. He later tries to corner her again. As Tate & Rebekah’s relationship grows their kisses lead to a few detailed kisses. (A detailed kiss is a kiss that is described in three or more sentences.) 

I honestly would have been thrilled to give this novel a three- or four-star rating, but because of some of the content, I cannot even though I enjoyed quite a bit of this book and seeing Eleanor & Marcus and Claire & Edward again those few times.

See y’all on Wednesday 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 honest review.

"To Win Her Favor" by Tamera Alexander {Age Warning!}

{{TO Those under the age of 15, I recommend you do not read this review or read the actual book as it is filled with marriage thoughts and actions through an arranged marriage. (read: not clean) TO everyone else interested in this book, I don’t recommend this book at all because of all the sexual content, which there is a lot of, this book has bedroom scenes and does not promote Philippians 4:8.}}   

About this book:

  “A gifted rider in a world where ladies never race, Maggie Linden is determined that her horse will become a champion. But the one man who can help her has vowed to stay away from thoroughbred racing for good.
  An Irish-born son far from home, Cullen McGrath left a once prosperous life in England because of a horse racing scandal that nearly ruined him. He’s come to Nashville for a fresh start, hoping to buy land and start a farm, all while determined to stay as far away from thoroughbred racing as possible. But starting over proves harder than he’d wagered, especially when Maggie Linden’s father makes him an offer he shouldn’t accept yet cannot possibly refuse.
  Maggie is certain that her mare, Bourbon Belle, can take the top purse in the annual Drayton Stakes at Nashville’s racetrack––the richest race run in America. Maggie only needs the chance to prove it. To give her that chance, and to save Linden Downs from being sold to the highest bidder, Maggie’s father––aging, yet wily as ever––makes a barter. His agreement includes one tiny, troublesome detail––Maggie must marry a man she’s never met. A man she never would have chosen for herself.
  Cullen and Maggie need each other in order to achieve their dreams. But their stubborn, wounded hearts––and the escalating violence from a "secret society" responsible for lynchings and midnight raids––may prove too much for even two determined souls.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Belle Meade Plantation” series. {I have read & reviewed Book #1, “To Whisper Her Name”, but it looks like I never posted it! I can tell y’all that I give it 4 Stars for My Personal Rating.}

Spiritual Content- Psalm 61:3 at the beginning; Prayers; Mentions of Heaven; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Scriptures are mentioned & Bible reading; Mentions of those in the Bible; Cullen isn’t a big fan of God and thinks God is cruel.

*Note: a ‘devilish’.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘bloody’ and a ‘dumb’; Curses are cut off (like “you sorry piece of—“); Hateful names are said but not written (though “n*gg*r” is said quite a few times along with “white n*gg*r”); Fist fighting (borderline semi-detailed to detailed); Violence to African American people, hanging them, burning their houses and just plain cruelty to them (semi-detailed); Blood (semi-detailed); Many mentions of slaves, freemen & the Civil War; Mentions of gambling & drinking; Mentions of tobacco; mentions of thrashings & whippings; Dead cows (semi-detailed); a sick horse (semi-detailed).

Sexual Content- Touches & Smelling (semi-detailed and goes to detailed); Noticing, staring, Imagining & checking someone out (semi-detailed up to detailed); Wanting to kiss & touch (semi-detailed to detailed); ; Hand kisses, forehead kisses & tingles; Remembering kisses (semi-detailed); five semi-detailed kisses; a Very-detailed kiss; two very-very-very detailed kisses that lead to unbuttoning clothing and a total of five hinted s*x scenes (lots of unbuttoning (semi-detailed), imagining body parts and making-out; the actual intercourse is not written); a form of ‘wanton’; Mentions of women’s curves; Men’s bare chest; Cullen says he hasn’t been with (read: in bed with) another woman since his wife’s death but there is a mentions of women who would lean over & offer “him a generous view of what was cinched beneath tightly-fitted bodices”; Many, many mentions of consummating a marriage, becoming one, sharing love not wearing clothing & being intimate with someone (Like: “Two of those union—interminable as they were—she could live with under the circumstances. But that of the body? She gulped. She could no more be intimate with this man beside her than she could any stranger on the street. And he’d been married before, which means he knew all about...Well everything. And she knew next to nothing. Then again, his being an Irishmen, he’d likely already known about all of that long before marriage.”); A memory of Maggie learning from her brother about the birds & the bees (“She and Savannah had “accidentally” been snooping in one of her brothers’ bedrooms when they found a stack of pencil drawings. Drawings of scantily-clad women. Why her brothers would ever want such things made no sense. But what stood out in Maggie’s memory most was the frank conversation Oak had with her afterward. ‘Knowing Ma, she’s not likely to ever say any of this to you, and it’s time you knew at least a little.’ Growing up on a farm, Maggie was familiar with how the animals often played with each other. But not until that enlightening conversation with her eldest brother had she begun to understand the full meaning of the word play.”); three mentions of wifely duties; four mentions of a wedding night; nine mentions of sharing a bed (up to semi-detailed); Maggie wearing just a nightgown goes to the kitchen and Cullen walks in on her and comments quite a few times on how she should walk around and twirl for him; Mentions of ladies’ chests (Like: “Why was it men preferred women with larger busts? In the drawings she’d found in her brother’s room, every one of those women had a bosom ample enough to suffocate a small child. Women with waists so tiny and middles corseted so tight everything spilled over the top like bread left too long to rise. Well, if that’s what Cullen Michael McGrath liked in women, then he could just—“) A mention of girls who blossomed and when younger Maggie tried to get boys’ attention by pulling “her long hair forward over her chest, arranging the curls just so, hoping to give the appearance of substance where there was none. But as her brother Abe had told her in that teasing voice, “You can’t hide what you haven’t got, Little Mag.””; a mention of a man who had his female slaves come “visit” him in a home (barely-above-not-detailed); Love, an arranged marriage, falling in love & the emotion (lots and lots and lots!)

          *Note: Four mentions of a filly being sired by a stallion.

-Maggie Linden

-Cullen McGrath
                                        P.O.V. switches between Maggie & Cullen

                                              Set in 1869 (Epilogue 1870)
                                                        352 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens-

New Teens- 

 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

*sigh* I have never been so disappointed in a book before. Ever. I’ve considered Tamera Alexander one of my favorite authors ever since reading three of her books, all which I really enjoyed. “A Beauty So Rare” being her last release (published by Bethany House) which got five stars from me. Her newest book (this one) is getting one star, as that’s as low as I can go. I am so disappointed. While reading it, I kept looking back at the cover to see if it really was her and not, say, Francine Rivers. Interesting side note: F.R. and T.A. have been going to a lot of writing conferences together, both ladies say they’re very good friends. I was a bit worried when I saw that...as I was not a fan of “Bridge to Haven” by Francine Rivers (Very, very, very sexual) and was hoping that Miss Tamera would influence her; looks like it was the other way around, sadly. Had I known this would be an arranged marriage book, I would have not picked it up. Arranged marriage books always have sexual content that is not needed. What happens in a married couples’ bedroom should stay in that bedroom; meaning being PRIVATE. Why authors think it’s okay to put this intimate stuff in, is beyond me. *sigh* The Civil War era is the hardest historical time for me to read about. I just can’t understand it, the prejudice is awful. And there was a lot of it in this book had me on the verge of tears and throwing up. I’m so disappointed about this book, I now will be cautious with this author’s books.

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 Publisher (Zondervan) for this review.

{Let's eat!} Eleanor's Shortbread from "A Beauty so Rare" by Tamera Alexander

Hi y’all! Have you notice in some fiction books you read they have recipes in the back? Since I made this blog, I've always wanted to try out those recipes and today that happens! I have a great recipe to share with y’all! From the AMAZING book “A Beauty so Rare” by Tamera Alexander! (click on the text to see our review!) I made this delicious Shortbread recipe today and Hmm-mmm-mmm! And I have step-by-step picture instructions! It's my first time doing food photography but I like how these turned out! Everything Miss Tamera says will be in bold! And here we go!

Hey friends,

Is there anything that smells as good as homemade shortbread baking in your oven? Oh so scrumptious, and a time-honored recipe. Shortbread is just one of the many recipes included in A Beauty So Rare, the second stand-alone novel in the Belmont Mansion series.

Since Eleanor Braddock (the heroine in A Beauty So Rare) is practical to a fault, she makes her shortbread in a cast-iron skillet, so I did the same. Gives you the best crunchy edges and buttery middles! Wish I could share some with you. But I'll do the next best thing––share the recipe!

Have you ever made shortbread? It's so easy.

Eleanor Braddock's Shortbread

(from "A Beauty So Rare")

3/4 cup butter at room temp (1 1/2 sticks)

1/2 cup powdered sugar*

1/3 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour (sifted)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees, then spray a smaller (8-9 inch) cast-iron skillet very lightly with non-stick cooking spray. You don't need that much spray. Trust me, the butter in the recipe will take care of that.

{I don’t have a cast-iron skillet so I used a stone-wear mini-loaf pan.}

Cream the butter until light and fluffy.

Add the powdered sugar,

then the 1/3 tsp of vanilla. {I didn't have a 1/3 of a tsp, so I did a little less than a 1/2 tsp.}

Next, work in the flour. You can either mix the flour in with an electric mixer, or you can get into the 1860s way of doing things and knead the dough on a floured surface until it's nice and smooth.

{I chose the modern option. ;) }

{Remember! It's okay to make a mess...just make sure to get most of it in the bowl. ;) }

Press the dough into the iron skillet (or you can use a pretty shortbread pan too).

{I used a mini-loaf pan}

Bake for 30-35 minutes {mine only took 27 minutes} until golden brown. Cool for about 10-15 minutes then flip the pan over onto a wooden cutting board. Cut the shortbread into pieces while still warm. It "sets up" as it cools. Or serve it warm. Serves 10-12. And it really does. This stuff is rich and delicious. Hope you enjoy. 

Oooooh! The smell! Oooooh! Oh! It really is delicious! I’ll defiantly be making this again!

And just for fun, a bit of history:

*Did you know that in 1851, Oliver Chase (of NECCO Wafer fame) developed a mill for powdering sugar which he used in his candy making process? But if a cook wanted powdered sugar back then, refined loaf sugar was pounded into a fine powder in a mortar and pestle. So much easier today, huh?

For more recipes and to watch the novel trailer

for A Beauty So Rare, visit www.TameraAlexander.com

This week has been amazing! We've met two of our favorite authors, went to a book convention, tried out this delicious recipe & are still celebrating our First birthday! Plus! We're having a giveaway for that last one too! Enter here! Ends the 4/16! 

See y'all soon!