Blog Tour: "Bleeding Heart" by Amber Stokes--Book Review

I am honoured to be part of the blog tour for Amber Stokes' debut novel, Bleeding Heart. Make sure to check out all the stops along the tour to learn more about this amazing young author and her wonderful novel! You can enter for chances to win her book as well. At any time, drop by the Blog Tour HQ to see the blog post schedule. Now, onward....

About the Book

Five bleeding hearts. One profound journey. 

  
Summer 1886

Sally Clay’s livelihood has been snatched away, but in its place arises an opportunity to escape from her sordid past and an unrelenting, unwanted suitor. Boarding a train with a heartsick rancher and an enigmatic miner, she leaves Virginia City behind and heads to Northern California, waiting for the chance to make right what went wrong three long years before.

But the road to revenge is far from smooth. Sally soon learns that the jagged pieces of a broken heart can far too easily wound the hearts of others – and hers isn’t the only heart that’s broken. Tragedy and fear dog her steps as she flees from the redwood forests to the high desert and back again. Will her bleeding heart ever find a way and a place to heal?

A desperate soiled dove. Three men who come to care for her. One man determined to claim her. 

All on a journey that will show them what true love really involves.

Inspirational Historical Romance

Amazon  *  Book Website

About the Author

Amber Stokes has a Bachelor of Science degree in English and a passion for the written word - from blogging to writing poetry, short stories, and novels. After her brief time at college in Oregon, she is now back home among the redwoods of Northern California, living life one day at a time and pursuing her passion via freelance editing and self-publishing her debut novel, Bleeding Heart.

My Review

Bleeding Heart by Amber Stokes is self-published. There is huge stereotype against self-published works, but I want to go out there and say that Bleeding Heart's writing outshines many traditionally-published books in the world. Amber is a master of her craft, and each beautifully-worded sentence shows how much time and effort she has put into her novel. I loved her careful, vivid descriptions of the wild natural beauty of the setting, and how her characters related to it.

One thing I particularly loved was how she sprinkled allusions to actual historical events and people throughout the book. She didn't explain them, but left it to the readers to research it and discover for themselves. This book was told through the eyes of people who lived in that time; and realistically, what's history to us was life to them. Would they, in their thoughts, replay certain events that they would already know by heart and which would be as day-to-day to them as taking a shower is to us? So I enjoyed Amber's challenge to her readers to go out and explore history for themselves through the dropping of interesting name and hints at certain events.

Another aspect that was well done was the curve away from the usual historical romance novel in the Christian market. Many of those are humorous and lack any thought-provoking events. There are sweet moments in this novel, but it is definitely darker and more for those who realize and understand that life isn't one big cupcake. Christians love and lose and doubt. I can't tell you how many times I've wondered in real life why God would 'allow' a good Christian man to be ripped away from his wife, or a little girl to be murdered. These characters struggle with real-life challenges; and, while not necessarily finding answers, they find some sort of peace. And it is this peace that is integral to a relationship with God--the knowledge that, no matter what insanity happens here on earth, no matter how much injustice is done, "it is well with my soul". Because, as Amber shows in this novel, the one thing evil cannot rip away from you without your letting it is the condition of your soul.

This book ripped my heart to shreds for its characters, and sewed it up again. Certain ones I loved more than others, such as the immigrant Myghal and the quiet cook, Zachary Taylor. (Amber, PLEASE let them have their own stories!!!) At times I felt I knew them, and at others, I realized how little I knew them at all. While in other books this might be a cause to accuse the author of character inconsistency, one of the themes in this story is how little the characters know about EACH OTHER. They make assumptions and turn out surprised when they turn out wrong. As we, the readers, get into the heads of almost all the characters, why wouldn't their assumptions become our own, and therefore, their surprise as well?

However, this novel is very short, clocking in at just over 50,000 words, according to Amber's website. While the story is self-containing, there were times when huge time-skips of several months would go by. This did not allow for a lot of relationship-building in regards to the romance; everything went fairly quickly, at least in terms of reading it. I would have enjoyed more tender moments for me to become accustomed to the relationship that happens by the end of the book. As well, I think adding another couple-thousand words would have given readers the chance to dig even deeper into the heads of the characters and connect with them. I would have liked more time with Myghal and Zachary Taylor and Sally and Seth and Joe and even Rufus, who turned out to be quite the conflicting villain himself. I wanted to know MORE about them, to know all their likes and dislikes, outside of how they felt about love and heartbreak.

As well, in the copy I read, there were a few typos, and a mention of an "Annabelle" that Sally supposedly met and who was important to her, but whom I don't remember. Perhaps someone from an earlier draft?

All that being said, if you're looking for a fresh, original historical novel to sink your mind into, go for Bleeding Heart. If you're looking for a book that will make you think and ponder and cry and stare at your ceiling and think some more, get your hands on Bleeding Heart. And then promptly join me in a rally to get Amber to write more about Myghal and Zachary!

I received a free review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the opportunity, Amber, and best wishes on many successful novels to come!

Giveaway!!!

“Journey to the West” Giveaway! One U.S. resident (randomly drawn) will receive a signed copy of Bleeding Heart and a collection of items from the story’s settings, handpicked by the author.

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Book Review: "The Perilous Gard"

In 1558, while exiled by Queen Mary Tudor to a remote castle known as Perilous Gard, young Kate Sutton becomes involved in a series of mysterious events that lead her to an underground world peopled by Fairy Folk—whose customs are even older than the Druids’ and include human sacrifice.
-image and summary from Goodreads.com

NOTE: THIS REVIEW IS NOT SPOILER-FREE

I've heard rave reviews from many friends and authors about The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope, and it's been on my to-read list for a while. Finally, this summer, I got my greedy, grubby reader hands on it.

And what can I say? I understand the raves (and I might join them sometime).

The Perilous Gard captures the atmosphere of England's forests and countryside in an eerie, rain-soaked setting full of lush green whispering trees and servants at a mysterious castle who know more than they let on. I was drawn in by the circumstances revolving around a child's disappearance and Kate's determination to bring justice.

What I particularly enjoyed was that Kate's journey was far from easy. She doesn't get answers by drawing them out of people who, true to their characters, stubbornly remain silent, but by making connections between events. She uses her smarts to find a way out of dangerous situations. There needs to be more heroines like Kate nowadays.

Another aspect I loved was that while Pope deals with subject matter that could get weird and occult, she keeps the story grounded in reality. The "Fairy Folk" are actually people whose customs have merely been around for many years, whose abilities seem to be more magical than those of mere mortals but who are actually just as human as Kate. While not all about them is explained and certain threads are left to the eerie conclusions of our imaginations, I was really happy that Pope went in this direction. Pope makes a point that much of what we deem to be 'magic' is actually easily explained--or simply the product of we as humans giving a certain object more power than it has. A lot of it is in the mind.

One thing about this story is that it's very short. Other than Kate, readers really only get to know Christopher, the brother of the lord of the castle Perilous Gard and the main suspect in the disappearance of Cecily, his niece. But, surprisingly, this works for the story. After finishing it, I was satisfied with its length. This is not a fast-paced novel by any means, and ends with a complete story, having made its point. I think its length suits its purpose.

I loved the writing--lush, lyrical, like poetry. I loved the characters and the feeling that this story might be a legend you hear of if you visit England.

However, the one drawback that kept this from a five-star rating was Christopher's continuous use of the Lord's name in vain. While I understand that many of that time period used God's name in a way that they did not see to be in vain, my 'modern sensibilities' couldn't help but shudder. It was used quite a bit, which disappointed me because it was so avoidable.

On the other hand, this book portrays Kate's strong faith and sense, which she uses to block the tempting words of the main villain. I wanted to cheer when I read that scene, and I finished it with a huge smile on my face and the strong urge to pump a fist into the air.

As well, this book boasts one of the most romantic speeches ever:

“I've never thought of you like that [....] How could I? If you were any other woman, I could tell you I loved you, easily enough, but not you--because you've always seemed to me like a part of myself, and it would be like saying I loved my own eyes or my own mind. But have you ever thought of what it would be to have to live without your mind or your eyes, Kate? To be mad? Or blind?” 

Excuse me while I faint.

Okay, I'm revived. 

Four stars!

Book Review: "Trouble in Store" by Carol Cox

Fired from her most recent governess position, Melanie Ross must embrace her last resort: the Arizona mercantile she inherited from her cousin. But Caleb Nelson is positive he inherited the mercantile, and he's not about to let some obstinate woman with newfangled ideas mess up all he's worked for. He's determined to get Melanie married off as soon as possible, and luckily there are plenty of single men in town quite interested in taking her off his hands.

The problem is, Caleb soon realizes he doesn't want her to marry up with any of them. He's drawn to Melanie more every day, and he has to admit some of her ideas for the store unexpectedly offer positive results.

But someone doesn't want the store to succeed, and what used to be just threatening words has escalated into deliberate destruction and lurkers in the night. When a body shows up on the mercantile steps--and the man obviously didn't die from natural causes--things really get dangerous. Can Melanie and Caleb's business--and romance--survive the trouble that's about to come their way?
--image and description from Goodreads.com

Trouble in Store by Carol Cox was an interesting read. Right off the bat, I sympathized with Melanie and her difficult situation. She was a likeable heroine and the ending where she faced the villain was enthralling and frightening. However, I did not connect to her as much as I wanted to. 

Caleb didn't seem to have as much personality, other than being rude to Melanie, missing his wife, and loving his son--all of which has been used before, countless times. There was nothing particularly fresh or original about him to draw me to him.

A few other things about how the mystery was resolved didn't quite make sense to me. I couldn't understand why a murderer would bother leaving threatening notes in the mercantile when someone they could have killed slept upstairs. Melanie was vulnerable this entire time, but the villain did not make a move until the end of the novel, which made no sense to me, criminal-wise.

What was refreshing to me was that the romance was not constantly dwelt on. In fact, Melanie had one other suitor whom I actually think I liked more than Caleb, and whom I hope gets his own story one day. I felt he was pushed to the side too quickly. The reverse side to not talking much about the romance was that when Caleb and Melanie go from arguing to loving each other, the shift seems too abrupt. While I understand and appreciate the author's attempt to make it natural, growing from 'enemies' to friends to romantically-involved, it still jolted me when Caleb described Melanie as "the woman he loved" when perhaps a month or so earlier he'd still been grumbling about all the changes she was making to the mercantile. I wanted some more time for their relationship to grow.

As well, at times Melanie was completely clueless, asking questions about the obvious. One instance she and Caleb were discussing how the intruder could have gotten into the mercantile and find a window which had been tampered with by a knife. And Melanie asked what it meant. I had to shake my head in disbelief, because it seemed pretty obvious to me.

There were a lot of typos in the version I read, which threw me off quite a bit. That's something the editor should have caught, but it still hampered my overall enjoyment.

However, this book was a clean, fun mix of romance, murder-mystery, and a sprinkling of the Wild West. The only way to know if you'd enjoy it is to check it out and decide for yourself. :)

3 stars!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and Bethany House Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity!