Andrea BoeshaarBesprekingen

I won this in a GOODREADS giveaway!

Includes "Always a Bridesmaid", The Long Ride Home" and "The Summer Girl"

I had to read this last book to find out what happened to the characters I had come to know in the earlier books. I was slightly disappointed in the ending but overall a good book.

Interesting book two in the series. Secrets are uncovered and challenges faced.

a nice story that had me hunting for the next book.

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Andrea Boeshaar has done it. She has created characters so real, that I cared about so much, that I found myself praying for the heroine, Carrie Ann. I have an affinity for stories of faith set in Civil War times, and There is a Season will stay on my mind for a long time to come.

While this is the third book in the series, it is possible to read only this novel and not be lost. Boeshaar provides enough backstory that anyone can enjoy this book, but after reading it, I have a hankering to re-read the first and devour the second.

I say devour because the whole premise of this book had me truly gobbling it down. Colonel Peyton Collier is near death, but his young wife, Carrie, hires a nurse, Hannah, who promises healing with experimental medicine. There are just a few drawbacks: Hannah demands an exorbitant fee and complete control of the sickroom. And the saga begins, plus Boeshaar treats us to another competition that traverses the book, weaving the novel into a complex tapestry.

I loved the different characteristics of various players. Carrie is determined and tenacious once she makes a decision. Eli is loyal to a fault. Aunt Ruth loves beyond bloodlines.

The epilogue makes the book even better, if possible!

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. No positive review was required, and all opinions are my own.

Several Notable Quotables:

“Practicing my faith is going to be more difficult than I imagined.”

“It’s not much of a battle, really.” Peyton knew what the right thing was, but the decision meant death.

“...just because you don’t feel something doesn’t mean God has abandoned you or that His Holy Spirit no longer resides within you.

“I should warn you, dear one, that this idea of yours is like handling a deadly serpent. You may be bitten.”
... "We may both be bitten...and devoured.”

We’re children of the King of kings.” “Which makes us princesses.”

This was a good way to finish this series. I definitely recommend reading books one and two in the series or you will be very confused as to what is going on between each of the main characters. I liked how this revolves around the civil war and how it was hard for every person on all sides of this horrible war. This will make you laugh and cry and think about many ideas. There is some intrigue and some romance. I received a copy of this book from Celebratelit for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

As I began reading this book, I initially had a hard time staying interested. Nurse Emory appears to be an arrogant woman only out for control. Carrie Ann Bell Collier simply wants her husband Peyton to get well. This historical work eventually captured my interest. Eli, Peyton’s best friend, adds an element of interest to this story.

Carrie Ann, Peyton’s Aunt Ruth, along with Carrie Ann’s sister create a family that sticks together and works together. Nurse Emory sets out to steal Peyton by isolating him from his family and by alienating them in his mind. She sets out to control him so she can control his fortune. So check out this book for yourself.

I received a complimentary copy of this book, but this in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own.

1865 finds the Civil War finally reaching the end. Many have died, some have changed sides, and no one will ever be the same again. The prisoners have not been well treated on either side and some are suffering even more because of the lack of sanitary conditions. Peyton Collier falls into that category - wounded and malnourished, his wife and extended family try to do their best for him.

Hannah Emory is a self-important nurse who has studied under Miss Florence Nightingale. This has given her knowledge that allows her to insist on taking over the care of Mr. Collier. Her questionable pain medication, something she is hoping will lead to becoming famous, requires a very high price. What will become of this young soldier and his family?

The author has delved into the use of habit forming pain medications, something that seems so benign and helpful. But oh the sorrow they can cause…

An ARC was received through Steeple View Publishing. These impressions and comments are my own and were in no way solicited.

This has been a book that spans across the Civil War as it was coming to an end. It is clear that the author has done extensive research by the accuracy of historical facts. Perhaps some liberties were taken to expand on some things which to me only enhanced the story. I definitely felt like I was watching a movie unfold as we are introduced to outstanding characters.

I first want to address a particular character named Nurse Emory. She is a most unpleasant woman who had this arrogance about her. As she maneuvers a way to get away from her volunteer job as a nurse, I think she took advantage of a desperate woman. Carrie is beside herself seeing her husband so ill and Nurse Emory sees her chance to take advantage of the situation. I’m not sure why Carrie agreed to the nurses’s demands but perhaps she believed her husband would get better with the undivided care Nurse Emory offered. When Nurse Emory says, “A trained and capable nurse and a decent doctor can do anything God can do,” I was shocked. Needless to say she is my all time least favorite character. But isn’t that the point of this character? The author does an excellent job of creating this character with flaws that only God can deliver her from. And therein is a lesson of hating the sin but loving the sinner.

Eli is a man without a country as he describes himself to others. I thought the way the author used the assassination of President Lincoln as a way to incorporate the reason Eli wasn’t pardoned was good. He was so sure of his freedom until that one moment in history where everything changed for many. I enjoyed following his life and the quiet feelings he has for Carrie. He is an honorable man when he finds out that Peyton is still alive. I kept wondering what him and Carrie would do knowing how they felt for each other.

The story takes us on a journey as we glimpse the lives of people during a difficult time in history. The term “Soldiers Disease” is a way of saying addiction and we find ourselves witnessing how Peyton has been deceived by someone who pretended to care for him. I began to put the pieces together and realized that within this story is another one where soldiers could have become victim to medicine that they thought would help them. The fight to save Peyton is intense as Carrie and others are determined to rescue him from the clutches of darkness. I really enjoyed reading how Peyton longs to return to his relationship with God.

I am disappointed in how the story ended so abruptly. The author seemed to not complete the story in a way that clearly gives readers an indication of what happened to Nurse Emory. I was shocked that I was resting and suddenly without warning the author ended the story. I had hoped to see how the nurse was exposed and a real reconciliation for Peyton and Carrie. It was weird that Eli was such an important character and then suddenly written off in an odd way. I liked the story but with the ending I found myself thinking that the author didn’t write a suitable ending to an otherwise good story.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

I found A Thousand Shall Fall to be well written and researched. Since I am drawn to history, I'll admit that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are well developed, and I found myself cheering on Colonel Peyton Collier and Carrie Ann Bell. Add in the fact that this is set during the Civil War (and we have attended several re-enactments), was even more captivating for me. I think my almost-sixteen year old history-buff son might even enjoy it. I'll be eagerly awaiting book two of the Shenandoah Valley Saga.

A good and satisfying conclusion to this series, which reads like one big book. Read these stories in the order they were written to fully understand the characters in this series.

Blythe is a woman who has made it on her own, as the owner of a resale shop and loves to go "junk hunting" for precious things to sell in her shop. Her life though is full of secrets and sorrow. Then one day a woman walks into her store, searching for answers. That woman is Kylie, who has just lost her mother, Wendy. What Kylie doesn't know is the secret her parents kept from her; that her real Mom is Blythe and her real father was her mother Wendy's brother. It may all sound a bit confusing, but it is a journey, discovering why this secret took place and how a faded photograph brought many lives back together. For Kylie, she will have a lot to deal with in this book, but what everyone will learn is that the most precious things in life are not 'things' but are the people we love and the forgiveness we can give to others. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the people in this series and the story stuck with me, even after I finished reading.

This series is about 3 ladies who are in a faded photograph, and how their lives will be intertwined together years later. In this book, Kylie, the daughter of Wendy, who is in this photograph, is quite happy knowing she is about to marry Matthew and live a "happily-ever-after" in their small Wisconsin hometown. But she opens a wedding invitation shortly after her Mother dies, and an old faded photograph falls out, and Kylie will begin to uncover a side of her mother she never knew about. As she digs into the past, Kylie uncovers a lot of hidden surprises, including grandparents she never knew existed. Kylie will have her world being shaken on many levels, including her future with Matthew.

In this story you will interact with most of the people from book one, "Broken Things", so I highly recommend reading these books in the order they were written, as they really are one big book, in three separate stories. I found myself cheering Kylie on as she has to deal with a lot in her life in a very short period of time.

This is a story about Allie Littenberg, a woman who comes face to face with memories of her past - and the man she once loved.
Allie has returned to her hometown, Chicago, where she learns her actions in the past have had bad repercussions for Jack Callahan, the Chicago cop she once loved, but left. She will discover that Jack is now a bitter and hard man, and the tenderness Allie once knew in him, has been erased by years of bad choices. Allie faced a bad marriage also, but as a result had a wonderful son who she is proud of. Jack also married and had a son, who, through not much help from his Dad, has also grown into a man who loves the Lord.
As you read you will see how God uses the hurts in each of these families and brings them peace. And Allie will be a major player in bringing a broken family back together and having the bitterness turned into love and joy and hope. I was pulled into the story and the more I read, the harder it was to see the book come to an end. But it doesn't really end, because there are two others books in this series, that are all intertwined together by the picture in a faded photograph.