A River to Cross by Yvonne Harris

Elizabeth Evan has traveled to Texas to help her brother take care of his house and daughter after his wife's recent death - and join his newspaper staff. But before she can ever write her first article, there is trouble and danger along the U.S.-Mexican border. Manuel Diego has a bone to pick with her brother and Elizabeth is kidnapped. Texas Ranger Jake shows up and sets out to rescue her, never expecting to fall in love with the smiling, dark-haired beauty he is looking for.

The whole idea for the book is great, but I'm not the biggest fan of historical romances. So I gave it a try, but didn't really like it. I love all of Bethany House's books and this is the very first one I've never enjoyed.

The story just seemed to be lacking something. Maybe that was because it was a shorter book and a quick read. It was also very predictable. Ya know, two people who don't want to get married fall in love and get married. Not a lot of brain work right there. I like romantic books to be realistic and not cheesy, but that really is a matter of opinion. I heard that there was a debut book called The Vigilante’s Bride that lots of people enjoyed. So maybe if I had read that book first I would have enjoyed this one better.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from Bethany House. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own

The Lady of Bolton Hill by Elizabeth Camden

Female journalists are rare in 1879, but American-born Clara Endicott has finally made a name for herself with her provocative articles championing London's poor. When the backlash from her work forces a return home to Baltimore, Clara finds herself face-to-face with a childhood sweetheart who is no longer the impoverished factory worker she once knew.

In her absence, Daniel Tremain has become a powerful industry giant and Clara finds him as enigmatic as ever. However, Daniel's success is fueled by resentment from past wounds and Clara's deeply-held beliefs about God's grace force Daniel to confront his own motives.

When Clara's very life is endangered by one of Daniel's adversaries, they must face a reckoning neither of them ever could have foreseen.

The Lady of Bolton Hill started out like I expected - two teens, one rich and one poor, both falling in love with each other. But I did not expect characters being thrown in jail, revenge, suicide, kidnappings, black-market shipping, and riots.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Camden took this novel into a direction I really liked. She took historical facts from that time period, such as under-paid railroad workers and "the tortured conditions children endured when they were shoved beneath the surface of the earth to mine coal" (page 30). Throw in an idealistic journalist determined to defend underprivileged workers who is in love with a poor-boy-now-turned-into-industrial-titan who is too angry to provide better opportunities for his workers, and you have some story right there.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from Bethany House. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

When destiny sleeps, it can only be awakened by true love’s kiss.

In this historical romance loosely based on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, a woodcutter's daughter becomes the town healer's apprentice. Rose's job is to care for the sick and injured

in Hagenheim Castle.

But she gets sick at the sight of blood and is more suited to making up stories than sewing up wounds. She is determined to overcome her weakness and prove herself a competent healer, or she faces marrying a disgusting old merchant her mother has picked out for her.

Lord Hamlin, the future ruler of the region, is injured and Rose must overcome her squeamishness to save him. He is everything that is noble and good, but loving him is forbidden. He is already betrothed to a mysterious woman in hiding.

With two noble-born brothers vying for her affections, Rose learns that the people of Hagenheim are not always who they seem.

When they say loosely based on Sleeping Beauty, they really mean loosely. Like, so loose I barely saw it.

I'm not a big of historical romances, but I thought I'd give it a shot and read it. The beginning had SO much potential. Dickerson could have taken the story in many directions. It starts out with Rose at the market with her best friend Hildy, a romantic at heart. I applauded Rose for keeping her feet on the ground and not swooning at the sight of the noble-born brothers.

Then it all went downhill. (*Spoiler Alert!*) Rose fell for the flirty brother.

Yeah. Disappointing.

But it was written well and Hildy and Gunther were my favorite characters by far. Halfway through the book I realized Frau Geruscha had barely spoken more than three sentences - which was also disappointing because I really wanted to see more of her in the book. Again, so much potential that wasn't tapped into.

I think Dickerson captured the time period quite well. If she had taken the story in a different direction, it would have been shelved among my favorite books.

Melanie Dickerson is an award-winning author who earned her bachelor’s degree in special education from The University of Alabama. She has taught in Georgia, Tennessee, Germany and the Eastern European country of Ukraine. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA), she now spends her time writing and taking care of her husband and two daughters near Huntsville, Alabama.

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