TITLE:  On a Summer Tide
AUTHOR:  Suzanne Woods Fisher
DATE:  2019
PUBLISHER: Revell
STARS: *****

Sometimes love hurts--and sometimes it can heal in the most unexpected way.

Camden Grayson loves her challenging career, but the rest of her life could use some improvement. "Moving on" is Cam's mantra. But there's a difference, her two sisters insist, between one who moves on . . . and one who keeps moving. 

Cam's full-throttle life skids to a stop when her father buys a remote island off the coast of Maine. Paul Grayson has a dream to breathe new life into the island--a dream that includes reuniting his estranged daughters. Certain Dad has lost his mind, the three sisters rush to the island. To Cam's surprise, the slow pace of island life appeals to her, along with the locals--and one in particular. Seth Walker, the scruffy island schoolteacher harbors more than a few surprises. 

Each of the main characters in On a Summer Tide are realistic, multi-dimensional people who drew me into the story. Cam may be the main character, but the rest of her family, with their insecurities, regrets, and fears, are just as appealing. Seth makes a great hero, in spite of or perhaps because of his own deep regrets. Peg is a special, eccentric addition, and the Maine island setting is swoon-worthy on its own.
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Points of view from each family member plus some flashbacks keep interest high. It’s fun to read a slightly different style, and this one worked superbly. Surprises and secrets revealed forced each family member to grow—including the dad, Paul Grayson.
I loved On a Summer Tide and award it five stars. Recommended! I received this book from Baker Publishing Group. 

TITLE:  The Refuge
AUTHOR:  Ann H. Gabhart
DATE:  2019
PUBLISHER: Revell
STARS: ****

When Darcie and Walter Goodwin hear of a new cholera epidemic sweeping the area, they join the Shakers whose villages seem immune to the disease. It's meant to be a temporary stay, but Walter is killed in a riverboat accident. With no family and no money, Darcie has little choice but to stay with the Shakers. To complicate matters, she is expecting a baby conceived before she and her husband came to the Shaker village. Marital relationships are considered sinful in this celibate community, putting Darcie in a unique--and lonely--position. Can the arrival of widower Flynn Keller and his headstrong daughter offer Darcie the hope of happiness . . . and family?

The Refuge is a gentle story of Darcie, a non-Shaker, who has no other choice but to stay with the kind but strict group at the village at Harmony Hill. Her angst is skillfully portrayed as she, a pregnant widow in a sect that considers marriage a sin, tries to live in harmony with the Sisters. But will they allow her to stay once her child is born? Or will they ostracize both mother and child? Or worse, take the child from her? Faith and fear collide, but Darcie holds fast to faith—with satisfying results.

The only negative aspect of this story is the villain, whom I felt was overdrawn and didn’t quite fit. I loved reading The Refuge and learning about the Shaker sect. This book earns four stars from me.
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I received this book courtesy of Baker Publishing Group.
 

TITLE:  Justice Delivered
AUTHOR:  Patricia Bradley
DATE:  2019
PUBLISHER: Revell
STARS: *****

Carly Smith came by her trust issues honestly. A victim of sex trafficking, she's been at the mercy of merciless men, ignored by law enforcement officers who should have helped her, and seemingly rejected by her family. She can't even trust herself to do the right thing. Though she escaped her captors and is working hard on building a new life, the past continues to haunt her when she discovers that the man she couldn't bring herself to report to police for fear of reliving her captivity is still out there, luring vulnerable girls under the guise of being a modeling agent.

When her own niece is kidnapped, Carly must overcome her fears and come forward with the information she has before it's too late. When that proves to be not enough, she'll have to go after the perpetrators herself.

Human trafficking is a heinous evil that turns precious girls (and boys) into disposable merchandise—not a pleasant topic for romance. But author Patricia Bradley, with gentleness and faith, pulls back the curtain by introducing Carly Smith, escaped but not healed, and making us care deeply for her.

Justice Delivered kept me riveted with its multi-dimensional characters, some of whom may or may not have been guilty of involvement in her kidnapping and the subsequent evil. Faith in God is not preached but is shown, with forgiveness a critical point.

The timeliness of this book moved me and increased my awareness of human trafficking.
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I received Justice Delivered courtesy of Graf Martin Communications and Baker Publishing Group. Justice Delivered earns five stars and is highly recommended.