Book Review: A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander

Excerpt: Something caught her eye, and Claire stilled.

She squinted and raised the candelabra higher, wanting to make sure that what she was seeing - or wasn't seeing - was real. But it was.

Every piece of art in the gallery was gone. A Lasting Impression, pg 23.

Back Cover: Claire Laurent's greatest aspiration is to paint something that will bring her acclaim. Yet her father insists she work as a copyist. A forger. When she's forced to flee from New Orleans to Nashville only a year after the War Between the States has ended, her path collides with attorney Sutton Monroe. She considers him a godsend for not turning her in to the authorities. But after he later refuses to come to her aid, Claire fears she's sorely misjudged the man. Finding herself among the elite of Nashville's society, Claire believes her dream to create a lasting impression in the world of art is within reach--but only if her fraudulent past remains hidden.

The Federal Army has destroyed Sutton's home and confiscated his land, and threatens to destroy his family's honor. His determination to reclaim what belongs to him and to right a grievous wrong reveals a truth that may cost him more than he ever imagined--as well as the woman he loves.

Set at Nashville's historic Belmont Mansion, a stunning antebellum manor built by Mrs. Adelicia Acklen, A Lasting Impression is a sweeping love story about a nation mending after war, the redemption of those wounded, and the courage of a man and woman to see themselves--and each other--for who they really are.

My Review: A Lasting Impression is a book about forgiveness and second chances. The situations that the characters find themselves in kept me turning the pages. I loved the chemistry between the lead male and female characters. I love how this book develops and the way that the characters grow and change. I am reminded that the truth can set you free. I did enjoy this book.

My Rating:

My Recommendation: I recommend this book to readers of historical fiction.

Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Book Review: Within My Heart by Tamera Alexander

Excerpt: He wiped the telling moisture from his cheeks and rose, the joints cracking in his knees. In all his days, he couldn't recall so still a night. So loud a hush over the graves. With a sinking feeling, he looked down at the grave of the young boy. It was late now. Too late.

He prayed the boy was at peace, wherever he was. Same for the decorated lieutenant down the way. He didn't know much about the afterlife - not like folks expected him to - but he reckoned if God was a kind as he believed Him to be that there was some sort of special welcome going on right now for those men who'd laid down their lives in this terrible - 

The distant tinkling of a bell brought Jessup upright.

A skitter shimmied up his spine. The air trapped viselike in his lungs. Praying he wasn't still dreaming, he searched the darkness at the end of the row where the woman had knelt earlier, and his skin turned to gooseflesh.
Within My Heart, pg 12.

Back Cover: Determined to fulfill her late husband's dream, Rachel Boyd struggles to keep her ranch afloat with the help of her two young sons. But some days it feels as though her every effort is sabotaged. When faced with a loss she cannot afford, she's forced to trust Rand Brookston, the one man in Timber Ridge she wishes to avoid. And with good reason. He's a physician, just like her father, which tells her everything she needs to know about him. Or so she thinks...

Dr. Rand Brookston ventured west with the dream of bringing modern medicine to the wilds of the Colorado Rockies, but the townspeople have been slow to trust him. Just as slow in coming is Rand's dream to build the town a proper clinic. When a patient's life is threatened, Rand makes a choice - one that sends ripples through the town of Timber Ridge. And through Rachel Boyd's stubborn heart.

My Review: Let me start of by saying I cried. Okay, with that out of the way, let's move on to my review. Within My Heart is the third book in the Timber Ridge Reflections series. I did not read the first two books of the series before beginning this one. In some ways I wished I had, just to know the town and the characters better. Ever without that back ground, this story stands well on its own. Tamera weaves an excellent tale of two people, bound by fear, stepping out in faith. The characters are believable, and the romance is sweet. I love how she didn't rush the process, and things flowed naturally. I have to admit that I've never read any of Tamera's other work, but I plan on remedying that issue in the near future.

This is an amazing story!

My Rating: 

My Recommendation: I would highly recommend this book to lovers of historical romance. I would suggest that you read the other two books in the Timber Ridge Reflections series first (From a Distance and Beyond This Moment).

(I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of review.)