Four works of inspirational fiction propel readers into the stories of four remarkable women. Each heroine is a pioneer of sorts, finding her divine purpose while also claiming ownership over her own life.
Melanie Dobson weaves a mysterious time-slip tale in Hidden Among the Stars, entwining the evil of the 1938 Nazi invasion of Austria with the quiet life of a modern-day bookseller.
Max Dornbach, a wealthy Austrian who refuses to accept the Nazi assertion that Jews are not human, helps his Jewish friends by hiding their valuable possessions on his family’s estate. He trusts only one person to help—the caretaker’s daughter, Annika, whose unrequited love for Max has blossomed since her childhood. When Max brings Luzia, the Jewish woman he loves, to hide on the estate, Annika’s devotion to her friend is tested. Her faith guides her to make decisions that will have repercussions 80 years later.
Four decades later in America, Callie Randall, blogger and bookstore owner, finds her world disrupted when a mysterious copy of Bambi, filled with handwritten lists, appears in the store. When Callie finds a connection between the copy of Bambi and an old friend’s past, curiosity leads her into research, genealogies and treasure hunting in Austria. While unraveling history, Callie reaches a deep understanding of how God’s love can conquer evil through the sacrifices that individuals make for each other.
HEALING WATERS
Bestselling author Cindy Woodsmall teams up with her daughter-in-law, Erin Woodsmall, for As the Tide Comes In, a story of characters moving from loss to hope while struggling with why bad things happen to good people.
Tara Abbott’s childhood was spent in foster care, but she now handles the responsibility of caring for her two half-brothers with grace and grit. After a devastating storm rips through their North Carolina cabin, leaving Tara with a traumatic brain injury, a trip to the Georgia coast seems to be an ideal respite. In the midst of tragic circumstances, the Glynn Girls, a group of older women with all the charm of biscuit-making, casserole-cooking Southern moms, provide comic relief. Along with a handsome fireman, these women offer Tara a chance to see the truth of her past and her future. Although Tara’s injury causes her to move back and forth between being a confused damsel in distress and an independent woman with flashes of stubbornness as salty as the sea, she finds her faith renewed in this story brimming with the kindness and prayers of strangers.
From rappelling in the mountains to watching the tides ebb and flow on sandy beaches, Tara covers miles while undergoing heartache and healing in this tender novel.
WESTERN REDEMPTION
In Everything She Didn’t Say, bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick expertly captures the indomitable spirit of a woman who is just as comfortable reveling in her pioneering adventures as she is maintaining the composure of a Victorian lady. Based on Fifteen Thousand Miles by Stage, a memoir written by Carrie Adell Strahorn in 1911, Everything She Didn’t Say is a fictionalized look at how Carrie might have dealt with the realities of 25 years spent trailblazing and traveling with her husband, investor and railroad promoter Robert Strahorn.
Carrie’s struggles as a married woman in the untamed West are not tied to a time and place. Her desire for a permanent home and her longing for children are lifelong needs that go unmet. The lack of respect she receives from men along the way, including her husband on occasion, is a persistent hurdle. Carrie realizes that being a good wife to a husband who often slants the truth should not prevent her from being true to her own values. Although her boldness and bravery may not be what society considered befitting of a turn-of-the-century lady, Carrie’s faith keeps her grounded while she seeks fulfillment in a life that does not follow the path she had imagined.
WORTH FIGHTING FOR
England’s preparation for World War I provides an intriguing backdrop for mystery and romance in An Hour Unspent. Although the novel concludes Roseanna M. White’s Shadows Over England series, the story is a page-turner in its own right. White deftly synchronizes the lives of the hero, Barclay Pearce, and the heroine, Evelina Manning.
Barclay, previously a top-notch thief in London, is now a skilled assistant to a high-ranking official in the Royal Navy. He is also learning about the power of prayer. Evelina, an independent suffragette, is shocked when her wealthy British fiancé ends their engagement, but her new circumstances allow her time to contemplate her future.
With perfect timing, Barclay becomes a friend to Evelina after he saves her from a possible mugging and begins working with her father, a clockmaker who has developed a device that could prove to be a military advantage for England. Unfortunately, Germany knows the clockmaker’s secret and will stop at nothing to obtain both the plans and their creator.
Evelina finds herself falling for Barclay, a man outside her social class, but she also finds herself in a role that’s far tougher than suffragette. In an attempt to rescue her father from behind enemy lines, she goes undercover with Barclay—but they both realize that they will need the help of the Divine Clockmaker.
This article was originally published in the September 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
