The Lacemaker - Laura Frantz

My Rating

★★★★★ - You have bewitched me, body and soul. (More Info)

About the Book

When colonial Williamsburg explodes like a powder keg on the eve of the American Revolution, Lady Elisabeth "Liberty" Lawson is abandoned by her fiance and suspected of being a spy for the hated British. No one comes to her aid save the Patriot Noble Rynallt, a man with formidable enemies of his own. Liberty is left with a terrible choice. Will the Virginia belle turned lacemaker side with the radical revolutionaries, or stay true to her English roots? And at what cost?

Historical romance favorite Laura Frantz is back with a suspenseful story of love, betrayal, and new beginnings. With her meticulous eye for detail and her knack for creating living, breathing characters, Frantz continues to enchant historical fiction readers who long to feel they are a part of the story. (from Goodreads)

My Thoughts

I don't even know where to begin with this book. WOW! The passion...the history...the romance...the hero! SWOON!!!

Set during such a tumultuous time in our country's history, my heart was caught up in this story so thoroughly, I wish I didn't have to leave! Noble Rynallt is a hero among heroes...handsome, a patriot, intelligent, rich, a fighter, a lover, and most importantly, a man of faith. Add him to my list of #bookboyfriends for sure!

Laura Frantz has a unique voice and I adore her portrayal of history on the page. A gifted author with a passion for God and for romance, it surely shows in this story. I can't tell you how many times I shouted aloud, held my breath, and heaved a sigh of relief while reading this book. The emotions are raw and real, the romance fiery and tender, the faith genuine and moving...You won't want to put this story down until you finish it....so be warned...CLEAR YOUR CALENDAR!

I received a complimentary copy of The Lacemaker. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

About the Author

Laura Frantz is a Christy Award winner and the ECPA bestselling author of several books, including The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, The Colonel’s Lady, The Mistress of Tall Acre, A Moonbow Night, and The Ballantyne Legacy series. She lives and writes in a log cabin in the heart of Kentucky.

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More Books by Laura Frantz on Bookworm Mama

 

Fiction for Empowerment & Giveaway - Guest Post by Rachel McMillan

If you haven't read Murder at the Flamingo yet, you don't know what you are missing! Hamish is one of my very favorites, but not for the reasons you may think. Hamish is unique. I can relate to him. For me, he IS real. His challenges with anxiety make him stand out among heroes. And I love him for it! Today we have Rachel Mcmillan giving us a peek behind the scenes of this story and Hamish himself. Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY at the end of this post!

Having suffered from a panic and anxiety disorder my entire life, I have been privileged to have a kind and compassionate support group of family and friends, as well as access to medication and a great psychiatrist. This is not always the case. Some sufferers do not have access to a medical health plan nor an understanding community. I created Hamish DeLuca so readers would know that they were a part of a community. That whatever face their anxiety and panic took needn’t define them. To encourage them to find a way to perceive their limitations as something unique. To let them know that they are not alone. 

We look up to characters in fiction, don’t we? Especially male romantic leads. We want them to get the girl, solve the crime, save the day. It was empowering for me to create a hero who is handsome and rips up the dance floor, with a dimple and big blue eyes and a penchant for slipping into romantic Italian yet use him to normalize mental illness in a time when it was heavily stigmatized. 

Think of all of the dashing figures cut by 1930s film stars, the era in which my series is set. Clark Gable smiling while Atlanta burns around him and Vivien Leigh, swooping her into his arms and kissing her senseless. Errol Flynn with his sly smile and innate charm swashbuckling his way through a popular matinee adventure, Charles Boyer wooing Hedy Lamarr with his lush French accent. 1930s heroes didn’t usually look like lawyers who have a very visible panic attack during their first big trial. But, alas, that’s who Hamish DeLuca is… a different (though still worthy) type of hero.

Hamish DeLuca showed up in my head with all of my physical and mental symptoms. There is not one symptom I ascribe to him I have not personally suffered from. Whereas Hamish lived in the 1930s, where hiding his mental illness was not just a matter of avoiding embarrassment but avoiding being locked in a sanatorium, prescribed horrible mercury pills or exposed to shock treatment, we live in an age where the stigma has lessened. We are more openly talking about anxiety and we are recognizing it as a severe and legitimate medical illness. We are taking strides to normalize sufferers as well as accept their limitations much as we do those who suffer from pneumonia or diabetes. We are ensuring patients find a way to live full and meaningful lives. 

We have a wide communal space through social media to find other people with our challenges and we have the medium of fiction. Studies show readers of fiction are more likely to develop empathy. Empathy, we learn in Murder at the Flamingo, is the greatest gift. It transcends race or religion or gender. With my new series, I am committed to helping sufferers recognize that they are bound to a chain of people who know exactly how they feel. Just knowing that there is someone out there in the vast universe can be a comfort! I am also committed to shining a light on anxiety so that those who do not suffer can better understand those in their family and friend and work circles who do. Already, readers have taken the time to write me letting me know that Hamish DeLuca better helped them relate, help or take a step toward understanding someone in their life with mental illness. That might sound like a humble brag, but I don’t mean it to be taken that way. I tell you to encourage you to champion fiction that leads to empathy, to understanding, to overcoming adversity.

Throughout literary history, it was far easier to give mental illness and its limitations to female characters. In the Victorian era, everything from anxiety to postpartum depression to PMS symptoms were housed under the blanket term “hysteria” and saw women locked away by the dozens just for having a few stumbling blocks. In my series, I gave the weakest parts of myself to my hero: the one who is supposed to solve the murder and dash into adventure and get the girl and make us all swoon. It was important to me to gender swap and ensure that the face of mental illness in historical fiction is not just that of a woman’s. 

Hamish, my adorable Hamish, just has a few more mountains to climb. He still becomes the hero of his own story and he still finds a way to woo the beautiful Regina Van Buren. My dearest hope, reader, is that his education in learning that what he always thought was his greatest weakness was actually something that set him apart is something you take with you. Think of all of the perceived limitations in your life--- what unique perspective, empathy or skill does that give you that no one else in your world has? Fiction is empowering. Fiction is a starting point for empathy. Let’s all champion the ways it can shake our world in a way no other medium can. Fiction can be the best medicine there is. 

About the Author

Rachel McMillan is a keen history enthusiast and a lifelong bibliophile. When not writing or reading, she can most often be found drinking tea and watching British miniseries. Rachel lives in bustling Toronto, where she works in educational publishing and pursues her passion for art, literature, music and theater. 

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For more information about Rachel's books, check out my post for Murder at the Flamingo HERE!

Giveaway

The publishers have graciously provided ONE (1) of my readers with a PRINT copy of Murder at the Flamingo. To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below.

Giveaway open 7/30/18 12:00am PDT - 8/5/18 11:59pm PDT

Open to US addresses only. Void where prohibited.

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Author Spotlight + Giveaway - Kristy Cambron

KRISTY CAMBRON has a background in art and design, but she fancies life as a vintage-inspired storyteller. She is the bestselling author of The Ringmaster’s Wife, named to Publishers Weekly Spring 2016 Religion & Spirituality TOP 10. Her novels have been named to Library Journal Reviews’ Best Books and RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards Best lists for 2014 & 2015, and received 2015 & 2017 INSPY Award nominations. The Lost Castle (HarperCollins, series debut in 2018) is her fifth novel. Her first Bible studies (DVD + study guides), The Verse Mapping series, will release in 2018.

Kristy holds a degree in Art History/Research Writing, and has 15 years experience in education and leadership development for a Fortune-100 Corporation. She loves storytelling from the stage and travels to teach about the intersection of story roads, faith-following Jesus, and her affection for Bible Verse-Mapping. Kristy laughs daily with her husband and three sons, and can probably be bribed with a coconut mocha latte and a good read.

The last and most important thing? Jesus Christ is everything — let her tell you about Him sometime.

Click on the cover to learn more.

Hidden Masterpiece Series

Jazz Age Entertainers Books

Coming Soon!

Launching a brand-new series, Kristy Cambron explores the collision of past and present as she discovers the ruins of a French castle, long lost to history.

A thirteenth century castle, Château de Doux Rêves, has been forgotten for generations, left to ruin in a storybook forest nestled deep in France’s picturesque Loire Valley. It survived a sacking in the French Revolution, was brought back to life and fashioned into a storybook chateau in the Gilded Age, and was eventually felled and deserted after a disastrous fire in the 1930s.

As Ellie Carver sits by her grandmother’s bedside, she hears stories of a castle… of lost love and a hidden chapel that played host to a secret fight in the World War II French resistance. But her grandmother is quickly slipping into the locked-down world of Alzheimer’s, and Ellie must act fast if she wants to uncover the truth of her family’s history.

Sparked by the discovery of a long forgotten family heirloom, Ellie embarks on a journey to French wine country to uncover the mystery surrounding The Sleeping Beauty— the castle so named for Charles Perrault’s beloved fairy tale— and unearth its secrets before they’re finally silenced by time.

Set in three different time periods—the French Revolution, World War II, and present day—The Lost Castle is a story of loves won and lost, of battles waged, and an enchanted castle that inspired the epic fairy tales time left behind.

THE LOST CASTLE— Book #1 in this new three-book series, will debut in February, 2018.

THE VERSE-MAPPING SERIES— DVD + study guide materials verse-mapping through the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts—will release in early 2018.

You can learn more about verse mapping HERE.

My familiarity with Kristy's writing is of an unusual sort. Kristy became one of my very favorite authors...BEFORE I even read a single word from one of her books. I follow Kristy's blog and read her posts on a regular basis. I don't know how many times by the end of the post I was bawling because her words hit such a deep level of my heart. Her convictions and her faith transfer to her books and it is beautiful. The first thing that stood out to me in Kristy's books was the unabashed faith that she has infused into her stories. I wish I could say that I have read all of her books, but I still haven't read her World War II books. However, Kristy's Jazz Age Entertainers books are superb. Kristy writes from the heart and, I believe, by the prompting of God's voice. To have such moving books that resonate in your heart for weeks and months after reading them. THANK YOU Kristy for everything that you contribute to Christian Fiction. Thank you for standing for what you believe and speaking the truth on so many levels.

The Illusionist's Apprentice

Agent Elliot Matthews stared down a firing squad. The potential executioners held firm in their stance with camera lenses and pencils cocked, all ready to fire. And fire they would, splashing sensational bulletins across the next day’s newspaper headlines. A slew of brash young journalists assembled in the famed Mount Auburn Cemetery, focused on the job at hand. They stood in formation at the front of the crowd, photographers tinkering with cameras and reporters tapping pencils against notepads, all with the itchiness of glorious anticipation. Elliot hated feeling hemmed in, with the press and scores of onlookers closing ranks. He wanted a full view in the event something erupted without warning, so he and his partner melted along the side of the gathering, opting for a perch along the old stone fence bordering Bigelow Chapel. They were still surrounded by the overhang of trees, but at least they would have a clear view of the front row. The faces in the crowd weren’t morose like one would expect to find in a cemetery on such a frigid day. They smiled and chatted, their curiosity piqued as they waited for the show to begin. Police stood by too, poised to arrest anyone who dared to cause a stir. And that’s all Elliot could think it was. A stir. A media frenzy in what should have been a place for mourners and grave diggers. Instead, a crowd of onlookers—spiritualists and press—had shown up at the public invitation printed in the Boston Globe the previous Monday: Famed Medium Horace Stapleton to Defy Death in Public Ceremony on New Year’s Eve. What a terrible waste. Elliot had seen a crowd of mourners fill a cemetery before—one too many times—and didn’t want to be haunted by the host of memories the current setting dared trigger. Not wishing to think back on things he couldn’t change, Elliot turned away and settled his attention on the landscape. If his objective was to forget, staring down lifeless trees seemed safer than watching a bunch of nail-biters in trench coats and fedoras. The canopy of trees formed a bower on all sides. Mist invaded, curling around the trunks of aged sycamores and maples. An icy drizzle coated the leafless limbs, making the scene look like a fragile glass world. “See that?”Elliot elbowed his partner. Agent Connor Finnegan responded with a full-body turn and a squint in Elliot’s direction. “Noticing something, Boss?”He coughed into his palm, a puff of breath on air. “Besides the zoo in front of us?”“The trees.”Elliot motioned to the line of sycamores and the only spot broken in the row of trees shadowing the chapel’s stone border. “Odd. In a well-known and meticulously manicured cemetery like this, the groundskeepers leave a spot untended in full view of the chapel. It’s just there. Barren. Lifeless. Like a tree fell and they neglected to replace it.” (Used with permission)

I have collaborated with all of these authors and I am so excited for this giveaway! I am giving away a box of FIVE books...All signed (one signed bookplate sticker) by the authors! I will also be including some bookish/reading items in the box of books, bookmarks, tea, chocolate, etc. Each "Blogiversary" post will have MORE options to enter to win, so make sure you check back. Today we are kicking it off pretty easy! Please enter via the Rafflecopter form below. If you are having difficulties please email me and we will get your name entered.

Kristy Cambron has contributed a SIGNED copy of The Illusionist's Apprentice for the giveaway!

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**ONE (1) Winner will be selected by Rafflecopter at the end of the giveaway**

Books provided for giveaway by the individual authors and myself. Books included: Just the Way You Are, The Lady and the Lionheart, The Illusionist's Apprentice, Newton & Polly, Behind the Scenes. I am not compensated for any portion of this giveaway. Some of the books were donated for the giveaway. Giveaway will run 8/1/17 - 9/1/17 at 12:00am PDT. Open internationally. Void where prohibited. Please see Policies and Disclosures for more information. *Bookish swag items subject to change*

Top Ten Tuesday - Recommended Authors of WWI & WWII Novels

Today The Broke and the Bookish gave us the prompt "Ten book recommendations for __:" And so I decided to give you 10 Authors...who write INCREDIBLE WWI and WWII novels. There are WAAAAAAAAY more than what I have listed here, but I just stuck to the books that I have read recently.

I have been a fan of World War history for as long as I can remember. I grew up devouring nonfiction books related to WWII and have watched a lot of the movies...Windtalkers, Saving Private Ryan, A Bridge Too Far, The Great Escape, Flags of Our Fathers, Valkyrie, Fury, Casablanca, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, U-571, even Pearl Harbor...and I am sure there are other that I am forgetting....I can not WAIT to see Dunkirk...But will probably have to wait till it is on video...big screen may be too much for me. It is important for us to know where we have been, what the generations before us had to walk through. Let us never forget. 

I love all of these books! Click on the covers to check out my review and find purchase and Goodreads links.

Pepper Basham

Kate Breslin

Maureen Lang

Scott Westerfeld

Ok, you might argue the accuracy of these books...BUT they ARE set during WWI! Even if they are VERY steampunk. I LOVE these. And if you are looking for something a little different than your typical WWI book...Read these!

Roseanna M. White

(Giveaway link open till 8/18/17)

Kate Breslin

Tricia Goyer

Tracy Groot

This book is about Dunkirk. I HIGHLY recommend it!

Susan Meissner

Sarah Sundin

If you are wondering why there are poppies...BBC explains it HERE.

And for your viewing pleasure here is the title graphic without all the distracting words layered on top of it lol. I found all these photos on Pixabay.com. Do you recognize anyone?

Many thanks to Canva for providing an AMAZING program for me to design all these beautiful graphics. Book covers, publisher/tour logos, and author pictures not owned by me. All other graphics created by Bookworm Mama with public domain photos on Canva unless stated otherwise.