Rachelle J. Christensen

Romance, Suspense, Mystery Author

Book Spotlight: In the Shadow of a Queen by Heather B. Moore

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Book Spotlight

Based on the true story of the free-spirited daughter of Queen Victoria.

As a young woman, Princess Louise is considered the most beautiful and talented daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. She is also strong-willed and resists following the queen’s rigid rules and strict protocols for a princess.

After her father’s untimely death, Louise’s life is upended by the inconsolable grief of her mother and the rippling effect that rocks the British Empire. Captive to the queen’s overwhelming mourning, Louise is forbidden to leave her mother’s tight circle of control, attend balls, or have any kind of relationship outside the royal family. She is relegated to the position of personal secretary to her mother—the same position each of her sisters held until they were married.

Already an accomplished painter, Louise risks the queen’s wrath by exploring the art of sculpting, an activity viewed as unbefitting a woman. When Louise involves herself in the day’s political matters without Queen Victoria’s approval, including championing the career of a female doctor and communicating with suffragettes, the queen lays down the law to stop her and devotes her full energy and resources to finding an acceptable match for her defiant daughter.

In the Shadow of a Queen is the story of an epic battle of wills between two women: a daughter determined to forge her own life beyond the shadow of her mother, and a queen resolved to keep the Crown’s reputation unsullied no matter the cost.

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Book Spotlight: The Opera Sisters by Marianne Monson

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Based on the true story of the Cook sisters, who smuggled valuables out of 1930s Nazi Germany to finance a daring, secret operation to help Jews find hope for a new life in England.

British sisters Ida and Louise Cook enjoy their quiet, unassuming lives in south London. Ida writes romance novels, and Louise works as a secretary. In the evenings, the sisters indulge in their shared love for opera, saving their money to buy records and attend performances throughout England and Europe, becoming well-known by both performers and fellow opera lovers.

But when Hitler seizes power in 1933, he begins targeting and persecuting German Jews, passing laws that restrict their rights and their lives. The sisters continue their trips to the German opera houses, but soon, Jewish members of the opera community covertly approach the sisters, worried that they will be stripped of their wealth and forced to leave their homes and the country. Danger looms on the horizon, threatening to spill across all of Europe’s borders.

Ida and Louise vow to help, but how can two ordinary working-class women with limited means make a difference?

Together with their beloved opera community, the sisters devise a plan to personally escort Jewish refugees from Germany to England. The success of the plan hinges on Ida and Louise’s ability to smuggle contraband jewelry and furs beneath the watchful eyes of the SS soldiers guarding various checkpoints. But how many trips can they make before someone blows a whistle? Or before the final curtain falls on Germany’s borders?

The Opera Sisters is a riveting and inspiring novel of two unlikely heroines whose courage and compassion gave hope to many Jews desperate to escape Nazi persecution.

Other books you may enjoy:

Frontier Grit: The Unlikely True Stories of Daring Pioneer Women by [Marianne Monson]   

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Book Spotlight: Praying with the Enemy by Steven T. Collis

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Book Spotlight

Based on the true story of an American POW during the Korean War and a North Korean soldier who become unlikely allies united in their shared faith in God during a daring escape to freedom.

When pilot Captain Ward Millar is forced to eject over enemy territory in North Korea, the ejection explosion snaps both of his ankles. Unable to walk, he is easily captured by North Korean and Chinese soldiers who interrogate, threaten, and starve him for strategic wartime information. He feeds the enemy false information while plotting his escape. But it’s only a matter of time before they discover his lies. He knows it will take a miracle to gain his freedom, but his previous self-reliance on his own capabilities has never included appealing to a higher power. If only he had faith like his wife, Barbara, whose firm belief in God can move mountains.

North Korean soldier Kim Jae Pil was raised to believe in the power of prayer, but, knowing the Communist Party’s views on religious groups, Kim and his family must keep their Christian faith secret. He is desperate to escape the army, return to his family, and then flee to South Korea.

With Millar imprisoned and unable to walk, and the North Korean army increasingly suspicious of Kim’s actions, it seems impossible that either man will find the freedom they so desperately desire. But when these wartime foes cross paths, they find in each other an unlikely ally. Despite speaking different languages, Millar and Kim find common ground in their fragile faith and must rely on each other to undertake a daring escape.

Praying with the Enemy is a story of courage, determination, unlikely friendship, and enduring faith.

Other books you may enjoy:

The Immortals: A WWII Story of Four Heroic Chaplains, the Sinking of the SS Dorchester, and an Awe-Inspiring Rescue: The World War II Story of Five Fearless ... the Dorchester, and an Awe-Inspiring Rescue by [Steven T. Collis]   

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Book Review: Why We Fought by Jerry Borrowman

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Book Thoughts by Rachelle

Why We Fought was a fascinating collection of true stories about people who helped fight the war in very different ways. I was excited about utilizing this book as an addition to my homeschool collection. The book appeals to a broad audience, both young and old. I saw this as several members of my family picked up the book and read a story including Grandpa and my teenage son.

I enjoyed reading about the unknown “Ghost Army” during WWII that helped save an estimated 30,000 lives through decoys, deception, double agents, and more war tactics. I liked how Borrowman took ancient history to show how similar war tactics are still used today. For example, the Trojan horse of Greek mythology was illustrated as deception used to win a war and then a recounting of General George Washington’s careful maneuvers to trick the British helped in the war for Independence. This all tied together as we read about how the US created a “fake” army of rubber tanks and phony artillery to fool Germans.

An excellent read for history lovers and students alike!

Here’s more about the book:

The struggle to combat the Nazis during World War II encompassed front lines far beyond conventional battlefields. In a panoramic and compelling account, author Jerry Borrowman shares seven largely untold stories of people who undertook extraordinary efforts to defeat the Third Reich at enormous personal risk.

Some were soldiers like the Ghost Army, an eclectic group of former artists, actors, and engineers who engaged in top-secret tactical deceptions by staging ingenious decoy armies. Using inflatable tanks, radio transmissions, and sound effects, they were able to trick the Germans throughout the course of the war, often working close to the front lines of the fiercest fighting.

Some were ordinary citizens like William Sebold, a German immigrant and US citizen, who could have been a deadly foe, but instead chose the Allied cause. When he was coerced by the Gestapo into becoming a spy in America, he instead approached the FBI and offered to become a double agent. His efforts successfully helped bring down a dangerous German spy network that was dedicated to stealing industrial and wartime secrets and sabotaging America on home soil.

These dramatic and inspiring personal stories shed light on some of the darkest days of World War II and one of the most perilous times in human history. As the Nazis swept through Europe, citizens around the world faced an individual and national complex moral question: How do you respond to the tyranny and bloodthirsty madness of the Nazis? These are stories of ordinary men and women who would not surrender or compromise. They resisted and fought with total commitment for freedom and democracy despite the personal cost.

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Book Review: The Slow March of Light by Heather B. Moore

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Book Thoughts by Rachelle

The Slow March of Light was fascinating. At first, I wasn’t sure if it would be up to the task of competing with the busy season of my life but thank goodness Heather Moore is a master! I was captivated by this true story and the real-life hero, Bob Inama. Once I got to know his character and the fictional character of Luisa, I couldn’t read fast enough.

This story is set during the Cold War amidst the horrifying start of the Berlin Wall and the aftereffects of two world wars. In 1961, the world was still uncertain about Germany, but especially frightened of the threat of nuclear bombs from any country. It was during this time period that Bob Inama was drafted into the military. He would later become a spy and this book tells the true story of how he was caught and sent to an East German prison.

Bob’s story is inspiring and educational and filled with suspense, thought-provoking introspection, and a development of character that will touch any heart. Luisa is part of the underground effort to help East Berlin citizens and its remarkable to think of all the people who were unsung heroes during this time.

This book is a must-read for fans of historical fiction, but it’s also a can’t miss for anyone who would like to appreciate the depth of human compassion and courage with edge-of-your-seat thrills and setting so rich that you’ll feel like you’re walking the streets of Germany alongside Bob and Luisa.

Here’s more about the book:

Based on a true story. Inspired by real events.

A riveting and emotionally-gripping novel of an American soldier working as a spy in Soviet-occupied East Germany and a West German woman secretly helping her countrymen escape from behind the Berlin Wall. 

In the summer of 1961, a wall of barbed wire goes up quickly in the dead of night, officially dividing Berlin. Luisa Voigt lives in West Berlin, but her grandmother lives across the border and is now trapped inside the newly- isolated communist country of East Germany. Desperate to rescue her grandmother and aware of the many others whose families have been divided, Luisa joins a secret spy network, risking her life to help bring others through a makeshift, underground tunnel to West Germany. Their work is dangerous and not everyone will successfully escape or live to see freedom.

Bob Inama was an outstanding university student, with plans to attend law school when he is drafted into the US Army. Stationed in West Germany, he is glad to be fluent in German, especially after meeting Luisa Voigt at a church social. As they spend time together, they form a close connection. But when Bob receives classified orders to leave for undercover work immediately, he does not get the chance to say goodbye.

With a fake identity, Bob’s special assignment is to be a spy embedded in East Germany. His undercover job will give him access to government sites to map out strategic military targets. But Soviet and East German spies, the secret police, and Stasi informants are everywhere, and eventually Bob is caught and sent to a brutal East German prison. Interrogated and tortured daily, Bob clings to any hope he can find from the sunlight that marches across the wall of his prison to the one guard who secretly treats him with kindness to the thought of one day seeing Luisa again.

Author Heather B. Moore masterfully alternates the stories of Bob and Luisa, capturing the human drama unique to Cold War Germany as well as the courage and the resilience of the human spirit.

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Book Review: Mustaches for Maddie by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

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Book Thoughts by Rachelle

Chad Morris and Shelly  Brown have written a compelling story accented with humor, delight, and heart-wrenching experiences. I especially felt the emotion in Mustaches for Maddie because it’s based on a true story and I clearly remember when Maddie was in the hospital and it was too scary to want to think about, yet alone try to explain. That’s why I love this book–the authors have created a priceless masterpiece from their own experiences with their daughter, Maddie.

I laughed out loud several times, smiled plenty, and yes, even had to wipe some tears in a few places. I think this book is perfect for young readers because the pacing of the story is exactly in sync with how their wild imaginations and attention spans work. There is definitely a grounding truth in this story about how to deal with the desire to be “popular” and do what everyone else is doing and how to be who you are.

Kudos to Chad Morris and Shelly Brown for writing a book that entertains and inspires. If you have kids, grandkids, or friends, share this book with them today…and definitely a mustache!

There’s another really neat thing with this book: Compassion into action. There are stickers and postcard available to help teach children compassion and an incredible resource has been created.

Take a look at the readers guide: http://shdwmtn.co/MustachesforMaddieReadersGuide

Here’s more about the book:

Based on a true story.

Maddie is a normal twelve-year-old girl. Well, except for the fake mustaches she carries in her pocket. She likes to make people laugh and slapping on a mustache, especially a fuzzy pink or neon green one, always gets a smile. Maddie hopes that the class queen, Cassie, will find her mustaches as funny as she does and want to play with her at recess. She’s been self-conscious lately because her right arm only feels normal when it’s curled against her chest and she’s constantly tripping over her feet. But that’s probably just part of growing up and not something weird, right?

When Maddie’s arm continues to bother her, her parents take her to a doctor who gives them a shocking diagnosis: the cause of the abnormal behavior of her limbs is a brain tumor and she must have surgery to remove it. She’s understandably afraid as he describes the procedure, but knows she must find a way to be brave and must face her fears–all of them–at the hospital, at home and at school.

She will need all of her courage not only to face her illness, but also to face Cassie at school. Both Cassie and Maddie are auditioning for the same role in the school play, but when Cassie accuses Maddie of lying about her tumor in order to get attention, Cassie’s bossiness turns into bullying.

And as Maddie’s surgery approaches, she begins to worry more and more about the outcome. What if something goes wrong? What if the doctors don’t get all the tumor out of her brain? What will happen to her family? What will happen to her?

It will take all of Maddie’s vibrant imagination, a lot of kindness-both given and received-and of course, the perfect mustache to overcome the tough stuff ahead of her.

Available wherever great books are sold in print and ebook.

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