Rachelle J. Christensen

Romance, Suspense, Mystery Author

Book Review: Forever and Forever by Josi S. Kilpack

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Book Thoughts by Rachelle

I’m so pleased to share a new book with you today by Josi Kilpack. I absolutely loved Forever and Forever: The Courtship of Henry Longfellow and Fanny Appleton. This book was beautifully written and a pure delight to read. Have you ever fallen in love with the characters in a book and wished that they were real? Well, this book is based on the true love story of the famous poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the heiress Fanny Appleton.

The story of their courtship is amazing, so unpredictable and with a love so deep that it left me thinking about Henry and Fanny for several days after finishing the book. I loved the author’s research notes in the back of the book and how Josi included a timeline of actual events and what was straight fact and well as fiction.
Josi Kilpack has established herself as a wordsmith not to be ignored. Her novels are a gem and with Forever and Forever, she has drawn attention to the depth of her talent and writing skills. I can’t wait to read more from her in this new genre of a historical proper romance.

Here’s a more about this book:

It’s 1836, and nineteen-year-old Fanny Appleton, a privileged daughter of a wealthy, upper-class Boston industrialist, is touring Europe with her family. Like many girls of her day, she enjoys the fine clothes, food, and company of the elite social circles. But unlike her peers, Fanny is also drawn to education, literature, and more intellectual pursuits. Published author and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is also touring Europe, but under much different circumstances. Recently widowed, he is gathering research for a new publication that he hope will secure his professorship at Harvard College. Befriended by the Appleton family while visiting Switzerland, Henry is introduced to Fanny and sees in her a kindred spirit, a lover of language and literature and high ideals. He is in love. Fanny, however, is uncertain. He is from a much lower social class and is older than she is. How could such a relationship ever thrive? Could a book of Henry’s poetry, personally delivered, persuade Fanny to believe in a love that lasts forever and forever?

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Book Review: Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen

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Book Thoughts by Rachelle

When I first started reading Beauty and the Clockwork Beast, it took me a minute to find my footing as I realized that maybe I didn’t know steampunk very well. In essence, this book takes place in London, long ago but the steampunk part is that people have access to electricity in Tesla coils and many clockwork mechanisms that provide transportation, robots, and even airships (planes). Also, there are vampires and werewolves. Not what I was expecting at all from a typical proper romance and totally different from Nancy’s earlier release, My Fair Gentleman, but this book was just as good. Once I recognized what continent/age I was supposed to be in, then I burned through this book.

This novel had everything I love in a great story. Lucy is an interesting character and a force to be reckoned with. I loved the interactions of her and Lord Miles Blackwell. I also loved the mystery throughout! It was fun to watch the romance unfold even as I paid attention to the clues that Allen left along the way. I liked the otherworldly connections and the drawback to one of my favorite fairy tales–Beauty and the Beast. Allen is an excellent writer and she’s created another enchanting story that I highly recommend. If you haven’t tried Steampunk before–don’t let that scare you. This story has all the same classic underpinnings as a traditional proper romance novel.

Here’s more about the book:

When Lucy Pickett arrives at Blackwell Manor to tend to her ailing cousin, Kate, she finds more than she bargained for. A restless ghost roams the hallways, werewolves have been reported in the area, and vampires lurk across the Scottish border.
Lord Miles himself is clearly hiding a secret. He is brash and inhospitable and does not take kindly to visitors—even one as smart and attractive as Miss Pickett. He is unsettled by the mysterious deaths of his new wife, Clara, and his sister, Marie. Could Miles himself be to blame for the deaths?
Working together, Miles and Lucy attempt to restore peace to Blackwell Manor. But can Lucy solve the mystery of Miles? Can she love the man—beast and all?

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Book Review: The Vicar’s Daughter by Josi S. Kilpack

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Book Thoughts by Rachelle

I LOVED The Vicar’s Daughter! I loved the character of Cassie–her vibrant personality that got her into so much trouble when she was only trying to help her very shy sister Lenora to find a husband in Evan. The twist right at the beginning of the story is that Cassie starts to fall in love with Evan. I love Evan’s character as well and it was fun to read from his perspective as he tried to figure out the stark differences between “Lenora’s letters” and her real temperament in person.
I read this book quickly because I couldn’t wait to get to the happy ending. I really enjoyed the setting of this book in the countryside away from London. It’s still Regency England but the courtship process was slightly more relaxed. I also enjoyed the family that Kilpack created with Cassie having five sisters and Evan having two sisters as well. I hope there are more stories to be told from this little village! I think this is one of my favorite from the proper romance line. If you decide to read it, beware, you might fall in love with the characters too!
Here’s more about the book:
Cassie, the youngest of six daughters in the Wilton family, is bold, bright, and ready to enter society. There’s only one problem: her older sister Lenora, whose extreme shyness prevents her from attending many social events. Lenora is now entering her third season, and since their father has decreed that only one Wilton girl can be out at a time, Cassie has no choice except to wait her turn.
Evan Glenside, a soft-spoken, East London clerk, has just been named his great-uncle’s heir and, though he is eager to learn all that will be required of him, he struggles to feel accepted in a new town and in his new position.
A chance meeting between Evan and Lenora promises to change everything, but when Lenora proves too shy to pursue the relationship, Cassie begins to write Mr. Glenside letters in the name of her sister. Her good intentions lead to disaster when Cassie realizes she is falling in love with Evan. But then Evan begins to court Lenora, thinking she is the author of the letters.
As secrets are revealed, the hearts of Cassie, Evan, and Lenora are tested. Will the final letter sent by the vicar’s daughter be able to reunite the sisters as well as unite Evan with his true love?

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