BOOK NOOK REVIEWS...Rachel Hauck

   

 

 

 

Title: The Writing Desk

Author: Rachel Hauck
Publisher: Zondervan

Ages: Young Adult, Adult

Synopsis: 

 

Tenley Roth's first book was a runaway bestseller. Now that her second book is due, she's locked in fear. Can she repeat her earlier success or is she a fraud who has run out of inspiration?

With pressure mounting from her publisher, Tenley is weighted with writer's block. But when her estranged mother calls asking Tenley to help her through chemotherapy, she packs up for Florida where she meets handsome furniture designer Jonas Sullivan and discovers the story her heart's been missing.

A century earlier, another woman wrote at the same desk with hopes and fears of her own. Born during the Gilded Age, Birdie Shehorn is the daughter of the old money Knickerbockers. Under the strict control of her mother, her every move is decided ahead of time, even whom she'll marry. But Birdie has dreams she doesn't know how to realize. She wants to tell stories, write novels, make an impact on the world. When she discovers her mother has taken extreme measures to manipulate her future, she must choose between submission and security or forging a brand new way all on her own.

Tenley and Birdie are from two very different worlds, but fate has bound them together in a way time cannot erase.

 

Why You Should Consider It:

When is an old writing desk not a desk anymore?

When it becomes a bridge, helping to connect the lives of two women living in vastly different worlds set in a time one hundred years apart from each other.

Birdie Shehorn is born during the Gilded Age in New York, where young ladies are expected to bow to their mother’s wishes and marry some titled aristocracy from across the ocean in order to secure their place in high society. Too bad if Birdie has other dreams of how her life should be…like writing romance novels.

Tenley Knickerbocker, on the other hand, is very much a modern woman, riding high on the success of her first blockbuster novel. But Tenley’s life isn’t all smooth sailing either. Pressure from her publisher to produce her next best seller is causing writer’s block. Pressure from her boyfriend to go away with him to Paris at a time when her life feels like it is unraveling. Pressure from her estranged mother to go to Florida to help her through chemotherapy.

But maybe the very essence of life isn’t very different no matter whether you live in 1900 New York or modern day Florida. We all want to be able to choose who we will one day fall in love with, determine the paths our own lives will take, and  feel in control of our own destinies.

Author Rachel Hauck does a superb job of taking us deep into the lives to two seemingly different women and weaving a tale of how one desk helps connect them to their deepest desires no matter their individual circumstances or even the ocean of time standing between them.

A nice addition to any home library!

Like-O-Meter Rating:  5 out of 5...grab it!

**Rating scale**

 
 5 out of 5...grab it!
 4 out of 5...think about it.
 3 out of 5...take it or leave it.
 2 out of 5...maybe not for you.
 1 out of 5...forget about it!

(Disclaimer:

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”) 

FLASH FICTION FRIDAY: That Last Summer

Sunlight bounced off glass and steel, almost blinding Cal as he crossed the busy street and made his way to the front of the Markham building. Even now, with 50 floors of offices staring back at him, Cal still couldn't believe Cassie was inside. It made him realize he'd probably underestimated her in more ways than one.

Like that last summer at the beach.

Cal worked hard that year to convince his boss to let him join the lifeguard team. Eighteen and just out of school, it was his first real job. He had something to prove to himself as well as a father who expected him to join the family business and dig holes for the rest of his life. Maybe that was why he made a dumb rookie mistake that first day and ended up being saved by Cassie instead of the other way around.

With long blonde hair and legs that wouldn't quit, there were times Cal felt like he'd been hit by a rogue wave whenever he'd look into those blue eyes of hers. He knew that first day he was drowning but somehow it didn't matter as long as she saved all her smiles for him.

Leaving the sunlight behind, Cal stepped into the cool interior, passed the receptionist's third degree, and rode the elevator up to the thirteenth floor. It was just like Cassie to choose an unlucky number on which to build her empire. She was like that. Fearless and strong-willed, nothing stopped her from going after something she wanted. Cal was beginning to wonder if it was foolish of him to look her up after all these years. He didn't even know if the now world famous CEO of Markham Enterprises would even remember a skinny kid from all those summers ago. What Cal hoped she wouldn't remember were the stupid accusations he threw at her before storming out of the apartment their last night together.

The elevator doors slid open to a room elegantly furnished with rich Persian rugs and antique furniture that must have cost Cassie a fortune. Heck, the furniture alone was probably worth more than Cal made in a year as head foreman of his father's construction company. The beginning of what suspiciously felt like butterflies in his stomach almost made Cal turn around before he made a fool of himself. Suddenly, a door to an alcove opened and Cassie stepped into the room.

She hadn't changed in the twenty years since they'd last seen each other. A silky blonde chignon rested on the collar of her expensive Armani suit. Long legs Cal remembered oh too well peaked out from the skirt hugging Cassie's slender body. Only her eyes were different. Those eyes used to smolder with the promise of pleasures to come. Now, they were darker than Cal remembered and were filled with cautious suspicion. Had he caused that look? And was that fear he saw lurking in the depths of those blue pools threatening to drown him again?

This was going to be harder than he first thought.



BOOK NOOK REVIEWS: Sarah E Ladd

Title: A Lady at Willowgrove Hall
Author: Sarah E Ladd
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, Inc
Ages: Young Adult, Adult

Synopsis: 

Cecily Faire carries the shame of her past wherever she treads, knowing one slip of the tongue could expose her disgrace.

Nathaniel Stanton has a secret of his own...one that has haunted him for years and tied him to his father's position as steward of Willowgrove Hall.

When the secrets swirling within Willowgrove Hall come to light, Cecily and Nathaniel must confront a painful choice. Will they continue running from the past or will they stand together and fight for a future without the suffocating weight of secrets long kept?

Why you should read it:

When I was a teenager I loved reading romance novels. One of my favorite authors was the prolific Barbara Cartland. It fascinated me that one person could write so many novellas (sometimes working on three or four at the same time) all dedicated to the fair damsel and the strong knight who comes to her rescue.

As I started reading A LADY AT WILLOWGROVE HALL I wondered if it was going to be along the same lines as all those romance stories of my youth. I was pleasantly surprised to discover Ms. Ladd's novel was even better than I hoped for.

Cecily is a character many people can relate to as they see her struggle to come to terms with her past so that she might have a future free from secrets. She's stronger than she first realized and helps one resident of Willowgrove Hall find peace with their past as well.

I found myself quickly turning the pages, eager to see if Cecily would be wooed by Nathaniel's easy manner, if Nathaniel would ever get the opportunity to begin a life free from the responsibilities of being the steward of Willowgrove Hall, or would these two tortured souls find peace in each other arms? To the romantics among us, A LADY AT WILLGROVE HALL is well worth a read.

Like-o-meter Rating scale**: 4 out of 5...think about it.

 

**Rating scale**

 5 out of 5...grab it!

 4 out of 5...think about it.

 3 out of 5...take or leave it.

 2 out of 5...maybe not for you.

 1 out of 5...forget about it!

(Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers http://booklookbloggers.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx 03/16cfr255 03.html ("Guides Concerning the use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.")