Book Review The Captive Bride Collection including Lucy Thompson

By Jenny Blake

Author include our own Lucy Thompson

Release date 1 October 2017

Barbour Publishing

Love Brings Freedom in 9 Historical Romances

Journey along as nine historical women are about to make their escape from some of life’s greatest challenges. Can their captive hearts be freed to dream, to dare, to love?

Love’s Labour’s Found by Jennifer AlLee - Montserrat, West Indies, 1655
Temperance Simms only wanted a better life. Instead, she finds herself labeled a criminal and sold as an indentured servant. After a kind man saves her life, can Temperance trust that God will turn her sorrow into something beautiful?

His Indentured Bride by Angela Breidenbach - Pennsylvania, 1770-1775 
Leaving Scotland for a short indenture with her betrothed, Maire Gree’s contract is sold when disaster strikes her kindly owner, and then extended through cruel circumstances. Can Kirk Lachlan’s service in the American Revolution save her or will she lose love and freedom forever?

The Suspect Bride by Susan Page Davis - Oregon, 1890s
Verity Ames cooks at the restaurant where shy lawyer Jack Whitwell eats lunch daily. As Jack works up courage to ask her for a date, the sheriff walks into the restaurant and arrests her for murder.

His Golden Treasure by Darlene Franklin - Barbary Coast, San Francisco, CA, 1873
Goldie Hatfield grows up on in the Barbary Coast until her guardian demands she pay the cost of her upbringing—or work at her brothel. How far will Pastor Joshua Kerr go to set Goldie free?

Through Stormy Waters by Patty Smith Hall - Atlantic Ocean, 1755
Deported to the British colonies for her father’s crimes, Charlotte Singleton helps Captain Andrew Randell when an epidemic breaks out on the ship. Can two battered hearts find love in the midst of a storm?

Moira’s Quest by Cynthia Hickey - New York, 1869
A quest for revenge ends in a marriage of convenience and a feisty Irish lass discovers that not everything is as it seems as family secrets are revealed. An Irish cop, bent on saving the fallen women of Five Points, New York, finds himself thrust into the role of husband with a woman determined to break down a notorious crime boss. Can these two pull together and find a love bigger than they are?

Love’s Escape by Carrie Fancett Pagels - Virginia, 1850
With her life in peril, Lettie seeks escape from slavery. When Nathan offers to “conduct” her North via an unusual segment on the Underground Railroad, will his efforts help or do them both harm?

Waltzing Matilda by Lucy Thompson - Sydney, Australia, 1821
Henry didn’t plan on a runaway convict masquerading as a shepherd. Or on the woman’s baby. Keeping them safe will cost him his freedom—or will it?

A Score to Settle by Gina Welborn - On the Missouri River, 1870
For JoJo the kiss was a means to an end—she wanted his wallet. For Cyrus her kiss changed everything. He vows to help her escape the snake oil salesman she works for, but exposing the man’s lies may mean settling a score at a cost neither JoJo nor Cyrus can pay.

My Review:

Firstly thanks to Netgalley for my review copy.

This book has 9 novellas in it. Each story has a heroine who is a captive in some way. From indentured servant, convict, slave, wrongly convicted, plus a few other scenarios. We also have different locations from the West Indies, Australia to America. Each story is different and most have some danger and tension in the stories. 

While I am not going to review all the stories cos it would make the review to long I will feature a couple.

Waltzing Matilda by Lucy Thompson - Sydney, Australia, 1821
This story we see Matilda running away with her baby Charlotte from the Paramatta factory and runs into Henry who is a free man now. Henry is on his way back to his farm with sheep when he encounters Matilda. Matilda is trying to hide out as if she's caught she will be sent back and will probably loss her daughter. I liked reading a story set in Australia and am glad others will also get to read a story about my country. 

Love’s Escape by Carrie Fancett Pagels - Virginia, 1850

Now this is a story that I love because you don't read as many books involving slaves escaping through the underground railway. Lettie really wants to get away as things have suddenly changed and she is in even more danger. Although if Lettie runs away and is caught she could be in even more danger. Nathan is part of the underground railway and has a plan to get her to safety. I loved how this was planned and how it all worked out. 

The Suspect Bride by Susan Page Davis - Oregon, 1890s

This story was one of my favourites. I was actually in hospital and every time the nurse came to do my ops I was saying I just want this story finished because I want to know what happens. We see Verity arrested for murder and Jack is a lawyer who will represent her. The story takes us through the arrest and why her. I love how Susan keeps the suspense of what will happen next. 

This whole book is a really good read and I would highly recommend it.

Book Review: The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green

Lucy here with a review of

The Mark of the King, by Jocelyn Green

 

Can we pause for a moment and admire the cover?? How gorgeous is that! 

Right. Onto the review. I give "The Mark of the Kin" a solid 4 stars. 

I had a love/hate relationship with this book. I had no expectations (warnings?) when I started reading and LOVED it up until about the end of the first 1/4 or 1/3. It then dawned on me that this was NOT going to be a "standard" romance. I left it sitting idly on my Kindle for a few days before swallowing hard and diving back into it.

What drew me back? 

The description.

Slate grey clouds now drifted in the sky, veiling the constellations like wraiths.

Green, Jocelyn (2017-01-03). The Mark of the King (Kindle Location 934). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

Mmm mm. I'm a sucker for description (I still vividly remember Laura Frantz's Courting Morrow Little's first page and the line about "the dust beneath her bare feet fine as flour") and wow does Jocelyn do description really well. Seriously. I felt like going to a southern bayou and finding a crayfish chimney to stand on just to feel it crunch beneath my heel as Julianne had. I could practically feel the humid slap of Spanish Moss upon my face as we traversed the muddy 18th century frontier. Could hear everything. Feel everything.

And that was part of the problem. I could visualise everything so clearly that the brutality of midwifery, greedy soldiers, backstabbing Indians (as portrayed in the book, not my personal opinion), and the lack of care from France was so, well, in my face. So raw. Refreshing, for a Christian book. But also uncomfortably so at times. 

A dilemma. 

Also...the romance. Great setup for romance, at least at the start. An arranged marriage. Between 200 men/women. Wow! Nothing like having to pick one's life partner in ten minutes or less. 

But the romance...wasn't. At least not how I've come to expect romances to be. Julianne's first marriage isn't her last (not wanting to give any of the plot away), and that second marriage is more of a thin candle than an bushfire romance. 

Still, there are gems such as this one:

“We all have scars, my beautiful one. They make us who we are, and if we let them, they bring us together.” His lips curved gently. “Now, let me show you how much I love you.”

Green, Jocelyn (2017-01-03). The Mark of the King (Kindle Locations 3258-3259). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.  

 Excellent advice.

In parting, I do recommend The Mark of the King but be prepared to sit down to a meal, not an ice-cream. Available here.

Lucy Thompson loves a good story, a hot coffee, and silence. Blessed silence. But with five children, a tool-wielding hubby, and numerous characters yammering away at her, that isn't likely to happen any time soon. :)

Come find me on Facebook. I'd love to make a new friend. :)
If, by any chance, you'd rather fancy a cowboy romance, then I have two on Amazon. Mail Order Surprise and A Cowboy's Dare. Enjoy!

  

Paying to be Number One: The Power of Paid Advertising

Paying to be Number One: The Power of Paid Advertising 

by Lucy Thompson

Stats for Land That I Love box set, Aug 11, 2016

I have a secret: my books were bestsellers because I paid for that title. 

😱😧Shocking! 😧😱

Let me backtrack just a little before y'all start boycotting me on facebook or throwing my books back at me. 😉

Amazon releases many, many books each year. Like hundreds of thousands of books on Amazon. Some to very famous authors whose name alone sells a gazillion books. Others to housewives whose dream it is to see a book in print, but who isn't well-known apart from family, loyal friends, and shopkeepers who I gush to…umm…where was I again? Oh, yes. Amazon also releases books of authors who aren't very well known.

How do I find readers and convince them to buy my book?

Enter the middleman. 

Advertisers.

Companies with a well-padded subscription list of readers hungry to fill their Kindles with new books. 😍📚📲 
I'll put some links to advertisers who've worked for me at the bottom of this post.

Yay! Let me find that ASIN number and hit "send". Oh. Wait… They want me to pay money for the privilege of sharing my awesome book with lucky readers? (That was sarcasm, btw.) 

In this day and age, to get books in front of new readers (that's readers outside of the people you know personally or see down the shops) you have to pay for them. Approximately $30+ per ad. For one day. To a couple of thousand people who may or may not even open their email or click the link. It's a gamble, people. And sometimes it works. Works really well.

See that picture at the top with the #1's? Where it says #897 in Kindle Store? That was a box set my first book, Mail Order Surprise, was a part of called Land That I Love. Sadly, that box set is no longer available, but when it first came out, myself and the other four authors paid a ton of money for a whole bunch of ads--thirteen different advertisers if I recall correctly, which well and truly paid for themselves. We hit #1 in all our listed categories and crept up to #784 in the entire Kindle Store. That means that (at that time) our book was the 784th bestselling Kindle book in the whole of Amazon. Yay! 😃 Lots of new readers. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of page reads. Thousands of book sales. Yay!

But only because we paid for that. 

Call me jaded, but when I see books, particularly box sets, with Bestseller banners and high Amazon rankings I immediately think "paid advertising" not "well-crafted book". Ouch. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for those authors and cheerfully applaud them. But I'm more aware of what it takes to get to those numbers now.

Does that mean that I should rest on my laurels and not pay attention to craft? NO. Not if I want readers to read anything else I ever write. Because they're watching. 😏

 Yes, there is power in paid advertising. But there is also power in a well-crafted book that speaks to the soul. The Lord has the power to open doors that would otherwise seem impossible (hello, there was my name next to Lynnette Bonner! Next to Janice Thompson!). 

Our words have power. Let us use that power wisely. 

All the best as you write for His glory,

   Lucy Thompson
Writer of Words, Worth, and Wit
Email: dingo4mum@yahoo.com.au
Blog: http://lucythompsonauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lucy.thompsonauthor
Pinterest:  https://au.pinterest.com/lucythompsonaut
Books: A Cowboy's Dare: http://amzn.to/2ikiUm1

P.S. As promised: some links to helpful paid advertisers. 😊 Prices are approximate and in US$.
Robin Reads $60  FKBT $30 for a .99c ad. Fussy Librarian $26+ Faithful Reads $25
BookBub (the best and most expensive, but hard to get into) $190

Book Review: A Cowboy's Dare - by Lucy Thompson

Review by Andrea Grigg

It’s 1881, and Jane Montgomery of Halls Pass, Colorado, is a forward-thinking woman. Stifled by society’s conventions and attitudes toward women, and her parents’ expectations, Jane believes she was born for more. Born to learn about mechanical engineering, in fact.

But fate (or is it God?) seems to have other ideas. After attending a dance at the town hall, Jane wakes up on a sofa in Reverend Andrew’s parlour, in the arms of Tyrone Harding, a man she has known all her life, one who always rubs her up the wrong way, even if though he sometimes makes her heart beat faster.

Tyrone is just as appalled as Jane to discover they are married, something neither of them remember happening as a result of drinking too much punch, spiked by Tyrone’s meddling younger sister. (This was a bit of a stumbling block for me. If they were drunk enough not to remember anything - and there was a lot to remember, as described later in the story - then surely they would’ve been incredibly ill the next morning, rather than just have a pesky headache?) But, no matter how it happened, married they are, and to Tyrone’s horror because ‘females are nothing but trouble’, Jane is now his responsibility.

What follows is a lively, engaging story about two people whose most prized possession - their freedom - has been taken away. Jane’s plans to escape the confines of her life have been ruined, as has Tyrone’s resolve to live his life without a female in it.

As Tyrone and Jane negotiate their way around their relationship they encounter emotions neither of them expect or understand. At times, I found their attitudes toward one another a little too up and down and a tad confusing, but the banter between them was really well done and there were many laugh-out-loud moments at the way they unsettled each other. There were many poignant moments too, as the characters’ emotional wounds were poked and prodded until they were made to address them with the kind of honesty that left them open and vulnerable to one another, an honesty that tested and refined their true feelings.  

The concept of the dare referred to in the title was a clever one, and I loved the inevitable consequences. Historical romance is not my first choice in the romance genre, but I’d read Lucy’s first book, Mail Order Surprise, and I figured I’d be in for a treat. I wasn’t wrong.  

Andrea Grigg lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland, and is a writer of two contemporary Christian romance novels, ‘A Simple Mistake’ and ‘Too Pretty’. Her Christmas novella, 'All is Bright', was released  in a boxset along with five other authors, entitled, 'An Aussie Summer Christmas', and is now available as a single title. You can find her books here. She would love to connect with you via Facebook, Twitter, or email: andreagrigg@live.com

Lucy's review of "Where Wildflowers Grow" by Gail Gaymer Martin

Hi! Lucy Thompson here :) with my review of Where Wildflowers Grow by Gail Gaymer Martin.

Genre: Christian contemporary romance.

“Falling in love can be wonderful, but for Sandy Fisher and Clay Burdett, it is more like a steep mountain climb. Sandy returns to her hometown concerned about her widowed mother’s health and to heal from her job loss and her broken engagement. Though discouraged, her attitude and determination never falter, and when her car acts up and the only mechanic in town gives her the runaround, she’s determined to win the battle. Clay, scarred by his childhood, left his promising career and moved into the small town to bury emotions and guilt involving the death of his wife. But life continues to be empty, and when he meet’s spunky Sandy who challenges him and awakens his spirit, he faces his wasted life unless he conquers his past. Like opposite poles, Sandy and Clay are drawn together, seeking something deeper and more meaningful than their past choices. Yet they continue to doubt until truth softens their hearts as sand softens clay.”

This book was a quick holiday read for me. I did laugh at a few parts and even teared up once. A great reminder about God’s timing in relationships. I like this quote from the book: “You have to nourish love, work at it”. I liked the wisdom and verses shared throughout the book.

The story tended to lag and I found myself skimming to get to the more important bits of the story. It also could have benefited from a more thorough edit. I found at least five errors—and I don’t consider myself the best proofreader.

I brought this book, but wouldn’t read it again. I’d give this a bare 3 out of 5 stars.

If you like light, holiday reads then this is the book for you.

Bio: Lucy Thompson is a stay-at-home mum to five precocious children by day and a snoop by night, stalking interesting characters through historical Colorado, and writing about their exploits. She enjoys meeting new people from all over the world and learning about the craft of writing. When she can be separated from her laptop, she is a professional time waster on Facebook, a slave to the towering stack of books on her bedside table, and a bottler, preserving fruit the old fashioned way so she can swap recipes and tips with her characters. Her home is in central Queensland, Australia, where she does not ride a kangaroo to the shops, mainly because her children won’t fit. ;) 
Represented by Chip MacGregorof MacGregor Literary, she is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, and Romance Writers of America.

ACRBA Tour Mail Order Surprise by Lucy Thomspon

5 - 9 September 2016

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

is Introducing 

Mail Order Surprise

( Forget Me Not Romances, a division of Winged Publications (April 19, 2016)

By Lucy Thompson

About the Book:

Colorado, 1881. Lydia Walsh is on the run. The quiet rancher she marries and expected to find safety and protection with turns out to have three siblings, next to nothing to live on, and is a crack shot who may or may not be one of the states best cattle rustlers.

Beau Harding wants to keep his family together and do the right thing by them. His mail order bride comes with her own set of baggage: two more mouths to feed and empty hearts begging him to fill. The job he took for some quick money gets him thrown in jail for rustling, and then to clear his name he takes on another job--and learns that his wife may have been the one plotting his family’s downfall all along.

About the Author:

Hi! My name is Lucy Thompson. I’m a stay-at-home mum to five precocious children and wife to the ultra-handy Dave by day and a snoop by night, stalking interesting characters through historical settings, and writing about their exploits.

I enjoy meeting new people from all over the world and learning about the craft of writing. When I can be separated from my laptop, I’m a professional time waster on facebook (really!), a slave to the towering stack of books on my bedside table, and a bottler, preserving fruit the old fashioned way so I can swap recipes and tips with my characters. 

My home is in central Queensland, Australia where I do not ride a kangaroo to the shops, mainly because my children won’t fit.

Represented by the fabulous Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary, I’m a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, and Romance Writers of America.

My review by Jenny Blake

Firstly thanks to Lucy for my copy for an honest review.

I have to say wow what a great debut novel by Australian writer Lucy Thompson. I was hooked from the beginning. We start with Lydia and her two children running for a train trying to avoid someone following her. She is off to become a mail order bride in the hopes of safety and a new life. What happens when she arrives is interesting. She finds Beau has left a few things out of the letters he wrote her like siblings.

I love the different twist and turns in the book. I really felt for Lydia I could feel her pain and wanted to know what was going to happen as I was reading. There were times I just needed to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. Lucy had me on the edge of my seat several times. This is an excellent debut noveI and if you like Mary Coneally's books you will enjoy this story. I eagerly await the next book in the series.

Book Review Mail Order Surprise by Lucy Thompson

By Jenny Blake

Forget Me Not Romances, a division of Winged Publications (April 19, 2016)

Blurb

Colorado, 1881. Lydia Walsh is on the run. The quiet rancher she marries and expected to find safety and protection with turns out to have three siblings, next to nothing to live on, and is a crack shot who may or may not be one of the states best cattle rustlers.

Beau Harding wants to keep his family together and do the right thing by them. His mail order bride comes with her own set of baggage: two more mouths to feed and empty hearts begging him to fill. The job he took for some quick money gets him thrown in jail for rustling, and then to clear his name he takes on another job--and learns that his wife may have been the one plotting his family’s downfall all along.

Review

Firstly thanks to Lucy for my copy for an honest review.

I have to say wow what a great debut novel by Australian writer Lucy Thompson. I was hooked from the beginning. We start with Lydia and her two children running for a train trying to avoid someone following her. She is off to become a mail order bride in the hopes of safety and a new life. What happens when she arrives is interesting. She finds Beau has left a few things out of the letters he wrote her like siblings.

I love the different twist and turns in the book. I really felt for Lydia I could feel her pain and wanted to know what was going to happen as I was reading. There were times I just needed to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. Lucy had me on the edge of my seat several times. This is an excellent debut noveI and if you like Mary Coneally's books you will enjoy this story. I eagerly await the next book in the series.