A Log Cabin Christmas

A Log Cabin Christmas by Margaret Brownley, Wanda E. Brunstetter, Kelly Eileen Hake, Liz Johnson, Jane Kirkpatrick, Liz Tolsma, Michelle Ule, Debra Ullrich and Erica Vetsch

GENRE: HISTORICAL ROMANCE

PUBLISHER: BARBOUR PUBLISHING

PUBLICATION DATE: SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

RATING: 8 OUT OF 10 STARS

PROS: Introduces readers to established authors and newcomers to the genre; perfect length of stories to read during the busy holiday season

CONS: Not ideal to read one story immediately after the other as the log cabin setting can get a bit repetitive

This endearing collection from Barbour follows on from the success of the previous year’s A Prairie Christmas Collection. Compiling short stories from popular and established authors in the historical genre as well as several newcomers, A Log Cabin Christmas features nine stories set in log cabins at varying locations and periods of American history. Ranging from typical homes built out of logs to log schools and stores and even a log church, the authors of A Log Cabin Christmas show readers how romance can blossom in every setting. Characters dream of living in log cabins, build homes from scratch and learn to overcome difficulties in this shared setting, across different locations and time periods at Christmastime in historical America.

As it is impossible to share my in-depth thoughts on all the stories in this collection I’ve picked out my ultimate favourites to share. While I didn’t have one outright favourite story in this collection, there were several that really stood out to me.

The Courting Quilt by Jane Kirkpatrick was one of these purely because it featured the most unique protagonists in the entire collection. Mary’s hair is prematurely white and as a result everyone believes her to be an elderly woman, and Richard was just as unusual with his different coloured eyes. This was more than just a straight-forward romance, featuring some humour in the fact that nearly all of the women in the story fell for Richard without him realising it. This was not a story that I forgot in a hurry and I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author, who already has several novels under her belt.

A Log Cabin Christmas also introduced me to a newer, less-established author who I’m certain will soon become more popular in the inspirational market: Liz Tolsma. I adored Under His Wings, the story of a young woman, Adie, who lives with her father at a logging camp and finds herself having to rely on one of the other loggers for protection when her father is killed in an accident. This was a slow moving romance as Adie took a while to respond to Noah’s offers of help. This touching tale will appeal to fans of marriage of convenience stories.

My love of all things German may have biased me towards A Grand Country Christmas by Debra Ullrick, but even those who aren’t so familiar with the language and the customs will enjoy this sweet tale of orphaned Awnya being taken in by Amadeus and his family just in time for Christmas. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, especially as the protagonists had a lot of chemistry between them which made their quickly blossoming relationship seem all the more realistic. The sizzle in their romance reminded me a bit of Vickie McDonough or Mary Connealy and made a much appreciated addition to this otherwise incredibly chaste collection. Readers who appreciate stories featuring characters from other ethnicities will likely also appreciate the Mexican-infused The Dogrot Christmas by Michelle Ule which, despite having a very different type of romance from that in A Grand Country Christmas, reminded in my mind long after I finished reading it.

I must also mention Margaret Brownley’s short story, which is the first in this collection. I was introduced to her work earlier this year and was pleased to discover that I enjoyed her shorter works just as much as her full-length novels. Snow Angels contained all of my favourite components in a romance, from being snowbound in a cabin to the addition of cute children to spur on the relationship between the hero and heroine.

There were no real duds in this collection, and I’ve refrained from going into detail about some other excellent additions to this collection purely due to the constraints of writing a review that isn’t so long that you’ll feel like you’re reading my university dissertation. So I must briefly mentioned Kelly Eileen Hake’s Christmas Traps and Trimmings, which stood out because of the details about Mina’s English upbringing and the disaster that brought her and Sam together, but isn’t a favourite simply because ended a bit too abruptly to make me truly love it. Christmas Service by Erica Vetsch is also worth reading for the message it gives about ways in which to serve God that many young women are likely in need of hearing, but this same message ended up making the heroine difficult to sympathise with.

I did find Wanda Brunstetter’s The Christmas Secret and Liz Johnson’s A Star in the Night to be the weakest stories in the collection, for very different reasons. I’ve never been a fan of Wanda’s style of writing and this was still the case in The Christmas Secret, but I will admit that the plot was quite original and kept my interest. A Star in the Night was a sweet, gently blossoming romance but lacked any chemistry between the characters, especially as the author continually reminded the reader that the protagonists never spent time alone indoors together, which even in a historical setting felt a bit forced. I still enjoyed reading both of these stories despite their flaws, and it wouldn’t stop me from recommending this collection.

A Log Cabin Christmas is a collection to be savoured over a matter of weeks, not hours, and the length of the stories makes it easy to pick up and put down again during the busy holiday period. Historical romance readers will be pleased to see stories many popular authors in the genre featured, and to discover some new writers who will hopefully come to be just as admired.

Review title provided by Barbour Publishing.

A Vision of Lucy - Margaret Brownley

GENRE: HISTORICAL ROMANCE
PUBLISHER: THOMAS NELSON
PUBLICATION DATE: JUNE 28, 2011
RATING: 9 OUT OF 10

Photography may not seem like a popular career choice in 1882, particularly for a woman, but Lucy Bradshaw is determined to make a living with her camera. However, all of her attempts to impress the owner of the local paper fail drastically, the final one culminating in her falling from a tree on to a stage-coach, which happened to be in the process of being robbed. Following her disastrous shenanigans, no one in Rocky Creek, including Lucy’s own father, is convinced that photography is an aid to journalism or a fitting pursuit for a woman. Her father would much rather that Lucy cultivate the hobbies and interests more appropriate for a young lady and stop getting herself into scrapes that bring embarrassment on him and the other residents of the town.

Lucy’s last failed attempt at taking a photograph for the newspaper brings her into contact with David Wolf, an aptly named supposedly “wild” man living on the outskirts of Rocky Creek who has been shunned throughout his life because of his mixed race. In the confusion between Lucy witnessing a robbery and running into David, her new friend ends up arrested and badly harmed, but not capable of receiving medical aid in a town that believes him to be a half-breed criminal. Carefully, Lucy and her younger brother hide David in the storeroom of the church and nurse him back to health. Lucy has no idea what brought David to Rocky Creek in the first place, but she is determined to help him, even if it endangers her reputation further. But will David accept her help?

I expected this book to be a standard historical romance, but was pleasantly surprised to discover how much action and mystery it contained. Not to mention a colourful array of secondary characters and a vividly described town. I came into this book completely fresh, not having even heard of this series before, but managed to catch up with the characters from the previous books very easily. In fact, although the protagonists from the first two Rocky Creek novels did feature briefly in A Vision of Lucy, very little was revealed about the events in the earlier books, meaning that I can still go back and read the previous novels without having the outcomes spoiled. So if, like me, the beautiful cover of this book catches your eye but you’ve not read the others in the series, it is entirely possible to jump in and be swept away by the wonderful characters of Rocky Creek with little confusion.

When I initially started reading A Vision of Lucy, I only intended to read the first chapter before going to bed. This plan proved to be entirely impossible once Lucy fell out of a tree on to the stagecoach below that was in the process of being robbed, frightening the horses and causing them to gallop off, dragging the stagecoach behind them – with Lucy still hanging on. Like the horses, this book sped along at a fair sped with never a dull moment, making it very difficult to even put down for a moment. Margaret inserted an appropriate amount of mystery and adventure into the book, which kept it from being a standard romance. There was also a fair amount of mischief and trouble on Lucy’s part – from falling out of trees to burning down buildings –and her antics kept me very amused and I found myself giggling all the way through this book.

Lucy has to be one of the most original female protagonists I’ve had in a while, and provided plenty of humour without her escapades seeming at all forced. Sometimes it can seem as if accident-prone characters are being pushed to provide amusement for the readers, but I never felt this about Lucy. Her endeavours to improve her town, help David and achieve something through her photography were always well-meant, even if the outcomes were less than successful. I loved her relationship with David and the chemistry they had together, starting with him kissing her to make her stop talking. He was a bit of a distant character, due to the problems he’d encountered throughout his life which he allowed to affect his present situations and relationships. But ultimately I think their very different personalities ended up working well together. Their romance was made more unusual by the fact that Lucy and David had to stand against those who disapproved of interracial relationships. Both of them faced adversity from some members of the town, which hindered their relationship from progressing as both of them would have liked. I don’t think I’ve read many romances that address issues of interracial relationships in the nineteenth century, so this was a particularly interesting aspect of the novel.

The third Rocky Creek Romance is an absolute delight, even for someone who hasn’t read the rest of the series. The relationship between an accident-prone photographer and a “wild”, mixed-race carpenter unfolds to a background of intrigue and mystery. Readers of historical romances won’t be disappointed by A Vision of Lucy, and those who are looking for something a bit more unconventional should definitely be on the lookout for more from Margaret Brownley.

Review title provided courtesy of Thomas Nelson.