A Woman Called Sage, a review

A Woman Called Sage
"purchased" from Amazon's free list

Sage has a husband who loves her and a baby on the way. Everything in her life is as she hoped it would be. Until strangers storm her Colorado ranch demanding money from her husband. When her husband refuses she loses everything, except her life. When she heals, at least physically, she begins searching the Colorado wilderness as a bounty hunter hoping one day to come across her husband and unborn baby's killers. Is she prepared to find out just why her husband was killed?

Sage was written as a strong willed woman making a living in a man's world. She goes back to the Native American roots of her Ute mother and learns to read the land and has an affinity with animals. But she grew up in the "white man's world" because of her father. She tried to bring both sides of her life together, her father's Christian God and the gods of her Native American Heritage. It was an interesting view point and struggle. Sage, though strong willed, still struggled with every day things and was unwilling to fall back on her faith. That is until she sees no other way out of a situation, she feels the calmness of God flowing through her and finds a new sense of strength.

I was engaged in Sage's story from the beginning. She lost her family, she became a strong woman to help her cope with that loss. But in the end she realized she couldn't do this on her own. She needed the help of other people, but most importantly she needed her faith and God to lean on. While there are Christian themes in this novel it is tastefully done and you don't get beaten over the head with scriptures. Instead the sheriff of the town she has been staying in has a strong faith and encourages Sage to trust in God.

All in all I would give this novel 4 out of 5 stars. It was well written, engaging, and fun.

Love on a Dime; a review

Love on a Dime
(I "purchased" this book from Amazon's list of free titles for the Kindle)

3.5/5

Lilly Westbrook and Jackson Grail are young and in love. Jackson has proposed to Lilly, however Lilly comes from the upper echelon of society and Jackson is from the working class. Before Jackson even asks Lilly's father for permission he counts himself out leaves Lilly standing in his dust. Fast forward a few years and Lilly is making a name for herself, as dime novelist Fannie Cole. Women of the era that were from the upper class were not to make their own money, hence why Lilly uses a nom de plume. Jackson Grail has been busy making a name for himself as well, and has just purchased the publishing company of Fannie Cole's books. Fannie Cole's identity is a mystery but it is rumored she is from Lilly's high society. Jackson wishes to earn Lilly's affection away from another man, and hopes to also find out the identity of Fannie Cole at the same time.

A story of a young love that never dies, and of forgiveness after a broken heart. I found Lilly to be endearing and independent. She feels that her gift of writing and the ability to do so is by the grace of God, and so she donates most of her proceeds to charity. She was a wealthy woman who grew up in want of nothing, and her faith helped her to see past it and gave her the want to help others. Jackson has spent the last few years making himself worthy of being among Lilly's upper class circle. But has he come too late? She is very close to be engaged to someone else, if that happens all of his hardwork will be for naught.

At times I found the story to drag on, and the interaction between Lilly and Jackson to be somewhat over written in how they skirted the issue. Everyone informs Lilly that Jackson still has feelings for her, and she cannot seem to see it. She sees his advances as just a way for him to find Fannie Cole, not as advance of affection. In the end Jackson comes to the rescue of Lilly after she finds herself in a precarious situation. With him by her side and their mutual faith in God they will be able to face anything, together.

The Betrayal of Maggie Blair

The Betrayal of Maggie Blair

Author: Elizabeth Laird
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
360 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

*Received as an ARC for an honest review

Product description from Amazon:


In seventeenth-century Scotland, saying the wrong thing can lead to banishment—or worse. Accused of being a witch, sixteen-year-old Maggie Blair is sentenced to be hanged. She escapes, but instead of finding shelter with her principled, patriotic uncle, she brings disaster to his door. 

Betrayed by one of her own accusers, Maggie must try to save her uncle and his family from the king’s men, even if she has to risk her own life in the process.

Originally published in the UK, this book has a powerful blend of heart-stopping action and thought-provoking themes.

 My Thoughts:

When I was looking through the list of available titles, this cover caught my eye. The lone girl standing in a shallow bed of water, the wind whipping her dress and hair, it was well put together and the colors made it seem dark and dreary. Then I read the title and the cover seemed that much darker. Yet, I was intrigued. 

I have to say the book started out, well, weird. A dead whale washed up on the beach of a small Scottish isle. Weird, and creepy. It took me awhile to get into the story, but once I did I enjoyed it. Although I have to admit there were some periods in the middle where I felt like skipping paragraphs because there was too much filler and not enough action.

The characters were fun and intriguing. The title's namesake was well developed. Maggie Blair begins the story as unsure young teenager who finds herself in a precarious situation; Maggie and her grandmother are named as witches. Granny does not help her cause, and at times I was wondering if she had the gift of the dark arts or not. Granny and Maggie are tried and found guilty, and sentenced to hanging and being burned at the stake. However, Maggie escapes the night before the sentencing is to be carried out and runs away to the mainland to her only other living relatives, her dad's brother and his family. The remainder of the story lies with Maggie finding her strength as an individual, and she goes through many more precarious situations to get there. The villain of this story was a vile young woman by the name of Annie, and let's just say she was very unlikeable. 

In the end I think this was a good overall read. There were some slow parts in the narration but the characters were well written and fun. It gives a brief look into 17th century Scotland and the trials the devout Christians faced to serve their Saviour. For a young reader it would be just enough knowledge with just enough laughter to balance out nicely.