Category: Book Tour

On my bookshelf with shelf of Catholic fiction

On My Bookshelf: Ashes, Visible and Invisible

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The Catholic Teen Books authors, many of whom I have the pleasure to call my friends, have put together their fourth short-story collection. Ashes: Visible and Invisible releases January 31, 2023 on the feast of St. John Bosco, the patron saint of teenagers.

 

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Ashes contains ten short stories by Theresa Linden, Marie Keiser, Cynthia Toney, Ellen Gable, Antony Kolenc, Amanda Lauer, Carolyn Astfalk, Leslea Wahl, T.M. Gaouette, and Corinna Turner. All of them have some connection to Lent, and each story stands on its own. You can enjoy these stories in any order.

Ashes, like all the CTB story collections, is packed with well-written stories that are faithfully Catholic. The stories feature teenagers growing in faith and virtue—teenagers facing true-to-life situations, teenagers dealing with moral dilemmas, teenagers seeking to know the right thing to do. Settings for the stories vary from the time of Jesus to the Middle Ages to modern times and a dystopian future. There’s something for every reader, and you might even enjoy exploring a new-to-you genre.

One of my favorite things about the CTB story collections is that many of the stories are connected to these authors’ larger-format work. The characters you meet in these collections might be minor characters from a novel, or a story might include a bonus scene that picks up where a novel leaves off. These stories are a great way to get to know a particular author’s work, and after each story you’ll find a note from the author explaining where you can read more about that character.

 

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Take a peek into the stories you’ll read in Ashes:

  • When Liz’s faith journey hits a roadblock, will an unexpected detour and chance encounter set her back on track?
  • A teen’s future was all set—before his tragic loss. But his friend’s secret past just might save it.
  • Justin’s religion is outlawed. When an unbeliever asks him about the meaning of life, what can he say?
  • Could God be asking Paul to sacrifice a piece of himself for Lent—literally?
  • A modern American teen discovers what faith, life and love are like in seventeenth-century Scotland.
  • Teenager Lexie Dugan struggles to understand the sacrifice of Lent when she’s asked to help take care of her siblings while her pregnant mother is on bed rest.
  • Asher’s desire to prepare for the Messiah intensifies after he’s robbed by bandits but would fighting alongside the Zealots be the best way?
  • When a risky Ash Wednesday mission to sterilize T. rex eggs goes wrong, fasting is the least of Joshua, Darryl, and Harry’s worries.
  • A medieval girl stranded on a forsaken path confronts threats from without and turmoil from within.
  • Struggling with loss, hunger, and temptation, Ethan finds himself walking in the steps of Jesus.

Visit CatholicTeenBooks.com to learn more about the authors behind this story collection and the mission of Catholic Teen Books.

 

 

Catholic Teen Books is offering a fun prize pack in conjunction with this giveaway! Enter today to win a copy of Ashes, Lenten socks, a handmade rosary, devotional for teens, and more! This giveaway ends on release day, January 31.

 

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Copyright 2023 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Images: courtesy of CatholicTeenBooks.com

A copy of this book was provided to me for the purposes of this article.

This article contains Amazon affiliate links, which provide a small compensation to the author of this piece when purchases are made through the links, at no cost to you. Thank you for your support. 

On my bookshelf with shelf of Catholic fiction

Where Angels Pass: A Hard, but Worthwhile, Read

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Ellen Gable’s newest novel, based on her own father’s experience of sexual abuse at the hands of a predator priest and her own experience of the consequences in his life, is difficult to witness. But we owe it to victims of clergy sexual abuse to listen to their stories. Listening, understanding, and awareness of warning signs are steps toward preventing such occurrences in the future.

Ellen is to be commended for her courage and honesty in bringing this story to light. Where Angels Pass is not an easy read – but it’s an important one.

 

Where Angels Pass cover

 

In all the years I’ve been invited by authors to read their books, I don’t think I’ve ever had an offer come with a disclaimer: “maybe you won’t want to read this.” Due to the sensitive nature of this book, I understand why such a disclaimer is necessary, however. Ellen didn’t gloss over the details of the predator priest’s grooming of his young victims, nor the acts of abuse, nor the emotional fallout afterward that drove her father into mental illness, addiction, and dangerous behaviors. That disclaimer was more of a trigger warning, really.

Where Angels Pass shows another side of the clergy sexual abuse scandal that has come to light in the past two decades: the effect of abuse as felt by the families of the victims, extending into the next generation. What happened to Hank in high school affected his marriage, friendships, work … and his children, in tragic ways.

This story is clearly told not from a place of anger or revenge-seeking, but out of the author’s love for her father and for the Church. By sharing her family’s story, Ellen has taken steps not only toward her own healing from the trauma she faced, but toward helping others understand what life was like for one victim – before, during, and after the abuse.

Ellen explains why she wrote this book:

It’s my hope that the reader will be able to learn that just because a person has suffered clerical abuse (in this case, my father) does not mean his life had any less value than any other person.  Did he make mistakes because of his woundedness? Of course, he did, because we’re all born with original sin and with free will.

And despite all these things that happened to him, he was really an incredible father and, I believe, made the world a better place (again, despite his nervous breakdown and alcoholism).

Most importantly, I hope the reader can understand that the Catholic Church is not an evil institution, and we should not leave the Church because of the sins of some of her members. One thing I didn’t realize until recently was how widespread the clerical abuse problem has been for many years. And while it saddened me that my father was abused, it breaks my heart that so many others suffered like my father.

Summary:

Teenager Evie Gallagher is stunned when her 45-year-old father dies tragically and suddenly. Too many unanswered questions accompany Evie’s challenging journey to adulthood. When she finally discovers the reason her father led such a troubled life, shock turns to anger. She is determined to find justice for her father.

Nervous about the first day of his freshman year, 14-year-old Hank Gallagher steps inside Holy Archangels High School for the first time in September of 1954. Although the majestic Holy Archangels statues inside the school’s grand lobby present an air of protection, it is not long before Hank passes right under them and into the hands of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Confused and cornered by threats, Hank attempts to abandon his secret to the past, but a horrible wound on his heart eventually leads to a catastrophic breakdown.

Based loosely on actual events, chapters alternate between Evie and Hank to reveal a life haunted by betrayal and a revelation of true justice and hope.

 

More Stops on the Virtual Book Tour for Where Angels Pass:

December 3  Plot Line and Sinker

December 4  Jim Sano

December 6 Mary Jo Thayer

December 7 Carolyn Astfalk My Scribbler’s Heart Blog

December 8 Elena Maria Vidal

December 9 Victoria Ryan

December 10 Michael Seagriff

December  11 Patrice MacArthur

December 12  Amanda Lauer

December 13 Theresa Linden

December 14 Jeanie Egolf

 

Special release sale!

Only 2.99 USD on Kindle until Christmas! ($4.99 USD regular price)

Only 12.99 USD Print book until Christmas! (15.99 (USD regular price)

Copyright 2021 Barb Szyszkiewicz
This article contains Amazon affiliate links. Your purchases using these links support my work at no additional cost to you.

On my bookshelf with shelf of Catholic fiction

New in Catholic Fiction: In Pieces

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In this richly detailed post-Revolutionary War love story, Rhonda Ortiz transports the reader to 18th-century Boston. Molly Chase, the beautiful and talented only child of a prominent Boston fabric merchant, suffers nightmares and other mental-health challenges after discovering her father’s body following his suicide. Her family’s former servant, Mrs. Robb, takes her in, but the church ladies find much to gossip about when Mrs. Robb’s young son, Josiah, who’s as close to Molly as a brother, returns to the city from a long sailing journey. And they won’t let up, even though Josiah isn’t even staying in the house.

In Pieces by Rhonda Ortiz

 

With no parents, no husband, and no means of support, Molly decides to turn her hobby into a (literal) cottage industry and uses fabric from her father’s warehouse to start her own business as a dressmaker. Mrs. Robb’s small home, owned by her son, suddenly houses Molly, Mrs. Robb, Josiah’s sister Deborah, and enough cloth to dress half the fashionable young women in Boston. And those young women make fascinating characters in their own right, as does Mrs. Robb.

Readers will cheer for the strong female characters and the smitten, determined hero who battle rigid social expectations and a villain you’ll love to hate. An “oh, no, he didn’t!” King David-style conflict, a Custom-House mystery, some PTSD, and even a little espionage make In Pieces a novel you won’t be able to put down. There’s even a cameo by Alexander Hamilton!

 

 

I called this book Catholic fiction, but you’ll discover in the reading that Molly is actually a member of Old North Church, an Episcopal assembly, and Josiah and his family belong to Old South Church, a Congregational church. But Josiah has friends who are Catholic, and his studies of theology are leading him closer to the Catholic church than his mother, the daughter of a minister, might like. We’ll have to wait until another book in the series to find out how this plays out, but this is not one of those annoying novels that ends on a cliffhanger; it’s a satisfying story all on its own.

I’ve read In Pieces twice already, and chances are good I’ll read it again.

 

 

In Pieces is published by Chrism Press, an imprint of WhiteFire Publishing dedicated to stories informed by Catholic and Orthodox Christianity.

About the author: Rhonda Ortiz is an award-winning novelist, nonfiction writer, and editor. A native Oregonian, she attended St. John’s College in historic Annapolis, Maryland and now lives in Michigan with her husband and five children. Find her online at RhondaOrtiz.com.

Copyright 2021 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Images copyright 2021 Rhonda Ortiz, all rights reserved, used with permission.
Amazon links in this article are affiliate links; your purchases benefit the author.
I received an advance copy of this book for the purpose of this review.

The Light of Tara: A Novel of Saint Patrick

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It’s easy to lose yourself in the story of St. Patrick, as told in The Light of Tara, a historical novel by John Desjarlais. The writing is poetic and you’ll feel as if you’re part of every scene. The author makes masterful use of dialogue and biblical parallels. I’d wholeheartedly recommend The Light of Tara to teen and adult readers. 

About the book:

While the Roman Empire crumbles into chaos, the flickering light of civilization is in the hands of a teenage pig-keeper and shepherd at the edge of the known world. His name is Succat. We know him as Patrick. 

As an indolent teen, Patrick is abducted by pirates from his British villa and sold to a druid chieftain in remote Hibernia.  In misery, he embraces the faith he once loathed. He learns Irish language and lore, befriends the chieftain’s son and falls for the feisty daughter, making a jealous enemy of the druid’s apprentice. Fearing for his life and obeying a strange vision, Patrick escapes, leaving the girl he loves and returning home after a hazardous journey. But he is shaken by an insistent dream: the plea of the Irish to come back.

He resolves to do so. But first he must overcome a suspicious church, a backstabbing mentor, and his old rival who is now the Archdruid of Ireland, sworn to kill him and eager to enslave the beautiful woman Patrick left behind.

Can he save Ireland from darkness — and free the girl he once loved?

Question for the author:

What inspired you to write historical fiction (especially about a time we know little about)?

Writers can be inspired by a time, a setting or a character. For me, it was all three.

I had written The Throne of Tara: A Novel of Saint Columba in 1990, after scripting and producing a documentary about Church history. I became fascinated by Irish monasticism and Celtic spirituality, by the monks’ love of scholarship, prayer, and poetry, and by their ardent evangelization. Soon after that book was published, I wondered if a “prequel” of sorts, a book about Patrick, might be a natural follow-up. After all, I’d already done a lot of research into the general period and the culture. I turned to contemporary mysteries instead. But I saved my notes.

So, nearly 25 years later, I picked it up again. I wanted people to know “St. Patrick’s Day” was more than beer, corned beef, a green river in Chicago, and a parade in New York to celebrate Irish identity. The historical Patrick was a revolutionary figure. Against tremendous odds, he persevered in faith to bring God’s message of forgiveness to his former captors at a time in Church history when such evangelization across cultural lines was not really known. The Church was preoccupied with combating heresies and with managing a chaotic, crumbling Roman Empire, as many bishops became the de facto governors of their districts while “barbarians” ravaged the land. There was little interest in ‘evangelizing’ the so-called barbarians when bishops were more busy ransoming Christian captives from them.

Patrick’s daring and determination were inspiring, and more so, his long obedience to an insistent call — against his better judgment — to return to the people who brutally enslaved him in order to bring them the gospel of true freedom and love. He knew their language and their lore, which he realized pointed to Christ. One of their great heroes, Cuchulainn, was bound to a post with a hawthorn crown and lanced in his side while being mocked by pagan priests. Who does that sound like?

Historical fiction can be escapist by transporting readers to a distant time and place in an entertaining way (and even provide some knowledge). But it can also engage readers to think about the present time, and to see how people in the past met similar challenges. Patrick’s bold willpower — and submission to God’s will — advanced the light of the Faith and preserved the lamp of learning at a time when barbarians burned the libraries of Europe and plunged the Continent into a Dark Age.  

About author John Desjarlais:

John Desjarlais, author

John Desjarlais, a former producer for Wisconsin Public Radio, taught literature and creative writing at Kishwaukee College in Illinois for nearly 25 years. His novels include The Throne of Tara (Crossway 1990, a Christianity Today Readers Choice Award nominee), Relics (Thomas Nelson 1993, a Doubleday Book Club Selection), Bleeder, Viper (A Catholic Arts and Letters Award nominee), and Specter (Chesterton Press, 2008, 2011, 2015), and The Light of Tara: A Novel of Saint Patrick. Blood of the Martyrs and other stories, released through Amazon Kindle Select in 2012, contains short fiction that previously appeared in such periodicals as Critic, The Karitos Review, The Rockford Review, Apocalypse, Conclave, Lit Noir, and Dappled Things. He received Honorable Mention in the 1997 Writers Digest Competition and was a fiction finalist in the 2016 Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction Contest. A member of Mystery Writers of America and the North Carolina Writers Network, he has been listed in Who’s Who in Entertainment, Contemporary Authors, and Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. Visit his website at JohnDesjarlais.com.

Copyright 2021 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Cover image: Stencil

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I was given a free review copy of this book, but no other compensation. Opinions expressed here are mine alone.

Book Review: Anything But Groovy

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Amanda Lauer’s new novel, Anything But Groovy, took me right back to childhood days of moon boots, bikes with banana seats, and penny candy. For me, it was a fun look back at those trends that marked my growing-up years.

Anything But Groovy is actually a time-travel novel, in which modern-day Morgan suffers a concussion and wakes up in 1974 … in her mother’s body. When no one else notices anything amiss, Morgan figures this will just last a day or so and decides to roll with it. The ’70s fashions, foods, and music might be different, but middle-school problems are always the same: misunderstandings with friends, pushing back against parental restrictions, sibling conflicts, and bullying at school. It was easy to get lost in the story (and amusing to watch Morgan as she plots ways to make sure her mom had cooler clothes – and not mess things up for her mom in other ways – defying that Back to the Future advice of not messing with the past).

Unlike the Freaky Friday book and movie, in which mom and daughter gain greater understanding of each other’s challenges in their stage of life, this novel gives 12-year-old Morgan insight into her mom’s adolescence, family dynamics, and friendships.

Summary

Morgan is looking forward to junior high school and all the adventures it holds in store for her. But after a collision on the volleyball court, she wakes up on the first day of school trapped inside her mom’s teenage body circa 1974. It doesn’t take long for Morgan to discover that living life as a seventh-grader in the ‘70s and dealing with everything going on in her mom’s life back then — from uncool parents, to annoying older brothers, balancing friendships, and to ultimately doing what she can to survive bullying at the hands of the school’s biggest jock — is anything but groovy.

(Courtesy of Full Quiver Publishing)

About the author

An avid reader and history buff since childhood, author, journalist, professional proofreader/copy editor, actress and screenwriter Amanda Lauer fulfilled a lifelong goal with the publication of her debut novel, A World Such as Heaven Intended, in 2014, the first story in her Civil War Heaven Intended series.  Since that time she has had several more books published and has earned several awards for her work as a journalist, author and screenwriter.

Find Amanda at:

Blog
Full Quiver Publishing 
 Amazon Author Page
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Goodreads
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Catholic Teen Books

Copyright 2021 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Header image: Shelby L. Bell (2017), Flickr, CC BY 2.0
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I purchased the book from Amazon. Opinions expressed here are mine alone.

bookshelf with Catholic fiction titles

Book Review: ‘Treasures’ for St. Patrick’s Day or Any Day

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Treasures: Visible & Invisible, a new short story collection from Catholic Teen Books, reads almost like a novel if you let yourself binge on the eight stories, all linked by a mysterious object whose origins can be traced back to none other than St. Patrick himself.

(Pardon the Irish fangirling. It can’t be helped.)

It was easy to get lost in each and every story, some of which come with promises of longer works featuring these characters. And it was fun to note each appearance of the special object that connects each story.

That connection is even more remarkable when you realize that these stories were not written in order, progressive-story-style, with the second author building on what the first author had already contributed. These eight authors composed on their own, with that mysterious object in mind, but with little (if any) idea of what their fellow authors were creating.

But just as we’re all Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, the eight authors of this collection were all on the same page as they put together these linked stories.

What’s Inside:

  • A teen boy sets out to save a friend from pagan druids, but maybe he’s the one who needs saving. (“Treasure in the Bogs” by Theresa Linden)
  • Between a baffling scripture verse and a visit from Heaven, a young monk is in for the surprise of his life. (“A Single Day … or Not” by Susan Peek)
  • A young girl seeks a mysterious treasure that holds the key to granting a nun’s dying wish. (“Lucy and the Hidden Clover” by Antony Barone Kolenc)
  • Honora is desperate — then a peculiar clover and a mysterious young man change everything. (“Lucky and Blessed” by Amanda Lauer)
  • William’s weekend job is a little gift from heaven, but now his family needs a real miracle. (“Danke” by Carolyn Astfalk)
  • When threatened by mobsters, Grace receives help from a surprising source. (“Grace Among Gangsters” by Leslea Wahl)
  • Alone and afraid, a young girl finds friendship in a stranger. But could this boy be trouble? (“In Mouth of Friend or Stranger” by T.M. Gaouette)
  • Kyle was determined to save the precious relic – but now his whole family is in danger. (“The Underappreciated Virtues of Green-Fingered Monsters” by Corinna Turner)

 

From the early days of the Church, objects touched to holy men and women have been linked to the miraculous, such as described in Acts: “when face cloths or aprons that touched his skin were applied to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.” (Acts 19:12)

Check out the book trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuj-NR4L1Dc&t=16s

Win a copy of Treasures!

 

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Copyright 2021 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Images courtesy of Catholic Teen Books; used with permission, all rights reserved.
An advance copy of this book was provided for the purposes of this review. Opinions are mine alone and are uncompensated.
This article contains Amazon links; your purchases through these links benefit FranciscanMom.com.

 

On Barb’s Bookshelf: “Come Back to Me”

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Let me introduce you to the latest binge read from author Carolyn Astfalk. It’s easy to get swept up in Carolyn’s stories, because the characters are true and the dialogue will just carry you along. Come Back to Me is no exception.

Come Back to Me Front FNL

One of the things Carolyn does particularly well is writing about brothers. (She says this is because she has several older brothers herself.) The male characters in Carolyn’s novels aren’t just one-dimensional caricatures — they’re people you could imagine meeting. I mention brothers because Come Back to Me centers on a pair of brothers we first met in Stay with Me. (This novel is a standalone, but really, why would you want to? Especially since Stay with Me is on sale for 99 cents on Kindle through Friday, 2/28/20.)

Kicked out of a marriage he’d kind of just fallen into, Alan finds himself bunking in with his brother Chris and wife Rebecca, who are expecting their first baby. Alan grapples with his own wish for children, his desire to reconcile with a wife who doesn’t seem to want anything to do with him, and unrelated job struggles. Complicating matters is his wife’s friend Megan, whose dissatisfaction with her own life choices puts her into an awkward situation with Alan.

What you won’t find: billionaires or glamorous people with perfect clothes and surprisingly lucrative careers (in traditionally dicey industries) at ridiculously young ages. I’m tired of what I call aspirational fiction. I’d rather read about people with real, relatable struggles.

Highly recommended. Block off some time to binge-read Come Back to Me. Stat.

Watch the trailer:

About the book:

Alan Reynolds slid into marriage. When his wife kicks him out, it looks as if he may slide out just as easily. Forced to bunk with his newlywed younger brother and his pregnant wife, Alan gets a firsthand look at a blissfully happy marriage while his wife rebuffs his attempts at a reunion.

Caught in the middle, Alan and his wife’s mutual friend Megan grows increasingly unhappy with her own empty relationships. If that weren’t enough, her newly sober brother has found happiness with Jesus, a goody-goody girlfriend, and a cockeyed cat.

When Alan and Megan hit rock bottom, will there be grace enough in their bankrupt lives to right their relationships and find purpose like their siblings have?

About the author:

CAstfalk 2020 profile

Carolyn Astfalk resides with her husband and four children in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where it smells like either chocolate or manure, depending on wind direction. She is the author of the contemporary Catholic romances Stay With Me, Ornamental Graces, and All in Good Time, and the coming-of-age story Rightfully Ours. Carolyn is a member of the Catholic Writers Guild, Catholic Teen Books, Pennwriters, and is a CatholicMom.com and Today’s Catholic Teacher contributor. True to her Pittsburgh roots, she still says “pop” instead of “soda,” although her beverage of choice is tea.

CBTM Blog Tour Graphic
Courtesy of Carolyn Astfalk.

Copyright 2020 Barb Szyszkiewicz
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. When you purchase books through any of the affiliate links in this post, you support Franciscanmom.com at no extra cost to you!

KNOW THYSELF book review Franciscanmom.com

“Know Thyself”: Because One-Size Organizing Doesn’t Fit All

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Finally, an organizing book for the rest of us: the ones who look organized on the outside … until you open doors or drawers, and the ones whose stuff is all over the place. In Know Thyself: The Imperfectionist’s Guide to Sorting Your Stuff, Lisa Lawmaster Hess has created a do-able guide to embracing your unique combination of personal and organizing styles and working with them instead of against them.

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I’ve followed Lisa’s writing on organizing for years. Through it, I’ve learned that my personal style is “I need to see it.” We’ve talked together about my wish for an array of clipboards on my office wall, and last summer that wish became a reality. These clipboards, with a fluid arrangement that changes as the contents of the clipboards are switched out, help me keep on top of deadlines for my freelance work — and go a long way toward keeping piles of papers off my desktop.

Barb Szyszkiewicz clipboard wall organizing
My office “wall of clipboards.” Copyright 2019 Barb Szyszkiewicz. All rights reserved.

Parents: Don’t miss the chapter on helping kids get organized for school. Lisa is a retired elementary-school counselor turned college psychology instructor, so she has plenty of experience with students of all ages. And I know that her advice works: When I was a long-term substitute teacher for second grade in 2014, one of my students just could not keep track of his pencils and eraser. He’d leave them on top of his desk, and they’d roll off. Or he’d put them inside the desk, where that little indentation was supposed to keep them handy, but they didn’t stay inside his desk either. The pencil case he’d been required to purchase? That was shoved into the back of the desk, because finding it, opening it, inserting or removing items, and putting it back were way too many steps.

Lisa’s suggestions to think about how we work led me to the dollar store, where a 2-pack of drawer organizers was easy to find. One morning I brought the little bins to school and quietly offered one to my student, telling him that this was a special place where he could keep his pencils and eraser, so they wouldn’t fall on the floor. It didn’t work perfectly, but it was much better, and he could spend more time doing his classwork and less time looking for his runaway supplies. It’s a small thing, but small things matter, and I’m glad I was able to help my student without embarrassing him.

Lisa’s positive “you CAN!” attitude toward organizing contrasts with prescriptive “you MUST do it THIS way” methods. In Know Thyself, you’ll find tools to help you think about how you use and store your stuff — so you can make a conclusion about what will work best for you. That’s the only way to make sustainable change; someone else’s method is never as good for you as it is for someone else.

KNOW THYSELF book review Franciscanmom.com
Image created in Stencil.com using free background elements.

Copyright 2019 Barb Szyszkiewicz

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I was given a free review copy of this book, but no other compensation. Opinions expressed here are mine alone.

Chocolate. Lovers. Novel. #SweetonYouTour

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Banner - Sweet on You

Warning: This novel will make you want to eat chocolate. And I’m not talking M&Ms or Hershey Kisses. You may as well visit your favorite candy shop and pick up some of the good stuff right now, before you read Sweet on You.

That’s because Britt, the heroine of the novel, owns a gourmet chocolate shop; her family and friends, including Zander, her longtime friend who’s had a longtime crush on her, get to taste-test her creations.

Sweet on You

I’ve been waiting for Sweet on You for more than two years: that’s when I read the prequel to the Bradford Sisters romance trilogy, Then Came You. I have to admit, Britt’s chocolate shop had me intrigued from the start. That must be a wonderful place to work! And Merryweather, where the Bradford family lives, sounds like the perfect small town.

What’s inside the book? A fun group of sisters, all successful young business owners. An intriguing mystery. And an irritatingly blind-to-his-feelings-for-her main character, who has no idea that her good friend Zander would give anything — except her friendship — to be more than just a friend.

Here’s the story of Sweet on You:

Britt Bradford and Zander Ford have been the best of friends since they met thirteen years ago. Unbeknown to Britt, Zander has been in love with her for just as long.

Independent and adventurous Britt channels her talent into creating chocolates at her hometown shop. Zander is a bestselling author who’s spent the past 18 months traveling the world. He’s achieved a great deal but still lacks the only thing that ever truly mattered to him — Britt’s heart.

When Zander’s uncle dies of mysterious causes, he returns to Merryweather, Washington, to investigate, and Britt is immediately there to help. Although this throws them into close proximity, both understand that an attempt at romance could jeopardize their once-in-a-lifetime friendship. But while Britt is determined to resist any change in their relationship, Zander finds it increasingly difficult to keep his feelings hidden.

As they work together to uncover his uncle’s tangled past, will the truth of what lies between them also, finally, come to light?

Last in the Series

This book is third in the Bradford Sisters trilogy, and there’s a prequel too, which will definitely hook you on these characters and their charming town. Check out my reviews of the other novels in the series:

then came youThen Came You (Bradford Sisters Prequel). This novella that sets the stage for the Bradford Sisters Romance series: it’s the story of the three sisters’ early life with their father, Garner Bradford, heir to a huge shipping empire. The story is told through letters, phone conversations, and journal entries.

true to youTrue to You (Bradford Sisters Romance #1). Nora Bradford, the middle daughter in the family, is a genealogist and owner/curator of a local historical village. Nora is still getting over a breakup several years ago, but she finds herself falling for the former Navy SEAL who’s hired her to locate his birth mother so he can find out more about his medical history.

falling for youFalling for You (Bradford Sisters Romance #2). Willow Bradford and her former boyfriend Corbin are thrown together by Corbin’s young niece, who wants them to help her find a long-lost aunt. Along the way, opportunities for romance abound, along with some danger as supermodel Willow is stalked by some over-the-top fans and the two of them discover the extent of an apparently squeaky-clean politician’s secret corruption. I enjoyed the character of Corbin’s niece — she’d be great in a YA spinoff!

food-photographer-jennifer-pallian-173719-unsplash
Image credit: Jennifer Pallian (2016) via Unsplash.com, CC0/PD

When you eat good chocolate, you don’t need a whole pound to satisfy you. Instead, you savor the candy slowly, enjoying every nibble. In the same way you anticipate the taste of a delicious candy treat but at the same time you want to make it last, you’ll read this story slowly, not rushing to get to the end.

So settle in with a nice box of chocolates, and maybe a latte, and enjoy the read.

About the Author

Becky’s a California native who attended Baylor University, met and married a Texan, and settled in Dallas. She published historical romances for the general market before putting her career on hold for several years to care for her three children. When God called her back to writing, Becky knew He meant for her to turn her attention to Christian fiction. She loves writing funny, modern, and inspirational contemporary romance! She’s the Christy Award and Carol Award winning author of My Stubborn Heart, the Porter Family series, and the Bradford Sisters Romance series.
Tour Schedule
Tour Giveaway

ONE WINNER WILL RECEIVE:
  • Tote bag highlighting Britt’s chocolate shop, Sweet Art
  • Paperback copy of Sweet on You
  • $100 Visa gift card
  • 1 pound box of See’s chocolate truffles
  • Set of chocolate scented soap
  • Box of colored pencils
  • “Tattoo” coloring book
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Copyright 2019 Barb Szyszkiewicz
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I was given a free review copy of this book, but no other compensation. Opinions expressed here are mine alone.

On Barb’s Bookshelf: “Tortured Soul”

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Scared straight: but with Purgatory.

Theresa Linden’s newest novel, Tortured Soul, is a compelling tale of a haunting, with a twist. Jeannie Lyons is pushed out of her family’s home by her older brother and into a remote cottage that also houses a gruesome “presence.” Afraid to be at home, but with nowhere else to go, Jeannie enlists the help of the sort-of-creepy guy her brother had once pushed her to date. This edge-of-the-seat story of guilt and forgiveness emphasizes the importance of praying for the souls of the deceased — and would make a great movie.

Tortured Soul front cover

Tortured Soul reminded me deeply that the deceased need our prayers — not only our deceased loved ones and friends, but in particular those who have no one to pray for them. Maybe they were alienated from family during their lives, as depicted in Linden’s novel; maybe their loved ones don’t pray. But we can, and we should.

In the Catholic elementary school I attended, the principal used the PA system before and after lunch to lead prayers. Before lunch, it was the perennial “Bless us, O Lord … ” and after lunch, we prayed in thanksgiving and then for the holy souls.

We give Thee thanks for all Thy benefits, Almighty God, who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

As a middle-schooler, I thought it was kind of strange to pray for dead people after we’d finished our lunch and recess games. But I’d transferred from public school after fifth grade, and I was feeling late to the Catholic-school party in many ways, so I just went along with it, and didn’t think much about that prayer again … until this book reminded me of it.

Download a free set of printable bookmarks with the prayer for the holy souls, and make a commitment to pray for them every day.

Want to know more about praying for the souls in Purgatory? Theresa Linden explains the two reasons God desires our prayers for the suffering souls in an article at CatholicMom.com.

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Pray for the Holy Souls
Window located in lower chapel of Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston, MA. Copyright 2019 Barb Szyszkiewicz. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2019 Barb Szyszkiewicz
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I was given a free review copy of this book, but no other compensation. Opinions expressed here are mine alone.