Title: Over the Hedge

Author: Paulette Mahurin

Blurb:

During one of the darkest times in history, at the height of the German occupation of the Netherlands in 1943, members of the Dutch resistance began a mission to rescue Jewish children from the deportation center in Amsterdam. Heading the mission were Walter Süskind, a German Jew living in the Netherlands, Henriëtte Pimentel, a Sephardic Jew, and Johan van Hulst, principal of a Christian college. As Nazis rounded up Jewish families at gunpoint, the three discreetly moved children from the deportation center to the daycare across the street and over the backyard hedge to the college next door. From the college, the children were transported to live with Dutch families. Working against irate orders from Hitler to rid the Netherlands of all Jews and increasing Nazi hostilities on the Resistance, the trio worked tirelessly to overcome barriers. Ingenious plans were implemented to remove children’s names from the registry of captured Jews. To sneak them out of the college undetected past guards patrolling the deportation center. To meld them in with their new families to avoid detection. Based on actual events, Over the Hedge is the story of how against escalating Nazi brutality when millions of Jews were disposed of in camps, Walter Süskind, Henriëtte Pimentel, and Johan van Hulst worked heroically with the Dutch resistance to save Jewish children. But it is not just a story of their courageous endeavors. It is a story of the resilience of the human spirit. Of friendship and selfless love. The love that continues on in the hearts of over six hundred Dutch Jewish children.

Buy Links: 

This novel is available to read on #KindleUnlimited

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/me9eZr

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09BM8QVLF

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09BM8QVLF

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Over-Hedge-Paulette-Mahurin-ebook/dp/B09BM8QVLF/

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B09BM8QVLF

About the Author:

Paulette Mahurin is an international bestselling literary fiction and historical fiction novelist. She lives with her husband Terry and two dogs, Max and Bella, in Ventura County, California. She grew up in West Los Angeles and attended UCLA, where she received a Master’s Degree in Science. 

Her first novel, The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap, made it to Amazon bestseller lists and won awards, including best historical fiction 2012 in Turning the Pages Magazine. Her second novel, His Name Was Ben, originally written as an award winning short story while she was in college and later expanded into a novel, rose to bestseller lists its second week out. Her third novel, To Live Out Loud, won international critical acclaim and made it to multiple sites as favorite read book of 2015. Her fourth book, The Seven Year Dress, made it to the bestseller lists for literary fiction and historical fiction on Amazon U.S., Amazon U.K. and Amazon Australia. Her fifth book, The Day I Saw The Hummingbird, was released in 2017 to rave reviews. Her sixth book, A Different Kind of Angel, was released in the summer of 2018 also to rave reviews. Her last four books: Irma’s Endgame, The Old Gilt Clock, Where Irises Never Grow, and Over the Hedge all made it to bestselling lists on Amazon. Her new release, Over the Hedge, was #1 in Hot New Release Amazon U.K. its second day out. 

Social Media Links:

Website: thepersecutionofmildreddunlap.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mahurinpaulette

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Paulette-Mahurins-Books-695108163960200

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/paulettemahurin

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/paulette-mahurin

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Paulette-Mahurin/e/B008MMDUGO

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5895757.Paulette_Mahurin

Title: Harvest Moon

Author: Jenny Knipfer

Blurb: In the wilds of 19th century Ontario, Maang-ikwe, a young Ojibwe woman, falls into a forbidden love, breaks her father’s honor, and surrenders her trust to someone who betrays it. The abuse she suffers divides her from her tribe and causes her to give up what she holds most dear. 

Niin-mawin must come to grips with his culture being ripped away from him. Brought up in a “white man’s” school, he suffers through an enforced “civilized” education and separation from his family. When a man he respects reveals a secret about Niin-mawin’s past, he embarks on a search for the person he hopes can mend the part of his heart that’s always been missing. 

Both Maang-ikwe and Niin-mawin wonder how a harvest of pain and sorrow will impact their lives. Will they find the blessings amongst the hardships, or will they allow the results of division and abuse to taint their hearts forever?

Fans of historical fiction, Native American fiction, Christian historical fiction, clean romance, and literary fiction will be moved by this deep, heartfelt novel.

Praise for Harvest Moon

“A moving and authentic work or historical fiction, while this series is a testament to Knipfer’s skilled and versatile storytelling.” Self-Publishing Review

“Knipfer does an outstanding job of cementing place, time, and culture against the backdrop of evolving relationships.” D. Donavon for Midwest Book Review

Buy Links:

Amazon UK • Amazon US • Amazon CA • Amazon AU

Review:

I had originally reviewed this novel on behalf of Readers’ Favorite. As per their review guidelines, I’m unable to post my review on Goodreads or Amazon, but I’ve shared it below.

A tale of tragedy and self-discovery, Harvest Moon, the fourth book in the By the Light of the Moon series by Jenny Knipfer, takes the reader on a journey through the life and decisions of Maang-ikwe, an Ojibwe woman living during the 19^th century. As a young girl, Maang-ikwe is forced to attend a Jesuit school, a way for the white men to maintain some control over the native populations. There, she meets a young incumbent priest, Ignacio. The pair decide to run away together, but they are thwarted, and the unthinkable happens to Maang-ikwe as she seeks comfort from another man she thought a friend. Paralleled with her son, Niin-mawin, the subsequent years take both on a journey to forgiveness and understanding, but also roots in Maang-ikwe the deep desire not to forsake her people’s ways.

This was certainly an interesting piece of historical fiction. I do find novels written around this time period very interesting because it shows literally how white men wanted to wipe out the culture of an entire people through the use of residential schools and cruel methods against Native American children. I can see why Maang-ikwe struggled with her beliefs throughout, and wanted to keep the Ojibwe way of life alive for future generations. Her son’s experiences were equally heart-breaking as her own. I appreciated the satisfying ending to this novel, and I won’t say too much about that, but it works so well for the story. Harvest Moon, the fourth book in the By the Light of the Moon series by Jenny Knipfer, explores so much about a past I’m sure many would like to forget, but it’s so important we remember what was done to the Native people.

Author Bio:

Jenny lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Ken, and their pet Yorkie, Ruby. She is also a mom and loves being a grandma. She enjoys many creative pursuits but finds writing the most fulfilling.

Spending many years as a librarian in a local public library, Jenny recently switched to using her skills as a floral designer in a retail flower shop. She is now retired from work due to disability. Her education background stems from psychology, music, and cultural missions.

Her By the Light of the Moon series earned five-star reviews from Readers’ Favorite, a book review and award contest company. Their praise: “Ruby Moon is entertaining, fast-paced, and features characters that are real. Blue Moon continues a well-written and highly engaging saga of family ties, betrayals, and heartaches. Silver Moon is a highly recommended read for fans of historical wartime fiction, powerful emotive drama, and excellent atmospheric writing. Harvest Moon is probably one of the best historical fiction novels I have ever read. I have come away deep in thought, feeling somewhat like I’ve had a mystical experience and one I will never forget.”

She holds membership in the: Midwest Independent Booksellers Association, Wisconsin Writers Association, Christian Indie Publishing Association, and Independent Book Publishers Association.

Jenny’s favorite place to relax is by the western shore of Lake Superior, where her novel series, By The Light of the Moon, is set. She is currently writing a new historical fiction series entitled, Sheltering Trees. The first title in that series, In a Grove of Maples,—inspired by the lives of her grandparents in the late 1890’s—is slated for fall of 2021.

Connect with Jenny:

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Title: Beware the Lizard Lurking
(The House of the Red Duke, Book 2)

Author: Vivienne Brereton

Blurb:

Welcome to the candlelit courts of Europe!

Uninvited guests at a secret wedding.

 A frozen River Thames.

 May Day celebrations to remember.

 The young Henry VIII, with the aid of his chief advisor, Thomas Wolsey, and against the counsel of Thomas Howard, the Earl of Surrey, is hellbent on a so-called holy war with France. This puts him at odds with his Scottish brother-in-law, James IV of Scotland, and his older sister, Margaret. 

Both Tristan and Nicolas know that time is running out for them before they have to…enter the Church – and into an arranged marriage, respectively. In the meantime, they remain at loggerheads over pretty Ysabeau de Sapincourt, the spoilt young wife of the hapless Robert.

At La Colombe, near Ardres, in Picardy, spirited little Valentine is still making mischief as she sees fit.

Across the Narrow Sea, Cecily is perfectly content in her beloved Zennor Castle, in Cornwall. 

None of them know what Dame Fortune has in store for them. Will she allow them to follow their own paths…or has she got other ideas?

Buy Links: Amazon UK • Amazon US • Amazon AU

About the Author:

Born between historic Winchester and Southampton in the UK, Vivienne has been passionate about the Tudors for as long as she can remember. This led to a degree in Medieval History at university, and the growing desire to write a novel.

However, life took over somewhat and only after stays, short and long, in six countries she called home did she finally settle down to finish her novel.

Words have always played an important part in her life, whether it’s been writing, editing, teaching English, or just picking up a good book.

Having three sons came in very handy when she had to write about squabbles between the male characters in her novel. Not so handy when she took her boys to Hampton Court and one of them got lost in the maze!

Seeing ‘A Phoenix Rising’, the first book in the series ‘The House of the Red Duke’ in print for the first time was a moment of great joy for her. She very much hopes that anyone reading ‘Beware the Lizard Lurking’, the second book in the series, will enjoy the end result as much as she enjoyed writing it.

Social Media Links:

Website • Twitter • Instagram • Facebook