I’m back! I took the month of August off, like the true Portuguese that I am.
It’s funny how culture affects the social side of seasons. In Portugal, the month of August is the vacation month. This was especially true when I was a child—school ended in mid June and didn’t start again until early October. Later, in high school and university, it started in mid September and went until early June. But August still reigned supreme as the king-month of Summer. If you lived in the city, you could expect to find most stores closed with an “On Vacation” sign hanging on the door. Unless you went to the beach, where half the country congregated by the surf and August sun, giving a boost to seasonal businesses.
Then I came to Utah, and school starts right after the middle of August- huh? After all these years here, and with four kids in school, I still find that weird. Like— why-the-heck-is-Walmart-selling-Halloween-stuff-in-August weird. But I digress.
I thought I’d do something different for the month of September— book reviews!
I have been reading a lot, as I usually do, and have read some fantastic books. This will be a brief sampling, I couldn’t possibly list all the books, or do justice to all of them. If you are really curious to see all the books I’ve been reading, you may click on the Goodreads icon under the blog banner, and my reading list will be there. I have no specific agenda to the books I’ll post here, it’s whatever comes up—sometimes, I’ll copy and paste the review from the one I posted on Amazon, and sometimes I’ll expand a little more. But it’s all very random, so don’t try to read too much into it. 😉
I’m starting this off with an amazing series which I read in about four days— it’s so good, I couldn’t put it down. It’s the Isabelle Webb series by N.C. Allen, published by Covenant Communications. I had read the first four books by Nancy Campbell Allen when they came out in the early 2000s, and I was curious to start this series (she also has another series titled ‘Faith of Our Fathers’).
— The first one is The Legend of the Jewel:
The series starts in 1865, right after the Civil War ended. From the blurb:
Former Pinkerton spy Isabelle Webb needs a vacation. The broken leg she suffered while trying to warn President Lincoln of his impending assassination has mended a little, but her grief over his death has not. She and her young charge, Sally Rhodes, have an open itinerary when they board a steamer ship to Bombay. But upon meeting Utah blacksmith James Ashby, the two women opt to join the search for his younger brother Phillip, who’s traveling abroad with the ill-reputed Thaddeus Sparks in search of a mystical treasure. Upon arrival in India, other passengers are also interested in taking up the search. But the seeming good will of some soon turns dark on the streets of Bombay. As murder and kidnapping tears the group apart, James and Isabelle race to uncover the hidden motives and harrowing connections that threaten not only Phillip’s life, but also their own. First in N.C. Allen’s new series, this tale’s cunning characters and twisting plot will wrap you tightly in the action, intrigue, and romance surrounding the Jewel of Zeus.
— The second is The Pharaoh’s Daughter:
Unaware that their nemesis, Thaddeus Sparks, is also in Egypt as part of a jewel-hunting cadre, Isabelle’s group joins the expedition under ominous signs: a prophetic warning from a stranger, threats along the Nile River, and birthmarks that burn when the rare Jewel of Zeus is nearby. At the excavation site—a cave rumored to be the tomb of a pharaoh’s disgraced daughter—tension builds when several newcomers arrive. And as circumstances shift with the sands, Isabelle finds that some of the royal treasure in the ruthless pharaoh’s desert was buried for lethal reasons.
— And the third one is The Grecian Princess:
The sun burns brightly over the ancient isle of Greece as former Pinkerton spy Isabelle Webb returns for her most rousing adventure yet. Legend has it that the location of a fantastic treasure is revealed only when three mystical jewels are united. In an effort to locate the elusive trove and the power it promises, shadowy organizations and greedy men have tirelessly pursued the three hidden stones for centuries. Isabelle and her trusted companions including her dashing fiance, James Ashby, are in possession of one of these legendary jewels, while nefarious treasure hunter Thaddeus Sparks retains another. The third stone, the Jewel of Hades, is rumored to be concealed on the rocky shores of Greece. As good and evil converge on this fiery island, the final battle for possession of the jewels and their anciently protected secret begins. When events take a deadly turn, Isabelle must rely on her keen instincts and indomitable spirit as dastardly forces threaten to make her first Greek expedition her last.
This is historical fiction at its best. It also has mystery, action, and a very sweet dose of romance. With all these elements, what’s not to like? You absolutely can’t go wrong with such a recipe.
All three books are amazing, and I can’t choose a favorite. I loved all the characters, especially Isabelle and James, but I liked how the others were also very well developed, and how much more of their personalities and relationships emerged through the series. The settings are amazing. My favorite was the third one, in Greece, but I’ve always had a special like for the Grecian culture and country. You won’t be disappointed with India and Egypt either. The history behind the legends is intriguing, and the action mounts through each story. Of course, I wouldn’t have liked it as much if not for the romance in it, and the ending was perfect in that respect— completely toe-curling and swoon-worthy.
Rating- ★★★★★, on all three of them.