Reviews: Seaside Letters & Guardian of the Flame

Today I'm reviewing two books that I recently read and really enjoyed. One is a sweet romance from Denise Hunter, while the other is the latest in the Seven Wonders books from T.L. Higley. Both were engrossing reads, but in different ways. So to start, let's turn to fellow Hoosier, Denise Hunter...

For Seaside Letters, think You've Got Mail mixed with a bit more real life. Denise has crafted a romance filled with secrets. Sabrina never intended to fall in love with Tucker McCabe, but she did. The only problem is that now he wants to find her -- and he's asked for her help. While I wondered at the beginning if this book would be a retelling of You've Got Mail, Denise's unique spins and twists soon came to the forefront. I'd love to tell you the main one, but will restrain myself. And the similarities didn't bother me since You've Got Mail is one of my favorite movies.

And similar to the other books that are Nantucket Love Stories, the book retains the parable element. I love the depth it adds to the book when you consider how God's love is revealed through the romance. So the next time you're ready to curl up with a romance that has so much more going on, pick up Seaside Letters.

Seaside Letters, Nantucket Love Story Series #3 By Denise Hunter Sabrina Kincaid didn't intend to fall for Nantucket native Tucker McCabe, the man she serves coffee to every morning-the man tied deeply to Sabrina's most mortifying secret. Then Tucker decides to hire Sabrina to help locate his online friend Sweetpea-the mysterious woman he's falling in love with. It's a pickle: Sabrina is not inclined to help, but letting Tucker hire someone else could spell disaster. Because if someone else helped him-if someone else sifted through the letters and figured out the truth-then Tucker would discover that the person he's trying to find is . . . her.

The next book is Guardian of the Flame by T.L. Higley. It is the third installment in the Seven Wonders series, and I had to restrain myself from reading it the moment in waltzed through the door. While I read it the same week as Denise's book, it is a very different and equally moving book.

Step back in time to Alexandria, 48 B.C. The Romans are invading and Cleopatra and others struggle for who will maintain power. The Cleopatra thread was fun to read. But Sophia's tale gripped me. A woman who believed she was unlovable, she'd held herself aloft in the Alexandria lighthouse for years. Now events are forcing her to step out of the lighthouse and engage. Too bad one of those she's forced to engage with is Bellus, a Roman centurion.

This story is a twist on Beauty and the Beast, but has such depth I couldn't put it down. And the historical details swept me away. I felt like I was in ancient Alexandria -- a place I wasn't sure I would have chosen until this talented author swept me there. A perfect story that leaves me eager for the next.

If you like historicals, or haven't tried them for awhile, this one is the one to read next.

Guardian of the Flame, Seven Wonders Series #3 By T.L. Higley The year is 48 BC. Sophia, a woman hurt by past loss, guards the famous lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt, in order to hide herself away from a world she deems cruel and unloving. But there is no escape. Political turmoil swells as Roman general Julius Caesar and his legion storm the city, and Cleopatra, Greek queen of Egypt , fights to retain her country against both Caesar and bloodthirsty rivals within her own household. Sophia is caught in the middle between a loyalty to Cleopatra and her maddening interest in Bellus, the Roman soldier whom Caesar has instructed to overtake the lighthouse.