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Isabella Bride of Ohio: American Mail Order Bride by Debra Parmley – Review by Torey Foster

Isabella Bride of Ohio: American Mail-Order Brides SeriesIsabella Bride of Ohio: American Mail-Order Brides Series by Debra Parmley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Isabella, Bride of Ohio is a historical fiction story of a Swedish girl who recently moved to America. Her family moved in hopes of improving their life. The trip to the U.S. was a hard one and sickness took Isabella’s family and left her on her own. Just as she started to get back on her feet events once again changed everything for her and left her struggling to find a living and yearning for something that will last. The answer to her problems? A mail order bride advertisement. In hopes of finding a little home in the country and something of permanence to build her life on, she signs up to be a mail order bride and soon finds a man that seems to have everything she hopes for. A stable position and a nice house in the country where she can take walks and enjoy the garden. Isabella strikes out on her own once again to meet the man and see if they build a life together.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a great story and it kept you guessing. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen, the story took another turn. I am a big fan of historical fiction and have read many mail order bride stories. I can usually guess what is coming long before it happens, but this story took some turns that had me pleasantly surprised.
The only thing I didn’t like, and my reason for taking away a star, is that while the book is supposed to take place in the 1800s, there were little things that didn’t follow that timeline. Part of the enjoyment of a historical fiction book is seeing the difference in how they had to do things before they had the luxuries that we have. This story has the main character tum rning on the faucet to run a hot bath as if it was the norm, but indoor plumbing, while it did exist, was not common practice until around 1920.
Other than my nit picking about these little things, this story was fantastic and I would definitely recommend it.

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Deadly Sommer (Nora Sommer Caribbean Suspense Book 1) by Nicholas Harvey – Review by Torey Foster

Deadly Sommer (Nora Sommer #1)Deadly Sommer by Nicholas Harvey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Deadly Sommer is a book about a young rookie officer who recently joined the force on a small island in the Caribbean. Weeks into her new job, a girl is kidnapped and the young officer finds herself alone, thrust into a game of challenges that she must complete and she has to play by the kidnappers’ rules. As she begins these challenges she realizes it wasn’t by chance that she was the one selected, the kidnapper chose her specifically, and when her losing means the death of the kidnapped girl, failure is not an option.
I really enjoyed this book. It had a good story and was an interesting read. You find out early on who the kidnapper is, so you are left to solve the “why?”. The kidnapper is not asking for money, they have a purpose for taking this girl and for the way they did it. I enjoyed following Nora through these seemingly random challenges and reading her thoughts along the way. I did have to take away one star because this book has a very slow start. I usually appreciate an author painting a picture with words to draw you into the story, but this seemed excessive. There was too much description in some places to the point where it distracts from the story. Fortunately, the story is good enough that I still think it is worth 4 stars.

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Bake Off (Bake Believe Series Book 2) by Cori Cooper – Review by Torey Foster

Bake OffBake Off by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bake Off is the second book in the Bake Believe series. It is a fun story of a young girl coming into her own, really starting to discover herself, and her family in a whole new way.
She doesn’t only have normal teen issues to deal with, like school, and boys. She has a special gift that she doesn’t understand and is having trouble getting a handle on it. In this book, she takes a trip to visit her family in Arizona, hoping to learn more about her gift and her family. She wants to use her gift for good but she has to understand it first.
Once again the author has done an amazing job pulling you into the pages of the book. They don’t just tell you how the character feels, they bring it to life so that you can imagine the feeling as if it is happening to you. The story is light and funny and the main character learns some life lessons along the way. There is just enough mystery to without getting too complicated, making this book perfect for anyone from the age of 10 and up. This book is just very well written. I can’t wait for the next book in the series and I would definitely recommend.

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Bake Believe (Bake Believe Series Book 1) by Cori Cooper – Review by Torey Foster

Bake BelieveBake Believe by Cori Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bake Believe is a story of a young girl who is a little boy crazy and determined to enjoy every second of life. Through a happy accident she comes to find that she has a special ability when she bakes. Not special like her food tastes good, special like magical!
This is a fantastic story for ages from middle school to adult. Not only is the story cute and funny, but the artist has the gift of making you feel like you are part of the story, experiencing it right along with the character.
This book should carry a warning though! Each chapter is followed by a delicious recipe that you will want to try.
I would recommend this book to anyone ages 10 and up! Looking forward to reading the rest if the series

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