Review of "From This Moment" by Elizabeth Camden

I have truly enjoyed all of this author's books - but this one by far is my favorite. Stella West (nee Westergaard) and Romulus White are professionals with somewhat interconnecting lives - Stella is an acclaimed artist, and Romulus has been pursuing her for years to provide illustrations for the science magazine that is his pride and joy. He is thrilled to discover that Stella is now in Boston, but her reason for crossing the pond is tragic - Stella's sister died under somewhat mysterious circumstances, and she is determined to discover what really happened.

Although she was initially reticent to work for Romulus, when she is opposed at every turn in her investigation, she decides that his relationships and connections with people in positions of power within the city may provide her with the answers she needs. However, the truth goes much deeper than either of them could have imagined, and evidence suggests that the continued investigation will have far reaching consequences that neither of them would have imagined.

Note: If you have not already read the companion short, "Summer of Dreams: A From This Moment Novella" I suggest you read that first. It will greatly enrich this novel and give deeper context to not only Romulus' motivation but also the subplot of the relationship with his cousin and her estranged husband.

It is very easy to recommend this book! I was given a copy of this book by Bethany House publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Review of "The Alliance" by Jolina Petersheim

Told in alternating viewpoints between the two lead characters, Leora and Moses, the author opens the story with Moses' plane crash into the Mennonite community that Leora lives in. The plane crash is quickly suspected to be the result of an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) - but whatever it is has rendered all current technology useless. The enigmatic Moses soon becomes invested in the community's survival - along with a few other "Englischers" who agree to help protect the area and ration the food supply the community possesses.

The author paints beautiful word pictures that make for poignant storytelling. Overall, I enjoyed this book but did have some difficulty truly caring about the characters. Yet, it was still an interesting story. Personally, it would have helped me to better process the pace of the book if I had understood from the outset it was the first either in a series, or of two books...which I (somehow!) missed completely until the end. And, although the end is not necessarily a cliff hanger, I cannot completely describe this as a standalone book.

All in all I do recommend this book and encourage you to get it and see what YOU think!