To Love a Beast: a Beauty and the Beast retelling set in 1800s Texas

To Love a Beast is the first book in the Once Upon a Time in Texas by Karen Witemeyer. Everett Griffin once enjoyed life among New York’s elite. He was left scared in both body and spirit, he now lives as a recluse in his Texas mansion with only three trusted servants. Everett uses this reputation as a shield as the beast who lives in the gloomy manor and sends his monster dog to attack anyone who dares approach the property.. It wouldn’t be until a young beautiful woman breaks the walls down. After an injury to her father, Callista Rosenfield is determined to fulfill a major contract in order to save the family’s book binding business and nothing will deter her. After finding unlikely allies in Mr. Griffin’s staff, Callista gets to work restoring volumes in his library. As Everett watches Callista work, he sets aside his ill-tempered growls for admiration. As affection grows between Everett and Callista, the evil schemes of someone out for revenge threatens to tear everything apart. 

Disney’s 1990 Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite movies and I enjoyed books retelling fairy tales. I was excited to read this Beauty & the Beast retelling set in 1800's Texas. I was hooked from the opening chapter. The story is filled with humorous banter between Griffin and his staff as well as Griffin and Callista. There are great moments that will bring smiles to your face as well as romantic moments that will make the heart beat a bit faster. The swoon worthy ending is sigh worthy. I loved the little homage moments to the Disney movie and yet had its own drama with twists and turns. I also enjoyed the faith of the characters throughout the story. It wasn’t overwhelming and fit great into the story. One of my favorite quotes is “Hope sees possibilities, where fear only sees barriers.” I devoured this book in one day. I could not put it down and I eagerly await more books in this series. I highly, highly, highly recommend To Love a Beast. 

 

To Love a Beast is available in hardcover, paperback, eBook and audiobook

Still Marching On: a young woman's fight for social justice

Still Marching On by Lynda Stephenson is the story of a young college girl at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. She must fight against the injustice of the Jim Crow laws and as well as social practices which could keep her from following her dreams.

Frankilee Baxter is a young white college student at Athena College where her roommate, Eleanor, is African American. Together, they join the Civil Rights Movement when racial tensions are very explosive. Frankilee is the type of girl who likes to shock people and study their reactions. She begins to conduct social experiments and writing about her experiences. She is able to sell a few of her stories to the New York Times. She joins sit-ins at a local department store who refused to serve African Americans. She joins Freedom Rides which leads to time in jail. While she fights for social change, she must deal with the everyday issues at home. Her mom is sick. Her dad is having trouble with the bank. Her aunt is trying to bully everyone to follow her plan for the grandfather’s ranch land. And she falls in love with Calvin Morris, a law student who seeks the social change she does. Will Frankilee succeed in her dreams of journalism? Will she be able to forge the social change she seeks to see in the world? Will her dream of marrying Calvin come true?

I enjoyed Still Marching On. It is an interesting book with a passionate retelling of the Civil Rights Movement from a participant who seems so unlikely. The details the author put into the events are graphic but very real. You shiver as you know that person suffered injustices and cruelties as they fought for civil rights. Frankilee is passionate, rash, impulsive and ready to take on the social injustices. The debates between Frankilee and those on the other side and the opinions expressed are dealt with realistically. I highly recommend Still Marching On.

Still Marching On

in paperback for $27.95

and on the Kindle or the Nook for $6.99

Dobyns Chronicles: a story of strength, faith and survivial

Dobyns Chronicles by Shirley McLain is about her great-grandfather, Charley Dobyns and his life growing up on ranches in Texas and Chickasaw Territory (which is part of present day Oklahoma) in a time when the old ways were moving into the modern era and the old life would only be seen in movies.

The story opens with Charley standing on his land for the last time as he moves from his home. He reflects back to his life on his father’s farm and his early memories of his parents. When his parents died tragically during the yellow fever epidemic of 1888, Charley must figure out how to keep his siblings together and keep them alive. They would endure extreme weather, tragic accidents and situations that no one could possibly imagine and they came back stronger and ready for the next one.

I love this story. I love the perseverance to survive. While I was reading this book, I couldn’t help but think of my grandmother on her parents’ farm in Oklahoma during the Great Depression and the stories she would tell me of what they did to survive. I wonder if today’s generations would have the same survival spirit as out grandparents and great-grandparents. The story was so engrossing that I read the entire book in one day, which I thought I wouldn’t do but I had to finish and what find out the rest of the story. I really enjoyed the family photos at the end of the epilogue. It helped put faces to the names and their incredible story. I loved the Dobyns’ commitment to God and His Word. No matter what was going on in his life, the family always turned to God for guidance and comfort. I highly recommend Dobyns Chronicles. It is a story of love of family, love of the land and survival against great odds.

Dobyns Chronicles is available on Amazon

on the Kindle for $3.99 and in paperback for $19.99