Fascinating History -- Preacher on the Run

 

General Book Info

Title: Preacher on the Run (A Novel of the Regulator Uprising)

Series: For Liberty & Conscience #1

Genre: Christian historical fiction

Length (physical copy): 326 pages

Publication date: April 12, 2020

 

Book Description

STANDING FOR TRUTH COULD COST HIM HIS FREEDOM.

It’s 1771, and Robert Boothe has spent the last four years leading the tyrant-hating Regulators against North Carolina’s corrupt British government. All he wants is a safe place for his little Baptist church to live and worship God. But the established church wants him to shut up. The governor wants him dead. 

FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM COULD COST HIM HIS LIFE.

Being an unlicensed dissenter preacher has already made Robert a target. Then Colonel Charles Drake comes to town with one ambition: winning the governor’s favor, no matter what it takes. And Robert Boothe just might be his last chance.

YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE.

Preacher on the Run is the first book of the For Liberty & Conscience trilogy, which combines North Carolina Revolution-era history with Christ-centered fiction.

My Thoughts 

Preacher on the Run is a fascinating story, rich in actual history and the author's own fictional take on the people and events. This is the first book I have read that takes place in the pre-Revolutionary War time period, and I was very intrigued with that setting. 

The characters were well developed, and the plot of the story was very engaging from beginning to end. Building the story with characters from so many positions along the spectrum of the social, religious, and political climate of the day gives a captivating complexity to the story.  Real-life tension, often involving life-and-death decisions, provides compelling dimension throughout. Faith is a very prominent element of the story, providing much more than just a passing detail to fit the label of Christian fiction.

Preacher on the Run is a great read for fans of well-written Christian historical fiction. I look forward to reading the next installment in this series.

Thanks to Jayna Baas for providing a copy of her book. I am happy to share my own thoughts in this review.

Author Bio

Jayna Baas (pronounced as in “baa, baa, black sheep”) lives in northern Michigan with a great family of real people and the family of pretend people who live in her head. (Yes, she does know her characters are not real. No, she does not want you to tell them she said so.) Notorious for work­ing on several projects at once and writing her series in the wrong order, she believes German writer Thomas Mann was cor­rect in saying, “A writer is some­­one for whom writing is more difficult than for other people.” She enjoys writing and reading in a wide range of genres, but her favorite story is this: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Buy Links

Paperback (direct from author): https://www.booksbyjayna.com/bookstore

Kindle eBook (on sale during tour): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0872FQL8G

 

Other Links

Website: https://www.booksbyjayna.com/

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC14TaaJzTh23lKyhcZ-f01w

Book trailer: https://www.youtu.be/mGbr9x2sCyU

Goodreads book page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54654303-preacher-on-the-run

Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20530182.Jayna_Baas

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0872HCZ2V

Giveaway Info

Time: 12:00 AM September 13 – 12:00 AM September 25

Prize: One signed paperback copy of Preacher on the Run, one bookmark with a Bible verse and cover artwork, and eight assorted photography notecards. All entrants will receive a promo code for Jayna Baas’s online bookstore.

Notes: Open to US residents 18 and up or with parental consent. No purchase necessary.

Enter Rafflecopter giveaway here

Blog Tour Schedule

September 13–24, 2021

 Sept 13: Blog tour kickoff @ Books by Jayna (https://www.booksbyjayna.com/blog)

Book spotlight, behind-the-scenes post

Sept 14: Kristina Hall (https://kristinahallauthor.wordpress.com)

Book review, author interview

Sept 15: Jenny Knipfer—Author (https://jennyknipfer.com/blog/)

Book spotlight, excerpt

Sept 16: Vanessa Hall—Author of Christian Fiction (https://vanessahallauthor.wordpress.com/)

Book review, character interview

Sept 17: Captive Dreams Window (https://captivedreamswindow.wordpress.com/)

Book review

Sept 20: Southern Gal Loves to Read (http://southerngallovestoread.blogspot.com)

Book review

Sept 21: Amanda Tero—Blog (http://amandatero.com/blog)

Book spotlight, guest post

Sept 22: Connie’s History Classroom (https://connieshistoryclassroom.blogspot.com)

Book review

Of Blades and Thorns (https://www.graceajohnson.com/blog)

Author interview

Sept 23: Britt Reads Fiction (https://brittreadsfiction.wordpress.com)

Book review

Sept 24: Reading Excursions (https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com)

Book review, spotlight, excerpt

Tour Wrap-Up

Sept 25: Giveaway winner announced in Rafflecopter widget and on Books by Jayna (https://www.booksbyjayna.com/blog)

Fast-Paced Romantic Suspense -- Hostile Intent

Hostile Intent, in typical Lynette Eason fashion, is fast-paced romantic suspense, full of excitement, danger, questions, twists, and some scary moments! The suspense starts on the first page and continues throughout the whole story. I started the book one afternoon, intending to read a few chapters and then lay it aside for later, but I never found a good spot to stop until I had finished the last page.

The characters are well developed and drive the fast pace of the story. As is often the case in well-written suspense, there were points where I had questions about whether certain characters were the "good" guys or the "bad" guys. If you have read the previous books in this Danger Never Sleeps series, you will recognize some of the characters, but this book can easily be read as a stand-alone.

I highly recommend Hostile Intent to fans of great inspirational suspense. Thanks to Revell Reads for providing a copy of the book. I am happy to share my own thoughts in this review.

About the Book

Secrets are about to be revealed . . . but will the guilty be brought to justice?

Ava Jackson entered the military shortly after high school, but her mother's illness has forced her to request an early discharge. She already lost her father while deployed, and there's no way she's going to let her mother die alone. But after a visit to the nursing facility where her mother lives, Ava is attacked walking back to her car. Fortunately, FBI Special Agent Caden Denning arrives in time to help fight off her attacker.

Caden reveals to Ava that she may hold the key to the murders of three families, and he needs her help before anyone else is harmed. The hits show a pattern, and clearly the killer has an agenda. But if Caden and Ava can't discover what it is, Ava may be next on the hit list.

About the Author

Lynette Eason is the bestselling author of the Danger Never Sleeps, Blue Justice, Women of Justice, Deadly Reunions, Hidden Identity, and Elite Guardians series. She is the winner of three ACFW Carol Awards, the Selah Award, and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award, among others. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and has a master's degree in education from Converse College. Eason lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children. Learn more at www.lynetteeason.com.

Story with a Unique Premise -- The Fifth Avenue Story Society

The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck is an intriguing story with a very unique premise. What may seem at the very beginning to be a collection of somewhat disjointed accounts of unrelated events in the lives of mismatched people soon begins to come together in a fascinating way. 

The characters are well developed and drive the story. Each person brings his or her own complicated past into the society, without really understanding the baggage they are carrying or what to do with it. Several twists and turns along the way keep things moving at a very engaging pace. There is a somewhat subtle spiritual journey that shows itself specifically through one character and then spills over to the others. 

This was the first book I've read by Rachel Hauck, and I found her writing to be very compelling. I highly recommend The Fifth Avenue Story Society to fans of contemporary inspirational fiction.

About the Book:

An invitation to join the Fifth Avenue Story Society gives five New York strangers a chance to rewrite their own stories… 

Executive assistant Lexa is eager for a much-deserved promotion, but her boss is determined to keep her underemployed.

Literature professor Jett is dealing with a broken heart, as well as a nagging suspicion his literary idol, Gordon Phipps Roth, might be a fraud.

Uber driver Chuck just wants a second chance with his kids.

Aging widower Ed is eager to write the true story of his incredible marriage.

Coral, queen of the cosmetics industry, has broken her engagement and is on the verge of losing her great grandmother’s multimillion-dollar empire.

When these five New Yorkers receive an anonymous, mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Story Society, they suspect they’re victims of a practical joke. No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to reveal their deepest secrets to a room full of strangers.

Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.  

About the Author:

Rachel Hauck is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author of The Wedding Dress, which was also named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times and was a RITA finalist. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and pet and writes from her ivory tower.

Visit her online at RachelHauck.com; Facebook: RachelHauck; Twitter: @RachelHauck; Instagram: @rachelhauck.