About the Book
Author: Sharlene MacLaren
Genre: Christian Historical Romance (Civil War)
Release Date: Jan 9, 2018
Levi Albright rebelled against his Quaker roots to fight for abolition in the Union army in the first year of the Civil War. Two years later, 19-year-old destitute orphan Josephine Winters, with her chopped hair, boy’s clothes, and new name, “Snipp,” enlists in the Union army out of desperation.
Just over five feet tall and barely weighing as much as a newborn calf, Snipp seems to Levi to be barely old enough to hold “his” gun. But despite being teased by the regiment, Snipp quickly earns admiration for skill with a musket and unequaled bravery. When Levi explains one night that he is a Quaker leading a regiment, it leads to a late-night discussion of faith and a developing friendship.
But Snipp’s secret can only be hidden for so long. After an injury forces Josie to reveal her real identity, Levi is angered by her deception. Worse, Josie is marched out of the company without a chance to explain—or even say goodbye. Will their friendship survive? Or will the hatred saturating the war-torn nation affect even the heart of a peace-loving Quaker?
My Perspective
What a beautifully penned story full of surprises, mystery, and bravery! It reminded me of the movie Mulan – brave young woman cuts her hair and sneaks off to join the military to help her family (and in this case, herself). Not only a brave heroine, but a heroine with a strong faith. Never once did Josie think God was not right there with her, even on the battlefield. She had to endure so much in her time on the battle scene, and to be honest I kind of admired her for it.
Then you add a Quaker to the mix in Levi. Wow. I never thought I’d see a Quaker character in battle, especially in his position! It was quite a surprise, but honestly I thought it was fun too. I loved every moment that him and Josie “Gordon” were together. Under the circumstances, you know that nothing can become of it (unless her secret gets out of course), so you can just sit back, read, and enjoy them getting to know each other. It was truly a beautiful relationship right from the start.
As if this wasn’t enough, we get a mystery to solve. Who is this mysterious solider who may be working for the other side? I loved the way these little scenes were written. It was always a “he” and with limited character contact, so you really had no clue as to who it was until the ultimate surprise! I thought I knew who it was throughout most of the story, but I was completely wrong. Quite frankly, I was glad to be. I like a good twist!
All in all this was a wonderful story that I can see myself enjoying again and again. I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
About the Author
<img data-attachment-id="2416" data-permalink="https://abakersperspective.wordpress.com/?p=2416" data-orig-file="" data-orig-size="" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="[]" data-image-title="Just The Way You Are Tour and Giveaway!" data-image-description="<p>Okay, where have Pepper Basham books been all my life? This one is fabulous! I loved it beginning to end, and am so pleased to have Pepper on the blog today as part of the Celebrate Lit Tour. There were so many great quotes in this book that I can’t even name them all. They could be a blog post in themselves! But, here is one of my favorites (aside from the squishing a grandpa one!).</p>
<p><em>“You do realize if you run away like Cinderella, I’ll pursue you. None of this waiting back at the castle like Prince Charming.”</em></p>
<p>Um… there are no words. My knees wobbled just reading this.</p>
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<p><img class="aligncenter wp-image-1171 size-full" src="http://www.celebratelitteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Just-the-way-you-are-FB-cover.jpg" alt="Just the way you are FB cover" width="851" height="315" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Click <a href="http://amzn.to/2md0TJ4"><span style="color:#0066cc;">here</span></a> to purchase your copy.</strong></p>
<h6 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#ff00ff;text-decoration:underline;"><strong>About the Book</strong></span></h6>
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<figure id="attachment_1172" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://amzn.to/2md0TJ4"><img class="wp-image-1172 size-medium" src="http://www.celebratelitteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_5776-193x300.jpg" alt="IMG_5776" width="193" height="300" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Click to purchase</figcaption></figure>
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<p><strong>Book:</strong> Just the Way You Are</p>
<p><strong>Author: </strong>Pepper Basham</p>
<p><strong>Genre:</strong> Contemporary Romance</p>
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<div dir="ltr"><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_3993">Single mom, Eisley Barrett, prefers to keep romance safely housed within a centuries-old mystery, but when she travels to England to unearth the secret, an actor with a sordid past offers her reluctant heart a very different type of discovery.</span></div>
<div id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_3900"><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_3995" style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue', 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif;"><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_3996"> </span></span></div>
<div id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_3903"><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_3902"><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_3901">Wes Harrison has a past he’s ashamed to confess. Suspicious and cynical, he’s managed to avoid romantic entanglements since a tragedy upended his career and life, that is until American Eisley Barrett comes along. Her authenticity and kindness upend his bitter assumptions and send his heart into unscripted territory.<br /></span></span></div>
<div id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_3905"></div>
<div id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_3906"><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_3908"><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_3907">When his past threatens to ruin a second chance at love, can some Appalachian matchmaking and letters from the grace salvage their unexpected romance?</span></span></div>
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<h6 style="text-align:center;"> <span style="color:#ff00ff;text-decoration:underline;"><strong>My Perspective</strong></span></h6>
<p>My favorite romantic book so far this year. I absolutely loved it!! The author’s writing style is so sweet, funny, refreshing, and dang she tells a great story! She really captured my heart from the first scene. Eisley’s character tripping and hoping she didn’t fall onto a swoon worthy man, and then find out she’d squished a grandpa (her words not mine!). I literally laughed out loud, and almost snorted. I knew from that moment I was going to love this book.</p>
<p>Eisley was by far my favorite character. She was herself throughout the whole story, never felt the need to change herself to try and fit in with her surroundings. I found this to be very endearing, as well as a little comical from time to time. And let’s not forget those meddling relatives! Oh my goodness I just found myself smiling and chuckling throughout the entire book.</p>
<p>Wes. Need I say more? If for nothing else, read this book because of him. My favorite male character of the year. Lots of favorites I’m finding in this book, and yes it’s that good. He’s made some mistakes in his past, but that did not keep him from being this down to earth, genuine person. Redeemed by God’s love, and I enjoyed all the little surprises about him that Eisley found. And, for what it’s worth, I pictured him as being totally swoon worthy in my mind. ;)</p>
<p>The two of them together was a delight to read. They grew both as a couple and as individuals. But not only was this a wonderfully fabulous love story, it was a cool mystery. To be able to go to London to research a family members super secret love story? Not only does that sound amazing, it was great to read. It wasn’t there too much to take away from Wes and Eisley, but was there enough to keep my interest and provide more depth to the overall storyline.</p>
<p>Do not miss out and your chance to read this charming story! I hope there is more like this in the near future. I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.</p>
<h6 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#ff00ff;text-decoration:underline;"><strong>About the Author</strong></span></h6>
<p><img class="size-medium wp-image-1173 alignright" src="http://www.celebratelitteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Pepperquilt-300x200.jpg" alt="Pepperquilt" width="300" height="200" />Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes novels inspired by her love for history and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her Penned in Time series has garnered recognition in the Inspys, Grace Awards, and the ACFW Carol Awards. Her contemporary romance novel, A Twist of Faith, received 4-stars from Romantic Times, and most recently, her newest release, The Thorn Healer, received a Top Pick from RT with 4 ½ stars. Her newest contemporary romance, <i id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_4387">Just the Way You Are, </i>releases in April 2016.<i id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_4388"> </i><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_4389">You can get to know Pepper on </span><a id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_4390" href="https://www.facebook.com/pepperdbasham" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_4391"><span style="color:#0066cc;">Facebook</span></span></a><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_4392">, or over at her group blog, </span><a id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_4393" href="http://www.thewritersalleyblog.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_4394"><span style="color:#0066cc;">The Writer’s Alley</span></span></a><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_4395">, or </span><a id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_4396" href="https://www.instagram.com/pepperbasham" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_4397"><span style="color:#0066cc;">Instagram</span></span></a><span id="m_6280161066775237999yiv9100281457yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486427501633_4398">. </span></p>
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<h6 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#ff00ff;text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Guest post from Pepper Basham</strong></span></h6>
<p>Thank you so much for featuring my newest novel, <em>Just the Way You Are</em>, on CelebrateLit. I am THRILLED to be a part of this and to share a story that is very dear to my heart.</p>
<p><em>Just the Way You Are </em>is my first ‘true’ Britallachian romantic comedy. Even though I’ve written comedy in some of my other novels <em>and </em>included elements of both Appalachia and Britain, this one embodies the tag #britallachian t