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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Rumor Has It That This Is a Great Book… But Is It?

by Chautona Havig · 2 Comments

It was one of those books. The ones that you see everywhere. When someone says, “What should I read next?” it was the first recommended. Almost every day someone said, “I’m reading A Rumored Fortune and it’s sooooo good!”

I had Joanna Davidson Politano’s first book, Lady Jane Disappears. It’d been sitting on my TBR shelf for months. But, when I saw people raving about A Rumored Fortune, I took a chance and snagged a copy of it, too.

I just hoped I wasn’t setting myself up for disappointment. That had happened before, you know. I was probably the only “book dragon” in the world that didn’t like that one, but the worst part of it was that the author could write. I’ll say it again. Bethany Turner can write.

But could Joanna Davidson Politano?

That question kept the book on the shelf for months. Every time someone asked if I’d read it, I’d say the same thing. “I’m afraid to.”

Then it was time to choose my next “fun read.”  I gave that job to #7daughter.  She picked A Rumored Fortune. I’ll admit it. I almost said, “I should start with the first one.”  But I didn’t.  Since I asked and she picked it, it was time.  As stand alones, I didn’t need to read one before the other.

By the third chapter, I was done. It wasn’t that I disliked the book, but I was disappointed. Again.

The only thing that kept me going was a nagging feeling that I wasn’t being fair. And it reminded me of something.

I tend to avoid the popular.

As a girl, it was because I never liked what was popular. I just had differing tastes from what the crowd loved. It became a habit, that avoiding the popular stuff.

Then it became a self-righteous choice. As if somehow avoiding what others liked was somehow spiritually superior. Yeah. I know how stupid that is.

Trust me, I know.

Like most thunderpuppies, I grew up. And I learned that popular doesn’t equal “not my taste” nor does it equal sinful. But something else came that I hadn’t expected.

Disappointment. Because you see, when I learned that some of the popular things in life are great, I began to expect things to live up to their hype.

Big mistake. Huge.

Rumor Has It That This Is a Great Book… But Is It?

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. This book was NOT a review copy. I purchased and chose to review because I love to read.  🙂

Rumor Has It That This Is a Great Book… But Is It?

Up until one-third of the way through the book, I would have told you no. Unlike the stories of “not able to put it down,” I was able to walk away for days at a time while I did other things. However, it did call me back.

And then I hit that one-third mark or so.

Look, I don’t know if the book just got better, or if my expectations became more realistic, or some combination of the two. What I do know is that at some point, I hated having to walk away. I loved guessing things and being right… and wrong. The characters called to me, the setting was perfectly, delightfully creepy (without being overdone) and the result…

A book that (mostly) lives up to the hype.

Plot? Excellent.

Characterization? Spot on for every last one.

Description? Never too much or too little.

Twists and turns? Enough to please the most discriminating reader.

But the best part of this book?

The deep, heart-pricking, soul-searching spiritual lessons that kept me aching to turn the page for one more nugget.

Each chapter opens with a “note” from a vintner. Those nuggets read much like what you might expect the Biblical Solomon to share if he wanted to leave a book of proverbs inspired by the vines.

Watching others live out their faith—making mistakes and holding fast when waves threaten to dash them against the rocks of life’s shore… achingly beautiful.

Look, until I started writing this review, I’d planned on giving it a solid four stars. I liked it. A lot. But I just “liked” it. I thought.

Yeah, not so much. The more I ruminate and ponder those lessons, those characters, those nuggets in my heart, the more I love it. Like Tessa, it’s a slow-growing love, but it’s solid. Real.

I’m so thrilled I wasn’t disappointed again. Because this book? This one lives up to the hype.  A five-star hype after all.

Recommended

for anyone who loves historical fiction, suspense, mystery, and deep, spiritual lessons that don’t get preachy.

Title: A Rumored Fortune  (link to the paperback because it’s less than .50 more than the Kindle)

Author: Joanna Davidson Politano

Synopsis: Tressa Harlowe’s father did not trust banks, but neither did he trusA Rumored Fortune by Joanna Davidson Politanot his greedy extended family. He kept his vast fortune hidden somewhere on his estate in the south of England and died suddenly, without telling anyone where he had concealed it. Tressa and her ailing mother are left with a mansion and an immense vineyard and no money to run it.

It doesn’t take long for a bevy of opportunists to flock to the estate under the guise of offering condolences. Tressa knows what they’re really up to. She’ll have to work with the rough and rusticated vineyard manager to keep the laborers content without pay and discover the key to finding her father’s fortune–before someone else finds it first.

Award-winning author Joanna Davidson Politano welcomes readers to Trevelyan Castle, home of the poorest heiress in Victorian England, for a treasure hunt they’ll not soon forget.

So tell me. 

Did you read A Rumored Fortune?  Did you like it?  Should I read Lady Jane Disappears next?  Well, after Caught by Surprise by Jen Turano, which is the book that my husband chose next.

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Comments

  1. Paula Shreckhise says

    December 31, 2018 at 5:45 am

    I loved Lady Jane. So unique. Have not read Rumored Fortune yet but I still want to. Thanks for the review.

    Reply
  2. Patty says

    December 30, 2018 at 4:42 am

    I read her first book and really enjoyed it. Something a bit outside the norm, I left a capture my attention. So I actually pre-ordered this book and well I enjoyed it, I think I liked Lady Jane Disappears more.
    I am a reader not a writer, and I’m not sure I could really tell you why, but I would certainly give her first book a chance.

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 145: A Chat with Debut Women's Fiction Author, Sara Brunsvold
byChautona Havig

Debut Author, Sara Brunsvold, is bursting on the Christian Women’s fiction scene with an amazing book, The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip. With characters who have captivated my heart from page one (and enough quirkiness to keep my attention to the last), Sara Brunsvold is sure to become a favorite author, and this book is already on my top five of the year before it’s even released!

Note links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

This Novel Isn’t Even Available Yet, and It’s in My Top 5!

If you’d told me that I’d fall so in love with two chapters of a book that it would push that book into my top five of the year so far, well… I’d have laughed.

The joke’s on me because it happened with Sara Brunsvold’s The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip. This debut women’s fiction novel has a bit of a split-time element and is set in Kansas City. Trust me when I say that meeting Clara was one of the most fun introductions to a character I’ve ever had. I just love this woman, and I’m drumming my fingers to get to read more about her.  Not surprising considering it won the ACFW Genesis’s award a couple of years back. 😀

Sara says her passion is intergenerational stories, and you definitely get this with Aidyn and her “assignment,” Mrs. Kipp.  But you also get inter-cultural and ideological influences in this book as well.

And then there’s that next book she has coming out.  You know, the one about a gal cooking her way through her grandma’s German cookbook?  Yeah.  The one we have to wait until early 2024 for?  Yeah. That one.  Sigh.

When Sara told us about her favorite authors, a lot of things made sense.  Just sayin’. Find out which of Katherine Reay’s books are her favorites and how she fangirled over Reay’s response to an email (and why you should email your favorite author!).

The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip by Sara Brunsvold

Aidyn Kelley is talented, ambitious, and ready for a more serious assignment than the fluff pieces she’s been getting as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. In her eagerness, she pushes too hard, earning herself the menial task of writing an obituary for an unremarkable woman who’s just entered hospice care.

But there’s more to Clara Kip than meets the eye. The spirited septuagenarian may be dying, but she’s not quite ready to cash it in yet. Never one to shy away from an assignment herself, she can see that God brought the young reporter into her life for a reason. And if it’s a story Aidyn Kelley wants, that’s just what Mrs. Kip will give her–but she’s going to have to work for it.

Debut author Sara Brunsvold delights with this emotional multigenerational story that shows that the very best life is made up of thousands of little deaths to self. You’ll want to be just like Mrs. Kip when you grow up!

This book is 40% off with free shipping from Baker Book House. That’s less than the Kindle version if you like paper!

You can learn more about Sara at her WEBSITE (and sign up for that newsletter so you can get Mrs.Kip’s 8 Rules to Live By). Oh, and if she does those videos of her cooking through that book, you’ll want to know when/where to find them.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

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Episode 145: A Chat with Debut Women's Fiction Author, Sara Brunsvold
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