I love Tyndale House books! While they don’t push out the most number of fiction titles a year, they are always well considered stories. With this group of releasese, we see two authors making Tyndale House their new publishing home – Lori Benton and new-to-me author, Michelle Shocklee. And it’s their covers that are the stand outs for me.

I love the substantial feel Lori’s cover gives – perfect for her brand of heartfelt, meaningful storytelling. I appreciate the new direction for her covers, even if birds aren’t my favourite creature!! I so hope the cover is going to have a textural feel to it.

Michelle’s is another cover that draws me in. While I would have preferred a different font for the title – it feels a little plain to me – there is a sense of mystery about the cover, what the woman is thinking about as she looks across the landscape. Both Lori’s and Michelle’s stories intrigue me, too.

DiAnn’s is one for our times it seems, given the subject matter! And the cover fits the story well.

Hope and Glory are repackaged stories from Lori Copeland’s extensive backlist. I actually own the first editions of this series, so that’s fun. If you are looking for sweet prairie romance with a mail-order bride trope, then these are perfect for adding to your wishlists.

I’d love your thoughts on these stories!

Mountain Laurel by Lori Benton

North Carolina, 1793

Ian Cameron, a Boston cabinetmaker turned frontier trapper, has come to Mountain Laurel hoping to remake himself yet again—into his planter uncle’s heir. No matter how uneasily the role of slave owner rests upon his shoulders. Then he meets Seona—beautiful, artistic, and enslaved to his kin.

Seona has a secret: she’s been drawing for years, ever since that day she picked up a broken slate to sketch a portrait. When Ian catches her at it, he offers her opportunity to let her talent flourish, still secretly, in his cabinetmaking shop. Taking a frightening leap of faith, Seona puts her trust in Ian. A trust that leads to a deeper, more complicated bond.

As fascination with Seona turns to love, Ian can no longer be the man others have wished him to be. Though his own heart might prove just as untrustworthy in setting his course, he cannot simply walk away from those his kin enslaves. With more lives than his and Seona’s in the balance, the path Ian chooses now will set the course for generations of Camerons to come.

A story of choice and consequence, of bondage and freedom, of faith and family.

September 1, 2020

Under the Tulip Tree by Michelle Shocklee

Sixteen-year-old Lorena Leland’s dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression, Rena’s banker father has retreated into the bottle, her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler, and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter. Eager for any writing job, Rena accepts a position interviewing former slaves for the Federal Writers’ Project. There, she meets Frankie Washington, a 101-year-old woman whose honest yet tragic past captivates Rena.

As Frankie recounts her life as a slave, Rena is horrified to learn of all the older woman has endured—especially because Rena’s ancestors owned slaves. While Frankie’s story challenges Rena’s preconceptions about slavery, it also connects the two women whose lives are otherwise separated by age, race, and circumstances. But will this bond of respect, admiration, and friendship be broken by a revelation neither woman sees coming?

September 8, 2020

Airborne by DiAnn Mills

Heather Lawrence’s long-awaited vacation to Salzburg wasn’t supposed to go like this. Mere hours into the transatlantic flight, the Houston FBI agent is awakened when passengers begin exhibiting horrific symptoms of an unknown infection. As the virus quickly spreads and dozens of passengers fall ill, Heather fears she’s witnessing an epidemic similar to ones her estranged husband studies for a living—but this airborne contagion may have been deliberately released.

While Heather remains quarantined with other survivors, she works with her FBI colleagues to identify the person behind this attack. The prime suspect? Dr. Chad Lawrence, an expert in his field . . . and Heather’s husband. The Lawrences’ marriage has been on the rocks since Chad announced his career took precedence over his wife and future family and moved out.

As more victims fall prey days after the initial outbreak, time’s running out to hunt down the killer, one who may be closer to the victims than anyone ever expected.

September 8, 2020

Hope by Lori Copeland
Brides of the West #3

Wanted: Women with religious upbringing, high morals, and a strong sense of adventure, willing to marry decent, God-fearing men. Applicants may apply by mail. Must allow at least two months for an answer.

Mail-order bride Hope Kallahan is not amused when her stagecoach is waylaid by a bunch of bumbling outlaws. The feisty beauty is puzzled by the oddball in the group—the disarmingly kind Grunt Lawson. She doesn’t know that Grunt is really Dan Sullivan, a government agent sent to infiltrate the gang on what was supposed to be his last assignment. As Hope intimidates hardened criminals into cleaning house and talks Dan into rescuing her, Dan believes God had a reason for throwing her in his path . . . especially since Hope attracts danger like a magnet.

Repackaged – October 6, 2020

Glory by Lori Copeland
Brides of the West #4

Wanted: Women with religious upbringing, high morals, and a strong sense of adventure, willing to marry decent, God-fearing men. Applicants may apply by mail. Must allow at least two months for an answer.

On the run from a no-good scoundrel, Glory reluctantly joins a wagon train of mail-order brides heading for Denver City. But her backwoods upbringing and fierce independence put her at odds with the other girls—and with the rules Jackson Lincoln Montgomery, the handsome wagon master, sets for their traveling party.

Jackson had his doubts about seeing five young women safely to Colorado, and adding Glory to his charge only makes his job all the harder . . . especially after she shares her secret with him. As Glory’s past is revealed, both Jackson and Glory learn how to set aside their stubborn pride and embrace love.

Repackaged – October 6, 2020