Enter
INTERVIEWS & REVIEWS
  • Home
    • About >
      • Mission Statement
      • FAQ'S
      • Review Us!
    • Contact
  • Interviews
    • Interview Requests
  • Reviews
    • Book Submissions
  • Team Members Only
    • Children's Books
    • Contemporary Fiction
    • Historical Fiction
    • Mystery/Suspense
    • Young Adult
    • May Nominations
  • Book of the Month
    • January Nominations
    • February Nominations
    • March Nominations
    • April Nominations
  • Our Reviewers
    • Marta Aldrighetti
    • Anna Bottoms >
      • Carolyn Bryant
    • Trinity Caver
    • Laura J. Davis >
      • Jeanette Durkin
    • Elizabeth Eckmeyer
    • Kristina Hall >
      • Joy Hannabass
      • Adriann Harris
      • Demetria Head
      • Raechel Helwig
      • Charity Henico
      • Mindy Houng
      • Monica Huyser
    • Heather L. Jones
    • Linda Klager
    • Beverly Laude >
      • Diana Lea
      • Tammy Lunsford
    • Rebecca Maney
    • Rick Norris
    • Trixi Oberembt
    • Lori Parrish >
      • Deanne Patterson
    • Kimberlee Sams >
      • Connie Porter Saunders
      • Paula Shreckhise
      • Katie Slocum
      • Amy Smelser
      • Katelyn Sponaugle
      • Emily Stephens
    • Laura Thomas >
      • Winnie Thomas
    • Billi Varela >
      • Diana Varela
      • Elisha Varela
      • Juanita Varela
    • Ewurabena Wilson >
      • Conny Withay
      • Cheryl Wood
  • 2024 Book of the Year Winner
    • 2024 Book of the Year Finalists
  • 2023 Book of the Year
    • 2023 Book of the Year Finalists
  • 2022 Book of the Year
    • 2022 Book of the Year Finalists
  • 2021 Book of the Year
    • 2020 Book of the Year >
      • 2020 Book of the Year Finalists
    • 2021 Book of the Year Finalists
  • 2019 Book of the Year
  • 2018 Book of the Year
    • 2018 Finalists
  • For Writers
  • Home
    • About >
      • Mission Statement
      • FAQ'S
      • Review Us!
    • Contact
  • Interviews
    • Interview Requests
  • Reviews
    • Book Submissions
  • Team Members Only
    • Children's Books
    • Contemporary Fiction
    • Historical Fiction
    • Mystery/Suspense
    • Young Adult
    • May Nominations
  • Book of the Month
    • January Nominations
    • February Nominations
    • March Nominations
    • April Nominations
  • Our Reviewers
    • Marta Aldrighetti
    • Anna Bottoms >
      • Carolyn Bryant
    • Trinity Caver
    • Laura J. Davis >
      • Jeanette Durkin
    • Elizabeth Eckmeyer
    • Kristina Hall >
      • Joy Hannabass
      • Adriann Harris
      • Demetria Head
      • Raechel Helwig
      • Charity Henico
      • Mindy Houng
      • Monica Huyser
    • Heather L. Jones
    • Linda Klager
    • Beverly Laude >
      • Diana Lea
      • Tammy Lunsford
    • Rebecca Maney
    • Rick Norris
    • Trixi Oberembt
    • Lori Parrish >
      • Deanne Patterson
    • Kimberlee Sams >
      • Connie Porter Saunders
      • Paula Shreckhise
      • Katie Slocum
      • Amy Smelser
      • Katelyn Sponaugle
      • Emily Stephens
    • Laura Thomas >
      • Winnie Thomas
    • Billi Varela >
      • Diana Varela
      • Elisha Varela
      • Juanita Varela
    • Ewurabena Wilson >
      • Conny Withay
      • Cheryl Wood
  • 2024 Book of the Year Winner
    • 2024 Book of the Year Finalists
  • 2023 Book of the Year
    • 2023 Book of the Year Finalists
  • 2022 Book of the Year
    • 2022 Book of the Year Finalists
  • 2021 Book of the Year
    • 2020 Book of the Year >
      • 2020 Book of the Year Finalists
    • 2021 Book of the Year Finalists
  • 2019 Book of the Year
  • 2018 Book of the Year
    • 2018 Finalists
  • For Writers

Book Reviews​

10/15/2018

0 Comments

A Sparkle of Silver

 
Picture
Author: Liz Johnson
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Romance


Uncovering the past can lead to an unexpected future . . . 

Millie Sullivan plays a 1920s-era guest during tours of a palatial estate on the shore of St. Simons Island, Georgia, where her great-grandmother was a real guest ninety years ago. When Millie learns of a lost diary that may contain the location of a hidden treasure on the estate and reveal the identity of her great-grandfather, she sets out to find the truth of her heritage--and the fortune she desperately needs. But it won't be easy.

When security guard Ben Thornton discovers her snooping in the estate's private library, he threatens to have her fired. Still, her story seems too ludicrous to be fiction, and her offer to split the treasure is too tempting to pass up.

Get ready for a romantic escapade through dark halls and dusty corners that will have you holding your breath and sighing with delight.

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Reviewer: Nora St. Laurent

This is a sweet time slip love story with splashes of danger and romance. Ben and Millie are working at the Chateau; Ben as a security guard and Millie as part of the house guided tour; where they search for clues to a possible treasure. In the 1929 story line there is a mystery involving Ruth Whitman, mother to Joy; Millie’s Grandma who told her about a diary. Millie is also in search of Joy’s family line – things weren’t clear as to where her Grandma fit into the family tree?

Millie didn’t plan on having a partner in her search, but when she was caught in a part of the house she was forbidden to go, with an old diary in hand, she spills the beans and pleads for Ben not to turn her in. Maybe he could help, and they could split their findings. Together they seek to find clues that will lead to a hidden treasure.

I enjoyed the Georgia, St. Simons Island setting and the compelling mystery,  history and danger as Ben and Millie try to uncover information that will lead to a pot of gold. This is a fun read with characters you could cheer for. This is the first novel in the Georgia Coast Romance series.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing.



Picture
Reviewer: Mindy Houng

"You know that every single one of us is more than the worst thing we've done. All of us. We bear the image of our Maker."

And that quote sums up the message of this fabulous book. If you're a fan of the author's Prince Edward Island Dreams series and her Love Inspired Suspense books, you're definitely in for a treat. This book is a contemporary romance with a throwback to the 1920's via a journal and a good dose of intrigue and mystery. Such a wonderful combination for this lover of contemporary, historical, and suspense romance!

The setting of St. Simons Island, Georgia is gorgeous. The author's masterful writing gives color, sound, and smell to the beautiful landscape and brings forth an intricately woven plot with real, down-to-earth characters.

​Millie is poor and just wants enough money to be able to bring her beloved dementia-laden grandmother to a place where she can be safely taken care of. Ben is an adjunct history professor struggling to right the wrongs his mother went to prison for. Their worlds collide when they become involved in a treasure hunt instigated by Millie's grandmother's memory of her own mother's stay at the infamous Chateau. Both Millie and Ben are wary, cautious, under-the-radar kind of people who don't trust people easily. Yet their shared sense of loyalty, hard work, and compassion brings them together and welds them together as partners. As they become more entrenched in their treasure hunt, they also learn things about each other that they must wrestle with. Forgiveness for their past and realizing that their past does not define them must be learned the hard way.

The book addresses the heartache involved in loving and caring for someone with dementia. It also delves deep to ask what is truly important and necessary in life - is it money? Fame? Recognition? Easy life? The flashbacks to the 1920's, right before the stock market crash, provided through Millie's great-grandmother Ruth's journals show much of what our human hearts crave but also how foolish and deceptive our hearts can be. Millie and Jeremy's present day chase through the Chateau itself and its grounds provides intrigue and suspense that keep the pages turning. Great-grandma Ruth's journals also add to the mystery surrounding the possible treasure and what may have happened to it.

What a wonderful beginning of an exciting new series from Liz Johnson! I can't wait to read the second book! 

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing.

Picture
Reviewer: Rebecca Maney

"She just wanted to be able to say that all was well with her soul."

Except, at the moment, nothing seemed to be going well. Having just been advised that her beloved grandmother needed a higher level of skilled care than the Golden Isles Center could provide; Millie Sullivan has a mere ninety days to relocate her; requiring her to work a virtual miracle. The only ray of hope arrives when Grandma Joy unloads a bombshell of family history. Millie's great grandmother's journal spoke of a treasure hidden on the grounds of the posh Chateau Dawkins on St. Simon's Island where she had been a summer guest; also intimating that her daughter Joy may have been the result of a summer tryst. Treasure, plus long-lost rich relatives? It could be the answer to all of Millie's problems. First things first, she must find that journal!

Chateau security officer Ben Thornton cannot believe his eyes. A lovely young woman, who is obviously on the Chateau staff, is rummaging through the library, a restricted area to guests as well as employees. He is obliged to turn her in . . . . except that she distracts him long enough to relay the most bizarre story about locating an old journal and looking for hidden treasure. Against his better judgement, Ben becomes the newest (and only) member of Millie's treasure hunting team.

Light and likable, "A Sparkle of Silver" tests just how strong love can be!

I received a copy of this book from the author and publisher. The opinions stated above are entirely my own.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Action/Adventure
    Amish Fiction
    Anthology
    Bible Study
    Biblical Fiction
    Children
    Christian Living
    Christmas
    Church History
    Contemporary Fiction
    Contemporary Holiday Romance
    Contemporary Romance
    Cookbook
    Devotionals
    Dual Time
    Dual-Time
    Dual-time Romance
    Fantasy
    Fiction
    Gothic Historical Romance
    Historical Fiction
    Historical Holiday Romance
    Historical Mystery
    Historical Romance
    Historical WWII Fiction
    Inspirational Fiction
    Marketing
    Marriage
    Memoir
    Missions
    Mystery/Suspense
    Poetry
    Prophecy
    Regency Romance
    Romantic Suspense
    Science Fiction
    Self Help
    Self-Help
    Social Issues
    Spiritual Growth
    Spiritual Warfare
    Theology
    Thriller/Suspense
    Time Travel Romance
    Women's Issues
    Young Adult

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016

Services

Interviews
Reviews
Our Reviewers
For Writers
Book Submissions

Support

Contact


© COPYRIGHT 2016. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Disclaimer
FTC DISCLAIMER: All the books reviewed on this site are given to us for the express purpose of review. They are provided by publishers, publicists, authors and agents. None of our reviewers were required to write positive reviews and none of them were paid monetarily. All opinions are those of each individual reviewer. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”