I am SOOOOO far behind in my book reviews, y'all.
But I now have internet once again, so I hope to remedy this in the course of the coming weeks.  :]

That said, I'm BACK!!!
And I believe I say this every time, but oh, how I've missed blogging!  It's been beyond too long since I've been able to catch up on reading my favorite blogs as well, and I do hope I can work it into my days to change that.

And with that, Happy New Year!!  I literally CANNOT believe we are basically halfway through January already.  And to think that at the end of next month, my baby girl will be turning one year!
*cue hysterical screaming*

Oh, and we're expecting no. 3 at the end of June.

O_O

Ha! Yep!  Believe me, it was a surprise to us as well.
xDDD

But enough chit-chat.  I'm here to bring a looooong overdue book (and hope that Bethany House will forgive my outrageous delay in publishing it...).

Have a marvelous weekend, dearies!

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A GREAT DIVIDE

Secrets of the Canyon #1

Kimberly Woodhouse

Bethany House Publishers | October 5th, 2021

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I was provided with a complimentary copy thanks to Bethany House, in exchange for my honest review.

WARNING: Possible Spoilers!

THE BASICS

I enjoyed this novel!  Having been to the Grand Canyon myself, though it was MANY moons ago so that I hardly remember it, I was so very intrigued by the premise that I knew this book would be right up my alley.  And I had no idea there was an actual hotel located right on the Canyon's edge!  (And it's still in operation!! That would definitely be on my unofficial bucket list, y'all.)

Anywho, I loved the characters.  Emma Grace is a sweetheart, whose circumstances made her quite resourceful and a hard worker with excellent work ethic.  Born into a family of fortune, she leaves it all & sets out on her own, despite danger & mystery.  But in the end, all is resolved in the choice she has to make (and it's a good choice, in my opinion ;]).  

Ray is such a gentleman!  And despite the greed & vast fortune of the family business, his heart is compassionate and his dreams are to further the needs of those less fortunate.  Quite an honorable young man.  And put both he & Emma Grace together, and you've just got this adorable cinnamon roll goodness of a slow-burn romance.  Love!

VIOLENCE

An 8-year-old girl is kidnapped and held for a total of eighteen days.  Nothing untoward happens to her, and she is well cared for, but in all of this, she learns much of her family and how her father's business works.  Later, the girl, now a young woman, often relives the kidnapping in nightmares---about an unknown man chasing after her.

A man is found murdered and the killer unknown.  The mystery remains unsolved for many years.

A woman is hit over the head & knocked out while hiking alone (ALWAYS a bad idea, but of course she goes anyway).  She suffers nasty headaches because of that, but is otherwise alright.

SPIRITUAL CONTENT

Scripture is referenced often.  God is praised as a great artist & the Creator of the magnificent Canyon.  A character is loaned a book by a friend of Spurgeon's The Treasury of David, vol. 3.  She prays that God would show Himself to her---hear her & help her understand; prays to God many times throughout and seeks HIm for answers, peace, & relief from her fears.  She grew up hearing preachers yell and scare their congregations with fire & brimstone, and was told to do enough good works in order to attain heaven.

Another couple characters are quite confident in their faith & help to spur Emma Grace in her own.

Mark 5:36 is referenced, along with a summary of the story of Jairus & his sick daughter.

LANGUAGE // ALCOHOL & DRUGS

None.

The hotel's dining room serves its guests a variety of beverages.  And if I recall correctly, a questionable group of young men get into a drunken brawl over something and end up in jail.

ROMANTIC CONTENT

Because it's been so long since I read this one, and I've read multiple other novels preceding it, I honestly cannot recall much in this department.  There's definitely a romance between Ray & Emma Grace---attraction, butterflies, etc.  I'm sure they kiss at least once, and probably an embrace or two.  But other than that, extremely mild in this category.  I do know their romance is adorably sweet. <3

CONCLUSION

All in all, I enjoyed this story & would highly recommend to other historical fiction lovers.  Especially if you are looking for a good, clean novel with a bit of action, mystery, and sweet romance.  The mystery itself totally had me guessing right up until the reveal! 

While I loved the story, the characters, & the historical aspects, it's probably not one I will go back to re-read over & over (hence my rating of 4/5 stars).  Still, it would be one I'd recommend to others, and if the sequels came my way, I'd definitely jump for them.  :]

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4 OUT OF 5 STARS

Ages: 16+