Under a Blackberry Moon Book Review

SUMMARY:  Which wilderness is more treacherous - the one she must cross to find her home . . . or the one she must traverse to find love?
     Just a few days after she gave birth alone in the northwoods, a recently widowed young Chippewa woman stumbled into a nearby lumber camp in search of refuge from the winter snows.  Come summer, it is clear that Moon Song cannot stay among the rough-and-tumble world of white lumbermen, and so the camp owner sends Skypilot, his most trusted friend, to accompany her on the long and treacherous journey back to her people.
     But when tragedy strikes off the shores of Lake Superior, Moon Song and Skypilot must depend on each other for survival.  With every step they take into the forbidding woods, they are drawn closer together, until it seems the unanswerable questions must be asked.   Can she leave her culture to enter his?  Can he leave his world to enter hers?  Or will they simply walk away from a love that seems too complicated to last?
     Get swept into a wild realm where beauty masks danger and only the truly courageous survive in a story that will grip your heart and your imagination.

REVIEW:  Serena Miller has outdone herself.  Her most recent novel quickly grabbed my attention from the beginning and kept it all the way to the end.  At times when I thought I had the storyline figured out, the author would throw a curve ball.  Moon Song has become one of my favorite heroines; she can stand up for herself and doesn't back down from a fight.  She loves with everything she has but doesn't trust everything she hears.  I like how her story plays out and Skypilot's role in it.
     Though not marketed as such, this book is a follow-up to The Measure of Katie Calloway.  While it does reference characters mentioned in the other book, they are brief. You don't need to read the first one but it will give you a little better understanding of Moon Song's time in the lumber camp and a little more information on Skypilot.  
     This is a wonderful book that I highly recommend. 

This book was provided by Revell for review without compensation.

Serena B. Miller is the RITA Award-winning author of The Measure of Katie Calloway and A Promise to Love, as well as numerous articles for periodicals such as Woman's World, Guidepost, Reader's Digest, Focus on the Family, Christian Woman, and more.  She lives on a farm in southern Ohio.  Please visit www.serenabmiller.com for more.

A Promise to Love Book Review

SUMMARY:  Can a marriage of convenience ever become one of true love?
      Ingrid Larson arrives in Michigan in 1871 with little more than the clothes on her back and a determination to find her brother, who has disappeared into the dangerous lumber camps.  Destitute and barely hanging on to hope, the young Swedish immigrant crosses paths with Joshua Hunter, a newly widowed farmer with eyes the color of the ocean she had crossed and five rambunctious children to raise on his own.
     Marriage would solve both of their problems, and Ingrid finds herself proposing in broken English to a man she barely knows.  Many difficulties lie ahead - but the hardest battle of all will be winning the heart of her new husband.

SUMMARY:  Serena Miller wrote an excellent and awe-inspiring story based on her grandmother's story when she came to America.  Ingrid is like no other character I've read about before.  She is strong, determined, has a very strong faith and loves with everything she has.  When she sees a problem, she tries to figure out the best solution and does everything she can to complete it to absolute best of her abilities.  She can take a minimal amount of food and create a feast.  When her step-daughter needs a new dress, she fashions a new one out of an old dress that belongs to the girl's deceased mother.  When Joshua's brother drops their elderly mother off on their porch just a short time at their marriage, Ingrid doesn't complain at all.  Instead, she does everything she can to make Mary feel at home and to help her adjust to her new surroundings.  She loves her new children with her whole heart and does what she can to help the girls have positive memories of their mom Diantha, even when she learns the absolute worst about her from her own hand.  Ingrid's faith is very strong and I love how she uses it to get her through some very difficult situations.  Her strong will serves her well in many ways and in many settings.  Ingrid is the type of woman I want to be when I grow up.  She is awesome!! 

This book was provided by Revell for review without compensation.

Available October 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Serena B. Miller is the author of The Measure of Katie Calloway as well as numerous articles.  She lives on a farm in southern Ohio.  Meet Serena B. Miller on her website at www.SerenaBMiller.com.

The Measure of Katie Calloway Book Review

SUMMARY:  Her heart seeks sanctuary in the deep woods.  But will trouble find her even here?
     The Civil War has ended, but in Katie Calloway's Georgia home, conflict still rages.  To protect herself and her young brother from her violent and unstable husband, she flees north, finding anonymity and sanctuary as the cook in a north woods lumber camp.  The camp owner, Robert Foster, wonders if the lovely woman he's hired has the grit to survive the never-ending work and harsh conditions of a remote pine forest in winter.  Katie wonders if she can keep her past a secret from a man she is slowly growing to love.
     With grace and skill, Serena Miller brings to life a bygone era.  From the ethereal, snowy forest and the rowdy shanty boys to the warm cookstove and mouth-watering apple pie, every detail is perfectly rendered, transporting you to a time of danger and romance.

REVIEW:  Katie is much stronger than she appears.  She and her brother Ned leave with the clothes on their backs, a little money and a horse when she finds a trap set by her husband to kill her.  Katie finds work as a cook at a lumber camp in the deep woods of Michigan, where she has to deal with a cantankerous cook and making numerous large meals to feed all the men, all the while praying her husband doesn't find her.  She stands up for herself when needed but quickly helps out those in need at the camp and a lone Indian woman and baby.  Katie is the type of woman we all need to strive to be:  strong but soft, generous but not willing to be run over.  This is a great book.

Available October 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

This book was provided by Revell for review without compensation.

Serena Miller is the author of Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio, as well as numerous articles for periodicals such as Woman's World, Guideposts, Reader's Digest, Focus on the Family, Christian Woman, and more.  She lives on a farm in southern Ohio. Check out her website at www.SerenaBMiller.com.