Disclosure: I received a copy of this book; this post contains affiliate links. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Normally on Tricities Tuesday I share a fun restaurant or upcoming local event. Today I want to alert you to this awesome new book that features many places that will be familiar to those who live in the Tricities.  The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn takes place in the vicinity of the Overmountain Men, where the turning point of the Revolutionary War would be fought at King’s Mountain.  Having lived in this area for over 20 years, I have often heard about the bravery and sheer guts of the Overmountain Men.  The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn made the period come alive for me.  Each time I read of a familiar spot such as Sycamore Shoals, Jonesborough, or the blue hole I squealed, “I know where that is!!”  It was exciting and fun to read about such a pivotal moment of history through the eyes of author Lori Benton.  [Read more…]

Disclosure: I received this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

It’s a wonderful thing when someone discovers their absolute, true talent. Author Lori Benton has certainly found hers. Her book Burning Sky captured my attention from the very first page.  Only when I happened to look at the back cover did I realize, with a double take, that it was her first novel.  Benton’s writing style is beautiful and descriptive.  I could easily imagine the American frontier through her words.  My ignorance about American history surfaced as I learned that some Native American tribes took captives when they lost their own people to disease or war.  Somehow I had never realized that those captives had a face, a name, a family.  Burning Sky, also known as Willa, was one of those captives.  She was torn from one world then torn from another, lost in limbo as she struggled to regain a sense of herself.  Along the way she encountered a doctor-turned-botonist Neil MacGregor.  He reminded me a bit of Jamie from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, what with his accent and all.  Then there was the drama between Willa and her former betrothed, Richard Waring.  All of this is blanketed in Willa’s journey through the home she once knew.  [Read more…]