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Reviews:
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Review - Sweetbrier Academy Book 1 Having Faith
by Nancy O'Berry
Rating: 4 Books
"Across the plains of 1870 Wyoming, an extraordinary house exist called Sweetbrier. Inside await lucious laides easy on the eye, schooled in all the graces, and bent on the pleasures of life. Come meet the Ladies of Sweetbrier.
When a high stakes poker game offers the chance to win Faith's hand as their paramour, three players meet in the backroom. Drawn to Thaddeus Oakley, the construction foreman of the rail line, she must await the draw of the cards. Will Lady Luck smile upon Major Abrams, the spit and polish army officer who believes women are no more than a mark on the bedpost, Gregory Wilson the older executive from the railroad, or Thaddeus Oakley, the man of her dreams. Who will gain the ultimate prize of Having Faith?
Having Faith, the first book in a series that provides a fascinating look at Sweetbriar Academy, a house of elegant and well-educated courtesans, is a touching story full of heart and passion.
In this story, a high stakes poker game offers those involved a chance to win Faith, one of the best women in the Academy. Three players, including Thaddeus Oakley, a construction foreman for the railroad; Major Abrams, an arrogant army officer; and Gregory Wilson, a railroad executive, vie for the chance to make Faith their paramour, but Faith finds herself drawn to Thaddeus. But her fate will be decided by the cards.
Despite her profession there is an innocence about Faith that I found quite refreshing and fascinating. She comes across as very sweet and soft-hearted and I enjoyed her interactions with the other characters of the story. I longed to know more about this intriguing character and couldn't wait to see how the story would go as Faith finds herself caught in the middle of a battle between two determined men.
With this book, Ms. O'Berry manages to give her courtesans and paramours heart, elegance, and class as they take pride in their occupation as they seek to improve their lives and take control of their own destiny. One can easily understand and feel for these women and the unconventional lifestyle they have chosen to lead and forget about the opinions and dictates of society during that time as they appear to simply be women preparing for work. You almost forget what their work involves until confronted with it head-on.
I do wish we could have learned a bit more about the pasts of Faith and Opal, the proprietress of the Academy, and what led them to choose the life they lead. I would also like to know what becomes of Faith and Opal and hope that is answered in future books.
If Having Faith is what one can expect with Ms. O'Berry's Sweetbriar Academy series, it should definitely be an entertaining series of reads.
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~ Lilac at LongandShortReviews.blogspot.com
Monday, October 12, 2009
Review - Sweetbrier Academy Book 1 Having Faith
by Nancy O'Berry
"Today I'm reviewing Nancy O'Berry's novel, Having Faith, which is the first book of her Sweetbrier Academy series. I will be reviewing all three of the books for Nancy this week, after I contacted her about being on my blog, so keep a watch out for the next two book reviews that I will be doing for book 2, Holding on to Hope and book 3, Giving in to Charity. Also I will be interviewing Nancy tomorrow on the review blog as well as have her guest blog about her Sweetbrier Academy series on Thursday. Well this is a historical western romance novel which I don't read that many since lately I've been reading a lot of paranormal and contemporary romances that I've had on my TBR pile. So this novel starts when a high stakes poker game offers the chance to win Faith's hand as their paramour, three players meet in the backroom. Drawn to Thaddeus Oakley, the construction foreman of the rail line, she must await the draw of the cards. Faith and Thad have only just met one another but they have this instant attraction when they first set eyes on one another at Sweetbreir Academy.
Will Lady Luck smile upon Major Abrams, the spit and polish army officer who believes women are no more than a mark on the bedpost, Gregory Wilson the older executive from the railroad, or Thaddeus Oakley, the man of her dreams. This is a short novel that I really enjoyed but felt that Nancy could have written it so that it could be a little longer and give us all a more intimate look at Faith and her budding relationship with Thad who seems like the man who will show her life is a beautiful thing when you find the love of your life, the other part of your soul that you have been waiting for. I had fun reading about Miss Benedict and her Sweetbrier Academy which has many lovely young woman who are looking for a better life than the ones they were living previously. Nancy O'Berry delivers the start to a new series that will have you wanting more even after the first one has whetted your appetite for the lovely ladies of the Sweetbrier Academy. I'm very much looking forward to reading the next two books in the series and hope to find out what happens next for Faith along with the next two women who will have their own books with their future mates to be discovered.
I give this book 4 Open Books:"
~ Phoebe Jordan at TalkAboutMyFavoriteAuthors.blogspot.com
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Nancy O'Berry
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