Elizabeth Camden - From this Moment

Romulus White has tried for years to hire illustrator Stella West for his renowned scientific magazine.
She is the missing piece he needs to propel his magazine to the forefront of the industry. But Stella abruptly quit the art world and moved to Boston with a single to solve the mysterious death of her beloved sister. Romulus, a man with connections to high society and every important power circle in the city, could be her most valuable ally.

Sparks fly the instant Stella and Romulus join forces, and Romulus soon realizes the strong-willed and charismatic Stella could disrupt his hard-won independence. Can they continue to help each other when their efforts draw the wrong kind of attention from the powers-that-be and put all they've worked for at risk?

Comment: One more bet on this author and her work. Although past experiences were mostly meh, one was very good and i keep hoping the same wonder can be replicated, so this is the 6th book I try by this author...

In this novel we meet scientific magazine owner Romulus White, a man who is eager to hire artist Stella West to illustrate the designs included in his magazine for he believes this will help sell more but it will also help the content come to life to those who write the articles. London based Stella has always declined but she is now back in Boston for dire reasons, she wants to investigate what really happened to her younger sister Gwendolyn, who died, presumably by drowning. Stella knows her sister was a great swimmer and doesn't accept the police inquest result, but the more she tries to follow the clues, the more obstacles she finds. Becoming friends with Romulus seems a blessing at first but he, too, starts being targeted and it feels everyone around her is in some kind of danger. What could have her sister found to be so serious that caused all these problems and worries now?

What really feels frustrating to me is that the plots of this author's books are always so compelling and there is content I'm very interested in but then always something happens to bring me down while I read. In the case of this book I was annoyed at the characters' continuous change of heart and on how many problems they had to deal with which made some chapter feel rather depressing.

This story, I'd say, can be said to focus on two elements: the investigation Stella is doing to know what happened to her sister and her slow developing romance with Romulus. We also have a secondary romance featuring Romulus' cousin Evelyn and her ex, with whom she is still in love with and circumstances bring them closer once more. There are a few sentences here and there which we see from her POV, but in my opinion this is unnecessary and, to be honest, I've felt this added noting to the plot, there was no need to have Evelyn's POV in the big scheme of things.

My focus was definitely on the main romance and the murder investigation. Since this is an historical, there are procedures which would not be seen in current stories, and since this author writes so called "christian fiction" nothing explicit is described. I wasn't concerned about either aspect and have read other books where these elements were used to the best advantage, but here I was left annoyed because what felt so promising in the beginning started to become heavy and depressing the more things advanced.

Romulus and Stella start of as two people who are attracted to each other and are at opposed sides of something, and I hoped the proximity over the murder investigation would help them see the other side of each other. This did happen from time to time but what develops after certain events related to the investigation only makes things worse. Since Stella is poking into things someone wants to keep hidden, there's this campaign, let's call it, to discredit her and to force her to give up, which she doesn't. Romulus is friendly and helpful but when his magazine is threatened, he pushes Stella aside. then they are close again. Then again.. well, this back and forth started to annoy me.

This is where a more contemporary setting would have helped... from a legal POV, some things today wouldn't happen as frustratingly as described, and this did affect my impression of the characters, they started to act very juvenile and without a stronger romantic tension, things started to feel repetitive and dragged, which made me feel the problems would never be solved. It became tiresome and gloomy to read about what they faced.

The murder investigation turned out to be easily explained and the culprit had a very thin motive. Certainly the author could have done better, after making the characters go through so much hassle and worries. By this point, I was no longer that attached to the main characters and the HEA was granted anyway, so my attention wandered. Things end up as well as one can imagine but the process to get there was more than frustrating. At least, one more out of the pile.

Grade: 6/10

Elizabeth Camden - With Every Breath

In the shadow of the nation's capital, Kate Livingston holds a respectable position as a government statistician when she encounters a rival from her past, the insufferable Trevor McDonough. A Harvard-trained physician, Trevor never showed the tiniest flicker of interest in Kate, and she's bewildered at the way he suddenly seeks her out. Surprising even herself, Kate agrees to Trevor's entirely unexpected and risky proposal to work side-by-side with him in his quest to rid the world of tuberculosis, a contagious and deadly disease.
As Kate begins to unlock the mysteries of Trevor's past, she realizes there is much more to him than she could have imagined. His hidden depths may fascinate her, but his most closely guarded secrets and a shadowy enemy lurking in the background carry a serious threat to their future.
When the truth of the past comes out, threatening to destroy everything they hold dear, how will Trevor and Kate ever overcome all that stands in their way?

Comment: Yet another title by this author I had in the pile. So far, out of the now five books I've read, only one convinced me totally and I felt the author balanced all elements well. The others have great premises but the overall execution could be better. This one is one step ahead of the others I wasn't as convinced of, but just barely.

In this story, we meet adversaries students Trevor and Kate, competing for a scholarship and Trevor ended up winning it. Kate accepted defeat and started working as a clerk, feeling her skills were being wasted but years later, she gets a letter from a doctor who knew about her ability while studying and he wants her to analyze data at the hospital. She goes to the interview and is surprised to see Trevor, for he had changed his name. She does feel challenged in this new job and the more the gets to reconnect with Trevor, the more she appreciates his sense of duty, and even his stoic personality which annoyed her so much in the past. But they are working with patients who have tuberculosis and someone isn't happy with this, threatening the study and the hospital... will they discover who before all is lost?

It might sound unfair but in every single book so far I've read by the author, I've found that the idea and premise of the story is always so much better than the actual execution and in part I feel that is due to the tone - often a little too dramatic or gloomy - and the romance which is "clean", that's fine, but then so under developed or even looking as if it was squandered. Meaning that the story could be much stronger and instead it can become a bit too focused on negative aspects.

I really liked the beginning, as I did with the previous books. The scene where Trevor and Kate battle it out for the scholarship was engaging and of course I imagined - not that difficult - that in the future they would meet again, and that their abilities would clash again, hiding mutual respect and attraction. I imagined the plot would place them together somehow and they would need to keep proving they were better than one another somehow.

This doesn't happen exactly like this but when Trevor, now a doctor, requests Kate to do an interview, things seemed to be going in the right direction for this idea to become stronger. I did like the idea the plot was centered around the fight against tuberculosis, and knowing know how things are, what a pity to think of all the wrong steps and the terrible prejudice but, then again, don't we still have today in a world where scientific advance and merit isn't a doubt anymore? The author clearly did her research and for the most part, the details and all things related to Trevor's study were interesting to read about.

However, instead of focusing on the good things or on positive aspects of these things, the author - as it seems is her trend - chose to create drama by bringing negative situations, which the characters are, sometimes, almost hopeless to fight and this makes the story drag in a rather gloom way. There were scenes and parts of the story I felt like skip ahead, to something brighter, so that I could have more motivation to keep reading. It did feel all the bad things which could happen practically did happen to Trevor and his reputation...

As for the romance, of course is labeled clean but I keep saying, this isn't what makes it uninspiring to me. Both Trevor and Kate have strong personalities and are two people who we have come to understand are clever and use their skills so well, but then behave in ways that can be very frustrating.

I'm not saying they should be modern when this is an historical, but I hoped they could actually talk more and although Trevor has secrets, I think only one was truly difficult to put into words so why didn't they communicate more? Kate is so bubbly and caring, I also expected her to be more aware of the dynamics between them...it's as if they had to have flaws so that at some point, when convenient, they could think that God made them so and we should accept others as they were meant to be or something... I'd have preferred better conversations.

I still liked this one better than others but it's not close to the one I liked best. I have hopes for future books I'll try by the author, though....

Grade: 7/10

Elizabeth Camden - Into the Whirlwind

After her father's death, Mollie Knox takes over his watchmaking company and uses her head for business to solidify the good name of the 57th Illinois Watch Company. Her future looks bright until the night her beloved city is destroyed in the legendary Great Chicago Fire. With her world crumbling around her, Molly must do whatever it takes to save her company in the aftermath of the devastating fire.
Zack Kazmarek is an influential attorney with powerful ties to the political, mercantile, and ethnic roots of Chicago. His only weakness is Mollie Knox, a woman who has always been just beyond his reach. However, all bets are off after the fire destroys Chicago, and Mollie is in desperate need of assistance. Just as Zack finally begins to pursue the woman he loves, competition arises in the form of a hero from her past who can provide the help she needs to rise from the ashes.
While Mollie struggles to rebuild, the two men battle for her heart. One has always loved her, but the other has the power to save her. In the race to rebuild the city, can she survive with her business and her heart intact?

Comment: This is the 4th book I read by this author. Back in January of this year I've read one I truly loved and, of course, I was hopeful I'd feel the same thing about this one but, sadly, I wasn't as impressed this time.

In this story we meet Mollie Knox, she is carrying on with the watch making company her father loved so much and she feels doubly invested because her workers are all men from the 57th company, of which her father was a member as well. Many of these men have some sort of physical or mental issue because of the war and she knows they wouldn't have a chance anywhere else but when a deal is presented to her with a very short time to decide, she feels stamped.

On the other side is lawyer Zack, a man who owes his studies and reputation to a very wealthy man who helped him but he knows the business isn't always as black and white as it could but Zack doesn't mind working the law in his favor. He has been attracted to Mollie for three years, since they became acquainted, and feels she could be someone he could love and cherish. 

However, in this critical time of their lives, a sudden event changes everything, for it's impossible to control the big Chicago Fire and all the devastation coming after it...

Reading the first pages, I was eager to keep going because the first chapter seemed perfect. Two protagonists who were slightly aloof towards one another, who had an opinion yes, but never had acted upon it to develop a closer relationship and now a business deal could finally be the push to change that. I imagined they would have some struggles, some differences of opinion and that would put obstacles in their path but in the end the romance would win it all.

As a matter of fact, though, the plot went on a somewhat different route. The fire acted as an impossible setback and made everyone deal with many hardships and Mollie certainly focused a lot of her time and attention on that. I can understand and sympathize with her need to be certain her company could survive, as well as keeping the livelihood of the employees. But the tone of the book went to a very bleak path and it seemed only bad things happened. Yes, I can also accept this, considering the fire effect but then... why setting this right during the fire year, perhaps similar issues could have been dealt more easily if the timing was another.

Sadly for me, this means the focus of the story was more on the differences between Zack and Mollie and why they didn't match but Zack kept seeing ways they did. I found this jarring, too much of a clash and from a certain point on I no longer felt eager nor curious to see how the relationship would develop. The author also included a third character and throughout some chapters, there was a certain "love triangle" vibe going on. I also knew this would end with Zack and Mollie together but I no longer felt confident in their relationship and wasn't as invested in believing it could work and last, no matter the scenes or wording used to convey that.

Mollie is a sympathetic character and Zack has his moments too. I could see how they are supposed to work but even putting aside the fact this is inspirational and we don't see passion or sexual tension scenes to help with cementing this aspect, I still hoped we would have more obvious clues they were a good match. But they clashed for too long for me to feel they wore worth it. The clash wasn't only about emotions or feelings but regarding the business and Zack's role in it which means their differences went beyond personal issues. It just felt the author decided they would be a couple and all obstacles would be removed, even though so much time was dedicated to precisely that.

All things considered, this was a story with interesting elements, especially the historical ones and the little details but the romance and some character traits just felt wasted or not used as well as it could. What felt like a promising romance to me felt flat in the end... which, looking back at my opinion on the other books by the author I've tried, seems to be her trademark. I suppose I lucked out with the one I read before this one.

Grade: 6/10

Elizabeth Camden - The Rose of Winslow Street

The last thing Libby Sawyer and her father expected upon their return from their summer home was to
find strangers inhabiting a house that had been in their family for decades. Widower Michael Dobrescu brought his family from Romania to the town of Colden, Massachusetts with a singular purpose: to claim the house willed to him long ago. Since neither party has any intention of giving up their claim, a fierce legal battle ensues between the two families.
When important documents go missing from the house, Libby suspects Michael is the culprit. Determined to discover the truth behind the stolen papers, Libby investigates, only to find more layers of mystery surrounding Michael and his family. Despite their rivalry, Libby finds herself developing feelings for this man with the mysterious past.
As a decision about the house looms in the courts, Libby must weigh the risks of choosing to remain loyal to her family or give her heart to a man whose intentions and affections are less than certain. 

Comment: Another standalone book by author Elizabeth Camden. She writes "clean" historical romances and there is always something unique about her plots. 

When this story begins Michael Dobrescu and his family are just arriving at he hose left for them in the will of the previous owner. However, the house is already occupied by professor and his daughter Libby who has lived there her whole life. It just happens that the day the Dobrescus arrive, the professor and his daughter are at the house of Libby's brother Jasper. When they are informed someone is ow living in their house, the two depart to solve the problem but Michael dos have proof of his ownership of the house. While the legalities are being investigated, Libby is allowed to enter the house and collect personal items and that is how she slowly gets to know this family,especially the two children, sons of Michael. With time, she realizes Michael is a good person and he has good reason to have come to America and take possession of the house. But how will she cope with her new feelings for a man who should be the enemy and her duty to a father who, although not loving towards her, has raised her? 

It seems this author picks unconventional ideas and develops them into fascinating plots. I have now read three books by her, counting this one, and I have liked the ideas of them all, even though the romances of the others weren't the most captivating. In this case I should say all elements worked well for me, and even the things I'd change didn't stop me from enjoying this novel.

I really liked the idea of this one, not only the legal intricacies of the house affair, which carried the plot onward, but the fact there was a lot of talk about flowers and scents and ho some combinations are better than others when it comes to perfumes or lotions. Michael has a nose to work in this field and I was very interested in the little details the author chose to give him knowledge in this work. I think it was quite obvious the author dis a good research and included what was necessary but I think it worked very well to give the story strength and something to focus on.

Michael Dobrescu is a fascinating hero. He seems brash and unfair at first but as the story moved on, I started to like him more and more even if his tactics weren't what we would now call "legal". I really liked how honorable and loving he was, especially towards those he cared about and when he get close to the end of the book and learn the reasons why he traveled to America with his family, I was already sold on his character.

Of course, this being an historical I wrinkled my nose at some scenes he shared with the heroine and when their feelings become obvious for the two of them, he decides to declare himself and despite how sweet that was, he still assumed some things because she was a woman. If there's one thing that I struggle with in historicals featuring some romance is the  - understandable - realism of how women were seen and treated. Oh well, nothing is ever perfect.

Libby is a very determined heroine. She is far from perfect, in fact the author "gave" her some flaws which seem so unfair for someone who is presented as calm and likable but I think this allowed her to be even more aware of the things she knew she was good at and how she could improve. If there's one big problem for me in this novel is how Libby's flaw is accepted as part of her identity and that's fine but with a very clever father and brother, and a hero who cares and loves her and supports her need to learn I think it could have been a little more obvious why she struggled with her "flaw". Not finding a magical solution, no, but to help her instead of just accepting it as a trait. 

This is Christian fiction so Belief and Faith play a part although for me not to the point I felt it was preachy or perhaps I could not focus on that detail. But here, I think things could have been done a little better.

Despite that and the fact that I wish the end had longer scenes or more detailed explanations for some issues, I had a great time reading this book. I think the plot had very good scenes for the most part,there was a sweet romance, a hero who reminded me of a big puppy who plays with you but who also defends you if you need and a heroine who wasn't afraid to show her vulnerable side. At this time, I can only focus on the majority of positive aspects so, a good grad it is.

Grade: 9/10

Elizabeth Camden - Against the Tide

As a child, Lydia Pallas became all too familiar with uncertainty when it came to the future. Now, she's finally carved out a perfect life for herself--a life of stability and order with no changes, surprises, or chaos of any kind. She adores her apartment overlooking the bustling Boston Harbor, and her skill with languages has landed her a secure position as a translator for the U.S. Navy.
However, it is her talent for translation that brings her into contact with Alexander Banebridge, or "Bane," a man who equally attracts and aggravates her. When Bane hires Lydia to translate a seemingly innocuous collection of European documents, she hesitantly agrees, only to discover she is in over her head.
Just as Bane's charm begins to win her over, Lydia learns he is driven by a secret campaign against some of the most dangerous criminals on the East Coast, compelled by his faith and his past. Bane forbids any involvement on Lydia's part, but when the criminals gain the upper hand, it is Lydia on whom he must depend.

Comment: Six years later, I've picked another book by this author. I liked the other one I tried well enough but it wasn't the marvel it could have been. I was confident this could be better because the blurb appealed more to me and, besides, the heroine works as a translator, that is always a plus since I am one too!

In this story we meet heroine Lydia Pallas, a young woman who works as a translator for the Navy, since not only is she good with languages but her Greek and Turk origins along with her parent's several travels while she was a young girl, have prepared her to soak up knowledge.

Lady has had a miserable childhood but she has gone up in her world and working for the Navy is a dream for her. She even endures the sporadic visits of Alexander Banebridge, a man with whom her boss, admiral Fontaine, has some business. Bane is charming but a little cynical and he provokes Lydia immensely, and she only starts talking to him when he asks her to translate some documents.

From that first connection to a dangerous mission is quite a step, one filled with heartbreak, but will Lydia be able to win her own demons to help a man who also has a lot to atone for in his mind?

A translator heroine who not only does something she likes but she can try to help save people from a bad man? I mean... comics should bet on this idea.

I was so eager to read this based on this blurb, I'll always be on the look for possible translator heroines since I'm one too and I actually liked how, in this novel, Lydia often shared her passion for her work, her profession was not just a means to an end!

The story starts with a heartbreaking prologue but one I liked because it gave me a glimpse of what kind of person Lydia would become and I felt immensely connected with her and wished her to succeed. I imagined immediately that her life would be hard but through her job, her passion for life and a possible love interest, her story would end up with a brilliant HEA.

In fact, I should say I was a little out of reality because I did read another book by the author so I should have known her style and "voice" were more into drama than sweet romance...

This was a fascinating story. At the end of the book, the author included some notes on her research to this story and it's always good to have some kind of factual confirmation on the things we read. I like historical accuracy as any other reader and I don't mind how authors usually insert real things in their fictional plots. I liked learning a few things here and there and I don't think there was ever a sense of info dump in how the real life facts were presented by the author.

What failed, again - like with the other book by her I tried - was the lack of romance, even for an inspirational book, and the piling up of the drama and harsh scenes to worry the reader so much that the whole plot felt too much, too complicated, too severe in some points.

I knew this would not be a book where the main couple would have many romantic scenes together but I hoped, especially after the prologue and first chapter, that their relationship would g more towards a certain path... I wouldn't even have minded all the drama the heroine goes through, nor the challenges she faces over a health problem she has and not even the all that spying/rescue mission she embarks on, so she can help those she cares about.

However, these things were enough to sustain the drama of the story.

I think the hero, then, should have been a better counterbalance to her and be less punished by guilt and the whole hero complex he suffers from in order to make a right out of wrong done to him anyway.

I know I'm being vague on purpose but of only the drama had been less harsh, I would have believed their feelings more, I'd have welcomed their relationship as a real partnership. They end up together, this is obviously not a surprise, but I wish I could think of them as a strong couple, free of past doubts. The author did include many scenes of them talking, sharing mutual preferences, thinking positively of one another, accepting each others' flaws and passions, on paper is all there. But I still feel everything was done with too much drama and quests of the mind to really be a sweet story when it was necessary.

I liked reading the book, don't be mistaken, but it had all the potential to be such a marvelous romance... as for the faith element, it was an add-on, to be honest. It was absolutely unnecessary to this story, it felt like it was there because of this book's labeling and didn't add anything to the plot.

The end is happy, of course, the main plot points are solved and everyone supposedly lives happy ever after in the midst of so many problems with the world but...the main couple achieved their goal.

This was a good story but it suffered form wanting to reach to many ideas, too many things and the romance could have been ..well, more romantic.

Nevertheless, I'll still read another book by the author some day...

Grade: 6/10

Elizabeth Camden - The Lady of Bolton Hill

When Clara Endicott and Daniel Tremain's worlds collide after twelve years apart, the spark that was once between them immediately reignites into a romance neither of them thought possible.
But time has changed them both.
Daniel is an industrial titan with powerful enemies. Clara is an idealistic journalist determined to defend underprivileged workers.
Can they withstand the cost of their convictions while their hearts--and lives--hang in the balance?

Comment: I got this book mostly because of the cover. I'm not a reader that buys because of covers, but here and there I confess I find myself marveled by some gorgeous cover and that prompts me to see if I might buy that book, which, in this case, was so. Even the back is gorgeous with the manuscript letters and plain design...I liked it. Although the blurb isn't the most thrilling thing ever, I still went with it and purchased the book. And this month it was the first read of February.

This is the story of Daniel and Clara, they come from different sides of the society where they are growing up in but they're friends and they share a passion for classical music. One day, an accident shapes up the rest of Daniel's life and his goals. After years apart, they reunite again and although Clara still fights for those who can't, Daniel also still sees only his main purpose in life, to get revenge. Will these two find common ground again?

Based on the blurb alone I might not have gotten the book. I don't like the friends to lovers trope much and even worse the lovers reunited. Thankfully this is a Christian book so things weren't intimate like that in this story but they did have a sort of past together. I don't enjoy these much because I prefer the spark of a new relationship, to see the development of the chemistry between characters, I don't know, but there's something boring about reading about reconnection. In this story we don't see it as much because nothing ever happened between them except friendship. Still, they had an opinion about each other and inevitably that shaped up their current relationship too.

This was my first book by this author as well. So, a new style and voice to get used to. I can't say I found it bad, because it's a very simple, fluid writing. But I also thought she used too many things in her story. It was the character's personal challenges in life, the main plot, then a sort of villain who wasn't as obvious as that, then the political plot, then the society environment....really too many things that I think were confusing and too much. I think the author had many ideas and by inserting them all, some didn't seem to belong in the plot nor did they feel right.

The romance. This is a Christian story, so no intimacy between the characters and kisses are simple and more affectionate than passionate. Still, I believe in trying to be subtle and keeping things quiet, it seems the main idea that comes out is they are friends, but there's not a real love between them...I think books with no sex are easy to accomplish and not having the protagonists in sexual scenes doesn't men they can't show how in love or how much passion they feel. I think that, in this case, it looked like they weren't really in love. They had a good relationship based on years of friendship, common ideas (after a while of course) and companionship, but I didn't feel their passion for each other. I don't think there's nothing wrong in making it obvious they want each other even if we don't see it on the pages. Other author did it successfully in this genre.
The main characters have a very solid personality and social goals that drive them in terms of action, but the personal development I saw didn't convince me much. It suited the idea of redemption in a way, but I wasn't totally convinced about it, so...a bit of a lacking in this part of the story.

Now I don't know if the other stories are in the same flow, meaning not very developed where I think it matters. Of course, everything is a matter of personal taste and the blurbs in her other novels seem much better to me, but if this one didn't wowed me as much, I fear for the others...to think about more later on.
This one was OK in everything but if I were to pick all the details that I would change it would still be quite many. So, although some things were good enough, most of them weren't and I was left with a feeling of wanting more and better.
Grade: 6/10