Ramblings of the Blonde Mother Bear

Rosslyn Elliott‘s latest book Sweeter than Birdsong is even better than her first book in The Saddler’s Legacy series, Fairer Than Morning.

Loosely based on the real life story of the Hanby family, Elliot has once again created characters that leap off the page and straight into your heart. From the opening scene with our heroine, we are drawn into Kate Winter’s struggle with the overwhelming grip of debilitating shyness on her life. Her desire to retreat into solitude and leave her unhappy home life behind is constantly thwarted at every turn. Kate daily finds herself struggling to avoid the anger of an overbearing and socially ambitious mother. She is forced to bend to the demands of proper social decorum at every turn.

She soon finds herself the unwilling recipient of attention from two dashing young men, Frederick Jones and Ben Hanby. The two men are best friends and soon find themselves vying for time with Kate. Frederick is outgoing and seeks Kate out at every turn. Ben is quiet and more serious, but their love of music brings them together.

Resolved that she will never overcome her crippling shyness, and unable to contend any longer in a home with a drunkard father and a controlling mother, Kate decides to leave them all behind. Finding no hope in her current situation, Kate seeks an opportunity to run away. With freedom only moments away, Kate is unexpectedly thrust on the journey of a lifetime. In a moment of divine providence she is exposed to the workings of the Underground Railroad, opening her heart and mind to the plight of others much less fortunate than herself.

Rosslyn Elliott’s writing is rich and full of beautiful details that set the stage for this historic novel set in 1855 at Otterbein College. Readers will be quickly drawn into the story and the plight of its characters. Elliot lyrical prose is a true delight.

I highly recommend it!

Check out the fun on the Sweeter Than Birdsong blog tour from Litfuse and be sure to enter the iPod Giveaway.

Win an iPod Nano and Downton Abbey from Rosslyn Elliott!

Enter 2/9-2/28!

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About the book:

Music offers Kate sweet refuge from her troubles . . . but real freedom is sweeter.

In Westerville, Ohio, 1855, Kate Winter’s dreams are almost within reach. As the first woman to graduate from Otterbein College, she’ll be guaranteed her deepest wish: escape from the dark secret haunting her family. But with her mother determined to marry her off to a wealthy man, Kate must face reality. She has to run. Now. And she has the perfect plan. Join the upcoming musical performance—and use it to mask her flight.

Ben Hanby, Otterbein College’s musical genius, sees Kate Winter as an enigmatic creature, notable for her beauty, yet painfully shy. Then he hears her sing—and the glory of her voice moves him as never before. He determines to cast her in his musical and uncover the mystery that is Kate. Still, he must keep his own secret to himself. Not even this intriguing woman can know that his passionate faith is driving him to aid fugitives on the Underground Railroad.

A terrifying accident brings Kate and Ben together, but threatens to shatter both their secrets and their dreams. Kate can no longer deny the need to find her courage—and her voice—if she is to sing a new song for their future.

Read an excerpt here: http://rosslynbooks2.blogspot.com/2011/11/chapters-one-and-two-preview.html

About Rosslyn:

Rosslyn Elliott is the award-winning author of Fairer than Morning, the first in the Saddler’s Legacy series. She holds a B.A. from Yale University and a Ph.D. in English from Emory University. Her study of American literature and history inspired her to pursue writing fiction. Elliott lives in Albuquerque, where she homeschools her daughter and works in children’s ministry.

For more about Rosslyn, visit her website: http://rosslynelliott.com

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I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I received no other compensation.

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Tags: christian

This entry was posted on Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 6:15 pm and is filed under Book Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.