Scan barcode
english_lady03's review against another edition
3.0
I don’t read a lot of these novella collections, but I mostly requested this for one short tale in particular. Each one of the short stories (less than 100 pages), were well written and cute, my problem is that I don’t really care much for American Fiction. Since 3 out of the 5 stories were set in America, you can see how that might be a problem.
Don’t get me wrong, they were interesting, it’s just that I don’t know enough about the American Civil War, or turn of the (20th) century California, and I don’t really identify with the setting. The third story, about the Doctor’s daughter I enjoyed and the second one with the Scottish girl and the loyal piper who led her through everything.
The first story, set in 12th century Ireland was good, but it was also the one I was most disappointed with, as I did not feel it was historically accurate. There were just too many mistakes: one scene mentioned a character eating a potato pie, and another using a table fork. Neither were introduced to Europe until centuries later.
The Castle and Vikings also seemed out of place, although they were essential to the story. It’s a shame in a way because as stated above, it was a great story with a clear gospel message, but I think the historical setting could have been different.
Overall, The Message in a Bottle Romance Collection would appeal to anyone who enjoys historical romances spanning different times and geographical regions but united by a common thread.
I requested a copy of this book from the Publisher via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.
Don’t get me wrong, they were interesting, it’s just that I don’t know enough about the American Civil War, or turn of the (20th) century California, and I don’t really identify with the setting. The third story, about the Doctor’s daughter I enjoyed and the second one with the Scottish girl and the loyal piper who led her through everything.
The first story, set in 12th century Ireland was good, but it was also the one I was most disappointed with, as I did not feel it was historically accurate. There were just too many mistakes: one scene mentioned a character eating a potato pie, and another using a table fork. Neither were introduced to Europe until centuries later.
The Castle and Vikings also seemed out of place, although they were essential to the story. It’s a shame in a way because as stated above, it was a great story with a clear gospel message, but I think the historical setting could have been different.
Overall, The Message in a Bottle Romance Collection would appeal to anyone who enjoys historical romances spanning different times and geographical regions but united by a common thread.
I requested a copy of this book from the Publisher via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.
rgyger's review against another edition
4.0
The collection started out strong with a captivating prologue that had me certain the rest of the stories would be spell binding. Unfortunately, after that, the collection started out a bit rocky, though it did get better as the stories progressed.
The first novella in the collection, The Distant Tide, was my least favorite of the stories. The characters' motivations lacked much conflict and I felt that the Message Bottle played an insignificant role in the plot.
The second story was better, the Message Bottle was more prominent and I like the characters better, however it was with the third story that I really started liking the collection. Those last few stories felt far more believable and the settings were more immersive. Though not my favorite romance anthology, I believe this one is still worth the read if you happen to come across it.
I have provided an honest review after having received an ecopy from the publisher through Netgalley.
The first novella in the collection, The Distant Tide, was my least favorite of the stories. The characters' motivations lacked much conflict and I felt that the Message Bottle played an insignificant role in the plot.
The second story was better, the Message Bottle was more prominent and I like the characters better, however it was with the third story that I really started liking the collection. Those last few stories felt far more believable and the settings were more immersive. Though not my favorite romance anthology, I believe this one is still worth the read if you happen to come across it.
I have provided an honest review after having received an ecopy from the publisher through Netgalley.
betherin02's review against another edition
5.0
Full review on Faithfully Bookish http://wp.me/p7ngfE-Fr
I am digging deep to create a review worthy of the experience held between the covers of this book. The prologue and epilogue are powerful mini-stories in their own right yet the journey of the bottle weaves them and the five stories together into one inspiring adventure. This book consistently summoned blissful sighs, book hugs, and happy tears which eventually evolved into a blubbering book hangover at the end. I will be telling everyone about this book and the timeless message etched on that bottle! Bravo, ladies! BRAVO!
I requested the opportunity to read and review this title through the authors and NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.
I am digging deep to create a review worthy of the experience held between the covers of this book. The prologue and epilogue are powerful mini-stories in their own right yet the journey of the bottle weaves them and the five stories together into one inspiring adventure. This book consistently summoned blissful sighs, book hugs, and happy tears which eventually evolved into a blubbering book hangover at the end. I will be telling everyone about this book and the timeless message etched on that bottle! Bravo, ladies! BRAVO!
I requested the opportunity to read and review this title through the authors and NetGalley. The opinions expressed are my own.
shelfesteem's review
4.0
Prologue (834 AD) and The Distant Tide by Heather Day Gilbert ~ 1170 Ireland
A Song in the Night by Amanda Dykes ~ 1715 Scotland
The Forgotten Hope by Maureen Lang ~ 1798 New York
A River Between Us by Jocelyn Green ~ 1864 Georgia
The Swelling Sea and Epilogue by Joanne Bischoff ~ 1890 California
My Review
Who hasn’t dreamed of finding a message in a bottle? Two summers ago my son fished a bottle with a message enclosed out of Salem Harbor in Massachusetts. The sender had written her contact information inside and after calling we learned the bottle had not traveled far. This was not the case for the bottle in The Message in a Bottle Romance Collection, which traverses continents and centuries with it’s secrets carried inside.
A bronze bottle forged in a monastery connects the 5 novellas of this collection. Interestingly, it never passes directly from the characters of one story to the next and each time the bottle finds a new owner, the contents inside are different — suited to the receiver. Regardless of what was inside, the bottle always brings with it SPERO (hope). Therefore in addition to the object itself, a common theme links the novellas.
I believe the stories with the most interesting settings and tidbits of history were those set in Ireland, New York, and Georgia. In The Distant Tide, Vikings invade Ireland on a mission of vengeance, but when their leader is captured, the kindness of an Irish princess leads Ari Thorvaldsson to reconsider everything. My familiarity with Gilbert’s previous Norse tale God’s Daughter, helped me to understand the warrior nature of Vikings as well as to explain how Christianity could have grown in Ari’s homeland. Set in New York during the late 1700’s, Lang’s character Abigail intrigued me with her desire to marry a man who would allow her to continue practicing medicine. Through her ministrations to her patients, readers get a fascinating look at medical procedures and superstitions we find laughable by todays standards. Finally, Green’s novella showcased the plight of Southern mill workers who were displaced in droves under the order of General Sherman. Green’s hospital scenes were reminiscent of those in her book Widow of Gettysburg (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️).
In conclusion, all 5 authors did comparably well creating/maintaining romantic tension. I was pleasantly surprised by Maureen Lang, who has earned herself a new reader. My favorite secondary characters Eugenia Bettredge and Ronan came from Dykes (also a new author for me) and Gilbert respectively. Overall, The Message in a Bottle Romance Collection was a good read with some stories possessing more depth and intrigue than others.
With thanks to Barbour Publishing for offering a review copy through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
A Song in the Night by Amanda Dykes ~ 1715 Scotland
The Forgotten Hope by Maureen Lang ~ 1798 New York
A River Between Us by Jocelyn Green ~ 1864 Georgia
The Swelling Sea and Epilogue by Joanne Bischoff ~ 1890 California
My Review
Who hasn’t dreamed of finding a message in a bottle? Two summers ago my son fished a bottle with a message enclosed out of Salem Harbor in Massachusetts. The sender had written her contact information inside and after calling we learned the bottle had not traveled far. This was not the case for the bottle in The Message in a Bottle Romance Collection, which traverses continents and centuries with it’s secrets carried inside.
A bronze bottle forged in a monastery connects the 5 novellas of this collection. Interestingly, it never passes directly from the characters of one story to the next and each time the bottle finds a new owner, the contents inside are different — suited to the receiver. Regardless of what was inside, the bottle always brings with it SPERO (hope). Therefore in addition to the object itself, a common theme links the novellas.
I believe the stories with the most interesting settings and tidbits of history were those set in Ireland, New York, and Georgia. In The Distant Tide, Vikings invade Ireland on a mission of vengeance, but when their leader is captured, the kindness of an Irish princess leads Ari Thorvaldsson to reconsider everything. My familiarity with Gilbert’s previous Norse tale God’s Daughter, helped me to understand the warrior nature of Vikings as well as to explain how Christianity could have grown in Ari’s homeland. Set in New York during the late 1700’s, Lang’s character Abigail intrigued me with her desire to marry a man who would allow her to continue practicing medicine. Through her ministrations to her patients, readers get a fascinating look at medical procedures and superstitions we find laughable by todays standards. Finally, Green’s novella showcased the plight of Southern mill workers who were displaced in droves under the order of General Sherman. Green’s hospital scenes were reminiscent of those in her book Widow of Gettysburg (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️).
In conclusion, all 5 authors did comparably well creating/maintaining romantic tension. I was pleasantly surprised by Maureen Lang, who has earned herself a new reader. My favorite secondary characters Eugenia Bettredge and Ronan came from Dykes (also a new author for me) and Gilbert respectively. Overall, The Message in a Bottle Romance Collection was a good read with some stories possessing more depth and intrigue than others.
With thanks to Barbour Publishing for offering a review copy through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
fiction_aficionado's review
5.0
As someone who is not generally inclined to pick up novella collections, I am so glad I made an exception for this one! Having read three out of the five contributing authors before, I was fairly certain I would enjoy the collection, but it ended up exceeding even that expectation.
The collection begins with a prologue set in a monastery in Northern Ireland in AD 834. A monk, desperate for the Living Word to endure as they are attacked by Vikings, prays: “Please, Father...If we perish, may hope yet live.” A bronze vessel and the single parchment he manages to secure inside are that legacy of hope, and the five novellas that follow trace a small part that bronze vessel’s journey through the centuries, closing with an epilogue in modern-day California.
For me, the most attractive part of this series was the different settings, each so vividly brought to life. If I was pressed to nominate a favourite, I would still have to give two: A Song in the Night by Amanda Dykes, and The Swelling Sea by Joanne Bischof.
Amanda Dykes was one of the new-to-me authors in this collection, and not only did I love the Scottish setting (my own ancestry and a setting not frequently seen in Christian fiction), but I fell in love with her writing and her characters. As an extra bonus, the original performance of Handel’s Water Music features in the story! My music- and story-loving hearts united!
Joanne Bischof’s heroine, Rosie, is one of the sweetest heroines I have come across—a young woman who nearly drowned at the age of ten and still exhibits certain mannerisms that are considered childlike. Couple that with Joanne Bischof’s beautifully sensitive writing and you have a captivating story.
But I would only single those ones out if I was REALLY pressed to nominate a favourite, because this is truly a stellar collection. Even if you are not normally a novella reader, I highly recommend this series. If you are a novella reader, put this one at the top of your list. You’re in for a real treat!
The collection begins with a prologue set in a monastery in Northern Ireland in AD 834. A monk, desperate for the Living Word to endure as they are attacked by Vikings, prays: “Please, Father...If we perish, may hope yet live.” A bronze vessel and the single parchment he manages to secure inside are that legacy of hope, and the five novellas that follow trace a small part that bronze vessel’s journey through the centuries, closing with an epilogue in modern-day California.
For me, the most attractive part of this series was the different settings, each so vividly brought to life. If I was pressed to nominate a favourite, I would still have to give two: A Song in the Night by Amanda Dykes, and The Swelling Sea by Joanne Bischof.
Amanda Dykes was one of the new-to-me authors in this collection, and not only did I love the Scottish setting (my own ancestry and a setting not frequently seen in Christian fiction), but I fell in love with her writing and her characters. As an extra bonus, the original performance of Handel’s Water Music features in the story! My music- and story-loving hearts united!
Joanne Bischof’s heroine, Rosie, is one of the sweetest heroines I have come across—a young woman who nearly drowned at the age of ten and still exhibits certain mannerisms that are considered childlike. Couple that with Joanne Bischof’s beautifully sensitive writing and you have a captivating story.
But I would only single those ones out if I was REALLY pressed to nominate a favourite, because this is truly a stellar collection. Even if you are not normally a novella reader, I highly recommend this series. If you are a novella reader, put this one at the top of your list. You’re in for a real treat!
marylinfurumasu's review
5.0
A few years ago there was the big tsunami in Japan and even to this date we can still find items washing ashore on the Pacific Coast beaches. I've walked those beaches and thought, what would it be like?
Have you ever found something and wondered where it has been and what stories it could tell?
Well, this collection of stories deals with that idea.
Found, is a bottle.....a very simple bottle with a very special message. "SPERO"...."HOPE."
Within this collection of stories there is the presence of the bottle. Each author connects with the other stories in such a way that it feels like we're following this bottle on it's journey to bring hope to anyone who needs it!
I loved how the stories cover a large span of time and different places. Each author uses colorful word pictures to bring the stories to life.
There is sadness, healing, suspense, humor, sweet moments of romance and wonderful examples of God's redeeming love and hope.
I highly recommend this book set. You won't be disappointed!
Have you ever found something and wondered where it has been and what stories it could tell?
Well, this collection of stories deals with that idea.
Found, is a bottle.....a very simple bottle with a very special message. "SPERO"...."HOPE."
Within this collection of stories there is the presence of the bottle. Each author connects with the other stories in such a way that it feels like we're following this bottle on it's journey to bring hope to anyone who needs it!
I loved how the stories cover a large span of time and different places. Each author uses colorful word pictures to bring the stories to life.
There is sadness, healing, suspense, humor, sweet moments of romance and wonderful examples of God's redeeming love and hope.
I highly recommend this book set. You won't be disappointed!
More...