Monday, March 18, 2013

CFBA: Catherine's Pursuit by Lena Nelson Dooley

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing:
 
Catherine's Pursuit
Realms (February 5, 2013)
 
by
 
Lena Nelson Dooley


MY TAKE:

Once again I'm bringing you the 3rd book in a series, but trust me on this one, it's worth it. Ms. Dooley's work is always good and this was no exception.

I've always been intrigued by stories about multiples, I always wanted to be a twin or triplet. So the McKenna's Daughters series following triplets born on the trail west caught my attention right away. The girls are all grown up and each are discovering their origins and who they are as a person.

Catherine is the oldest of the triplets but the last in the series. She grew up with her biological father who never remarried. She's always been lonely and a little spoiled. When she discovers on her 18th birthday that she has 2 sisters out in the world and her father has promised to never try to find them, she takes her ladies maid and runs away to find them on her own.

Her father sends Collin, a young Captain from one of his ships to be her protector. Collin is having his own issues with faith and feelings of worth. His ship sank and he feels responsible, despite everyone else's claims otherwise. He and Catherine are like oil and water in the beginning, they just don't mix. God has things to teach them through all of this adventure. Lessons on love and acceptance and forgiveness and grace.

It was a great story, well told with humor and fantastic little details that bring history to life. Although Catherine's story stood up well as an independent novel, you'll thank yourself for reading the other sisters stories first.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

When Angus McKenna was forced to give two of his daughters to families in the wagon train, he promised he'd never try to contact them. Catherine made no such pledge. But when she sets out to find her sisters, she doesn't go alone. Angus sends Collin with her. Will they discover the two women---and love?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Catherine's Pursuit, go HERE.

Be sure to check out the first two books in the series:

Maggie's Journey (McKenna's Daughters 1)

A girl who’s been lied to her whole life…

Near her eighteenth birthday, Margaret Lenora Caine finds a chest hidden in the attic containing proof that she was adopted. The daughter of wealthy merchants in Seattle, she feels betrayed both by her real parents and by the ones who raised her. Maggie desires a place where she belongs. But her mother’s constant criticism and reminders that she doesn't fit the mold of a young woman of their social standing have already created tension in their home. With the discovery of the family secret, all sense of her identity is lost.

When Maggie asks to visit her grandmother in Arkansas, her father agrees on the condition that she take her Aunt Georgia as a chaperone and his young partner, Charles Stanton, as protection on the journey. Will she discover who she really is and, more importantly, what truly matters most in life?

Mary's Blessing (McKenna's Daughters 2)

When her mother dies, Mary Lenora must grow up quickly to take care of her brothers and sisters. Can love help her to shoulder the burden?

Mary Lenora Caine knows she is adopted. As she was growing up, her mother called her “God’s blessing.” But now that she’s gone, Mary no longer feels like any kind of blessing. Her father, in his grief, has cut himself off from the family, leaving the running of the home entirely in Mary’s hands.

As she nears her eighteenth birthday, Mary can’t see anything in her future but drudgery. Then her childhood friend Daniel begins to court her, promising her a life of riches and ease. But her fairy-tale dreams turn to dust when her family becomes too much for Daniel, and he abandons her in her time of deepest need.

Will Daniel come to grips with God’s plan for him? And if he does return, can Mary trust that this time he will really follow through?


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Award-winning author, Lena Nelson Dooley, has more than 675,000 books in print. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers http://www.acfw.com/ and president of the local chapter, DFW Ready Writers. She’s also a member of Christian Authors Network, CROWN Fiction Marketing, and Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas.

Lena loves James, her children, grandchildren, and great grandson. She loves chocolate, cherries, chocolate-covered cherries, and spending time with friends. Travel is always on her horizon. Cruising, Galveston, the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, Mexico. One day it will be Hawaii and Australia, but probably not the same year. Helping other authors become published really floats her boat, with fifteen signing their first book contract after her mentoring. Three of her books have been awarded the Carol Award silver pins from American Christian Fiction Writers and she has received the ACFW Mentor of the Year award at their national conference. The high point of her day is receiving feedback from her readers, especially people whose lives have been changed by her books. And she loves chocolate, especially dark chocolate.

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