Glittering Promises By Lisa T. Bergren Book Review

// Glittering Promises //

 

The Grand Tour Series // Book #3

 

By Lisa T. Bergren

 

{Review By Bethany}

 

Title: Glittering Promises
Series: The Grand Tour Series, Book #3 {Final book}

Author: Lisa T. Bergren
Source: Litfuse Publicity Group Review Copy from the Publisher
Number of Pages: 464
ISBN: 1434764281
Publisher: David C. Cook
Publication Date: October 1st, 2013
Bethany's Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
 

// Book Synopsis //

"Lisa T. Bergren’s popular Grand Tour series concludes as Cora Kensington journeys farther into Italy, wrestles with a terrible ultimatum from her father, and comes to terms with the Father who will never fail her.

America’s newest heiress must decide if her potential fortune is rationale enough to give up her freedom and all that God is leading her toward. And when her newly-discovered siblings are threatened with ruin, her quandary deepens. Then as Cora nears Rome, more journalists are track the news story of the decade—“Copper Cora,” the rags-to-riches girl—and want to know more about her family and the men vying for her attention. Meanwhile, a charming Italian countess decides that if Cora isn’t going to claim Will’s heart, she might just try..."

// Bethany's Book Review //

 

What a splendid completion of The Grand Tour Series! I was absolutely swept away in the story, and found it to be an even better completion to the series than I'd first anticipated, leaving me in delighted awe once I finished the story! For sure Glittering Promises is my favorite book out of all the novels in The Grand Tour series, and I just loved the way the tour ended as well as how Cora came to "find" herself in Christ after struggling with her identity in the previous books.

 

I just loved how this book was so developed. The story line as well as characters were described in such vivid details that I felt as if I were there with the group touring Rome, Pompeii, etc. I also loved how the character development was written in the whole series, and particularly the final book, as I felt like in the first book Glamorous Illusions Cora was at a loss as to knowing who she truly was, both as a person and as a child of God. By the time I'd closed Glittering Promises I felt like Cora had came to terms with realizing who she was as an individual, and how treasured she was as a daughter of the King of kings, and it made the story all the more enjoyable for me.

 

Another delight for me was seeing the progress between the two men desiring Cora's heart - Will and Pierre. As I read, I felt just as torn between picking a side as Cora was! It was so interesting though to see how things worked out, and really taught a valuable lesson, while also adding to the delight of the end of the story, making it all the more sweet.

 

Another thing I found enjoyable in this read is how Cora came to find herself in Christ. I loved how even though Cora was going through a difficult time, she set her foundations on Christ, making everything around her less shaky. I was very interesting in seeing if her Christianity would be further developed before the series ended after reading the first two books, and think Lisa really accomplished that.

 

For sure this was my favorite book in the series, and like I said earlier, a wonderful completion to the series! While it was a rather long book at over 400 pages long, I didn't really notice as the pages just flew by. There was plenty of mystery and danger in the book, keeping things rolling at a fast pace, and along with seeing old characters once again, as well as the history bits that were also in the story, I just found it to be a delightful read! I would highly recommend this book to any history lovers, or to Lisa Bergren fans, as this is a must read for historical fiction fans and the ultimate Grand Tour of Europe with a wonderful story line to go along with it! However, I will say that if you've not read the first two books in the series, Glamorous Illusions or Grave Consequences, then it's a very much a big "must" as without previously reading those two, this book won't make any sense!

 

N O T E :: I'd like to sincerely thank Litfuse Publicity Group, David C. Cook Publishers as well as Lisa Bergren for the opportunity to receive a complementary copy of Glittering Promises to read and review. I was not paid to read this book or write this review, and was not required to give a good review if I honestly didn't like the book. All thoughts expressed in this review are my own; completely honest and unbiased.
 

Enter Today | 10/10 - 10/29!

Author Interview + Review // Waterfall By Lisa T. Bergren

// W a t e r f a l l //

 

R i v e r   o f   T i m e  Series Book # 1

 

B y   L i s a  T .  B e r g r e n

 

{ R e v i e w   B y   B e t h a n y }

 

Title: Waterfall

Author: Lisa T. Bergren

Source: Review book from the author
Number Of Pages: 369

ISBN: 1434764338

Publisher: David C Book Publishers

Publication Date: February 2011

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars 

 

// Book Description //

"What do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?

Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives among the romantic hills with their archaeologist parents. Stuck among the rubble of the medieval castles in rural Tuscany, on yet another hot, dusty archaeological site, Gabi and Lia are bored out of their minds...until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.

Suddenly Gabi's summer in Italy is much, much more interesting."

 

// Book Trailer //

 

// Bethany's Book Review //

How do I even start to begin to tell you how much I love this book? How late it kept me up at night? How amazing the story is? How the characters so easily become best friends to the reader? How to convince you to read it? I mean, there is no way I think I will do this book justice in this review since I love it that much-but I'll try! :)

 

This is a story that is full of adventure, medieval times as well as history, and some romance, and quite honestly I love it, which is quite an understatement. The story begins as we meet two sisters-Gabi and Lia-who are daughters of archaeologists who work in Italy. Gabi and Lia like what their parents do, but honestly it can get boring at times looking for old stuff, and the summer is already planned to spend in the entirety at a brand new dig in Italy. When Gabi and Lia go looking into one of the digs, and find two hand prints identical to their own hands from an ancient tomb, the summer takes a turn from super boring to super adventurous, and they begin a summer that they will never forget as the go back in time to ancient Italy. As they find themselves in a completely different time period, they learn a lot about family, love and being strong in the face of uncomfortable situations.

 

This book is the first in the River of Time series and this is actually my second time to read it. Let me tell you though, I'm positive it won't be the last as this is the kind of series I'd like to re-read every year. It's just that good. When I first found out about the series from a friend's blog, I found Waterfall at the library and devoured it in 24 hours last year. Then I decided to purchase the rest of the series since I knew it would be a re-read. Ever since then I've considered this series to be very high on my all time favorite book list.

 

One of my most favorite things about this book would be how you get a view of both ancient Italy, seeing the culture, how they did things and how they talked differently, etc, since it is the setting for the book. Then you also get to see a modern girl from the 21st century be put in that time period. It was a nice twist of both ancient writing style and modern, and I found it extremely interesting and even funny at times and loved seeing how Gabi dealt with it. I was absolutely never bored with this book, there was way too much going on and so much adventure happening that I didn't have time to! It was so hard to put down and the very definition of a page-turner that keeps you up way later than you should be at night.

 

Now as with any good book  there were a few things that I was no crazy about in the book, mainly being the more feminist side of Gabi when she would try and fight in the battles with the men, as well as the medium amount of violence during the battle scenes.

 

Overall, I consider this to be one of my favorite books, and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves Italy, historical fiction, sci-fi, and adventure. I'd like to sincerely thank Lisa for sending me a copy of Waterfall to review!!

 

// Author Interview With Lisa T. Bergren //

The Literary Maidens :: Hi Lisa! Welcome to the Literary Maidens blog! Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Lisa :: I'm the mom of three--two teens and a tween. I'm the wife to Tim, a phenomenal man. I've written over forty books. I like to walk, hike, cook, entertain, play games, go to movies and once in a while, write.

The Literary Maidens :: Could you tell us about your River of Time series?

Lisa :: It's about two girls from modern times who go back in time to medieval Italy and find something key about themselves, love and life. Lots of romance and adventure!

The Literary Maidens :: Where did you get your inspiration for The River of Time series?

Lisa :: I wanted to write a series for my teen girls and their friends, but didn't want to write vampires or werewolves. I loved the fantastic element of time travel, plus I adore Italy, so it was an easy answer for me.

The Literary Maidens :: Where are you in the process of Deluge, the final book in the River of Time series?

Lisa :: It's still on hold. I need to write the second book in my new Remnants Series before I turn to it. But it's coming soon! Probably out in September or November.

The Literary Maidens :: Out of all the books in the River of Time series, do you have a personal favorite?

Lisa :: CASCADE. I loved the drama of that one...plus the hard decisions Gabi had to make, as well as what she discovers about herself.

The Literary Maidens :: What kind of research/touring did you do in preparation for writing this series?

Lisa :: I'd written another medieval Italy series before, so I was done! For that previous series, I read a ton. Info on medieval times is confusing, though, since historians often disagree.

The Literary Maidens :: What is something the average person doesn't know about you?

Lisa :: I was certified as a scuba diver after I nearly drowned.

The Literary Maidens :: Do you have any writing quirks?

Lisa :: I like to listen to soundtracks as I write.

The Literary Maidens :: Where do you usually write?

Lisa :: At the library. I can't seem to get much done at home besides marketing.

The Literary Maidens :: Is there anything you'd like to share in closing?

Lisa :: As much as I adore the River of Time Series, I'm also really loving Remnants. It's a genre-bending series--paranormal, spiritual, romantic, suspenseful. I think my River Tribe will like it too.

 

The Literary Maidens :: Thanks for allowing us to interview you Lisa! We wish you the best of luck with the books you are currently writing! We can't wait to read them! :)