Category: Angie Dicken

2019 Favorites (Print)

1/9/2020

Favorite Print Books From 2019

Here is a list of Tell Tale Book Reviews' favorite books read and reviewed in 2019.
You can find all of these reviews and many more by visiting our Book Review List page

2019 Reviews

Fiction

Secular Fiction

We are excited to start reading and reviewing in the
new year and hope you will be joining us for...

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Celebrate Lit Blog Tour - The Yellow Lantern by Angie Dicken + Review & Guest Post & Giveaway

8/26/2019

7 Comments

Josephine Is Forced to Spy for Grave Robbers
Step into True Colors—a new series of Historical Stories of Romance and American Crime

In Massachusetts in 1824, Josephine Clayton awakes on the table of the doctor she’s assisted all these months. She was presumed dead by all and has become the doctor’s next corpse for his medical research. Frightened, the doctor tries to kill her, but Josephine begs to be spared. A deal is struck—Josie will leave her village and work at a distant cotton mill. All the while, she’ll await her true mission—posing as a mourner to help his body snatcher procure her replacement. At the mill though, Josie is praised for her medical remedies among the mill girls, gaining attention from the handsome factory manager Braham Taylor. Yet, when Braham’s own loved one becomes the prey for the next grave robbing, Josie must make a choice that could put her dark past behind her or steal away the promise of any future at all.

What price will Josie pay for love when her secrets begin to unravel?

Genre: Christian Historical/Suspense
Release Date: August, 2019

Click here to grab your copy.

My Review

Sometimes truth IS much stranger than fiction...

To be perfectly honest, I picked up The Yellow Lantern because it was part of the True Colors series and I had absolutely no idea what it was about. I hadn't even read the back cover blurb on my copy when I started reading. Boy, was I in for a shock right off the bat. Seriously! The right there on the first page the heroine wakes up after having been presumed dead and actually buried! Trust me, Angie Dicken knows how to hook her readers right from the start and keep them good and hooked.

I thought it a bit ironic that this book is about grave robbers and just a few days ago I was watching a short youtube biography/documentary about two real people convicted of just that offense. Weird, right?

Anyway, The Yellow Lantern is an excellent addition to the True Colors series and I enjoyed it very much. It's deliciously dark and morbid in places. Manipulation, fear, betrayal, greed, and murder all have their places. But there is also a strong thread of hope, through faith,through the love in friendship and the love in romance. Angie Dicken has nicely packaged all of these threads in an entertaining and riveting story with roots in real events from history. Definitely a book that I would recommend...

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives The Yellow Lantern by Angie Dicken a 5 Bark rating.

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.)

More from Angie

Barbour’s True Colors Crime concept intrigued me from the very beginning. Being the daughter of a doctor and discovering the ties of grave robbing to the early medical profession, I was excited to dive deep into 19th century Massachusetts. Grave robbing around Boston and New York was often employed by doctors desperate for medical advancement. Men and women were both involved in the procuring of bodies for doctors. Finding these accounts led me to take took a look at the current medical remedies of the time—tinctures, elixirs, and herbal concoctions. My heroine was created in the tension of a desire to heal and the desperation of medical pursuits.

Amidst these medical ties to the historical moment of 1824, something was also shifting among women in rural areas of New England. Many women were employed by newly built cotton mills (Lowell Mill was my inspiration for the fictional Gloughton Mill in The Yellow Lantern). These working opportunities for women offered an escape from their home-bound lives and the rare chance for independence. Of course, with such industrial environments, injuries, and sometimes death, would occur. Noting the accounts of these kind of fatalities in historical articles, my research came full circle.

I found three strong threads to weave into my grave-robbing story—desperate doctors in need of research, a doctor’s assistant needing an escape from her village, and a mill, not only offering that escape, but the chance at bodies for the desperate medical community.

My heroine, Josie Clay, found life in the tangle of these threads of mills, medicine, and grave robbing—all playing out within the pages of The Yellow Lantern.

Angie Dicken

Angie Dicken credits her love of story to reading British literature during life as a military kid in England. Now living in the U.S. heartland, she’s a member of ACFW, sharing about author life with her fellow Alley Cats on The Writer’s Alley blog and Facebook page. Besides writing, she is a busy mom of four and works in Adult Ministry. Angie enjoys eclectic new restaurants, authentic conversation with friends, and date nights with her Texas Aggie husband. Connect with her online at www.angiedicken.com.

It's Time For A Giveaway!

To celebrate her tour, Angie is giving away a grand prize package of a
$25 Amazon gift card and a paperback copy of each of the books in the series!!

Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries!

https://promosimple.com/ps/e71c/the-yellow-lantern-celebration-tour-giveaway

Blog Stops

Genesis 5020, August 15
Seasons of Opportunities, August 15
All-of-a-kind Mom, August 15
Bigreadersite, August 16
Emily Yager, August 16
Inspired by fiction, August 16
The Christian Fiction Girl, August 17
Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, August 17
Daysong Reflections, August 17
Retrospective Spines, August 18
Spoken from the Heart, August 18
Kathleen Denly, August 19
Through the Fire Blogs, August 19
Christian Bookaholic, August 19
Maureen’s Musings, August 20
For the Love of Literature, August 20
Simple Harvest Reads, August 21 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)
Godly Book Reviews, August 21
A Reader’s Brain, August 21
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, August 22
Betti Mace, August 22
Locks, Hooks and Books, August 22
Hallie Reads, August 23
Mary Hake, August 23
Inklings and notions, August 23
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, August 24
For Him and My Family, August 24
Stephanie’s Life of Determination, August 24
Connie’s History Classroom, August 25
Pause for Tales, August 25
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, August 25
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, August 26
Tell Tale Book Reviews, August 26
amandainpa, August 26
Blossoms and Blessings, August 27
Texas Book-aholic, August 27
janicesbookreviews, August 27
Back Porch Reads, August 28
Just the Write Escape, August 28

7 Comments

Celebrate Lit Blog Tour - My Heart Belongs In Castle Gate, Utah: Leanna's Choice by Angie Dicken + Review & Guest Post & Giveaway

11/11/2017

3 Comments

Schoolteacher Leanna McKee plans on leaving the coal mining town of Castle Gate, Utah, and never looking back. Good riddance to coal dust, rugged men, and the fatal mine that took her husband’s life.

Until the widow meets a widower who awakens her heart…and she finds herself inexplicably falling for miner Alex Pappas which stirs up a whole heap of trouble.

Alex’s Greek parents have arranged a more traditional match for him. When the schoolteacher’s association with the Greek family begins to anger the American miners, they threaten Alex and his family. Leanna has received an offer to teach elsewhere and feels she has no choice but to leave Castle Gate. . .though she will be leaving her heart behind.

Genre: Historical Romance
Release Date: November 1, 2017

Click here to purchase Angie's amazing book!

My Review

From very different backgrounds can they find love?

What a sweet historical romance! It's really hard to believe that this is one of Angie Dicken's first novels! My Heart Belongs In Castle Gate, Utah: Leanna's Choice is a wonderful addition to this fun series! Entertaining but taking on some difficult issues including prejudice and crippling regret.

Prejudice is the enemy for Leanna and Alex, both of them even deal with it a little bit in their own hearts. I very much appreciated how the author, intentionally or not, portrayed that prejudice comes in many forms and from all directions. Readers will find themselves delighted as love and hope begin to win out over the darkness.

My Heart Belongs In Castle Gate, Utah: Leanna's Choice is a lovely story, slim in size and in many ways a quick read, but definitely an enjoyable one. This book, and the entire series, is a must read for historical romance fans. And I think Angie Dicken will be a new author to watch...

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives My Heart Belongs In Castle Gate, Utah: Leanna's Choice by Angie Dicken
a 4 Bark rating.

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.)

“Wait for the LORD;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD.” Psalm 27:14

I wrote a story five years ago. My footing was finally solid on how to write, after a couple ACFW conferences and connecting with my bestie writing sister, Ashley. So in 2012, I poured my heart out within the parameters of what I’d learned.

The story I wrote stemmed from my heritage. From a very young age, I’ve been inspired by my grandfather. He was the son of a Greek coal miner who came over from Greece in the 1910’s. My grandfather always had wonderful stories to tell–he stirred up my intrigue for WWII era as he was a Purple Heart recipient (twice), and spoke of freeing concentration camps and invading Hitler’s homes; my grandfather lived a rags to riches legacy, having been born in a tent in a coal town, and then becoming a successful home and commercial builder–I declared I’d be an architect at age eleven…even majoring in Landscape Architecture in college.

Papou was one of my greatest heroes. And my novel was a tribute to him, to my Greek roots, to an American legacy.

My great grandfather, born in 1884
and immigrated to Utah in 1910’s.

So, at ACFW 2012, I took my novel to conference with more confidence than I had before. This story caught the attention of an agent– and I signed a contract with the Steve Laube Agency in November of that year. That was amazing…I chuckle now because the name of the room that I interviewed with Tamela was the “McKee” room–the last name of my heroine. A sign? Maybe. When she sent my story out for all publishers to see that next month, I thought my time for that book was just around the corner.

And…

Now it’s 2017, and that story is under contract with a publisher as of Fall 2016.

What timing, right?

Why the heck did it take so long? Not for lack of trying. My agent and I took every possible measure.

Why did I get rejection after rejection, and write two other books in the wait?

What happened between then?

Only in looking back, do I see why I had to wait for this book. And when I look back, I realize just how much Timing is His and there’s nothing I can do to speed it up or make it mine. All I can do is take courage, and wait.

I’ll give you a quick recap of what happened between 2013–when the book was put in the proverbial drawer of unwanted manuscripts–and now, 2017, the year it will get published (um, after a few rewrites and edits–always learning…).

In looking back, this is what I see:

My Community was Built. I fell in love with my writer friendships. A bit dramatic? Maybe, but it’s the truth. I connected with ladies who knew my heart as a writer, and allowed me into their lives in an authentic, Christ-loving way. I found hope in the writing journey because my friends held my hands and rubbed my back when all seemed lost. And in this, I grew not as a writer, but as a heart. My heart became soft for the needs of others and the value of authenticity in this short, precious life.

There was a Pride Monster, and He needed to kill it. Oh, Lord, if ever there was a pride monster, it was me. My gut reaction in every rejection, every criticism, every other person’s success was a measurement against them according to me. Yuck. Do you know what the best way to kill a Pride Monster? Starve it. Even though I had my sweet friends and my agent encouraging me along the way, my heart was set on publication and I was not getting that. I wanted it so badly that I turned ugly when it seemed to slip through my fingers with every rejection.

And I spiraled and I came up for air to those authentic friendships speaking Truth in love. God knew what He was doing when He built my community, and He knew He would use it to lift me up and tear down my ugly.

The Darkest Valley Was Ahead. Everything stood still in 2014. My personal crisis gave me little room for any true focus on my writing success. If anything, it made the effort seem petty. When you go through your days wondering if you’ll make it to the next morning without a complete mental breakdown, you can’t really dream. My dream in those moments was to crawl out of my skin and run away. This was not about my writing, this was about God’s faithfulness to someone who was losing faith–in the person she loved, in the life she constructed, in the heart that was broken. Looking back (I did climb up and out of this valley), I needed this valley walk (or crawl) to happen when it did–without a book on the shelf, without confidence in something that I had accomplished. I needed brokenness to become stronger and know that my strength has nothing to do with me.

There are several other moments and signs that I see as I look back, but I’m not going for the longest blog post of 2017, but I do want to share two sweet confirmations that the timing really is His.

First, I got a book contract! You know this, but, the contract came at a time when I had grown peaceful in the journey–the pride monster lay slain, and I picked up a pen and took an opportunity. My Oklahoma Land Run book with Love Inspired Historical won the Manuscript Matchmakers contest…and WAS coming out in Spring 2018.

I had secretly told those closest to me, that it would’ve been nice for it to come out in September instead… just because that’s when the book opens–September, 1893–the historical date of the Land Run.

So, what happens after I turn in my complete book a few days before its deadline? My editor tells me they bumped up my date to September of 2017. And I am sure, for them, it had nothing to do with the history, but for me, it was everything to do with the history–and His timing. Look for my debut novel, The Outlaw’s Second Chance this September!

There’s more…

My second contract came in! And this was a wonderful surprise. My agent and I had found out last spring that a new series was being launched based on geographical places around the U.S. I immediately thought of my Coal country story. So, I put together a proposal for a book I’d written long ago…and got a contract with Barbour this Fall for my novel, My Heart Belongs in Castle Gate, Utah.

But, the timing? November 2017 is my release.

God’s Timing in its finest…The book comes out during the centennial year of my grandfather’s birth. He was born in Dec. 1917 in Carbon County, Utah. My hero and my inspiration for this very book.

I just can’t stop smiling at the chance to honor my late grandfather with a story written by his third generation Greek American granddaughter who was inspired by his roots grown a century ago.

If only he could be here now. But I know he’s smiling, too.
A century.

It took a CENTURY.

Only by God’s grace, and His perfect timing.

Angie Dicken

Angie Dicken is a third generation Greek American, the granddaughter of strong men and women who endured hardship to grow American roots. My Heart Belongs In Castle Gate, Utah is set near the birthplace of her grandfather, a Greek coal miner’s son, and published 100 years after his birth. Angie is a contributor to The Writer’s Alley blog and an ACFW member since 2010. She lives with her husband and four children in the Midwest where she enjoys exploring eclectic new restaurants and chatting with friends over coffee.

You can connect with Angie at www.angiedicken.com.