The Heaven Intended Series | Book Review and Giveaway.

I love historical fiction novels and movies. Especially stories set with American History as the backdrop. So when I had the opportunity to read the Heaven Intended Series, and do this book review and giveaway, I was excited. It made for the perfect summer read for me.

I was graciously gifted with two sets of this beautifully written series. One set for me to read and review and an additional set to give away to one of our readers.

I feel the Author, Amanda Lauer, does a really good job of transporting the reader back to an extremely dark period of time in American History. The Civil War. Her writing flows very well and kept me turning the page. Very easy to read. Ms Lauer used imagery and language from that time period. So every now and then, I found myself googling a word I didn’t recognize because I was curious to understand.

The Author helps bring to life the struggles, loss, despair, love and the hope that refuses to die in the human spirit. Even more than her skill at making you feel like you were there in her stories, she is good with developing her characters.

I didn’t really appreciate how hard life was during the Civil War period until recently, when my family visited the Carnton Plantation in Franklin TN. The Carnton Home served as the largest Confederate field hospital following the Battle of Franklin. The huge bloodstains permanently etched on the wood floors upstairs and the stories we heard about what the family and the soldiers endured were sad. So I appreciated reading these books even more this summer.

Volume 1 ::: “A World Such as Heaven Intended” Published in 2014.

The first chapter opens in the spring of 1864 in Atlanta Georgia.

The protagonist, Amara McKirnan, is a beautiful and fiesty young redhead. Her father, an Irish Catholic businessman, came to america to make a life for his family. They are a blended family and Amara has her struggles with her step mom and sister.

She quickly discovers she has something to offer the hurting men who are bunked up in the makeshift confederate hospital her uncle has set up in his Atlanta home.

Proud that she is not like other girls her age, she is disarmed by the feelings that begin to rise up between her and her uncle’s extremely rude patient, Nathan Simmons.

They both share the same faith but very different views on the war that is waging and threatening to tear the country apart. This book is a beautiful love story that unfolds among the heartbreak of war.

Volume 2 ::: “A Life Such as Heaven Intended” Published April 2018

This book also begins in the Spring of 1864. The leading ladies in these first two books are connected by friendship. But this second book is a completely separate story from the first book so you don’t have to read the first novel prior to picking this one up.

As with the first book, the author not only weaves her catholic faith into her writing, but also puts alot of work into research to bring her story to vivid life for the reader.

Brigid McGinnis lives at her family’s estate near Dallas, Georgia. Her father, a bank owner, is asked by Jefferson Davis to be a member of his cabinet when he was elected president of the Confederate States.

Even though she had decided to become a nun, 17 year old Brigid finds herself opening her heart to Dominic Warner in this story. From the moment of stumbling upon this young soldier one morning, as he lay injured on her famly’s lawn, to the twisting and turning journey they both end up taking which completely changes their lives. Beautiful and clean love story set among the horrific realities of Civil War.

Volume 3 ::: “A Love Such as Heaven Intended” Published April 2019

While the first books in Ms Lauer’s series centers on the lives of two charming southern belles from Atlanta Georgia, this story takes a turn and focuses on the young coming of age daughter of a Union Brigadier General.

Chapter one opens up on a stifling hot day in the Spring of 1864. This time the location is Washington DC. The protagonist, Josephine Bigelow, sits with her fellow graduates from the Georgetown Academy for Young Ladies. They are there to hear Louisa May Alcott, an abolitionist, speak. Josephine is spellbound as she listens to the stories of Ms. Alcott’s involvement with the Underground Railroad.

Inspired to make a name for herself as an investigative writer, Josephine sets out to write about the dangers the Confederate soldiers endured while being held in a Federal prison. She was unaware that one of the inmates was her brother’s roommate at West Point Military Academy.

This is a love story that takes the reader through the trials and adversity of war. The love that develops between the strong willed Josephine and Michael McKirnan, a Confederate Soldier, is sweet and enduring.

To conclude, I highly recommend Amanda Lauer’s “Heaven Intended” Series. They are very well written historical fiction romance novels. True to Ms. Lauer’s faith, the books are clean so you don’t have to worry that your teenage daughter will stumble upon questionable material. 

I would like to take this opportunity to bless a reader with this complete set. To enter our giveaway, please comment below with your answer to the following. If your name is drawn, who will you bless with this series? Your mom or daughter? Perhaps a girlfriend? Or even better, yourself? A name will be randomly drawn from those who comment on Thursday, August 8, 2019. The winner will be announced here and also contacted via email.

I am thankful for this opportunity to be able to read Ms. Lauer’s books and to bless someone else with them also. Thank you for reading my book review and giveaway post. You can also find my review at Goodreads.com where you just might meet your next favorite book! 

Much love xo

❤

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