Sunrise on the Battery by Beth Webb Hart

5 out of 5 stars

Video Book Review 

on the Battery in Charleston!

Written Review

Mary Lynn and Jackson Scoville have worked hard to make their way into the company and approval of Charleston's elite, as well as give their three girls a life filled with opportunities and privilege. Mary Lynn has recently returned to the faith of her childhood, and she now longs for her husband to know God. When she asks for prayer for her husband during a church service, she has no idea that her hard work towards social status is about to get rearranged! When Jackson embraces his new found faith, he's ready to go all out! He starts befriending the homeless who wander the streets in Charleston, and begins to evangelize to the town, embarrassing Mary Lynn and their girls. Will Mary Lynn be able to handle her husband's radical faith, or is this just a glimpse of the rocky lifetime ahead of her?

I have to say that I loved Sunrise on the Battery for so many reasons. First, it introduces my beautiful Charleston and paints a perfect picture of the city's very southern and very elegant traditional lifestyle. 

Second, the author presents the purpose of every Christian in a way that shows the radical faith we should have, while doing it in an almost humorous and ironic manner. 

As a Charleston native, I actually cracked up when I read the premise of this book. Why? Because the very conflict let me know I'd be in for a ride!

The first portion of the book does seem to be a bit slow as it fills with more back-story, narration, and description than any immediate scenes. None of these bog the story down or make it boring, though. In fact, I feel like these elements are important to help build up to the coming conflict in the story. 

You see, Charleston is a unique culture in itself, but the elite and current high-society who reside in Charleston is another sub-culture entirely. Beth Webb Hart has done an excellent job in giving readers an intriguing first-hand look at the exclusive culture that belongs to Charleston's high-society. I've strolled down the Battery many-a-time and stared at the houses, knowing the hlifestyles of the owners were very different from mine. 

The Christmas scene at St. Phillip's Church, is in my opinion, filled with exquisite description and detail of how we decorate for the season. I absolutely loved this scene!

Again, I have to say I love the premise of this story. The faith element is so strong and wonderful--especially since these are the subjects I've been studying myself . . . and even wondering for months now what I can do to impact my beautiful Charleston for Christ. 

For those who enjoy studying the Radical series by David Platt, you will love Sunrise on the Battery. For those who enjoy reading about Charleston, you too, will love this book. And for those who enjoy both, you will devour this charming tale!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. 

About the Author

Beth Webb Hart, a South Carolina native, holds a B.A. in English Literature from Hollins College and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. Her first novel, Grace at Low Tide, was one of three finalists for the 2006 Christy Awards in the general/contemporary/fiction category. She lectures on a variety of topics and has taught creative writing on the college and high school level where she received two national awards from Scholastic, Inc.  Beth Webb lives with her husband, composer Edward Hart, and their daughter in Charleston, South Carolina where she serves as a writer-in-residence at Ashley Hall. 

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Purchase 
Available from Thomas Nelson Publishers in eBook and print formats, October, 2011. 

   

Read the First Chapter

This month I'm giving away a copy of Sunrise on the Battery, along with From This Day Forward, and an entire basket of goodies native to Charleston. 

To enter the giveaway, click here. 


Deadline is October 25th.

Interview with Margaret Daley

As most of you know, I'm a very proud Charelstoniaoun. Even more, I'm a proud South Carolinian. When I learned Margaret Daley's new book takes place in the beautiful state of South Carolina--and right here in Charleston--I couldn't resist inviting her to join us on Shelf Life to discuss her newest release, From This Day Forward.

Let's give a warm welcome to Margaret Daley!

Thank you so much for joining us on Shelf Life today. It's a pleasure to have you here! 

Now, the first thing I am dying to ask, is did you take a trip to South Carolina for research? If you did, what did you think about our state?

I didn’t get to come to South Carolina recently. I haven’t been there since I was a child, but I have lived in various places in the South. I think South Carolina is beautiful from all the pictures and research I did (and from my vague memory).

In the past, you've written romantic suspense and contemporary novellas. What prompted the sudden change to write a historical?

I started writing with a historical when I wrote for the ABA market. In the twenty years I wrote for the secular market I sold two historicals. I love history and combining that with a romance and a little suspense was perfect.

Did writing a historical present any unexpected challenges?

Although I researched before I started, unexpected research areas came up while writing. Trying to get an answer in a timely manner was sometimes a challenge.

Can you tell us a little bit about your newest release? 

From this Day Forward is about a widowed Englishwoman who arrives in South Carolina without much money, about to give birth to a child and a piece of property that wasn’t what she thought it was going to be.


What inspired From this Day Forward?

It was first planned to be right after the Revolutionary War. Summerside Press wanted me to write a book in the 19th century so I moved it up to the end of the War of 1812 because some people think of that war as a second Revolutionary War. I have enjoyed researching about that time period. That time in US history is full of drama and intrigue.


When most people think about South Carolina they tend to think about the  Colonial period or the Civil War. Your story uniquely takes place after the War of 1812. What prompted you to choose this time period? 

See the answer to the above question. One of my resources was a journal written by a woman in the South at that time around the War of 1812. Very interesting.

Did you have any particular plantation in mind as the inspiration for the ones in your novel?

I grew up in Mississippi and saw many plantation homes throughout 
the state. But the vision of mine came to me as pure fantasy. What I liked

Rachel's Plantation

The Stuart Plantation

In your research of Charleston plantation lifestyles, what intrigued you most?

The medical aspects--especially about yellow fever and malaria. They didn’t have any idea it was caused by mosquitoes.

The Stuart Home in Charleston 

What intrigued you most about Charleston?

It’s role right before and after the Revolutionary War. It was an important seaport for the South.


Which do yo like best: Casablanca or Gone with the Wind?

Casablanca but love the subject of Gone with the Wind.

How has writing impacted your relationship with God?

My faith has grown the more I write for the Christian market. As I raise tough questions in my character’s faith journey, I must explore it in my life. The latest question is why does God let bad things happen to good people.


If you had to recommend one Bible study for the rest of your life, which study would you recommend?
Kerygma Bible Study


Can you give us a peek at what you're working on next?
I’m working on my third book in my Men of the Texas Rangers Series (contemporary romantic suspense). My first one in the series will be out March 1st called Saving Hope.

Saving Hope (#1, Texas Ranger Series)

When a teenager goes missing from the Beacon of Hope School, Texas Ranger Wyatt Sheridan and school director Kate Winslow are forced into a dangerous struggle against a human trafficking organization. But the battle brings dire consequences as Wyatt’s daughter is terrorized and Kate is kidnapped.

Now it’s personal, and Wyatt finds both his faith and investigative skills challenged as he fights to discover the mastermind behind the ring before evil destroys everyone he loves.

Looking forward to it! Thank you so much for stopping by Shelf Life! 

Also, Margaret Daley is hosting an incredible giveaway! 

You have the chance to win a free book 

OR

A four-night condo stay to one of several offered locations. 

to learn more about the giveaway click here.

FREE DOWNLOAD!

Don't Forget to download one of her many books offered as a freebie via Kindle or Nook.

Don't miss the opportunity to win her latest book in my Charleston Basket Giveaway!

From This Day Forward by Margaret Daley

4 out of 5 stars
Rachel Gordon set sail from England to Charleston, South Carolina with her husband in the hopes of running a plantation. What Rachel Gordon never anticipated was being stranded in this new country as a pregnant widow with a plantation that is next to uninhabitable. Disowned by her family in England, she determines to make a new life in Charleston--even at the disapproval of her new neighbor, Nathan Stuart. 
   Dr. Nathan Stuart knows that Rachel's plantation is no place for a widowed woman--and he's not about to let her stay there and face any harm. As he and Rachel work together, a certain bond forms between them . . .one that could lead to so much more than either ever imagined, and one that neither of them wants to move forward with.

From This Day Forward is a great historical debut for author Margaret Daley. While the wording in this novel seems a bit awkward at first, and it does takes a while for the story to really pick up its pace and start moving, once readers reach a certain point, the wording becomes less awkward and Margaret Daley seems to ease into her own element as she unveils a mystery surrounding strange events that occur on the plantation.  

And that's when this story begins to make a heavy impact. 

While this story is definitely a historical romance, we do see elements of suspense in it--and I don't mind them one bit. Though the back cover never hints at this story having any suspense, I truly enjoyed it and the mystery fit very naturally into the plot.

As a native Charlestonian, I can attest to the amazing research and authenticity Margaret Daley used in describing plantation life. When looking back in history, we often view the plantation lifestyle with a sort of a "Gone with the Wind" nostalgia, but the truth is that for people who actually lived during that era, it was anything but. Margaret Daley uses this truth to deepen the external struggles that go on with the main characters. 

She also does a great job with the character's inner struggles and keeps readers engaged as we wonder what these characters will choose in the end. 

I definitely recommend From this Day Forward!


I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

About the Author 

Margaret Daley is an award winning, multi-published author in the romance genre. One of her romantic suspense books, Hearts on the Line, won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Contest. Recently she has won the Golden Quill Contest, FHL’s Inspirational Readers’ Choice Contest, Winter Rose Contest, Holt Medallion and the Barclay Gold Contest. She wrote for various secular publishers before the Lord led her to the Christian romance market. She currently writes inspirational romance and romantic suspense books for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired lines, romantic suspense for Abingdon Press and historical romance for Summerside Press. She has sold seventy-five books to date.

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Purchase

Available in print format from Summerside Press

     

Read an Excerpt 

Free Download 


Download her contemporary suspense, When the Night Falls, for free on your Kindle, Nook!

Giveaway Opportunity!

Margaret Daley is hosting an incredible giveaway! 

You have the chance to win a free book 

OR

A four-night condo stay to one of several offered locations. 

To learn more about the giveaway click here.