Saturday, May 1, 2010

Sing by Lisa T. Bergren

Review by Suzie Johnson

Since I’m reviewing a historical novel, and this past week was TV Land week here at the Inkwell, I can’t help but mention the television show that fostered my love for historical novels and history in general. Here Come the Brides.

Even though I was only ten years old when I first saw the show in reruns, and didn’t know much about romance, I somehow knew Jeremy Bolt (played by Bobby Sherman) was hero material. It was shortly thereafter when I created my first historical romance. Instead of writing the story down, I spent hours telling it to my friends. Naturally, in my story, Bobby was the hero. But my setting wasn’t historic Seattle like his television show. Instead, it was a medieval castle where the heroine, moi, needed to be rescued from evil-doers by my knight in shining armor on his snow white horse.

It’s probably a good thing I didn’t recycle that plot when I actually started writing my stories down on paper.

Thank you for allowing me a moment to reminisce. I now return you to your regularly scheduled book review.


A few months ago I posted a review of Breathe, the first in a series of historical novels by set in Colorado. I loved that book and for readers who took my advice to read it, I hope you enjoyed it as well.

Sing, the second book in The Homeward Trilogy takes us back into the lives of the St. Clair siblings: Odessa, Dominic, and Moira, and author Lisa T. Bergren doesn’t miss a beat as she plunges the three of them into ever deepening danger and intrigue.

Odessa, Dominic and Moira are busy pursuing their own lives. Odessa and her husband Bryce, who both suffered from consumption in the first book, have stayed healthy and now have a baby. Life would be perfect for them, if not for the harsh winter that has devastated their ranch and taken the lives of most of their horses. Bryce feels a strong need to leave Odessa and the baby and travel to Spain to obtain more of this fine stock of horses. He believes that if he doesn’t go, their ranch will not survive another year. But there’s a known enemy lurking about, and Bryce can’t risk leaving Odessa and the baby in danger. But even if he stays, will he be able to protect them?

Moira, with her dream to be famous, has appeared on stage in the finest opera houses in Paris. But she’s put her trust in the wrong people and now finds herself pursuing her dream, not in Europe but in saloons across the west. Soon Moira finds herself living a lifestyle she knows her mother would never have approved of. And when evil finds her, she suffers in ways she could never have imagined.

Dominic has pursued his dream of fighting in the ring. In South America, after a fight goes bad, Dominic finds himself in a living nightmare. Forced into servitude on a ship, he soon finds this really isn’t the worst thing that could have happened to him.

Each sibling will have to fight their way back to the life they knew before things went wrong, back to the life they knew as they pursued their dreams. But will they discover it was really the life they wanted all along, or will they let God take them in a new direction?

Three dreams, somehow gone terribly awry; three siblings who need to find a way to pick themselves up and trust God to lead them out of tragedy and danger.

Sing is absolutely fascinating, full of rich details and an ever deepening plot that winds its way around each storyline.


In my review of Breathe, I said life is tough for her characters and Lisa T. Bergren will keep readers on the edge of their seat until the very end. The same is true for this book and it’s easy to see why she’s a best-selling author. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for these characters in her next book, Claim, which is due to release in June. I’ll be sure to let you know when it’s available, but in the mean time, Sing, is one to add to your must-read list.

Click here to read my review of Breathe.

You can visit Lisa’s website at: http://www.lisatawnbergren.com/

13 comments:

  1. Ahah! now it's all coming back to me. I do recall that review. Love those covers, too. I can hear the piano and see the dust of the street on my shoes!

    Suzie, I remember Here Comes the Brides, too. Seems that another actor was highlighted as one of the older brothers. A real sweet (okay it's a bit hokey) treat is the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I love the old musicals.

    Sounds like Lisa Bergren has another winner on her hands. This one's going on my list.

    Have a great weekend, Suzie!

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  2. So, Lisa, is there a closet medievalist lurking inside of you, just waiting for the market to turn :)

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  3. I LOVED the theme song for Here Come the Brides! The bluest skies I've ever seen in Seattle, the hills are greenest green in Seattle,Like a beautiful child growing up free and wild... I'm enjoying the genre too!

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  4. Good morning Deb. That other brother was David Soul. I don't remember if he was Jeremy or Joshua. And I don't remember the third actor who was the oldest brother; the one who made the deal to go to Seattle and set up the mail order bride business in the first place.

    Re Sing: yes, it is a winner, and Lisa is so lucky. Whoever does her cover art does a fabulous job. Actually, I think there have been a lot of great book covers lately. CBA book covers, for the most part, are just wonderful.

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  5. Oh, Deb, I almost forgot, regarding Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I've actually never seen that one. I'll have to rent it one of these days. But somewhere in my storehouse of trivia, I seem to remember that a little boy named Donny Osmond was in that movie. Is that correct?

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  6. Hi Dina. Did you mean that medievalist question for me? The answer is maybe so, because I also used to tell my friends another medieval story where David Cassidy was the hero and I was again trapped in the castle and in need of rescuing. And two of my favorite time travels that I've ever read were set in that era. One was A Knight In Shining Armor, and I can't remember the name of the other one, but it was by Suzanne Elizabeth. Oh, and there was a time travel movie set back then that I just loved, too. However, I don't know enough about the era to write a book set in that time. It would be fun to research some day, though.

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  7. Cheryl, thanks for visiting today. I loved that theme song, too. Whenever the show came on, no one could say a word until the theme song was sung. Here's a You Tube link to a cute little video of the the song and clips from the show. It's great for reminiscing:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqUV210d7sI&feature=related

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  8. Mercy - Bobby Sherman! I still have his album! LOL Love his music. And believe it or not, I had shoulder-length hair at the time, parted on the side, and I even looked like him! (Sad to say) And you wonder why I keep my hair long. LOL

    I loved Here Come the Brides but I didn't know David Soul was a brother, either.

    I wish it was on some retro TV channel so I can catch the reruns.

    Thanks for the review. I'll have to check out her site.

    Anita.

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  9. Thanks Suzie and Cheryl for the throwback to that old show. Yes, I can hear the theme song!

    David Soul.

    Suzie, I don't remember anything about Donny Osmond in that movie. It's possible. As I'm struggling with Edits (that's my new middle name) I'll go on a goose chase and look this tv show and movie up.

    Anita- I love that you still have a Bobby Sherman album. Omigosh. what fun. Someone from my H.S. crowd posted a link to Mark Lindsey's song Arizona, the other day and we got thinking about the old teen mags. Tiger Beat. Bobby must have been on that plenty of times!

    Dina, I think I would love to go Medieval, but the research feels overwhelming to me right now. I've all I can do to keep up with my current setting.

    I'm waiting to hear what contest Lisa finals in again with her story.

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  10. Fun review, Suzie. I have got to get my hands on these books.

    I'm still smiling at the image of David Cassidy rescuing you from a castle. He was peachy, wasn't he?

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  11. Anita, I used to have a poster of Bobby Sherman that I just adored. My friend stole it from me and then tore it in to little pieces to hide the evidence. I never did figure that one out. I still remember her name, even though I was 11. Laurel. I will never give that name to a heroine in one of my books.

    I also wish I could watch Here Come the Brides on the retro channel. But they don't seem interested in showing it in reruns for some reason.

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  12. Susie D, yes, David Cassidy was peachy indeed. I made up more than one story with him as the hero.

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  13. Suzie, great review! Lisa's book sounds like a fun read :-)

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