For fans of A Knight of Silence and Read My Lips comes a YA historical western full of grit and heart...
In 1874, Ivy Steele's deafness is more than a handicap. It's a disease. Surrounded by a family that doesn't understand her, she's learned to cope and find solace where she can. Then, the unexpected happens. Her aunt dies, and her uncle sends her away to rejoin her father's family in Montana.Left to fend for herself, after the companion hired to escort her abandons her, sixteen-year-old Ivy faces continual hardship and danger. Several men see an unaccompanied Ivy as a flower ripe for the picking, and things only get worse when masked men hold up their stagecoach.
Barely scraping through, Ivy makes it to Montana with her nerves shaken and what little money she has in her boot. Expecting a peaceful if not affectionate welcome, Ivy finds herself in greater hardship than she's ever known.
Surrounded by a stepfamily that hates her, and flung into a life where hearing is vital, Ivy finds solace in a handsome cowboy named Remy. But things with her new family are not what they seem. And Ivy is about to find out that the danger she faced on the journey west, has followed her to Montana...
Bethany Swafford dazzles with her stunning young adult debut, introducing a strong heroine, the hardships of frontier life, shocking twists, and a slow-burning romance that will leave you wanting more.
Third place winner of the 2018 Rosemary Award
For as long as she can remember, Bethany Swafford has loved reading books. That love of words extended to writing as she grew older and when it became more difficult to find a ‘clean’ book, she determined to write her own. Among her favorite authors is Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Georgette Heyer.
When she doesn’t have pen to paper (or fingertips to laptop keyboard), she can generally be found with a book in hand. In her spare time, Bethany reviews books for a book site called More Than A Review.
Top Ten
List
Top Ten
Favorite Reads of 2018
1. Promises and Primroses by Josi S.
Kilpack
2. My Sister’s Intended by Rachel
Anderson
3. The Weaver’s Daughter by Sarah E.
Ladd
4. Loving Lieutenant Lancaster by Sarah
M. Eden
5. Murder of Half Moon Gate by Andrea
Penrose
6. A Dangerous Debut by Wendy May
Andrews
7. Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie
Klassen
8. Duels and Deception by Cindy Anstey
9. A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and
Murder by Dianne Freeman
10. Murder at Ochre Court by Alyssa Maxwell
Read an Excerpt:
My world became
one of silence when I was six years old.
Where others
would hear the creak of the swaying wood or the pounding of the horses who were
pulling the stagecoach, I heard nothing at all. Whenever the other
passengers—five in this coach— attempted to have some conversation, their
mouths would open wide, and they would lift their chins, to raise their voices
above the din.
Perhaps to
onlookers, it was strange to see a sixteen-year-old girl traveling alone, let
alone one who was deaf. However, I had been given little choice in the matter.
Across from me, the
heavyset man mopped the sweat from his brow and said, “...mistake to
come...this way.” His gaze then shifted to the man beside me and nodded as
though he agreed with something said.
The response he
gave was, “Business. What else?” He glanced at me as he spoke those words.
I didn’t always
know how to read the body language of everyone around me; there were so many
nuances to a person’s facial expression. In fact, I wasn’t as good as some of
my former schoolmates, and I knew I would never be an expert at it. Most of the
time it was a matter of guesswork, and this time I guessed he was wondering
where I was going and why I was on the journey alone.
