About the Book
Book: A Token of Love
Author: Carrie Turansky
Genre: Fiction, Historical Romance
Release date: September 3, 2024
Separated by centuries, the lives of two women intertwine through their shared pursuit of love, truth, and justice.
In 1885 London, Lillian Freemont embarks on a treacherous journey to reunite with her long-lost niece, Alice, who was abandoned at the Foundling Hospital eight years ago. Fueled by her sister’s plea and armed with the gold token that identifies her niece, Lillian teams up with investigative reporter Matthew McGivern to expose the grim reality of the shadowed streets of London. As Lillian and Matthew unravel the mystery of Alice’s disappearance, their partnership blossoms into one of shared purpose and undeniable attraction.
In present-day London, Janelle Spencer finds herself unexpectedly running the Foundling Museum. When filmmaker Jonas Conrad arrives to document the museum’s history, their collaboration takes a surprising turn as they uncover articles from the past that shed light on a haunting connection to the present. As Janelle becomes caught between exposing the truth and protecting the museum’s reputation, she must decide if she can risk everything for what she believes.
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About the Author
Carrie Turansky is the award-winning author of twenty-one inspirational novels and novellas and a winner of the Carol Award, the International Digital Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She loves traveling to England to research her Edwardian novels, including No Journey Too Far, No Ocean Too Wide, Across the Blue, and the Edwardian Brides series. Her novels have been translated into several languages and have received starred reviews from Christianbook.com and Library Journal.
More from Carrie
Come with me to London!
My latest novel, A Token of Love, is a dual-time story set in London during the late Victorian Era and present day. That prompted my husband and I to take a trip to London earlier this year. We were especially delighted to visit the Foundling Museum which tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, the first children’s charity home in England. The Foundling Hospital and Foundling Museum tie the historical and contemporary plots together in A Token of Love.
Thousands of children were taken in by the Foundling Hospital when their mothers could no longer care for them. Some of the mothers left small items such as coins, thimbles, and pieces of jewelry with their infants as identifiers in the hope that if their situation changed, they might be able to return and reclaim their child. Those items were called tokens, and we saw several of them on display at the Foundling Museum.
Each token is unique and represents a mother’s love and desire to be reunited with her child. It was very moving to view them on display and think of all the heartache and hope behind each token.
More than two years ago, I saw an image of the tokens on Pinterest. That sparked my curiosity, and I followed the research trail to learn more about them. That led to the Foundling Museum’s website, which offers a treasure trove of information and personal stories about the mothers and children connected by those tokens. What I discovered helped me develop the characters and plot for A Token of Love. The story highlights one mother who gave her daughter into their care, then eight years later tries to reclaim her. But her daughter is missing, and that sets off a series of events that stirs all of London. Family drama, romance, inspiration, and a touch of mystery will make the story meaningful for readers.
If you like stories based on true events in history that will touch your heart and lift your spirit, then I think you will enjoy reading A Token of Love!
If you’d like to see more photos from my research trip to London and the Foundling Museum, I hope you’ll visit my website photo page!
Blog Stops
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, October 7
Maureen’s Musings, October 7
Books You Can Feel Good About, October 8
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 8
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, October 9
Connie’s History Classroom, October 9
Texas Book-aholic, October 10
Devoted To Hope, October 10
Simple Harvest Reads, October 11 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
Live.Love.Read., October 11
Stories By Gina, October 12 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, October 12
Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, October 13
lakesidelivingsite, October 13
Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, October 14
Cover Lover Book Review, October 14
Lighthouse Academy Blog, October 15 (Guest Review from Marilyn)
Locks, Hooks and Books, October 16
Blossoms and Blessings, October 17
Holly’s Book Corner, October 17
Inspired by Fiction, October 18
Pause for Tales, October 18
Labor Not in Vain, October 19
To Everything There is A Season, October 20
Romances of the Cross, October 20
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Carrie is giving away the grand prize of a $15 Amazon gift card and a paperback copy of A Token of Love!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
GIVEAWAY
My Thoughts
I didn't know much about the Foundling Hospital prior to reading this book and I have found its history fascinating after doing more research! The first part of this story really got me hooked because it is a bit of mystery in the search for a missing person. I recommend reading the author's note in the back of the book FIRST. It covers more of the actual historic details and to be honest I was a little disappointed to find that the main premise of this story didn't actually happen as portrayed. Now that is not to say that the selling of innocent girls did not happen, of course it did unfortunately, just not necessarily in the way portrayed in the book. So once I realized this it made me think about the rest of the book a tad differently but not in a bad way. The story is dual-time line and I enjoyed the historical story more but both were written in a way that melded together nicely. There is a human trafficking plot in each past and present day stories and it is astounding to see how people haven't changed. Overall this is a good book that brings to light the things that many want to keep hidden in darkness.
Four Stars.
"I received this book from Bethany House Publishers for free. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review."