Showing posts with label Cassia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cassia. Show all posts

Monday, September 14, 2015

Book Review of historical American hisorical fiction Cassia by Susan F Craft



Buy Cassia by Susan F. Craft on Amazon Kindle $1.99
Amazon Print
Barnes and Noble

September 2015
Lighthouse publishing of the Carolinas
Historical fiction

From the publisher
The Xanthakos family’s voyage from South Carolina turns ugly when the ship’s captain maroons Lilyan and her family on an island along North Carolina's Outer Banks. There, the family is captured by pirates and taken to a secret island hideout where they witness a mock trial and a hanging.

Forced to rebuff the advances of the murderous pirate, Captain Galeo (The Shark), and fearful that her children will be auctioned off to the highest bidder, Lilyan forges an escape plan. Meanwhile, her husband, Nicholas, calls upon his skills as a captain in Brigadier General Francis Marion’s militia to devise a battle plan to save his family.

Will the couple’s faith be enough to see them through? Or will their declaration to rescue the infant slave girl, Cassia, from the pirates prove too high a price?

My review
This third story of the early American historical family saga starting with The Chamomile wraps of the story of the Greek Xanthakos family. Plenty of references to their past adventures didn’t interfere with the telling of this adventure. If you like pirates, ships at sea, family love and sacrifice, you’ll love this gentle, faith-based tale of strong women who are willing to do what they must to save not only their own family but the lives of strangers.

Lilyan’s life is an adventure as one experience builds upon another. Her daughter has reached marriageable age, and Lilyan and Nicholas wonder if they’ve done well enough as parents. She’s attracted to men of valor in their own way, and both have declared their intentions. Both are capable men who would be a good match, both could save her, but only one can hold her heart. On the ship, the family witnesses a dreadful event when a slave ship dumps its dead and dying. She demands they care for one of the dying at the risk of the entire ship and ends up put ashore on a pirate island. Deciding reluctantly to separate, Lilyan waits while Nicholas goes for help, but neither realize the danger that waits when the pirates see who’s been set ashore on the other side of their island.

The title of this story refers to a promise as much as a character who plays a subtle, circular role rather than an overt one. Lilyan is a good judge of character and proves it when her life and that of her children are at stake.


An epilogue wraps up the family saga. Told from Lilyan’s point of view throughout, This novel is recommended for those who are fans of early American history and love the references to everyday objects, the lifestyle, and costuming. Those who read Cassia before the others will find their interest piqued and want to pick up the other stories. 

Cassia follows The Chamomile, currently available only in Print
and the second book in the series, Laurel, available on Kindle, sale, .99, and Amazon Print