Shenandoah Crossings

Winds of Change #2

by Lisa Belcastro

Journey back in time with Tess Roberts as she seeks adventure on the high seas during the American Revolution hoping to escape the heartache of her present-day life. Her plans go awry when the one man she'd hoped to leave behind tracks her down with every intention of forcing her to his will.

Genres: Time Travel

200 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

Lisa Belcastro lives with her family on Martha's Vineyard. She was inspired to write Shenandoah Nights, the first book in the Winds of Change trilogy, while chaperoning two Tisbury School summer sails with her daughter, Kayla, aboard the schooner Shenandoah. The weeklong adventure, sans electricity, Game Boys, iPods and modern conveniences, kindled her imagination to dream of an altogether different voyage.
In addition to writing Shenandoah Nights and the soon-to-be-released Shenandoah Crossings, Lisa currently pens the cuisine column for Vineyard Style magazine. She has worked as a staff and freelance reporter and photographer for The Chronicle of the Horse and as assistant editor at The Blue Ridge Leader. She has written articles for USA Today, Dressage (London), USA WEEKEND Magazine, The Blue Ridge Leader and Sidelines.
When she's not at her desk working on Shenandoah Dreams, Lisa is living in paradise, volunteering at her daughter's school, serving in her church community, planting and weeding her numerous gardens, trying to run a marathon a month, or walking the beach looking for sea glass.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again with Shenandoah Crossings, just as in Shenandoah Nights, Lisa captivated me from page 1. The book transported me to where the characters were and made me feel like I knew them personally and was part of the story. I could not put Shenandoah Crossings down and absolutely loved the book. There aren’t many books that have touched me to the point to where I was so much a part of the story that happy tears were streaming down my face and I came to end of the book. I CANNOT wait for the third book, Shenandoah Dreams, to be published next!!!

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed a time travel romance for a challenge I am part of and I remembered reading the first book of this series and really enjoying it. I have had book two on my shelf for awhile and am glad that I chose it for the challenge. It was a fun and diverting read, with a dash of romance for the main characters, as well as a side story that began to develop for Tess's brother, Andy. I liked the tension between Hawk and Tess. It's book two in a series and you could probably jump in and enjoy it, however, it will be more meaningful if you also read book one first.

[Michelle Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shenandoah Crossings book 2 of Winds of Change by Lisa Belcastro
Tess Roberts fell in love with Hawk the first time she saw him two years ago. But Hawk wants nothing to do with her and even has a hard time speaking to her. Tess’s family owns the Shenandoah schooner that Hawk is first mate on, she has longed to crew or captain the boat for as long as she can remember. The Shenandoah has a magical room, cabin 8 that has a portal by which the occupants can be transported back in time to 1775. Her best friend Rebecca used it to find her soul mate and decided to stay. Now her father, Hawk and brother have decided to renovate the cabin to prevent anyone from using it again, but that would mean Rebecca could never come back. Tess is heartbroken by the idea of never seeing her friend again and is disappointed by her life today, so she decides to visit Rebecca before it is to late. She awakes during the American Revolution of 1776, to discover Rebecca is not on the ship but Hawk has followed her intent on bringing her back home. You have to read the rest of the story to see if they make it back home and if Hawk has eyes for Tess. The author Lisa Belcastro did an outstanding job of brining the characters to life. You will find history, romance and a little excitement in this great book. I would like to give a special that you to the author and publisher for providing me with a book that is exciting, captivating and no contains no vulgar scenes or language.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series and Lisa Belcastro did not disappoint! I was hooked from her first book, Shenandoah Nights, and couldn’t wait to see how Tess’s story would unfold. This author is one of a very few who can pull off a time-travel story to perfection. Tess wants to see Rebecca one last time through the Shenandoah’s Cabin 8, so she does it. Filled with suspense, cannonballs, Hawk tracking her down to bring her back, romance sparks, family anxiously waiting back home, you can’t get more depth than this!
The characters are deep and struggle with the same faith problems we all do. I cannot highly recommend this enough – READ it and the first one!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shenandoah Crossings is about Tess Roberts, who Is the daughter of the owner of the ship, Shenandoah. She finds herself missing her time traveling best friend, Rebecca. Rebecca disappears into 1775. Tess decides she's fed up with the modern world and takes a risk to visit Rebecca. Will she find what she's looking for during her travel?
Lisa Belcastro has done it again with this new installment of the Winds of Change series. I really enjoy this series and can't wait to see what happens in book 3. Highly recommended.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

When my friend asked me to review this book, I was determined that I probably wouldn't like it. All I ever read are young adult fiction books. Trying to keep an open mind, I began to read Shenandoah Crossings. I must admit, I am very surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this novel. I think I will try keeping an open mind more often when reading other adult fiction stories. Even though I did not read the first book in the series, I was able to understand the storyline fine through context clues. I would highly recommend reading Shenandoah Crossings!

[Lori Weller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shenandoah Crossings, Book 2 in Wind of Change Series is just as great if not better than the first book. Tess fell in love with Hawk two years ago. Hawk had nothing to do with her because she was the captain's daughter. Tess misses her friend who time traveled back to 1775 aboard the schooner Shenandoah. She decides to go back to see her. This leads to high sea adventure, and romance. I can't wait to read the next book!!.

[Cathy Caseri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful Christian Romance that goes across the ages. It is written in a way captivates the reader. I won this book from Goodreads and am so glad I did.

Thank you Lisa Belcastro

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Shenandoah Crossings' is book 2 of the Winds of Change Trilogy. Though I have not read 'Shenandoah Nights', book 1, I had no trouble following the story and characters in this installment. I was drawn to the dual time period storyline, with part of the novel taking place in 1776 and the rest in modern times.

The main character is Tess Roberts, a 25 year old who seems rather disappointed by life. She spends much more time complaining about things going not her way than counting her blessings and is disillusioned to the point that she begins to doubt the existence of God. She longs to be a crewmember on her father's ships, one of which is the fully restored, 200 year old Shenandoah.

Other important characters include her brother Andy, also referred to as Drew. He is about 30 years old and both he and Tess still live with their parents. This seemed a little odd to me, and this brother-sister pair frequently seemed to act a little more like people in their late teens or early twenties than the age I was told they were. Andy also struggles a little with his faith or at least has pushed it aside. I was never completely sure why both main characters have belief issues. They are raised by a happily married, prayerful, and believing set of parents. Andy's drifting especially seems unexplained other than he is just distracted by worldly things . . . I suppose that is frequently all it takes.

In the first book of this trilogy, it had apparently been revealed that a certain cabin onboard the Shenandoah would cause people to travel back to colonial/Revolutionary times. This is how the dual timeline takes place. It was a little more of a time travel story rather than dual line, as the story mainly stays with Tess and those she encounters in 1776. I would have enjoyed learning more about those we know are living in 1776 but are not onboard the Shenandoah.

Tess at one point states that she knows she is sounding like a petulant child, and I couldn't help but agree. I could understand her frustration with not being given a place within her father's business to some extent, but she seems to constantly treat those around her with a selfish, demanding attitude that made it difficult for me to sympathize with her. It was also difficult to understand why her love interest would be even remotely interested in her - but I suppose that is sometimes true of real life couples as well ;-)

Andy's emerging love story was more compelling and sweet as his faith is revived along with his feelings toward his special lady. Neither romance is overly innocent as they can be in Christian novels. Tess, Andy, and those they are involved with experience temptation, admit past mistakes, and talk about the need to respect each other by not going too far physically.

Good read that combines Christian values, history, and romance.

I received this book from the author, Lisa Belcastro, for review purposes. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Laura Agnella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up after reading Lisa Belcastro’s first book, Shenandoah Nights. Shenandoah Crossings is a continuation of this book but now focuses on one of the minor characters from the first story, Tess Roberts, and her adventure in 1775. Whereas in the first story, Rebecca travels accidentally and falls in love, Tess goes intentionally, both to escape her frustrations with her own life and to find her best friend Rebecca.

Tess is a complicated character. I both like her and dislike her. She is 25 but extremely immature and selfish and much of what comes out of her mouth in the story made me want to slap some sense into her. However, she is also passionate, fiercely independent, and determined to be an equal in her family and this is what drives her. It may drive the reader a bit batty but they are qualities to be admired. In the story, Tess has been in love with Hawk for two years. He is the first mate of her father’s ship, the Shenandoah, and because she is the captain’s daughter, he will have nothing to do with her. As Tess sees everyone around her getting what they want, and knowing Rebecca found happiness in 1775, she also decides to time travel. When her family realizes what she has done, they are furious and frightened and Hawk volunteers to travel back to find her. Without spoilers, the story mostly revolves around she and Hawk in 1776 and at this point, you won’t want to put the book down. The history and the romance will keep you turning the pages until the end.

There is also a small side story that focuses on Tess’s brother Andy but it kind of drops off once the main story in 1776 takes over. We see him again briefly at the end of the book but I felt like his story had a huge hole in it. I would have liked the book to be a bit longer and have the stories flow together in a way that would keep his story alive.

Although I did enjoy Shenandoah Nights a bit more, this was also a great story with both intrigue and romance and history. A wonderful combination. The only reason I favor Shenandoah Nights is the personality of the main character, Tess. She just upset me at times with her irrational thoughts and decisions. Otherwise, both books were engaging and fun to read. Enjoy them!

[Robin Mcdonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series of Winds of Change and it does not disappoint! Tess is a spunky and fiery heroine that is real and full of frustration about her lot in life. She can't sail, which is her passion, and the man she admires most ignores her because she is the captain's daughter and she is "off limits". When she decides to sneak onto the Shenandoah at night to use its time travel cabin and disappears, it puts her family in a crisis and forces the first mate to go after her. I found myself enthralled with the believable characters both in 1776 and in modern day. Though at times I truly wanted to shake Tess, I was pulling for her as she struggled with her God, her faith, and her stormy romance with Hawk. I love the history and the cultural contrasts between the centuries. Its well edited and well written. Teen girls and young adults will enjoy this book and anyone who enjoys either history or time travel. This book has a strong inspirational message that rings loud and clear over both centuries and into the hearts of the readers.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well-written book with an interesting plot but I could not feel connected to the main character. She is at times extremely childish, selfish and annoying and I found myself putting the book down to read a different book. I would go back and forth and then decided to just finish it. Also, when I entered the Goodreads Giveaway for this book I did not notice that it had a Christian theme. I am sure there will be an interest to read it from people who are looking for this genre and they will appreciate it more than I did.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story that will make you believe that time travel is real. This book focuses on Tess and Hawk and the relationship or lack of one between them. Tess is definitely a modern-day girl, not prone to act a certain way just because it is requested of her. Her landing on the early Shenandoah makes for some interesting times aboard for Ben. When Hawk goes to retrieve her, he does not know what he has bargained for. I loved this book! I was given a copy for my honest review. I was never so happy to be drawn back in time to the American revolution!

[L'Artiste · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from a giveaway through Goodreads, and was very excited to see it in the mail! What's better than a free fresh new book to read, with a mysterious story inside? I was pleasantly surprised. It was a fun, light read, and had me excited during a lot of parts. There were only a few sections where it slowed down for me, or felt a bit immature, but maybe it's better suited for young adult readers. I am so thankful to have read something new thanks to a Goodreads giveaway!

[Ann Mock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read as you go back in time. The author does a great job describing the adventures a modern lady, Tess, experiences when she visits the eighteenth century. I have never read many time travel books, but I really liked this one. I especially enjoyed the Christian values portrayed throughout the book. Very well written!

[Jedi Jax · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book via the GoodReads giveaway. I was not asked to provide a review but since it was a gift, I will say a few words. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to others.

[D Mohr · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not as good to me as the first in the series. I may have been thrown off by not liking the main character, Tess. The story seemed more like a middle school adventure but had adult themed romance. It wasnt my favorite, but might be someone elses.

[Evagelia Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy through the Goodreads First Reads program.
Shenendoah Crossings was an easy and rewarding read. Each characters motives and actions were understandable and realistic. Although the romance seemed a bit rushed, the story was thoroughly enjoyable.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was yet romantic. I loved that it was like I was transported to a whole new world each time I picked the book up. loved it

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not one I would usually pick up but it was an enjoyable read.

[Kc Parkins-kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy reading romance Novel

Characters were interesting. A bit of interesting history intertwined within the plot. It makes one want to visit Martha's vineyard!