1. A Lasting Impression #1
    Tamera Alexander
    Bethany House / 2011 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$15.99 Retail Price$20.00 Save 20% ($4.01)
    4.9 out of 5 stars for A Lasting Impression #1. View reviews of this product. 53 Reviews
    Availability: In Stock
    Stock No: WW206221
4.9 Stars Out Of 5
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  1. Inkwell Reviews
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Review Rom inkwellreviews.com
    January 1, 2017
    Inkwell Reviews
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This book was one of the few that has made a Lasting Impression on me. Pun intended. It is one of my favorite books of all time, which is saying something because as you know, I have read a lot of books in my day. Tamera Alexanders writing is out of this world. Other authors dont even compare. This book seemed so realistic. From her writing style to her characters, it just seemed so real. This is not a small book. I mean, its four-hundred and twenty-six pages so, it is a pretty big book. And you know what? I didnt want to stop reading about Claires Laurents life. You can guess that her character development is also extraordinary. It felt like I personally knew them and they could step out of the book and be real people (another reason to LOVE this book). Finding these qualitys in an author is somewhat rare. Plus, it is based off of Belmont Mansion which is located in Nashville Tennessee. This is a beautiful place to imagine while youre reading this book. With a little touch a humor this book was everything you want in a historical novel. This is a very big and thorough book so if you are looking for something lighthearted and fast to read then I might recommend something else. I would encourage you to read this book.
  2. Mackenzie Carol
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    A Lasting Impression
    December 14, 2016
    Mackenzie Carol
    Quality: 0
    Value: 0
    Meets Expectations: 0
    A Lasting Impression is the first book in Tamera Alexanders Belmont Mansion series, and is also the first book I have ever read by her. However, this book has made me a fan of hers forever, because it was so good!!! I fell in love with Tameras writing from the very beginning, and I just devoured every single page! I absolutely love historical novels, and Tamera is fantastic at weaving them together, so I know I will be reading so many of her books in the future!

    Claire Laurent was a character I fell in love with from the very beginning. She had suffered so much pain by the time we meet up with her at the start of this book, and she only has to go through more in the first few chapters to follow. However, she still manages to be a very sweet, charming artist whom I absolutely loved and wanted everything to work out for. I loved her innocence, despite all that she had witnessed in her life, and I couldnt help but know her repentance over her acts of forgery was genuine. My favorite thing of all, though, was her growing relationship with Sutton.

    Sutton Monroe is one of my favorite characters out of all the books I have read. I just knew I was going to love him from the first moment I read about him on the back of the book, and I wasnt disappointed. He is so kind, and caring, and full of life and passion, and I knew he was perfect for Claire from the start. Besides that, I also loved the relationship he has with Adelicia, because it just added a whole other element to what I knew about him, and about her. And can I just say, I really love Adelicia Acklen as well, both the woman, and the name Adelicia. (It sounds so regal, doesnt it? )

    Anyway, Tamera did a fantastic job on this novel, and I can gladly give it all five bookshelves, and a place on my all-time favorites list. I already owned a copy of the next book in the seriesA Beauty So Rareand in fact that is really how I got into her writing, so you can be sure Ive already been reading that one as well. Im looking forward to reading tons more of Tameras books, and I highly recommend them because they are fantastic!
  3. Shari Bradley
    Vista, CA
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Terrific story - highly recommend it!
    July 11, 2014
    Shari Bradley
    Vista, CA
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    There is so much about this book to love! Richly drawn characters, growing relationships, and fascinating history are in full swing as you spend time at Belmont Mansion with Claire and Sutton. Really love the emphasis on Claire's personal courage, how she grows when given the opportunity to use her God-given gifts, how she is drawn to the One who really loves her and gives her the strength to be honest in all her ways. The villains have their place in the story, but do not overwhelm the reader. I was grateful for that balance and the way the author compares Claire's painfully dysfunctional family with the loving family as led by Adelicia. The timing in the story line is just so perfect. The descriptions of Belmont and Adelicia Acklyn are riveting and inspired me to look for images. So fun to see what was inspiring to Tamera as she wrote this lovely story. Strength, courage, forgiveness, loyalty, compassion, hope, and love of all things beautiful - great or small. Highly recommend this one. Just ordered #2 in the series and cannot wait to read it! You will want to go to Nashville and see Belmont after you read this - a terrific story!
  4. alwaysreading
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    April 10, 2014
    alwaysreading
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    Claire Laurent has a great talent and a great secret.

    Sutton Monroe has a goal and a grudge.

    After Claire's father is murdered in an apparent robbery gone wrong at his prestige's art gallery, Claire is forced to flee the city of New Orleans. Finding refuge in the Belmont Mansion in Nashville, Claire realizes she can stop looking over her shoulder, until she meets Sutton Monroe a lawyer who is working to recover his family estate from the Northern Yankees that he believed stole it after the war. He is also looking for the person who sold several prominent Nashville families find that they have purchased fraudulent works of French art.

    Ok I have to say it, this book was a masterpiece. I applaud the author for the spectacular descriptions of the Belmont Mansion and its grounds. The reader could easily envision standing the marble steps about to enter the home, or coming down the grand staircase. I was simply swept away with all the details.

    The story is set in the year following the end of the civil war and both Claire and Sutton were wonderful characters. Each had their strength and weaknesses and the author did a fantastic job of making them work both separately and together. Sutton was a gentleman in the truest sense of the word, yet he was absolute in what he believed and how he made his decisions. Claire, while not always making the best choices, did make her decisions with a good heart.

    I felt that the relationship between Claire and Sutton was very real and likable which can make or break a book. There was a bit of suspense mixed in as well as a huge amount of history on French art. The author did a great job of integrating God, Jesus and salvation into the story. It's always a pleasure to read a Christian book that actually speaks about God.

    Overall this was a delightful book, and I am excited to read the second book in this series.
  5. An Old Fashioned Girl
    Minnesota
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    A passionate work of art
    February 16, 2014
    An Old Fashioned Girl
    Minnesota
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    In this post-Civil War novel, Tamera Alexander invites the reader into Belmont Mansion, the home of the famous, wealthy Adelicia Acklen. Claire Laurante, a gifted artist who has helped her family by painting forgeries, finds herself on the run from mysterious thieves who attacked her father. Determined to begin an honest life away from the family trade, Claire applies for the position of Adelicia Acklen's liason - an event coordinator, secretary, and confidante. Sutton Monroe, Mrs. Acklen's personal attorney, is battling to reclaim his family's land and clear his father's name, both results of belonging to the losing side of the war, while attempting to make a name for himself in a forgery case. The two of them have to work together to see that Mrs. Acklen's reentry into society is a success - a task that pushes the two of them much closer together than they ever would have dreamed. However, can an upstanding attorney (and his influential employer) handle the secrets Claire is loathe to share?

    Alexander's attention to detail is stunning. Based on her writing, it is clear that she has walked the grounds of Belmont, that she has studied its inhabitants, and that she has a passion for this place. In addition to a glorious location, her depiction of the time period - the reconstruction following the Civil War - is a moving blend of hardened, embittered attitudes by those who lost and prayerful hope by those rebuilding their lives. Understandably, as a person - a woman - who profited during the war and then gallivanted off to Europe while everyone else was picking up the pieces of their lives, Adelicia Acklen is in a tenuous position. It is fascinating to hear about the struggles this strong woman faced.

    In this novel and her others set in the post-war South (especially To Whisper Her Name), the author has masterfully portrayed the spirit of the Reconstruction, if not the reality. It is not about mending the heart of a nation, but about mending the hearts of people - the people who make up the nation. Until the hearts of the people are healed, the nation cannot be whole. Two or three people finding healing - it isn't much, yet every one of those hearts is crucial to eliminating the bitterness and moving on to a future of prosperity.

    Alexander's passion for the setting, the characters, and the theme is palpable, even without her heart-felt author's note in the end. Her poignant statement, "Would you paint if you knew you were painting only for Me [God]?" struck a chord within me. I love the curl-up-in-front-of-the-fireplace feel to this novel; at 426 pages, it is a thick, rich, decadent read - the kind of novel I love to savor. And when an author has as much passion about their story as Alexander demonstrates, it must be worthwhile. 5 out of 5 stars!
Displaying items 1-5 of 53
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