Here are my published books and some review quotes for each:
Review quotes:
This delightful Christian romance delivers a smile, a few tears, and page after page of warmth and compassion.
Want to feel good? Read this book!
This is a delightful read.
This beautiful story touches the heart and soul. Don’t miss it!
‘The Right Ingredients’ is a charming romance novel with honest characters and a realistic plot line. What makes the book work is the basic decency of the main characters and the people who love them.
The two main characters in The Right Ingredients are so well-developed that you really feel like you’re in the middle of their souls. Lots of depth here—this isn’t just your typical boy-meets-girl romance. There is plenty to think about spiritually as well as emotionally. Nancy Shew Bolton has cooked up a fine, believable world and given us plenty of sweet treats along the way!
A very well written take about trusting God and what happens when you finally feel you can.
This is a wonderful book. I loved the read. We need more books and characters like this.
Each page was like a tasty bite. I wanted more.
The various themes of friendship, love, family life and spiritual development will warm your heart. There is an honesty in the writer’s voice that is compelling.
The Right Ingredients is such a wonderful read! I love the characters as they discover who they are and the path God guides them on.
This book is a delight. The characters are so real.
A beautifully sweet love story that touches your heart and soul. Anxious to read other books by this delightful author.
A lovely tender romance with a strong Christian message.
What an adorable love story!
Here are some endorsements for Hidden Storms
She believed the lies which scarred her more than the marks on her neck. Almost poetry, Hidden Storms is a novella to be savored. The words roll in the mouth and find their way to the heart. A young girl spurned by her parents and feared by strangers feels unworthy of love, even the love of God. Go with her on the search for life, for validation to be happy. Hidden Storms will stay with the reader long after the last page. Lee Carver: author of A Secret Life, and Love Takes Flight
Hidden Storms addresses issues most of us, like those around Lilli, would much rather avoid—those we’d rather hide than deal with. A suspicious, superstitious, and prejudicial upbringing ingrained in young Lilli that she was marked by God and the cause of disaster wherever she went and whoever she touched. We might all feel that way sometimes without a champion or a kind word that triumphs over our self-doubt and pity. Nancy Bolton gives us an enduring story that will mark our hearts. Lisa Lickel, author of The Last Detail
Nancy Bolton’s gripping tale of a young woman’s overwhelming shame is set against the tragic dust bowl years. Nancy’s descriptive voice sends you right back to that difficult time period as you struggle right with Lilli Clark as she strives to recover her health. Yet it’s not just health that Lilli needs. It’s redemption—God’s redemption. This story, Hidden Storms, molded after the fairy tale, The Ugly Duckling, really exemplifies how God takes us, sinful, filthy, ugly and unacceptable, and wipes away all our hideous flaws and makes us whole. Follow Lilli as she trudges towards God’s truth, learns to accept her imperfections, and embrace a new life free of shame. Peggy Trotter, author of Year of Jubilee
Hidden storms took me back to the dust bowl era, a place I’d never want to live within. The imagery was so vivid, though, I felt like I was there. I followed the character through her trying ordeals and when I wasn’t reading, I thought about her. I’m a mother of two young girls and I don’t get a lot of reading time. This book was time well spent in every way. The characters were riveting and the important themes underlying the plot took center stage by the end. My biggest question is, can there be a sequel? I want to see what happens to the young girl! Brooke Williams, multi-published author
Nancy Bolton weaves an amazing, timeless tale, told through the eyes of a teenage girl in pre-WWII America marked by tragedy as long as she lets past injustices define who she is. Bolton’s descriptions are so rich and vivid, they yanked me into the plot at the first sentence and never let go. Julie B Cosgrove, freelance Christian writer and multi-published author.
Here are some review quotes:
The cast of characters from Nancy Bolton’s, “A Work In Progress,” seems bound to involve us in the individual stories of their lives, ‘til with one broad-palette-knife-stroke across the canvas of her novel Ms. Bolton blends their lives into a riveting tale of sorrows and trials, laced with underlying love, joy, and hope in the journey. Ms. Bolton weaves an intriguing, yet realistic, story—a passionate love story—that screams for a series or at least a sequel. Great story. Great read. Great Book. With the promise of more to come from this very talented author and story teller? I certainly hope so.
Nancy Bolton serves up a satisfying romance with ‘A Work in Progress.’
She whets our appetites with a study in contrasts—Julie views life with exuberance and quiet generosity, Mark with anxiety and prickly reserve.
Ms. Bolton tosses in some engaging minor players like Chris, the untidy, smoking, gum-chewing chef and a valiant little boy trying to care for his war-wounded father.
We get just a soupçon of parental wisdom, a few spicy kisses, and the fragrant aroma of good deeds done in secret.
Then the author brings on the meaty heart of the story.
Just when Mark and Julie think they have each other figured out, the complexities of human nature rear up and the relationship goes on the rocks. They need to work through challenges and misunderstandings and some near-heartbreak before we reach the sweet resolution. ‘A Work in Progress’ delivers its message that ‘love does not boast’ with subtlety and depth. I recommend that you don’t read it hungry, though!
I love this story, especially the intimate view of each character’s inner life, which is a hallmark of Nancy Shew Bolton’s writing. She has a talent for guiding us deeply into the thinking and motivations for each person’s responses, feelings, and choices. Then when her protagonists connect in a scene together, you can feel the fireworks of all that is going on from the core of truth for each one. Also, I so admire the subtheme of freeganism (very cool). A lot to hold your interest, and the characters are believable and engaging. I highly recommend this entertaining, thoughtful book!
I have read Nancy Shew Bolton’s other novels, so I expected this one to be great as well. Yep. it is! It has all the right ingredients for a sweet romantic story, with a little of spice added as two opposites attract and mix things up. Somehow,like any great dish, despite their combination of ingredients you’d think would always clash, it comes out made to perfection in the end. Another great Love Is Series novella.
Amazon buy link:
After a fire destroys their home when she was a girl, Sarah’s family rebuilds their lives, yet the echoes of the fire’s damage remain. Sarah learned to turn inward, and keep her curious mind to herself, asking God all the questions that her own father used to delight in. But the fire silenced her father, and spread the stillness to the rest of them. Yet Sarah longs to express herself, to find answers to all her questions. A new, young pastor arrives, and captivates her heart. The prospect of a challenging and unexpected life dances before her, but then is held out of her reach. And with the new possibilities come questions she’s never asked herself before. Is she ready for the answers?
Here are some reviews:
I’d read Hidden Storms by Nancy Bolton and loved it, so I eagerly purchased this one. Bolton has such an easy way of dipping the reader into the pool of her characters’thoughts. You wade in deeper through each page until totally emersed in the story. A refreshingly wonderful experience, the way reading historical fiction should be. It is like you soaked into Sarah’s skin and lived out her life in upper New York in the 1890s with her. You’ll want to dive in as well.
Ms. Bolton’s word crafting skills make my heart sing. This book was a privilege to read. The cadence of her words tapped a pleasing tempo up to and including the final lines. She almost has a lyrical flow to her sentences and phrases.
Answering Sarah is one of two books that have changed my attitude to enjoy historical fiction and romantic fiction. I’m more of an action/adventure kinda gal, but Ms. Bolton’s research into the setting and time of her story satisfies my need for action and adventure.
Her characters are developed as are the settings. I was right there with this family as they struggled to survive. The sights, sounds, and smells all woven into a historical novel that is sure to become a classic. I’d love to see this become a series.
Ms. Bolton has a pleasant writing style and with her well-hewn skills draws the reader into her characters. The descriptions of the hard life of a farmer and the development of the community atmosphere enhance the story.
Answering Sarah was a very good book. I was intrigued by the reactions everyone had to adversity in the story, and saw myself in many of them. I liked how inquisitive Sarah was and how God helped her and others along the way.
Heartwarming and sensitive Christian Romance novel. Pioneer times depicted authentically and characters believable. Coming of age depicted with a tender, thoughtful love interest.with strong family values.
The was the first book I’ve read by Nancy Shew Bolton, so I was not sure what to expect, but I enjoyed the book very much. I felt she wrote the characters in a realistic way that made it easy for me to imagine them going about their day. Their reactions were in line for the time period, as were their views. I have to admit, reading this made me wish our world today could go backwards into a time when people put God first rather than themselves.
A Haven in the Woods is a contemporary romance. It shows the growth of a relationship between two opposite people who are forced by circumstances to interact and the unexpected growth of feelings between them as they face a life-changing event whose impact rocks both of them.
Here’s a description:
Ellen is running away. Heartbroken and carrying the ever growing shame of her foolishness in trusting a man, she rents a remote cabin in the woods. All she needs to do is survive until the baby is born. Once that happens she’ll be free to start a new job and a new life. The last thing she expected was to be pulling out her gun on a strange man walking out of the woods.
Robert loves the solitude of the mountains. Tracking the wildlife with only his dog for company. It’s not the profitable career his family would desire for him. He wished they’d understand. But the woman in the cabin, while an annoyance, also concerns him. She’s not prepared for the brutal winter in the mountains. And pregnant? He resolves to help her.
Robert falls for the taciturn woman and even more for the child she carries. When her home is destroyed he brings her to his…offering protection and shelter from the harsh winter. He can’t understand why she won’t talk about the baby, or make plans for it.
Can two lonely souls trapped together, testing the limits of solitude and friendship, find true love?
Here are some reviews:
Bolton’s lush setting paints a perfect backdrop for these people who learn that protecting each other, no matter who they came together, as well as living under the protection of God’s wings, makes life worth living. Told in multiple viewpoints from the perspectives of the main characters, this sweet novella clips right along at a quick pace. Full and satisfying, readers will root for both Robert and Ellen, even in the darkest moments.
Ellen isn’t in the mood to be loved or trust a man and she keeps Robert at arms length. He, however, falls for the unborn baby and tries everything he can to help Ellen as she nears delivery. I don’t want to give away the story but lets just say he really has to work for this and is an example of love that protects, no matter what. Great story.
I loved this book! It had so many things I enjoyed. A quaint, quiet place in the woods, complete with snow. A cute dog and a sweet cat. A stubborn heroine who doesn’t want help but needs it. A gentle, loving hero who lives Christ’s example and shows this to this poor lost woman. I only wish the ending were a little longer because I wanted to savor the happily ever ending. Don’t miss this book. Well written.
Ellen was interesting and I’m glad she was an imperfect and flawed character. It felt good that she didn’t do the things that I expected her to do. This story had so much depth that I was sad to see it end. Great story and definitely worth every minute of my time.
Kay is a widow who has moved to Oregon in the 1920’s to live with her brother and his wife. She sews shirts while he makes hats. Intrigued by the rough-hewn men who come in and out of their shop, she wonders if love would ever come her way a second time.
Aaron intrigues Kay with his quiet demeanor, especially after she finds him drunk. Leaving her brother to care for him, she often wonders what led the man to that point. While challenging herself to try new things, she takes a risk in getting to know the taciturn man.
Can shy love break through the hurting hearts of these two lonely people?
Here are some reviews:
Beautiful is the word that comes to mind when I think about this book. The pages are full of gentle tenderness. Most of the action occurs within the thoughts of Kay and Aaron as they struggle to come to terms with their painful pasts. Kay is a widow who desperately misses her husband, and Aaron is a man who is facing trauma from an abusive childhood and PTSD. As both Kay and Aaron reach toward God, they also begin reaching toward each other. This is a story about bravery—not the bravery that comes from facing criminals or rescuing people from burning buildings—but the bravery that comes from analyzing one’s own shortcomings and determining to carve out a new way of thinking and living. I appreciated the discussions about God’s forgiveness, and I appreciated the depth of honesty conveyed by the characters. This uplifting story shows that with God all things are possible—even second chances.
Two lonely people who are afraid of love find each other in 1920 Oregon. She’s a widow working in the family hat shop, he’s a battle weary soldier making his way as a cowboy. Can they find comfort in each other? Touching, well written story.
Nancy Bolton has given us a wonderful story in Hats Off. It takes place in Oregon in the 1920’s. Kay, a widow, has moved there to be with her brother and his wife. She works making shirts and the lining for custom hats. She’d known love once but could there be a second chance for her?
Aaron is a quiet man who does his job but one night gets drunk and is discovered by Kay who gets her brother Philip to care for the man. He intrigues her in their few shy interactions. She steps out and tries new things including challenging the quiet man with his own dark past. Their brief interactions ignite sparks quickly.
Love blooms in the cold of winter as both learn that sometimes, hope at Christmas, is a powerful thing if one is willing to reach for it.
boltonnancy 
Wow, Nancy! You’re on a roll. Great work. Blessings to you.
Thanks Erin! I appreciate it!