Book Title: Till Taught by Pain

Series: n/a

Author Name: Susan Coventry

Publication Date: November 4^th, 2025

Publisher: Regal House Publishing

Pages: 310

Genre: Historical Biographical Fiction

Any Triggers: None

Twitter Handle: @cathiedunn @marylschmidt

Instagram Handle: @susancoventrymd @thecoffeepotbookclub @mschmidtproductions

Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #AmericanHistoricalFiction #BiographicalFiction #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/12/blog-tour-till-taught-by-pain-by-susan-coventry.html

Book Title and Author Name:  

Till Taught by Pain

by Susan Coventry

Blurb:

Inspired by the groundbreaking discoveries of ether and chloroform anesthesia, William Stewart Halsted pursues a surgical career with ruthless ambition, daring to perform operations deemed impossible by his peers. His reputations skyrockets with each bold success—until his quest for an effective local anesthetic leads him to inject himself with cocaine.

Caroline, the niece of Confederate General Wade Hampton, seeks to escape the constraints of post-war South Carolina by training as a nurse. When she takes a position at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital, she finds herself captivated by the brilliant yet troubled chief of surgery, Dr. Halsted.

Till Taught by Pain is a poignant exploration of love and sacrifice, as Caroline grapples with the difficult choice between enabling her husband’s addiction and supporting his pioneering career. As their lives intertwine, both must confront the consequences of ambition, the nature of love, and the toll of personal demons on their shared dreams.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4jn77k

Author Bio:

Susan Coventry is a retired physician with a lifelong historical fiction obsession. Her first novel, The Queen’s Daughter, was a YA historical set in the Middle Ages. For Till Taught by Pain, she switched from YA to adult novels and moved on from Medieval Europe to turn-of-the-20^th century U.S.

She lives in Louisville, KY with her historian husband, Brad Asher.

Author Links:

Website: https://susancoventry.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063577928166

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susancoventrymd/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Susan-Coventry/author/B004D1MZ64

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/815024.Susan_Coventry

Book Title: The Relic Keeper

Series: n/a

Author Name: Heidi Eljarbo

Publication Date: 18 November 2025

Publisher: independently published

Pages: digital 142 / paperback 162

Genre: Late-Renaissance historical fiction

Any Triggers: Christian theme about hope and love

Twitter Handles: @HeidiEljarbo @cathiedunn @marylSchmidt

Instagram Handles: @authorheidieljarbo @thecoffeepotbookclub @mschmidtphotography

Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #Renaissance #ItalianRenaissance #ChristianHistoricalFiction #ArtHistoricalFiction #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/11/blog-tour-the-relic-keeper-by-heidi-eljarbo.html

Book Title and Author Name:

The Relic Keeper

by Heidi Eljarbo

Blurb:

Inspired by Gerrit van Honthorst’s masterpiece, The Adoration of the Child, and the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.

Italy, 1620.

Angelo is an orphan, lonely and forgotten. Having been passed on from one family to the next, he ends up as a common thief, subject to and under the thumb of a ruthless robber called Tozzo.

Angelo knows no other life and has lost hope that any chance of providence will ever replace his lonely, misfortunate existence. When he loses his master, his livelihood is shaken. Tozzo’s plunder is hidden in a safe place, but what will happen if someone comes after Angelo to get their hands on the stolen relics? More than that, he feels threatened by words he’s heard too many times; that he’ll always remain unforgiven and doomed.

One day, a priest invites Angelo to help with chores around the church and rectory and, in exchange, offers him room and board. Padre Benedetto’s kindness and respect are unfamiliar and confusing, but Angelo’s safety is still a grave concern. Two older robbers have heard rumors about the hidden treasures and will stop at nothing to attain them.

With literary depictions and imagery, Angelo’s story is a gripping and emotional journey of faint hope and truth in seventeenth-century Italy—an artistic and audacious tale that crosses paths with art collector Vincenzo Giustiniani and the powerful Medici family.

Using invisible threads, Heidi Eljarbo weaves together her fictional stories with historical figures and real events.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4j6zgl

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Author Bio:

HEIDI ELJARBO grew up in a home full of books, artwork, and happy creativity. She is the author of historical novels filled with courage, hope, mystery, adventure, and sweet romance during challenging times. She’s been named a master of dual timelines and often writes about strong-willed women of past centuries.

After living in Canada, six US states, Japan, Switzerland, and Austria, Heidi now calls Norway home. She lives with her husband on a charming island and enjoys walking in any kind of weather, hugging her grandchildren, and has a passion for art and history.

Her family’s chosen retreat is a mountain cabin, where they hike in the summer and ski the vast white terrain during winter.

Heidi’s favorites are her family, God’s beautiful nature, and the word whimsical.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.heidieljarbo.com/

Twitter / X: https://x.com/HeidiEljarbo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorheidieljarbo/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorheidieljarbo/

Pinterest: https://no.pinterest.com/heidieljarbo/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/heidi-eljarbo

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Heidi-Eljarbo/author/B073D852VG

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16984270.Heidi_Eljarbo

Book Link

From Amazon:

Odele Gardia . . . married to wealthy businessman Howard, is the hard-nosed matriarch of the family and will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. She’s ruthless in the boardroom and not afraid to lean on adversaries.

Sebastian Gardia . . . Odele’s brother and business partner. His wife, Freya, reveals that she is pregnant with their first child.

Elliot . . . the prodigal son, is returning from America with his girlfriend, intending to propose to her.

Business is booming, her brother is going to become a father, and her son is coming home – it’s surely a time to celebrate. But Odele is hiding a huge secret and is constantly looking over her shoulder. If the secret came out, it would destroy the family.

Jimmy Alder . . . booted out of the police force, has been paid to spy on the family. The discovery he makes could have catastrophic consequences for them all.

A dysfunctional family, protectors of their power, wealth and each other, have no warning of the revelations about to erupt and the cost to their dynasty.

My Review:

Mary Schmidt

5.0 out of 5 stars A tangle like no other

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2026

Format: Kindle

This story is so tangled up with some who do anything for money, some who have very selfish wants rather than needs, and evildoers mixed in with those who actually love humanity. Passionate love permeates the soul. The story ties up almost perfectly, except for one man whose daughter fought cancer, and a son with the true love of his life. Maybe this book has a book two coming?

New! My new giveaway is for When Angels Fly. 10 softcovers to be won on Goodreads.

They say there is no greater loss than that of a child; I say losing a child is the king of loss. A journey of hope and strength. Multi Award Winner Book, When Angels Fly, by Mary L. Schmidt aka S. Jackson. After surviving the cruel rage of tyranny from her mother and ex-husband, Sarah Jackson traveled a new path; a journey of loss, heartbreak, and ultimately strength. How do we survive the unthinkable, our child suffering from a terminal illness? They say there is no greater loss than that of a child; I say losing a child is the king of loss. Sometimes the thing that helps us survive it, is knowing we are not alone. Bestselling author, Sarah Jackson, will take you on her journey of hope and strength as she provides an intimate raw look at her life.

This is two weeks, so sign up between January 7th and January 14th.

Goodreads link below.
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/429780-when-angels-fly

@MaryLSchmidt #BooksWorthReading

Book Title: Poinsettia Girl

Series: n/a

Author Name: Jennifer Wizbowski

Publication Date: October 18, 2025

Publisher: Historium Press

Pages: 336

Genre: Historical Fiction

Any Triggers: n/a

Twitter Handle: @JenniferWiz @cathiedunn @marylschmidt

Instagram Handle: @jenniferwizbowskiwrites @thecoffeepotbookclub @mschmidtphotography

Hashtags: #PoinsettiaGirl #HistoricalFiction #RenaissanceFiction #TheCoffeePotBookClub #BlogTour

Tour Schedule Page:

https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/11/blog-tour-poinsettia-girl-by-jennifer-wizbowski.html

Blurb:

Venice, 1710

Poinsettia Girl is based on the story of Agata de la Pieta, an orphan musician of the Ospedale de la Pieta.

Ten-year-old Agata’s world is shaken at the sudden death of her mother. Left only with her egregious father, a working musician in Venice, her ailing grandmother sends her to the well-known orphanage, hidden from everything she’s ever known.

Agata auditions for the conservatory style music school where music is both salvation and spectacle. Hidden behind ornate metal grates, adorned with poinsettias in their hair, the singers are veiled in mystery, their ethereal music drawing noble audiences, including gilded young men who see them as treasures-not only for their sound but as coveted marriage prizes.

Just as she reaches the height of her musical journey, a marriage proposal from someone outside the audience tempts her with the promise of a new life-a return to the old neighborhood she’s longed for and a home she barely remembers.

Torn between the music that has defined her and the hope of belonging to a family, Agata must confront the most profound question of her life: is her purpose rooted in the music that shaped her, or in the love that might free her?

Excerpt 5:

Some might have considered her earlier days slightly more illustrious than her current stage. She had once been a contralto, something special and different for composers to write for and crowds to be awed by. She pictured herself standing at the front of the balcony behind the metal cutout, remembering what it felt like to be seen. She ran her hands over her hips, feeling the smoothness of the deep red skirt over her narrow hips, and then moved them up to touch the heavy drape of her lace collar, forcing her shoulders back.

Her thick raven hair was brushed back in a woven bun, and the poinsettia behind her ear was striking in contrast. And now, she was a spry (well, she thought so) sixty-two-year-old, young enough that her widened hips still moved nimbly, and old enough that when her gray hair was unwound from its head covering, she could find not one of her former black strands left. She was known as the old woman in the hall, called by the name Discrete, which meant separate. That little skip flipped in her heart like it did occasionally, and she moved her hand from her gray hair to her chest.

I just push myself on some days. I can take it easier tomorrow.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/mKQP8v

Author Bio:

Jennifer Wizbowski spent her childhood days lost among the spines of her favorite books. Inspired by the daffodil fields of Wordsworth and the babbling brooks of Shakespeare, she earned her bachelor’s in English literature, a minor in music, and a secondary teaching credential, then wrote freelance for local business journals, taught in classrooms, and authored a Teen and Tween column for a parent magazine—all while raising her family.

As those years ended, she knew it was the right time to pursue her lifelong aspiration of bringing her own books to life. She now devotes herself to illuminating everyday women’s stories often lost in the shadows of history, revealing how they became heroines of their own time and place.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.gossamermedia.com/

Twitter / X: https://x.com/JenniferWiz

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.wizbowski/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferwizbowskiwrites/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jenniferwiz.bsky.social

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jenniwiz/agata-and-the-green-door/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-wizbowski

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jennifer-Wizbowski/author/B0FT5J8RM2

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/59496761.Jennifer_Wizbowski

I read more in 2025 than I did on 2024.

My reading streak with ebooks stands here.

This does not include physical book copies. How did you do?

Hello Mary, Congratulations! Your book Her Alibi has been awarded the GOLD medal in the category Family Relationships at the Global Book Awards. In the coming days, we’ll send you details on how to get hold of your digital certificate and medal, but just wanted to pass on the good news first. Announcing this year’s award winners!
	Congratulations to all the following authors on winning the following awards. To view all medal winners, please visit our Global Book Awards Winners Page
	The awards are grouped by category (or genre) and divided into Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Award Finalists. To help you find the categories you are interested in, use the drop-down list box near the top left – or simply use the “search” option to find any book title, author, or category.

Please feel free to share the news with others on social media or by email.Congratulations once more, The Global Book Awards Team. https://www.globalbookawards.com

Book Link

From Amazon:

A journey of faith and reflection for Advent
Look around. The hustle and bustle of the Christmas season is in full swing. Dazzling lights, brightly wrapped gifts, a full schedule of family gatherings, and Christmas parties to attend. Underneath the hubbub of the holidays lies a humble beginning that is so oftentimes lost in the chaos. Our days are filled with anticipating, but in the mayhem are we missing the true anticipation of Advent?
Take a moment. Find a quiet spot and reflect on the true heart of this season: the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. With inspiration from scripture, and humble observations from best-selling author C.S. McDonald, Season of Anticipating offers a reminder of God’s grace, hope, and expectations in this beautiful and wondrous season of anticipating…Advent.

Season of Anticipating, An Advent Devotional will provide:

• A daily Bible verse.
• A peaceful, thought-provoking observation.
• Gentle reflections.
• A guide to help you to choose joy and rejuvenate faith during Advent, and all year long.

My Review:

Mary Schmidt

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2025

Format: Kindle

This has been the perfect devotional leading up to Christmas. Each day resonated with me deeply. Thank you, Cindy. I hope others find this book has helped them as well.