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Romantic Times, May 2002 – 4 Stars!!!
Channing Hayden’s words paint a breathtaking tale of how good can triumph over evil. Heartrending in places, the first book of the Magdalenes series is excellent.
5 Stars! A tour de force!!!
Reviewer: Deborah MacGillivray, Webmistress of Three Romance Websites, January 23, 2002
I have the privelege to get to know many of the cutting edge writers in the Romance Field, through a Monday night writers' chat, and some a bit more personal through my site for writers and readers of romance fiction at MSN. Channing Hayden joined our site hoping to spread the word of his new book and I am so glad!!!
This is a richly detailed book, that opens the door and lets the reader walk into the world of Sarah Beth's life in the turn of the century New Orleans, witness her struggle with a dark secret that brings her close, and nearly destroys, the romance and triumph of spirit that propels her on her personal journey.
The historical period is portrayed vividly, the struggle against the yellow fever epidemic in 1905, the gamit of human emotions, good and bad. You live it!!
This is a stunning masterpiece and one you cannot put down!! Absolutely haunting!!!
WISE Writer and Reader Book of the Month Choice for January.
5 Stars! This wonderful book is a deeply moving story--rich with historical detail with just the right blend of drama and romance.
Victoria Taylor Murray
Author of 'Thief Of Hearts' and 'Forbidden'
Review appears on Amazon.com
5 Stars! "Extraordinary! When circumstances and opportunity conspire, young Sarah Beth LaBranche loses her innocence to cruelty in MAGDALENES. But this isn't the tale of self-pity or justification. Nor is this tale of vicarious, perverted detail. Rather, this is a tale of redemption. Author Channing Hayden writes a tale laden with compassion for the travails of an innocent led astray, and yet this author never allows his heroine to decline responsibility for her actions. The result is a deeply moving novel, rich with historical detail, and generous with nuance. Profound philosophical musings intersperse medical drama and romance. Very highly recommended."
Cindy Penn
Senior Editor
WordWeaving
http://wordweaving.com
Magdalenes: 5 stars
Running from an abusive, drunken father, young Sarah Beth LaBranch finds herself in New Orleans.
Set in the late 1800's and early 1900's, Sarah Beth struggles to make life better for women and helps fight the Yellow Fever epidemic while trying to hide from her past so she is free to love the prominent Dr. Frank Cheramie.
***** Prepare yourself to be swept by horse and buggy into the life of beautiful Sarah Beth where Channing Hayden will take ... reader[s] back to the past. Realistic characters that I found I could easily come to care for! Magdalenes is a highly recommended read!
Reviewed by Danna Friborg-Lewis for Huntress Book Reviews.
As of 09/08/01 this review is available at http://www.huntressreviews.com/histrom.htm At some point the review may be deleated from the site as other reviews are added.
Rated 8 out of 10 by New Book Reviews
Magdalenes is hard to categorize, it is not necessarily a romance, not necessarily historical fiction, it is a great read, filled with characters that have depth. The book addresses the hypocrisy of the society at the time and the issues surrounding the suffragette movement. The character of Sarah deals with the issues so distinctly female that I was truly surprised to find out that Channing Hayden was indeed a male author, his ability to understand her character and the female psyche so well was astonishing. It almost made me wonder if he was Sarah in another life.
New Book Reviews entire comment is available at http://www.newbookreviews.com/ Then do a search on my name.
The September 2001 issue of Internet Bookwatch (http://www.execpc.com/~mbr/bookwatch/ibw/sep_01.htm) published by the Midwest Book Review calls Magdalenes “a good yarn” and says:
“Magdalenes engages the reader on many levels. As historical fiction, it is a well wrought portrait of New Orleans in the 1890's. The novel is plausible as romance genre, with its heroine Sarah Beth LaBranche struggling for solo survival and self-worth ... Magdalenes could well qualify as mainstream fiction.
“Like all good stories, our preconceptions are turned on end ... Magdalenes is a morality play if nothing else; where conventional wisdom and truth spar for ascendancy before the jeering rabble that would stone the better of the two. But the contest is no "big easy" for the morally smug ... [I]t makes a promise at the outset to show innocence and decency struggling against depravity and exploitation and moves unerringly toward deliverance.
“Magdalenes employs dialogue fully and well, and the unabashed use of slave Negro dialect and French Creole patois, while alarming at first, only comes close to being excessive; it never quite becomes so obtrusive and tedious that it destroys its own charm, perhaps because Hayden has such a good handle on it ... [A] truly heart warming and entertaining novel.”
Internet Bookwatch is one of five monthly library newsletters the Midwest Book Review (MBR) publishes for community and academic library systems in California, Wisconsin, and the upper Midwest. Through Gale Research Company, MBR book reviews are available to community, university, and corporate libraries nationwide in the U.S. and Canada.
MBR produces "Bookwatch," a weekly television program that reviews books, videos, music, CD-ROMs, and computer software, as well as a short wave radio book review commentary that goes out every month to Europe, North America, South America, and the Pacific Rim.
The Midwest Book Review is committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. MBR accept no funds from authors or publishers.
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“Magdalenes ... will appeal to a wide audience ... The characters are intelligent and driven ... refreshingly human ... Hayden did his research for this novel and it shows. The history of New Orleans is fascinating. The medical discussion is ... interesting without being boring ... The turn-of-the-century New Orleans setting is great ... Hayden’s description enhances the overall reading experience ... The historical time frame lets readers escape to another era. Hayden's talent rewards them with a good story.” Magdalenes ““is a story worth your time.””
Amy Coffin, TheBookHaven.net
Read TheBookHaven.net’’s full review at http://www.thebookhaven.homestead.com/Fiction_by_Author.html. Scroll to my name and click on Magdalenes.
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In its review, Conundrum Magazine favorably compares the style of Magdalenes to the classic Gone with the Wind. “The book is an absolute page-turner which is virtually impossible to put down ... The plot is complex ... and I personally really like Hayden’s inclusion of real historical figures and events,” says Mary Devlin. “Hayden’s writing is skillful and polished – and if you’re looking for a novel that is chocked full of interesting characters, fascinating places, and historical accuracy, this is the book for you.”
Magdalenes, an historical novel set in New Orleans between 1897 and 1906, is not a typical romance. Conundrum notes the relationship that grows between the heroine and hero is “... based as much on mutual respect, intelligence and common interest as on sexual magnetism. The emergence and flowering of the love these two feel for each other is inspiring, making the reader really believe in love.”
The full review is available at http://www.winged-horse.com/mysteries/conindex.htm . Channing Hayden's short story, Crimes of Honor, Crimes of Love, is also available on this site.
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Longtime Pulphouse Publishing's Associate Publisher Debra Gray Cook says, “Channing Hayden takes you to turn-of-the-century New Orleans, with all its glory and seedy under belly. Once you've stepped into the world the author has created, you have a hard time leaving it behind.”
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