The Merchant’s Yield (2020) — A Celebrate Lit Tour: A Guest Post, My Thoughts, and a Giveaway

About the Book

Book:  The Merchant’s Yield

Author: Lorri Dudley

Genre:  Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: March 31, 2020

It was a marriage of inconvenience, but life has a wicked sense of humor.

Charlotte Amelia Etheridge has cowered to her mother’s sharp tongue and endless demands for the last time. In a fleeting moment of rebellion, she recklessly asks a foreigner from the Leeward Islands for a dance. But her one courageous act lands her in a compromising position. Forced to wed a stranger, Lottie leaves the only home she’s ever known to reside on the isle of St. Kitts.

Nathaniel Winthrop’s troubles are mounting, and the rumors of him being cursed are spreading. Due to the dwindling sugar crop, he risks everything to start his own shipping company. The last thing he needs is a wife, especially one with a weak constitution. Yellow fever has already claimed the lives of his mother and siblings. He must guard his heart against falling in love with this gentle beauty, knowing island life will be a death sentence.

No longer under her mother’s scrutiny, the newfound freedom of the island rejuvenates Lottie’s spirit. If her days on this earth are limited, then it’s time she lives life to the full. Now it’s up to her to prove that even though Nathan was coerced into marrying her, she’s the one he can’t live without.

Click HERE to purchase your copy!

About the Author

Lorri Dudley has been a finalist in numerous writing contests and has a master’s degree in Psychology. She lives in Ashland, Massachusetts with her husband and three teenage sons, where writing romance allows her an escape from her testosterone-filled household. Find her online at www.lorridudley.com.

More from Lorri

The Merchant’s Yield is the second book in the Leeward Island series. The idea for my heroine, Lottie Etheridge, stemmed from a writing prompt—Pretend you are a relative from your past. My family has often speculated where the bright red hair that pops up every other generation (my dad, my cousin, and my niece) originated since my grandfather was adopted. My opening hook at one time was Lottie’s mother stating, “Red hair is for opera singers and ballet dancers. You should have powdered your hair.”

In my research about the island of St. Kitts, I came across a French-American pirate named Jean Lafitte, educated at the military academy on St. Kitts. The concept of my hero, Nathaniel Winthrop, a merchant who could have schooled with a pirate, set my creative juices flowing, especially after reading about Lafitte’s outlandish and quirky behavior. I couldn’t resist interlacing the lives of my main characters with the daring pirate.

I enjoyed writing Lottie’s struggle between pacifying others, yet trying to stay true to how God made her. Also, I can relate to her attempts at rebellion backfiring, for I too could never get away with anything. Lottie’s soft heart contrasts nicely with the guarded hero, Nathan, as she peels back each painful layer of his thick façade to reveal the devoted and ardent love he holds beneath.

To learn more, check out my website at lorridudley.com or watch The Merchant’s Yield’s book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQLKqJfMf0o&feature=youtu.be.

My Thoughts

Not all stories are for everyone, and that is OK. The Merchant’s Yield by Lorri Dudley is not my cup of tea. When I signed up to review this novel, I anticipated reading a story filled with action and adventure, intrigue, an inconvenient marriage, and pirates. The Merchant’s Yield is all of this and more, but to me, it was all a little too much. Lottie, the heroine, is married off to a stranger, moved to an island far from her native shores of England, befriends everyone including hardened sailors, pirates, and slaves, miraculously rises from a disease, spreads the love of God wherever she goes, converts many people, survives a kidnapping unscathed, stands up to her mother, and wins the heart of her stranger-husband all in a matter of months and at the tender age of 18. To me, she is not a believable heroine. She is a superwoman! Perhaps if Lottie had experienced a setback in her faith for one minute, or failed at something and learned from that failure, I could have bought her character. But as she stands, Lottie is just too perfect, and therefore unreadable. Honestly, how can a flawed 40-year-old ever relate to a perfect 18-year-old?

I do appreciate Dudley’s message that God gives us all a choice — we can choose to see our lives and what He allows or doesn’t allow as a blessing, or we can see it all as a curse. I appreciate the discussion that it really is a matter of perspective. My favorite moments in the novel occur when Lottie stops her train of pessimistic thoughts, or stops her negative emotions and feelings, and forces herself to remember that she has chosen blessings, that God is bigger than any problem, and He is always on her side. It’s the sign of a mature Christian when we can quickly reign in our thoughts and emotions, and bring them to God immediately. Going to God first and remembering His promises to us, should be our knee-jerk reaction, and I appreciate Dudley’s illustration of this principle through her character, Lottie.

The Merchant’s Yield is not the book for me, but that doesn’t mean it is not the book for you. The Merchant’s Yield is getting rave reviews on GoodReads and Amazon with many readers loving the action and adventure, romance, and positive Christian themes throughout the storyline. I definitely recommend checking out this novel for yourself today!

I received a review copy of this novel in eBook form from the author via Celebrate Lit. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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GIVEAWAY

To celebrate her tour, Lorri is giving away a grand prize of one (1) $50 Amazon Gift Card!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway!

Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/f8a8/the-merchant-s-yield-celebration-tour-giveaway

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