Skip to main content

Review: The Honeymoon Express

The Honeymoon Express book cover on blue background

I'm probably not the only reader who enjoys novellas, so I'm thankful that I get to share some stellar ones I've come across lately, including The Honeymoon Express by Susanne Dietze. I've enjoyed her novellas so much that I've actually read four of them in less than a month!

Book Synopsis

Ellen, a telegrapher and jilted bride, and Nash, a mysterious frontiersman, may be total strangers, but they both need to get from New Jersey to California, fast...and the only way is to share the last ticket-for-two aboard The Honeymoon Express, a transcontinental train trip intended for honeymooners.

Neither relishes the idea of traveling amongst canoodling lovebirds, considering both of their hearts are broken beyond repair, but the guarantee of a speedy trip is worth the temporary arrangement. But once they're thrown together, they stumble into a mystery to solve before the end of the line...and perhaps the possibility of healing and love.

Source: Amazon

Book Thoughts

This was a lovely novella by Susanne Dietze that involved romance, sleuthing, and adventure. I enjoyed seeing Ellen and Nash make the most out of an awkward situation and just how well they complemented each other in their skills, temperaments, and most importantly, their Christian faith. I loved that they weren't afraid to pray and ask God for help in the midst of trying circumstances beyond their understanding and control.

The author did an incredible job in giving both main characters, along with the supporting characters, fleshed-out personalities in such a short story. Along with the suspenseful elements involved, the historical details were fun and rich to read, helping me feel like I was also riding along on The Honeymoon Express. This is a captivating story that will make you want to travel by train, especially with people as kind as Ellen and Nash.

Book Summary

  • Format of book: 📱
  • Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Recommendation: 👍

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The Pursuit of Character

Classical education has always appealed to me in that reasoning and fruitful living that contributes to society are meant to be admirable and achievable goals. Reflecting a world where cardinal virtues are esteemed, I love that The Pursuit of Character by Matthew Arbo arrives at this vision from a Christian perspective, providing a compelling case for why Christians need to recover this framework and way of life. Many thanks to Baker Books for providing a complimentary copy of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. Book Synopsis What does it mean to live a good life? Know what makes for a good life Pursue character and meaning Recover the virtues that have guided Christians before us In today's fragmented world, we are encouraged to define for ourselves what is good. But this inevitably fails to satisfy. In The Pursuit of Character , Matthew Arbo argues that we can learn how to live a good life by recovering the virtues that have guided Christians before us....

More Than Books

I have to give credit to Joomi Kim, a secular BookTuber, for first alerting me to one of her challenges with contemporary novels (see timestamp starting at 22:25 ) where she notes that many of the books she has read are about authors or those in academia. While I found her entire video to be thought-provoking regarding contemporary literature, I seldom read enough secular books to be able to comment on them as a whole, so this isn't a commentary on what she has presented. The secular books I read are ones that usually serve a cultural purpose or are interesting enough for me to pick up, which is more rare when my TBR of Christian books keeps expanding. I've also chosen not to focus on those books on my blog or social media; although I try to keep up-to-date with broad trends on my own time, I'm not well-versed enough to add my perspective to that discussion on here. Rather, this is a springboard into the one point that she raised about authors writing what they know. It see...

Christian Book Review Programs

Over time, I've been on the hunt for Christian book review programs that readers can join. As a result, I've been able to compile the following list which may be of interest if you are seeking review copies of Christian books. This list mostly applies to print and ebooks, although some publishers offer audiobooks as well. If further information is available for any of the publishers below (or any missing publishers), please let me know as I am happy to update this list—thank you! Please note that you can also search for these publishers on NetGalley and other review sites in case there are no review programs available or you don't qualify for one 😊 List last updated: June 4, 2026 Christian Publishers 10ofThose Availability: US, Canada, and UK residents Format: Only books published by 10ofThose qualify for review requests so as to avoid impeding with other Christian book review programs Genre: Christian non-fiction, children's books Email for availability and eligibilit...