Sweet Mercy

Ann Tatlock is a well-known and well-written author who has put together a wonderful story in her newest book Sweet Mercy.

Eve Marryat is a seventeen year old girl whose parents are moving from St Paul, Minnesota, to Mercy, Ohio, during the depression. Eve is never so glad to leave a place because she feels St Paul is the capital of organized crime. She is glad to leave behind the speak-easies and the bootlegging of St Paul and to start a new life in Ohio with her uncles and the quiet life of a quiet town. The only problem is that things are not what they seem on the surface and the quiet life she was seeking wasn't the life she found in Ohio. While she made a new friend right away, she also found a step-cousin she didn't know about, and even gets a boyfriend. As events unfold, Eve begins to realize that things are not always what they seem, and the quiet town isn't without its own bootleggers and ne'er-do-wells.

I love the way Ann tells the story through the eyes of Eve looking back over her life and relating the events to her grandson. There's a winsomeness to the story that wouldn't otherwise be there because the story has to be told plainly. The sophistication is still there but with a simplicity that allows the story to be told to a preteen boy. This book is compelling, intriguing, and thoroughly entertaining.

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and no bootleggers.

The Farmer in the Dell

I read six novellas so that I could review The Farmer's Bride and give a reasonable account of the stories it contained. Every single story is one of those "feel good" stories with the happy ending one of my friends accuses me of loving. Um, it's true, I love happy endings and I am unashamed of it.

One of my favorites was "The Tie that Binds," by Susan K Downs. This story includes an orphan train, a perpetual offer for marriage and the adoption of a brother and sister, and a prairie fire. I've read this story several times before and it always entertained me.

All of the stories are entertaining and amusing. There are a couple of Laugh Out Loud places which make it an all the more compelling read. It will be released August 1, 2013. Make haste to get it then! Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and at least one orphan train.

Matched Pearls

I inherited my mother's matched pearl necklace, and it is gorgeous. More important than the pearls is the woman who wore them. I'd rather have Mama than the pearls anyday.

Constance is a young college girl whose main focus is having fun and looking good. To that end, she does what she has to do to get her grandmother's matched pearls--she joins the church. There is nothing behind her commitment to the church, no faith, no relationship, nothing, just a desire for pearls for an upcoming dance.

The pearls lose some of their lustre when Constance learns the cost of commitment. Graham Seagrave, a rather shabby-looking young man has become taken with Constance but when he finds she doesn't share his trust in Christ, knows he can't pursue a relationship with her. Instead he pursues her knowledge of Christ. He wants to introduce her to his closest Friend.

Constance really doesn't want to know Christ, feels she doesn't need to know Him, and would rather run with her normal crowd. Still there is something bothering her, niggling at the back of her mind, something compelling about Seagrave and his knowledge of Christ. Until her roommate Doris is seriously and severely injured in an auto accident, Constance doesn't see that she needs the peace that only Jesus can give.

Grace Livingston Hill wrote many, many lovely stories during her time. This one's theme is the peace only Jesus Christ can offer and the sweet communion of sharing that peace with someone else. To see the changes Constance goes through is worth the time it takes to read it. Definitely a great book to pick up.

Again, Not All That Revealing, but Fun!

Your Bookshelf is Comforting

You collect books because you love to read. You love stories, and you reread your favorites over and over again. It's hard for you to pass up a book by your favorite author. Once you find a writer you love, you tend to read his or her whole catalog. Your favorite books are full of engaging stories, relatable characters, and surprising plot twists. You like to be immersed in a story. You read when you want to relax a bit or get away from the dreariness of life. Nothing renews you like a book. You love books for what's in them, and you don't get too caught up in the apperances of your collection. In fact, some of your favorite books are well worn, sentimental favorites. That's worth more to you than the latest shiny hardback.

The Bookshelf Test

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

Not Really All That Revealing

You Are a Paper Book

When it comes to reading, you really value quality over quantity. You are a devoted reader. You don't like to rush through anything you are reading. You like to get up close and personal with your books. Paper books suit you best, even if they are pricier and more difficult to obtain. Like a good story, they are worth it for you. Besides, there is nothing you like more than having a beautiful bookshelf full of books you love. No eBook can do that for you.

Are You a Print Book or an Ebook?

The First Rule of Blogthings Is: You Don't Talk About Blogthings

Though My Heart Is Torn

I read Joanne Bischof's first book, Be Still My Soul, and found myself loving Lonnie and Gideon O'Reilly. Though My Heart Is Torn picks up their story where Be Still My Soul left off. Lonnie and Gideon are learning to love each other and have a son to love as well. Now Lonnie gets a letter from home telling her that her mother is sick and it's her dying wish to see Lonnie once again. The letter is a trick to get them home so that Lonnie's father can spring the fact that Gideon was married once before and that the marriage was never severed. There is a whole quagmire to wade through in this book.

Joanne writes in such a way that you feel what Lonnie and Gideon feel, you hurt when they hurt, and your heart is broken when their hearts are broken. While making the decision of how to deal with the situation, Lonnie is subjected to her father's verbal abuse. Cassie Allan is determined to make her marriage to Gid work, regardless of his feelings about the matter. Gid can't stand the way Lonnie's father treats her, so he sends her back to live with Jebediah and Elsie. When Lonnie leaves, her mom sends her little sister, Addie, to live with Lonnie and her son, to get her away from Lonnie's father.

This book takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions, and in some parts indignation. I cannot wait for the final book in the series to come out; this is another one of those books where I am disappointed it ended. I want to know the final outcome NOW!

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, but only one wife.

It's My Birthday and I'll Have the Preacher if I Want To

Yesterday was my birthday and I had a wonderful celebration. I have reached the speed limit =). It was an appropriate time for me to read Stealing the Preacher by Karen Witemeyer.

Karen has been writing the sagas of the Archer boys and their love lives, beginning with Short-Straw Bride and Travis Archer.

Joanna Robbins wants nothing more for her birthday than a preacher to carry on what her mother wanted for her father, Silas. Silas and his ranch hands gear up and stop a train known to have a preacher on it. There is nothing he won't do for his daughter, whom he dotes on. Using the guise of a train-robber that he once was, he comes home with Crockett Archer, a preacher on his way to candidate at a nearby town. While Silas interrupts Crockett's plans, he doesn't interrupt God's plans, and that's what this book is about. Karen weaves a sweet story of romance in with her teaching of God's plans and interruptions that truly aren't interruptions. Even when we feel that we are moving His direction, He can shift our path for His own purposes and for His own good pleasure. This always brings me back to the passage in Isaiah where it says that God's word does not return void, but it will accomplish His purposes in His good time.

Crockett eventually gets on his way to where he was originally going, but gets stopped before he gets there. This allows him to go back and reinvigorate a church that has been without a pastor, and to get to know Joanna better--something he would love to be able to do.

This is my favorite kind of romance--one that weaves in spiritual truths along with the story, one where I learn something about God and about myself. Thank you, Karen, for a well-written novel.