Becoming Us

I haven't read such an engrossing book in a while, but Becoming Us was so hard to put down, I stayed up way too late two nights in a row to finish the book.

Emily has moved with her family (husband Trevor and daughter Audra) from North Carolina to California, partially to get away from Trevor's overwhelming family.  Emily has fallen into a funk and really needs friends when Jennalyn sends Emily an invitation for an evening in her home.  Emily was trying to find a way out of the party, but she went to the party anyway.  This is the ground floor of the building of some precious friendships.

Robin Jones Gunn has begun a novel series that will be compelling and enthralling for the readers.  There is a bit of entertainment in the book as well.  Robin  has made a point that being a woman is a gift from God and worthy of celebrating. That is what makes this book so good--the underlying concept of God's blessing coming through our friends who see us as worthy of celebrating. 

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, with a tiara for celebrating yourself.

My thanks to Waterbrook/Multnomah for allowing me to read and review this book.

Searching for . . .

It is not often I will begin a book and not finish it. Even though I love Jody Hedlund's writings, I just couldn't wade through this one.  It is not the quality of Jody's writing--it's five star quality as always.  It is not the subject matter, I love historical fiction.  There is just a disconnect between Searching for You and me. 

Sophie is the "guardian" of Olivia and Nicholas, two very young children at the orphan's asylum.  She took them out of the asylum and lived with them on the streets of New York until one of Sophie's friends shot a member of a rival gang.  Sophie had to get the children out of New York for her own safety.  She got them on the Orphan Train and all the way to Mayfield, Illinois.

For some reason, Searching for You doesn't grasp and hold my attention the way her other books do.  Like I said, it's not the quality of the writing, it's not the subject matter, there's just a disconnect between me and the characters.

It's still a five star book that will enthrall someone else.

My thanks to Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book.

Seasons of an Amish Garden

I've read several heavy-duty books in a row and needed to lighten up my reading.  Seasons of an Amish Garden filled the bill perfectly.  I love Amy Clipston's Amish fiction books and this olio of four novellas matches the quality of Amy's other writings--engaging, entertaining, and enriching for the soul.

There are four novellas to match the four seasons of the year and each novella focuses on one couple, and the obstacles that the couple has to overcome. 

Katie Ann believes that Mandy's dating her brother is detrimental to their friendship.  Her best friend has become forgetful of obligations because all she can see is Ephraim.  When a new boy joins the group planting a garden in memory of a neighbor's husband, he just might be the distraction Katie Ann needs.

Clara and Jerry are becoming close, but Jerry isn't a member of the church yet. 

Tena has been traumatized by an Englischer, but when one shows up, another of the group, wants to allow him to stay in Emma's barn.  Tena can't get past what happened and is truly afraid, but Wayne wants her to trust him about the man.

Mandy and Ephraim are planning their wedding, but when Ephraim's sister and her husband show up to move into their parents' home, Mandy thinks this is the perfect time to move their wedding back a bit.  She needs more time to plan and Ephraim thinks she just doesn't want to marry him anymore.

In the first novella, a sales stand is built to sell baked goods and vegetables.  There are many cookies, brownies, pies, and other yums sold throughout the four stories and all the proceeds go to the local homeless shelter. 

This is a relaxing read with five stars, two thumbs up, and a peanut butter pie for your honey.

My thanks to Zondervan publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Flights of Fancy? Escape from Bondage

Jen Turano writes historical fiction with a healthy dose of humor.  Her heroines tend to find themselves in iffy circumstances, either by their own design or by someone else's plans for their own lives.  That's just what happened with Isadora Delafield in Flights of Fancy. 

In an effort to get away from the duke her mother wants her to marry, she runs away to Pennsylvania and ends up at Glory Manor applying for a job as a house keeper.  Ian MacKenzie decides to take her on a trial basis to help take care of his Aunt Birdie and Uncle Amos, the four foster children they have taken under their wings, and the assortment of animals still living on his farm. 

In the meantime, there are several mishaps happening on his farm and spreading to other nearby farms. Ian knows there is someone behind all the shenanigans and that someone is trying to run all the farmers off their land for the mine-able coal.

The more Ian is around Isadora, the more attached he becomes to her. The only thing is she's hiding her true identity, because she's an heiress and she wants to marry for love, not for his love of her money.  When he first finds out who she truly is, he feels duped.  As he thinks it over, he realizes she may have had her reasons, and now he has things to do.

This is a five star book with two thumbs up and a rescue from a kidnapper.

Bethany House and NetGalley.com provided the galley I read. 

The Secrets of Paper and Ink

Lindsay Harrel writes tight knit prose with consistent plot movement and exquisitely developed characters.  They have real life problems and face real-world dilemmas. 

Her cast in The Secrets of Paper and Ink contains few players, but they are so likable they become friends (with one exception). 

Sophia Barrett is a woman's counselor who had experienced her own tragedy and cannot remain in her office--she has too much of her own healing to do.  When she finds an ad for an apartment in Cornwall that includes working at a bookstore for part of her rent, she has to at least try for the apartment.

Ginny Rose is the American owner of a bookstore in Cornwall, England. She is having difficulties making ends meet so she advertises an apartment that is upstairs from the store.  The resident will help out in the store in lieu of part of the rent. 

Emily Fairfax is the author of a journal from the 1800s that Sophia finds while cleaning out one room of the bookstore.

Garrett Rose is the estranged husband of Ginny who moved out to "go find himself" in London.

William Rose is Garrett's brother who helps Sophia track down the author of the journal and all the information about her that they can find.

Steven is a friend of Ginny's and Garrett's (although, he's not liking Garrett's actions of late) and helps Ginny to figure out ways to make the bookstore more profitable, and he helps her to update her website.

Lindsay does a wonderful job of making it easy to envision where the characters are, and to understand their motivations for all of their actions. One thing she does is to note her previous book. This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a journal found in a dusty bookstore.

I want to thank Thomas Nelson for allowing me to read and review this book and to NetGalley.com for providing the galley I read.

A Silken Thread

A Silken Thread resonated with me unexpectedly.  Laurel's siblings (all six of them) got together with Laurel and decreed that she would remain unmarried and take care of their mother in her dotage. My dad's parents and two of his brothers tried to make the same decree on him, but the difference is, he'd already found his bride and the wedding was not too far into the future.  My dad had one brother who stood up for him and told the rest that it was not fair for them to enjoy their families while refusing to allow Dad to have the same chance. Dad and the one brother built a house for Dad's parents to live in and they took care of his parents until the oldest brother thought he was better able to do so and moved them in with him.

Now, back to the book. The Cotton Expo has come to Atlanta to promote cotton and enhance the role of cotton in daily life.  But one grower wants to showcase silk and how it's grown and harvested.  They need someone who can weave and operate a loom to be part of the display.  Laurel and her mother weave with cotton and wool to make lengths of fabric or rugs or other useful items, so Laurel applied for the weaving job.  The weaving job allows Laurel to meet two very disparate young men who both vie for her heart and her hand. 

Kim Vogel Sawyer is one of the most highly regarded Christian fiction authors in my opinion.  Her writing style is engaging and compelling, her characters are real and believable, the conflict is easily plausible and the way it works out supremely satisfying.  Of everything I've read by Kim, her writing quality increases with each book I read. 

Five stars, two thumbs up, and some woven silk for a bow.

I wish to thank Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Memories Light the Corners of My Mind

I was offered the first chapter of this book by Rachel Hauck to read and review, but one chapter alone does not give the whole feel and does not really give a full insight of the book.  I usually read a book over three or four nights right before I go to sleep, but this book was so compelling, I finished it in two nights.

Beck Holliday is a NYPD sergeant who has blanks in her memories of her life growing up, especially since her father died in 9/11. 

Bruno Endicott is a sports agent who is trying to build his business from the ground up and fight the negative press of his former employer.

Everleigh Callahan was a neighbor of Bruno's and Beck's (during the summer).  She was the one who spent time with Bruno and Beck every summer until Beck's father died. She was a kind, grandmotherly type woman who loved children with her whole heart.

Beck works the night shift and with her partner, they go after a "perp" who is selling drugs in one of New York City's economically depressed neighborhoods. She goes beyond the regulations when she punches him in the face after he was already cuffed.  She gets a reprimand and four weeks suspension.  About this same time she finds that Everleigh has passed away and left her entire estate to Beck.  This is the first turn in the road that leads to Beck's memories and leads her home to her Heavenly Father.

This is more than a Five Star book, but that's all they will let me give it.  Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a memory restored.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

With Winter's First Frost

I've read many of Kelly Irvin's Amish Fiction books and this is the one that has every single character Kelly has produced--well almost.  I must say that if this book were to be produced into a play, it would take a whole Amish settlement to fully fill the cast.  But the play would be entertaining for sure.

Playing the leading lady would be Laura, a widow of some years, with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  Playing the leading man is Zechariah, a crotchety old widower with children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Among the supporting cast are the sons and daughters of Laura and Zechariah, along with their children and grandchildren.  The plot is rife with the cares and foibles of the characters.  It moves at a pretty good clip, keeping the reader engaged and involved to the very last page. For instance, granddaughter Tamara's jumping the fence, and Hannah's unborn baby.  The biggest plot issue is whether two elderly people can find love again after raising families and knowing the love of a good spouse.  It's all here.  All you have to do is read the book.

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a gingerbread cookie for your hot cocoa

My Thanks to Zondervan Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

X Marks the Spot

Liz Johnson writes a whiz bang of a book.  She includes mystery, comedy, drama, and daily life adventures.  A Sparkle of Color is all of these and more and it will keep the reader involved from the very first page until the maps in the back of the book (I say that tongue in cheek, but maps are a pretty important part of the book.)

Millie is taking care of her Grandma Joy the best way she knows how under Millie's circumstances.  Joy has dementia and Millie wants her safe and cared for, but the home where Joy is residing is taking all of Millie's money and now she has to move Grandma Joy to another, more expensive home.

Ben's mother spent Ben's childhood bilking gullible people out of their hard-earned money.  Ben has made it his job to repay those she cheated. 

Ben and Millie meet working at the Chateau on St Simon's Island.  Ben works as a security guard, while Millie portrays a guest at the Chateau.  Millie's great-grandmother was a guest at the Chateau in 1929 right before the stock market crashed.  Joy had told Millie that Great-Grandma Ruth had kept a diary and it was still at the Chateau, and there is a treasure buried somewhere on the property. 

When Millie is looking for the diary in the library, she gets caught by Ben for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Thus begins the partnership between Ben and Millie to find the treasure and the second diary that Ruth had written.

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a map to find the treasure.

I want to thank Revell Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book, and for publishing such quality fiction.

Burning Fields

The year is 1948, the war is over, but racism is alive and well in Australia.  Some Italians have moved into the sugar plantation next to the one owned by Rosie Stanton's family.  Rosie's dad dislikes that the Italians have moved into their area of Australia. 

Rosie has come home to find that her family's farm is deep in debt and the farm manager that her father has trusted for years has absconded with the payroll and left town.  Rosie sets about trying to overcome her father's prejudices and take over the books.

Next door, Rosie has met Tomas and his family and has come to love them all, but her father's mindset stands in the way of her happiness because Tomas is Italian. 

Tragedy is the only way this book can come out to any reasonable conclusion and to bring all the characters together in unity.  Alli Sinclair writes with unusually high quality in her plot, characters, and settings. 

This is a five star book with two thumbs up and some cane sugar to sweeten your day.

My thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Amish Midwives and Secrets

Leah is Old Order Amish, but she's working to get certification as a midwife.

Kyle used to be Amish until an accident several years ago.  Now he is a doctor and the doctor from his little home town wants him to come back and take over his practice.

There are problems with being Old Order and getting a certification as a midwife.  The Ordnung does not allow it.

Kyle doesn't like the way Leah treats her patients with herbs and sweet words.  Leah doesn't like his bullying ways.

Rachel J Good has written a sassy book taking place in the Amish world.  Leah isn't afraid to stand up to Kyle and reintroduce him to the world of the Amish.  Both Kyle and Leah have their own secrets and want to tell each other, but they dance around the words they need to say to get their points across.  This book has happy moments, sad moments, and everything in between all woven into one cohesive story that is hard to put down.

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a good doctor to argue with.

My thanks to Hachette Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Light Over London

When I saw that this was a time slip book about World War II, I decided I HAD to read it.  I was not disappointed.  It contains everything a good book should:  no formulas, but mysteries, humor, and just a bit of romance.  

Cara is helping her boss evaluate catalog the antiques in an estate for possible sale in his antique shop.  In going through the pieces of furniture, Cara finds a diary dating back to 1942.  It becomes an obsession for Cara to find the owner of the diary and find out the history and what happens after the diary ends.  

It takes a lot of research and digging to find out the facts behind the entries in the diary.  Cara finds help through her next door neighbor, Liam, and Liam finds friendship and more in Cara.  

Julia Kelly has written a top notch novel that kept me up way past my bedtime.  This is definitely a five star book, two thumbs, and a mysterious diary to stir up your imagination. 

My thanks to Gallery Books for allowing me to read and review this book. 

Do You Dare?

The MISSadventure Brides Collection: 7 Daring Damsels Don’t Let the Norms of Their Eras Hold Them Back

Usually Barbour Publishing will gather the best of the best for their collections.  The time era begins in the 1800s and goes to the Great Depression.  Some of these novellas do not have the same quality of writing that the others do.  Overall, the average would be a four-star book. 

One of the "misses" goes fur trapping in light of her father's death.  Another raises llamas in spite of her father's objections, still another goes on a cross-country road trip after learning to take down and put a car back together again. Regardless of what society thinks is right, these seven girls find themselves embarked on adventures with pitfalls and pratfalls to entertain the most jaded reader.  

Readers will find romance, mystery, adventure, and lots of entertaining humor.  It's worth the time to read the ones you like, and cherry-pick through the rest of them. 

My thanks to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. 

Love on a Limb

This is by far the saddest book I've read in a while.  There were few pages that did not have me in tears. I've not encountered Laurie Lewis' writings before and this one is not the kind of book to read on the first time with a new author.

Matt Grayken is being treated for leukemia and he wants to make plans for the end of his life.  This is his third round with the evil disease.

Mikaela Compton is an oncology nurse that Matthew asks to marry him.

Between the two of them, they write a contract for how things are going to go for the marriage. Neither of them planned on falling in love. 

Many times during the novel, the plight of Matt's disease brings the tears, and then some poignant moments bring tears, some angry moments bring tears. There are a few moments that bring smiles, but the emotions are real and that is a nod to the writer for the quality of her work.

This book is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a box of tissue to help you get through.

My thanks to Books Go Social for allowing me to read and review this book.

The Amish Sweet Shop

Kensington Publishing puts out a lot of high quality Amish fiction that other publishers don't.  And the stories are always fodder for a reader's sweet tooth.  This collection is no different.

In the first novella, the sweet shop's owner played matchmaker between her son and a hired girl.

In the second, Sadie feels that she's really too ugly to be courted because of burns from a barn fire.  While Valentine's Day is coming soon, little gifts start showing up on the back porch of the quilt shop where Sadie works.  Sadie believes her friend and boss is putting the gifts on the stoop, but actually it's Adam who works next door who wants Sadie to take a second look at herself.

In the last novella, Hannah loses her husband in a construction accident, she finds out she's pregnant, the owners of the hardware store where she works want to sell the store, a stranger comes in who wants to buy it; but neither Hannah or the stranger have the total down-payment the owners want.  The obstacle is the stranger is not Amish, but he was raised Amish and is now faced with the decision if he would actually take the kneeling vow and join the church.

This is a five star collection, two thumbs up, and a piece of melt in your mouth fudge.

My thanks to Kensington Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

The Runaway Brides Collection

Barbour Books always collects the best authors for their anthologies and The Runaway Brides is no different.

There are nine stories in this book and each of the stories include a bride being forced into an unwanted marriage by family members (most usually the fathers).  The grooms are either totally unknown to the bride or are in some way detestable to the brides. The circumstances are so bad that the brides take matters into their own hands and sneak away the best way they can, some as mail order brides, some as women looking for jobs, some as nannies and caretakers.  BUT while they are running away from someone, they are running to what they know will be a different life, they are just not sure how it will play out.

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and the fastest train out of town.

My thanks to Barbour Books for allowing me to read this book.  Galley provided by NetGalley.com

The Light Before Day

Suzanne Woods Fisher writes incredible Amish Fiction and now she has branched out into writing about the beginnings of the Quaker faith, especially on Nantucket Island. She writes with a depth of understanding that is fun to read.

Mehitabel (or Hitty) and her twin brother Henry have inherited their grandmother's estate, not because of any closeness they had with their grandmother, but because the rest of the relatives ranked lower on her scale than Hitty and Henry.  The only thing is that she put some conditions on their inheritance. The money has to be used to better the island and not get into the hands of one specific relative. They also have to be married before she would have turned eighty and the spouses must have "the Look" of being related. 

The lawyer helping them with the estate is a bit shady, or maybe even a whole lot shady.

The Light Before Day is one of those books that hooks the readers and reels them in until the very last page, leaving them shaking their heads at the implications of all that's happened. Hitty and Henry are empathetic characters that will pull on the readers' heart strings.   Five Star Book, Two Thumbs Up, and a Cent School for preschoolers.

I want to thank Revell for allowing me to read and review this book, and NetGalley.com for providing the galley I read. 

Stitched with Love

Armed with an abundance of blue ribbon authors, Barbour Publishing put out a book that also coincides with my other major hobby--sewing.   All nine novellas have been previously published in smaller anthologies.  All nine novellas are just amazing.  Some weave quilting into the plot, and some weave clothing sewing, and both are interesting for me.

All of the stories take place in the 1800s except for one which is a post-WWII story.  All of these stories involve finding the true loves of the ladies' lives.

Like I said, all have been published before, and I have included the other titles they were published in.  All of them are worth Five Stars, which makes Stitched with Love a Five Star, two thumbs up, and a quilt made with wisdom and prayer.

My thanks to Barbour Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Wunderland

I've not read any books by Jennifer Cody Epstein and for me, this was not a nice introduction to her works.  It was somewhat ignoble, at least for what I was looking for.  There were insights of wartime Germany, but the overall plot was dark and foreboding throughout the whole book. 

Ilse and Renate were friends and assumed they were of full German blood.  The real test comes when Renate finds that her father is Jewish and she finds she's half Jewish.  She does escape just before Ilse is forced to "rat her family out" to the Gestapo.  

There is no love lost between Renate and Ilse after this.  Ilse has a mindset that revolves around herself, and she can see no farther than the end of her nose.  

Renate's mindset is one of a victim who is always picked on and bullied. 

There is one more character who is left to sort out the mess that Isle left behind and basically figure out who she is.  

This book ranks three stars from me.  It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't wonderful either. 

My thanks to Crown Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book. 

Miles to Go

Connor and Mallory are soon to celebrate their first anniversary, except Connor wants a
divorce.  His father is dying of a genetically passed disease, his brother also had the disease and he just "knows" he's got it too even though he's never been tested for it. To save Mallory the pain of taking care of him, he's decided to leave her. But he's got a commitment to keep for his business--one that could make or break his business.  He's got to road test a teardrop camper for RoadRave and their ad campaign #justaddhumans. 

To make matters worse, they have become respite foster care providers for Connor's partner's nephew.  He's eleven years old and considered at risk. Mallory has experience working with at risk youth and she's willing to take on the boy, but Connor isn't so sure.

Cynthia Ruchti writes with the real world in mind.  She brings in real world problems that people deal with every day.  These characters are real, the adventures are believable, and the attitude of the eleven-year-old is spot on.  In some respects, I'd love to take the trip where everything is random and unknown. 

I have to give Miles from Where We Started five stars, two thumbs up, and a teardrop trailer.  #Justaddhumans.

My thanks to Gilead Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Reason to Breathe

I have long loved Deborah Raney's books. They are filled with relatable characters, humor, wonderful settings, and real-world issues.  Her newest offering has set up a series that I cannot wait for more episodes.

Phee Chandler is the oldest sister, and has just helped her sisters bury her mother. Then her father leaves with the Hospice nurse, leaving Phee, Joanna, and Britt to muddle on alone. Oh, and they have to vacate the house, but they have money from her mother's inheritance.  Phee's father asks his second in command at work, Quinn, to help his daughters find a place to live and that they could afford.  Quinn found a piece of property with a cottage and two cabins on the lake front and convinces the girls to pool their money to buy it. 

Quinn has fallen in love with Phee and is trying to find a way to show her his love, and pave the way for reconciliation among the girls and their father.

Because there are three sisters, the set up is there for two more novels.  It is apparent from the very  beginning that this is the intent of the author.  Her storytelling is smooth and engaging.  I give this book five stars, two thumbs up, and a lakeside cottage.

My thanks to Gilead Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Who I Am With You

 Robin Lee Hatcher writes excellent novels.  I don't always like her subject matter, but that's a matter of personal taste.  Who I Am with You takes on a modern day woman whose husband killed himself and their daughter by his reckless driving. It also takes on a media consultant for a woman running for office who had information from her past leaked to the press.

Jessica and Ridley both hide out in the southwestern Idaho mountains--as luck would have it--next door to each other. Jessica is pregnant with her late husband's baby and just lives in her house and continues working at her art business. 

At her grandmother's funeral, Jessica is given her great great grandfather's Bible. At this point, the story goes back and forth between modern day and the Great Depression.  The only criticism I have for this book is that Robin's transitions are abrupt and lack smoothness that leads from one era to another and from one generation to another. 

Still in all there are parallels between the two generations and the growth of faith among all the characters. This is a solid 4 star book.

Legacy of Mercy

Lynn Austin writes the most compelling books and I find them engaging and enlightening. In this sequel to Waves of Mercy, Anna has gone back to Chicago with a serious disquiet in her soul about her upcoming wedding and marriage with William Wilkerson.  Her parents are struggling financially and her marriage to the banking heir will solve a lot of their issues.  

Back in Holland, Michigan, Anna's Oma, Geesje is helping with a new family from the Netherlands--a Dominie, and his granddaughter who'd been orphaned in a fire. The Dominie preaches a fire and brimstone life, even at his granddaughter.  

The one thing Anna has in common with the young girl is that she, too, was orphaned when the ship that was carrying her mother and her sank. She was adopted by the man who saved her life and his wife.  Her adoption set her apart from the teen.  

While Anna's and Corina's stories parallel in the book, there are divergences and set these lovely young women apart. The differences make the book stand out as a great novel to read.  Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a trip through genealogy to find some answers. 

My thanks to Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book. 

Third Strand of the Cord

This is not my usual review style, but there are just too many important things to say about this book.  Third Strand of the Cord is mostly invisible, but is there to help with all the slings and arrows of the enemy.  The enemy makes his appearance in the form of Bryan, Caroline's ex. Bryan strikes at everything Caroline loves, especially her son, Trent.  Bryan is abusive, short tempered, and has his sights set on political greatness and will nothing short of perfection stand in his way.

Caroline needs help with Trent, his Down's syndrome has kept him delayed in his scholastic endeavors, his behavior is that of a child half his age.   Instead of finding help with the school district, she finds help in the form of a karate teacher named Lee.  Lee shows Caroline how she's holding Trent back.  He begins to show Trent how to do things for himself, simple things like peeling an orange, and more difficult things like vacuuming the house.

The devil that prowls like a roaring lion seeking to destroy Caroline is Bryan.
Lee is the one who helps her put on her spiritual armor.
Her neighbor, Sharron, is the one who stands with Caroline in prayer, like Aaron and Hur stood with Moses.

Catherine Richmond also treats several social ills and some social mores:

• domestic abuse
• verbal abuse
• physical abuse
• stigmas for birth defects
• using children as pawns in divorce cases

This is beyond a five star book, with two thumbs up, and sign language lessons for communication

My thanks to BooksGoSocial for allowing me to read and review this book and to NetGalley.com for providing the galley I read. 

When the Heart Sings

This is one of the darkest books I've read--in tone, and in subject matter.  It was tough to read of some of the unspoken atrocities of World War II.  The Germans invaded Poland and took the country's men to work in the factories making weapons for the German War Machine.  This is where we meet Natia and Teodor as they have received their letters telling them where to report. The men in the factory are not allowed to know what they are making.  The men are treated as slaves and "less thans."  Natia's father, brother, and sister are also in the factory prison. Natia was noticed by the wife of the officer in charge of the factory and brought to his home to act as a maid and cook.  As she ran errands, she'd walk by the factory and sing, hoping her Teodor would hear her.

Liz Tolsma has had to spend hours and hours of research in order to make this plot follow a plot line that makes sense.  Natia went from singing her love to not being able to sing at all.  With the help of her employer, Natia finds her song again.

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a song for your heart

Thanks to Gilead Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

In Times Gone By

Tracie Peterson weathers out the storm of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake in her final book of this series.  Kenzie's former fiance shows up "still wanting to marry her." Caleb visits Kenzie's family and brings them back to San Francisco.  Corruption is still rampant in San Fran and Caleb still wants to dig it out and eradicate it from the city.  Tracie Peters knows her characters, her settings, her history, and her research.  She especially knows how to pull this all together into a cohesive novel or series of novels. 

Here's how it all plays out:  Caleb's sister Camrianne marries Patrick Murdock.  Judith finds her family only to lose them in the quake.  She ends up marrying Caleb.  Kenzie works for Micah as a nurse, and finally comes to realize she loves him.

There is so much I have left out of this review, but there just isn't enough time to give it the full treatment it deserves.  It is just a captivating series of novels that is hard to put down once you pick it up.  Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, some special chocolates from Ghiradelli.

My thanks to Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book and this series.

In Dreams Forgotten

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!  The dream is Judith's dream for a family.  The parents who raised her have passed away and she wants to find the remainder of her family if at all possible. 

The year is 1906.  The Place is San Francisco.  The overarching event is a massive earthquake that devastates the entire city.  The characters are continuing the story begun in Hidden Places (reviewed here).

In Hidden Places, Camrianne Coulter falls in love with Patrick Murdock.  Now the girls are trying to get Caleb to notice Judith, because she fell in love with him at first sight. 

Not many characters have changed, a few new ones have been temporarily added.  Caleb is still fighting corruption, Patrick still wants his business back, Judith still wants to find her family remnants, and Kenzie wants to just lick her wounds.

Tracie Peterson still has a masterful touch in bringing these characters to life and giving a glimpse into the world of San Francisco in 1906.  In Dreams Forgotten, Tracie shows that not all dreams need to be forgotten, but God may have a different dream for you. 

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a dream come true.

My thanks to Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book.  The galley I read was supplied through NetGalley.com.

A Seat by the Hearth

Priscilla Allgyer left home and moved to Baltimore to get out from under her father's hyper-criticism.  But what she did was jump from the frying pan into the fire. She got involved in a relationship with a man who physically abused her.  In desperation, she takes her six year old son and goes back to Lancaster.  In order for her to stay, her father lays down some rules:  she must re-join the church, serve her shunning time, and find a husband.

Mark Riehl is the first face she sees when she returns to town.  Mark has always had the reputation of being a flirt--always chatting up the other ladies to the point that two of the ladies believe he is going to ask them to marry him.  Oh yeah, he also works for Yonnie Allgyer--Priscilla's father. 

Mark tried to get Priscilla to talk to him, to open up to him, and allow him to share her burdens.  He found her in the barn crying and was trying to talk to her there and she was trying to get away from him, but her sleeve got caught on a nail and tore. That is when Yonnie and John, the bishop, come in and find them together.  Yonnie demands that they set the soonest wedding date possible.

Once Priscilla agrees to marry Mark, Yonnie has a self-satisfied look about him.  He had manipulated the situation to his desires.  His daughter is no longer his problem. 

Amy Clipston does her research on the Amish life and makes the research come alive in her characters.  A Seat by the Hearth is one of those slices of Amish life.  My favorite part is when Mark comes in on Yonnie's tirade on Priscilla.  He rips Yonnie a new one for his treatment of Priscilla and moves her out from under her father's thumb.

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a man who will stand up for you in all circumstances.

My thanks to Zondervan Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Stealing Time

Barclay Pearce is known as one of the best thieves in London and it is his skills that make him invaluable to the Royal Navy.  He gets his assignments from a man only known as V.  He has taken in a plethora of street urchins (read "orphans") and began to teach them things that are more important than pick-pocketing, general stealing, and living by their wits. 

Evelina Manning has been fighting for women's rights and been involved with the suffrage movement.  It is through her efforts that she met Barclay.  She had little idea how important this meeting was to Barclay.  He needed to meet up with a clock maker and Evelina's father was a clock maker--one of the best in London.

When I first began this novel, it seemed so familiar to me, like I was reading it a second time.  The characters were like meeting old friends again. There was a logical reason for that--this is book three of a series of World War I spy novels by Roseanna M White.  She has the knack for working romance into her spy novels, or maybe it's working the spying into her romance novels.  It's hard to say.

An Hour Unspent also includes the lives of Barclay's "adopted" brothers and sisters, one of which dares him to steal an hour off Big Ben.  It also relates the story of Evelina's mother and her aunt Beatrice, especially Beatrice's overbearing, insulting of Evelina's family. 

This is a five star book with significant historical references -- like when wristwatches came into common use, two thumbs up, and a clock maker to help you steal an hour from Big Ben.

My thanks to Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book.  The galley I read was provided through NetGalley.com.

The Teacher's Bride

I absolutely adore Kathleen Fuller's Amish novels.  She writes believable characters with a twist of humor. In The Teacher's Bride, Ruby is the kind of woman who acts without thinking through the consequences of her actions. 

Christian is the local teacher who never moves without a thorough examination of all possible consequences. Christian wants a wife and he has a specific girl in mind, but all of his attempts fall through.

Ruby wants a husband, but she's willing to set aside her wants to help Christian become approachable toward the girl he wants to court.

Sometimes I will cherry-pick my reading list to find something a bit lighter in depth.  This book fit that particular attribute to a T.  It was hard to put down and kept me involved in the story from beginning to end.  Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a raspberry pie.

My thanks to Zondervan Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

The Best of Intentions

Grace Abernathy has been sent to Toronto by her mother to see her widowed sister and

her sister's baby.  When she lands in Toronto, she finds that her sister has passed away and the baby's father's family has taken in the baby.  Grace wants to get into the home where her nephew is being kept and see how he is being treated.  Quite by accident, she meets the sister of the man who is the official guardian for the baby and the sister tells her they are looking for a nanny.

Susan Anne Mason has written a very nice, but very predictable novel.  Grace meets her nephew's guardian--Andrew Easton and feels an immediate attraction.   The flow of the story is

• girl meets boy
• girl gets boy
• girl does something really stupid
• boy's parents interfere
• girl and boy break up
• girl gets boy back again. 

Three stars. 

My thanks to Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book.  The book was provided through NetGalley.com. 

The Christmas Heirloom

One heirloom has been passed from generation to generation, from Lady Densby to Maddie Winslow. Lady Densby gave the broach to her companion, Sarah Gooding.  From Sarah the tradition began to hand it down mother to daughter.  After Sarah was given the broach in England, she immigrated to the States.

Move forward a few generations for Ruth Albright to use her broach as collateral for a loan, in order to rent a house for her daughter and her.  When she goes in every week to make a payment to redeem the broach, the owner of her house keeps trying to cancel her debt.

Now it's post World War II, and Fleeta Brady is the county's crack shot who wants to own a gun shop.  When Hank comes to town and beats her in the turkey shoot, he makes a connection with Fleeta.  When Fleeta takes her life savings to buy a gun shop, she's finds out she's been taken by a con-artist. But Hank was taken with her and comes back to see her.  He finds the lukenbooth in the nest of a jay bird that has been making a nuisance of itself.

Maddie Winslow has been paired with her best friend's widower in the Mission: Christmas to help a family in the community have a good Christmas.  She's been in love with this man since she was in high school.  When she finds the luckenbooth, she researches how it came down to her. Her grandmother, Fleeta to find out its history and the legend that goes with it--that the owner of the broach finds love.

The Christmas Heirloom is a great collection of novellas by well-loved authors who ply their craft with quality and attention to detail.  Sometimes these novella collections can become trite or sickeningly sweet, but these four stories are quite realistic and quite intriguing.

I appreciate Bethany House Publishing for providing the galley through NetGalley.com, so that I could read and review this book.  Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and an Heirloom Broach to hand down to your daughter.

The Sound of Thunder

Jan Drexler is starting a new series--the Amish of Weaver Creek and it is going to be hard to wait for the second book of the series to come out.  Her first book in the series: The Sound of Distant Thunder is the kind of book that makes the reader think of difficult issues and how to deal with them. 

Through the characters of Katie Stucky and Jonas Weaver are faced with such a dilemma.  Jonas and Katie want to get married, but the sounds of war are fast upon them and when the draft is initiated, Jonas is wondering what to do about it.  He knows slavery is wrong, but according to the Amish rules, taking arms to fight is equally wrong.  The decision is taken out of his hands when his brother is drafted, and Jonas goes in his stead. Jonas' experiences in the war help him to find a place where he can be useful without taking up arms against another.

While Jonas is gone, Katie stays home to help take care of her parents' homestead.  Her mother goes through a depression every year that worries Katie, and she does all she can to help her mother out.  During all this, Katie's father dies and adds more turmoil to the Stucky's lives.

Jan Drexler imbues her characters with a liveliness and believability that make this book hard to put down.

This is a five-star book, with two thumbs up, and a quiet place that brings peace in spite of the war.

Revell Publishing provided this galley through NetGalley.com for me to read and give my honest opinions.

Lady of a Thousand Treasures

Eleanor has been tasked with chronicling the antiquities of one of her parents, Baron Lydney.  She is to determine whether his remaining son is worthy of the collection.  When she was younger she was in love with the son, Harry.  This book takes the reader to England, and Italy, and back again. 

It took me a while to "get into" the book, and truly I never did.  Sandra Byrd is a great author, but in order to get the details into the book, she let the plot drag. I am not going to say this is a "bad" book, it could be that I was having a bad day when I tried to read it.

Three Stars.

I want to thank Tyndale House Publishers for allowing me to read and review this book.

Amish Homecoming

Zondervan has pulled together four novellas by four expert authors on Amish life.  They are also very good at writing romance stories in the Amish culture. This collection tells stories of prodigals, of people who moved from their community to another and then come back, of people who leave their faith and return to it. 

Some of the characters have been abused by others in the novel, some have lost people precious to them, some have bridges to build, others have to find home.

Eva comes home with a little girl to meet her parents.  She doesn't expect to stay long, there is too much bad blood between her mother and her.

Sarah comes home after Hurricane Harvey destroys where she lives.  She, too, has a little girl, and the father of the girl is one of the first people she sees. 

Irene comes back to her Amish community after her Englisch husband dies.  She is living with an older couple helping them around the house for room and board.  Their son comes by and sees Irene as taking advantage of his parents.

Carolyn wants to open a bakery within two weeks.  Atlee Shetler has come to visit his friend Thomas, but wants to do something than just sit around.  He comes around to help her get the bakery ready to open. 

This is a five star collection, two thumbs up, and a chocolate orange twist.

I appreciate that Zondervan Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Catching Christmas

For the most part Terri Blackstock writes intrigue/mystery type stories. But this Christmas story is about finding the Spirit of giving and true spirit of Christmas.

Finn is a cab driver who gets called to Callie Bennett's home to give her a ride to the dr's office. When he comes back two hours later, she hasn't been moved from her place. He goes to the reception desk to make sure that Callie gets seen and then he takes her home.  For the next few days, Callie calls for Finn to take her wherever she wants to go, not realizing Callie is trying to find a man for her granddaughter, Sydney.  Finn is upset with Sydney for not taking care of her grandmother, and Sydney has this loser of a case to try in court and her bosses won't let her take time off from work to run the errands with her grandmother.

What both Finn and Sydney come to realize is that there are many more important things than jobs, and sometimes you have to set aside what's good to get what's better. Part of that is finding what purpose God has for your life, and part of that is doing what you can to fulfill that purpose.

Thomas Nelson allowed me to read this galley through NetGalley.com.  My only obligation is to share my honest opinions.

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a free ride in a cab.

Remedies for Christmas?

I've loved Cindy Woodsmall's writings for a while, and now she's collaborating with her daughter-in-law, Erin, and together they are making beautiful, novel music together.  I know Cindy best for her Amish fiction, and now that she's collaborating with Erin, her Amish fiction has taken a step up in the quality department.

The Christmas Remedy is the kind of book that reaches to the dark corners of the heart and awakens them. Holly works as a pharmacy technician by the permission of her bishop.  She did have to get her GED first, and now she's working toward her LPN degree to be more active in the health of the Amish people. With her nursing license, she could answer questions about the medications the doctors prescribed.

Because Holly delivers prescriptions for the Greene Pharmacy, she met Joshua Smucker.  He is a sweet Amish man who has a distinct interest in Holly.  Holly is equally interested but she's committed to her path of becoming a nurse, and she believes that precludes marriage.

Romance is not all that Cindy and Erin have put into this book, there is a bit of intrigue and investigation.  Someone has framed the pharmacist for filling prescriptions without a doctor's order, and it takes all the resources of the pharmacy to find out the truth.

This is a five star book, a quick read, two thumbs up, and a fried apple pie, the Amish Way.

Waterbrook/Multnomah provided the galley I read through NetGalley.com.  All they asked was a review with my honest opinion.

No One Ever Asked

No one ever asked if South Fork School District wanted to merge with the Crystal Ridge School District.

No one ever asked Camille if she wanted her husband to move out.

No one ever asked Anaya if she wanted to teach a predominantly white class.

No one ever asked Jen if she wanted her daughter to have an attachment disorder.

And no one ever asked the South Fork School District kids if they wanted long bus rides.

The year had opened up with promise, but deteriorated quickly when Camille's youngest daughter used a racial slur in class, and the principal wouldn't back up Anaya because of who the girl was.

Camille's oldest daughter broke up with her boyfriend and started hanging out with a boy from South Fork and caused a different kind of racial tension.

Life sometimes stinks and for the characters in this book, life stinks a lot and there's hardly any places in the novel where it doesn't.  But that doesn't mean there's no redemption in the book.  There is a lot of perseverance, overcoming, and taking honest looks at what life really is. 

When I opened this galley to read, I knew one thing, it was a contemporary book--that was what I wanted. I wasn't sure I wanted a book of angst, but Katie Ganshert made it work.  It was hard to put down, it was hard to read, but not putting it down won out.  It is a five star book, just like the rest of Katie's books. Two Thumbs Up, and a PTA room mother who gets a long look at herself and doesn't like what she sees.

Waterbrook Multnomah provided the galley for me to read and review.  The opinions expressed here are my own.

Sadie, Sadie, Pretty Lady

Sarah Price has written a series of books that take on Grimm's Fairy Tales.  Her latest is
based on Snow White.  Sadie, an Amish retelling of Snow White, follows true to the plot lines of the story. 

Sarah's mom passed away a while ago, and three years ago, her father remarried.  Rachel was excessively jealous of Sadie's relationship with her father, Sadie's looks, Sadie's youth, you name it, Rachel found a reason not to like it.  She found reasons to keep Sadie home from gatherings of the young people in the Amish district, extra chores, and ultimately finds a man for Sarah to marry.  This is not the man Sarah would have chosen for herself, but Rachel promised him that she would marry him.

It comes to a head and Sarah runs away deep into the forest behind her father's farm.  She fell asleep just inside a stone wall and wakes up inside a stone cabin.  The cabin belongs to the to the Grimm brothers and there are seven of them.  Sadie works throughout the day to clean the cabin and makes dinner for the men.  It is here that Frederick finds Sadie and sees how she's been treated.  When her stepmother brings her a chicken pot pie (laced with apple juice), Sadie thinks she is extending an olive branch until her throat closes up and she can't breathe.  Rachel knows that Sadie is allergic. 

Sarah Price has done an admiral job in making the story fit the fairy tale, even down to the poison apple--just by giving Sadie an anaphylactic allergy.  This is an easy book to read and has its enjoyable moments, but it will make the reader angry in places, because the storyline is so believable.

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and some bread for seven little men.

I appreciate Kensington/Zebra Publishing for supplying the galley I read through NetGalley.com

The Kitchen Marriage

Zoe has been forced out of her job as household cook for a society matron in New York.  She thinks she is answering an ad for a cook in Denver, but is actually answering a mail-order bride ad.  Nico, a street urchin, has tricked her into going to Denver to answer this ad and sneaks along with her.  He has adopted her as his sister.  The ad is for a bride for a man living in Helena, Montana.  When they arrive in Helena, Nico doesn't like the man who meets her at the train station.  Jakob Gunderson is half of a set of twins, the flighty half.  His brother, Izaak, is one to set a plan and follow it without much thought to fun.

Zoe is there for the purpose of falling in love with Jakob, but it doesn't work that way.  And when it comes down to choose, nothing goes the way it's supposed to.

Zoe does get to showcase her talents in the kitchen when Izaak's and Jakob's parents come home from a long trip.  My only criticism is that the recipes are not included in the galley I read.

Gina Wellborn and Becca Whitham have written a book with all the great elements: mystery, romance, overcoming obstacles, good guys, bad guys, and indomitable spirit.

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a praline to finish off a five star dinner.

My thanks goes to Kensington/Zebra Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Christmas in Whispering Pines

When I was young, my mother taught at a small school, the high school had maybe a total of thirty students for grades 9-12.  Every year, the junior and senior classes would each put on a play: a melodrama to be exact.  Melodramas consist of a good guy, a bad guy, a girl who is the prize in the competition between the good guy and the bad guy. 

When I started reading Christmas in Whispering Pines, it reminded quite a bit of those melodramas of my childhood.  The good guy is Clay Hunt, now the pastor of the local church in Whispering Pines.  One of the bad guys is the Langtry sisters' brother, Frank.  The girl caught in the middle is Emma Langtry. 

Clay's former wife and son were shot and killed by a different gang of bad guys.  Emma is an opera singer trying to bring music to the masses and has been on a grand tour of Europe singing.  These events make it a book of finding faith, of right conquering wrong, and love conquering all. 

Scarlett Dunn has done an adequate job in writing this book.  It just read too much like others I've read before.  Three Stars

My thanks to Kensington/Zebra Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Holiday Stitches

Three novellas about sewing in one form or another, three well-known authors who have honed their craft and produced some of the best novels I've read.  What surprised me most is reading a pre-quel to a series of books I've already read.

Barbour Books has really hit the right button with these three stories.  There are characters to love, characters to be annoyed with, characters who surprise, characters who touch the heart, and characters who turn you upside down.

These novellas take a bit more than an hour each to read.  The time era is late 1800s to early 1900s.  Each of the heroines are portrayed as talented with a needle and thread and because of that they have more opportunities in their worlds--marketable skills.

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a well sewn garment.

My thanks to Barbour Books for allowing me to read and review this book.  I received it through NetGalley.com

Return of the Song

Caroline Carlyle was waiting for her fiance to return from Guatemala when she got the news of his death.  She had been in the process of writing a song for their wedding and the interest in the song just went away.  She lives in a small town in Georgia, teaching piano to the children of the townspeople.  Her best friends in town are her landlords--Sam and Angel--they have rented her Angel's studio as an apartment to live in.

Caroline has three goals on her bucket list--to finish David's Song, to play on the piano she grew up with, and to find her purpose.  Her childhood piano is an antique concert grand that is worth more than $40,000.  All she knows is that her parents sold it to pay for her college degree.

She launches a search to find out who owns the piano now and meets up with Roderick Adair.  He offers to arrange for her to come to his Kentucky home and play a recital for his friends. When she gets to his place--a mansion in Kentucky, she finds out she will be playing for a large group of people.  But, she also finds peace she has been searching for since David died.

Phyllis Clark Nichols has added one more significant plot element to the story--a non-communicative autistic girl who can play piano just by hearing the song played.  Caroline sees more in Bella than most people would.

Return of the Song is such a tender book, well written, and leaves the reader waiting excitedly for the next book in the series.

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a song written just for you.

My thanks to Gilead Publishing for allowing me to read this book through NetGalley.com

A Rumored Fortune

Joanna Davidson Politano writes books with A Rumored Fortune
bit of mystery thrown in with the romance.  With her newest book, I wish it was better than it truly was. Tressa has been called back to the family holdings, called Trevelyan, her father has been proclaimed dead, and Tressa knows that he has a fortune set aside for her. 

Like other books in this genre, all the relatives and former fiances come crawling out of the woodwork for a piece of the treasure pie.  People who should have been trustworthy weren't, Tressa's father's doctor tried to kill Tressa, and the one man Tressa can really trust, she doesn't. 

With a few changes--names and settings, this could almost be any book of the romantic mystery genre.  Two stars is all I can give this book.   I would like to thank Revell for making this book available in NetGalley.com for me to read and review.

Just Fit to Be Tied

I heard this phrase quite a bit when I was growing up.  "How did she react when he told her that?"  "Oh, she was fit to be tied."  In other words, she was exasperated, aggravated, and irritated all at once. This is the theme of Debby Mayne's newest book in the Bucklin Family Reunion series--Fit to Be Tied.

Most of the main characters have chapters of their own to explain their emotions through the events of the book.  I wish I had read the first book of the series.  The two together would be a hoot. I may have to go back to read them back to back.

Sometimes the book seems disjointed as it moves from character to character, but at the end of the book, it has all come together.

The one criticism I have is that there are no recipes included for the delicious dishes that are described in the book.  Everyone knows that family reunions are all about the food and the relatives' fights. 

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a family reunion pot luck to tempt your tastebuds.

My thanks goes to Gilead Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

The Secret Is:

Lisa Jones Baker has written a series of Amish fiction that is fun, enlightening, and easy to follow.  The newest one in this series is Secret at Pebble Creek.  It dates chronologically after one of the returning characters has passed away.

Jessica inherited Sam's house and figures she can fix it up to sell and then she would be able to move closer to her job.  Eli, her next door neighbor, comes to do the remodeling on the house she wants and he finds there needs to be some remodeling on her heart.

Using the wisdom she poured into her other books, Lisa speaks Sam's wisdom through the people who knew and loved him.  Jessica soaks up this wisdom and Eli prays for her.  In the meantime, he's falling in love with her.

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a hidden secret just waiting to be found. 

I want to thank Zebra Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.