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.

The Mending

Often when I see the word "mending" I think about clothes that need a seam reinforcement or something like that.  That's not what this novel is about. 

Malinda has Crohn's Disease and she believes that excludes her from getting married or having children.  She believes the cost of her medications and possible surgery would put her completely out of any bachelor's market.  This theme runs throughout the book.  Malinda seems to be waiting for the next flare of her disease and can't see who she is beyond her disease.  In some ways I can relate to her struggles:  I too have a chronic disease and I work hard not to let it define me.  Malinda has let her condition define who she is. 

Susan Lantz Simpson has written a fairly good Amish fiction book that resonates with many readers. There is love, tension, complications, and a too helpful family.  A solid four star book. 

My appreciation goes to Kensington Press for allowing me to read and review this book.

A Simple Singing

Leslie Gould writes all kinds of romantic fiction, but the book I just read, this one is the absolute best I've read by her.

While the story revolves around Marie and Gordon and their romance, the biggest point that Leslie makes in this novel is that everything we do should revolve around pleasing God most of all.  If He has given us a talent or a gift, it is a sin not to use it.  People will come into our lives who will put up road blocks in our paths to living a life that pleases God. 

Leslie opens the book with James 4:17:   So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Marie's particular gift is perfect pitch.  She can pick out tunes and sing them note for note, her voice was angelic, but to use her voice or instruments went against the rules of the church. 

I really appreciate Leslie's emphasis on pleasing God instead of checking off a list of rules.   This is a five-star book, two thumbs up, and a song sung in perfect pitch.

I am very appreciative of Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book.

The Lady of Tarpon Springs

Zanna Krykos is the daughter of a Greek boatbuilder in Tarpon Springs, Florida.  Her best friend, Lucy's father made a deal with some Greek sponge divers, but he died before the contract could be completed. Zanna has offered to take over the day to day running of the sponging business.

Zanna's father wants Zanna to go to Greece with her grandmother to find a husband.  He thinks she should be married and giving him grandchildren, but she thinks she should be establishing her career as a lawyer. 

When the sponge fishermen arrive a day early, Zanna goes into overdrive to find a place for them to camp and get set up for the sponge diving.  She works closely with Nico who seems to be the head diver--sometimes at logger-heads with him, and sometimes in helpful agreement.

The fly in the ointment is a Mr Pappas who wants the Grecian divers to dive for a sunken ship instead of the sponges, hoping to find a great treasure. 

Judith Miller has brought to the pages of her novel some characters who consume the readers' imaginations and keep them enthralled from the beginning to the end.  There is some predictability to the plot, but it keeps the plot moving and the characters alive in the readers' minds.

This is a five-star book, two thumbs up, and the finest makeup sponge you've ever used.

My appreciation goes to Bethany House Publishers who allowed me to read this book and review it.