The Preacher's Bride Collection

Barbour Publishing knows how to pull authors together to make an entertaining book of individual novellas that capture the reader's imagination for an hour or two.  This is the one book that is easy to put down, after you finish reading the novella you are on. 

Each of these stories takes the reader back in time to lives that were simpler except for finding a husband.  It seemed to be the most important thing a woman needed to do with her life.  Every young bride in this book uses a different method for lassoing her future husband, but they are all successful in their quest.  One knits scarves and mittens for the soldiers stationed nearby, one exposes a crook for who he really is, one keeps a preacher from dying of snakebite on the Oregon trail, and there are more stories for reading and enjoying on a cold, rainy day.

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a blanket for cuddling up while you read.

My thanks to Barbour Books for allowing me to read and review this book.  I keep a book like this in my TBR pile to lighten up after reading a book with a heavy plot.

The Seamstress

The time is late 1700s, the place is France, the economy is depressed, the taxes are outrageous, and the conditions for farming are less than ideal.  Laurette and Renee are cousins who have been orphaned and have been taken in by a local sheep farmer, Emile Gagnon. Marcel is a friend to the girls, but he is also one raising up the people against the crown.

Marie Antoinette is clearly unaware of the ramifications of the actions of the king and her. This blindness to the plight of her people led to the French Revolution and to her losing her head.

Allison Pittman has taken a tough time in history and made it a compelling read.  I must say that this book will bring tears to your eyes.  It is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a whistle that will bring the dogs.

My thanks go to Tyndale House Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Daughters of the Northern Shores

Joanne Bischoff writes what is described as multilayered fiction.  Daughters of the Northern Shore is the second book of the Blackbird Mountain series.  There are many substories within this novel. 

Haakon has taken to the seas for the last four years, not thinking that Aven could have forgiven him--especially since he has not forgiven himself. 

Thor has been invited to participate in a study about people born deaf.  The study requires a blood draw, only Thor's has been taken with a contaminated needle giving him a case of Epidemic Jaundice (otherwise known as Hepatitis A).  It takes several weeks to get over the illness and that really messes with Thor since his Aven is expecting their first baby.

The Sorrels are still out to get the Norgaards since Haakon burned their barn holding a fair amount of hard cider.  The Norgaards and Sorrels are on opposite sides of a fence built during the war between the states, and that adds to the animosity between the two families.

To complete Haakon's story is Kjiersti, a widow  with five young children living in Norway and eking out a living with what little vegetables her garden will produce.  Even though his cabin has been burned down, he still wants to bring her to Blackbird Mountain.

Joyce has done an excellent job of bringing all these characters and substories together into one cohesive novel that reads like a biographical narrative.  This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a place of refuge for the whole family.

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

The Baggage Handler

When I read the "blurbs" on Amazon about this book, I see that the author, David Rawlings, is compared to Andy Andrews or David Gregory.  That comparison is absolutely spot on. 

The Baggage Handler seeks out people who are carrying around excess baggage and arranges to meet them through mix ups at the airport.  It seems to be an easy way to get people's attention.  In this episode, The Handler meets Gillian, Michael, and David and tries to get them to understand the extra baggage they are carrying. 

What Rawlings does through his book is to point out we all have our own special baggage, but we have to determine how we are going to handle it:

• Do we need to forgive someone? 
• Do we need to change the mirror we see ourselves in? 
• Do we need to live our own lives instead of letting someone else choose our lives for us?

Through the stories of Gillian, David, and Michael, The Baggage Handler gently shows each character what is needed to be able to lighten the baggage they carry around.  One of the characters chooses to carry his own baggage and not let go of it, so this book is not filled with happy endings, but it is the ending they choose.  In the same light, the baggage we carry has the same options for us.  We can choose to relinquish our baggage to the One who can handle it for us or we can choose to carry it ourselves and let it destroy us. 

This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a lighter load to carry. 

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

With This Pledge

Every time a Tamera Alexander books becomes available to review, I have to read it. So, when With This Pledge came up in my TBR pile and I pulled it up on my kindle and began to read.  I had read the "jacket blurb" and let it pass through my mind like through a sieve. So when I got into the book itself, I was in for a bit of a surprise.  Tamera has done her research well, this is truly an historical novel, there are real people and real events depicted in the novel.  Saying that, I must caution readers that this book isn't for the faint of heart.  The Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, is described in gory detail--especially in the aftermath of the battle, where the wounded soldiers are triaged. 

Lizzie Coulston is living with the McGavrock (sp?) family in the Carnton Mansion as a governess to their two young children, Hattie and Winder.  After the Battle of Franklin, Carnton Mansion was commandeered as a hospital for the men wounded in the battle. The doctor impresses on Lizzie to be his assistant for the surgeries he had to perform.  Through her work with the doctor, she met Captain Roland Jones and feels something for him from the very beginning, even though she had promised to marry someone else. 

Captain Jones is from Yalobusha, Mississippi, and owns a plantation and slaves.  Because of Lizzie's beliefs, they butt heads about the rightness and wrongness of owning slaves.  Lizzie is intelligent in her arguments and faithful to her beliefs. She gives Capt Jones plenty of fodder for thought. 

Lizzie is a girl who goes against the times and does  what she thinks is right, society be hanged.  Roland is a man who is used to the creature comforts and the riches that slavery brings him.  He prides himself on being fair and gentle with his slaves, but that doesn't change Lizzie's mind.

I have to say this is a five star book with two thumbs up, and a soda biscuit for your tea.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson for providing this book through NetGalley for me to read and review.

Hearts in Harmony

Mary met Levi when she was ten years old, going to the funeral of her father's Englisch friend.  She saw something in him, even at that young age.  Eight years later, she meets Levi again at the widow's house, each of them doing favors for their parents.  In going to the widow's house, they both befriend the widow, Adeline. 

Levi is one of ten siblings and the one who can most be excused from life at his parents' farm.  Mary is one of two girls in her family and is going to Adeline's house to help out.

Natalie is Adeline's only relative, but a distant one at that.   At the behest of her mother, she shows up to Adeline's place to find Adeline's non-existent money. 

Natalie, Mary, and Levi are all close in age and become friends with each other and friends with Adeline. Mary helped Adeline run her errands and took her for outings, Levi painted the outside of her house, and Natalie timed her visits to coincide with Mary and Levi to help out where she could.

When Adeline's health began to decline, the three friends became more and more concerned, until they found her passed out on the kitchen floor.  It was more than they could handle, but they discovered they could lean on God's grace.

Beth Wiseman does her research well and knows the Amish culture and how they will mix with the Englisch world.  Hearts in Harmony is a book about real people with real problems.  This book made me sad in a good way.  Adeline's health problem was the same problem my mother had when she died.  Her decline mirrored my mother's that I cried once again for the loss of my mother.

I want to thank Zondervan Fiction for allowing me to read and review this book.  It is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a buggy ride to the beach.

Silent Days, Holy Night

Julia is a precocious ten year old whose father is an attorney for the town's recluse.  The recluse lives in a mansion on the edge of town and has been the object of the town's gossip for years.

One time, Julia has to accompany her father to a business meeting with the recluse, Henry Lafferty the Second.  There is one thing about Mr Lafferty that Julia finds out the first time that Mr Lafferty is deaf.  Julia also finds a piano with true ivory keys and that is one thing she just cannot resist.  When she starts playing, Mr Lafferty wheels himself to the piano to feel the vibrations Julia is producing.  This is where Julia's and Mr Lafferty's friendship begins. 

Julia is a hungry learner, she goes home immediately to learn sign language so that the next time she goes to see Mr Lafferty, she can communicate with him.  From there, she begins to plan a Christmas show for Mr Lafferty with her choir at church.  In fact, she writes the play the children mime for Mr Lafferty. 

Phyllis Clark Nichols has written a beautiful story of cross-generational friendship that transcends time and circumstance. She has built into Julia a compassion rarely seen in today's society.  When Mr Lafferty gives Julia a name sign, it is truly one of the most exquisite moments in the book.

This is a five-star book, two thumbs up, and a name sign given to you by someone special.

My thanks to Gilead Publishing for providing the galley I read through NetGalley.com.  This review is my opinion alone.

Where the Heart Takes You

In the years before the Revolutionary War, a group of people migrated to western Pennsylvania.  Greta Scholtz was one of the emigres and one of many who lost family members on the ocean crossing.  She is living with a widow and helping her out in her cabin.  In the next cabin lives Jacob Miller.  At first he's very stand-offish and closed off to the community.  The elders of the community come to Greta and Jacob to try to marry them to each other. At first, both are very resistant to the idea. When Greta wants to adopt two young orphans, Jacob seems to be her only choice.  But as she gets to know him. . . 

Virginia Wise has written an historical Amish novel and gives us a peek into the Amish world pre-industrial revolution.  She makes her characters relatable, believable, and sometimes spoiled. Her setting is appropriate to the novel, the times, and the situation. This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and precocious twins to keep you entertained.

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