Summer by the Tides

I enjoy reading Denise Hunter books--they have well-thought--out plots, characters, and settings. Summer by the Tides is no different.

It's a little lighter than what I've been reading, but there are depths to be plumbed throughout the book. I absolutely loved it.

Maddy has been ignoring phone calls on her cell phone for a few days. She thought she was in her prime spot for her career to take off. Until she is betrayed by the man she thought was her boyfriend.  He threw her under the bus in order to take the promotion she thought was hers.

The calls she was avoiding were from her grandmother's next door neighbor to tell her that Gram was missing and he didn't know what to do.  He also called her sisters, who came in to sort through Gram's house and find clues to Gram's whereabouts.

The sisters have history together, as all sisters do, but their particular history doesn't include happy memories. Gram has planned this out so that the sisters will get together and work out their differences.

In this book, the reader will experience disappointments, hurricanes, and just a little bit of love.

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and reconciliation between sisters.

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

Courting Mr Emerson

Melody Carlson usually writes with a huge dollop of sweetness, but this book was written with sass and curmudgeonly behavior. 

Mr Emerson (George) teaches English at the local high school but because of budget cuts, he's been pushed into retirement.  It's not the most advantageous situation for Mr Emerson, but he's decided to make the best of it and try to carry on. 

Mr Emerson is driven by his routines and this hiccup in his routine has really sent him for a loop.  His next door neighbor really wants to engage him and he's really resistant to her advances.  But there is another lady who is trying to make a way into his life as well...one he went to high school with. And he's resistant, but not as steadfast as with the next door neighbor.

George has a house that once belonged to his grandparents and the house is filled with antiques and assorted clutter.  He hires his former classmate Willow West to clean it out and sort it out.  She takes his offer to the next level and sells most of the furnishings in the house and then hires renovators to come in and give the house a fresh new look.

Much of George's and Willow's relationship involves apologies on a fairly regular basis.  They both find ways to push the other's buttons, get offended, walk away, then come back with some kind of apology. 

I didn't find this to be one of Melody's better books.  The characters were certainly believable, but they weren't all that likable.  The book is intriguing enough to keep the reader involved, but just barely.   This is a three to four star book. 

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

A Faithful Gathering

Leslie Gould writes multi-generational Amish stories that sometimes have surprising endings. She does her research well and crafts a story that is not only entertaining but also informative.  Her characters have depth and dimension that enhance the settings and make the story all the more entertaining.  In the third novel of the Sisters of Lancaster County series, Leisel Bachmann has left her Amish faith to pursue a degree in nursing.  She was encouraged in her medical curiosity by her father but not by her mother.

Leisel has gone to Pittsburg to nursing school and has adopted too many of the Englisch ways for her mother to be happy.  She also has an Englisch boyfriend who has also attended nursing school with her. 

The night of her graduation, she gets a call from her sister that her other sister is in the hospital with excruciating stomach pains. Leisel packs up what she needs and goes home to see about her sister. 

While she is gone, her boyfriend enlists in the Air Force, much to her many objections.  She breaks up with him and then seeks comfort with her Aenti Suz.  Aenti Suz tells her some of the history of her family in the military service as conscientious objectors and gives her a new perspective on what her boyfriend has done.

This is a five-star book with two thumbs up and a nurse to help you through the storms.

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

Hide-N-Seek

Daphne Brightmoor is using Haven Manor as an orphanage where the young children there are cared for, educated, and loved.  Among the children is her own son--the product of a one-night stand after a masquerade ball.

A strange coach pulls up to the manor and the owner steps out to see things are not as expected. Daphne is introduced as his housekeeper, and works hard to keep him from seeing how the house has been used for the last twelve years and to keep him from seeing who the occupants are.  At first William is rather impatient with Daphne, but as time grows on, he becomes intrigued, and then he wants to know who she really is.

Because Daphne has many secrets she wants to hold to herself, she finds the remote location of Haven Manor perfect for her.  But before long, everyone she doesn't want to see comes knocking at the door, making it more difficult for her to hide out.

Kristi Ann Hunter has written A Return of Devotion with such depth and understanding, it takes a while to read the book because the reader doesn't want to miss a single detail.  Her quality of writing only improves with each book she writes.

This is a five-star book, with two thumbs up, and a custard for dessert.

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

Learning from Henri Nouwen and Vincent Van Gogh

Carol A Berry has chosen a favorite author and a favorite artist to find edification for spiritual life.  She pulls similarities in the lives of Henri Nouwen and Vincent Van Gogh and adds in their spiritual growth to make a wonderful book to teach us new lessons that are as old as the Bible.  I have long since loved Henri's writings.  His writings seem to bring out new ideas I've never encountered before.  Carol also includes the studies Henri did on the life of Vincent Van Gogh through his letters.  Carol studied under Henri while he was at Yale and she was the one chosen to put his unpublished notes together in a book by his estate.

Her writing style gives these men an aura of heaven while showing their absolute humanity. She shows their hearts for God and how their thoughts and letters shaped their lives and can shape ours.

I give this book five stars, two thumbs up, and a starry, starry night.

My thanks to InterVarsity Press for allowing me to read and review this book.

I Ain't Doin' It

Heather Land is in the building to bring us some humor in between the lessons she's learned through her life so far. She's learned to set boundaries and her boundaries are fenced in by the words: "I Ain't Doin' It."  Her boundaries include fighting over school supplies, dating, and doing school fundraisers. She talks about her budding career as a comedienne and how that took off, beginning with someone believing in her enough to give her a job so that she could pick herself up from her bootstraps after her divorce.

The most important thing she talks about is how God stood beside her throughout all the upheaval in her life.  Heather writes with humor, pathos, and every feel you can imagine.  This is a five star book, two thumbs up, and a well-set boundary.  I ain't doin' it.

My thanks to Howard books for allowing me to read and review this book.

A Desperate Hope

Elizabeth Camden has written a trilogy somewhat about eminent domain.  The State of New York Water Board has determined that a reservoir be built where the town of Duvall Springs stands.  The purpose of the reservoir is to provide water to the city of New York. The citizens in the town of Duvall Springs have exhausted every avenue to stop the building of the reservoir, and so Eloise Drake has been dispatched to Duvall Springs to assess what the state will pay for each building and land to compensate the owners for displacing them. 

Alex Duvall, the mayor of Duvall Springs, was once in love with Eloise and sees her coming as a way of reconnecting with her.  The only fly in the ointment is her guardian, Bruce Garrett, who once had him beat up for dallying with Eloise when they were in high school.

Alex's other passion is the citizens of his town and how to take care of them.  He comes on a rather dubious solution that will be chancy but if it works, will be genius.  He proposes to move the buildings of the town to a new location on a high point above the town.

Elizabeth writes great novels with characters of depth and complexity, but this time she missed the mark with one character, Alex.  He is shallow and somewhat two-dimensional.  Eloise has a bit more depth, but she too is rather flat in her portrayal.  While the book is still a great read, it is only a four-star book. I will say it's not often that one finds the male protagonist is a flibberty-gibbet, but Alex fits that bill entirely. 

I want to thank Bethany House for providing the galley I read through NetGalley.com.

A Bound Heart

Laura Frantz writes historical fiction that compels the reader into the book and doesn't let the reader go until the book is finished. Any time I see Laura Frantz's name as the author, the book goes into my TBR pile.  So when I saw that A Bound Heart was available to read and review, I applied to get the galley.

Lark was an employee of Magnus as keeper of the bees and the gardens.  She knew the medicinal properties of herbs and was trying to help Magnus' wife conceive and carry a child to term.  Somehow an extra added ingredient got added to the mixture and Isla wandered to the cliffs and fell to her death.  Lark was charged with accessory to murder and when Magnus showed up to defend Lark, he was charged with wearing his kilt.  The sentence for both of them was transportation and indenture.  Lark's term was three years and Magnus' was two.  Magnus was sent to Jamaica and Lark to Virginia.  The real adventure begins when they cross the ocean. 

Laura's writing is impeccable, compelling, engaging, and completely entertaining.  Her descriptions of her settings are inspiring, especially with the heathers covering the countryside and the gardens that Lark tended. Her characters are fully developed to be the fulfillment of Laura's ideas for them.

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a tour through the palace gardens. 

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