Peace in the Valley

This is the third book in the Amish of Big Sky Country series by Kelly Irvin. What Kelly has done with this series is to bring out the crisis of faith that people go through during times of calamity and tragedy.

The calamity is a wild fire in western Montana that is wiping out homes and settlements in its path. In concern for their granddaughter, Harley and Wilma send their two daughters (Nora and Jeannie) and one son-in-law to stay with Harley's parents in Libby, Montana. The fly in the ointment is that Harley's father and brother have joined a charismatic group and put pressure on the trio to join them and accept their way of living. Nora has a special friend who is a staunch Old Order Amish. He hears of Nora's experiences and feels that she's treading a tightrope that will lead nowhere.  Nora and Levi, her special friend, both have things to settle between them.

Kelly Irvin wrote this book with a fair amount of angst and conflict. It keeps the reader involved with the book from the very first page to the back cover. There were parts of this book I enjoyed more than others. And there are other Amish fiction books I have enjoyed more than this one, so I give this book four stars.

Zondervan Fiction and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Light Shines on Promise Lodge

Charlotte Hubbard is writing a series of books about Promise Lodge--a place of safety for displaced Amish folk trying to get back on their feet after something tilted their world upside down.  According to the jacket blurb, the book is supposed to be about Annabelle and her husband Phineas, who left her with nothing and "jumped the fence."  But, for the most part, the book is about Gloria and Cyrus and their romance, and Clayton King--a man who is impersonating a bishop come to take over the gmay there.

Clayton's charges were that the church there was too progressive, allowed to much freedom to the women, and had fallen too far from the Ordnung.  What Clayton was truly after was the money the church there had put away for the community's needs.

From the time Clayton shows up, the Bishop, preachers, and deacons start investigating him, and Annabelle does too, because she knows people who live close to where he said he came from.

This isn't a five star book, but it is quite readable.  Four Stars.

Kensington Books and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.

Thursday's Bride

Rosmanda was living with her mother and father-in-law after her husband was killed in an accident going to bring his brother home from a drunken binge.  She did everything she possibly could to help out on the farm, but her efforts weren't quite enough.  And that's when her in-law's other son shows up.  It was because she'd had history with Levi that she resented his presence.  It took a while for the two of them to come to a rather tense but peaceful truce. 

Rosmanda came to Pennsylvania to escape a past indiscretion from her teens.  When her past shows up in Indiana, she has to tell what happened with the situation, and face the judgment of a whole new community.  It becomes apparent that she needs to move back to Pennsylvania to her parents' home.

Patricia Johns knows much about the Amish lifestyle as well as how to use the knowledge to put together a readable novel with compelling plots and likable characters.  This is a book worth four strong stars.

Kensington Books and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  The opinions expressed here are my own.

His Unexpected Amish Twins

Chloe and Jabin are the only survivors of an accident between a buggy and a car.  The biggest injury for the young children was the loss of their parents. 

Hope was running errands when she came upon the accident, she got someone to call 911 and stayed with the children all the way to the hospital, then borrowed a phone to call their next of kin, and then stayed until their Uncle Micah got to the hospital.  The next morning she took some food to them for breakfast, and promised to come back later with dinner. 

After the children are released from the hospital, Micah takes them back to his parents' home, but it doesn't work out well.  During a consultation with his parents, he decides to take the children back to their home.

Rachel J Good is a talented Amish Fiction author and this book is a testament to her talent.  She has woven in some modern day problems and mindsets for the characters to overcome.  The resolution of these problems is not only believable, but also pretty spot on.  Overall a really good, quick read.  Four strong stars.

Kensington Books and NetGalley.com provided the copy for this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.

The Engineer's Wife

Every now and then a book comes along that grabs the reader, pulls them into the plot, and drags them through the twists and turns, ups and downs, and then at the end, turns the readers loose rather worn out and feeling like they have been drug through a knot-hole backwards.  The Engineer's Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood is one such novel. 

Based in fact, this novel reads like a diary, detailing the step-by-step building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the people involved--especially Emily Warren Roebling; her husband, Washington Roebling; and all their families and employees. 

What starts as a dream by Washington's father becomes an obsession for Wash and his wife Emily.  While Wash was a certified engineer, Emily became one by teaching herself when circumstances dictated that she must. 

I've never encountered Tracey's writings before this, but I must say her research is spot on, her characters are three dimensional, and her descriptions of the work done on the bridge are historically accurate, even to the point where PT Barnum paraded elephants across the bridge to show how strong it was.

This is a five-star book, with two thumbs up, and an elephant to test the strength of your endeavors.

NetGalley.com and SourcebooksLandmark Publishing provided the copy I read for this review.  The opinions expressed here are my own.

Jody Hedlund's Latest Bride Ship

The Runaway Bride is the second in the Bride Ships books by Jody Hedlund.  It took me a while to figure out why this book felt like I'd read it before, it was a continuation of the previous novel (reviewed here).

Arabella's father wants her to marry a man older than himself.  Arabella has tried to break off the wedding with him a couple of times to her own detriment.  She finally finds a way out by booking passage on a Bride Ship heading to Vancouver Island, British Columbia.  Before disembarking from the ship, Arabella captures the attention of a couple of men--Pete Kelly, the baker who supplied bread to the ship before it docked: and Lieutenant Drummond, a British Naval Officer assigned to the port.

Jody has built a lot of drama into the book, even flashing back to when her father's choice of a groom abused her.  Lt. Drummond and Pete both have animosity toward each other in regards to the treatment of the natives who live on the island.  Lt Drummond wants them removed from the island and Pete believes they are of no harm to the new immigrants coming to the island. Arabella is caught in the middle of them and really can't choose which one she wants for her groom.  She is falling in love with Pete, but Lt Drummond will give her the lifestyle she's accustomed to. 

This is a five star novel, with two thumbs up, and a freshly baked slice of cake to go with your coffee. 

Bethany House and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review and the opinions expressed here are my own.

Loving Jenna

Amy Lillard writes quality Amish Fiction.  Loving Jenna is a novel that fills a niche that is sometimes ignored.   The fact is that society at large has many of the same beliefs about special needs people that Amy expressed through her characters. 

Jenna is a young woman who nearly died when she was a preteen by falling into some water and came close to drowning.  She did suffer some brain damage, but she still understands her limitations and her abilities. 

Buddy is a young man with Down Syndrome, and he too understands what he can and cannot do, but when he first sees Jenna, he falls in love. 

Both of these young people have many hurdles thrown up by both of their parents to overcome.  Both of them have the chutzpah to overcome the hurdles.  In Jenna's corner was her grandmother, and in Buddy's corner were a couple of his brothers.  They both have to fight against prejudices of their parents, as well as society at large. 

This is a wonderful book that treats these conditions gently through the corresponding characters.  It is a five-star book, with two thumbs up, and your favorite chocolate cake.

Kensington Books and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  The opinions expressed here are my own.

Secrets of My Heart

Tracie Peterson wrote a series of novels centered around the history of the Whitman Mission.  This novel is a few years later, when the second generation has grown up.

In 1879, Nancy was living in Portland, OR, after her husband died and trying to figure out what her next move was going to be.  Gerome Berkshire, one of her husband's friends, wants to marry Nancy for her money and to continue the sketchy practices her husband delved in. 

As a surprise to Nancy, a former neighbor from Oregon City, Seth Carpenter, shows up with his sister for his sister to rent a room from Nancy.  What Nancy doesn't know is that Seth has moved to Portland and is working for the lawyer who is handling Nancy's husband's estate. 

Tracie writes a compelling novel with a bit of intrigue woven into the warp and woof of her plot, which keeps the reader engaged in her novels all the way through to the end.  This is a five star novel with two thumbs up and a room at the finest boarding house in town. 

Bethany House and NetGalley.com provided the galley I read for this review.  The opinions expressed here are my own.

I'm Just a Boy Who Can't Hear No!

The Happy Camper by Melody Carlson is a bit angst-y in spite of the cheery title. 

Dillon Michaels has had a run-in with her boyfriend AND her boss.  The upshot is she lost her job and broke up with her boyfriend. 

She packs her things, loads her car, and drives from Colorado Springs, to her grandfather's home in Silverdale, Oregon.  She finds that her mother has taken up residence in what was her bedroom during Dillon's growing up years, so Dillon found herself relegated to a dilapidated sofa, until her grandfather gifted her with a tiny trailer that she could restore. 

Through her plans, Dillon meets Jordan Atwood, and feels a bit of attraction.  She sees him again when she started teaching swimming lessons and he's there to pick up two little girls who were fighting tooth and nail not to get in the water. Dillon writes him off as married, with children and goes about her days restoring her camp trailer and teaching swimming lessons. 

Throughout the whole book, Brandon, the ex-boyfriend keeps showing up to try and win Dillon back.  Dillon explicitly explains to him that there is no hope for any kind of relationship beyond friendship, and even that is on shaky ground. He refuses to take her answer as final and even shows up at the camp out the camping trailer club has every year.  He has roses and a ring, and even before Dillon even sees the ring, she reads him the riot act.  He has to learn to accept NO as a completely final answer. 

Jordan runs hot and cold throughout the book and is protecting his heart from another heart-break that he had years earlier.  His temper gets the best of him and he can't settle his mind and his heart for what they are truly trying to tell him.

This is a four star book, not quite up to the quality that Melody writes. 

Revell Publishing and NetGalley.com provided the galley I read for this review.  The opinions stated here are my own.

Woman of Sunlight

Mary Coneally is known for her books with romantic cowboys playing the lead role.  Mitch Warden is playing that lead in the second novel on Hope Mountain.

Ilsa is often described throughout the book as being feral, because of her lack of being around others while she was growing up.  She is extremely able to defend and take care of herself, as well as the people around her.

The one time she goes to town, she is found in a compromising position with Mitch and finds herself married to him before she really knows what happens.

The basic plot to the story is finding out who is after Mitch and why that person wants him dead.  After fending off several hired guns, Mitch and Ilsa find themselves in Chicago to bring the hunt to an end.

There isn't much in the way of humorous events in this novel which is a departure from Mary's normal mode of writing, but that doesn't detract from the enjoy-ability of the novel.  There is enough intrigue to keep the reader involved with the book until the very end.   This is a solid four star book.

Bethany House Publishing and NetGalley.com supplied the galley I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Two Steps Forward

Two Steps Forward is a bit of a strange book.  Somewhere in the last couple of years, Suzanne Woods Fisher had Jimmy Fisher as a character in a book who got in trouble with racing buggies with his friend. The culminating incident sent his friend to rehab and sent Jimmy to Colorado to work on a horse ranch.

When the ranch goes bust, Jimmy comes home to find his mother married to Hank Lapp (a man who doesn't know the meaning of inside voice), and to find that his mother wants him to get married to the maedel of her choice.  Next door to Edith Lapp lives Sylvie Schrock King, along with her son and her horse Prince.  This is the one woman Edith does NOT want Jimmy to marry. 

Sylvie meets Jimmy at the Bent and Dent store and offers him a job cleaning up her farm.  She is the widow of Jake King who was notorious for hoarding.  Jimmy has a lot of work to keep him going for a while and when he finds things worth selling, Sylvie tells him to keep the money for his wages.

Edith is a bit vindictive and quite a bit of a gossip.  She refuses to believe Sylvie's son is actually her nephew and she refuses to believe that Jake left her his farm. She tries to cause trouble for Sylvie wherever she goes.

Jimmy is in love with Sylvie and doesn't know how to proceed in courting her.  His lack of decisiveness brings Sylvie to move back to her father's house.  Jimmy has to learn to court her through letters.

One of my favorite parts of the book is where Jimmy has the old barn completely cleaned out and the walls fall in on each other because Jake's junk was holding up the walls.  My dad owned the house where his parents had lived (not a very big house), and he took out the flooring board by board, then he took out half of the studs one at a time.  He was working on getting more lumber out of the house when he heard it creaking.  He got out and watched the walls fall in on each other.  He burned what he could and hired a man with a bulldozer to level the site the house was on. 

This is definitely a four star book, and it will be enjoyed by any reader who likes to read Amish fiction.

Revell Publishing and NetGalley.com provided the galley I read for this review.  The opinions I expressed are my own.

Out of the Embers

Amanda Cabot has a serious bent to her writing, her plots have a bit of intrigue, and her characters are rather solemn.  Out of the Embers is one of her better writings.  She seems to improve with every book she authors. 

Evelyn Radcliffe grew up in an orphanage from the time she was ten years old, after her parents were killed.  When a fire takes the orphanage, it also takes all of the children too, except for Evelyn and Polly.  The two girls had been sent to get the food supplies for the orphanage and saw what the fire had done when they came back.  They decided to keep on going, which is all well and good until they get to Mesquite Springs, Texas, when the horse, Reginald, throws a shoe. 

Wyatt Clark finds them hunkered down under the wagon during a particularly vicious storm.  Wyatt takes them back to his ranch house where his mother and sister take care of them, and they become almost like part of the family in a few short days.

Evelyn and Polly are both keeping secrets and look to Wyatt for their protection, but Evelyn wants to earn her own way as well.  They look to the owner of what used to be the only restaurant in Mesquite Springs to make a deal with him to lease it and open a new one in its place.  Evelyn's prowess in the kitchen becomes known all around the Springs and Evelyn begins to get regular customers.

A sale of horses at Wyatt's ranch brings a lot of the mysteries to a head.  Amanda's talent for writing has shone throughout this book and brings the reader much satisfaction.  This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and an apple pie that will tease your taste buds unmercifully.

Revell Publishing and NetGalley.com provided the galley I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.