2.28.2013

The Cowboy Lawman by Brenda Minton ~ Review

The Cowboy Lawman

Lucie's Review:

After a mission gone wrong in which DEA agent Mia's, is killed, and Mia is injured, Mia goes home to Cooper Creek to recuperate. Slade McKennon is the Sheriff of Cooper Creek, and he is determined to protect his good friend Mia, from the people pursuing her, and wanting to do her harm.

Another great novel from Cooper Creek, every time another of Brenda Minton's books comes out, I just know that I have to read it, because I won't want to miss it, and The Cowboy Lawman was no exception. And definitely did not disappoint one bit!

I loved the characters, Slade was such a great guy, in so many ways that were exhibited through his interactions with Mia, and his son, Caleb. Mia, was a strong character, who had to learn to accept and face her weaknesses. They both had to learn to let go of what they had been, so that they could become something better--together.

Overall, a well written western romance, with a dash of suspense, with wonderful characters, that will make you want to return to Cooper Creek as soon as you can! A hard to put down book with a steller ending that I can't tell you about, but you've totally got to read :)

I received this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

2.27.2013

Home to Montana by Charlotte Carter ~ Review

Home to Montana

Lucie's Review:

Alisa is a single mom to Greg and owner of a small-town diner, and when Alisa's mother get's burned one day, Nick Carbini, a trained chef walks into their lives.
Nick struggles to forget the trauma that he experienced while in Afghanistan as well as his troubled past. But with Alisa and Greg by his side will his troubed heart begin to heal?

Charlotte Carter does an excellent job of portraying the struggles that soldiers go through while adjusting to civilian life again, especially after injury. This was such a sweet, and emotional romance, with wonderful characters, and a very special dog named, Rags.

Nick was a great leading man, because he was great with Greg, and was great guy, but he had his share of scars and flaws, that made him pretty much the perfect hero.

Overall, a sweet and heart-tugging read that will have you smiling and crying at the same time, with charming characters that will capture your heart!

I received this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

The Biggest and Toughest: The Short Story of David's Big Faith by Kelly Pulley ~ Review

The Biggest and Toughest: The Short Story of David's Big Faith

My Review: A fun read with a strong message about trusting God to give you strength.

As and assistant to the Church Librarian I like to occasionally scan through some children's books. And The Biggest and the Toughest really impressed me with it's attractive illustrations and fun, yet accurate and appropriate rhyming.

While it's a fun book it also conveys an important message about God always being on your side, and that one can never go wrong by trusting in God, who is The Biggest and Toughest of them all!

Overall, a fun kid's read that is great for reading aloud. I would definitely recommend this book for young children and their parents :)

I received this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!



 

Skirt-A-Day Sewing: Create 28 Skirts for a Unique Look Every Day by Nicole Smith ~ Review

Skirt-A-Day Sewing: Create 28 Skirts for a Unique Look Every Day

My Review:

A fun book to look at with cool ideas for sewing skirts.

While this book has some great hints and ideas, I couldn't help but think that a novice sewer would have some difficulty with, all the drafting of the self-made patterns, not because this book did a bad job of explaining things, but because sewing is rather complex! I speak from experience. So I would mostly recommend this book towards someone, with a pretty good grip on sewing.

While I didn't actually sew any of the patterns exactly, I applied a lot of the information to my current sewing projects, mainly because I like my skirts ankle length.

This book has alot of unique patterns and ideas that would be really fun to make, and that I might keep in mind for the future! A fun book that gave me some great ideas.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

2.26.2013

Flora's Wish by Kathleen Y'Barbo ~ Review

Flora's Wish (The Secret Lives of Will Tucker, #1)

Lucie's Review:

Flora Brimm has been dubbed "Fatal Flora" because each of her four former fiances have died in suspicious ways during the past years. Flora will lose her inheritance if she does not marry and produce and heir before her cousin Winthrop turns thirty. So she hatches a plan to elope with a Mr. Tucker, but that plan is soon disrupted by a Pinkerton detective, named Lucas McMinn, a man who just might save her in more ways than she knows.
 
A brand new series from Kathleen Y'Barbo is off to a great start with Flora's Wish. I loved the unique plot and the great characters. Lucas was probably my favorite character, because he was smart intelligent Pinkerton detective with just a sense of honor and right that shone through.
 
This book was full of plot twists and action, and fraught with romantic tension, as the sparks flew between Lucas and Flora.
 
Overall, a great action-packed read, with plenty of mystery and romance along the way. I loved the interaction between Flora and Lucas, and after I got ino this story, I could barely put it down.
 
I received this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Katie Opens Her Heart by Jerry S. Eicher ~ FIRST Wild Card Blog Tour & Review

Katie Opens Her Heart

Lucie's Review: Can't wait to read the next book!

Katie is known as the daughter of the oft thought strange, and reclusive Emma Raber. Katie doesn't have many friends, but when she starts going to the Mennonite meetings, and for the first time she feels accepted. But Emma has a hard time accepting Katie's new friends and the Mennonite meetings, when Jesse Mast comes into her life.
Will Katie be able to open her heart in the midst of all the changes in their lives?

This book completely took me by surprise, because while I have read some books by Mr. Eicher in the past, I have ever enjoyed any of them as much as I did this one! While not nescessarily a romance, it was more of Katie's journey to openning up and letting people in, and it was so relatable in that even in supposedly close-knit communities like the Amish, there are people who are always left on the outskirts.

I loved the character and how they felt real and had a humaness to them. They dealt with fear and openning themselves into new things and letting go of the things that held them back.

Overall, I don't want to give too much away about this wonderful book, but I would definitely say that this is a touching tale that wasn't exactly what I thought it would be as it wasn't a romance for Katie, but learning to trust others and God. But perhaps better for that reason. I was kept engaged the entire time and the pages breezed past, I read this one in less than a day! Highly recommend!

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!


It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!



Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:

Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2013)

***Special thanks to Ginger Chen for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Jerry Eicher’s bestselling Amish fiction (more than 210,000 in combined sales) includes The Adams County Trilogy, the Hannah’s Heart books, and the Little Valley Series. After a traditional Amish childhood, Jerry taught for two terms in Amish and Mennonite schools in Ohio and Illinois. Since then he’s been involved in church renewal, preaching, and teaching Bible studies. Jerry lives with his wife, Tina, and their four children in Virginia.


Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:


Jerry Eicher (nearly half a million copies sold) returns with the first book in another of his delightful series centering on Amish life.

Here is the story of a young Amish girl, Katie Raber, who finds she wants more from life than to be known as simply “Emma Raber’s daughter.”




Product Details:
List Price: $13.99
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736952519
ISBN-13: 978-0736952514


AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:


The early morning sun was rising over the well-kept farms of Delaware’s Amish country as Katie Raber drove her buggy toward Byler’s Store near Dover to begin her day’s work. She squinted when she spotted an approaching buggy in the distance. The horse had its neck arched high in the air. Katie didn’t have to think long before she decided who was coming toward her. Ben Stoll would be holding the reins. It was his buggy. She was sure of that. Ben was one of the best-looking Amish boys around. Blessed was any girl who was invited to ride with him in his buggy—something Katie figured she would never experience. Ben was without a doubt the catch among the community’s Amish young men. A cloud crossed the sun, and Katie held the buggy lines tight as she kept her eyes glued on the approaching buggy. Perhaps she could catch a glimpse of Ben this morning. That was all she could hope for. He was from another world. Ben never spoke to her, and she only saw him at the Sunday meetings and the Amish youth gatherings Mamm allowed her to attend. There he would be laughing and talking with someone else—someone more suited to his taste than “plain Katie,” the out-of-step daughter of the odd widow Emma Raber. Katie could walk right under Ben Stoll’s nose, and he wouldn’t even know a shadow had gone by.

Yah, she was Emma Raber’s daughter. That’s how most people in the community thought of her. She even thought of herself that way—just an extension of her mamm. Mamm was nice enough, and Emma really loved her. So, nee, she wasn’t really complaining. But sometimes her mamm did unusual things, and that made Katie seem so…well, weird to the other young adults in the Amish community. For one thing, there would be no rumspringa for Katie. Everyone else she knew among the Delaware Amish would have their time to run around and try out the ways of the world. But not Katie. Emma Raber wouldn’t even consider such a thing for her daughter. And the Amish youth gatherings were few and far between. Mamm was suspicious of even those. “Too much socializing,” she had said.

She could live without rumspringa. Or without Ben Stoll, for that matter. So what, Katie told herself, it might even be best for her if Ben were unobtainable. He might not be all that wunderbah if she ever got to know him. Katie sighed. These were desperate excuses, and she knew it, but lately Mamm’s restrictions were becoming harded and harder to bear. She was only trying to make herself feel better. Ben was wunderbah. Even her friend Arlene Miller wasn’t above stealing a glance at Ben—and that with her boyfriend, Nelson Graber, sitting right across from her at the Sunday night hymn singings!

Katie wondered if all the girls were as taken with Ben as she was. She was aware of everything about him. She noticed when he wore a new black suit at communion time every spring. She noticed the way his buggy shone when the sun rays bounced off the sides at the Sunday meetings. The boy must spend hours waxing the black vinyl of his buggy, she thought. And most of all, she noticed the way Ben smiled when he was happy, which seemed like most of the time. What would it be like to be the kind of girl who made Ben smile that smile? Ha! Certainly a simple, plain soul like Emma Raber’s daughter couldn’t be such a girl…ever.

Katie tried to look away from the fast-approaching buggy. She was way too fascinated with the boy. If Mamm knew her feelings, Katie knew she’d be given a lecture the size of the state of Delaware and right at the kitchen table after supper. Yah, Mamm would not understand how she felt. Life had been hard for Mamm, especially when it came to men. Hadn’t Daett passed away when Katie was still a young girl? The loss had been so painful for Mamm that she might never marry again.

The beat of horse hooves on pavement grew louder. Katie eased open her buggy door just enough to make sure that whoever was in the passing buggy could see it was her in case a greeting was forthcoming. With her hands on the reins, Katie held her breath as the buggy approached and passed without its buggy door opening even an inch. Katie saw the unmistakable outline of Ben’s face through the small window. His hat was tight on his head, and his eyes were looking straight ahead. The moment passed in a flash without the smallest flicker of a hand wave through the window. And then the buggy was gone.

It was the sun in his eyes, Katie told herself. That’s why Ben hadn’t slid open the buggy door or bothered to wave. But she knew better. Ben wasn’t being mean. No, she just wasn’t worth the effort. He had greater and better things on his mind than paying attention to Emma Raber’s odd daughter. Now if she were beautiful, or charming, or funny, or even talkative at the Sunday-night hymn singings, it might be different. With such qualities, perhaps her plainness could be overcome. But all that was a dream that would never come true. She couldn’t be what she wasn’t.

Perhaps she should settle for Joe Helmuth from down the road. Joe walked with a limp from a hay wagon accident when he was five. He would take over his daett’s farm someday, but the scars from that long-ago day would never leave him. The problem was that Joe didn’t pay Katie any attention either.

Well, at least thinking about Ben Stoll helped ease the pain a little, Katie decided. She was only Katie Raber, after all. The girl who could barely open her mouth without dumb words falling out all over each other. If she could only be more like the rest of the Amish girls in the community. But that could never be either, not with how Mamm felt about things.

Katie slapped the reins against her horse as her thoughts swirled through her mind. She couldn’t remember much about Daett. He’d been gone since she was three years old. She could remember happy times though. Going to the barn with him when they did the evening chores. But that was so long ago. If she only had a daett, Katie decided, life would be different. If Mamm married again, Katie figured both of them would be better accepted in the community and Mamm might change her ways. The most obvious possibility was widower Jesse Mast. And he’d come calling on Mamm again just the other evening. Mamm hadn’t said anything about the visit, but Jesse had surely spoken of marriage.

Yah, Mamm should marry again, Katie decided. Mamm’s sorrow over losing her husband was still written on her face after all these years. Was it not high time things changed? Yah, and Katie would pray about the matter.

Da Hah must already be thinking the same thing if He was sending Mamm a suitor in the person of Jesse Mast. So why couldn’t Mamm see this and accept Jesse’s offer of marriage? Was she turning him down because he wasn’t much to look at? Yah, he was a little rough around the edges. But it wasn’t like Mamm to be so concerned with outward appearance. She went more by a person’s kind heart than how he looked on the outside. Perhaps it was the fact that Jesse’s frau, Millie, had died and left him with a family of five children. Was that why Mamm objected? She didn’t want her household increased so dramatically?

Nee, Katie decided that couldn’t be the reason either. Mamm didn’t mind hard work. And if a large family was the problem, she should have been happy after turning down Jesse. Instead, Mamm had walked around the house with the lines on her face running deeper than ever. So why had she turned Jesse down? That was assuming Mamm had turned him down. The proposal of marriage was just a guess on Katie’s part, but she was sure she was right. It couldn’t have been anything else. The two had talked for a long time while sitting on the porch swing. Afterward, Jesse had stood in the yard for a few moments longer, still speaking with Mamm. He’d held his hat in his hand, the sweat ring in his hair still apparent from where the hat had been pressed tightly on his head. Then Jesse had walked back to his buggy, his head bowed. Even Jesse’s horse, Lucy, had looked depressed as they drove down the lane.

Katie had been ready to ask Mamm what Jesse wanted, but one look at her face caused her to change her mind. Mamm looked troubled and yet, at the same time, ready to give someone a piece of her mind. A question from Katie could easily have resulted in another lecture she didn’t want to hear. A lecture about being satisfied with one’s lot in life and not reaching for the stars. That was the standard lecture Mamm always gave when Katie dared complain about attending more of the Amish youth gatherings.

“You don’t know how nice you have it,” Mamm would say. “We have enough to eat, a roof over our heads, and horses to drive us to work and church. What more could we ask for?”

Well, Katie thought, there was plenty more to ask for. All kinds of things a young woman could want. Things that were out there just waiting to enrich one’s life—and, happily, things that were not forbidden by the Ordnung. Like liking a boy. Like someday loving a man who would love her back and consider his life empty without her. Someone who’s eyes would light up when he saw her. Someone who called her sweet things on Sunday nights as he sat on the couch beside her. Wasn’t that what dating couples did? Mamm wouldn’t say when Katie asked, other than muttering something about useless talking until all hours of the night.

How could such time be considered wasted? Katie wondered. It would be glory indeed to sit beside a boy—a soon-to-be man so near she could touch him. What delight it would be to hear his deep voice rumble when he spoke or feel his eyes watching her long before she looked up to meet his gaze. Nee, this couldn’t be wasted time. It would be a touch of heaven, and the most worthwhile thing a girl could set her heart on. Especially if the boy were Ben Stoll…

Katie sighed. So had Jesse Mast asked for Mamm’s hand? Had she turned him down? She’d sent him away looking disappointed, so something was going on. And then there was that look on Mamm’s face in the evenings after the sun had set and the house was quiet. Mamm didn’t like the loneliness of their house either—the hours without a man’s voice being heard. She’d been silent after Jesse left that night, staring at the kitchen wall and seemingly more troubled than usual.

What could she do to help? Katie wondered. She should do something, yah.

A car passed Katie’s buggy, its engine roaring. Katie forced her mind back on the road ahead. Her horse, Sparky, knew the way to Byler’s Store. He should after all this time she’d worked there. But even so, he mustn’t be allowed to go his own way.

Ahead of her, Bishop Jonas Miller’s place was coming up. His wife, Laura, was out in the yard hanging wash on the line. Katie leaned out of the buggy to wave, and Laura paused long enough to wave back before bending again to her work. At least the older Amish folk didn’t think she was strange, even with her Mamm the way she was.

Katie settled herself in the buggy seat again. If Mamm married Jesse, she might have to stay home from her job at Byler’s and help with the added work five children entailed. But that would be an attractive kind of work—more normal almost. And it could lead to other kinds of normalness in her life. And perhaps even to a boy sitting on the couch beside her some Sunday night after a hymn singing. Yah, somehow Mamm must be persuaded to accept Jesse’s offer of marriage.

Katie turned into the parking lot at Byler’s and pulled Sparky to a stop at the far end of the hitching rail that was located on one side of the store. She climbed down, unhitched the buggy, and led Sparky around to the back where he could munch at stray pieces of grass during the day. She tied him to the fence with a long rope before walking back to the buggy. She pushed both doors shut before heading to the employee entrance of the store.

2.25.2013

The Heiress's Homecoming by Regina Scott ~ Review

The Heiress's Homecoming

Lucie's Review:

When Samantha's father dies he leaves a will with a long list of stipulations, that if completed will make Samantha the sole heir to his fortune. But one of the conditions might undo all of her hard work, Samantha must be married by her 25th birthday.
Samantha has decided never to marry, because of the way that her father treated her mother, and she doesn't want to fall for a man that might not want anything to do with her. But when the handsome William Wentworth comes along, will he be able to convince her of his love?

An excellent ending to The Everard Legacy Series, that brings the series to full circle and brings back all of the Everard cousins from the previous books for a reunion. While this book would definitely be better appreciated if you have read the first three in the series, The Heiress's Homecoming can also be read as a stand-alone.

Fraught with mystery, and thrilling plot twists, this book was everything I hoped for, and more, making for a satisfying  conclusion to a wonderful series. There was a full cast of complex characters, and a strong, but vulnerable heroine.  I really loved Jamie and Will too!

Overall, a wonderful read. You can read it alone, but I would highly recommend reading the earlier book in the series so that you can more fully appreciate the story arch, and also because they are just such good books! A great book!

I received this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

 

My Amish Childhood by Jerry S. Eicher ~ Review

My Amish Childhood: A True Story of Faith, Family, and the Simple Life

My Review: Jerry Eicher shares memories from his childhood, growing up Amish in Honduras.

Mr. Eicher tells his unique tale, and also shares his struggles and triumphs, yet at the same time showing that he wasn't that much different than a regular child.

Mr. Eicher introduces us to his family, and rather large extended family, as we get to meet them through his eyes. I learned more of the church life and how strict some of the rules were, some of them strange and seeming to hold the Amish back.

Overall, a well written memoir of a man honestly recounting his younger days, that gives some insight into his best-selling novels and why we writes the way that he does. A great read for Amish fiction fans, that shows the simpler life from the inside.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

2.23.2013

Starflower by Anne Elisabeth Stengl ~ Review

Starflower  (Tales of Goldstone Wood #4)

My Review:

Starflower is a beautiful book. From the stunning cover to the style of Ms. Stengl's lilting writing, as it flowed across the page.

When the entrapped dragon, Hri Sora kidnaps the Faerie, Lady Gleamdren, it is up to her devoted love, the bard Earin to save her.
But when Earin comes upon the sleeping Starflower, he rescues her with a kiss and finds himself caught up in an adventure bigger than her could have ever written himself.

Anne Elisabeth Stengl is a master at weaving and enchanting tale, with an allegorical thread woven throughout. I love how the allegory is subtle and how I had to really think, to appreciate it fully.

The characters were wonderfully complex and compelling, yet a mystery as well. It was a little slow to start for me, probably because I hadn't read the third book in the series, the last one I read was Veiled Rose, yet I would also say that this book was a good stand alone, it just took me awhile to figure that out :)

Overall, a wonderful read, with lush descriptions and a winding and mysterious story line, that kept me guessing. Ms. Stengl's books are truly unique, you won't regret getting hooked on her books!

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thanks so much, and sorry it took me so long to get a review out!

2.21.2013

Cowboy at Heart by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith ~ Review

A Cowboy at Heart

Lucie's Review:

The third in a series, A Cowboy at Heart is the perfect conclusion to a wonderful and completely original series that blends the tales of  the old west with the Amish and their way of life.

While it might be easier to understand what's going on in this book if you have read the previous books, it isn't entirely nescessary, though you won't want to miss the first two books either!

Jonas wakes up one day to find a fence accross his land cutting him off from the water for his crops and livestock. Littlefield is an ambitious man who is trying to cheat the Amish out of their land, because he knows they are a peaceful people and would never fight his over it. Meanwhile there are multiple other story threads throughout that follow different members of the community, like Katie and her growing affection for a reformed drunk, Jesse.

This book had a full cast of characters, from Jesse's horse to a spirited grandma. I loved how this book tied up all of the character's stories and how characters from the first few books showed up again as well. This book was a wonderful mix of fun, faith, adventure, conflict, romance, that made up this enjoyable Amish/Western read.

Overall, a great book, and a wonderful series that I would happily recommend!

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!
 

2.20.2013

My Amish Childhood by Jerry Eicher ~ FIRST Wild Card Blog Tour

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!



Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:

Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2013)

***Special thanks to Ginger Chen for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Jerry Eicher’s bestselling Amish fiction (more than 210,000 in combined sales) includes The Adams County Trilogy, the Hannah’s Heart books, and the Little Valley Series. After a traditional Amish childhood, Jerry taught for two terms in Amish and Mennonite schools in Ohio and Illinois. Since then he’s been involved in church renewal, preaching, and teaching Bible studies. Jerry lives with his wife, Tina, and their four children in Virginia.


Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Bestselling fiction author Jerry S. Eicher recounts his childhood in the Amish community of Aylmer, Ontario and his parents’ decision to move to Honduras. Jerry also tells of his eventual conversion to Christ and the reasons for his departure from the childhood faith he knew.



Product Details:
List Price: $12.99
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736950060
ISBN-13: 978-0736950060


AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:


I can still see his face. Lean. Determined. Framed by his lengthy beard. I can see him running up the hill toward our house. He was carrying his bag of doctor implements.

Mom was having chest spasms, and any real doctor was miles away—across four hours of the broken, rutted, dusty Honduran road we took only as a last resort.

The running man was my Uncle Joe. The smart one of the family. The older brother. The intellectual genius. When Uncle Joe walked by, we stopped talking and listened intently when he spoke. On this day, he rushed by, not paying any attention to us children.

I knew he was coming about Mom, but I recall experiencing no fear for her life. Perhaps I wasn’t old enough to have such a fear. To me, Uncle Joe’s haste seemed more entertainment than emergency. After all, Mom had looked fine to me a few minutes earlier.

When Uncle Joe left the house some time later, he issued a favorable report that I never questioned. Nor did anyone else. The mysteries of the Englisha world of medicine were even further removed from us than the four hours to town. Uncle Joe studied the books, and we trusted him.

Years later, when our little Amish community in Central America was on its last legs and held in the grip of terrible church fights over cape dresses, bicycles, singing in English or Spanish on Sunday mornings, and other horrors that the adults spoke of with bated breath, it was the look on Uncle Joe’s face as he talked with Mom and Dad by the fence on Sunday afternoon that made things clear to me. If Uncle Joe thought something was over, then it was over.

Uncle Joe lived below us, across the fields, in a house smaller than ours even though his family was much larger. How they managed, I never thought to wonder. Their house never looked crowded. It was kept spotless by his wife, Laura, and their oldest daughters Rosanna and Naomi. We didn’t visit often on Sunday afternoons. Mostly we children dropped by on weekdays, sent on some errand by Mom or we wandered past on our meanderings around the countryside.

They kept goats in the yard, all of them tied with long ropes to stakes. One of them was named Christopher. We didn’t have goats. Dad ran a machine shop, and Mom took care of the garden. Goats were foreign to us. Smelly creatures. Mom scorned goat’s milk, even when Uncle Joe said emphatically it was far superior to cow’s milk.

We all lived near each other in those days—part of a grand experiment to see if the Amish faith could survive on foreign soil.

My grandfather, Peter Stoll, an Amish man of   impeccable standing, had taken it upon himself to lead an Amish community to the Central American country of Honduras. He wasn’t an ordained minister, and I don’t remember seeing him speak in public. Still, the integrity of his life and his ideas so affected those around him that they were willing to follow him where few had gone before.

At the height of the experimental community, we ended up being twenty families or so. We all lived on two neighboring ranches purchased in a valley below a mountain. Most of us had come to Honduras from the hot religious fervor of the small Aylmer community along the shores of  Lake Erie in Southern Ontario or from the detached coolness of Amish country spread over Northern Indiana. Plans were for the two to become one in mind and heart. And for awhile we did.

Those were wonderful years. The memories of that time still bring an automatic gathering of hearts among the Amish who were there—and even some of us who are no longer Amish. All these years later, most of us are scattered across the United States and Canada—except for the few of the original group who stayed behind.

Some of the people credit the joy of those days to the weather in our Honduras valley. And lovely weather it was. Balmy. Hardly ever above ninety or below forty. Others credit the culture. Some attribute our happiness to being so far from the States that we only had each other. I don’t know the full reason for our happiness. Perhaps it isn’t possible to know. But I do remember the energy of the place—its vibrancy. I do know the years left their imprints on us all.

This was my childhood. Those hazy years when time drags. When nothing seems to come soon enough. And where everything is greeted as if it had never been before. To me that land—that valley—was home. I absorbed it completely. Its sounds. Its language. The color of the dusty towns. The unpaved streets. The pigs in the doorway of the huts. The open fires over a metal barrel top. The taste of greasy fried beans. The flour tortillas and meat smoked to perfection. In my heart there will always be a deep and abiding love for that country.

Around us were mountains. To the north they rose in a gradual ridge, coming in from the left and the right to meet in the middle, where a distinctive hump rose into the air—officially named Mt. Misoco. But to us it was simply what the locals called it: La Montaña. The Mountain. Our mountain. Which it was in ways we could not explain.

To the south lay the San Marcos Mountains. At least that’s what we called them. Those rugged, jagged peaks lying off in the distance. I never climbed those mountains, but I often roamed our mountain—or rather our side of it—from top to bottom. On its peak, looking over to the other side, you could see lines and lines of ridges running as far as the eye could see.

A party of courageous Amish boys, along with a few visiting Amish youngsters from stateside, once decided to tackle the San Marcos Mountains. They threw their forces together and allowed two days for the trip. I was much too young to go along—and probably wouldn’t have anyway. But I waited for news of their adventure with interest. They came back soon enough— defeated and full of tales of dark jungles and multiple peaks that disoriented the heart. No one even caught sight of the highest point, let alone the other side.

In the summer, around five in the morning, the Southern Cross—that symbol of Christianity—hung over the San Marcos Mountains. Its haunting figure made of stars swung low in the sky. I would stand for long minutes gazing at the sight, caught up in the glory of it.

I was eight when we arrived in Honduras. We were one of the first families there after Grandfather Stoll had purchased and settled on the Sanson ranch. Dad seemed driven to the move by motives other than adventure. He was unhappy with the ordnung rules in the Amish community at Aylmer, and he wanted change. Change that didn’t include the great sin of joining a more liberal Amish church, of course.

In time Dad came to love the land along with the rest of us. And strangely, he came to love what he didn’t expect—the old ways, imperfect though they had been. My most enduring memory of Dad in those days is hearing him sing the old German songs at the top of his voice over the roar of his machine shop motors. And in the end, it came down to that question for all of them. A choice between what they loved and what they loved the most.

I grew up surrounded by men dedicated to an old faith. I saw those men, most of them my uncles, tested to the core. I saw them wrestle with the old and with the new, trying to figure out where everything fit together. I lived among giants of faith. I saw their agony and their sacrifice. I saw their choices, and it affected me deeply. Their faith had been hammered out back in the sixteenth century, in the old town of Zurich, Switzerland. Back during the time Ulrich Zwingli thundered his sermons in the old Grossmunster Church.

But in the days of my childhood, those stories of   long ago were not mine yet. Those gallant tales of deeds done under fire and sword. Of imprisonment in noblemen’s castles. Of narrow escapes into the Swiss countryside from the murderous Berne Anabaptist hunters. Instead, my memories are of men in my own time. Men who believed that life was not worth living if you didn’t believe in something worth dying for. I was surrounded by men of passion. And if someone should make the claim that these men were misguided, I would insist the fault lay not in caring too much about religious matters. For I learned while growing up among them that this is how a person should live. That true believers follow God with all of their hearts and souls.

2.19.2013

When the Heart Heals by Ann Shorey ~ Blog Tour & Review

When the Heart Heals

Lucie's Review:

Rosemary is a herbalist, who served as a nurse during the Civil War. When the new doctor comes to town, Rosemary offers to help him, but her relationship with him is off to a rough start when she suggests natural remedies to his patients, remedies not recognized by medical experts.
But Elijah and Rosemary again but heads when a young unwed expectant mother comes to town. trouble brews and love grows.

When the Heart Heals is a stand alone tale in the Sisters of the Heart Series, while reading the first one in the series would be nice, you really don't have to read it to appreciate Rosemary's story.

There are many various twists and turns, and I loved how Elijah and Rosemary slowly became friends. There is a mystery of sorts, and plenty of great side characters and trials for Elijah and Rosemary's friendship. I loved how this book focused on Rosemary and Elijah, and the people that they helped. The characters interacted well with each other, and I liked how there was a lot going on so I was kept entertained.

Overall a sweet romantic story, that I thoroughly enjoyed. And would happily recommend :)

“Available February 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! 

In addition, Ann Shorey is sponsoring a contest to celebrate the release of her book, and it is going on now! Go here for all the details, and enter to win some nice prizes!

2.18.2013

Picture Perfect by Janice Thompson ~ Revell Review

Picture Perfect (Weddings by Design, #1)

Lucie's Review:

Hannah McDermott is determined to prove herself and earn the top spot as Galveston Island's most coveted wedding planner Bella Neely's, most highly recommended wedding photographer, a title now in the possession of Drew Kincaid.
But can these two rivals find middle ground, and perhaps love?

Janice Thompson has written another fun quirky romance, in the world of Bella Neely. I loved how this book was full of hilarious situations and fun, well developed characters. I seriously, could not read this book without cracking a huge grin every few pages :)

Drew was a great guy, very easy going, a perfect complement to Hannah's tendency to overthink, and stress about things.  I loved watching Drew and Hannah's relationship grow, through a series of natural interactions. They were so much fun to read about.

While this series takes place in the same setting as Ms. Thompson's Weddings by Bella Series it isn't nescessary to read them first, but if you finish this book and have nothing to read, and are eagerly awaiting the next book...totally read the Bella series!

Overall, I really enjoyed this fun romantic comedy of a read, it was full of fun characters and great interactions, as well as many laughable situations. A book that I would happily recommend.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

“Available February 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”


And now a word from Janice Thompson:

Hi everyone! This is author Janice Thompson, here with a special invitation to my readers. To celebrate to release of my newest book, Picture Perfect, I’m hosting an online party! I’m calling this my “Bing & Bob” party and it will be held on the night of February 18th at 7:00 p.m. central time. Why Bing and Bob, you ask? These two funny fellas hold a special place in the heart of my characters and they will provide the entertainment at our gathering! This fun, interactive party will take place inside the “Bella’s Back” group on facebook. Join me for an interactive chat, video teasers, Bing Crosby music and giveaways! Yes, giveaways! Drawings will be held every ten minutes to give away free copies of the book. At the end of the hour, a very special drawing will be held to give away a brand new Kindle Fire. How do you enter? Simple! Just join the “Bella’s Back” group. Once inside the group, you can enjoy a video welcome from yours truly and a sample from the Picture Perfect. This will give you a little taste of what’s coming at the party. I can’t wait to share this special evening with my readers to kick off my new Weddings by Design series! Bella’s back, y’all…and things in her world are as wacky and exciting as ever!
 

2.14.2013

Katie's Journey to Love by Jerry Eicher ~ Review

Katie's Journey to Love

Lucie's Review: 

Katie's Journey to Love picks up right where the prequel left off, so I would definitely recommend reading the first book in the series.

Ben, Katie's crush begins to realize what a beautiful young woman she is, but Ben has a secret and some doubts about his faith. Katie goes on a trip to tour the roots of their faith with her Mennonite friends.
Will Katie discover Ben's secret before it's too late?

While this book was enjoyable, I kinda got the feeling that it was more of a bridge between book on and book three, like filler, not much got resolved in this book. Yet if you are invested in this series as I am you really can't miss it either, because it certainly isn't bad!

The only thing I didn't like was that now I really want to read the third book! And I can't wait till it comes out.

Overall, Katie grows a lot as a person and in this book we see her becoming more confident in her faith and learning as she grows, about love, loss and getting along with others. Another lovely book in Katie's story.

I received this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

A Home for Lydia by Vanetta Chapman ~ FIRST Wild Card & Review

A Home for Lydia

Lucie's Review:

If you've read A Promise for Miriam you will probably love its sequel, that not only introduces a new couple but still closely follows Miriam, Gabe, and their family.

I loved how I got to catch up with Gabe and Miriam, along with Miriam's parents. There was also a touch of mystery to it with a mysterious vandal.

Lydia and Aaron had a really cute relationship, and I liked watching them, though I wish they had spent a little more time focusing on them.  But I loved how this book was more of a well-rounded picture of Amish community and relationships.

Overall a very well written read, in a style that pretty much anyone will enjoy. While it isn't totally necessary to read the first book in the series, I think that most would probably like to know how Miriam and Gabe met before reading this book. A lovely book that is sure to delight Amish fans!

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!



Today's Wild Card author is:


and the book:

Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2013)

***Special thanks to Ginger Chen for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Vannetta Chapman has published more than 100 articles in Christian family magazines. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather’s birthplace in Albion, Pennsylvania. Vannetta is a multi-award-winning member of Romance Writers of America. She was a teacher for 15 years and currently resides in the Texas Hill country. Her first two inspirational novels—A Simple Amish Christmas and Falling to Pieces—were Christian Book Distributors bestsellers.

Visit the author's website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:


A Home for Lydia, the second book in a new romantic series from popular author Vannetta Chapman, centers again on the Plain community of Pebble Creek and the kind, caring people there. As they face challenges to their community from the English world, they come together to reach out to their non-Amish neighbors while still preserving their cherished Plain ways.

Aaron Troyer simply wants to farm like his father and grandfather before him. But instead he finds himself overseeing the family's small group of guest cabins nestled along the banks of Pebble Creek. That also means he must work with the cabins' housekeeper, Lydia Fisher.

Lydia is the most outspoken Amish woman Aaron has ever met, and she has strong opinions about how the guest cabins are to be run. She also desperately needs this job. Though sparks fly between boss and employee at first, when the cabins are robbed, nothing is more important to Aaron than making sure Lydia is safe.

Together they work to make the vacation property profitable, but can they find out the identity of the culprit before more damage is done? And is Lydia's dream of a home of her own more than just a wish and a prayer?





Product Details:
List Price: $13.99
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0736946144
ISBN-13: 978-0736946148



AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:


• Prologue •

Wisconsin

May

Lydia Fisher pulled her sweater around her shoulders and sank down on the top step of the last cabin as the sun set along Pebble Creek. The waters had begun to recede from last week’s rains, but the creek still pushed at its banks—running swiftly past the Plain Cabins and not pausing to consider her worries.

Debris from the flooding reached to the bottom step of cabin twelve. She could have reached out and nudged it with the toe of her shoe. Fortunately, the water hadn’t made it into the small cottages.

Almost, though.

Only two days ago she’d stood at the office window and watched as the waters had crept closer to the picturesque buildings nestled along the creek—watched and prayed.

Now the sun was dropping, and she knew she should harness Tin Star to the buggy and head home. Her mother would be putting dinner on the table. Her brother and sisters would be needing help with schoolwork. Her father would be waiting.

Standing up with a weariness that was unnatural for her twenty-two years, Lydia trudged back toward the front of the property, checking each cabin as she went.

All were locked and secure.

All were vacant.

Perhaps this weekend the Englisch tourists would return and provide some income for the owner, Elizabeth Troyer. Guests would also ensure that Lydia kept her job. If the cabins were to close and she were to lose her employment, she wouldn’t be able to convince her brother to stay in school. Their last conversation on the matter had turned into an argument—one she’d nearly lost.

Pulling their old black gelding from the barn, she tied Tin Star’s lead rope to the hitching post, and then she began to work the collar up and over his ears.

“You’re a gut boy. Are you ready to go home? Ready for some oats? I imagine you are.”

He’d been their buggy horse since she was a child, and Lydia knew his days were numbered. What would her family do when he gave out on them? As she straightened his mane and made sure the collar pad protected his shoulders and neck, she paused to rest her cheek against his side. The horse’s sure steady breathing brought her a measure of comfort.

Reaching into the pocket of her jacket, she brought out a handful of raisins. Tin Star’s lips on her hand were soft and wet. Lydia rubbed his neck as she glanced back once more at the cluster of buildings which had become like a small community to her—a community she was responsible for maintaining.

Squaring her shoulders, she climbed into the buggy and turned toward home.

• Chapter 1 •

Downtown Cashton

Thursday afternoon, two weeks later

Aaron Troyer stepped off the bus, careful to avoid a large puddle of rainwater. Because no one else was exiting at Cashton, he didn’t have to wait long for the driver to remove his single piece of luggage from the storage compartment. He’d thanked the man and shouldered the duffel bag when the buggy coming in the opposite direction hit an even bigger puddle, soaking him.

The bus driver had managed to jump out of the way at the last second. “Good luck to you, son.”

With a nod the man was back on the bus, heading farther west. A part of Aaron wished he were riding with him. Another part longed to take the next bus back east, back where he’d come from, back to Indiana.

Neither was going to happen, so he repositioned his damp duffel bag and surveyed his surroundings.

Not much to Cashton.

According to his uncle and his dad, the town was about the same size as Monroe, but Aaron couldn’t tell it. He supposed new places never did measure up to expectations, especially when a fellow would rather not be there.

The ride had been interesting enough. They had crossed the northern part of Indiana, skirted the southern tip of Lake Michigan, traveled through Chicago and Rockford, and finally entered Wisconsin in the south central portion of the state. Aaron had seen more cities in the last twenty-four hours than he’d visited in his entire life. Those had been oddities to him. Something he would tell his family about once he was home, but nothing he would ever care to see again. But passing through the Hidden Valley region of southwestern Wisconsin—now that had caused him to sit up straighter and gaze out of the bus’s window.

There had been an older Englisch couple sitting behind him. They’d had tourist brochures that they read aloud to each other. He’d caught the highlights as he tried to sleep.

He heard them use the word “driftless.” The term apparently indicated a lack of glacial drift. His dat would laugh at that one. Not that he discounted all aspects of science, but he had his doubts regarding what was and wasn’t proven as far as the Ice Age.

According to the couple’s brochure, Wildcat Mountain to the east of Cashton was teeming with wildlife and good hiking. Any other time he might be interested in that piece of information, but he wasn’t staying, so it didn’t matter much to him.

He also learned that small towns in the Driftless Area were at risk of major flooding every fifty to one hundred years.

Staring down at his damp pants, he wondered how much rain they’d had. How much rain were they expecting? He hoped he wouldn’t be here long enough to find out.

Aaron glanced up and down the street. He saw a town hall, a tavern, a café, a general store, and a feed store. A larger building, probably three stories high, rose in the distance, but he had no desire to walk that far because it could be in the wrong direction. Already the sun was heading west, and he’d rather be at the cabins before dark.

Several streets branched off the main one, but they didn’t look any more promising. Pushing his hat down more firmly on his head, he cinched up the duffel bag and walked resolutely toward the feed store.

Instead of heading toward the front door, he moved down the side of the building to the loading docks, where two pickup trucks and a buggy were parked.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the buggy that had sprayed him with rainwater and mud. He would rather not ask information of that person, though in all likelihood the driver had no idea what he’d done. Folks seldom slowed down enough to look outside their own buggy window—even Amish folk. It appeared some things were the same whether you were in Wisconsin or Indiana.

He approached the loading docks, intending to find the owner of the parked buggy.

“That duffel looks heavy… and wet.”

Turning in surprise, he saw a man leaning against the driver’s side of the buggy. Aaron could tell he was tall, even though he was half sitting, tall and thin. Somber brown eyes studied him, and a full dark beard indicated the man was married. Which was no surprise, because a basket with a baby in it sat on the buggy’s floor. The baby couldn’t have been more than a few months old, based on the size of the basket. He couldn’t see much except for a blanket and two small fists waving in the air.

“Duffel wouldn’t be wet if someone hadn’t been determined to break the speed limit with a sorrel mare.”

The man smiled, reached down, and slipped a pacifier into the baby’s mouth. “That would probably have been one of the Eicher boys. I’m sure he meant no harm, but both of them tend to drive on the far side of fast.”

He placed the walnut bowl he’d been sanding with a piece of fine wool on the seat, dusted his hands on his trousers, and then he stepped forward. “Name’s Gabe Miller.”

“Aaron Troyer.”

“Guess you’re new in town.”

“Ya. Just off the bus.”

“Explains the duffel.”

Aaron glanced again at the sun, headed west. Why did it seem to speed up once it was setting? “I was looking for the Plain Cabins on Pebble Creek. Have you heard of them?”

“If you’re needing a room for the night, we can either find you a place or take you to our bishop. No need for you to rent a cabin.”

Easing the duffel bag off his shoulder and onto the ground, Aaron rested his hands on top of it. “Actually I need to go to the cabins for personal reasons. Could you tell me where they are?”

“Ya. I’d be happy to give you directions, but it’s a fair piece from here if you’re planning on walking.”

Aaron pulled off his hat and ran his hand over his hair. Slowly he replaced it as he considered his options. He’d boarded the bus ten hours earlier. He was used to long days and hard work. Though he was only twenty-three, he’d been working in the fields for nine years—since he’d left the schoolhouse after eighth grade. It was work he enjoyed. What he didn’t like was ten hours on a bus, moving farther away from his home, on a trip that seemed to him like a fool’s mission.

“Sooner I start, sooner I’ll arrive.”

“Plain Cabins are on what we call the west side of Pebble Creek.”

“You mean the west side of Cashton?”

“Well, Cashton is the name of the town, but Plain folks mostly refer to Pebble Creek, the river.”

“The same river going through town?”

“Yes. There are two Plain communities here—one to the east side of town, and one to the west. I live on the east side. The cabins you’re looking for are on the west. The town’s sort of in the middle. You can walk to them from here, but as I said, it’s a good ways. Maybe five miles, and there are quite a few hills in between, not to mention that bag you’re carrying… ”

Instead of answering, Aaron hoisted the duffel to his shoulder.

Throughout the conversation, Gabe’s expression had been pleasant but serious. At the sound of voices, he glanced up and across the street, toward the general store. When he did, Aaron noticed a subtle change in the man, like light shifting across a room. Some of the seriousness left his eyes and contentment spread across his face.

Following his gaze, Aaron saw the reason why—a woman. She was beautiful and had the darkest hair he’d ever seen on an Amish woman. A small amount peeked out from the edges of her prayer kapp. She was holding the hand of a young girl, who was the spitting image of the man before him. Both the woman and the child were carrying shopping bags.

“I was waiting on my family. Looks like they’re done. We’d be happy to take you by the cabins.”

“I don’t want to be a bother,” Aaron mumbled.

Gabe smiled, and now the seriousness was completely gone, as if having his family draw close had vanquished it. As if having his family close had eased all of the places in his heart.

Aaron wondered what that felt like. He wanted to be back with his own parents, brothers, and sisters in Indiana, but even there he felt an itching, a restlessness no amount of work could satisfy.

From what he’d seen of Wisconsin so far, he could tell he wasn’t going to be any happier here. He’d arrived less than thirty minutes ago, and he couldn’t wait to get back home.

Gabe was already moving toward his wife, waving away his protest.

“If it were a bother, I wouldn’t have offered.”

2.12.2013

A Hero's Throne by Ross Lawhead ~ Review

A Hero's Throne (Ancient Earth Trilogy, #2)

My Review:

Freya and Daniel, with their newfound companions continue on their quest to awaken the sleeping knights in their mission to save the world, from the dark forces below.

Ok, first of all I want to tell you that it is VERY important to read the first book in the trilogy before picking this one up, because it picks up instantly after the last one. Even though I had read the first book in the series, I still found myself confused for quite some time because I had read the first book 2 years ago, and I had forgotten alot of key plot twists and important facts. Another thing that made it really hard to get into at first was how many different story threads there are that at first are hard to put together. But when everything started to fall in place and I remembered again the book picked up and I enjoyed it immensely.

There is plenty of action, and lots of chapter cliffhangers that kept me reading. I loved the very fantastical, yet allegoricalness of this book, because the allegory doesn't pop right out at you the first page of the book, it grows and takes form as you read.

Overall, I kinda felt like I couldn't enjoy this book as much as I could have because of the length of time in between reading the first book and the second, so I guess that would be my fault. But if you like speculative fiction I think that you will enjoy Mr. Lawhead's The Ancient Earth Trilogy.

I recieved this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

2.09.2013

All for a Song by Allison K. Pittman ~ Review

All for a Song

My Review: First of all let me just say that I absolutely loved this book, Ms. Pittman has never failed to draw me into her books and the characters within.

Dorothy Lynn Dunbar is a small-town young woman, engaged to the man who took over her father's pulpit, as preacher. Yet a small part of her longs for more, to see a bit more of the world and to be able to freely write the songs that come to her mind.
On a visit to her sister's, Dorothy get's a once in a lifetime opportunity to sing her songs on a stage, the feeling is unlike any she has ever felt before. Will Dorothy find the place where her heart truly belongs?

I absolutely loved the character development in this story, Ms. Pittman did and stunningly wonderful job of bringing Dorothy to life, Dorothy was innnocent, yet she had her head on straight. A she truly learned from her experiences, and they made her wiser.

I suppose I should probably mention that this isn't exactly a romance, as Brent and Dorothy already know each other from the beginning, and then get engaged very early in the story, but I would say that this book is a love story about the testing of their love and finding where the hear belongs.

I loved how with this book I never quite knew exactly what would happen next, or what Dorothy would do. This book was so hard to put down! I finished it at 2 AM in the morning :)

Overall, a well written read about a young woman's journey, and the lessons she learned. I don't want to give too much away, but this book was amazing!

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

2.05.2013

Almost Amish by Kathryn Cushman ~ Review

Almost Amish
Lucie's Review:

This book is really different in that it's not an Amish story, or even a romance, but about people who are on a reality show...which is being filmed...thus making it far from Amish.
Susan and Julie are sisters-in-law and Susan has been having a hard time since her divorce, and taking this challenge to live "like the Amish" is her big chance to get her own segment on a big show, but she has to have one friend join her, so she asks Julie.
Will Julie and Susan survive the show or will their friendship be destroyed.

This is the story about two women and the testing of their friendship and how this experience challenges their whole everyday philosophy. There's a lot of drama, but through this both Susan and Julie comes to new realizations about their lives. There are alot of threads running through the cloth of this story and I like watching them connect.

Overall I think this book showed that "simple" isn't really that simple after all. Honestly this book wasn't really my kind of story, it wasn't slow or anything, but I guess I just strongly dislike reality shows. This was a nice book for people who like books about restoring order to their lives.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

Til Grits Do Us Part by Jennifer Rogers Spinola ~ Review

'Til Grits Do Us Part (Southern Fried Sushi #3)

My Review: Love, mystery, and a wedding in the South!

Shiloh Jacobs is preparing to start her life with Adam, her knight in UPS brown, when mysterious red roses start showing up everywhere and strange connections begin to come to light.
Will Shiloh be able to marry the love of her life while dodging the advances of a stalker, and finally come to terms with her mother's death?

I loved how the characters aren't perfect and Shiloh was very relatable in that not everything went right for her, and at times it felt like nothing would go right for her! But Shiloh struggled at times to trust and have faith.

I loved all of the characters along with their fun quirks. One of my favorites is Becky. I really liked Adam and how he honestly wanted to do right by Shiloh, and didn't want to kiss her til they were married :)

Overall, a wonderful and fun read with stellar characters and a great setting, a wonderful conclusion to Shiloh's Southern Fried Sushi Series. This series is unique in that while it's quirky, it still is surprisingly relatable all at the same time! A delightful series that I would definitely recommend, though they are best read in order :)

I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
 

Safe in His Arms by Colleen Coble ~ Litfuse Blog Tour & Review

Safe in His Arms

My Review: Love under a Texas sky.

Margaret struggles to trust others, and God. But when her father makes a shocking revelation that he intends to leave the family ranch to her cousin instead of her, Margaret doesn't know how to change her father's mind. A new ranchhand comes to town, but he just may be hiding more than any of them see...

A nice sequel to Ms. Coble's Blue Moon Promise, with old and new characters alike, in this stand alone novel. While there are some connections to the previous book, Ms. Coble explains much of what happened in  Blue Moon Promise, so that new readers won't get lost in this delightful western.

Margaret was a strong and vulnerable heroine, who was very endearing. Though to be honest I wasn't exactly a huge Daniel fan, especially in the beginning because of how terribly forward he was with Margaret. But he later improved :)

Overall, a nice western read with twists and turns that keep you wondering throughout. With old and new friends within the pages, Safe in His Arms is an engaging and quick read. I'll definitely be on the lookout for the next book in the series!

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

About Safe in His Arms:

Sometimes it takes a stranger to see you as you really are.

Under Texas Stars, Book 2
Born and raised on sprawling Texas land, Margaret O'Brien prides herself on her competence as a rancher. But her father believes she's made for more than just dawn-to-dusk work. He wants her to have the love of a good man, to raise children, to build a life. But Margaret gave up such dreams years ago. She's convinced no man would have her, that the ranch is her life now.

So when Margaret's father hires Daniel Cutler as a new foreman, she's frustrated and suspicious. Then an overheard conversation links him with a gang of bank robbers, and she's downright worried. Daniel swears he's not involved, but Margaret's not convinced. She knows the man still has secrets. But would a criminal be so kind and talk so convincingly of his faith? As a series of tragic "accidents" threatens all she holds dear, Margaret must decide what to trust: her own ears, her best judgment . . . or what her heart keeps telling her.

Link to buy the book: http://ow.ly/hc6cu 
 


Meet Colleen:
Best-selling author Colleen Coble's novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, ACFW Book of the Year, RWA's RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers' Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has nearly 2 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers and is a member of Romance Writers of America. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana.
Find out more about Colleen at http://www.colleencoble.com/.   
 
 

2.04.2013

Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss ~ Litfuse Blog Tour and Review

Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska

Lucie's Review:

Ginny is a singer on the brink signing a contract with a major recording label, but now in light of all the chaos around her she goes home to Glacier Bay to seek the advice and companionship of her best friend and ex-fiance, Brett.
Brett's grandmother gives Ginny a collection of old letters to read that tell a timeless tale of love overcoming hardship.

This was an enjoyable read, and I really liked following the two stories and seeing how the old stories had an effect on Ginny. I liked the interactions between the characters, and how Ginny healed through her relationship with God and with her friends. I really liked the old-time story, and how it really added to the one set in present day. One of my favorite characters was Ellie's grandfather, his faith and sense of contentment was inspiring.

Overall, this was a well written book and I really got the feel for the two stories and thought they went well together. It's a hard book to describe because it isn't a story that goes in a straight line, but the heart is there. Ginny didn't deal with things the way that she should have, but it made her human I could see that sometimes when she pushed people away it was her way of crying for help. A surprising satisfying read :)

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

About Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska:

Singer Ginny Marshall is one signature away from the recording contract of her dreams-a deal that would guarantee success for the former foster child, who still struggles to bury the memories of her painful childhood. But Ginny needs advice from the one person who will look out for her best interests-her former fiancé, Brett Miller. She travels to the remote town of Glacier Bay, Alaska, where the town's colorful characters and stunning scenery provide respite from LA's pressures.

In Glacier Bay, Ginny discovers a box of old letters and is swept up in the love story between Clay, an early missionary to Alaska Territory, and Ellie, the woman who traveled there to be his children's governess. When Ginny is reunited with Brett in Glacier Bay, will she discover-as Ellie did-that healing and love are sometimes found in the most unexpected places?


Link to buy the book: http://ow.ly/gQiNn

Tricia Goyer
Meet the Authors: 

Tricia Goyer is the award winning author of over thirty books including Beside Still Waters, Remembering You, and the mommy memoir, Blue Like Play Dough. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences and is the host of Living Inspired. She and her family make their home in Little Rock, Arkansas where they are part of the ministry of FamilyLife.

Find out more about Tricia at
http://triciagoyer.com.
 
Ocieanna Fleiss is a published author and editor. She lives with her husband and their four children in the Seattle area.

Find out more about Ocieanna at http://ocieanna.com/.
 
 
Check out all the other great stops on this tour here: http://litfusegroup.com/author/Tgoyer

 
Celebrate with Tricia and Ocieanna by entering their "Glacier Bay" Giveaway and RSVPing for their Facebook Party on Feb. 12th!


Glacier-Bay-300

One fortunate winner will receive:
  • A gorgeous handmade “Glacier Bay” bracelet
  • A handmade cowl in "Glacier Bay" blues and greens
  • A bottle of custom-made "Glacier Bay" sparkle polish in blue
  • Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss and their two other “Love Finds You” titles {Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana, and Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington}
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 11th. Winner will be announced at the "Glacier Bay" Author Chat Party on February 12th. Connect with authors Tricia and Ocieanna, get a sneak peek of their new book projects, try your hand at the Alaska trivia contest, and chat with readers just like you. There will also be great giveaways—gift certificates, books, and more!

So grab your copy of Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska, and join Tricia and Ocieanna on the evening of February 12th for a chance to connect with the authors and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun, RSVP todayTell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 12th!

2.02.2013

The Reluctant Earl by C.J. Chase ~ Review

The Reluctant Earl

Lucie's Review:
 Julian inherits his family's title after the of his father, when he get's a mysterious letter implying that his father's death was no accident. So he goes to his older sister for help, and finds the governess, Miss Leah Vance rifling through his things.
Leah is a spy for the resistance, it isn't nescessarily her cause but she needs the to help her sister who is being kept in an assylum.
Together Leah and Julian must band together to uncover who is trying to harm them.

A intriguing and complex tale with twists and turns enough to keep your head spinning. The character are not what they first appear to be, which kept me guessing and reading. This book was a bit slow to start, but after the first bit it really picked up, big time!

Leah and Julian had pretty good interaction, and learning to trust each other. I loved how this book kept be me guessing who the bad guy was til the very end. I had no clue!

Overall a very satisfying read, that kept me guessing til the end, because just when I thought it was over, it wasn't! A action packed read, with wonderful faith-filled characters.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!