Life, Love and Books

An Uncommon Woman  by Laura Frantz I am a big fan of historical reads and this one from Laura Frantz did not disappoint me. Also I was even surprised to find some areas mentioned that seemed very familiar to me. So it was very interesting to find that the area was being written about is now part of Pennsylvania.  It takes place the mountains of western Virginia territory in 1770, we meet the heroine  Tessa Swan, who was raised with 5 brothers. So she has learned to be tough and face the challenges straight on. One day into her life walks Clay Tygart, the one man that can truly intrigue her like no other has. But he brings back into her life her long lost friend, Keturah. This adds a little confusion to their lives, the stigma of being an Indian captive can cause a lot of issues for her friend. But Tessa is willing to help her dear friend to acclimate back to living in her old life.  As a former Lenape Indian captive himself, Clay ...

When Life doesn't Match Your Dreams by Jill Eileen Smith Life throws us every which way, with twists and turns on the road we are traveling. As young girls we dream of our future and we make plans of who we want to be when we grow up. But then we are faced with reality when things just fall apart in front of us. Our dreams are shattered like a glass that has fallen to the floor. Each of has faced choices that we may have never dreamed of growing up, choices that have changed our path in life. Yet thru all of the things in our life there has been one person there for us-God, he is always on our side.  As an author of several biblical novels, Jill Eileen Smith has brought us her insight from all her time researching  the women of the Old Testament. Some of the women we can learn from is Eve, the first mother; Noah's wife, Sarai, Rachel, Rebekah and many more. Each of these women have something from their lives that we can learn fr...

Lady of a Thousand Treasures by Sandra Byrd As a talented evaluator of antiquities, Eleanor Sheffield has been trained to know the difference between a fake and the real thing. But when her father passes away and her uncles health is not the best, she has to step up and save the family business. As an unmarried woman in this era Eleanor is not allowed to run Sheffield Brothers on her own.  When an unexpected opportunity falls in their lap with the death of a very wealthy client who has chosen Eleanor as the temporary trustee of the estate. She is given the responsibility to make a very big decision of what will happen to the collection. To make a choice of giving the collection to the museum or allow it to stay with the only living son of the Baron, Harry.   Eleanor starts questioning  Harry's motives, when her uncle is attacked and their home is broken into.  With the debt collectors threats and the income that...

Amish Celebrations by Beth Wiseman In the newest addition to the books written by Beth Wiseman is Amish Celebrations. Four stories in one that brings hope to all of us who love a good story.  The Gift of Sisters , We meet a set of Twins getting ready to enjoy their rumschpringe together. Both are different as night and day, but when they meet a new guy in their community things start getting hairy. With each young women falling for the same guy, it drives the sisters apart from each other. Will they see that the bond between them is the love doe each other? A New Beginning A young couple in love and ready to be baptized into the church, when one night out on his rumschpringe makes his beloved question their future. As they navigate the turns and twists of the road of relationships, will they be able to see the hope and light at the end of the tunnel.  A Perfect Plan When her beloved pops the question on her 19th bday, Priscilla starts planning her w...

Shelter of the Most High by Connilyn Cossette In the second installment of the Cities of Refuge series, we find the young Eitan as an adult living in Kedesh. The last eleven years he has been haunted by the tragedy from his childhood, while struggling with the boundaries placed on him by his mother's husband. When his life is suddenly changed when two young women are brought into the city of Refuge. Sofea has grown up with the freedom of the ocean around her, never realizing it might save her cousin's and her life. One day their village was attacked and they was kidnapped by the marauders that wiped out the village. When Sofea and her cousin escape they find themselves being rescued by a band of warriors from Kedesh. This city has provided a refuge for so many that have came thru its gates, now it has become a  safe haven for Sofea and her cousin. While Eitan considers the city of refuge his prison, all he has ever wanted is to train and become a warrior to pr...

Judah's Wife: The Silent Years #2 By Angela Hunt In the second installment of "The Silent Years" series we meet a young Leah on the eve of the time for a choice to be made of who is to be her husband. To her surprise the man who had rescued her and her friend from a young group of Hellene's. This man that her father has chosen for her to marry, is her way out of the home of strife and contempt. But then the peace that Leah has longed for is interrupted by Judah's Father's plan resist the King's decree. This resistance leads to a war that costs her father in laws life and put Judah, in charge of the resistance.  The one thing Leah has longed for is a home that is full of peace is being taken from her by her husbands choice to fulfill his fathers dying wish. She can not understand why her new family has chosen to stand for the One True God. Also, Leah does not understand what kind of God would destroy her chance at peace.  This story is told th...

He Calls You Beautiful  "Hearing the Voice of Jesus in the Song Of Songs" by Dee Brestin "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" a Quote from Song of Solomon. This Quote comes from one of the most misunderstood books of the bible. It seems it gets overlooked by so many in the church. Dee Brestin takes the time to break this book down to help us understand it. God wrote us a love song that shows us how much love He has for us as His children.  I love that she takes the chapter and breaks it down to where we can understand it. It does not matter if we are single, married or widowed, we are all alike in God's eyes. One of His Beloved!!!   This book can be used as an in depth bible study in a group setting or alone. I would recommend this book for all women to read.  I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging For Books and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*

Beauty Begins:  Making Peace with Your Reflection by Chris Shook and Megan Shook Alpha A Mother and daughter team bring to us a fresh look at the struggle girls and women are facing today. Diving into a very hard topic that bombards us everywhere from billboards to magazines in the grocery store checkout line. Exploring the origins of true beauty, while challenging all women to trade the pressure to meet a certain perfect look, for what God has provided for us in perfect love.  Our culture has taken a precious thing and created it into an obsession that has made us into objects more than humans. It does not matter where we turn we face images that feed us that beauty is all about looks. I, myself have struggled with this issue to the point I could not see the truth in the mirror.  The mother and daughter team share from their life experiences and struggles with body image and appearance. Drawing from what they have been thru they give us ...

An Encounter with the Saviour thru the Women of Easter!! A Review of Women of Easter by Liz Curtis Higgs. "This Season of Grace, Deepen Your Faith in God Who So Loved the World that He Gave Us His Son."    A quote from Amazon   As I read this book it gave me more insight into the Easter story, a very different outlook. Liz breaks down each verse and brings it to life with her writing. We meet the women who followed our Lord thru his journey to the cross. Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene are just a few of the women that are spoken about. Each of these women played a special part in the ministry and journey of Jesus Christ. It amazes me how much women are held highly by our Lord. He cared enough to speak to the women and provide comfort for them even in his time of suffering. He put aside his cares to think of provision for his mother while he was on the cross. Then he chose to appear to a very shaken up  Mary Magdalene after his...

Deep Extraction: An FBI Task Force Novel by Diann Mills  Deep Extraction brings another thrilling read that dives into the deep world of oil drilling. The story follows an FBI agent and US Marshall who are investigating the mysterious death of a businessman and friend. When an oil and gas magnate Nathan Moore is found dead by his wife, she becomes the main suspect in the murder case.  Special Agent Tori  Templeton is torn between choosing to stand by her dear friend Sally's side or focus totally on finding the person who has killed Sally's husband. Joining Tori and her partner is recently reinstated Deputy US Marshall Cole Jeffers, who has just come back from a time away.   As more clues are unearthed that reveal a secret lifestyle that was unknown by victim's family it gets to be more difficult for those investigating the case. The more the team sift thru the clues it seems they are finding that the case may be more of a maze of bad new...

Love Bears All Things (An Amish Secrets Novel) by Beth Wiseman In the second installment of the An Amish Secrets series, we find Charlotte Dolinsky needing time to recover from a bad breakup with her boyfriend. When suddenly the answer to her troubles shows up on her doorsteps in the form of her Amish friend's brother. Turning away from all of her life issues, she focuses on helping this young man in his time of struggle. In the midst of all the things going on. Charlotte chooses to be very deceptive of what is going on. But she is not the only one that is hiding secrets from their friends. Daniel Byler lives with a struggle to heal every day in his beloved Amish community, after being betrayed by his fiance. Now his pain has turned to fear after he discover's that another of his family members is in danger of being shunned.His only hope is to turn to the most unlikely person for help, an  Englisher, Charlotte Dolinsky. As the two spend time together,...

Grace and the Preacher by Kim Vogel Sawyer The newest book from Kim Vogel Sawyer was very much one of the most interesting ones I have read. She pulled a storyline together and was able to share the message of standing up for what was right in the face of wrong. I love that there were two romances in the storyline, an older couple and the younger couple.  Grace gave up on finding her true love and had settled in her position as the postmistress for the town of Fairland. But when her beloved uncle chooses to step down from the pulpit and let a younger preacher take over his congregation. When the responsibility of corresponding to the new preacher was handed over to Grace, she took it on like all of her other duties. As time passed the letters increased, Grace grew eager to meet the new preacher. Theophil made a choice and now his past is trying to catch up with him. Ten years ago his cousins planned a train robbery and convinced Theo to help them. B...

Shadow of the Storm by Connilyn Cossette This is the first book I have read written by Connilyn Cossett, the first thing that interested me in reading her books was the biblical aspect of her story line. From the moment I picked up the book to the end I was hooked to the story. Getting to take a step back into the time period of Moses was a delight for me. It gives me a different look at the scriptures and helped me to understand some of the events that happened  during the long journey to the promised land. This is the second installment to the Out Of  the Egypt series, it continues with the Israelite's journey to the promise land. Shira now is living in freedom with her family at the foot of Mt Sinai.When the opportunity comes along for Shira to learn a new trade, it awakens a new desire in her. Going against her mother's wishes to continue in the families weaving trade; she pursues the calling of becoming a midwifes apprentice.  When a delivery goes wro...

Today we will be having a very special person visiting the Blog!! We welcome Rachelle Dekker, the author of the Seers series. The Returning  by Rachelle Dekker When I heard that Rachelle Dekker was the daughter of Ted Dekker, it really peaked  my interest in reading her first book The Choosing. I truly do love getting to read new authors books, because I never know when I might find another fave.   After I read The Choosing I was hooked and could not wait to read the next book. Rachelle is very good at taking a story line and moving it along in years; without making you feel like you missed out on something. Also she takes the Christian faith and puts it into a very different way of thinking that even had me looking at my life differently. It made me take a step back and see how much we are like Elise. That we each as believers have a light inside of us that we need to let shine on all who is around us. Also being able to see our Lord Jesus Christ po...

Fraying at the Edge by Cindy Woodsmall With the second installment of The Amish of Summer Grove, we return to find the lives of Ariana Brenneman and Skylar Nash turned all upside down. Both girls have found out that they had been switched at birth and now are to spend a whole year living with their birth families. With only one link to there old lives, each of these girls have to take another look at the world around them. Each from very different worlds now having to take another look at their lives and decide what is the next step to take.   Cindy Woodsmall has brought us another very heartwarming series, that reaches out to each one of us and pulls us in. The story line is about two babies switched at birth, that both come from two very different backgrounds. It is not easy to be uprooted from all you ever known and be placed in a total opposite lifestyle. The way Cindy takes each of the families and intertwine each of their stories, while keeping us turning each ...

Take Your Life Back:  How to Stop Letting the Past and Other People Control You by Stephen Arterburn , M.Ed.  and David Stoop, Ph.D. Just as the title says is what this book truly about, making the choice to take your life back and to become the person you are to be in life. If you are looking for hope in your life of overcoming feelings and habits that have controlled you for a long time look no more. Overcoming the hurts and habits that are keeping us from moving forward, while taking new and very positive steps toward change in our lives.Getting healing from the hurts, setbacks and broken relationships that have effected every day of our lives. As I was reading this book, I myself had to take time and look at my past to see the issues that was holding me back from going further in my life. I found this book to be very helpful at working on the problems that I felt I was stuck on and could not find the freedom from. To anyone that needs or is looking for a way ...

Gratitude  A Prayer and Praise Coloring Journal For all adult coloring books fans here is another option of a way for a believer to strengthen their prayer life. Each page comes with saying or a prayer to help thru your day. Pages for you to write out your prayers and thoughts. Being able to be creative without having to feel like you had to have lessons in art is a very good thing. I found it to be very relaxing to color the pages, while also taking time to write my thoughts and or a prayer out on the provided pages. There is also several pages where you can do your own illustrations.  I received a copy of this book courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers for the purpose of reviewing. I was not required to give a positive review. 

Wild Montana Skies by Susan May Warren I was blessed with the opportunity to meet Susan May Warren in person, recently at our local community library. She had chosen our library as one of her stops on her book tour for Wild Montana Skies. Her visit to our little local reading spot was a bright spot for several of our regular patrons. Susan spent some of her time with us telling us about her newest series and giving us some tips on becoming an author. In her newest series called Montana Rescue, Susan introduces us to a new group of unsung heroes. A SAR  (Search and Rescue) team that has been put together by a very wealthy benefactor in the town of Mercy Falls, Montana. In Montana Rescue we meet a former military search and rescue pilot Kacey Fairing who has returned home on a leave. During her time home she has accepted an offer to fly for the local SAR team, with the hopes of reconnecting with her teenage daughter. At the same time Ben King has placed his dreams and c...

Where Two Hearts Meet by Liz Johnson Return to the beautiful Prince Edward Island in the newest arrival from Liz Johnson. We briefly met Caden Holt in the first book of the series as the baker at her fathers shop. Now we find her in the position of executive chef at the Red Door Inn. Being able to do the her favorite thing in life, baking and making meals for others. When word comes that a travel writer is coming to visit the Inn, Caden is placed into a position she does not want. Her boss is concerned about the lack of profit coming in and the promise of a travel writer brings hope in their dire situation. Caden is their best hope at entertaining the writer and showing him the sights while selling the red door inn as a choice for a travel site. Liz Johnson has written another delightful read based on the Prince Edward Island; also the home to the Anne of Green Gables series. I love getting to read about a different area then where I live. Caden reminds me of myself, wan...

Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctors Personal Journey through Depression by Dr Michelle Bengtson As a board-certified neuropyschologist, Dr Michelle Bengtson has seen the devastation that depression causes to people. In her practice she prescribed the most effective  treatments for her patients. When one day the tables turned and she was now the patient suffering from depression; struggling just to get thru one day at a time. Using the same treatments that she prescribed for her patients, she felt worse than before. Seeking to find the hope she needed to overcome depression she turned to the one book that showed her grace, The Bible. Taking from her experience, Dr Bengston writes the words that most people struggling with depression will recognize. Taking her training and blending it with a vital missing piece, she shows us that we can pull thru even if it does not feel like we are going to make it. If you are someone who is struggling with depression or you know someon...