Life, Love and Books

  Letters From My Sister                                  by Valerie Fraser Luesse This is the first book I have read by Valerie Fraser Luesse, the title drew me in and I was hooked from page one. This is one book I would recommend to anyone who loves to read an historical read.  As we open the book we meet the Bullock sisters Emmy and Callie who live a very rich and fulfilled life. One day their lives are turned upside down, when their family opens their home up to the granddaughter of one of their servants. Lily McGee was born with an exotic beauty and has a secret of her own she is trying to protect; her unborn baby.  Shortly after Lily has her little girl, terror visits the Bullock household and Callie suffers from short memory loss. The only image she can remember is an image of her sister Emmy standing on the riverbank holding Lilys baby girl in her arms. Having to take the steps to...

  The Swindler's Daughter  by Stephenia H. McGee This is the second book that I have read by Stephenia H. McGee and I have to say that her  books are very much a delight to read. In The Swindlers Daughter we meet a precious young lady,  Lillian Doyle who has just  learned the truth about her father. Her journey to see the inheritance left behind, turns into a path of  finding her freedom and following her dreams. Along the way she finds the love of family and the hope of having a future with Jonah. But there is some obstacles in Lillian and Jonahs path that they each have to face down. Wil they each be able to place their hope in God as they face down what is in front of them? Oh my, I loved reading this book!! It has a mix of romance, mystery and action all rolled into one. I didn't want to put it down, before I got to the last page. I would recommend this book to all who loved reading a mix of romance with a dash of mystery. I  was provided a complim...

Don't Keep Silent by Elizabeth Goddard In the third installment of the Uncommon Justice series, we return to the McKade ranch in snowy Wyoming. Liam Mckade has returned to his childhood home to find out what he want to next in his life. Never did he ever think when he came back home to see his brothers did he think he would run into the one woman he didn't want to see again. Rae Burke's sister in law has disappeared for the second time and Rae's investigative reporter skills have been called upon by her brother. The clues lead her to the wintery Wyoming and its busy  ski slopes. But she was not prepared to run into someone from her past, that she has caused pain in their life. As Rae discovers clues along the way about her sisters in law past, that make her wonder if she ever knew  her sister in law at all. Her search starts to lead her down some very dark  twists and turns that lead her head on into danger....

The Runaway Bride By Jody Hedlund In the second installment to The Bride Ship series, we return to the colony of British Columbia. With the shortage of women to men, the bride ships brought over eligible women that would marry the men in the colony. We meet wealthy Arabella Lawrence, who has ran away on her wedding day from the man she does not love. Her hope is she will find a  gentleman in her social circles, who will provide for her and love her. But she does not want to rush into a marriage and make the same mistakes she did before. As the town baker, Peter Kelly has put his all into building his business, now he has his eyes set on finding a bride from the newly arrived bride ship. When he meets Arabella for the first time, he is taken by her inner beauty. Peter than resolves to pursue Arabella and woo her, but his pursuit for her is thwarted by the savvy Lieutenant Richard Drummond. When the Navy Lieutenant Richard Drummond starts sh...

Claim Your Crown by Tarah-Lynn Saint-Elien Young Women in todays society are living in a world that teaches them to be dissatisfied with their body image. Society's standards say that we need to look, act or be a certain way and at times it is a double standard. Deep down inside they are longing for more then what is offered by the people around them.  In this book we meet a beautiful young lady who has faced some insecurities of her own and has overcome them. By using her deep insight on the many subjects that touch young women today, she brings some new light to each of these that helps us to understand it better.  By dismantling lies and myths that have been fed to us by society, Tarah helps us to see the truth that our heavenly Father. By bringing us to a better understanding of how He loves us so much that He longs to bestow a crown on each of our beautiful heads. I would recommend this book to all young women to read!! "I voluntarily ...

Still By Jenny L Donnelly Do you struggle with worrying? Do you struggle with dread of upcoming events in your life?    Does the pressures and stress of your everyday life trigger anxiety in you?  These are several of the questions that this book addresses.  Jenny teaches us how to find and experience the true life giving peace that can be found in the midst of the chaos surrounding each of us. She will help you to see that rest is not just something we do, but it is also a place we can find. By sharing her own personal story of struggles,  Jenny introduces us to the true source of peace that is found in Jesus Christ.  She takes us thru the steps to take in any situation to find the rest we are so longing for in our lives. By revealing how to operate that place deep down inside each of us that will power our identity and creativity in our lives.  This book will help you to find the rest that is so longed for by so many. ...

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 ...

An Amish Christmas Bakery by Amy Clipston, Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller and Kelly Irvin Sorry I am a little late on sharing this review, but I think we need a little Christmas Cheer at the beginning of this new year.  Cookies and Cheer by Amy Clipston Alyssa Byler has amazing ideas for the bakery store display window, for this Christmas season she comes up with the idea of a Sugar cookie Nativity scene. She reaches out to the local blacksmith's son, Kyle Smoker to make the much needed cookie cutters. When the display brings in more customers than the bakery can handle, Alyssa starts to put in more hours at work then she has time for. While Kyle is starting to feel overwhelmed by the amount of orders that are coming in for the cookie cutters. Will Kyle and Alyssa be able to put aside the craziness of the holiday rush to see what it is right in front of them? Will they be able to see the beauty of Christmas and the love it bring to us?...

Strong Brave Loved by Holley Gerth Author Holley  Gerth takes her writing to the another level in this devotional/journal. She touches us deep, where the longing is intense to be a confident and victorious woman. This devotional takes us on that journey toward finding the woman we want to be in our lives. Toward becoming Strong to stand our ground, Brave enough to face the battles in front of us and Loved deep enough to take the leap of faith. We all struggle with fears and insecurities in our lives, this devotional helps us to take a moment and get the hope we need. This devotional is a must read for women of all ages, I would recommend it for all to read. "I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by the  publisher. A favorable review was not required, all views expressed are my own."

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...

Whisper by Mark Batterson  Have you ever longed to hear the voice of God in your life? In the days of the Bible times, it was something that was part of the lives of the Israelite.  The best-selling author of the book, Circle Maker introduces us to discovering the 7 languages of God. The voice that spoke the world around us into existence and breathed life into each human being is the same voice that spoke to Joseph in the prison and closed the mouths if the lions for Daniel in the lions den. That voice is the voice of God, who longs to speak love and hope into all of our lives. His voice comes as a whisper, not to make it difficult for us to hear him, but to draw us closer to him. If you are like many people it is hard to believe that God still speaks in our lives. Mark Batterson truly believes that God does speak to us!! Diving into this book we can open a door to decipher the Seven Languages of God; Scripture, Desires, Doors, Dreams, People, Pr...

Isaiah's Daughter by Mesu Andrews  The prophet Isaiah is a well-known prophet that is part of the old testament history. This book draws on the history of Israel during a time of division. Israel in the North has bowed to pagan worship, while in Judah a small remnant of Yahweh's faithful is clinging to the one true God.  In the middle of this war-torn country is a young orphan girl Ishma, who all she has known in her young life is desolation. Her life turns around when she finds a place as a servant in the home of the prophet Isaiah. A  kinship is created between the little servant girl and the young crown prince Hezekiah. As the years pass these two young ones their friendship grows, creating a bond that is forged from the pain in their lives.  As Isaiah watches the relationship between these two young ones mature over the years, he sees what he needs to do in the time ahead of him. He makes a bold move in adopting Ishma making her his da...

Becoming Resilient  by Donna Gibbs Resilience is something we all long for in our lives, each of us have faced some kind of difficulty at some time. Disappointment, rejection, injustice, loss and grief is part of our lives. This suffering can leave us broken inside, while going thru the motions on the outside. We can remain stuck in negative patterns or choose to move forward toward healing.  Donna Gibbs brings to the table twenty years of experience as a professional counselor. Drawing from that experience, she shares the secrets of building your resilience to change your experience of suffering. By offering practical tools and effective coping strategies to with whatever life throws at us. Using these tools and coping strategies can help you move through suffering and come out on the other side stronger. Grief and loss is part of our life, at some point we all have had to face this.  This book helps us deal with all of this in our lives. I would r...

Bread of Angels  by Tessa Afshar There is a brief passage in the Bible about Lydia the seller of purple, so I jumped at the chance to review this book. Also, I have read another book by Tessa Afshar and I loved it. She does a wonderful job of writing about biblical stories and brings them to life in her books. Her newest novel takes place during the time of Paul's travels through Roman empire. We find Lydia learning the trade of making purple dye from her father.  Her life is filled with spending her days with her father making the dye that provides for their needs. One  day her father has an accident causing him to be unable to perform his job, Lydia takes over the everyday duties of making the dye. The young man that rescued her dad makes an offer to both of them seems too good to be true. As time passes by,  Lydia's life is overturned by false accusations against her father, Running from the disgrace, she finds a home in Phillippi. Doing t...

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...

A Flight Of Arrows  by Lori Benton In the second book of the Pathfinders Series, we find Anna Doyle waiting for the love of her life, Two Hawks to return. After finding out her brother is the missing twin of Two Hawks, Anna longs for William to be found. Her adopted father Reginald still struggles with his guilt from twenty years ago. When the twins parents reach out to Reginald and show him forgiveness; he chooses to forge on each day in his guilt.  When William found out the truth of his past, he took off and headed to join the ranks of the aggressive British. When Reginald and Stone Thrower, the father of the twins come together to search for their missing son; it takes them into the midst of the battle. Lydia who longs for Reginald to be released from his emotional prison; chooses to go with Anna to the camp of Two Hawks family. As they wait for their beloved ones to come home, they prepare for the needs of the wounded that...