Life, Love and Books

A Life Once Dreamed by Rachel Fordham This is my first time ever reading a book written by Rachel Fordham, I truly love getting to read new to me authors. The first thing that draws me to this book is the cover which portrays an genre that I have loved since I was a little girl, the genre historical.  As you open to the first page you are drawn back to a time when things were very different than they are know. A time when things were more simple, but also women  only had some many choices of what they could do in their life. Our heroine Agnes Pratt has a deep secret that sent her running away from the life that she had dreamed of. It has led her to the small  town of Penance, where she has established herself as the beloved schoolteacher of the their kids. Life has settled into a rhythm for Agnes and she has built friendships in the six years in her new home. But when her life is upset by the arrival of her childhood friend, things turn upside d...

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. ...

Home All Along by Beth Wiseman In the third installment of the An Amish Secrets Novel, we find Charlotte struggling with choosing to commit to a relationship with Daniel. Her desire for a family and home is being threatened by painful memories and fears. Just when she thinks she has found the peace that she has been longing for, chaos is stirred up with the arrival of a long lost sister. Daniel's life is upset when a illness strikes a beloved member of his family and the arrival of a shunned aunt. This combination of an unexpected death, a prodigal relative's return and the grim medical diagnosis enter into the lives of this couple. Will their love for each other and their faith in God pull them thru this time of struggles.   Beth Wiseman is an amazing writer who writes a story that touches our hearts. While also giving the message of overcoming difficulties and struggles with the hope of God in our lives. This series tells a story of a young woman searching for...

Missing by Lisa Harris The second book in the Nikki Boyd series, Missing follows Missing Persons Special Task Force agent Nikki Boyd. Usually Nikki does not investigate homicide cases, but this homicide case also has a missing person connected to the deceased. When a desperate phone call and several clues lead the team to a very grisly discovery on a boat owned by one of Nikki's dear friend Tyler Grant.   Still recovering from the untimely loss of his wife and emerging into the role of a single parent; Tyler has depended on Nikki for the past year of his life as a widower. Their relationship has been complicated, being Nikki was Tyler's wife best friend and as time has passed they have grown closer to each other. As more evidence is uncovered the more it looks like Tyler and his family are in danger and the their only lead is still on the run.  Will Nikki be able to find the missing woman before the bad guys find her? A...

Anchor in the Storm by Sarah Sundin  In the second book in the Waves of Freedom series, we meet Lillian Avery a plucky young Pharmacist. After landing a coveted job as a Pharmacist, she is met with many more roadblocks. After losing her leg in an accident, Lillian has pressed on proving that she could be strong on her own. When she meets her brothers friend Ensign Archer Vandenberg; the society darling and heir to the Vandenberg fortune. She is not impressed with the charm he pours onto her during his visit to her family home. As Lillian adapts to working for Dixon's drug store and the rules that the Mr Dixon impresses on her. She starts to see a pattern that doesn't seem right to her, she puts her trust in Archer.  As a survivor of a sinking destroyer, Archer is struggling with having to go back on a ship with anxiety issues. When he starts noticing that there is more men on the ship having issues and it seems that no one wants to listen to wha...

You're Already Amazing "Life Growth Guide" by Holley Gerth With this interactive guide to her book You're Already Amazing, Holley Gerth brings us a guide to help us embrace who we are.  Each of these six sessions have a exercise to go with each one, the sessions are: 1. Who God Created Us to Be 2. What's True No Matter How We Feel 3. Our Amazing Journey with Jesus 4. God's Plan for Our Relationships 5. God's Purpose for Our Lives 6. How We Can Thrive for a Lifetime If you are looking for hope that you can cling to, this is the book for you. This book will help every woman to embrace who she is, from the relationships inn our lives. To the work we do from day to day, to the dreams we are pursuing in our lives.  Being able to embrace the women that we are is every womens longing, this is a book to help all of us become who God wants us to be. I received this book for free from Revell for a honest review.

A Sweet Misfortune  by Maggie Brendan The second book in the Virtues and Vices of the Old West takes a step into the world of dancehall girls. Rachael Matthews is homeless and alone, with no where to go she turns to the world of dancehalls to support herself. When he brother finds out she has become a dancehall girl, he sends a concerned letter to his best friend with a plea for his best friend to rescue his sister from the life she has turned too.  Cattle Baron John McIntyre is focused on acquiring as much land as he can to build his ranch as the best in Montana. The las thing on his mind is dealing with his best friends kid sister who has turned to the profession of  being a dancehall girl. But his devotion to his best friend urges him to go and play the prince on horseback.  Stubborn Racheal sees John as someone who is trying to stop her from earning a living, until he tells her that he holds  the deed to her parents land. Determined to get t...

Crazy Little Thing Called Marriage by Dr Greg and Erin Smalley Looking for hope toward having a marriage filled with passion and advenure, look no further Dr Greg  and Erin Smalley bring a fresh look to the issues  that face many couples.   The newest edition to the resources at Focus on the Family, brings a new outlook to marriage and the issues couples face. Each of the 12 secrets are broken down and discussed in a very real language that is very understandable to all. Dr Greg Smalley even inserts bits of humor into the chapters that will give everyone a laugh, while being able to see the thoughts he has given. Erin provides a female perspective into each of the secrets for marriage.  This book opened my eyes on several on the secrets, I will truly apply this book to my marriage and pass it on to my friends. I loved the way authors shared about their marriage and used the term war as a thought of marriage. Truly we are in a war to keep our marriag...

Shelia Wraye Gregoire has done it again, she has written another amazing read for all wives out there. If you feel like there is no hope out there for you or you are just looking for a way to better your marriage this is the book for all of you. Each of the nine thoughts that she outlines in her book comes with action steps for each thought and plenty of real life stories to go along with them. She takes the pat answers that so many people try to give us to help us thru our struggles and turns the light onto the answers. Each of these truths are written out in a language a wife can truly understand from a wife that truly understands. I found this book to very helpful with the struggles that I am facing in my marriage, I would recommend this book to all wives out there looking for hope in their marriages.  I received this book for free for a honest review by blogging for books. 

Mermaid Moon(A Sunset Cove Novel) by Colleen Coble Mallory Davis has not been back home for fifteen years, after getting a phone call from her father has he is dying; she decides to return home to find out the truth. With the help of her high school sweetheart Kevin O'Conner a game warden in down east Maine; she embarks on a path of finding out who killed her father.  Willing to keep Mallory safe and out of harm while holding her at a arms length away form his heart. As Mallory starts receiving death threats against her and her beloved daughter, it draws Kevin to want to protect both of them more. Their search deepens and more clues are uncovered leading to more questions on the past. Can Mallory and Kevin find the healing for their hearts, while trying to keep out of danger? Colleen Coble has written another spine tingling book that you will not be able to put down till the last page. I can't wait to read her next book. 

Coming into my marriage, I truly thought is was going to be the most beautiful thing in my life. I would be swept off my feet by this prince charming and carried off to live happily after. We would spend our honeymoon making wondrous and beautiful love just like the couples in the harlequin books  that I read when I was a teenager. Yeah Right!!! Reality  struck on our first day of our honeymoon, the man I thought I had married was not who I thought he was. He was flawed, he was not the prince charming or the amazing lover I had dreamed of. Our first big fight happened on our honeymoon, I was devastated  my dream of a beautiful time together was ruined. The months passed by and things justed seemed to get worse for us. I was working away from home and when I came home all I wanted to do was spend time with my dear hubby. His thoughts was he wanted to spend time with his family and friends, not this woman who was being very demanding with him. This is not what I thought...

Through a Man's Eyes by Shaunti Feldhahn and Craig Gross Shaunti Feldhahn author of "For Women only" teams up with the founder the XXXChurch Craig Ross to bring us women a deeper insight on the men in our lives. This book delves deeper into the way a man's brain works and shows us how much differently they are wired than a woman's brain. Breaking  it down into a language we can understand and be able to see what our men are struggling with every day of their lives. It shows that are men are normal and there is nothing wrong with them being visual, that it actually is part of their makeup to gaze upon their beloved wives. Our culture has made it harder for men to treat a woman like a real person, when they are bombarded with sexual images everywhere they turn. We as wives and mothers need to be the support for our men and open our eyes to the pitfalls they are facing day by day. Taking the time to teach our young sons how to treat a girl like she is somethi...

Girl in the Song by Chrissy Cymbala Toledo As the daughter of the pastor of a church that started out in the rough and tumble area of Brooklyn to a well known church, Chrissy grew up seeing how much the streets could effect others. She had the life alot of kids would have loved to have,parents who loved her and friends that adored her. But as time passed she grew to crave the one thing she could not get enough of and that was the attention of others. It started out with just wanting to look beautiful in everyone's eyes, clothing and her makeup became an obsession for her.  One day while she was hanging with a group of her friends, two new guys walked in to the church. Her interest turned to these new guys, as time passed she was drawn more and more toward the one guy. The more time Chrissy spent with Jay, her obsession grew with having the attention he gave her. During their time together Jay introduced her to new music that seemed to speak to her. These s...

The Unveiled Wife by Jennifer Smith Is your heart longing for a deeper connection, but you seem to not be able to find it anywhere. Did you walk into marriage all ready to find fulfillment in intimacy and found the opposite of what you was looking for. Then The Unveiled Wife is the book for you. Jennifer Smith delves into the deep topic of intimacy in marriage in her book. As a young bride she dreamed of the happiness that comes from marriage. But as the days and weeks passed them by it seemed that it was not ever going to happen. Their time together was marred with much pain and disappointment. Crying out she asked the big question we all ask "What am I doing wrong?" It was if there was a veil hanging in between them, a barrier that was blocking her from feeling the fullness of love God give us. Her love story is told thru this book, how she was able to find healing and become an unveiled wife. If you are feeling alone in this journey of marriage you are not there i...