The Stillness of Chimes | Book Review

STATS:
Author, Meg MoseleyPublished, February 18, 2014
Publisher, Multnomah
Paperback, 352 pages

Description from Goodreads:
When Laura Gantt returns to Georgia to handle her late mother's estate, she hears a startling rumor---that her father staged his drowning years ago and has recently been spotted roaming the mountains.

With the help of her former high school sweetheart, Laura searches for the truth. But will what they find destroy their rekindled feelings?

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book and the closer I cam to the end, the faster I wanted to read.  It has the perfect combination of love and mystery.  And I really didn't see parts of the ending coming before they happened.  I like it when a book is able to surprise me a little.

The character of Laura is wonderful.  I love that she can still have love and forgiveness for parents and for those that she discovered played a huge part in life.  Some of those, she never knew where such a big part.

Laura and Sean were school friends and sweethearts.  Sean was pretty much taken in by her father after his own abusive father went to jail.  Sean thought that he and Laura would be together forever but her father drowning changed it all. 

Now Laura's mother is also dead and she comes home to tie up the estate.  Little does she know that there are rumors that her dad never drowned.  In fact, people say that he disappeared out of choice.  If true, it could change everything that Laura believed to be true.

I loved finding out if her father was truly alive.  And if she and Sean could ever get back what they lost.  And if her parents had major secrets that she didn't know about.  And of course, what in the world was going on with Ardelle.  I would totally recommend it.

I received this book from Blogging For Books in return for a honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are mine. 

Christmas in Apple Ridge | Book Review

Stats:
Author, Cindy WoodsmallPaperback, 576 pages
Published October 9th, 2012
Publisher, Waterbrook Press
Genre, Christian Fiction, Romance

Description from Goodreads:
Experience the holidays with the Plain folk of Apple Ridge, Pennsylvania, in these touching novellas centered around love, romance, heartache, and restoration from best-selling author Cindy Woodsmall.

The Sound of Sleigh Bells
Beth Hertzler is unable to let go of a past tragedy, but when she discovers a large, intricately carved scene of Amish children playing in the snow, something deep inside Beth’s soul responds. Determined that her niece meet the gifted artist, her aunt tracks him down, but it’s not that simple – will Jonah be able to offer Beth the sleigh ride she’s always dreamed of and a second chance at real love?

The Christmas Singing
Mattie thought her childhood sweetheart adored her until he abruptly ended their engagement on Christmas Eve. Brokenhearted, Mattie moves away and pursues her longtime dream of becoming a cake decorator, and even finds a new beau. But when Mattie is forced to return home three years later, will learning the truth behind Gideon’s rejection restore her Christmas joy – or open the door to even deeper heartbreak?

The Dawn of Christmas
Sadie enjoys her freedom away from home and her mission trips to Peru, but after four years, her Old Order Amish family insists it’s time to come home and settle down. Levi, a bachelor who distrusts women after a family heartbreak, also has no desire for romance. To keep their families from meddling in their lives, Sadie and Levi devise a plan—but soon discover that the walls around their hearts are breaking down. Can they let go of their prejudices, learn to trust each other, and embrace a future together?

My Thoughts:
This was a wonderful collection of Amish Christian Fiction for the Christmas Season. Cindy Woodsmall wrote three separate novellas and combined them nicely into this one book. I will briefly review each story.

The Sound of Sleigh Bells
This is the story of Beth and Jonah. Beth is a business woman that works in her families story. She is still in mourning over the loss of her fiance. She also travels once a year to find Amish goods to sell to both English and Amish stores. One her trip she finds a carving that she loves and tells the story owner that she would like to buy more to sell. She sends her aunt to met with the carver, Jonah, and her aunt starts to play matchmaker.
Jonah has his own story and grief to overcome and together, they just may be able to find more than they are looking for.

The Christmas Singing
This is the story of Mattie and Gideon. They have been childhood sweethearts and are going to be married, but Gideon calls off the marriage and gets married to an English woman. This is very upsetting to Mattie and she moves away to start a business and be closer to her brother. She has been away for three years but is forced to return.
She runs into Gideon who tells her the real reason that he called off the marriage to her. Then she is forced with the decision of a life with Gideon or with Sol.

The Dawn of Christmas
This is the story of Levi and Sadie. Sadie was engaged once and found that she could not trust her fiance after finding him with her cousin. She left and went on a three year mission trip to Peru. When she returns home, she is determined to remain single.
She is literally thrown together Levi and when Sadie saves him after an accident. Levi is also determined to stay single after friends of his have gone have experienced heartache. One of those friends is the old fiance of Sadie. The two join forced to stay singe and soon find out that they may have found what they weren't looking for.

Over all - they were all wonderful Christmas stories. I really love to read novellas since they are fast and easy reads.



**It is important to note that I received this book from Waterbrook Press via Blogging for Books for an honest review.

Burning Sky by Lori Benton | Book Review

Stats:

Published August 6, 2013

Paperback, 416 pages

Series - No

 Description From Goodreads:

“I remember the borders of our land, though I have been gone from them nearly half the moons of my life. But who there will remember me? What I have seen, what I have done, it has changed me.

I am the place where two rivers meet, silted with upheaval and loss.

Yet memory of our land is a clear stream. I shall know it as a mother knows the faces of her children. It may be I will find me there.“

Abducted by Mohawk Indians at fourteen and renamed Burning Sky, Willa Obenchain is driven to return to her family’s New York frontier homestead after many years building a life with the People. At the boundary of her father’s property, Willa discovers a wounded Scotsman lying in her path. Feeling obliged to nurse his injuries, the two quickly find much has changed during her twelve-year absence—her childhood home is in disrepair, her missing parents are rumored to be Tories, and the young Richard Waring she once admired is now grown into a man twisted by the horrors of war and claiming ownership of the Obenchain land.
When her Mohawk brother arrives and questions her place in the white world, the cultural divide blurs Willa’s vision. Can she follow Tames-His-Horse back to the People now that she is no longer Burning Sky? And what about Neil MacGregor, the kind and loyal botanist who does not fit into in her plan for a solitary life, yet is now helping her revive her farm? In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, strong feelings against “savages” abound in the nearby village of Shiloh, leaving Willa’s safety unsure.
Willa is a woman caught between two worlds. As tensions rise, challenging her shielded heart, the woman called Burning Sky must find a new courage--the courage to again risk embracing the blessings the Almighty wants to bestow. Is she brave enough to love again?

My Thoughts:
This novel was a little long, but completely worth the time.  It is the story of Willa.  She was born into the white world and that is where she lived until she was 14.  At 14, she was kidnapped by Mohawk Indians and was given the name Burning Sky.  She became to care for the Mohawk during her stay.
The story begins with Willa returning to her white world and finding that it has changed so much since her last memory of being there.  She also meets Neil MacGregor on her way to the land that had belonged to her parents.  Her Mohawk brother comes to find her and she has some major decisions to make.
The book is very well written.  It is both romance and historical fiction.  And also a faith based book.  It is full of emotion and history.  The book shows both courage and hope in the story of a young woman trapped between two very different worlds and lives.
I would completely recommend!

It is important to note that I received this book from Waterbrook Press/Blogging For Books in return for a book review. That being said, the feelings expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced by an outside source.

Forever Friday | Book Review

This week  I read:

Synopsis from Goodreads:

After a devastating divorce leaves Adam Colby heartbroken, he is not sure how he can put the pieces of his life back together. He wonders if even God can make sense of the mess that remains-until a package of mysterious postcards that direct Adam to the story of Gabe and Huck Alexander. Drawn by her desire to find a true soulmate, Pearl "Huck" Huckabee breaks a turbulent engagement with her fiancé to marry Gabe Alexander, a man she's known just a few short weeks. Wanting to celebrate and protect their love, Gabe mails her a meaningful postcard every week-beginning in 1926-for the next sixty years. Designed to arrive on Fridays, each postcard not only contains an original poem, but holds precious truths, the sum of which answer the universal question: what makes a marriage last? As Adam begins to uncover the Alexanders' secret, he records Gabe and Huck's extraordinary romance. It's a process that will change his life forever.

What I Thought:

When I chose this book, I thought that I would like it.  But I loved it.  I love romance novels and I almost always select Historical Fiction.  This book had it all.  

It is not only the story of Huck and Gabe but also the story of Adam.  Adam found the postcards and the story of the Alexander's at just the right time in his own life.

The book is told from two perspectives.  It is told by Adam, who is the man in charge of selling off the final belongings of the Alexander's.  This is more or less in the present day.  It is also told beautifully from the Alexander's stretching from the 1920's to present day.

I fell in love with Huck.  She is amazing and her story is well written that you can see her in every situation.  And Gabe is just about as perfect a man as you could imagine.  

The novel itself is well written, full of hope and laughter, and wonderful banter between Huck and Gabe. The beginning pulls you in and the ending leaves you feeling wonderful.

 I could hardly put it down once I started and I can't wait to pass it on.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BloggingforBooks.orghttp://www.waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize that they were the big things. 

 - Robert Brault

God Gave Us Love | Book Review

Lisa Tawn Bergran wrote the children's book series, God Gave Us.  This is a short board book so any age child can enjoy it.  The book not only talks about the love that God gives us but also about loving others.
The story takes place between a grandfather and a grandson.  He is taking the grandson on a fishing trip and the otters are scaring away the fish.  It gives the grandfather the perfect time to talk to the boy about how God wants us to love everyone even if they are doing things that we don't like.
It talks about different kinds of love.  Love between mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and friends.  It also talks about how God loves us all, all the time.
The book is a great size.  The illustrations by Laura J. Bryant, are very cute and colorful.  The content of the book is great and fairly easy to understand.  However, the recommended age for the book is 0-3 years.  I think that it may be a little too complex for this age group and I believe that it would be perfect for 3-6 year olds.
Overall, we loved the book.  My son is 4 and he loved the bears and the illustrations.  I also think that he understood most of the concepts.  I will differently read more of this series to him in future.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. However, the opinions therein are all my own.

The Widow of Saunders Creek - A Blogging For Books Review

This is my second book that I have received through Blogging For Books.  This time I selected The Widow of Saunders Creek written by Tracey Bateman.

I really loved this book.  The main character is Corrie Saunders.  /She grew up in a wealthy family but gave that life up when she met and married a soldier named Jarrod.  Jarrod is stationed overseas and gives his life to save others from a suicide bomber.  Corrie is left alone and Jarrod has left her an abandoned family home that is in the progress of a remodel.  She heads there six months after his death in the hopes that she will feel closer to him.
Corrie meets Jarrod's cousin, Eli, who happens to be a pastor.  Eli is worried about Corrie from the start since he knows the history of the old house and that she is in a vulnerable state following Jarrod's death.  Members of the Saunders family practice Ozark folk mysticism and Eli thinks that it is completely crazy.  He worries that they will take advantage of Corrie since she is looking for any type of sign that Jarrod may still be with her.
Corrie begins to believe that Jarrod is there with her.  Things start to happen at the house that she can't explain.  Some even scare her enough to make her sleep outside instead of in the bedroom.  Of course, during this time, Eli knows what is really going on but it is too hard to convince Corrie.  So in turn, Corrie doesn't tell him everything that it going on.
And that is about all I can tell you without giving too much away.
I was a little worried about how a book that was labeled as Christian Lit would tell a story that involved the supernatural, demons, and ghosts.  I think that putting supernatural and Christian Lit together could have been a disaster, but Tracey Bateman made it work beautifully together.  That put to rest the fact that I  honestly was afraid that it would just come off as cheesy.  It didn't.  In fact, there were parts of the book that I thought would make a great little horror movie, but God was always there.
I loved that it was a romance story as much as it was anything else.  The fact that Corrie was a widow and was moving on with her life did seem a little fast.  Jarrod was not gone a year.  But - Eli and Corrie seemed to respect his memory and even at times, question whether it was right to be together.  You will have to read the book to find out if they end up together or not.  I have to say that I was wanting them too in the end.
I would not only recommend this book, but I would be happy to pick up other's that she writes.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BloggingforBooks.orghttp://www.waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wildflowers From Winter

I recently started with Blogging for Books which is through Waterbrook Moltnomah.com.  I selected Wildflowers From Winter by Kate Ganshert.  

She is a Christian romance author.  I was hooked at the first line.  "The summer that I turned twelve,  I tried to kill myself".  How could you start a book with that first line and not keep reading?
Bethany Quinn is the main character of the book.  She is the girl who tried to kill herself at age twelve.  As the book unfolds, we find out why.
Following the death of her father, she had a stressed relationship with her mother.  Her grandfather, Dan, and her best friend, Robin, are the two constants in her life.  She made the decision to leave her hometown of Peaks to go to college and Robin stays behind.  She later finds out that her friend as become a Christian.  This is a problem for Bethany who believes that the church and Christianity changes people in horrible ways. Her experience with the church has been a bad one.
The story takes place ten years after she left town.  She is an architect in Chicago and her mother calls to tell her that Robin needs her.  She thinks about going back to home but doesn't until she gets the call that her grandfather has had a heart attack.
Once home, she reconnects with Robin and spends time with her grandfather and his farm hand, Evan.  Robin's husband dies as does Bethany's grandfather.  Her grandfather leaves her part of his farm and leaves the other party to Evan.  This leaves Bethany with a hard decision to make.
We see how the people around her turn to God for answers and comfort, even in times when there is little or no hope for the situation.  We learn that Bethany think that they are week for doing so and that she thinks people use religion as a crutch.  We learn that it is all because of her experiences with her childhood pastor and how he believed and taught others.
Bethany learns that God doesn't wait until you are ready.  She learns to trust and love and has the chance to see what a relationship with God really is and what she has been missing in her spiritual and personal life.
The story is well written and you can connect with the characters on a personal level.  I did find it to be a little predictable but in a great way.  It was a wonderful story and you need to have tissues ready for the last few chapters.  In fact, I was thrilled to read that she is working on a second book to continue the story of the town of Peaks.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BloggingforBooks.orghttp://www.waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”