by admin | Oct 27, 2012 | Books, Historical, Romance
MY REVIEW:
Set in Michigan during the late 1800’s, “A Promise to Love” is a thoroughly satisfying look back in time. When Ingrid Larsen marries the recently-widowed farmer who rescued her from an abusive employer, her primary motive was to keep him from losing his children. The fact that she was already half in love with the man and his children may have made her gesture a little less noble but she was determined to make the best of it even if he was still in love with his departed wife. Ingrid worked hard to prove herself to her new husband but although he loved her cooking and appreciated her care for his children, she despaired of ever gaining his personal attention. After struggling with his rejection for weeks, Ingrid made up her mind that she would continue to love and serve Joshua and his family to the best of her abilities but would do so as if serving her Lord.
“A Promise to Love” has a plot that moves at a steady pace and the characters are well-defined. Highly emotional scenes include plenty of action and danger but are relieved at times by equally humorous or tender moments. The romantic aspect of this story is not the usual attraction between both parties but a love that gradually builds as Ingrid’s strong and caring nature changes Joshua’s heart toward her.
I enjoyed revisiting some of the characters from “The Measure of Katie Calloway” near the end of the book. I am in hopes that I will see more of the characters from both novels in the future. I thoroughly enjoyed “A Promise to Love” and recommend it to all historical romance lovers.
This book was provided for review by
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Serena B. Miller takes her readers on a rich, historical journey that combines both romance and a touch of mystery. In this fascinating story of love and family commitment, Miller introduces us to characters that capture our hearts and imagination as they discover that love is more than just words.
Ingrid Larsen, a young Swedish immigrant, arrives in Michigan in 1871 to search for her brother who has disappeared into the woods to work the dangerous lumber camps. Destitute and barely hanging on to hope, she encounters a newly-widowed farmer who is struggling to raise five children on his own. Marriage would solve both of their problems, and so Ingrid proposes to a man she barely knows. She will fight to protect her new family–but the hardest battle of all will be winning the heart of her new husband.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Serena B. Miller is the author of The Measure of Katie Calloway and Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio, as well as numerous articles for periodicals such as Woman’s World, Guideposts, Reader’s Digest, Focus on the Family, Christian Woman, and more. She lives on a farm in southern Ohio.
Endorsements for Serena B. Miller and A Promise to Love:
“A Promise to Love is historical fiction at its finest! Brimming with romance, history, and a touch of mystery, this story is a joyous portrayal of true love and God’s gift of family. Serena Miller writes with an irresistible freshness and honesty, crafting compelling characters that tug on your heartstrings and leave you changed. A Promise to Love met all my expectations and more. I eagerly anticipate her next novel!”—Laura Frantz, author of Love’s Reckoning
“In A Promise to Love, Serena Miller has done it again. With fascinating history and characters you can’t help but love, she’s written a story that pulls at your heartstrings and keeps you turning pages as fast as you can to see what happens next. And just when you think the story tension can’t get any higher, she turns up the excitement another notch. A story not to be missed!”—Ann H. Gabhart, author of Words Spoken True and The Gifted
“If you’re searching for novels with both heart and soul, you will love the thoughtful and richly satisfying works of Serena Miller. I do.”—Emilie Richards, author of Sunset Bridge and One Mountain Away
by admin | Oct 26, 2012 | Amish, Books, Contemporary Fiction, Romance
MY REVIEW:
The first novel in Goyer’s newest series set in West Kootenai, Montana, “The Memory Jar” revisits the mountain town that will be familiar to readers of her Big Sky series. This series appears to focus on the young Amish men who visit the area each year to live there long enough to establish residency to get a hunting license. The influx of young men offers some new opportunities for romance and possible marriage for the single women of the town. Book one features Sarah Shelter, a young Amish woman so devastated by the death of her best friend Patty several years earlier that she has had difficulty moving on with her own life. That is until she gets to know Jathan Schrock.
As Sarah and Jathan discover the similarities of what they really enjoy and their dreams about the future, they both begin to dream of a future together. The hard part would be managing to walk out their dreams while honoring and helping their families at the same time. Naturally events transpire to discourage them, then build up their hopes only to have the rug yanked back out from under them. Will they ever have a future together and see their dreams become reality?
Although Patty died in the prologue to this novel, she was a very real presence throughout the book. Sarah’s memories of her at significant points during the story helped me to understand Sarah from a unique perspective. Once Sarah was able to come out on top of her extreme grief and guilt over Patty’s death, she realized the profound impact Patty had on her life.
I appreciated the points made by the author in favor of being who God created you to be and following the path He has set for you instead of always trying to please others. As always, Tricia Goyer has produced another inspiring and enjoyable book.
This book was provided for review by LitFuse Publicity.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Book One in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors seriesEvery year, 30-40 young Amish men descend on the cozy little town of West Kootenai, Montana, arriving in the spring to live there for six months and receive ‘resident’ status for the hunting season in the fall. They arrive as bachelors, but go home with brides! Sarah Shelter has lived in West Kootenai for the last ten years and wonders if she will ever fall in love.
Since the tragic death of her best friend, she carries her memories in a jar along with the small items connected to them. For just as long, she’s also been carrying around her emotions instead of allowing them to penetrate deep into her heart. Now she’s met a kind and gentle man who may be able to break down the wall. But can Sarah risk her heart to finally achieve her dreams?
Purchase a copy of “The Memory Jar”
HERE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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.
Win an Amish Kindle Gift Pack from @TriciaGoyer and RSVP for her “Memory Jar” Author Chat Party on November 7
Celebrate with Tricia by entering her Amish Kindle Gift Pack Giveaway and RSVPing to her Facebook party on November 7th.
(And be sure to catch the fun video trailer or try your hand at one of the simple, keepsake crafts Tricia has put together on her website.)
One fortunate winner will receive:
- A brand new Kindle Fire
- Custom-made Memory Jar Kindle Cover
- Amish-made decorative items {Wall hanging, horse/buggy and Amish houses}
- The Memory Jar {Be swept away by this captivating series.}
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 6th. Winner will be announced at the “Memory Jar Author Chat Party on 11/7. Connect with Tricia for an evening of book chat, Amish trivia, and a live video chat! There will also be a chance to win gift certificates, books, and other fun prizes!
So grab your copy of The Memory Jar and join Tricia on the evening of the November 7th for a chance to connect 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 today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 7th!
by admin | Oct 25, 2012 | Amish, Books, Contemporary Fiction, Romance
This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Accidentally Amish
Barbour Books (October 1, 2012)
byOlivia NewportABOUT THE AUTHOR:
A Word From The Author:
I’m imagining you. You walk past as I water my front flowerbeds and we wave. You check the time as we both stand in a long line at the grocery store. You sit in front of me in church. I’m at my table in the coffee shop and you’re at yours.
We may smile politely and move on with our separate lives. Or one of us may speak, a simple invitation to conversation, and the words flow between us.
Here the adventure begins. When we meet someone new, we never know where it might lead.
I’ve been married for over thirty years and have two twenty-something kids. We live in stunning Colorado at the foot of the Rockies, where the day lilies in my back yard grow as tall as I am. (No short jokes, please.)
Not every piece of my life is pretty, though. Some days I want to throw out whole chunks. But I am living each day looking for the grace of God to me, in me, and through me. Having your companionship along the way will help uncover a lot of great stories.
Thanks for stopping by my site, where conversations and adventures begin with a click. I hope we’ll run into each other often.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Escape the helter-skelter of the modern culture and join software creator Annie Friesen, hiding at the home of an Amishman. With her high-tech career in jeopardy, Annie runs from fast-paced Colorado Springs—and straight into the hospitality of San Luis Valley’s Amish community. There she meets cabinetmaker Rufus Beiler, and the more time she spends with him, the more attracted she becomes. When Annie finds she shares a common ancestor with Rufus, she feels both cultures colliding within her. But is her love for Rufus strong enough for her to give up the only life she’s ever known?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Accidentally Amish, go HERE.
MY REVIEW:
With the current immense popularity of Amish fiction, it is a given that more books like Accidentally Amish will surface. Apparently our overly stimulated, busy lifestyles have created a longing for one that is simpler and quieter so the Amish life has a major appeal to many. For the sake of an entertaining book, I can go along with that although I’m pretty sure the Amish life may be simple in some ways but complicated in ways that most do not expect.
Accidentally Amish is a well-written and entertaining story that not only has a romantic storyline but is also dramatic and somewhat suspenseful. I liked most of the characters (there were some I probably wasn’t supposed to like) and the story moved at a good pace and kept me engaged. I can’t say that I particularly liked the ending – I may be a bit too cynical and/or skeptical to believe that a girl like Annie would make the choices she made. But don’t blame my skepticism on the book. I just tend to be that way.
For those who can’t get enough Amish fiction, Accidentally Amish is sure to please.
by admin | Oct 25, 2012 | Books, ebook, Historical, Romance
MY REVIEW:
After reading the stories about their children in Julie Lessman’s Winds of Change and Daughters of Boston series, I was delighted to have a chance to read Marcy and Patrick’s story in “A Light in the Window. It was all I have come to expect from one of Julie’s books and I am happy to recommend it. Like her previous novels, “A Light in the Window” is refreshingly honest and includes a large dose of romantic tension. Tempered by a bit of humor and dramatic action, the story focuses on relationships with family, friends, the opposite gender and God.
Marcy and Patrick’s relationship was filled with ups and downs, misunderstandings, friendship, and distrust. An excellent example of how a relationship with God can change a person and how another person can unknowingly be the influence that leads them to the Lord, “A Light in the Window” has several lessons in life and faith for the reader to ponder. Its Christmas theme is the perfect setting for this wonderful story.
If you have enjoyed Julie’s other novels, you don’t want to miss this one. It’s available now at Amazon.com as a preorder to be delivered to your Kindle on November 9.
A digital copy of this book was provided for review by the author.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
MARCY AND PATRICK’S E-BOOK PREQUEL!!!
A Light in the Window: An Irish Christmas Love Story
(Release date November 9, 2012)
One Woman. Two Men.
One stirs her pulse and the other her faith.
But who will win her heart?
Marceline Murphy is a gentle beauty with a well-founded aversion to rogues. But when two of Boston’s most notorious pursue her, she encounters a tug-of-war of the heart she isn’t expecting. Sam O’Rourke is the childhood hero she’s pined for, the brother of her best friend and a member of the large, boisterous family to which she longs to be a part. So when his best friend Patrick O’Connor joins in pursuit of her affections, the choice seems all too clear. Sam is from a family of faith and Patrick is not, two rogues whose wild ways clash head-on with Marcy’s—both in her faith and in her heart.
While overseeing the Christmas play fundraiser for the St. Mary’s parish soup kitchen—A Light in the Window—Marcy not only wrestles with her attraction to both men, but with her concern for their spiritual welfare. The play is based on the Irish custom of placing a candle in the window on Christmas Eve to welcome the Holy Family, and for Marcy, its message becomes deeply personal. Her grandmother Mima cautions her to guard her heart for the type of man who will respond to the “light in the window,” meaning the message of Christ in her heart. But when disaster strikes during the play, Marcy is destined to discover the truth of the play’s message first-hand when it becomes clear that although two men have professed their undying love, only one has truly responded to “the light in the window.”
Can the light in the window illuminate the path of true love?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Julie Lessman is an award-winning author whose tagline of “Passion With a Purpose” underscores her intense passion for both God and romance. Winner of the 2009 ACFW Debut Author of the Year and Holt Medallion Awards of Merit for Best First Book and Long Inspirational, Julie is also the recipient of 14 Romance Writers of America awards and was voted by readers as “Borders Best of 2009 So Far: Your Favorite Fiction.”
Chosen as the #1 Romance Fiction Author of the Year in the Family Fiction magazine 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards, Julie was also awarded #1 Historical Fiction Author of the Year in that same poll and #3 Author of the Year, #4 Novel of the Year and #3 Series of the year. She resides in Missouri with her husband, daughter, son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter and is the author of “The Daughters of Boston” series—A Passion Most Pure, A Passion Redeemed, and A Passion Denied. Book 1 in her “Winds of Change” series A Hope Undaunted ranked #5 on Booklist’s Top 10 Inspirational Fiction for 2010.
Win a Kindle Fire!
Serena B. Miller is the author of The Measure of Katie Calloway and Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio, as well as numerous articles for periodicals such as Woman’s World, Guideposts, Reader’s Digest, Focus on the Family, Christian Woman, and more. She lives on a farm in southern Ohio.
