by admin | Aug 29, 2012 | Books, England, Historical, Mystery, Romance
This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingA Duke’s PromiseB&H Books (September 1, 2012)byJamie CarieABOUT THE AUTHOR:
As Jamie’s relationship with God grew, she discovered her heart was filled with songs and poetry. During high school she wrote lyrics for her brother’s band. (And she sang them too!) After college, Jamie married, had two sons and decided to stay home with them. While she homeschooled she wrote skits, poems, plays and short stories for school and church.
When her eldest son turned five she dove into the world of novels. She’d read romance novels for years, but couldn’t relate to the flawless, saintly heroines in Christian romance novels. So she decided to write her own.
Snow Angel was born on a frosty night in an old farmhouse in Fishers, Indiana, where the cold floor gave plenty of motivation for the snow scene. Jamie loves to write late at night when the house is quiet and the darkness seems alive. Elizabeth and Noah had been playacting in her head for a long time, so the story went fast.
Ten years later Snow Angel was published and won the ForeWord magazine Romance Book of the Year winner, was a National “Best Books 2007” Awards winner, and a 2008 RITA Awards® Best First Book finalist. It was the beginning of her dream career.
Jamie and her husband Tony have been married for twenty-one years and live in Indianapolis with their three sons and a giant of a dog named Leo.
If she could only say one thing to her readers it would be, “Live the dreams God has destined you for!”
ABOUT THE BOOK:
From the Land of Fire and Ice back to England’s shores, Alexandria Featherstone finds herself the new Duchess of St. Easton. Her husband has promised a wedding trip to take them to the place where her imperiled parents were last seen — Italy and the marble caves of Carrara — but a powerful Italian duke plots against Alex and her treasure-hunting parents.
Hoping to save them, Alex and Gabriel travel to Italy by balloon. Fraught with danger on all sides and pressured by Gabriel’s affliction to the breaking point, they must learn to work and fight together. The mysterious key is within their grasp, but they have yet to recognize it. This journey will require steadfast faith in God and each other — a risk that will win them everything they want or lose them everything they have.
If you would like to read the first chapter of A Duke’s Promise, go HERE.
by admin | Aug 27, 2012 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Romance
MY REVIEW:
“Wildflowers From Winter” was one of those books that I couldn’t put down. Its powerful story grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. It is a story that is difficult to read at times because the characters are so real that it is too easy to sympathize with their tragedies and grief as if they were actually a part of your life.
Bethany has nearly achieved the goals she only dreamed of as a teen when suddenly the rug is pulled out from under her feet. About the same time, Bethany receives tragic news regarding her former best friend. Although she has vowed to never return to her home town, Bethany decides she owes it to her friend to pay her respects then leave quickly. Once there she is compelled to stay despite her reservations. Then another death adds to the burdens already on her heart.
Bethany is a complex character who at first seems cynical and cold. Flashbacks gradually reveal the pain in her past and reasons for her resistance to God and close relationships. Her encounters with Evan Price are at first prickly but evolve into a trusting friendship. Bethany’s journey from a lonely young woman who is angry at God to one who is finally open to love from both Evan and God is a sometimes heart rending tale that is also filled with hope.
I find it incredible to believe that this is Katie Ganshert’s first novel. If “Wildflowers From Winter” is an example, I can’t wait for her next novel.
This book was provided for review by
WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group Blogging for Books.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Like the winter, grief has a season. Life returns with the spring.
A young architect at a prestigious Chicago firm, Bethany Quinn has built the life she dreamed of during her teen years in a trailer park. An unexpected interruption from her estranged mother reveals that tragedy has struck in her hometown and a reluctant Bethany is called back to rural Iowa.
Determined to pay her respects to her past while avoiding any emotional entanglements, she vows not to stay long. But the unexpected inheritance of five hundred acres of farmland and a startling turn of events in Chicago forces Bethany to come up with a new plan.
Handsome farmhand Evan Price has taken care of the Quinn farm for years. When Bethany is left the land, Evan must fight her decisions to realize his dreams. But even as he disagrees with Bethany’s vision, Evan feels drawn to her and the pain she keeps so carefully locked away.
For Bethany, making peace with her past and the God of her childhood doesn’t seem like the path to freedom. Is letting go the only way to new life, love and a peace that she’s not even sure exists?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Katie Ganshert was born and raised in the Midwest, where she writes stories about finding faith and falling in love. When she’s not busy plotting her next novel, she enjoys watching romantic movies with her husband, playing make-believe with her wild-child of a son, and chatting with her girlfriends over bagels and coffee. She could talk books all day and is often spotted around town pushing a stroller, walking a dog, and reading—all at the same time. Visit her website: KatieGanshert.com.
Katie and her husband discuss Wildflowers From Winter:
by admin | Aug 27, 2012 | Amish, Books, Romance
This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingLiving in HarmonyHarvest House Publishers (August 1, 2012)byMary EllisABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mary Ellis is the author of many books, including A Widow’s Hope, Sarah’s Christmas Miracle, and A Marriage for Meghan. She and her husband live in central Ohio, where they try to live a simpler style of life.
She was a finalist in the ACFW Carol Awards for A Widow’s Hope in 2010, and the 3inner of the Award of Merit in the Holt Medallion Awards for A Widow’s Hope in 2010.
Learn more about Mary and her books on her Website.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Living in Harmony is the first book in bestselling author Mary Ellis’s New Beginnings series. It’s about fresh starts and love…and how faith in God and His perfect plan for our lives provides us with the peace and joy we desire.
Amy King–young, engaged, and Amish–faces difficult challenges in her life when she suddenly loses both of her parents in a house fire. Her fiancé, John Detweiler, persuades her and her sister Nora to leave Lancaster County and make a new beginning with him in Harmony, Maine, where he has relatives who can help the women in their time of need.
John’s brother Thomas and sister-in-law Sally readily open their home to the three newcomers. Wise beyond his years, Thomas, a minister in the district, refuses to marry Amy and John upon their arrival, suggesting instead a period of adjustment and counseling.
During this time Amy discovers an aunt who was shunned. She wishes to reconnect with her, but this puts a strain on her relationship with John.
Can John and Amy find a way to live in happily in Harmony before making a lifetime commitment to one another?
Watch the book trailer for Living in Harmony:
If you would like to read the first chapter of Living in Harmony, go HERE.
MY REVIEW:
Living in Harmony is one of those Amish novels that leaves me frustrated. On the one hand, it is very well written and enjoyable. I am sure that the narrative gives a realistic look into the lives of some Old Order Amish communities and is informative in that way.
On the other hand, I found that my sympathies were more with Elam and Nora who were portrayed as rebellious. I do agree that Elam’s behavior was less than appropriate most of the time and Nora’s actions were not always rational. However, although I have always tended to be a mostly compliant person, I am afraid that my rebellious nature would rise up quickly if subjected to the kind of legalism practiced in Harmony. I did not care for John very much at all and was secretly rooting for Amy to break her engagement and leave Harmony.
All that being said, there were still some lessons to be learned through Living in Harmony and John’s brother Thomas and Amy’s Aunt were usually the source. Regardless of how I felt about the Harmony lifestyle, the King sisters and the Detweiler family had a profoundly positive overall effect on each other and their community.
Living in Harmony was not exactly my cup of tea but true fans of Amish fiction should love it.
by admin | Aug 27, 2012 | Amish, Books
MY REVIEW:
I have enjoyed all the Stoney Ridge Season books thus far, especially “The Keeper”. “The Haven” features Sadie Lapp and takes place several months following the end of “The Keeper”. Although not the first book in the series, “The Haven” can stand quite well on its own as far as the story goes. Your reading pleasure would however be greatly enhanced by reading the series in order.
Sadie’s surprise return home turned out to be a bit more of a surprise than she had planned. Her innocent surprise and her family’s decision to keep it caused Sadie all kinds of problems, especially to her reputation as the tongues of Stoney Ridge began to wag. Even Gideon, the young man she expected to possibly marry questioned her innocence. The only person outside her family who didn’t treat her with disdain was the Englisher who was staying on the Lapp farm to watch over the pair of Peregrine falcons nesting there. As the friendship between Sadie and Will grew, so did Gideon’s jealousy. It is anyone’s guess how this romantic triangle will be resolved.
It was great to return to Stoney Ridge and renew my acquaintance with some of its residents. As always, each of the characters was well developed and could easily be someone you would like to know. Filled with a few surprises, plenty of chuckles, and a little romance, “The Haven” is a fun read. Fisher has woven more than one lesson into this wonderful novel with a primary one about judging others without having all the facts. A story of faith and reconciliation, the novel was satisfactory in every way.
If you enjoy Amish fiction (and even if you don’t) I would highly recommend anything by Suzanne Woods Fisher. If you haven’t read any of her novels yet, “The Haven” and the previous installments of the Stoney Ridge Season series would be a good place to begin.
This book was provided for review by LitFuse Publicity.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
When Sadie Lapp steps off the bus in Stoney Ridge after being in Ohio for the winter, she is faced with a decision–one that goes against her very essence. Yet it’s the only way she can think of to protect a loved one.
Schoolteacher Gideon Smucker has been crazy about Sadie since boyhood. But his response to her surprising decision undermines his own reputation–and his relationship with Sadie.
College student Will Stoltz is spending the spring at the Lapp farm as a guard for a pair of nesting Peregrine Falcons–courtesy of the Lancaster County Game Warden. Will needs to get his life back on track, but his growing friendship with Sadie threatens his plans.
The lives of these three individuals intertwine, and then unravel as unexpected twists create ripples through the town of Stoney Ridge . . . and through Sadie’s heart.
Once again, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher intrigues and delights with a story that explores the bonds of friendship, family, and true love. Readers will enjoy every surprise in Sadie’s story as they search for the truth hidden within these pages.
Read an excerpt HERE!
Read what other bloggers are saying about “The Haven” HERE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Suzanne Woods Fisher’s interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised Plain. Suzanne has a great admiration for the Plain people and believes they provide wonderful examples to the world. In both her fiction and non-fiction books, she has an underlying theme: You don’t have to “go Amish” to incorporate many of their principles–simplicity, living with less, appreciating nature, forgiving others more readily– into your life.
When Suzanne isn’t writing or bragging to her friends about her first new grandbaby (!), she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind.
To Suzanne’s way of thinking, you just can’t take life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone’s underwear in its mouth. Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.
