Books I Love

“A Heartbeat Away” by Dionne Moore

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“A Heartbeat Away” by Dionne Moore was a great book.  This book takes place during the Battle of Antietam which was a battle during the Civil War.  You follow along with Beth as she and her grandmother help save a Confederate soldier.  This is hard for Beth since she is loyal to the Union.  Through the whole book you see how she struggles with helping the soldier and others from the Confederate because she is loyal to the Union and her brother also is fighting for the Union.  I loved this book and I can’t wait to check out more books in this series.

About The Book

When a band of runaway slaves brings Union-loyal Beth Bumgartner a wounded Confederate soldier named Joe, it is the catalyst that pushes her to defy her pacifist parents and become a nurse during the Battle of Antietam.

Her mother’s mysterious goodbye gift is filled with quilt blocks that bring comfort to Beth during the hard days and lonely nights, but as she sews each block, she realizes there is a hidden message of faith within the pattern that encourages and sustains her. Reunited with Joe, Beth learns his secret and puts the quilt’s message to its greatest test—but can betrayal be forgiven?

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About The Author

Dionne Moore is ahistorical romance author who resides in South Central PA with her family, surrounded by the beautiful Cumberland Valley and lots of fun, historically rich locations. She is a weekly contributor to “The Borrowed Book”, ablog for book-lovers and “Cozy Mystery Magazine”, for all things cozy mystery.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2013 Margaret Margaret

Sweet Mercy by Ann Tatlock

Sweet Mercy by Ann Tatlock

My Review

I read this book in a few hours because I literally couldn’t put it down. From the moment I started this book I was hooked and to be honest I can’t tell you why. I loved the authors writing and how she makes you feel like you are right there with the characters. She doesn’t give too much detail but she gives enough so that you can feel like you are there with the characters. I have never read another book from the this time period so I was intrigued and interested to see what life was like for people during that time. The book takes place during prohibition in the 1930’s. You follow along with Eve and her parents as her dad gets laid off and they move to the town of Mercy to live with her uncle who owns a lodge. I am not going to get into what happens while they are there because that will give away the story.

About The Book

Stunning coming-of-age drama set during the Great Depression and Prohibition

When Eve Marryat’s father is laid off from the Ford Motor Company in 1931, he is forced to support his family by leaving St. Paul, Minnesota, and moving back to his Ohio roots. Eve’s uncle Cyrus has invited the family to live and work at his Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge.

Eve can’t wait to leave St. Paul, a notorious haven for gangsters. At seventeen, she considers her family to be “good people,” not lawbreakers like so many in her neighborhood. Thrilled to be moving to a “safe haven,” Eve soon forms an unlikely friendship with a strange young man named Link, blissfully unaware that her uncle’s lodge is anything but what it seems.

When the reality of her situation finally becomes clear, Eve is faced with a dilemma. Does she dare risk everything by exposing the man whose love and generosity is keeping her family from ruin? And when things turn dangerous, can she trust Link in spite of appearances?

Ann Tatlock

About The Author

Ann Tatlock is the author of the Christy-Award winning novel Promises to Keep. She has also won the Midwest Independent Publishers Association “Book of the Year” in fiction for both All the Way Home and I’ll Watch the Moon. Her novel Things We Once Held Dear received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly calls her “one of Christian fiction’s better wordsmiths, and her lovely prose reminds readers why it is a joy to savor her stories.” Ann lives with her husband and daughter in Asheville, North Carolina.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2013 Margaret Margaret

Stealing the Preacher by Karen Witemeyer

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“Stealing the Preacher” by Karen Witemeyer was a super cute and a fun read.  From the first page of this book I was hooked and didn’t put it down until I finished reading it.  It has a unique storyline and that made me like it even more.  The book starts by following Crockett as he is on his way to try out for a preaching job.  While he is on the train it gets held up and they “kidnap” him because Joanna told her dad that she wanted a preacher for her birthday.  There are times where I had to laugh at what was going on and other times where I was sad for the characters.  This is the first book I have read from this author and I honestly can’t wait to read more.  I love how I felt like I was there with the characters.

About The Book

A cowboy who wants to be a preacher. An outlaw’s daughter who wants to change his mind.

On his way to interview for a position at a church in the Piney Woods of Texas, Crockett Archer can’t believe it when he’s forced off the train by an outlaw and presented to the man’s daughter as the preacher she requested for her birthday. He’s determined to escape-which would be much easier if he could stop thinking about Joanna Robbins and her unexpected request.

For months, Joanna had prayed for a minister. A man to breathe life back into the abandoned church at the heart of her community. A man to assist her in fulfilling a promise to her dying mother. But just when it seems her prayers have been answered, it turns out the parson is there against his will and has dreams of his own calling him elsewhere. Is there any way she can convince Crockett he ended up right where he was supposed to be?

With her signature blend of humor, history, and lively western romance, two-time RITA Award finalist and bestselling author Karen Witemeyer delivers a Texas love story sure to steal your heart.

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About The Author

Two-time RITA finalist and winner of the coveted HOLT Medallion and ACFW Carol Award, CBA bestselling author Karen Witemeyer writes historical romance because she believes that the world needs more happily-ever-afters. She is an avid cross-stitcher, shower singer, and bakes a mean apple cobbler. Karen makes her home in Abilene, Texas, with her husband and three children. Learn more about Karen and her books at www.karenwitemeyer.com.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2013 Margaret Margaret

Ray of Light by Shelley Shepard Gray

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Ray of Light by Shelley Shepard Gray was a sweet book.  It took me a few chapters to get into this book but once I did I loved it.  At times I was lost because I hadn’t read the book prior to this one so some parts were confusing for me but the author does a great job of making me understand where the characters are coming from and also making the reader feel like they are there with the characters.  I wanted only the best for the characters and I was glad when in the end everything worked out just how I hoped it would.  I can’t wait to check out more of the books in this series.

About The Book

Bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray brings inspirational romance to life in this sweet tale of love in the Amish community, Ray of Light, the second installment of her Days of Redemption series.Roman Keim just wants a break from the family drama at his snowy Ohio home when he heads to an Amish snowbird community in Florida. There he meets Amanda Yoder and her daughter Regina who soon are warming his heart. But will Roman return to Ohio or will he stay and help the young widow embrace a second chance at love?
The author of the series Sisters of the Heart and Seasons of Sugarcreek, Shelley Shepard Gray delivers an honest, tender love story in Ray of Light, featuring the challenges of faith, family, and romance.

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About The Author

Shelley Shepard Gray is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the “Sisters of the Heart”, “Seasons of Sugarcreek”, “Secrets of Crittenden County”, and Families of Honor series. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2013 Margaret Margaret

“Catch a Falling Star” by Beth K. Vogt

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My Review of “Catch a Falling Star” by Beth K. Vogt

** Spoiler Alert **

I found I could relate to Kendall and that made this book fly by for me. This love story is sweet and even though I figured that Kendall and Griffin would end up together in the end I had to keep reading to find out how that happened and how they got past their differences. Even though you know that Griffin is so guarded because from the moment he met her he liked her.  I can’t wait to read more books by this author because I really feel like I can relate to her characters and I love her style of writing.

About The Book

What does a girl do when life doesn’t go according to her plan?
At 36, Kendall Haynes has seen some of her dreams come true. She’s a family physician helping kids with severe allergies and asthma achieve more fulfilling lives-a childhood struggle she knows all too well. But the feeling of being “the kid never picked” looms large when romance continues to evade her and yet another one of her closest friends gets engaged. Are Kendall’s dreams of having it all-acareer, a husband, children-nothing more than childish wishing upon a star? Should she hold out for her elusive Plan A? Dust off Plan B? Or is it time to settle? God says he knows the plans he has for her-why can’t Kendall figure them out and be content with her life?
Griffin Walker prefers flying solo-both as an Air Force pilot and in his personal life. But a wrong choice and health problems pulled him out of the cockpit. His attempts to get out of “flying a desk” are complicated by his parents’ death-making Griffin the reluctant guardian of his sixteen-year-old brother, Ian. How did his life get so off course? Can God get his life back on track … or has there been a divine plan all along?
Catch a Falling Star reminds readers that romance isn’t just for twenty-somethings and that sometimes letting go of your “wish I may, wish I might” dreams is the only way to embrace everything God has waiting for you.

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About The Author

Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice), though she said she’d never marry a doctor-or anyone in the military. She’s amom of four, though she said she’d never have kids. She’s discovered that God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Her contemporary romance novel, “Wish You Were Here”, debuted in May 2012 (Howard Books), and “Catch aFalling Star” releases May 2013. An established magazine writer and former editor of Connections, the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth is also the Skills Coach for My Book Therapy, the writing community founded by best-selling author Susan May Warren.
Find out more about Beth K. at http://bethvogt.com.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2013-2016 Margaret Margaret

The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer

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“The Promise Box” by Tricia Goyer was a sweet book.  I instantly like Lydia and I had to wonder where the book was going to take her.  Her is returning to the Amish town that her parents live in to attend the funeral of her mother.  It was hard for her to go back because she left the Amish lifestyle years before.  Once she gets there she decides to stay a few weeks in order to help her father adjust to the loss of her mother.  The author does a great job of making the book come alive and make you feel like you are right there with the characters.  She is a great writer and I can’t wait to read the next book in this series.

About The Book

With her heart – and her loyalty – on the line, can she let true love in her life?
Every year, 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! Lydia Wyse, a book editor from Seattle who grew up Amish, returns to the small community of West Kootenai, Montana to give comfort to her father after her mother’s death.
She is drawn back to the familiar Amish ways after finding her mother’s most precious possession, a Promise Box of prayers and scripture. What her publisher sees, though, is an opportunity for a sensational ‘tell-all’ book about the Amish. Lydia soon finds herself falling in love with Amish bachelor Gideon Hooley. She wants nothing more than to forget her past and look forward to a future as an Amish bride.
Will the pain of her childhood-and her potential betrayal of her community-keep her from committing her whole heart?

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About The Author

Tricia Goyer is a busy mom of six, grandmother of one, and wife to John. Somewhere around the hustle and bustle of family life, she manages to find the time to write fictional tales delighting and entertaining readers and non-fiction titles offering encouragement and hope. A bestselling author, Tricia has published thirty-three books to date and has written more than 500 articles. She is a two-time Carol Award winner, as well as a Christy and ECPA Award Nominee. In 2010, she was selected as one of the Top 20 Moms to Follow on Twitter by SheKnows.com. Tricia is also on the blogging team at MomLifeToday.com, TheBetterMom.com and other homeschooling and Christian sites. In addition to her roles as mom, wife and author, Tricia volunteers around her community and mentors teen moms. She is the founder of Hope Pregnancy Ministries in Northwestern Montana, and she currently leads a Teen MOPS Group in Little Rock, AR. Tricia, along with a group of friends, recently launched NotQuiteAmishLiving.com, sharing ideas about simplifying life. She also hosts the weekly radio podcast, Living Inspired.
Learn more about Tricia at http://www.triciagoyer.com.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2013 Margaret Margaret