Books I Love

Hannah’s Voice by Robb Grindstaff

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My Review

I really liked this book.  Once I started reading it I couldn’t put it down.  I truly felt bad for the girl and all that she had to go through.  If I had been her I would have stopped talking as well because it didn’t matter what she said or did people were twisting what she said and did.  I loved the ending and I also loved the person that she turned into even though she had it so rough growing up.  She is a person that I could really believe was a living person in today’s society.

About

When six-year-old Hannah’s brutal honesty is mistaken for lying, she stops speaking. Her family, her community, and eventually, the entire nation struggle to find meaning in her silence.

School officials suspect abuse. Church members are divided—either she has a message from God or is possessed by a demon. Social workers interrupt an exorcism to wrest Hannah away from her momma, who has a tenuous grip on sanity. Hidden in protective foster care for twelve years, she loses all contact with her mother and remains mute by choice.

>When Hannah leaves foster care at age eighteen to search for Momma, a national debate rages over her silence. A religious movement awaits her prophecy and celebrates her return. An anarchist group, Voices for the Voiceless, cites Hannah as its inspiration. The nation comes unhinged and the conflict spills into the streets when presidential candidates chime in with their opinions on Hannah—patriotic visionary or dangerous radical. A remnant still believes she is evil and seeks to dispatch her from this world.

Hannah stands at the intersection of anarchists and fundamentalists, between power politics and an FBI investigation. All she wants is to find her momma, a little peace and quiet, and maybe some pancakes.

One word would put an end to the chaos if Hannah can only find her voice.

About The Author 

In addition to a career as a newspaper editor, publisher, and manager, I’ve written fiction most of my life. The newspaper biz has taken my family and me from Phoenix, Arizona, to small towns in North Carolina and Texas, and from seven years in Washington, D.C., to five years in Asia. Born and raised a small-town kid, I’m as comfortable in Tokyo or Tuna, Texas. I now reside in a small community in Wisconsin where I manage the business operations of a daily newspaper. The variety of places I’ve lived and visited serve as settings for the characters who invade my head.

I’ve had a dozen short stories published in several print anthologies and e-zines, and several articles on the craft of writing fiction. My first novel, Hannah’s Voicedebuted January 15, 2013, and two more novels are in the works for 2013-14.

I also edit fiction and non-fiction books for authors from around the world. It helps that I’m fluent in five languages: U.S. English, U.K. English, Canadian English, and Australian English, plus my native language, Texan.

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Win a “Glacier Bay” Prize pack from Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss

Celebrate with Tricia and Ocieanna by entering their “Glacier Bay” Giveaway and RSVPing for their Facebook Party on Feb. 12th!

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One fortunate winner will receive:

  • A gorgeous handmade “Glacier Bay” bracelet
  • A handmade cowl in “Glacier Bay” blues and greens
  • A bottle of custom-made “Glacier Bay” sparkle polish in blue
  • Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss and their two other “Love Finds You” titles {Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana, and Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington}

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 11th. Winner will be announced at the “Glacier Bay” Author Chat Party on February 12th. Connect with authors Tricia and Ocieanna, get a sneak peek of their new book projects, try your hand at the Alaska trivia contest, and chat with readers just like you. There will also be great giveaways—gift certificates, books, and more!

So grab your copy of Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska, and join Tricia and Ocieanna on the evening of February 12th for a chance to connect with the authors 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 12th!

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Safe In His Arms by Colleen Coble

Safe-in-His-Arms

About

Sometimes it takes a stranger to see you as you really are.
Under Texas Stars, Book 2
Born and raised on sprawling Texas land, Margaret O’Brien prides herself on her competence as a rancher. But her father believes she’s made for more than just dawn-to-dusk work. He wants her to have the love of a good man, to raise children, to build a life. But Margaret gave up such dreams years ago. She’s convinced no man would have her, that the ranch is her life now.
So when Margaret’s father hires Daniel Cutler as a new foreman, she’s frustrated and suspicious. Then an overheard conversation links him with a gang of bank robbers, and she’s downright worried. Daniel swears he’s not involved, but Margaret’s not convinced. She knows the man still has secrets. But would a criminal be so kind and talk so convincingly of his faith? As a series of tragic “accidents” threatens all she holds dear, Margaret must decide what to trust: her own ears, her best judgment . . . or what her heart keeps telling her.

 

About The Author

Best-selling author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, ACFW Book of the Year, RWA’s RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has nearly 2 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers and is a member of Romance Writers of America. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana.

 

My Review

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the writing and I found that I saw a lot of myself in the main character in the book. The author does a great job of explaining things and keeping the story flowing as well as keep the reader in suspense. I wasn’t sure while reading this one if it was going to work out how I thought it should but I was glad when it did.

 

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What I Am Reading

ReadingThis week for the writers workshop the very first prompt had to have been made just for me.  I am going to write about what I am reading currently.  I have several books that I am reading all at the same time.  I almost always have at least one book that I am reading to review and then I have other books on my Nook that I am reading because they seemed interesting.  Here is a list of just a few of the books I am currently reading.

  • Unbreakable by Nancy Mehl
  • Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate
  • The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins- I have finished the first book and I didn’t really get into it.   I haven’t started the 2nd one yet and I am not sure that I will ever actually read it but I do have it on my Nook so if I get bored one day I may pick it up again but it isn’t something I am planning on reading.
  • Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon- Started this one last year sometime and I need to finish it but I keep getting other books I need to review and it keeps getting pushed to the bottom of my list.

  • A Christmas Home by Greg Kincaid-Lets just say I read the prologue of this book and I am not sure that I am going to be able to finish the book.  Even though I am sure it has a great ending the beginning sucked and made me sad so now I am just staring at the book wondering if it is worth it or not.
  • Right Where I Belong by Krista McGee
  • Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult- I am trying to get this one done because her new  book comes out next month I believe and hate when I get a few books behind.  Her stories don’t have to go in order but I love to read them that way.  She is my favorite author and I have read all of her books.

You can also go to my Goodreads page and check out other books I am reading and reviews of some of the other books that I have read.  Just know that I don’t have all the books I have ever read listed because that would talk forever.  Read a couple books a week and if I have a slow week at work I can read even more than that.

I am always looking for new authors to read so if you have any that you love please let me know!

What books are you reading?

Mama’s Losin’ It

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The Tutor’s Daughter by Julie Klassen

 

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 About The Book

Filled with page-turning suspense, The Tutor’s Daughter takes readers to the windswept Cornwall coast-a place infamous for shipwrecks and superstitions-where danger lurks, faith is tested, and romance awaits.
Emma Smallwood, determined to help her widowed father when his boarding school fails, accompanies him to the cliff-top manor of a baronet and his four sons. But soon after they arrive and begin teaching the two younger boys, mysterious things begin to happen. Who does Emma hear playing the pianoforte at night, only to find the music room empty? And who begins sneaking into her bedchamber, leaving behind strange mementoes?
The baronet’s older sons, Phillip and Henry Weston, wrestle with problems-and secrets-of their own. They both remember the studious Miss Smallwood from their days at her father’s academy. But now one of them finds himself unexpectedly drawn to her…
When suspicious acts escalate, can Emma figure out which brother to blame and which to trust with her heart?

 

 

About the Author

 

Julie Klassen loves all things Jane–Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. She has won the Christy Award: Historical Romance for The Silent Governess (2010) and The Girl in the Gatehouse (2011) which also won the 2010 Midwest Book Award for Genre Fiction. Julie and her husband have two sons and live in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

 

My Review

 

It took me awhile to get into this book but once I did I couldn’t put it down. I had to know who was causing all the problems and why they were doing them. I wasn’t shocked to find out who the bad people were but I was shocked to find out how and why they were doing the things they did. I knew who Emma would end up falling in love with but once again I was shocked at how things ended there as well. The author does a great job to describing the scenes and at times I felt like I was really there with the characters.

FTC:  I received this book free of charge in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine.
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The Lesson by Suzanne Woods Fisher

 

 

Lesson cover

 

About The Book

 

Centered on one of Suzanne Woods Fisher’s most loved characters, this is the story fans have eagerly anticipated. The precocious M.K. is all grown up (well, almost) and ready to take on the world-with surprising results. Fisher’s trademark plot twists and turns are as unexpected and satisfying as ever in this third book in the Stoney Ridge Seasons series.
In her wildest dreams, spunky and impulsive nineteen-year-old Mary Kate Lapp never imagined herself behind a schoolteacher’s desk. A run-in (literally) with the schoolteacher compels her to act as a substitute teacher, just as her restless desire to see the world compels her to apply for a passport . . . just in case. The only thing of interest to M.K. in the sleepy Amish community of Stoney Ridge is the unexplained death of a sheep farmer that coincided with the arrival of a mysterious young man into the community. Frustrated that no one takes the crime seriously, she takes matters into her own hands. Unfortunately, as tends to be the case for M.K., she jumps headlong into trouble.

 

About The Author

 

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of the Lancaster County Secrets series and the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. She is also the coauthor of a new Amish children’s series, The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist. She is the host of internet radio show Amish Wisdom and a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazines. She lives in California. For more information, please visithttp://www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and connect with her on Twitter @suzannewfisher. Get Amish proverbs delivered right to your iphone or ipad! Download the Free App!

 

 

My Review

 

This book was so cute! From the moment I started reading it I didn’t want to put it down. The author does a great job of explaining things and she keeps the story flowing along. I did find that I could predict some of the things that happened but all it all it was a good book and I am going to check out more of her books!

FTC: I recieved a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.  The opinions expressed in this review are 100% honest and my own.