Another week down and that means we are one week closer to the end of summer. I am so ready for it to cool down and for it to be football season again. Anyway, let’s get on to the links from this past week.
Those are all of the posts from this past week in case you missed any of them. I will be back next week with some more posts. I am working on an adoption thoughts post for next week as well. I hope you all have a great weekend.
FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.
Like A River From Its Course by Kelli Stuart was heartbreaking and yet beautiful all at the same time. I love books like this one because they teach you things, and you get a glimpse into what people went through and experienced during World War II. This book broke my heart and yet I didn’t want to stop reading it because I had to know what happened to everyone. I did have to read this book in smaller amounts because it got overwhelming because of everything that was going on. I love this period that I had a hard time imagining how hard and scary things must have been for them. This is the first book I have read by this author and I liked it. I love books about World War II and most of the times all the books blend but this, book will always stick out because it showed more of a reality of what World War II was like. If you love historical fiction books than I know you will love this book just as much as I do.
About The Book
Like a River from Its Course (Kregel, June 2016)
An epic novel exposing the ugliness of war and the beauty of hope.
The city of Kiev was bombed in Hitler’s blitzkrieg across the Soviet Union, but the constant siege was only the beginning for her citizens. In this sweeping historical saga, Kelli Stuart takes the reader on a captivating journey into the little-known history of Ukraine’s tragedies through the eyes of four compelling characters who experience the same story from different perspectives.
Maria Ivanovna is only fourteen when the bombing begins and not much older when she is forced into work at a German labor camp. She must fight to survive and to make her way back to her beloved Ukraine.
Ivan Kyrilovich is falsely mistaken for a Jew and lined up with 34,000 other men, women, and children who are to be shot at the edge of Babi Yar, the “killing ditch.” He survives, but not without devastating consequences.
Luda is sixteen when German soldiers rape her. Now pregnant with the child of the enemy, she is abandoned by her father, alone, and in pain. She must learn to trust family and friends again and find her own strength in order to discover the redemption that awaits.
Frederick Hermann is sure in his knowledge that the Führer’s plans for domination
are right and just. He is driven to succeed by a desire to please a demanding father and by his own blind faith in the ideals of Nazism.
Based on true stories gathered from fifteen years of research and interviews with Ukrainian World War II survivors, Like a River from Its Course is a story of love, war, heartache, forgiveness, and redemption.
About The Author
Kelli Stuart is the coauthor of Dare 2B Wise and has written for several brands including Disney, American Girl, and Short Fiction Break. She has served as editor-in-chief for the St. Louis Bloggers Guild and as a board member for the St. Louis Women in Media. In addition to her writing, Kelli has spent twenty years studying Ukranian culture. Kelli lives in Florida.
FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.
The Ringmasters Wife by Kristy Cambron was a fun book. I like that this book took place in two different locations up until the characters meet, and then you get to follow them both. I enjoyed this book because I fell in love with the characters right from the start. At times I did get bored, and when that did happen, I just book the down and came back to it later. I liked all the characters in this book and the premise of this book. If you aren’t a huge fan of historical novels than I don’t know that you would like this one but I did enjoy it. I am not a huge fan of the circus, so I didn’t like the book because of that but it was well written, and I am going to check out other books by this author in the future.
About The Book
An ounce of courage. A split-second leap of faith. Together, they propel two young women to chase a new life—one that’s reimagined from what they might have become.
In turn-of-the-century America, a young girl dreams of a world that stretches beyond the confines of a quiet life on the family farm. With little more than her wit and a cigar box of treasures to call her own, Mable steps away from all she knows, seeking the limitless marvels of the Chicago World’s Fair. There, a chance encounter triggers her destiny—a life with a famed showman by the name of John Ringling.
A quarter of a century later, Lady Rosamund Easling of Yorkshire, England, boards a ship to America as a last adventure before her life is planned out for her. There, the twenties are roaring, and the rich and famous gather at opulent, Gatsby-esque parties in the grandest ballrooms the country has to offer. The Jazz Age has arrived, and with it, the golden era of the American circus, whose queen is none other than the enigmatic Mable Ringling.
When Rosamund’s path crosses with Mable’s and the Ringlings’ glittering world, she makes the life-altering decision to leave behind a comfortable future of estates and propriety, instead choosing the nomadic life of a trick rider in the Ringling Brothers’ circus.
A novel that is at once captivating, deeply poignant, and swirling with exquisite historical details of a bygone world, The Ringmaster’s Wife will escort readers into the center ring, with its bright lights, exotic animals, and a dazzling performance that can only be described as the greatest show on earth!
About The Author
Kristy Cambron fancies life as a vintage-inspired storyteller. Her second novel, A Sparrow in Terezin, was named Library Journal Reviews’ “Pick of the Month (Christian Fiction)” for February 2015.
Cambron is an art/design manager at TheGROVEstory.com storytelling ministry. She holds a degree in art history from Indiana University and has nearly 15 years of experience in instructional design and communications for a Fortune-100 company. She lives in Indiana with her husband and three football-loving sons, where she can probably be bribed with a coconut mocha latte and a good Christian fiction read.
FTC: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.
The Second Half by Lauraine Snelling was a book I knew I had to check out when I got the email. The book reminded me of my situation in the fact that I was raised by my grandparents from the age of about eight on so I was super interested in this book. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book and in the end, I did like this book. I have read so many books that it is rare that one sticks out in my mind after I have finished it and written the review. This is one of the ones that stuck out to me because I just really enjoyed the story and the characters. This book was well written, and I wouldn’t mind reading other books by her. I also liked that this book was an easy read. I was able to sit down and read it in a few hours which was nice. I like that it gave me a little inside to what my grandparents could have felt like when they took my brother and me in when we were younger. I think this is a book that most people would enjoy.
About The Book
Bestselling author Lauraine Snelling shares a heartfelt story of a couple who put their plans for a peaceful retirement on hold to assume guardianship of their young grandchildren.
Mona and Ken Sorenson are approaching the best years of their lives. Mona’s greatest concern is that Ken will learn of the surprise party she’s planning for his retirement from his job as Dean of Students at Stone University. They’ve already been making plans to travel, spend limitless hours in the garden, and Ken is looking forward to working on his woodworking and fishing with his grandchildren. It’s what they deserve after years of careful planning.
But things begin to unravel when Ken learns that office politics are about to destroy his department. Can he really just leave, abandoning the work he spent a lifetime achieving? Mona is eager to build her event planning business with Ken’s help, but rather than supporting her, he expresses concern that the stress of the work will send her back into the depression she struggles with. Then, just days before Ken’s last official day of work, their son, a Special Forces officer in the Army, learns he’s being immediately deployed on a six-month mission in Pakistan. Since his wife left him, the only people he trusts to care for his two young children are his parents. In an instant, everything Ken and Mona spent their lives planning changes, and they will need to find strength, both physical and mental, to become parents once more. This is not the second half they wanted, and when their son fails to contact them as planned, they struggle to trust that it is God’s plan, not theirs, that matters most.
FTC: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.
Precious in His Sight by Karen Pashley was a good book. I did spend most of the book hating Clay and even now that I am done with the book, I still don’t like him at all. I had a hard time reading this book because of how I felt about Clay. I love when and the author can make you hate a character so much from the first few pages. So even though I didn’t like him, I did enjoy this book. I loved reading along and seeing how Sugar changed and grew throughout the book. I did love this book in the end, and I like I said before I love when authors make their characters so life like that you hate them. I did enjoy just about everything in this book. It was slow at times, but I didn’t mind those parts as much as I usually do. I liked this book, and I would love to read more by this author in the future.
About The Book
What if your husband was cheating? What would you do?
Feisty, tenacious, and adorably flawed, Sugar Brennan is fiercely committed to her family, her traditional Christian values, and her spotless reputation in her affluent Southern community. When she discovers her husband Clay’s been unfaithful, Sugar is determined to right the wrongs in her life.
But when Clay’s former mistress returns to Westfield with devastating news, it poses a heart-wrenching dilemma that challenges Sugar to rethink all she’s believed about faith, family, and the healing power of forgiveness.
She’s been raised in a preacher’s home, taught to love her enemies.
She’s got the fish sticker on her car and a collection of good works under her belt.
But . . . reach out to the woman who nearly destroyed her marriage? Surely God wouldn’t ask her to go that far.
I’m proud to call Nashville home. Though I grew up in New York, and lived in Florida for more than two decades, I’ve been grafted into Nashville’s eclectic southern culture. I love the people, the easy going vibe, and the lingo. I’m a southern transplant, y’all!
I’m also:
A Christian. In awe of the transforming power of the Word of God. A daily recipient of God’s abundant grace. A redeemed sinner who still messes up regularly. I have a heart for women and the pressures we are faced with in today’s complicated world.
A wife. Thirty years. I didn’t have much training on how to be a wife. Wasn’t prepared for the many ups and downs we would face as we learned by trial and error what marriage was all about. Trials and errors. There have been plenty of them. But there’s also joy, and friendship, and matchless intimacy. I’m committed to one man—my husband Jay.
A proud mom of four incredible young women. Over the past twenty-nine years, they have been my reason for waking in the morning, my motivation to be the best person I can be, and the reflection of a Father in Heaven who loves me inconceivably more than I love them.
An author. An encourager. A storyteller. I wrote my first novel PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT to inspire others to grasp the very personal truth of God’s amazing love for each one of us. It’s a story of hardship and heartache, and the power of forgiveness to set us free. You can read more about it and my upcoming projects in the Books menu under the Fiction tab.
A foodie. I am the founder of Girls Dine In. Part cooking class, part supper club, my monthly events bring women together for an evening of great food, fellowship and loads of fun. No kids. No hubbies. Just the girls. Check out the Food tab under the Blog menu for recipes, entertaining ideas, kitchen tips, and more.
A creator. A visionary. A bigger picture kind-of thinker. I love coming up with ideas and setting them in motion. Seems like I’ve always got a new project to tackle!
I enjoy entertaining, going for morning hikes in the woods, hanging out with my daughters, cuddling my sweet grand baby, painting old furniture, trying to grow things in my yard, planning events, wandering through museums, and lounging at the beach.
I do not enjoy mani/pedis or massages (I know, I’m weird). I’m not fond of carnivals, heights, doing paperwork of any kind, watching my plants whither and die despite my best efforts, and I’m probably the only person in America who did not like the Broadway musical Wicked. So there you have it.
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