To Know You by Shannon Ethridge & Kathryn Mackel

November 14, 2013

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To Know You by Shannon Ethridge & Kathryn Mackel was a good book to read. I really enjoyed reading this and I have to say I love how the book came full circle and I was in love with the ending to this book. I found that at times I would get pissed off at Julia by how she acted and other times I totally understood why she did the things that she did. There are so many ups and downs in this book that kept me going because I was always wondering what was going to happen next with the characters. Like I said before the book goes full circle and I loved that about it. I am so glad I got the chance to read this book.

About The Book

Julia Whittaker’s rocky past yielded two daughters, both given up for adoption as infants. Now she must find them to try to save her son.

Julia and Matt Whittaker’s son has beaten the odds for thirteen years only to have the odds—and his liver—crash precipitously. The only hope for his survival is a “living liver” transplant, but the transplant list is long and Dillon’s time is short. His two older half-sisters, born eighteen months apart to two different fathers, offer his only hope for survival.

But can Julia ask a young woman—someone she surrendered to strangers long ago and has never spoken with—to make such a sacrifice to save a brother she’s never known? Can she muster the courage to journey back into a shame-filled season of her life, face her choices and their consequences, and find any hope of healing?

And what if she discovers in her own daughters’ lives that a history of foolish choices threatens to repeat itself? Julia knows she’s probably embarking on a fool’s errand—searching for the daughters she abandoned only now that she needs something from them. But love compels Julia to take this journey. Can grace and forgiveness compel her daughters to join her?

In To Know You, Shannon Ethridge and Kathryn Mackel explore how the past creates the present . . . and how even the most shattered lives can be redeemed.

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About The Authors

Shannon Ethridge is a best-selling author, speaker, and certified life coach with a master’s degree in counseling/human relations from Liberty University. She has spoken to college students and adults since 1989 and is the author of 21 books, including the million-copy best-selling Every Woman’s Battle series. She is a frequent guest on TV and radio programs and mentors aspiring writers and speakers through her BLAST Program (Building Leaders, Authors, Speakers & Teachers.)

Learn more about Shannon:http://www.shannonethridge.com

Kathryn Mackel is a best-selling author and acclaimed screenwriter for Disney and Fox. She was on the screenwriting team for Left Behind: The Movie, and Frank Peretti’s Hangman’s Curse. She is the acclaimed author of “The Surrogate”, “The Departed”, and “The Hidden” and resides in Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband.

Learn more about Kathryn: http://www.kathrynmackel.com

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Snow on the Tulips by Liz Tolsma

November 1, 2013

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Snow on the Tulips by Liz Tolsma was an amazing book. This book takes place during WWII which just happens to be one of the time periods in history that I love learning and reading about. I also loved this book because my grandma’s family is from the Netherlands and she is working on her family history right now so I feel like I know the people. I loved this book but it was a hard read for me because I knew that this book is fiction but things like this had to have actually happened to people there. This is a book that I know I will hold on to because the author does an amazing job of telling the story and of making you feel like you are there going through everything with the characters. I loved the love story as well in this book and I was sad when it finally did come to an end because I love the characters and in the end I felt like I knew them. If you love WWII and love stories than I know you will love this book!

About Snow on the Tulips

A stranger’s life hangs in the balance. But to save him is to risk everything.

The war is drawing to a close, but the Nazis still occupy part of the Netherlands. After the losses she’s endured, war widow Cornelia is only a shadow of the woman she once was. She fights now to protect her younger brother, Johan, who lives in hiding.

When Johan brings Gerrit Laninga, a wounded Dutch Resistance member, to Cornelia’s doorstep, their lives are forever altered. Although scared of the consequences of harboring a wanted man, Cornelia’s faith won’t let her turn him out.

As she nurses Gerrit back to health, she is drawn to his fierce passion and ideals, and notices a shift within herself. Gerrit’s intensity challenges her, making her want to live fully, despite the fear that constrains her. When the opportunity to join him in the Resistance presents itself, Cornelia must summon every ounce of courage imaginable.

She is as terrified of loving Gerrit as she is of losing him. But as the winter landscape thaws, so too does her heart. Will she get a second chance at true love? She fears their story will end before it even begins.

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About Liz Tolsma

Liz Tolsma has lived in Wisconsin most of her life, and she now resides next to a farm field with her husband, their son, and their two daughters. Add a dog and a cat to that mix and there’s always something going on at their house. She’s spent time teaching second grade, writing advertising for a real estate company, and working as a church secretary, but she always dreamed of becoming an author.

She’d love to have you visit her at http://www.liztolsma.com.

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The Bargain by Stephanie Reed

October 25, 2013

The Bargain by Stephanie Reed was an okay book. I have to say that this book wasn’t the easiest for me to get through. I am not sure why I had a hard time getting through it but I did. I liked the story and the characters. There were parts in the book that I didn’t like and I think they could have done without but all in all it was a good book. I didn’t like the ending but that is only because I felt bad for the characters and I wanted so much more for them but that is just what happens to me because I feel like the characters are real.

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About The Bargain

Book one in the Plain City Peace series.

It’s 1971, and Betsie Troyer’s peaceful and predictable life is about to become anything but.

When their parents flee the Amish, nineteen-year-old Betsie and her seventeen-year-old sister Sadie are distraught. Under the dubious guidance of a doting aunt, the girls struggle to keep the secret, praying their parents will return before anyone learns the truth-a truth that may end all hopes of Betsie’s marriage to Charley Yoder.

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About Stephanie Reed

Stephanie Reed lives onthe outskirts of Plain City, Ohio, site of a once-thriving Amish community. She gleans ideas for her novels from signs glimpsed along thebyways of Ohio, as she did for her previous books, “Across the Wide River” and “The Light Across the River.”

Learn more at Stephanie’s website:http://www.stephanielreed.com/

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The Journey of Josephine Cain by Nancy Moser

October 23, 2013

The Journey of Josephine Cain by Nancy Moser was one of the best books I have read in a long time. I read this book from cover to cover in about 6 hours because I really couldn’t put this book down. I loved the characters and the authors writing. In this book you get to go along with Josie (Josephine) as she goes and to visit her dad as he works on the Transcontinental Railroad. This book takes place right after the civil war has ended and they are working on the railroad as a way to bring the country together and also give men jobs.

Right before her father leaves to go and work on railroad he brings home a man named Lewis that ends up courting Josie. I have say from the minute Lewis was introduced I couldn’t stand him. I am not sure what it was about him but I didn’t like him at all. The longer the story went the less and less that I liked him.

Her first trip out to visit her dad she meets Hudson who from the minute they introduced him I hoped that Josie would end up with him. He fought in the civil war with 2 of his brothers. One of the brothers ended up dying and then after the war ended he and his youngest brother went to work on the railroad because they needed to send money home to their parents.

I loved how this story ended and everything about this book. The author does such a good job of making you feel you are right there with the characters. You also understand where the characters are coming from and why they do the things that they do.

About The Journey of Josephine Cain

When a socialite from the nation’s capital embarks on a journey to the Wild West, her life is changed forever.

A setting populated by hundreds of laborers, outlaws, and Indians is hardly the place for a wealthy general’s daughter. But Josephine Cain is determined to visit her father, who supervises the day-to-day work involved in the grandest ambition of post-Civil War America: the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Life with the railroad is far from the proper life Josephine is used to, and she faces deadly gunfights, harsh weather, and vigilante uprisings. She is torn between the West and the East; between her privileged upbringing and the challenges of a new frontier; between the pull of the suitable beau her parents approve of and an attraction to a rough but charming Irish railroad worker. But if Josephine is willing, she just might find a new life, a unique purpose . . . and true love.

About Nancy Moser

Nancy Moser is the best-selling author of more than twenty novels. She is a winner and two-time nominee of the Christy Award, and her latest novel was named to Booklist’s “Top 10 Romance Novels of 2011.” Nancy and her husband have three grown children and three grandchildren, and they live in the Midwest.

Learn more at Nancy at: http://nancymoser.com/.

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Gunpowder Tea by Margaret Brownley

October 21, 2013

Gunpowder Tea by Margaret Brownley was a super fun read. I think the thing I loved most about this book is that it had a very unique plot. The main character Miranda is and undercover detective in trying to figure out who is the Phantom is. I have to say that the first chapter had me laughing and I knew from that first chapter I was going to love this book. This entire book was a cute story and I am going to go on and read the other two books because I love this authors writing. If you want to read a super cute story than this one is for you.

About Gunpowder Tea

In a case that could change her career, Miranda uncovers a love that will change her life.When Miranda Hunt sees the classified ad for an heiress to the legendary Last Chance Ranch, she knows assuming the identity of Annie Beckman is the perfect cover. As one of the finest agents for the Pinkerton Detective Agency, Miranda has been tasked with apprehending the Phantom—an elusive and notorious train robber thought to be hiding on the sprawling ranch.But she isn’t the only one at the ranch with something to hide. Wells Fargo detective

Jeremy Taggart is working undercover as well. Their true identities may be a secret, but it is impossible for Jeremy and Miranda to hide the sparks flaring between them.
Neither is about to let romance interfere with such a huge case. Besides, Miranda hasn’t removed Jeremy from her list of suspects yet. The closer they get to uncovering the identity of the Phantom, the more dangerous he gets—and no one on the ranch is safe.The longer Miranda and Jeremy spend working together, the harder it becomes to keep their feelings in check. Their careers-and their lives-depend on solving this case. Love will just have to wait.

“In the exquisitely intriguing finale to her Brides of Last Chance Ranch trilogy, Brownley blends faith and romance with a dash of mystery to serve up a cozy, fulfilling story set in the Arizona Territory of the 1890s . . . .This enchanting account of the hardships and wonders of the Old West features many delightful characters. The story stands on its own merits, independent of the first two in the series, drawing readers into a world that is difficult to leave.” —Publishers Weekly

About The Author Margaret Brownley

Thrills, mystery, suspense, romance: Margaret penned it all. Nothing wrong with this—except Margaret happened to be writing for the church newsletter at the time. After making the church picnic read like a Grisham novel, her former pastor took her aside and said, “Maybe God’s calling you to write fiction.” So that’s what Margaret did. She’s now a New York Times bestselling author and a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist with more than 25 novels to her credit. Her first non-fiction book Grieving God’s Way: the Lasting Path to Hope and Healing has won much critical acclaim. She is currently working on the third book in her Brides of Last Chance Ranch series. Not bad for someone who flunked 8th grade English. Just don’t ask her to diagram a sentence.

Learn more at Margaret’s website: http://margaretbrownley.com

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Return To Me by Lynn Austin

October 15, 2013

Return To Me by Lynn Austin was different from any other book I have ever read. This wasn’t a book that I could read fast it was one that I had to focus on and take my time. This book takes place during 539 BC and it brings part of the Old Testament to life. I really liked the fact that this book gives you a view of what it was like for the people that were living during that time. I think because it takes place so long ago I had a really hard time getting into this story. I think this book would be great for people who know the bible stories and want to get a different view about what it was like for the people who lived in that time.

About Return To Me

From the Acclaimed Author of Chronicles of the Kings

After decades of exile, the prophesies are coming true—King Cyrus has declared the Jews may return to Jerusalem. Iddo, a priest, is sure this is a sign of God’s renewed favor. For too long they’ve remained in Babylon, and many, including Iddo’s sons, are losing the faith that sets them apart. And so only a few choose to leave everything to return—return to their home and their God.

Nothing about their journey to the Promised Land is easy. As hardships mount, even the faithful, like Iddo’s beloved wife, Dinah, question the sacrifice of following God’s leading. Zechariah, Iddo’s oldest grandson, feels torn between his grandfather’s ancient beliefs and the family they left behind. But one life-changing encounter with the Holy One gives him insight that will change Zechariah—and history—forever.

Bringing the Old Testament to vibrant life, Return to Metells the compelling story of two men living by faith in the midst of doubt, the women who love them, and the faithful remnant struggling to rebuild their lives in obedience to the God who beckons them home.

About Lynn Austin

Bestselling author Lynn Austin has sold more than one million copies of her books worldwide. She is an eight-time Christy Award winner for her historical novels, as well as a popular speaker at retreats and conventions. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and live near Chicago.

You can find out more about Lynn at http://www.lynnaustin.org/.