Winter’s Awakening

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Honestly Shelley Shepard Gray is probably my favorite Amish Fiction author of the current Amish Fiction craze. Her reflections into the lives that interact and are affected by the Ohio Amish are fresh and refreshing. I enjoyed her previous Sisters of the Heart Series and I am fairly certain that I will be even more impressed with her new Seasons of Sugarcreek Series if this book is any indication.

Most romances these days are all about the new relationship that is budding. This book however shows true romance from a different perspective, the future of a relationship that is already in existence. I have never read a book that touched on the relationship behind marriage quite like Shelley was able to in the pages of this novel.

Reading into the lives of Gretta and Joshua and hearing their thoughts and feeling their emotions while they try to understand whether they were meant for each other in God’s divine plan is quite an adventure. Learning the neighbor Lilly’s secrets and past relationships and decisions on new ones with throw you for a twist. Reading between the lines on other characters in the way they interact is all so amazing. This book is full of possible routes and choices and really allows a reader to imagine what might be.

I highly encourage you to jump in and read along into the lives of the Sugarcreek Amish and their Englischer neighbors. See if things are how you would imagine they might end up to be. What do you envision your marriage to be? Would you be willing to work on it if it was not quite right?

Montana Rose

Fire up your love of romance with Montana Rose, where Cassie Griffin, a seemingly spoiled pregnant woman, is widowed one day and wedded the next. Marrying handyman Red Dawson seems the only alternative to Cassie’s being hitched to a brutal rancher. But can this “China doll” bear exchanging smooth silk for coarse calico? Red was reluctant to be yoked to an unbeliever, but sometimes a man has no choice. Will Red change Cassie’s heart by changing her name? Wade Sawyer is obsessed with saving Cassie from a marriage of convenience. How far will he go make her his own?

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

Every time that I pick up and read a book from Mary Connealy I am in awe at the topics and issues that are addressed in such a loving and in depth manner. This specific book deals with marriage, courage, abuse, healing, strength, and new faith. The lives of the characters are so real and so easily comparable to real life that it is extremely difficult to remember that it supposedly just a fictitious story in novel format.

Cassie is a woman who was brought up in a closed environment where she was unable to think or be for herself. She was then thrust into a life where the static existence that she formerly knew was practically ripped to shreds as piece by piece she learned to think for herself. Belle is a wounded woman who has endured so much pain at the form of broken hearts in marriage that any hope she once had has dwindled. It is now time for her to either accept the painful defeat of life or find hope in an attempt of grace in action. This book tells the story of Cassie and gets a good foot in the door of the tale behind Belle’s life. (Cannot wait for another book in the series to find out more!!)

Many people know and think about abuse and how it is a physical pain, but often they forget about the emotional and spiritual scars that are endured as well. Within this tale, various characters find ways of adapting and moving forward in life from years of proverbial abuse. Some make the right decisions and some do not. Watching these characters and their mistakes and correct actions can cause a reader to grow as well.

This book is filled to the brim with situations where a reader can learn through someone’s pain instead of their own. Also in the style of Mary Connealy, conversations and events fill a reader full to giggling whether they want to or not. Their were points where I’m not sure if I should blame my own pregnancy or not for the giggles brought me to tears. For me personally, another best part of this book was reading about two characters and their own experiences with pregnancy. This is the first book with a birth that I have been blessed to read that was more than she’s pregnant and in the last chapter has the babe. I was enthralled by the experiences and interactions that it proved to provide with neighbors and spouses.

And now, I impatiently wait for the next book in the series or other from the imaginations of Mary Connealy!!

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• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602601429
• ISBN-13: 978-1602601420
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches

Beloved Counterfeit

When the less-than-reputable Ruby O’Shea washes up on the shores of Fairweather Key, she’s determined to bury her past and make a new life for herself and her three nieces. But doing so will entail secrecy and deception. Is that any way to start anew? When Micah Take, a wrecker, widoer and soon-to-be preacher, falls for Ruby, it seems a wedding is certain and her past uninportant. But as Ruby’s secrets are uncovered, Micah finds himself falling short of the grace of forgiveness. Will Micah abandon the heart that God has won? Or will he stand by his woman against all odds?

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
When I was in college, I had a conversation with a friend about how I knew God had forgiven me for my sins, but for some things it would take me longer to forgive myself. He responded that by refusing to forgive myself once God had forgiven me was as if I were saying that God’s forgiveness was not enough. That is something that has stuck with me for many years, and probably will for years to come. The point in that message of forgiveness and moving forward with a clean slate is what “Beloved Counterfeit” is all about using the key scripture of Isaiah 1:18

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be of scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

This book is the third in the Fairweather Key series. It can be read alone, or as I did out of order, and when you go back to read the others it will be like learning deeper into a character’s heart and past. Having read one, as a reader one will definitely want to experience the others. The main characters have a lot to learn about each other as well as themselves. This is a story about forgiveness, real forgive and forget forgiveness and going forward in life. It may be a message easily taught, but an even more difficult one to live.

I highly recommend this series and cannot wait to read more from Barbour and especially Kathleen Y’Barbo in the future.

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Shadow of Colossus

2009 Christy Award Historical Nominee
In a world enslaved by money and power, one woman dares to be free. Will an explosive secret enslave her again?

The place is the island of Rhodes; the time, 227 BC. In the ten years that Tessa of Delos has been in bondage as a hetaeira, a high-priced Greek courtesan to a wealthy politician, she has learned to abandon all desire for freedom and love. But when her owner meets a violent death, Tessa is given the chance to be free if she can hide the truth of his death and maintain a masquerade until escape is possible. Now Tessa must battle for her own freedom and for those she is beginning to love, as forces collide that will shatter the island’s peace and bring even its mighty Colossus to its knees.

Here is a powerful story showing how the love of God can transform even the most hardened person and bring back to life a soul jaded by sin and grief.

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
After reading this story, while reading a note provided after the story within the book I found that this really explained what I think as a whole about the tale.

Weaving in and out of actual events, brushing lightly against the lives of characters from the pages of history, the Seven Wonders novels take us beyond man’s ingenuity and hubris to explore the Supreme Creator’s work in the ancient world beyond Israel. From the fall of the mighty Colossus of Rhodes to the destruction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one thing becomes clear: The power of redemption will never be silenced, and the One True God still desires to draw all men unto himself.

This novel might have taken place in 227 BC, but there is no doubt in my mind that it falls within a classification of Christian fiction. Through the characters hearts and mind, the “one true God” makes his love and redemption vision known.

The author has used a talent for story telling to educate and to fill the soul with a redemptive tale that is as classic as the story of the woman at the well or the good Samaritan. God loves you, and can use you, and desires you, no matter your past or situation.

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• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Broadman & Holman Publishers (August 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080544730X
• ISBN-13: 978-0805447309

A Distant Melody is the first book in the Wings of Glory series, which follows the three Novak brothers, B-17 bomber pilots with the US Eighth Air Force stationed in England during World War II.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Memory Between Us, A: A Novel (Wings of Glory)This is one of the better whole novels that I have read in a while. This is a historical romance that has all of the elements that one’s heart looks for and while at the same time bringing forth events of a war time past that are true and hard to accept. Usually I am not a fan of war time novels, but this one captures my heart. In a similar manner as the films Pearl Harbor and Hanover Street except with a moral conscious. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait for the sequel A Memory Between Us come this fall.

It starts with the cover being pure dreamy that just makes your heart sigh. Then from page one I was in love with the character of Allie and soon after Walt. Watching how romance blossomed and watch the confusion of their hearts and yearning for explanation for the other was pleasantly painful. Each chapter brought me begging for me. Sarah Sundin wrote an incredible heart rending story and I highly recommend it. Sundin is now on my favorite authors list.

*Thanks to Donna Hausler of Revell Books for providing a copy for review.*

“Available March 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

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Christy Williams finally has her life on track. She’s putting her past behind her and working hard to build a career as an antiquarian book buyer. But things begin to unravel when a stolen Hemingway first edition is found in her possession, framing her for a crime she didn’t commit. With no one to turn to, she yearns for her estranged younger sister, May, whom she abandoned after their parents’ untimely deaths. Soon, Christy’s fleeing from her shattered dreams, her ex-boyfriend, and God. Could May’s Triple Cross Ranch be the safe haven she’s searching for? Will the sisters realize that each possesses what the other desperately needs before it’s too late? A stunning debut from the latest Christian Writers Guild winner.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Nitty gritty honest truth under your skin, but you have to turn to the page and find out what happens next.

I have been anticipating this book as C.J. Darlington is such a great influence in the online book blogging and publication world. I was not disappointed. Especially as I am not a contemporary Christian fiction fan and yet I enjoyed this one and will definitely pick up future titles from C.J. Full of suspense and easily a page turner, this one goes on the keeper shelf.

about this author
C.J. Darlington is the winner of the 2008 Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest. She has been in the antiquarian bookselling business for over a decade, scouting for stores similar to the one described in Thicker than Blood before cofounding her own online bookstore. She also cofounded the Christian entertainment Web site www.TitleTrakk.com. A homeschool graduate, she lives in Pennsylvania with her family.

*Thanks to TitleTrakk.com and C.J. Darlington for providing a copy for review.*

After struggling for years to make it as an actress, Harper finally gets her big break—but will she have to sacrifice the love of her life to take it?

At thirty, Harper fears her chances for a thriving acting career and finding true love are both fading fast. When she’s handed an unexpected role on Broadway—understudy to New York’s biggest diva––everything changes. She longs for love in the City, but when it doesn’t happen, she reluctantly signs up to an online matchmaking site. Frustration mounts when the only men Harper is interested in are on the West coast, thousands of miles away. Harper feels like an actress who doesn’t act, and a woman in love with someone she’s never met, but God’s about to change all that.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have been meaning to read a book by Chris for more than a year. I just never have a craving for contemporary fiction. Whenever I have free time I am always reaching for the historicals. After reading "Screen Play" by Chris, I am sorry that I waited so long before introducing myself to his storytelling voice. The entire time I was looking forward to what was coming next. Already, partially read I would recommend it. After finishing it, I highly recommend it.

There is not just one story in there but several. The character voice of female Harper Gray is incredibly well developed by Chris. There were many little things that showed her personality and I am very impressed from a male point of view how well she came together on the page.

While enjoying the story I was expecting it to wrap up right after the New York play, but it continued and it was as enjoyable as reading a sequel of character’s lives that you are not quite ready to let go of as a reader. After a short trip to London with my SisterB where we saw a play a day, except one day two I recall our performance of "The Woman in White" that was saw. This show sticks out in my mind specifically because the staring roll was played by the understudy. I remember being curious about what goes on in the mind of someone that plays the roll of an understudy and thanks to the first half of this fabulous treasure of a novel now I have a better plausible picture.

However, just this fact was not the only part of the story that I could relate to. I met my Enginerd online. Long story short, neither was looking and it all happened upon a fluke some would say, or rather God’s design that we did not expect. Know how wonderful it was and at the same time how people are still uncertain if that is an okay way to meet people I could completely relate to the characters as they impatiently waited for the next email, IM or text message.

This was a story that was enjoyable to read and the characters were truly brought of the page to me. I can imagine them as palpable persons and that is to me an extremely valuable talent in an author. Once again, I repeat, I am sorry that I have not delved into the imagination on the page from Chris before, but I am so glad that I have found his writing now. I cannot wait for more.

*Thanks to Audra of TBBMedia for providing a copy for review.*

Chris Coppernoll’s Website http://www.providencebook.com/

Believing herself guilty of a crime, Olivia Keene flees her home, eventually stumbling upon a grand estate where an elaborate celebration is in progress. But all is not as joyous as it seems…. Lord Bradley has just learned a terrible secret, which, if exposed, will change his life forever. When he glimpses a figure on the grounds, he fears a spy or thief has overheard his devastating news. He is stunned to discover the intruder is a scrap of a woman with her throat badly injured. Fearing she will spread his secret, he gives the girl a post and confines her to his estate. As Olivia and Lord Bradley’s secrets catch up with them, will their hidden pasts ruin their hope of finding love?

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Holding a flavoring of "Jane Eyre" and a hint of "The Importance of Being Earnest" fully in the environment of a regency tale, "The Silent Governess" brings forth mystery and intrigue with romance to make your heart melt. Previously while reading the first two novels by Julie Klassen I was appreciate, being after the second novel a true fan. The words on her page teach lessons and mold your heart loving her characters and their fictious lives. Just moments away from finishing this novel I can already tell you that I cannot wait for the next wonderful story from the imagination of Author Julie Klassen.

Olivia Keene has a journey to endure before she can possibly get what she truly desires and that is only if the cards turn in her favor. Following the mystery of memories, inheritance, relatives and secrets with wild dogs, frightening poachers, scheming gentry, and spoiled cousins imaginations run wild and truths are hard to hold onto. What really matters in the end is a big question and each chapter gets the readers closer to solutions to the equations put forth.

Once again Julie thrills with perfect quotes at the beginning of each chapter and it is truly apparent that her research it thorough and fun. More please! Now I just might have to go read some Jane Austen.

* Paperback: 448 pages
* Publisher: Bethany House; Original edition (January 1, 2010)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0764207075
* ISBN-13: 978-0764207075