Author: Tricia Goyer

Publisher: Broadman & Holman

April 2011

ISBN: 978-1-4336-6868-5

Genre: Inspirational/Amish/Women’s fiction

Marianna Sommer was born the night her sister’s died—and she’s always known that part of her history. Just once, she wishes she could have a birthday without being reminded about the sadness that occurred, but that will never happen. Now at nineteen, Marianna plans to marry Aaron Zook, but with one of Marianna’s brothers having jumped the fence, and another talking about it, Marianna’s parents decide to move the family to a new Amish settlement in Montana.

Marianna isn’t required to move, with her mom expecting another baby; she promises she will go for six months, then move back home to be with Aaron, so they can marry. But things have a way of changing. Will Marianna go home to Indiana, or will she find something in Montana worth staying for?

BESIDE STILL WATERS is Ms. Goyer’s first Amish book. Personally, I think she does much better with her WWII stories, but this book is still engaging, and I had to keep reading to find out what would happen with the Goyer family.

I cried when I read the prologue of this book, and the whole Sommer family is colored with sadness from the events that occurred early on. The story never really steps away from the sadness, it colors the whole book. Still, it kept my interest.  Some delicious sounding recipes are included. $14.99. 320 pages.

THE PASTOR’S WIFE

Author: Jennifer AlLee

Publisher: Abingdon Press

February 2010

ISBN: 1-426-70225-9

Genre: Inspirational/contemporary women’s fiction

Maura Sullivan couldn’t handle being married to a pastor. Nick Shepherd was more into his congregation than he was her. They called, he was there. But when she needed him, he wasn’t. Now, six years later, Maura is back in the small town of Granger, Ohio, to meet the conditions of a will. In order to inherit a theatre, which Maura desperately wants, and for the church to inherit a sizeable inheritance, then Maura and Nick have to live together for six months.

Nick has never stopped loving Maura, and the church is hesitant to accept their living conditions until they are reminded that Maura and Nick are still married. But as Maura dives headlong into restoration of the theatre, Nick takes a hard look at himself and sees the mistakes he made that drove Maura away. Determined not to make the same mistake twice he goes out of his way to make time for her.

But having Nick married to the church is not the only issue that drove Maura to leave Nick. Is it possible for Maura to face some of the issues she had? And when Nick discovers the real reason she left, what will it take for him to forgive her?

THE PASTOR’S WIFE is a real look at what it is like, sometimes, to be married to a pastor. Life in the fishbowl, being a pastor’s wife is open to all kinds of criticism and trying to push you into a certain mold. When Maura didn’t fit the mold they were trying to push her into, instead of trying to find places she did fit, she turned bitter, and felt an outsider. This is something that most all pastors wives struggle with.

Maura and Nick are both realistic characters which I couldn’t help loving. The whole book was great, and drew me into the small town community of Granger, which I loved visiting via the pages of this book. My biggest complaint about THE PASTOR’S WIFE is that the ending seemed rather rushed. $13.99. 213 pages. .

Questions & Answers with

Q: Kristin, you are one of the leaders in the Chick Lit movement. What exactly is Chick Lit and do you consider it an honor to be a writer of this type of genre?

Chick Lit is women’s fiction with an attitude. It embraces a woman’s entire world: her work, her friends, her romances, and her social surroundings. They say Jane Austen was the first Chick Lit author because she used humor and the written world to poke fun at the ridiculous requirements society put on women (i.e., If you hadn’t married well, you weren’t worthy.) So yes, I’m honored, and though the genre is said to be dying, that type of fiction will never die; only its name will change.

Q: In your newest novel, A Billion Reasons Why, you deal with several issues, including facing our pasts. Why do you feel that women need to deal with their pasts in order to step into their futures?

Once we learn a particular lesson in life, I believe it’s important to move on and not enter the same journey over and over—leaving it on the altar and not picking it back up again, if you will. We all bring the baggage of our pasts into relationships, be it something simple like not being able to be tapped on the shoulder after a lifetime of taps from one’s brother—or something deeper. Living abundantly is about living without fear, letting go of control, and believing that God has it covered.

Q: Katie’s ex-boyfriend, Luc, is a millionaire. What type of research did you do into how the rich live differently than others?

That was my main point. Money can’t buy happiness. It certainly can’t buy contentment. That comes from connection with others, and when we try too hard to plan our lives, it somehow seems to backfire on us. I’ve grown up in the San Francisco Bay area and have been around money all my life. I’m not impressed by it, and I’ve seen it ruin good people and not change others. So, ultimately, money is like anything else in life—the proof of character is how you handle it.

Q: Do you believe that most women would want to marry a man for money or are there other things that make a rich man attractive? What qualities do you think are most valued in relationships?

I think women are hard-wired to want security and to be well cared for so that they feel safe to have a family. That being said, I think we’ve gone astray in our worship of money. There are so many rich people who are so completely disconnected from what matters in life. What’s attractive is being cared for; the belief that a man with money will automatically do that is false. I believe we all want to be known for who we are at our core. That’s how Luc loved Katie. It had nothing to do with his money.

Q: In the book, Katie shares a deep love for the romanticism of the 1940’s. Was this born from your own admiration of that era?

I had all of my grandparents until I was 37, so I had a deep connection to the 40’s era through their stories and through the old movies I loved. That generation had so little, and yet they made the most of it. They were able to live in gratitude for the little things, and the music and the entertainment of the day brought them through the hard struggles of war and the Depression.

Q: What do you hope that readers take away from reading your book?

I hope that readers take away some self-examination. Where are they thwarting God by trying to control all aspects of their lives?

Birdie Wainwrite has macular degeneration, but that isn’t about to stop her! Birdie loves dancing, hiking with her large dog, and is famous in her small Colorado town for baking pies. But when Birdie accidentally falls and breaks her ankle, suddenly she finds herself being forced to live with her son, his wife, and her sixteen year old grandson. Not the ideal circumstances for this fun-loving grandma, especially when her daughter in law is a doctor, and the relationship has been less than pleasant from day one.

Andy and Suzanne are both very busy, and neither have much time for Birdie, leaving her care to their house-keeper, and their sixteen year old son. Fletcher is a dear boy, but he and his father do not see eye to eye, and the boy is constantly being belittled and threatened with boarding school.

When Fletcher has to read Huckleberry Fin for his English class, Birdie is delighted. She loves that story. So, she and Fletcher spend time together reading. But then, Huck Fin starts appearing in Birdie’s room! At first he just comes. And then he finds a voice and talks to her. And listens to her. And Birdie is wondering if she’s going crazy.

I  have read and loved all of Patti Hill’s books so far, and was looking forward to reading SEEING THINGS. I was not disappointed. Birdie is a seventy-something year old woman, but she is very active, reminding me of my mother. And being legally blind doesn’t slow her down at all. Birdie is not happy living with her son and his wife, but she loves getting to know her grandson better, and even makes friends with her son’s neighbors.

Birdie is very realistic, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with her. Coupled with Ms. Hill’s descriptive writing style and I could hear the dog’s nails clicking on the wood floors (of course that might have been our dog I heard!) and seen the surroundings—at least the portion that Birdie could see. Laugh out loud funny at times, this is a book you will not soon forget.  The ending does seem a bit rushed. $14.99. 320 pages.

Anna’s mother gave Anna the box of Christmas glass for a wedding present. It was a box that her own mother had been given as a wedding present years earlier. But now, with the Nazi’s invading, and Jews in danger, Anna feels that the Christmas glass would be safer with her sister, Filomena, who lived in the southern tip of Italy, and was hoping to move to America. So, Anna ships the box of Christmas glass off to her cousin.

Years have passed. Now Filomena is old, and living in an assisted living apartment. But her family is pushing her into moving to “the dying place”, the part of the nursing home for those who need more long-term help. But Filomena is objecting. Unless her family agrees to come together one last Christmas…and bring the pieces of the Christmas glass together, which she had divided up between her daughters and friends of the family.

But Filomena’s twin daughters, Marie and Catharine haven’t spoken in years. Not since Marie’s husband died, and she got remarried to Catharine’s high school boyfriend. Catharine feels that Marie had betrayed her. But since Catharine had returned Daniel’s ring and married someone else, Marie didn’t feel she’d done anything wrong. How can Marie possibly honor her mother’s wish and return home for Christmas when Catharine would be there?  If she does go, will it be a wondrous reunion, or a disaster that would shatter them all?

THE CHRISTMAS GLASS is the first book I’ve read by this author. Beautifully published, in hard cover, this book would be excellent for gift giving this holiday season. However, the story is rather slow, and it takes some time to get into. I never did grow to care about the characters, and I couldn’t understand some of the mindsets some of the members possessed.

Filomena is a very strong willed, bitter woman, and it seemed as if her daughter, Catharine, was the same way. Marie fled as far from her family as she possibly could, going from Connecticut to California, both to be near her son, and to marry her second husband, but it also fueled the distance between the sisters.

THE CHRISTMAS GLASS is a story about a family trying to heal the fractures that occurred over time, fractures that have healed and scarred, and may not be able to ever be properly healed. Still, it is a Christmas story that will stay with the reader that stays with the book. $15.99 hardcover, 304 pages.

Jillian Dare

Jillian never knew her parents. Her only memories of her childhood are ones of being passed around from one foster family to another. One especially she’d rather forget because she was treated horribly. The last family that took her in was so different. She was actually part of a loving family. Did her upbringing make her want to become a nanny? To give children love and care that she herself hadn’t had? It’s possible. But whatever the reason she’s now out on her own, having accepted the job of nanny to a young girl named Cadence. She’s being raised by her father who has to divide his time between his company holdings in the United Stated and England. The mother isn’t in the picture, but Ethan’s aunt lives at the mansion and oversees everything.

Jillian’s very excited about this opportunity. As she drives onto the grounds she’s reminded of Maria heading into the Von Trapp mansion to take care of the Captain’s children. Shortly after she starts the job, she checks her new email address to see if her employer has left any instructions (he’s in England). There’s a welcome email from Ethan, but there’s another email waiting for her. It’s one that’s intended to scare her. As the weeks pass she receives more of these emails but isn’t sure what to do with them.

She tries to ignore them as she settles in and starts to get to know Ethan. He’s exceedingly nice and goes above and beyond what’s necessary to make Jillian feel at home.

The author has a way of weaving the story so that you really care about what happens to the characters. When they’re in trouble, you’re drawn into the drama. The author tackles some difficult topics. But the one thread throughout the whole book is Jillian’s faith. For a time she wasn’t looking to the Lord and what He wants, but events led her to turn back to Him and trust Him with her life.

The book is good for all ages.

Author: Laura Jensen Walker

Publisher: Zondervan

March 2009

ISBN: 978-0-310-27698-2

Genre: Inspirational/women’s fiction

Paige Kelley has been married, and divorced (compliments of her mother, who sabotaged her marriage) and now she is thirty-five, with no prospects. Her mother is ailing, and extremely high-maintenance, and Paige’s friends accuse her of being tied to her mother’s apron strings.

Paige longs for marriage, motherhood, and the white picket fence, and her mother helpfully reminds her she’s not getting any younger, conveniently forgetting that Paige had been married…

As Paige’s friends continue to urge her to break free, Paige begins to consider it. But who would take care of her mother? And how would she break free anyway?

TURNING THE PAIGE is the second book in The Getaway Girls Novel series, but it easily stands alone. I enjoyed reconnecting with the ladies in this adventurous book club, and soaking in their open friendship vicariously.

Paige is a realistic heroine, and I have to admire her for caring for her mother the way she does. I have a maiden aunt who did much the same thing as Paige, giving up all hopes and dreams for the sake of her mother, so in a way I could relate. I was always sorry my aunt never did break free. And while I sympathized for the mother, she did need to ease up on Paige somewhat and develop a life of her own.

I do love how TURNING THE PAIGE ended. Truly delicious and quite satisfying. A preview of Ms. Walker’s next book Becca by the Book is included at the end of TURNING THE PAIGE. Pick up your copy at your favorite bookseller today. $14.99. 305 pages.

Gabby Fairbanks isn’t real sure where to turn when she returns home from resigning her job, at her husband’s request, to find out that her husband has changed the lock on the apartment, put her and her mother’s belongings outside, and took her boys off to parts unknown. Gabby is a basket case, and with no where to turn, she goes back to the homeless shelter where she used to work, but this time as a resident.

The next morning, Gabby meets with her former boss, who graciously helps Gabby out by giving her back her job and a game plan to follow to start getting her life back into order. Under her boss’s directive, Gabby visits a lawyer to see if she can get her boys back. The lawyer does much more than that, he helps Gabby to come up with a bit more of a game plan to make her case more appealing to the courts.  Like first, she’ll have to find someplace to live. No court will look favorably on a homeless person.

But a midnight intruder at the shelter brings unwanted media attention to Gabby, and threatens to undermine all her chances to get her sons back.

WHO DO I TALK TO is an apply named book that stresses the importance of talking to God, in good times and bad. After reading the first book, Where Do I Go, I couldn’t wait to see what happened to Gabby, and I was so glad when the second book in the series came my way. Gabby (as well as the cast of Yada Yada Prayer warriors) are very well developed characters who become real on the pages of this book. So real, I feel I could go to Chicago and find these wonderful people.

I totally love Neta Jackson’s writing, and the way the story comes to life. I couldn’t put this book down, and am anxiously waiting for the next book in the series. Don’t miss Ms. Jackson’s newest book. Gabby is sure to find a place in your heart, as well as the rest of the residents (and employees) of the homeless shelter. $14.99. 416 pages

Maggie Montgomery inherited her wanderlust from her mother. When she graduated from high school she packed her bags and didn’t look back. With her job as a cinematographer, she travels all over the world, but nothing would make her go home to Ivy, Texas.

Nothing, that is, except her sister.

So, when Maggie’s dad calls saying that Allison needs her, Maggie agrees to go home to Ivy for just three days. What she discovers there is that Allison’s daughter, Riley, has been dumped, and she is out of control. It seems that the only person who can control her is Connor, the local vet. But due to some unfortunate event in Maggie’s past, she and Connor are on each other’s bad sides. He’s suspicious of her, and she doesn’t rely on anyone except herself.

JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME is the latest by Jenny B. Jones.  I’ve loved her youth books, and looked forward to reading this story. Ms. Jones is a very talented author, able to make characters come to life on the page. Written in first person, the reader instantly gets to know Maggie and view the world as she sees it. I also enjoyed getting to know some of the secondary characters, such as Maggie’s stressed out dad, and her overwhelming niece. But the character that I couldn’t help but fall in love with, was the vet, Connor.

If you are looking for a good book, JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME is definitely a book to consider. Discussion questions are included at the end of the book, making it ideal for discussion groups. $14.99. 312 pages.

Allie Harrod is nearing the end of her maternity leave and is dreading leaving her baby in the care of a babysitter, possibly missing her baby’s first smile and more. Still, she isn’t ready to be a full-time mom, she wants to contribute to the family income and keep up the level of living they’ve become accustomed to.

When Allie’s sister invites Allie to party to sell some home based products, Allie goes, but she laughs it off. At least until she learns that the saleslady makes lots of money doing only a little bit of work. After that, Allie begins to think that maybe this is the career choice she’s been waiting for. Sure, she dropped out of Girl Scouts because she couldn’t see cookies, but selling makeup would be easier, right?

But the challenges facing Allie seem to raise as fast as her credit card balance. None of her pre-pregnancy clothes fit, her mother-in-law seems to have permanently moved in, and her husband only leaves the couch to help his beautiful—and single—coworker.

AGE BEFORE BEAUTY is the second book in Ms. Smith’s Sister-to-Sister series.  I enjoyed getting to know Allie and could identify with her reluctance to leave her baby with anyone other than herself. Returning to a full-time job after a baby is such a tough thing to do. Still, Allie was convinced that as a stay-at-home mom she’d be bored out of her mind. What do they do all day? She is convinced she doesn’t want to find out.

Any woman who has had children, whether they returned to work afterwards, went to work part-time, or quit completely will be able to identify with this completely realistic character. And the tension is only increased with the presence of an over-bearing mother-in-law, and a woman trying to steal her husband. Don’t miss AGE BEFORE BEAUTY. $13.99. 310 pages.