Thursday, October 24, 2013

Book Review: A Christmas Gift For Rose

6:14 PM 0 Comments
"Inspired by a true story, A Christmas Gift for Rose is a heartwarming novella of sacrifice and deep love.


Born in the midst of the hardships of the Great Depression, Rose grew up in Berlin, Ohio, in the arms of a loving Amish family. But as she prepares to marry, she's thrown into confusion when she learns the truth of her birth. She was born Englisch and abandoned when the family moved on in search of work.
Was she meant to be Amish or would she have been better off growing up with her own kind-Englischers? And was her intended's gift of discovering her birth family given out of love or fear?"
I'm going to be honest here...I received this as an ebook today and I couldn't stop reading it. I paused for a phone call and then picked it right back up. As Rose struggles to discover who she really is, I thought of my own struggles over the course of the past year.  While our stories aren't the same, she was written as someone who anyone who has ever struggled could relate to.  In the end, she realizes...well, I can't tell you that or it might spoil the ending, but let's just say that in the end, she finds herself and discovers the true meaning of family. If you have the opportunity to read this book, I can't recommend it enough. It's perfect for a chilly Autumn day wrapped up in blankets or in front of the fireplace.
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I received this book as part of the Booksneeze blogging program. All thoughts, comments and opinions are my own.

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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Book Review: The Governess of Highland Hall

3:17 PM 1 Comments
"Worlds lie between the marketplaces of India and the halls of a magnificent country estate like Highland Hall. Will Julia be able to find her place when a governess is neither upstairs family nor downstairs help?

Missionary Julia Foster loves working alongside her parents, ministering and caring for young girls in India. But when the family must return to England due to illness, she readily accepts the burden for her parents’ financial support. Taking on a job at Highland Hall as governess, she quickly finds that teaching her four privileged, ill-mannered charges at a grand estate is more challenging than expected, and she isn’t sure what to make of the estate’s preoccupied master, Sir William Ramsey.

Widowed and left to care for his two young children and his deceased cousin Randolph’s two teenage girls, William is consumed with saving the estate from the financial ruin. The last thing he needs is any distraction coming from the kindhearted-yet-determined governess who seems to be quietly transforming his household with her persuasive personality, vibrant prayer life, and strong faith.

While both are tending past wounds and guarding fragile secrets, Julia and William are determined to do what it takes to save their families—common ground that proves fertile for unexpected feelings. But will William choose Julia’s steadfast heart and faith over the wealth and power he needs to secure Highland Hall’s future?"

Where to begin? I feel as if I'm falling in love with books all over again. I loved this book. As someone who enjoys studying people, it was fascinating to watch as Julia tried to find her place in a household where servants lived one life and the family lived another and she was somewhere in between. Add in the fact that the master of the household forbid relationships within his house, especially between the classes and this was one for any people watcher. Julia's faith, Sarah's fragility, Katherine's spunk and William's struggles add up to one enjoyable read.

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I received this book from the Blogging for Books program. All thoughts, comments and opinions are my own.

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Monday, October 21, 2013

Book Review: The Promise Box

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"Every year, young Amish men descend on the cozy little town of West Kootenai, Montana, arriving in the spring to live there for six months and receive “resident” status for the hunting season in the fall. They arrive as bachelors, but go home with brides!

In The Promise Box, the second book of bestselling author Tricia Goyer’s Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series, Lydia Wyse, a book editor from Seattle who grew up Amish, returns to the small community of West Kootenai, Montana to give comfort to her father after her mother's death. She is drawn back to the familiar Amish ways after finding her mother’s most precious possession, a Promise Box of prayers and scripture. What her publisher sees, though, is an opportunity for a sensational “tell-all” book about the Amish.
Lydia soon finds herself falling in love with Amish bachelor Gideon Hooley. She wants nothing more than to forget her past and look forward to a future as an Amish bride. Will the pain of her childhood— and her potential betrayal of her community—keep her from committing her whole heart?"

As someone who is seeking a life of simplicity, I seem to be drawn to books about the Amish. It amazes how much they do without things that we all take for granted. This book was no exception to that draw. I fell in love with the character of Lydia. She was someone who I could relate to without any effort at all. The more I read, the more I felt like I was right there watching Lydia and Gideon's struggles and triumphs. I truly felt as if I were a part of the story. Discovering that this is one in a series has me eager to read about what happens with the other six bachelors and their loves.

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I received this book through the Booksneeze blogging program. All thoughts, comments and opinions are my own.
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Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Adela Arthur and the Creator's Clock

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Adela Arthur and the Creator's Clock

by Judyann McCole
This book 1 of 5 for The Chronicle of A Genre: Fantasy
To Who Ever This May Concern; I wish I could tell you the contents of this book were purely fictional. That I, Adela Arthur, was just a normal sixteen year old from Portland and that dragons, giants, elves and mermaids were just myths. I wish these were legends shared from crazy old grandparents to crazy old grandparents around campfires. After all, that is what I used to believe.I never would have thought they lived on the other side of our mirrors in a world called Cielieu. But they do…I never would have thought there were humans, better known as Volsin that lived among them with the ability to create light from a single thought. But there are…I never would have thought I was one of them… But I am… I am the last Arthur and I was brought to the human world after a Volsin, filled with greed, began to strip the light from our kind.The human world was supposed to be a safe haven… but he’s found us and the only way to stop him is to go back to Cielieu and begin training as a student in the Elpida Castle of Light.Like I said I wish the contents of this book were purely fictional and not my life…

Adela Arthur is now on amazon on Paperback | Kindle

About the Author:

JUDYANN MCCOLE was a senior in high school when she started working on Adela Arthur and the Creator’s Clock during her history class. It started off as short story for a group of young kids she babysat for and grew into an adventure she herself wanted to go on. She is currently attending college in Virginia. Where she hopes to finish the next adventure in Adela Arthur’s life. She begin writing when she was in middle school most of it was just simple poetry but she was inspired by Maya Angelou and even a little of Dr. Seuss.

Follow Judyann:

Website | Blog | Author FaceBook | FaceBook | Twitter | Goodreads

The author is giving away a $25 Amazon Gift card Fill out the form below to enter a Rafflecopter 
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Monday, October 14, 2013

Book Review: Burning Sky

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“I remember the borders of our land, though I have been gone from them nearly half the moons of my life. But who there will remember me? What I have seen, what I have done, it has changed me.

I am the place where two rivers meet, silted with upheaval and loss.

Yet memory of our land is a clear stream. I shall know it as a mother knows the faces of her children. It may be I will find me there.“
  
Abducted by Mohawk Indians at fourteen and renamed Burning Sky, Willa Obenchain is driven to return to her family’s New York frontier homestead after many years building a life with the People. At the boundary of her father’s property, Willa discovers a wounded Scotsman lying in her path. Feeling obliged to nurse his injuries, the two quickly find much has changed during her twelve-year absence—her childhood home is in disrepair, her missing parents are rumored to be Tories, and the young Richard Waring she once admired is now grown into a man twisted by the horrors of war and claiming ownership of the Obenchain land.

When her Mohawk brother arrives and questions her place in the white world, the cultural divide blurs Willa’s vision. Can she follow Tames-His-Horse back to the People now that she is no longer Burning Sky? And what about Neil MacGregor, the kind and loyal botanist who does not fit into in her plan for a solitary life, yet is now helping her revive her farm? In the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, strong feelings against “savages” abound in the nearby village of Shiloh, leaving Willa’s safety unsure.

Willa is a woman caught between two worlds. As tensions rise, challenging her shielded heart, the woman called Burning Sky must find a new courage--the courage to again risk embracing the blessings the Almighty wants to bestow. Is she brave enough to love again?

~~~~~~~~~
For a first time author, Lori Benton knocked it out of the park. She did her research and intertwined historical details with a story that will draw you in.  The characters are each so unique and yet come together in a story that I had a hard time putting down. My recommendation? Check out Lori Benton and this book. I don't think this is the last we're going to hear from her.


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