Saturday, January 31, 2015

Plain Promise by Beth Wiseman

As I had indicated in my last post, I am reading Beth Wiseman's 3 part Volume of the Daughters of the Promise Collection.  They are really great reads.  I will review them individually as I complete them.

The first book in the series was Plain Promise.  This story is about Sadie Fisher who rents out a cottage to a single Englischer named Kade Saunders.  Kade is a big-wig businessman whose fast-paced life has brought him to the peaceful Amish community for a much needed break from his daily work.  As he and Sadie come to know each other their lives become somewhat complicated as a relationship begins to bloom.

Kade is surprised as he finds that his ex-wife has decided to drop off their 5 year-old autistic son while she has some surprising plans of her own.  Kade is unsure how to deal with his new responsibilities and Sadie forms a bond with his son, Tyler.

After a time, the man that Sadie has been writing to, having thought that they would marry someday, arrives from Texas to take Sadie to meet his family.

The story is amazing and I highly recommend this book to all fans of the Amish genre.  A definite 5 star read!  I will be reading all three of these delightful and page turning books!  Never a dull moment here!

Author Beth Wiseman:

A Funny Book Reader's Experience!

So last week, my co-worker and I were talking about Amish books.  I lent her a copy of Huckleberry Spring by Jennifer Beckstrand.  And she asked if I had read Plain Promise by Beth Wiseman.  I said "No".  Which was the truth.  She brought it to work for me to read.
I was very happy to be able to borrow this book.  At the price of books, it was a nice trade.  So I took the book home and started reading it.  I got to about page 210 as I was doing some late night reading in this book.  I leaned to the side where my TBR book pile was and saw this:
Look down towards the bottom.  There you can see something that says "Beth Wiseman" on the side.

So I pull out this book from the pile, which looks like what is below:
Hmmmm...does the girl on the left side look familiar to you????  Yes, this is the Three Novels in one Volume set.  It includes the book Plain Promise which I had borrowed from my co-worker.  Ha ha!  Needless to say, I returned her book the next day, with the "Promise" to let her borrow my big book after I had finished reading it.    Must say, I am loving this!  Also that the borrowed book cover looks like this:

So here they are, side by side!
Any differences?  Yes, the single book had recipes.  Mmmm.  Always love to try a new Amish dish!




You have to read these books, all 3!  They are amazing!

Friday, January 23, 2015

I just read a book that I recently won in a contest from Cara Putman, one of the three authors of this wonderful book.  I do mean wonderful!  Thanks so much Cara.  This was a treasure to read and I loved it.  I loved how the three novellas meshed so beautifully together to make one great book.

The Turner family is the featured family in this book.  the first story called White Christmas was written by Cara Putman.  These three stories all take place in the WWII time in the US.  Abigail Turner is home working at a candy store and the man she cared about was killed in the war.  So now, romance is not on her to do list.  She meets a young man, who needs her help.  She and her father help him and Abigail finds that this young man has wonderful qualities.  I won't tell what happens, you will just have to read this!

In the second part of the book we find Abigail's brother as the main male character.  The title of this story is I'll be Home for Christmas.  He runs into a little girl who instantly has major plans for Pete.  Which may not be the plans of her mother, who remembers Pete from days long gone.  Clearly he was not a good person in her mindset.  Again, you will want to read this part, too. And I won't be telling you anymore!

Part three is written my Tricia Goyer, an author of whose books I have greatly enjoyed in the past two years.  This story's main character is Meredith or Merry Turner. In "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" she is the sister of Pete and Abigail.   She chose to follow the nursing profession and in so doing, finds herself in the European theater during WWII.  As a nurse she helps the wounded soldiers and experiences death, pain and sorrow.  Yet no sorrow is a great to her soul as the young man she had met prior to this time, a young German man who returns to Germany to serve.  Meredith is so heartbroken and truly feels betrayed. Will the Lord help her mend her broken heart?

I loved this wonderful historical novel.  I have many personal stories of the War because of my German parents' experiences.  It was really a wonderful read and touched me deeply.  This is a must-read!  I love how the stories wrap around three beautiful Christmas carols!

The authors:

Cara Putman author of White Christmas


Sarah Sundin author of I'll be home for Christmas  
'
                                              Author Tricia Goyer author of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Monday, January 19, 2015

Chat with Vera: Murder Tightly Knit (Amish Village Mystery #2) by ...

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Sunday, January 18, 2015

Chat with Vera: If You Were Me & Lived in Greece...... Peru [A chi...

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Thursday, January 15, 2015

Jedidiah's Bride by Rebecca Kertz

Sarah Mast's brothers are rescued from an impending accident by a young stranger.  He is visiting in her town, but is from rather far away in another state.  After he has returned home, Sarah tries to put the feelings that had begun to stir behind her.

As it becomes apparent that her mother needs surgery, Sarah and her brothers stay at a relatives where, much to her surprise, she again sees Jedidiah.

I enjoyed this story, but perhaps not as much as some other Amish books that I have read.  It is a nice read, however, and the characters were enjoyable.

I still hope to be able to read more of Rebecca Kertz' books.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

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Sunday, January 11, 2015

Anasazi Intrigue by Linda Weaver Clarke

When I heard of this title it fascinated me greatly because I have a real interest in the Indian petroglyphs, especially those in the state of Utah, where I live.

This amazing artwork and the ancient villages where the Anasazi Indians lived are so amazing and a wonderful sight to see.

This book by Linda Weaver Clarke weaves history, fiction, mystery and romance all into one book that was published in 2010 and is part of an interesting sounding series:  Mayan Intrigue, 2010, Montezuma Intrigue, 2011 and Desert Intrigue, 2012.

This author is from my state and writes about some of the events that occurred in Utah some years ago.  It is a most interesting way of uniting history and fiction into one very good story.  As the story begins, the devastating flood of 2005 is relentlessly taking away with it, homes, property and belongings and what appears to be a possible poison causing death to the fish and animal life.

The main characters Julia and John Evans are a charming couple.  Julia, a novice newspaper reporter hoping to become a reporter with a breaking story that will definitely make an impression.  And that she does when she starts to investigate what appears to be a less than fascinating story.  As the story progresses she runs across some pretty shady characters.  Julia seems to be a courageous woman and also a wonderful wife and mother at the same time.  Her husband, John, not without his faults, is a worthy husband and support in her adventure.

This  is a really fun read.  I especially enjoyed the history that I remember occurred, not too long ago here in Utah.  I remember the news reports of the houses being shown over and over again on the news as we watched in unbelief.

The story was interesting and I could see myself in the Virgin River area looking for the ruins and the relics that might be there to be discovered.  Loved it!  Would really like to read the rest of the series and see whatever adventures this couple comes across.

I was given an electronic copy by the author for my honest review, which I have given.  No monetary compensation was given.

You can find this book at this link.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Chat with Vera: Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund {Review & Giveaway...

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Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Winter of Wishes by Charlotte Hubbard

I just finished reading Winter of Wishes which is book 3 in the Seasons of the Heart Series by Charlotte Hubbard.  The earlier books were Summer of Secrets and Autumn Winds.  It was published in September of 2013.  I purchased this book last year and it has been sitting on my TBR pile for quite a little while.  I loved it.  Even though I had not read or seen the first two books in the series, I felt that the characters in the book and the background information given were good enough to not let me realize that I wasn't reading this in the proper order.

The book takes place in Willow Ridge and the story revolves around activities of the Sweet Season's Cafe run by Mirian, mother of Rhoda, who this story was about.

Rhoda has been working at the Cafe and finds a posting from a young single father looking for help raising his two children and caring for his mother who was recovering from a stroke.  Rhoda responds to the post and is offered the job, which she takes.

She immediately becomes attached to the family and becomes an integral part of their lives.  Including the father, Andy.  Although Rhoda is Amish, Andy and his family are not and this causes some difficulty for Rhoda as she and Andy are seen in a compromising situation which is brought before the church elders.

Rhoda seems to have faith that through God, things always work if they are God's plans for you.

Rhoda seems to be an exceptionally wise and caring woman and her character and that of Andy's are very uplifting people.  This story is very good and I would love to read the earlier books. And for those of you that like Amish cooking, there's a real treat at the end!  16 wonderful recipes are found at the end of the book!

Charlotte Hubbard: Author:

You can purchase Winter of Wishes here at Amazon.com .

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Huckleberry Spring by Jennifer Beckstrand

I am so lucky to have been able to read Huckleberry Spring!  Jennifer Beckstrand is such a fun author.  There is a little of everything in her books, including humor.

So Anna and Felty Helmuth are at it again.  Anna has a grandson, Ben, whom she wants to "marry-off" and she wants his ex-fiance to be the one!

But since Ben just dumped her without explanation, leaves Bonduel, WI. and heads to Florida, it will not be an easy to fix situation.  But, of course, Anna is up to a challenge.

Will she succeed or fail?  But Ben carries a secret alone in his heart that will change lives forever.

Jennifer's characters are well developed and the story lines are always new and interesting.  Never a dull moment.  You can read this book as a stand alone, but I highly recommend the earlier books in the series because they will keep you waiting for more.  This is a great read!  I am so happy I was able to read this!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for my honest review.  There was no monetary compensation and opinions are my own.

Here is the link to Jennifer's blog. And where you can find all about her and her writing!

Her book is available here for preorder at Amazon.com

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