Book Review: Missing

Missing Avon Inspire; Original edition (March 20, 2012) by Shelley Shepard Gray


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Since 2000, Shelley Sabga has sold over thirty novels to numerous publishers, including HarperCollins, Harlequin, Abingdon Press, and Avon Inspire. She has been interviewed by NPR, and her books have been highlighted in numerous publications, including USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.


Under the name Shelley Shepard Gray, Shelley writes Amish romances for HarperCollins’ inspirational line, Avon Inspire. Her recent novel, The Protector, the final book in her “Families of Honor” series, hit the New York Times List, and her previous novel in the same series, The Survivor, appeared on the USA Today bestseller list. Shelley has won the prestigious Holt Medallion for her books, Forgiven and Grace, and her novels have been chosen as Alternate Selections for the Doubleday/Literary Guild Book Club. Her first novel with Avon Inspire, Hidden, was an Inspirational Reader’s Choice finalist.


Before writing romances, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. She now lives in southern Ohio and writes full time. Shelley is married, the mother of two children in college, and is an active member of her church. She serves on committees, volunteers in the church office, and currently leads a Bible study group, and she looks forward to the opportunity to continue to write novels that showcase her Christian ideals.


When she’s not writing, Shelley often attends conferences and reader retreats in order to give workshops and publicize her work. She’s attended RWA’s national conference six times, the ACFW conference and Romantic Times Magazine’s annual conference as well as traveled to New Jersey, Birmingham, and Tennessee to attend local conferences.


Check out Shelley's Facebook Fan page



ABOUT THE BOOK:

In the first book in her new Secrets of Crittenden County series, Shelley Shepard Gray delivers another page-turning romance set in Amish country


Perry Borntrager had been missing from the quiet Amish community of Crittenden, Kentucky, for months when his body was discovered at the bottom of an abandoned well. Everyone had assumed Perry left Crittenden on his own, seduced by the wider world he discovered during his rumspringa, but now the truth has thrown this once-peaceful town into chaos. The first death from mysterious circumstances in Crittenden in more than two decades has invited the scrutiny of the outside world: a police detective arrives to help their local sheriff with the investigation. His questioning begins with Lydia Plank, Perry’s former girlfriend, and Perry’s best friend, the Englisher Walker Anderson.


Lydia and Walker know they didn’t have anything to do with Perry’s death, but they both hold secrets about his final days. Do they dare to open up about the kind of man Perry had become? In the oppressive shadow of these dark times, they discover strength in a most unlikely companionship that offers solace, understanding, and the promise of something more.


If you would like to read the first chapter of Missing, go HERE.

MY REVIEW:  I think this series has some real potential. The storyline itself was exciting and the book was well written. The problem is the same one I find with a lot of books that are part of a series... there is no ending! Nothing wraps up in this book, which drives me nuts. The book was good enough to make me want to read the next one in the series, though, which I guess is the point. I love Gray's books and they usually have an ending. I hope her next one will leave me satisfied instead of wanting.

A family photo

So I wanted to get a family photo in front of "the manor" a couple of days after we moved in. I asked Nancy to take the photos for us, and she tried her hardest. But let's face it... it's hard to get a good photo with a pouting teenager and an antsy little boy.

I don't remember exactly what we talking about here, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with Justin having much better things to do than stand on a porch and have his photo taken.

I have no idea... maybe we were all doing the funky chicken?

Adam had no problem getting his photo taken.

From our manor to yours.

Book Review: Before the Scarlet Dawn

Before The Scarlet Dawn Abingdon Press (February 2012) by Rita Gerlach


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rita Gerlach lives with her husband and two sons in a historical town nestled along the Catoctin Mountains, amid Civil War battlefields and Revolutionary War outposts in central Maryland.

"Romantic historical fiction that has an inspirational bent, is one way people can escape the cares of life and be transported back to a time of raw courage and ideal love," she says. "The goal of my writing is to give readers a respite, and inspire them to live fully and gratefully."

In many of her stories, she writes about the struggles endured by early colonists, with a sprinkling of both American and English history. Currently she is writing a new historical series for Abingdon Press entitled 'Daughters of the Potomac'. See her 'Novels In Progress' page on her website to learn more.


There are other novels on her list to be published, and a proposal for another book series.


She was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in a large family in the Maryland suburbs. Her family claims that storytelling is their blood, handed down from centuries of Irish storytellers. Rita believes there just may be something to that theory.



ABOUT THE BOOK:

In 1775, Hayward Morgan, a young gentleman destined to inherit his father’s estate in Derbyshire, England, captures the heart of the local vicar’s daughter,

Eliza Bloome. Her dark beauty and spirited ways are not enough to win him, due to her station in life.


Circumstances throw Eliza in Hayward’s path, and they flee to America to escape the family conflicts. But as war looms, it's a temporary reprieve. Hayward joins the revolutionary forces and what follows is a struggle for survival, a test of faith, and the quest to find lasting love in an unforgiving wilderness.


If you would like to read the first chapter of Before The Scarlet Dawn, go HERE.


Watch the book video:





MY REVIEW:  You know, everything did not turn out happy and perfect at the end of this novel, and surprisingly... I liked it. I always want my books to make me happy, which usually means everything turns out perfect in the end. But the heroine of this book was more like myself in one aspect - things aren't perfect, and probably never will be... but it wasn't for lack of trying. And in the end, it is faith in God that will make our lives perfect - not a human relationship.

A Multitude of Answered Prayers

Hello bloggy friends,

Bet you were wondering where I was and why I haven't blogged for the past month, huh? I'm sorry I've been gone... but it's only because good things have been happening!

All those prayers we've been praying for months and months? They have finally been answered! God does everything in His own time, and that includes answering our prayers. And, in my case, He chose to do it in a very big way. He answered several prayers all at one time... which means I have been very busy!

But hopefully, things will start slowing down a little bit now, so I can come back to my wonderful blog friends - who keep me company when nobody else will :)

For now, I'm just going to quickly tell you about my answered prayers, but I'll go into greater details in future posts.

My niece in her new town in the mountains.

1. My 20-year-old niece, who has been living with us, was finally accepted into the particular job training program she wanted. She is now living in the beautiful smokey mountains while taking a nursing program.

2. I found and accepted a second job, also in the healthcare industry. This will provide a bit of the extra money needed to pay our bills on The Manor.

3. And last, but certainly not least, we have moved into The Manor! Finally, the boys and I are living as a family again. I was very blessed that Nancy and her husband provided us with a roof over our heads when we needed it, but I am even more blessed to have a (mobile) home and piece of land that is completely free of all mortgages. It doesn't matter that it's only a little more than 700 square feet and is only a year younger than I am... the bank will never be able to take this from us!

I admit to being a little stressed with working at the old job and the new job while trying to unpack, etc., but if I have to have stress, what great reasons to have it! I don't know if that even makes sense... but I don't even care!

Book Review: Prize of My Heart

Prize of My Heart

Bethany House Publishers (March 1, 2012) by Lisa Norato


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A life-long New Englander, Lisa Norato lives in a historic village with homes and churches dating as far back as the eighteenth century. She was born into a close-knit Italian family that hungered as much for the things of God as they did for lasagna. After church, the family spent Sunday afternoons gathered in fellowship around a never-ending feast that featured her grandmother's homemade spaghetti and pizza.


From the time she learned to read, her mother impressed her with the joy of getting lost in a good book. She passed novels along to her as early as age thirteen, but it wasn't until many years later that Lisa felt compelled to write one herself.


She first discovered a love of writing when assigned to write and illustrate a children's book at the art college she attended. She balances writing with a career as a legal assistant specializing in corporate law. When not creating stories, she enjoys domestic pursuits like precious time with her dog and family, cooking, baking and eating vegan, reading, her Bible, her favorite television shows and crocheting.

Lisa is a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Rhode Island Romance Writers (RIRW) and American Colonial Christian Writers.


ABOUT THE BOOK:

An unsolved mystery separates ex-privateersman Captain Brogan Talvis from his lost son--his only living relation, his only family. Shortly before her tragic demise, his wife abandoned their infant to strangers, refusing to reveal the child's whereabouts. Now, three years later, Brogan has discovered the boy at the home of a shipbuilder's daughter, Lorena Huntley.


Lorena guards a dark secret about her young charge. She finds herself falling for the heroic captain who has come to claim his newly built ship, unaware his motive for wooing her is to befriend the boy he plans on reclaiming as his own--until the day anothers evil deceit leaves her helplessly shipbound, heading toward England.


As the perfect opportunity to reclaim his son unfolds, Brogan is haunted by thoughts of Lorena in her dire circumstance, and he is forced to make a heartrending choice between his child and the woman who has begun to capture his heart. But only his unselfish sacrifice can win him the greatest prize of all--love.


If you would like to read the first chapter of Prize of My Heart, go HERE.

Book Review: The Messenger

The Messenger Bethany House Publishers (March 1, 2012) by Siri Mitchell


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Siri Mitchell graduated from the University of Washington with a business degree and worked in various levels of government. As a military spouse, she has lived all over the world, including Paris and Tokyo. Siri enjoys observing and learning from different cultures. She is fluent in French and loves sushi.


But she is also a member of a strange breed of people called novelists. When they’re listening to a speaker and taking notes, chances are, they’ve just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If they nod in response to a really profound statement, they’re probably thinking, “Yes. Right. That’s exactly what my character needs to hear.” When they edit their manuscripts, they laugh at the funny parts. And cry at the sad parts. Sometimes they even talk to their characters.


Siri wrote 4 books and accumulated 153 rejections before signing with a publisher. In the process, she saw the bottoms of more pints of Ben & Jerry’s than she cares to admit. At various times she has vowed never to write another word again. Ever. She has gone on writing strikes and even stooped to threatening her manuscripts with the shredder.



ABOUT THE BOOK:

Hannah Sunderland felt content in her embrace of the Quaker faith... until her twin brother ran off and joined the army and ended up captured and in jail. Suddenly Hannah's world turns on end. She longs to bring her brother some measure of comfort in the squalid, frigid prison where he remains. But the Quakers believe they are not to take sides, not to take up arms. Can she sit by and do nothing while he suffers?


Jeremiah Jones has an enormous task before him. Responsibility for a spy ring is now his, and he desperately needs access to the men in prison, whom they are seeking to free. A possible solution is to garner a pass for Hannah. But while she is fine to the eye, she holds only disdain for him--and agreeing would mean disobeying those she loves and abandoning a bedrock of her faith.


With skill and sensitivity, Mitchell tells a story of two unlikely heroes seeking God's voice, finding the courage to act, and discovering the powerful embrace of love.


If you would like to read the first chapter of The Messenger, go HERE.

Book Review: Chasing the Sun

Chasing The Sun Bethany House Publishers (March 1, 2012) by Tracie Peterson


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 85 novels.

She received her first book contract in November, 1992 and saw A Place To Belong published in February 1993 with Barbour Publishings' Heartsong Presents. She wrote exclusively with Heartsong for the next two years, receiving their readership's vote for Favorite Author of the Year for three years in a row.


In December, 1995 she signed a contract with Bethany House Publishers to co-write a series with author Judith Pella. Tracie now writes exclusively for Bethany House Publishers.

She teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research.


Tracie was awarded the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for 2007 Inspirational Fiction and her books have won numerous awards for favorite books in a variety of contests.


Making her home in Montana, this Kansas native enjoys spending time with family--especially her three grandchildren--Rainy, Fox and Max. She's active in her church as the Director of Women's Ministries, coordinates a yearly writer's retreat for published authors, and travels, as time permits, to research her books.


ABOUT THE BOOK:

When her father disappears in war-torn Mississippi, Hannah Dandridge finds herself responsible not only for her younger siblings but for the ranch her father recently acquired on the Texas plains. Though a marriage of convenience could ease her predicament, she determines to trust God for direction.


Wounded soldier William Barnett returns to his home only to discover that his family's ranch has been seized. Though angry and bitter at this turn of events, he's surprised to discover that it is a beautiful young woman with amazing fortitude who is struggling to keep the place running.

Hannah, desperate for help, and William, desperate to regain his family's land, form an uneasy truce. But nearby Comanche tribes, the arrival of Confederate soldiers, and a persistent suitor all threaten the growing attraction that builds between them. Will they be able to set aside their own dreams and embrace the promise of a future together?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Chasing The Sun, go HERE.