Amy

 

 Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher delivers her trademark twists, turns, and tender romance in this delightful and exciting visit to the deceptively quiet community of Stoney Ridge.

Twenty-year-old Bethany Schrock is restless. Her love life has derailed, her faith hangs by a thread, and she is spending the incredibly hot summer days wading through a lifetime’s accumulation of junk at the home of five ancient Amish sisters. About the only thing that holds her interest is the spirited and dangerously handsome Jimmy Fisher—and he seems bent on irritating her to no end.

When the sly old sisters and a guest at the Inn get Bethany involved in running the local soup kitchen and starting a community garden, she suddenly finds herself wondering, Shootfire! How did that happen? Despite her newfound purposefulness, a gnawing emptiness about a childhood mystery continues to plague her. Encouraged by Jimmy Fisher, she will seek out the answers she craves—and uncover a shocking secret that will break her heart, heal it, and point her to love.

The Calling is one fun story.  It’s a great continuation of Bethany’s plight from The Letters, the first book in this series, and I love the way that Fisher has Bethany dealing with her family and romantic situations and growing in maturity at the same time.  This doesn’t keep her from being a bit reckless, especially where Mrs. Miracle is concerned, which definitely adds an element of playfulness to the story.

 The Sisters add depth and maturity to the story by comparison.  While Bethany’s definitely growing, the Sisters set a great example of doing good deeds in secret, of caring for those around you, and of keeping priorities straight.  Of course, their advanced age set against Mrs. Miracle’s unexpected youthfulness keeps these lessons lighthearted, as well.

The very best stories are ones in which you learn great lessons alongside the main characters without getting quite as traumatized as they do, and Fisher writes these masterfully.  I love that the wide array of characters can face such modern issues in honest, simple, truthful ways without the reader feeling bogged down in heavy emotion.  While Fisher certainly gets the depth of these matters across, The Calling is poignant and funny all at the same time – and I can’t wait for the next one.

Read an excerpt here, hop around on this bloggy hop, or purchase your own copy now

Rachel Hartzler is not your typical Amish maiden.  With a less-than-excellent reputation in the kitchen and all thumbs with a needle, Rachel prefers more active pursuits outside, and her father accepts her help – until he hires Jordan, an Englischer with an Amish mother who’s trying to find his way.  As he grieves for his mother after her passing, he takes a job with the Hartzler family until he can plan out what to do next.  With his presence comes pressure for Rachel to accept a more traditional role, which doesn’t go down smoothly.  As Rachel and Jordan dance around their attraction for each other and struggle to find their place, tragedy strikes the community.  Will death ultimately throw them together – or forever apart?

Rachel is not a typical Amish girl, and this is not your typical Amish book!  While the Amish vs. English romance has been done before, the drama that Reid writes into the story takes this book far deeper than most. What really makes it stand out, however, and what kept me up late reading is the parallel story.  The Bible says that we do not fight against what we can see, and Reid makes this evident through paragraphs inserted into the action of this story that describe what is happening in a more celestial realm.  An angel named Nathaniel and a demon named Tangus are each fighting for Jordan and Rachel, and these asides make this story much more thought-provoking.

Brush of Angel’s Wings alone is a great story with likable characters and exciting action; but the addition of Nathaniel and Tangus take this book to a whole other level.  You won’t want to miss this story.

I received a free copy of Brush of Angel’s Wings from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.

What do you do when you can’t find a job, really want to be out from under your older sisters’ wings, and are just about out of money?  How far would you go to maintain your independence?  That’s Vivian Sinclair’s dilemma in The Bride Wore Blue.

The Sinclair sisters are a lot of fun.  This is the first book in the “Sisters of Cripple Creek” series that I’ve read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Hodgson took a very serious problem – how to achieve financial independence – and a spiritual one – how to forgive yourself – and addressed them with historical accuracy, emotional depth, and enough lightheartedness to keep the story fun.  Vivian’s antics were often comical and her run-ins with Carter, a deputy, had enough zaniness to make you blush for her.  Trying to untangle the mess she’s made of her life, though, has a depth that is belied by the simplicity and beauty of the cover.  The message is far deeper than what is normally contained in your typical ‘romance’ – and could prompt serious soul searching to those in need of personal forgiveness.

Previews are included for Hodgson’s next two books at the end of this one (as well as a reader’s guide).  They sound as fun and dramatic as this one.  I can’t wait to read them!

I received a free copy of The Bride Wore Blue from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.

Corporate turnaround specialist Morgan Spencer, dubbed the “success guru,” has a Midas touch in business. But losing his wife sent him to the brink, and his two-year-old daughter, Livie, is all he’s living for-until they encounter a woman whose trouble just might draw him out of his own.

Laid off and about to be evicted, Lucy Marsh has nowhere to turn.  With her parents dead and her stepmother long gone, she is solely in charge of her twelve-year-old brother and three-year-old sister.  When a stranger claiming to be her father’s old friend shows up and offers his son in marriage by proxy, Lucy has no choice but to accept.  While Nate, Lucy’s new husband, is less than pleased with the new arrangement, that is not Lucy’s only problem.  Grafted onto a ranch full of men, Lucy faces the monumental task of making this dusty land a home for her family, facing Indians, wild animals, and stampedes.  With mysterious strangers breaking into their little cabin and their father’s murder still unresolved, who is behind the strange happenings that threaten their hope for a peaceful future – and a marriage based on love?

Colleen Coble has crafted a complete page-turner in Blue Moon Promise. The very best of historical fiction, this book has it all – romance, faith, personal struggle, real history, and lots of mystery.  Once started, I couldn’t put this story down.

Lucy Marsh makes a fabulous main character.  Beautiful, talented, and with a big heart, she’s like the cheerleader your high school self always longed to be, and yet she’s real, too.  With a quick wit and a controlling nature, Lucy struggles with letting God direct her steps.  She doesn’t get everything right the first time and faces the same control issues over and over before she learns from them, even when someone wiser calls her to the carpet. Her strong desire to be loved for herself only makes her a more lovable lead.

Not all books make it onto my bookshelf.  Many I thoroughly enjoy reading but when the story ends, the characters and I go our separate ways.  Not so with Blue Moon Promise.  It’s the kind of book I like to read over and over – when the characters become much-loved friends and each read another visit with them.  With enough action to keep the story speeding along and enough emotion and drama to keep it real, this is not only a must-read – it’s a must-keep.

If you’d like to add this book to your shelf, you can find it here.

This review is part of a blog tour by LitFuse Publicity.  If you’d like to read other reviews, you can find a complete listing here.

Blue Moon Promise is a story of hope, romance, and suspense . . . immersing the reader in a rich historical tale set under Texas stars.

To celebrate Colleen is teaming up with her publisher Thomas Nelson for a “Blue Moon Promise” Facebook Chat party where she will giveaway a KINDLE Fire and a Texas-sized gift basket (fabulous Texas treats and fun Lucy-inspired housekeeping products)!

Click the banner, RSVP today for the Facebook Party and mark the date on your calendar!

Invite your friends and don’t miss Colleen’s evening of chat, trivia, prizes, and more.

About author Colleen Coble …

Best-selling author Colleen Coble’s novels have won or finaled in awards ranging from the Best Books of Indiana, ACFW Book of the Year, RWA’s RITA, the Holt Medallion, the Daphne du Maurier, National Readers’ Choice, and the Booksellers Best. She has nearly 2 million books in print and writes romantic mysteries because she loves to see justice prevail. Colleen is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers and is a member of Romance Writers of America. She lives with her husband Dave in Indiana.

I received a copy of Blue Moon Promise from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

  

Diana is ready to begin a new chapter in her life-until the husband she believed dead reappears at her engagement party.

Diana Brennan came west on the orphan train and was given a home with a loving couple who cherished and spoiled her. At 17, she fell hard for Tyson Applegate, the son of a wealthy mine owner. After a whirlwind courtship and marriage, Tyson took off for adventures around the world, including fighting with the Rough Riders in Cuba. Receiving no word from him in years, Diana’s infatuation with her dashing husband died an ugly death, and she is ready to move past the old pain and marry again, just as soon as Tyson is declared legally dead.

But when Tyson returns, claiming to be a changed man, he wants to reunite with his wife and run for the senate. While Diana suspects the election is his real reason for wanting her by his side, she agrees to maintain his home and to campaign with him, but when it is over, win or lose, she wants her freedom.

He agrees with one condition—she must give him a chance to change her mind about him.

Carrie Daly feels alone.  Widowed in the Civil War and with her brother newly married, she finds herself living in a boarding house in town, missing her room on the farm and a place to belong.  Though nearly engaged to Nate Chastain, something is holding her back from setting the date, and when town newcomer Griff Rutledge saves her from a runaway horse, Carrie thinks she’s found the spark she’s been wanting.  Rutledge, though a society man from back east, has been on his own for a long time, and the townspeople aren’t ready to trust him.  Can Carrie find the love she’s been longing for, or has happy already passed her by?


Author Dorothy Love is an expert in the art of dramatic suspense.  While by no means a thriller, she keeps the reader on the edge of her seat through the longings of Carrie’s heart and the twisting, turning plot that plagues Carrie throughout the story.  The perfect pacing and the cries of Carrie’s heart draw the reader completely into the story.


I want to be Carrie Daly’s best friend.  Talented and generous, kind yet headstrong, she’s the kind of person I want to have on my side.  That she’s capable of seeking the truth in any situation and is patient enough to do so means that she has much to teach me.  Daly became so real during the reading of this book that I could see myself inviting her over for a baking marathon, and how often can you say that you’re friends with the characters?


Dorothy Love’s work is new to me, but it won’t be for much longer, for I’m heading off to find more.  If you want more out of your next read than an escape from your own kitchen, pick up a copy of Beauty for Ashes – it won’t disappoint.


Don’t take my word for it, though – if you’d like to read some other opinions of Beauty for Ashes, hop around the blog hop here.


I received a free copy of Beauty for Ashes from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

The latest historical romance from award-winning author Robin Lee Hatcher and the second book in the Where the Heart Lives series, Betrayal will take readers to the high desert of western Wyoming, through the crags of the Rocky Mountains, and into the hearts of two seekers learning to trust God’s love no matter the circumstances.

 

I received a free copy of Be Still My Soul from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.