Christian faith

The threat of an Iranian blockade of the narrow Strait of Hormuz is escalating global tensions. Sanctions against Tehran have begun to bite, and it seeks to retaliate by cutting off vital shipping routes for crude oil. The specter of a preemptive Israeli strike has US officials on edge as they struggle to keep the world from plunging into the abyss.

A cowboy who wants to be a preacher. An outlaw’s daughter who wants to change his mind.
On his way to interview for a position at a church in the Piney Woods of Texas, Crockett Archer can’t believe it when he’s forced off the train by an outlaw and presented to the man’s daughter as the preacher she requested for her birthday. He’s determined to escape-which would be much easier if he could stop thinking about Joanna Robbins and her unexpected request.

For months, Joanna had prayed for a minister. A man to breathe life back into the abandoned church at the heart of her community. A man to assist her in fulfilling a promise to her dying mother. But just when it seems her prayers have been answered, it turns out the parson is there against his will and has dreams of his own calling him elsewhere. Is there any way she can convince Crockett he ended up right where he was supposed to be?

With her signature blend of humor, history, and lively western romance, two-time RITA Award finalist and bestselling author Karen Witemeyer delivers a Texas love story sure to steal your heart.

If I weren’t already married, Stealing the Preacher would tempt me to go do just that! This seemingly sweet story has all sorts of layers to it – layers of truth, forgiveness, temptation, boundaries, family, and more.  With all kinds of great faith lessons wrapped up in funny episodes and deep character interactions, I like this second installment in the Archer family series even more than the first – and that’s saying something.

One difference that stands out to me between classic (older) and modern literature is the breadth.  In older written works there tends to be more description, a wider range of plot obstacles, just a bigger picture overall.  More modern written works, even those for adults, often have a more narrow, singular focus – almost as if we techno-crazed people are not able to abide for extra letters or lessons in our quest to hurry and solve the problem.  

While Stealing the Preacher is not wordy by any means, I do appreciate the breadth that Witemyer has built into this series – and this book in particular.  Each character has his or her own lesson to learn.  Each one has a particular hobby or interest, most of which do not match up with that of another.  These different pieces fit together like puzzles instead of overlapping, which makes the big picture far more colorful and interesting.

**Spoiler alert!*  I’ll speak in broad terms, but still …

Witemyer also deals with topics rarely seen in modern novels, even those of the historical mindset: how to deal with sinners Biblically and how to achieve legal forgiveness.  These are real issues that occur in our lives today, and putting these issues into this novel added plot complexity, realism, and a suspense factor that can’t be beat.  

Stealing the Preacher is a great summer read that … well, forget that.  This is a great anytime read.



Click here to read other reviews of this book or here to purchase your own copy now.

Two-time RITA finalist and winner of the coveted HOLT Medallion and ACFW Carol Award, CBA bestselling author Karen Witemeyer writes historical romance because she believes that the world needs more happily-ever-afters. She is an avid cross-stitcher, shower singer, and bakes a mean apple cobbler. Karen makes her home in Abilene, Texas, with her husband and three children. Learn more about Karen and her books at www.karenwitemeyer.com.

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

The Wagner family is in trouble.  With Mr. Wagner ill from the coal mine and receiving a poor prognosis from the doctor, someone has to work to support the family – and jobs are scarce.  At least, they are until cousin Sid sends a letter from Kansas with two jobs for Sadie, the oldest.  Leaving her Indianian home to work in a general store and sing in a new opera house wouldn’t be easy, but it would allow her to step out on her own and help her family.


That’s what Sadie tells herself until she arrives.  With no opera house in sight and her boss asking her to sing questionable songs, Sadie begins to long for a friend, but instead finds herself with two would-be suitors: Thad McKane, the new sheriff, and her own childhood friend, Sid.


With her new boss seemingly up to something, her singing job in jeopardy, the sheriff determined to find troublemakers in town, and Sid foisting his attentions on her, can Sadie stand up to the pressure and be the woman that God is calling her to be?


Sadie seems just like the girl next door – fresh-faced, innocent, eager to help, and in the beginning of this story that makes her feel just a little too lily-white, if you know what I mean.  She seems to be the perfect employee, friend, and date; however, just when I began to think that this story could become sappy, life changed for Sadie.  With her employer demanding bawdy songs and revealing stage costumes, with Sid pressuring Sadie for more than friendship, and with Thad trying to tell God just which career he should have, these characters soon showed their true colors.  With all of this action happening at once, this story went from slow to rolicking.


Sawyer not only chose the perfect characters but a great mix of emotional levity.  The general store owners, spinster twins, often throw in humor just as Sadie adds drama, adding depth without despair.


Kim Vogel Sawyer gives great attention to detail.  Not only does her writing flow and the characters welcome you into the story, but she adds quirks and tidbits that remind you of the story’s time period throughout.


If you enjoy historical fiction, check out Kim Vogel Sawyer’s work.  They’re wonderful – and you should start with Song of My Heart.


For other reviews of Song of My Heart, visit the blog hop.

To buy the book for yourself, visit this link.

Celebrate with Kim by entering to win a Nook Tablet and connecting with her at the Book Chat Party on 3/29!

One “songbird” winner will receive:

• A Nook Tablet
• Song of My Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Don’t miss a moment of the fun. RSVP TODAY and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 29th!

I received a free copy of “Song of My Heart” from LitFuse Publicity Group in exchange for an honest review.

Smitten, Vermont, is a logging town with a threatened future when four best friends come up with a solution to save the town:  renovate and Smitten’s reputation into that of a honeymoon paradise.  Not everyone is on board with this plan, however, and each woman faces conflicts of both the practical and romantic kind.

Written collectively by four veteran authors and best friends, this collection is fun and romantic.  The book transitions smoothly from one story to the next, with each featuring a different main character in a different season.  The quirks of the friends render them likeable and friendly, just like the girls next door.  Together, they are generous and faithful, caring and creative.

My only problem with this book was with a subplot from the very first story.  A resolution was never found for an issue that aroused my curiosity, and I would have loved to wrap up this loose end.

Smitten is a wonderful lighthearted read.  I can’t wait for the sequel!

I received a free copy of Smitten from Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.

 In 1951, Frankie Chasing Bear is a Lakota caught between cultures. She wants to raise her son Harold to revere his Lakota heritage, but she knows he will need to become as a white man to succeed. After his father’s killed in a barroom brawl, Harold and Frankie move to Arizona, where she begins a Lakota Star pattern quilt for Harold with tribal wisdom sung, sewn and prayed into it.

She distrusts Christians, as her own parents were forced to convert at an Indian School, until she meets BIA agent Nick Vandergriff, a half-Lakota who’s also caught between cultures. Nick must convince Frankie that white men and Christians aren’t all bad as he tries to win her heart in order to put the stars back into her sky.

Learn more about this book and the series at the Quilts of Love website or read other reviews in this bloggy hop now. 

If you want to know about the difficulties that Native Americans experienced in recent times, this is definitely the book to read.  I knew that life has not been easy for the natives of our land, but I didn’t realize that we have made it that hard that recently – but according to Clare, we have.  

Clare is an excellent writer who uses the harsh situations that her characters face to spring to life the impossible choices faced by our Native people only 60 years ago.  With authentic descriptions, smooth writing, and colorful, emotional portrayals of difficult situations, she has certainly won my attention to this issue.

The assimilation issue is the clearest issue in the story.  It’s definitely a love story on several levels, just as it’s also a story of morality, honesty, and faith, but the inequality of the main characters due to race stands up and jumps out at the reader.  The love story was sweet; the mystery, unknown, and as for faith, it grows gradually throughout the story.  Those elements are all there and are an inherent part of each character – but this story would fall apart like Nick’s quilt without the racial tension.

A Sky Without Stars is a historical fiction novel with a twist rarely seen in stories today.  It’s well worth the read.
 
Linda S. Clare is an award-winning coauthor of three books, including Lost Boys and the Moms Who Love Them (with Melody Carlson and Heather Kopp), Revealed: Spiritual Reality in a Makeover World, and Making Peace with a Dangerous God (with Kristen Johnson Ingram). She is also the author of The Fence My Father Built. She has taught college-level creative writing classes for seven years, and edits and mentors writers. She also is a frequent writing conference presenter and church retreat leader. She and her husband of thirty-one years have four grown children, including a set of twins. They live in Eugene, Oregon, with their five wayward cats: Oliver, Xena the Warrior Kitty, Paladine, Melchior, and Mamma Mia!

Meredith Hayes was rescued by Travis Archer as a young girl.  As a woman, she continues to dream of her cowboy in shining armor – until she overhears that his enemies want to steal his land.  Meredith can’t let down the man who helped her so many years before – but will the price be too high?

This is such a fun story!  The layers in this book make it both suspenseful and a joy to read.  On one hand, you’ve got a group of handsome farmers who haven’t been off their land in years – and a few spunky young women brave enough to venture inside their gated enclosure.  On the other, there are ruffians determined to remove these rightful landowners by any means possible – and they’re willing to go to great lengths to achieve their goals.  Shy preachers, mouth-watering cinnamon rolls, loyal horses, and danger all mix together to create an action-packed, yet romantic story of faith and trust.

I’ll definitely be seeking out more of Witemeyer’s work.  I love how she discussed spiritual lessons that each character needed to learn and issues each had to work through without beating you over the head with it.  Each spiritual truth is timeless and something that most of us work through at one time or another, and so the reader can really glean something from this more-than-fluff work, but she’ll have a great time doing so.

I received a free copy of Short Straw Bride from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.