Wednesday, December 5, 2012

PRIZE OF MY HEART BY LISA NORATO

Prize of My Heart by Lisa NoratoI received the book, "Prize of My Heart",  through Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review. i will have to say that the surprise factor was not just a one time thing in Lisa Norato's book. This story is about two people with secrets they are willing to fight to keep hidden, secrets that when made known turns everything upside down for one and into everything  wished for the other. All due to the presence of a small boy who's lost his family. There is one mystery after another that is revealed throughout this book making it a fulfilling story from beginning to end. i really enjoyed it.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

THE BRIDE WORE BLUE BY MONA HODGSON

I received "The Bride Wore Blue," by Mona Hodgson from the "Early Giveaway" program on Librarything.com. I didn’t read the first book in the Sinclair Sister Trilogy so I wasn’t able to get the beginning of Vivian’s story but I did read "Too Rich for A Bride" about when her sisters came to Cripple Creek. Having siblings who so effortlessly seem to make all the right choices even though she didn’t, made me only want her to succeed on her own even more. The lives of Kate, Ida, and Nell were interesting but dulled in comparison to Vivian’s. After being humiliated by her beau and having her request to travel to Paris to be with her father rejected, Vivian carried with her a sense of low self worth. Coming to Colorado was not her idea of success. Vivian had to be able to show her sisters she was not coming to Cripple Creek to be "babysat" but to prove she was grown up. Vivian, being strong willed, wanted so much to prove herself capable and independent it just so happened that the way she achieved that got her into a lot of trouble. Her pride pushed her to refuse her sister's help in finding employment since this would only show she was indeed still the baby and needed looking after. By making the decision to hide her insecurities Vivian continued to move further and further away from the bond that her sisters wished to share with her. Hiding what she did from her sisters and even from the woman at the boarding house became easier with each lie. I totally enjoyed Vivian's story of struggles and adventures because I saw some of myself in her in my younger days of making fool hearty choices. She was Feisty, proud and stubborn and yet so venerable. I do wish that Vivian and Carter’s relationship would have developed slower allowing me to experience some happier moments for her. All in all I gave the book four stars out of five because I really did like the difference of the rebellious independent sister who brought excitement to Cripple Creek, turning everyone's life upside down. I think in the end they all realized that they didn’t know Vivian as well as they thought they did which taught them to pay a bit closer attention to what lies between the lines.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

THE FIDDLER BY BEVERLY LEWIS

Fiddler, The (Home to Hickory Hollow) by…I received this copy of "The Fiddler" by Beverly Lewis, from the Early Release giveaway and enjoyed it very much. The author did an excellent job of making the characters in the book one's you could relate to. It leaves you with the age-old question of "When two people who just meet, fall in love is that an  accident or is it fate"? Is it just pure accident when a wrong turn leads Amelia Devries down the very road where a young Amish man by the name of Michael Hostetler lives?  Or could it be fate? Amelia a young Englisher whose career as a concert violinist holds more promise than she could ever dream, begins searching for something different. In secret she starts playing a fiddle in out of the way places known only as Amy. After one of her shows during a heavy rainstorm she looses her way and winds up in front of Michael's house where that something different starts to take a deep hold on her very being. Michael, who has left the Order but still keeps some of the Amish traditions falls hard for Amelia. The differences in the way they live makes a possible relationship not something within their grasp or so it seems. The way that the author pulls the souls of each character into a common place makes love between two people who couldn't be more different become a love that welds so beautifully into one.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

NOT THIS TIME BY VICKI HINZE


Not This Time: A Novel (Crossroads Crisis…"Not This Time" By Vicki Hinze was awarded to me through the early review program. The story starts out in the first chapter with a major event which involves a lot of different people. I found it very hard to get into the first few chapters because of that. It was not until after i had read the book that i found out it was third in a series. The main characters were Beth and Sara who own a multi-million dollar business called SaBe which was the target of the attacks by the terrorist group called "NINA". Beth and Sara are best friends whose relationship becomes strained when Sara's husband comes up missing and a ransom is required for his return. With NINA setting up surprise attacks where the people of the town least expect it no one can figure out who to trust. It depends on Beth's new boyfriend Joe to slove the strange things that keep happening and to find out just which one of the people in the town of Seagrove is working against them and for the terrorist. There is a lot of action in the story such as kidnapping, murder, lying and love. I can't wait to read the first two now. The author had me had me captured from the very first chapter to the very end. I hope she will write a fourth in this series.

THE CAPTIVE HEART BY DALE CRAMER

Captive Heart, The (The Daughters of Caleb…After a year has passed, we find Caleb Bender resting on a ridge overlooking Paradise Valley feeling a twinge of loneliness. Life has turned out to be prosperous for the most part for Caleb’s family there was just something missing. There were no other families in which to share the hardships and joys. News had spread to the Amish families still in Ohio of the danger on the roads caused by the Mexican bandits keeping them from moving to this strange land. All is well in the settlement for the time being, Mamm is busy with Ada and all the household chores, Rachael is anxiously awaiting her beau, Jake to arrive with the next set of families, Miriam finds her niche in starting a school where both the Mexican and Amish children are thriving and they have a hired hand named Domingo who helps protect them when needed. Eventually, more families including Jake come to Paradise Valley along with the news that Poncho Villa is dead. The bandits become more aggressive and run even more wild than before. Miriam starts to fall in love with Domingo even though she knows that relationship is forbidden. She decides to accept a proposal from Micah the only available young Amish man hoping to push the thought of Domingo from her heart. Micah knows of her feelings for Domingo but tries hard to win her love. Then Diphtheria breaks out in the new Amish community, Rachael, Aaron, Ada and little 18-month Amos travel to the closest town for the doctor. After a few scary nights almost losing Amos to the disease, they are inoculated and ready to return home. On their way home El Pantera, the most evil of outlaws in Mexico, stops their wagon and attempts to take Rachael. Aaron steps in between and gets knifed. Ada gets scared and grabs Amos and runs toward home and El Pantera’s men put Aaron in the wagon and shove it down the steep hill. The gang takes Rachael and heads to their ranch. When Ada returns home with Amos Caleb and Mamm know something has gone very wrong. Caleb, Domingo and Jake immediately head out in search of the others. They find Aaron severely wounded and Rachael no where to be seen. Caleb takes Aaron and heads home in the buckboard and Domingo and Jake continue in search of Rachael. When they find she is being kept in El Pantera’s barn they come up with a plan to rescue her only to find that they were being watched all along and are surrounded by a group of El Pantera’s worst men. Domingo is beaten until unconscious and Jake is given an ultimatum. He will fight El Pantera and if he wins both him and Rachael will be free to go. Jake refuses to fight to kill but offers instead to wrestle. Out of amusement, El Pantera agrees, until he finds that Jake has beaten him. Then his men all jump Jake and drag both him and Rachael to the barn where they are chained. El Pantera and his men begin to celebrate the fun they will have with torturing them in the morning while one his men tries to rape Rachael. Jake attacks the man and kills him making a way for them all to escape. The bandits soon follow and start to close in on them. As they move closer, Domingo tells Jake and Rachael to run, while he makes a stand to let them get away. Rachael and Jake make it home safe and word from Domingo doesn’t come. Is Domingo alive? Dead? Miriam and Kyra, Domingo’s sister, make the journey to bring back his body for burial. What will they find on their search? Will they come across any trouble? Find out what happens to them all by reading the rest of the book.
This series was an easy read keeping the action going at a fast enough pace that I would consider it a page turner. The story I felt was very well written and the character’s easy to relate to. I only hope that their will be a number three in the series.

Friday, May 11, 2012

MY OWN WORST ENEMY - BY JANET DAVIS

I received this book through the early viewers giveaway. it doesn't take much for me to find excuses to tell myself i am not good enough or that i will make a fool of myself but while I read Janet Davis' book, "My Own Worst Enemy", it was like someone had found me out. Janet's book explains why women sabotage the plans they make for themselves when everything usually starts out so positive. She also takes it further with comparing these mishaps with ones that women in the Bible made and shows us how they overcame them. Ms Davis also shares stories about her own life and how she was a captive of the same type of thinking. If you have ever felt that you have been a victim of your own self-sabotage then Janet will show you how to break the cycle so that you can achieve what God has purposed you to be.

Monday, April 16, 2012

40 Ways To Get Closer To God By Jerry MacGregor

40 Ways to Get Closer to God by Jerry…This book was awarded to me from Bethany House publishers. When I first started to read it I was not prepared for the growth it would call for. Jerry MacGregor's book is divided up into 40 days or chapters in which he leads you on a journey that will transform your life and help you to grow in your walk with God. 40 ways to get closer to God helps you to really dig down deep to give what only He can give through you. This is a day-by-day walk which will stretch your faith and teach you a new way to get closer to God. This is a book that you will not want to go through once but perhaps once a year in order to draw nearer to God.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Dollars & Uncommon Sense By Steve Repak, CFP

Dollars & Uncommon SenseI received this book as a new release and was very impressed with the way the author Steve Repak lays out the guidelines for getting your finances in order. most of us live from paycheck to paycheck and have any where from 2 to 5 credit cards that we are trying to juggle. the author shows you how to pay off your credit in less time and save in interest. although i have just started to put it into practice so far it is relatively easy. at the end of the book he talks about investments and i found that very hard to understand and grasp but i guess if i keep on track that will be the next chapter of my life. well written and easy to read.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The Crossing By Serita Jakes

A school bus, loaded with high school kids heading home after an evening game, anxious to get something to eat and call it a day..
BJ Remington cheer leading coach shot by an unknown masked assailant when the bus stops at a railroad crossing in a small town in Texas.
The secret she carries with her has determined the awful fate of that night that never seems to end for Claudia a student and a close friend of hers and Casio a football player and proposed hero in the middle of the chaos.
Throughout the story BJ talks to us as she lay there dying covered in blood trying to connect with the loved ones by her side. Trying to make amends. Trying to grasp at what is important now that only seconds remain. Wishing, wondering if things could have been different if only she’d had made a different choice.
As a result of that fateful night, Claudia and Casio struggle throughout there lives. Claudia with her marriage to a district attorney Vic and Casio with his girlfriend Harper and his father an ex-cop who dropped the investigation ten years earlier. Vic and Casio hook up together to try to solve the murder of BJ and to bring in the killer in order to put an end to the nightmare for Claudia and Casio.
Opening up the case that had been closed for over ten years turns out to be more than they bargain for. Secrets unfold, skeletons are uncovered and those who you would least expect become suspect to a horrendous crime.
All the characters in the book are intertwined to a point that proves that each decision we make however small can have a massive effect on more people than we think. What an excellent example of how complicated our lives can become when we choose to live for ourselves and neglect to care about the feelings of our neighbors.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

The Harvest of Grace By Cindy Woodsmall

The Harvest of Grace: Book 3 in the…This adventure is about several young Amish people who eventually become entwined in each others lives.
There is Sylvia, who is the eldest daughter of a dairy farmer, whose love for dairy farming outweighs the desire to be married. When her beau asks her, she wants to postpone their big day wanting more time to be able to discover who she is. Taking her answer as  a "no", her beau secretly plans to marry Sylvia's sister. Heart broken and unable to leave the farm she tries to endure her feelings of rejection and betrayal. When one day she is caught off guard with her now brother in law, he kisses her and she returns the kiss. Feeling shame and guilt Sylvia leaves and begins working for a couple on the Blank's dairy farm where she meets their son, Aaron which leads her down a whole new road to adventure.
There is Cara, who has a young daughter named Lori whose father died when she was little. Cara left New York because of the fear of someone stalking her. and traveled to Dry Lake because of some memories from her childhood. After seeking refuge in Ephriam's barn she is taken in and falls in love with him. When Cara finally gets comfortable in her surroundings she is given a challenge she feels is far beyond her power alone to conquer.
Then there is Lena. She is recovering from an accident and has a bluish purple birth mark on her face. She falls in love with Grey who was married to the Blank's daughter. Grey is now a widower and is made to wait the required time of mourning until he can court Lena. Grey also has a secret that he carries with him that he feels could destroy their relationship if Lena only knew.
Will these young couples be able to work through the challenges that God has allowed in their lives or will they give up and play it safe? Find out how each of these couples face their challenges both separately and together.