Tuesday, July 30, 2013

"An Amish Baker's Dozen - Thirteen Stories Sure To Satisfy Anyone's Amish Sweettooth" by Murray Pura (Author), Sarah Price (Author), George Michael Loughmueller (Author), Marsha Hubler (Author), Roger Rheinheimer (Author), Crystal Linn (Author), Mark Miller (Author), Whoopie Pie Pam Jarrell (Author), Theresa Ricci (Author), De Miller (Author)

"An Amish Baker's Dozen - Thirteen Stories Sure To Satisfy Anyone's Amish Sweettooth" by  Murray Pura (Author), Sarah Price (Author), George Michael Loughmueller (Author), Marsha Hubler (Author), Roger Rheinheimer (Author), Crystal Linn (Author), Mark Miller (Author), Whoopie Pie Pam Jarrell (Author), Theresa Ricci (Author), De Miller (Author) is another 5 star book.

I must warn you if you like to read Amish stories and want a example of these authors then this is the book to read but you will want to read the rest of the stories. These stories are novellas, (and the first chapter is what is included in this book)  I have been wanting to see if I would like some of these authors (I already know I loved some of them already like Sarah Price and Murray Pura and Whoopie Pie Pam Jarrell) and now I really want the rest of these stories and have them on my To Be Read list.  Some of these like Mark Miller's which is co-written with Giovanni Gelati is a funny mystery series.  

I dare you to read these stories! I am sure you will be wanting all the volumes! 
A friend loaned me her copy of this book.

Monday, July 29, 2013

'Whoopie Pie Pam's Kitchen Collection - Volume 4 - Sizzling Summer Fun " by Whoopie Pie Pam Jarrell


"Whoopie Pie Pam's Kitchen Collection - Volume 4 - Sizzling Summer Fun'' by Whoopie Pie Pam Jarrell is a 5 star book.  Like the title says it is the fourth volume in her collection.  I think what makes these books so special is that they are a collection of stories and recipes from a special group of people that even through most of have never meet we are "family" . We are the Whoopie Pie Book Club.  This book is full of celebrations and the stories are ones that makes you cry,not out of sadness but because of the love shared. My favorite stories in this book  is "My Birthday Surprise" and "The Picnic". And then I have to say that I have a story in this book also titled "Memories: The Library Of Our Lives" It is a memoir of my brother -in-law who died in Feburary of 2013. At the end of the book there are three excerpts from other novels but I didn't read them as I don't like to read excerpts because I am greedy, (I want the whole book lol). Yes I like reading  reviews and the real reason I didn't read the excerpts is because I am getting these books or I have them on my kindle already. The recipes sound so good, I cannot wait to try some of them.  I have all four of these books and love them and I have shared them with my family and friends. These books will be passed on to my grandchildren when they are older. I think I need to write my reviews on volumes two and three , but It will just say I love them as much as volume one and four. 

Thursday, July 25, 2013

"Pennsylvania Patchwork" by Kate Lloyd

http://www.deepershopping.com/item/lloyd-kate/pennsylvania-patchwork/4888300.html

"Pennsylvania Patchwork" by Kate Lloyd is another five star book for me. I was wanting to read this story because I had read "Leaving Lancaster".

This story picks up where "Leaving Lancastor" leaves off.  At the start of this novel Holly and Zach are going to get married, and Nathaniel and Esther are going to get married. But things quickly turn.
Two surprise vistors show up and make Holly and Esther doubt their future.  One of the visitors is there to make trouble for Zach, is she telling everyone the truth or only wanting to make Zach her's again. Zach's mother  and Esther and Holly's grandmother aren't happy that Holly and Zach are going to marry.

Larry,a friend from Seattle shows up with a ring for Holly! And Nathaniel's brother also tells Holly he wants to marry her. Which one is really the right one for Holly?

Nathaniel gets news too, that might hinder his and Esther's happiness too. Esther hopes that it is false news but then feels guilt that she wants this womanto not to be who everyone thinks she is.

What is to happen to these marriage plans? This book will keep you turning the pages to see.

There is also another mystery to unwrap. Esther receives a package that is supposed to have come from her husband that died in the war. But Samuel wouldn't have sent the gifts, or did he?

Holly and Esther also found out what is wrong with Anna.( the reason Esther and Holly came tio Lancaster in the first book of this trilogy) but will she accept the cure?

This book is book 2 but I believed if you didn't read the first book you will enjoy this one but I encourage you to read both.

Both books shows what forgiveness and faith is really like!

I received this book from David C.Cook and NetGallery for an honest review.




Monday, July 22, 2013

"Leaving Lancaster" by Kate Lloyd



"Leaving Lancaster" by Kate Lloyd is a 5 star book. This is the first book in the (Legacy Of Lancaster Trilogy). I have read this book twice and really liked it  both times.


Holly Fisher has always wanted a family and is shocked when her mother finally reveals that she has a grandmother and uncles and cousins and wants to go visit them. She is also shocked to learn that they are Amish. Since Holly has no job in sight she, agrees to Lancaster with her mother for a visit. 


Holly is farther surprised to learn that she may just like being Amish. But want about her mother's shop and can she learn to live without her computer and her cell phone.

Nathaniel King would make a great husband, but for who, Holly or her mother?  And what about the Vet in town, why is Holly so not his friend?
Why is Esther, Holly's mother so upset with Beth, a close friend to her grandma. What other secrets and lies does Holly need to find out! 

This book had me turning the pages to see what happened! I would recommend this book to any reader of Amish fiction  and any reader that likes a good clean romance story. This story is continued in the second book  "Pennsylvania Patchwork".


Here is the link to buy this book from Deeper Shopping.
 Leaving Lancaster: A Novel (Legacy of Lancaster Trilogy)         

Friday, July 19, 2013

"Strength Renewed" by Shirley Corder


"Strength Renewed" by Shirley Corder gets 5 stars but I wish I could give it more.It is a fantastic book for cancer patients and survivors and their care givers and just anyone that needs encouragement. It is meditations on breast cancer but it will help with any issues people is dealing with.This book is so good that I am going to give  to my mom , ( who has Cancer) and I'm going to buy the  ebook so I can refer to it time and again. 

Shirey Corder is a fifteen year survivor of Breast cancer and this book is what she learned from her journey,  There are 90 daily devotions  that tells Shirley's Corder own story and after each story  she asked three questions and then she includes a little prayer. 

I am going to include two direct quotes from this book, for examples, as why I think this book is good for other issues as well as Cancer.
On page 120 "In the sermon on the Mount, Jesus pointed out that one day has all the problems we can cope with.We can't live tomorrow today. We don't have the strength, the courage, or even the faith to deal with the future, God promises to give us strength for today. When tomorrow comes, then he will supply what we need to get us through the challenges of that day too.  
Here is the prayer for this example " Lord God, thank you for bringing me this far, You know the worries and fears I have for the future. Help me to live for today-and trust you to give me the strength I'll need, when I need it. Thank you. Amen.

The next example is on page 183 " Dark colors are essential to any tapestry or painting. Without them, there would be no picture. A frame that contains no color is simply a black shape. Our lives are not black shapes, nor are they kaleidoscopes. They are beautiful, orderly designs meant to show God's glory. No matter how black things appear right now, the light and dark shapes eventually blend together. Take heart. Brighter colors are coming."

The prayer "Thank you, Lord, that there's a reason for times of dark as well as of gaiety and beauty. Help me to concentrate on the now and trust you with the final outcome. Amen."

Of course these quotes are explained in the book but to me they offer hope as well as the whole book.
I don't usually included links to where you can a buy unless it is required by the one who gave me the book for the review but in this case I am  because the book is that great!

http://www.deepershopping.com/item/shirley-corder/strength-renewed-meditations-for-your-journey-through/4257509.html
as well as other online sites like Amazon and etc.


I received this book from www.bookfun.org to read and post my honest opinion.

Q&A and a giveaway of "The Healer's Touch" with Ambel Schamel

This is the first time I have been part of a launch team! Yes I'm excited to help author's, if it wasn't for them I couldn't be a bookworm.  This book is so great! My review for it is on another blog post http://debbieloseanything.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-healers-touch-by-amber-schamel.html.

 I hope you join me in celebrating the release of "The Healer Touch" the first in the series "Days Of Messiah". I really believed all readers of Biblical fiction and  Christian readers will love this series and will want to tell others about these books.



In your book The Healer's Touch you compare Bitterness to Leprosy. Why did you choose this analogy?
Leprosy is a very strange disease. It attacks your body from within and causes the victims to lose their sense of feeling. They can hurt themselves, but never even know it. Eventually, leprosy will disfigure a person's body, their hands, arms, face. Bitterness is very similar. It eats at you from within, it hardens your heart so that you lose your sense of feeling, it harms you, but you usually don't know it. It has been medically proven that bitterness causes health problems and can even affect your facial features and appearance. I have heard it said that bitterness is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die. That's so true. Bitterness turns a beautiful person ugly, much like leprosy.
Why did you choose Bitterness as a topic for a story?
When I was a teenager, my parents went through some really hard times in their marriage. It created a lot of hurt and distrust. Because of those things, the root of bitterness took root in my heart. It destroyed me from the inside out, making me a terrible person to live with and even took me to the point that I was contemplating suicide.  That's when the Lord got hold of my heart, but it was a deep hole to dig out of. It is my hope that people who read this book will see bitterness for what it truly is, an ugly disease, and go to The Healer, despite their fears, for help.
Your story is based in Capernaum in Israel. Have you ever visited the Holy Land?
Yes! I've had the privilege of going to Israel twice. It is an amazing trip! I highly recommend it. The Bible will become a whole new book to you. 
While in Israel, we visited the ruins of Capernaum. It was fascinating! Capernaum is called the "Town of Jesus" because that is where He called many of His disciples and He spent so much time there. Jesus cursed Capernaum in Matthew 11:23 saying "And you, Capernaum which are lifted up unto heaven shall be brought down to hell - for if the mighty works that were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would still be here today." Capernaum truly was destroyed and has never been restored. There are three ruins of note in Capernaum. 
First, are the ruins of the synagogue. It was a two story building with a gabled roof that was 60x80 feet, oriented towards Jerusalem. It was built of white limestone with intricate decorations.  on one of the white limestone pillars is the Aramaic inscription "HLPW the son of Zebidah, the son of Johanan, made this column. May blessing be his." These names correspond roughly with the names of James and John the sons of Zebedee mentioned in the New Testament.  Many believe this to be the synagogue that was built by the centurion and visited by Jesus, others say it is a later model that was built on top of the one visited by Jesus.
The second ruin that is of note is an olive press that was discovered in the marketplace that dates back to the time of Jesus. 
Third ruin that is of note in Capernaum is the House of Peter.
One of the main characters in your book is Simon Peter's wife.  Why did you choose this character?
In Luke 4, Jesus visits Peter's house in Capernaum and heals his mother in law. Many people don't know that Peter was actually married, but if he had a mother in law, he had to have been married, right? It is unclear as to whether or not these ruins that they call the house of Peter were actually Peter's home, or if they were built on top of the site, but it is still an interesting place.
Did you pattern your characters after someone you knew?
Some of them, yes. Hannah is actually patterned of one of my best friends. Young Malon is patterned after my baby brother, and of course The Healer  is patterned after my best Friend and Lord, Jesus Christ.
What made you decide to be an author?
I have always had an active imagination, and a bit of a knack for storytelling. But the real thing that got me into writing was when I began to see how much bad reading material is out there, and the scarcity of good, accurate material that is safe and clean. I also saw a great need for non-romance literature. 
Why did you choose your genre? 
I love, love, love history! And I think that fiction is at its best when you're learning something while reading it. Jesus used parables to teach people because stories and emotion make it stick. My prayer is that my stories would be parables in the mouth of Jesus Christ. 
What do you wish you knew before you started writing?
I wish I would have known how important it is to start building your platform before you are published. I always thought that you could wait to build your blog and author page till you got published, but that isn't so. Once you have a book published, you need someone to market it to. Those buyers will be the platform that you've built over the years. 
Where can readers find you on the internet?
Well, first of all, you are all invited to my Facebook Launch party for The Healer's Touch on August 15th at 6pm MDT. There will be giveaways (including an Authentic Holy Land Gift Set), trivia, behind the scenes tidbits, and author Q&A. Be sure to drop by my facebook page and register for this exciting event! I can also be found on the following:
HIStory Blog - God Moments & Faith in History http://www.amberschamel.com/history-blog.html
Twitter - @AmberSchamel https://twitter.com/AmberSchamel
 

Amber's Biography

Short Version:
Amber Schamel was born in Littleton, CO and has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and the Holy Land. She was raised in a family of 11 children, homeschooled through her education and currently works with their 10 family businesses as bookkeeper and marketing director. She volunteers half of the summer helping and ministering to young girls and Christian families. Amber loves history, culture, reading and music. She has a musical ministry and travels throughout the United States ministering thru song. During her spare time she enjoys crafting Christ-honoring stories that will inspire and encourage her readers. Amber currently lives with her family outside of Colorado Springs, CO.

Long Version
Amber Schamel was born in Littleton, CO and has lived there her entire life. She enjoys travel and has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and the Holy Land. She was raised in a family of 11 children and is a homeschool graduate. She has continued her education at home and currently works with their 10 family businesses as bookkeeper. She has been in the marketing field for over six years and serves as Marketing Director at Excalibur Advertising Agency. She volunteers half of the summer at a non-profit Christian Family Bootcamp in rural MO helping and ministering to young girls and Christian families. Amber also has a musical ministry and travels throughout the United States ministering thru song. She enjoys public speaking and has been privileged to speak on Biblical Relationships and Christian Business. Amber loves history, culture, reading and music. During her spare time she enjoys crafting Christ-honoring stories that will inspire and encourage her readers. She now has two books published and is anticipating the release of two to three more before the end of 2013. Amber currently lives with her family outside of Colorado Springs, CO. 

Are there any questions that you all would have for me?


As for as the giveaway on this blog post  one winner will get an ebook copy of "The Healer Touch" 
This giveaway starts now and runs till Monday at 9 am EST. Please leave your email so we can contact  you if you are the winner.

Let's start this party! Anyone with me?


Thursday, July 18, 2013

"Though My Heart Is Torn" by Joanne Bischof






"Though My Heart Is Torn"  by Joanne Bischof gets 5 stars from me“ I liked this story but I have to be honest and say I like the first story in this three part series better.  "Though My Heart Is Torn" starts right in where "Be Still My Soul" ends. 

In "Though My Heart Is Torn " Lonnie and  Gideon get  a letter from Lonnie's father saying her mother is failing in her health. But that isn't true, It was a trick to get them home so Gideon can make right another mistake from his past. But this mistake isn't as easy to correct. In fact this mistake will break three people hearts again! This story is full of grace and sacrifice and heartache. But the ending is great but it leaves the reader eagerly awaiting the third book in this series.  I will tell you that  Gideon and Lonnie discover that they aren't really man and wife. I can hear you saying "What," I know you want to read this series now. This book ends with the greatest sacrifice that another person can make for another person and that is letting someone  go even through your heart is Torn!

I am eagerly waiting to read the conclusion to Gideon's and Lonnie's story. I Know if you take the time to read their story. You will cry and cheer  and fall in love with the characters like I did,


I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

"Alpha Wolves" by David Swykert

"Alpha Wolves" by David Swykert gets 5 stars from me. It is the continuing story that was started in "Maggie Elizabeth Harrington". In this story Maggie Elizabeth is a grown woman but she is still waiting on her one true love Tommie to come back. When he does come back he has a surprise, he is married and has a daughter. Maggie is sure she is still in love with Tommie. This story has alot of plots in it. Maggie makes choices in this novel that she isn't proud of. This is a great story of love, protect and  honor. I am so glad it ended the way it did. I am sure if it had ended the way it could have I wouldn't have liked the book as much! I cannot say much without giving the book away except if you like clean romance stories with a touch of history (copper mining) you will love these two stories. I was given a pdf file from the author for my honest opinion.

Q&A with David Swykert and a giveaway

 

Sometimes when writing the lines between reality and fiction become a bit blurry. I began Maggie Elizabeth Harrington intending to write a historical story about a lonely woman who loses her mind after being jilted by her lover. I ended up with a novel about a young woman in a remote northern Michigan mining town trying to save a pack of wolves from a bounty hunter. It wasn’t difficult to figure out how the transition occurred. I had agreed to watch a pair of arctic hybrids for a friend and soon found myself attached to the ten week old hybrid wolf pups and fascinated by their behaviors. My reality became my fiction. Maggie would be someone who would want to protect these beautiful animals from bounty hunters. The story of Maggie Harrington and her wolves unfolded almost as if it were writing itself and the farther it progressed the further my interest in wolves   increased.
This led me to do some research on wolves, including the studies by a professor at Michigan Technological University, Rolf Peterson, who has written on the wolves of Isle Royale for thirty years. Here is a brief history of Michigan wolves. There was a time when there were abundant packs. A bounty existed on them in the early 19th century and into the twentieth century, thirty-five dollars for the head of a female, and thirty for a male. The population was decimated and for most of the second half of the twentieth century were non-existent in the state. They became protected in 1974, and the population has increased steadily since. There are about 687 recorded wolves now that live only in the Upper Peninsula, there are still none in the Lower Peninsula.
I saw my first wolf in 1994, two of them roadside near Copper Harbor howling at the Fourth of July fireworks. I have seen perhaps a half dozen since. They have been removed from the endangered species list, and managed hunting is currently allowed once again. The relationship between wolves and human beings is very ancient. We shared similar survival techniques; living in organized societies for protection and hunting in packs. Rather than compete for food sources we simply joined forces. I believe this is the origin of the bond between man and wolf, and now dogs, which are simply domesticated wolves. The gray wolf, canis lupis, and a domesticated dog, canis lupis familiaris, share the same DNA profile. You cannot forensically differentiate one from the other. 
Maggie Elizabeth Harrington ultimately became a book with multilayered themes concerning social and environmental issues. I see the book as crossing genres between romance and adventure and landing somewhere in a gray area between YA and Literary. The narrator is thirteen but I believe her ideas are adult enough to engage literary readers.
Since writing this book I have come to three significant conclusions about wolves: They work together, mate for life, and protect their young. They have a loyalty within the pack hierarchy that is beyond ours. There is no divorce in a wolf pack. Only the alpha’s mate, but they mate for life. If one of the pair is killed, the next highest ranking wolf in the pack, a beta, takes its place. They protect their young, whether it’s the alpha parent, a beta, or the omega wolf, which, although relegated to the bottom of the order in the pack, does participate in pack duties, often playing the role of a babysitter while the rest of the pack hunts. If the human race lived as wolves, the earth would be a far different place.
I still cherish the memories of stuffing both of the 150 pound wolf hybrids into my Jeep Wrangler and doing some traveling. From the time I wrote the book until I moved to Kentucky I lived in five different places, and I hauled and lodged those wolves with me at each one. I’m not sure I’d want to do that again, but they are fond memories. And what is life but memories, sweet illusions that move in all directions and linger much longer than reality. Isn’t life but perception and memories of what we are, and were, and is there really any difference? 
Links to the book:
https://www.facebook.com/MaggieElizabethHarrington 
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/329386 
http://tlblisspress.blogspot.com/p/dj-swykert.html
Amazon Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPC2CJC   
Amazon Paperback:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/1490515674
DJ Swykert is a former 911 operator. His work has appeared in The Tampa Review, Detroit News, Monarch Review, Lunch Ticket, the NewerYork, Zodiac Review, Barbaric Yawp and Bull. His books include Children of the Enemy, Maggie Elizabeth Harrington, Alpha Wolves, The Death of Anyone and The Pool Boy’s Beatitude. You can find him at: www.magicmasterminds.com. He is a wolf expert.  

David's books are historical romance.  I have read Maggie Elizabeth Harrington and Alpha Wolves and they are both good! They are both about Maggie Elizabeth and about 10 years different in the story line. In "Maggie Elizabeth Harrington", Maggie is 13 and in Alpha Wolves she is a grown woman. Both of these stories are love stories and yes there is kissing in both novels and in "Alpha Wolves" there is more than kissing but it is written in a clean way and in "Alpha Wolves" there are 2 words that some might consider to be cuss words. I really liked these 2 stories. There are references to God but these books are not what I would consider Christian but then I like to read anything that isn't erotic or have alot of cussing or too sci-fiction. I have a review on this blog for "Maggie Elizabeth Harrrington" and I will be writing a review for "Alpha Wolves" as soon as I am finished with setting up this post.


David has agreed to answer any questions you may have about his books! One lucky winner will get to choose a pdf files or an ebook or a first edition print book. This giveaway runs from Today Tuesday the 16th to Thursday the 19th at 9Am est. Please leave your email so if you are the winner we can contact you!

Let's begin!

Monday, July 15, 2013

"Not By Sight" by Kathy Herman


"Not By Sight" by Kathy Herman is definitely a 5 star book.  I really loved reading this book! "Not By Sight" is the first book in the Ozark Mountain Trilogy.


This book would make a great movie. I was wanting to get to the end  almost from the beginning, not because I didn't like it but because I knew how I wanted it to end! This book had many surprises in it.  And I have to say that yes I was happy in one way with the ending but it was sad too! The ending is the way real life is.  I will be remembering the characters in this story for a long time!

The book starts out on the fifth anniversary of the disappearance of Micah and Riley Jo Cummings, father and sister, of Abby Cumming. While Abbey is in town one day she sees a little girl that she knows is Riley Jo, but her family doesn't believe her because they have all given up and Abbey has done this before. Abby is determined to find this little girl and is threatened. Her friend Jay also tries to help her and they both end up in danger and there are reported missing.  Abby's mother used to have faith that God was everything and knew all things and would take care of them, but since her husband's and daughter's disappearance she doesn't believe anymore.

Will Micah and Riley Jo and Abby and Jay be found? And who is the little girl Abby is sure is Riley Jo? Will Kate finally turn back to God and faith? To found out the answers to these and other questions raised in the book read this fantastic book by Kathy Herman.

I am eagerly awaiting book 2 in this series.
 I received this book from www.bookfun.org to read and post my honest opinion.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

"The Healer's Touch" by Amber Schamel



"The Healer's Touch" by Amber Schamel gets 5 stars. I probably would not have brought this because it is a short novella and I am a fan of longer books and I like to read the whole story at once but I was given a copy by Helping Hands Press for my honest review. I am glad I was and cannot wait till the rest of the volumes are available. "The Healer's Touch" is the first volume in the  " Days Of Messiah" series.

 I couldn't put this book down once I stared reading it.  I loved it.  The only thing I disliked was it was too short! lol!
I was drawn in from the first sentence because it was written about the area about the Sea of Galilee and talking about the Passover meal. I have always wanted to go to the Holy Lands. As I kept reading, (just a few sentences later I realized the book wasn't really about that but was really a story about Aaliyah.
   
Aaliyah tries to make her husband Tyrus love her. He thinks she is unfaithful. They have a young son Malon.  Aaliyah is diagnosed with leprosy, Tyrus makes her go into the leprosy camp and doesn't let her see their son. She is there for ten years and then she meets the Master who changes everything.

Monday, July 8, 2013

"Maggie Elizabeth Harrington" by DJ Swykert



"Maggie Elizabeth Harrington" by DJ Swykert gets 4 stars from me. I will have to say if my 10 year old granddaughter had read this book she would give it 5 stars. The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 is the repeating of things. I can understand the repeating because it was written from a young girl's point of view.  I really loved the story and will read more from this DJ Swykert.
       Maggie Elizabeth is a very lonely girl who lives with her father and grandmother. Her mother died when Maggie Elizabeth was born. Her father doesn't talk very much. Maggie Elizabeth is in love with Tommie,(the boy next door). When Maggie and Tommie find a litter of four wolves,they try to save them from the bounty hunters. This story tells of their efforts to hide and protect the wolves and how the wolves become their friends. This story is very touching and the ending is just like real life but I was hoping that it wouldn't be. I have to keep reading to see what happen it. Any animal lover or nature lover would love this tender story of love for animals and a clean love story. Yes there was talk of kissing on the lips hard and sharing of a bed but nothing is inappropriate.
 I was given a copy of this book by the publisher for an honest review.

Friday, July 5, 2013

"Shadowed In Silk" by Christine Lindsay"


 Irish-born Christine Lindsay writes multi-award-winning inspirational historical novels. Her great-grandfather and grandfather both worked as riveters on the Titanic. Several more of her ancestors served in the British Cavalry in India, seeding Christine’s long-time fascination with Colonial India, and became the stimulus for her series Twilight of the British Raj. In her novels,SHADOWED IN SILK and CAPTURED BY MOONLIGHT, Christine delights in weaving the endless theme of God’s redemptive love throughout stories of danger, suspense, adventure, and romance.The Pacific coast of Canada, about 200 miles north of Seattle, is Christine’s home. Like a lot of authors, Christine’s chief editor is her cat.                                                                                                                                       

"Shadowed In Silk" by Christine Lindsay deserves more than the 5 stars I can give it. This book really  kept me reading when I knew I should have turned off my ipad and go to sleep. This book had my attention even before I read the first sentence because of the cover and the title. Then when I read the first sentence I was drawn more into the story and couldn't wait to get into the rest of the story.

This book is written so well that I could see the scenes described in my mind. It was like watching a movie. This book is a love story as well as a fictional history of India. There is a glossery in the front of the book to help with the words but I was able to follow along with the story. I only used it about third times.

Abby Fraser has always felt she was of little importance to her father and her aunt. She was married to Nick and the war was over and she was going to meet him in India with their son Cam. When she got there Nick wasn't but Geoff Richards was. He helped her and Cam. At the beginning Cam and Geoff formed an instant love and friendship was all Abby and Geoff had because Abby was married. But Nick wasn't all he pretended to be and their marriage was just a marriage in name only. I felt Abby's pain while reading her story. Geoff was a solider and he was hunting evil men who were stealing guns and causing riots in India. Yes this book is about evil but don't let that stop you from reading this book because the war is just the background for the love story of Abby and Geoff and the love God has for each of us. I was disappointed when I got to the last sentence of this book because I wanted to keep reading about the characters in this story. I was happy to discovered there is a second book in the Twilight of the British Raj Series. So you can be sure I will be adding this book  "Captivated By Moonlight to my Kindle library.

I received a free  ebook copy of this book to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.


nformational links:
You can find Christine Lindsay’s novels on her website
Christine would love to connect on Twitter
Be her friend on Facebook
Join Christine on Pinterest
Purchasing links:

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

"Orchard Of Hope" by Ann H. Gabhart


"Orchard Of Hope" by Ann H. Gabhart gets 5 stars from me. I wanted to read this book because it is the second book in the Hollyhill Series and I was given the first book "The Scent Of Lilacs" for a review and when I start a series I need to read the whole series, it is like an obsession with me. I looked for this book till I finally found a library i could borrow it from and have to say it was worth the looking.

  Orchard Of Hope starts right where "The Scent Of Lilacs" leaves off. This book has more sadness for Jocie and the citizens of Hollyhill but it has greater joys.  This book touches on racism and the KKK. I found myself rejoicing with Jocie and I also felt the town's pain when a beloved member of the town dies. When a family's orchard of hope is destroyed just because of the color of their skin I wanted to shout at the guilty party "You are so wrong".
 
The ending scene in the book to me is the best of the whole book. I will not tell much about it but to say if that scene happened in towns all over the world, we will live in a much better world.

Now I need to read "Summer of Joy" the third book in the series and I know I will love it just as much as the other two.  I have it in my kindle library wanting on me.