A DARKLY HIDDEN TRUTH

BLOG TOUR by KREGEL TOUR SERVICES 

of

A DARKLY HIDDEN TRUTH

written by

DONNA FLETCHER CROW

ISBN: 978-0-85721-050-0

Paperback, 365 pages

Moharch Books

About the Book

Felicity Howard, a young American studying for the Anglican priesthood at the College of the Transfiguration in Yorkshire, has to learn more about church history if she and Father Antony are going to unravel their second mystery. Past and present mix as the words of Julian of Norwich and the arcane rights of the Knights of St. John of Malta lead to a present-day killer. And as the friendship grows between Antony and Felicity, will Felicity choose a life dedicated to God as a nun or one with Antony?

About the Author: Donna Fletcher Crow is author of more than thirty-five novels. She has twice won first place in the Historical Fiction category from the National Association of Press Women, and has also been a finalist for "Best Inspirational Novel" from the Romance Writers of America. She is a member of The Arts Centre Group, and Sisters in Crime.

MY THOUGHTS:

First I want to thank Kregel blog tour service for giving me this opportunity to fo this tour.  I have not read the first book in the series but I always love a good mystery.  Now onto the book.

As I start to read the story it opens with an young medieval maiden Felicity giving her life to God as a nun, in the year of 1375 in Church of St Julian the Hosputaller, Norwich.  But as she takes the vows and starts to leave home her mother is very upset and worried about her daughter, but then she thinks about Mary the young mother of Jesus and what she gained from her life. 

But could she do what Father Antony expected of her, how could she possibly find a missing icon.  Her mother will shows up and then a good friend is found murdered, can Felicity keep this life up or will she decide she had rather be married.

I did not do this book justice I know, but there is so much going on there is no way I could  write it all in a review.  If you like Mystery books alone with history then this the book for you.  It will keep you turning page after page and not wanting to put the book down.

Thanks again to Kregel for sending me this book free just for me giving my honest review.  

Growing Up Ziglar

by

Julie Ziglar Norman

ISBN-13: 9780824945312

Publisher: Ideals Publications

Publication date: 5/1/2012

Pages: 192

As Julie Ziglar was growing up she always was expected to do the right thing byt seem to always do the wrong thing. She helped her dad Zig Ziglar who was a writter. She grew up with depression, shame and guilt so this book is where she decides to be her own person and try to help other women in telling her story.




I am an older woman but I think as a young woman you would really enjoy and gain some knowledge from reading this book.



Thanks to the auther and to Summerside Press for sending me this uncorrected proof and I did the review on my own.

OIL, a Novel

by

Jeff Nesbit

Thisbookwill be released on June 5, 2012

ISBN: 9781609361143

Paperback

Guideposts Publisher

The Uncorrected proof of this book was sent to me from Summerside Press without any obligation to review.

My Thoughts:

To me this book was not interesting but for a younger person I am sure it would be.  Jeff Nesbit has a way of writing about what is to come but as for me I don't worry about it, for I know that when Jesus comes back then this old world as we know it will be over.  If we die before then well, we don't have to worry about the future anyway.

As terrorist attack the three largest oil fields in the nation it will cripple the complete world economy.  And some of that is happening as I speak.  We have gotten ourselves so dependant on the Middle East for Oil and we use so much of it, that something is bound to happen.

In this book Nash Lee is an NGO entrepreneur and is sent into the conflict of Saudi kingdom, where he uncovers so powerful information about a plot that will really set the Arab nation states against each other.  All of this brings the world into another world war like no other, but is this not what the Bible says that after Jesus returns there will be a thousand year of peace in which the "Anti-Christ" will rein and then the war of all wars will happen, "The Armageddon". 

This book will really make you look at the world today and see that the Bible is being full filled so very fast.  So I need to say that if you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your heart, then you better think about it.  So easy to do, look at John 3:16 and you will see that you just have to believe.  It is a gift that handed to you, it is up to you whether to accept it or not.  Please accept it!

The Captive Heart

by

Dale Cramer

ISBN: 9780764208393

Paperback, 348 pages

Bethany House Publishers

This is the second book in "The Daughters of Caleb Bender" series where an Amish man in 1920  moves his family to rural Mexico in hopes of escaping religious persecution in Ohio where the family encounters more difficulties and loss. Paradise Valley is nestled between the mountain range of Sierra Madre Oriental.  Caleb's  the second daughter Miriam,  is struggling with her feelings for Domingo, a Nahua who has helped the family settle in to Paradise Valley, but in order to please her family she allows Micah to court her.  Then she meets Domingo who calls her "Cualnezqui" which means "beautiful".  Is she getting in over her head with by letting her heart take over.  She dreams haunted dreams about being dressed in coarse cotton pants and a peasant shirt.  Is this dream trying to tell her something?

Rachel, Caleb's youngest daughter has been courting Jake for quite a while as more people move into the valley, the young courting couples are waiting for a minister to come to town so they can get married.

This second year in Mexico has turned out worse than the first, and Caleb has to learn to live by faith and not by what he sees. El Pantera the bandit is still causing trouble for the family.

Dale has really done well with this series, I read the first one and will be glad when the third one come out, not rushing you Dale but we need the next book.

Thanks so much to Bethany House Publishers for sending me this free book and I choose to review it.

Beauty For Ashes

by

Dorthy Love

Isbn: 9781595549013

Paperback, 329 pages

Thomas Nelson Publisher

This is the second book in the series "A Hickory Ridge Romance" and it is good to read more about the young widow Carrie Daly.  The story takes place in 1876 just after the Civil War was over and she had lost her husband so she didn't think she would ever be ready for another beau.  But that was before she met Nate Chastain, he was wanting her to marry him but she was just not ready to settle down with another man yet.

When Griff Rutledge came to town to help train a Throughbred, he decided to not to go back home to
Charleston, SC just yet and to stay in Hickory Ridge for a while.  He had met the widow Carrie and took a liking to her but will she like him in return.  She was already dating Nate and knew she was not ready to settle down with him, so why would she drop him and put her mind on the highfulating Griff Rutledge?  Could their diffrences be settled enought for them to fall for each other.

This is a very good book and will keep you turning page after page.  I read fast anyway and when I really get into the story I may stay up all night reading.  This was such a story.

Thanks to BookSneeze for sending me a free copy and I decided to write a review.

ISBN:9780307717696

Hardback book

358 pages

Kristen Wolf, author

Crown Publishers

About the book taken from Kristen's page;

Anna is a fiery tomboy living in ancient Palestine whose androgynous appearance provokes ridicule from the people around her and doubt within her own heart. When tragedy strikes her family, and Anna’s father disguising her as a boy sells her to a band of shepherds, she is captured by a mystical and secret society of women hiding in the desert. At first Anna is tempted to escape, but she soon finds that the sisterhood’s teachings and healing abilities, wrapped in an ancient philosophy they call “The Way,” have unleashed an unexpected power within her.

When danger befalls the caves in which the sisters have made their home, Anna embarks on a hazardous mission to preserve the wisdom of her mentors by proclaiming it among ordinary people. Her daring quest and newfound destiny reveal, at last, the full truth of her identity a shocking revelation that will spark as much controversy as it does celebration.



Anna’s story is one of transformation, betrayal, love, loss, deception, and above all, redemption. Readers will cheer for this unforgettable protagonist and for debut novelist Kristen Wolf, whose beautifully written book both provokes and inspires. A compelling mix of history, myth, and fantasy, The Way is a fascinating exploration of the foundations and possibilities of human spirituality.

My Thought on the Book:

I received the beautiful hardback copy of this book from FSB Associates and it is an Oprah's fall choice, I have never chosen a book from this collection but thought I would give this one a try. 



The story takes place in 7 A.D. and in ancient Palestine, Anna was a girl that is a tomboy and her mother is always having to tell her to cover her face and dress the way the women and girls did in that peorid.  Her mother was expecting a baby so Anna had to do a lot of the work as she carried her grandfather's breakfast to him, a bunch of boys started to tease her.

The family lost everything and the time had come for the father to dress Anna as a boy and sell her so that she could have a place to live.  She finds a band of sisters that had healing powers and joins them to make her home but even that was dangerous.

"The Way" is a novel that is written in such a way that sometimes it is the truth and then again it is back in the past and even fantasy in some places.  A very interesting novel and I think for the first book written by Kristen Wolf I think it is well though out and written.  I think anyone would enjoy this book.

Heart of Gold

by

Robin Lee Hatcher

ISBN: 9781595544889
Paperback, 293 pages
Thomas Nelson Publisher



Shannon Adair loved to nurse the wonded soldier back to health, when she had lived in Virginia, but her father had been called to move to Idaho to pastor a church there and Shannon was not happy about it.  There she finally found her place when an ill woman came to her for help and then she knew she was needed in Idaho also.

 Matthew Dubois was the fasted and most reliable driver of the stage that was owned by Wells Fargo but when he heard his sister was dying and had no one to take care of her young son, Matthew headed there.  He got a job in the office in Grand Cour, but he so wanted to not be tied down with a child, he loved to drive the stage.  He soon realized what he needed was a wife to care for the little boy then he could go back driving the stage,

Was there a chance the two lonely people would meet and maybe fall in love?  God does work wonders and He know before we do what is in store for us. 

I want to thank BookSneeze for sending me the copy of this book for my honest review.  I give this book a 5 as it really is a good story, just the type I can get into.

Shakespeare's Lady

by

Alexa Schnee

ISBN: 9780824945282

Paperback, 360 pages

Releases April 1, 2012

Summerside Press

I received the uncorrrected proof of this book from Summerside Press, I decided to try to review it.  I have never been a Shakespeare fan of any of his work.

Emilia is one of the most beautiful ladies at court when she met William Shakespeare and they fall in love.  They had their ups and downs as all married people do.  They do stay together and have to fight for their lives before they found their way from the London streets to the throne room of Greenwich Court to the stage of The Globe Theater where William begin his career as a poet alone with his lady Emilia who had expired him to do his best work.

As we all know William Shakespeare became a poet in the history books and he is stutied in all school, but as always there was a woman behind this famous man urging him on, and that lady was Emilia Bassano.

About the Author:

This link will carry you to a review done by "Today's Teen Writter's blog" http://todaysteenwriter.com/author-interview-alexa-schnee/

  Alexa Schnee, you can read about this young writter http://alexinksit.com/2010/10/14/is-shakespeare-really-shakespeare/

We are giving away three skeins of Twee Stripes Yarn in Mixed Berries. The deadline to enter is February 1, 2012 at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time. We’ll send an email to the winner, so please check to make sure your email address is entered correctly. You’ll get an extra entry for EACH of the following (that's THREE free extra entries):

 

Kregel Publications Blog Tour

of

  

Unhallowed Ground

by

Mel Starr

ISBN: 9780857210586 

Paperback, 240 pages
Monarch Books

Overview

Thomas atte Bridge, a man no one likes, is found hanging from a tree near Cowleys Corner. All assume he has taken his own life, but Master Hugh and Kate find evidence that this may not be so.

Meet the Author

Mel Starr was born and grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After graduating with a MA in history from Western Michigan University in 1970, he taught history in Michigan public schools for thirty-nine years, thirty-five of those in Portage, MI, where he retired in 2003 as chairman of the social studies department of Portage Northern High School. Mel and his wife, Susan, have two daughters and seven grandchildren.

READ THE FIRST CHAPTER HERE

MY THOUGHTS:

As this is the fourth chronicle of Hugh de Singleton surgeon, I am starting at the end of the story but that is ok as I begin to read it all fell into place.

When Thomas atte Bridge that no one like was found hanging from a tree everyone thought he had taken his own life, but Master Hugh thought other wise.  He though that the man had been murdered and he was going to find out who did it.  As he was beginning his investigation he didn't want to get any one else involved as they all had been harmed one way or other by Thomas.  

The vicar would not allow Thomas to be buried in the church graveyard as they all believed he had taken his own life so he was buried at the edge of Gilber's pasture.  Before they had cut Thomas down from the tree Master Hugh had noticed some twigs stuck to his shoes and after he was on the ground he noticed his lip was swollen and a tooth loose.  He also pulled his sleeves up and saw what looked like a rope mark on his wrist and a man that took his own life would not have tied his own wrist.

So not the chase begins for Master Hugh as he travels around trying to find who the murderer was as he believed now that he had been murdered.

I want to thank Kregel Publications as they included me in this blog tour.  The book was sent to me free and I chose the way I reviewed it.

THE MERCHANT'S DAUGHTER

by

Melanie Dickerson

                                               

ISBN: 9780310727613

Paperbaack, 284 pages

Zondervan Publisher

Melanie Dickerson

Melanie Dickerson is the author of The Healer’s Apprentice, a Christy Award finalist and winner of the National Reader’s Choice Award for Best First Book. Melanie earned a bachelor’s degree in special education from the University of Alabama and has been a teacher and a missionary. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Huntsville, Alabama.

My Thoughts:

This book was inspired by the story "The Beauty and the Beast" and as Annabel Chapman was forced into the role of a servant for the beastly Lord Ranulf le Wyse when her family who was once welthy merchants was forced to go into debt.

She is burdened with all the household duties and also had to help harvest the barley stalks and also cook for all the others.  She was having a very hard life and she was forced into doing jobs she had never done before.  Her family also wanted her to marry the Lord so that they could save their home and to keep her brother from having to do hard work.  Seems to me they really used the women in the families to take care of the lazy men and boys.

Lord Ranulf le Wyse was known to terrifying and beastly and the Lord's bailiff, a bad man in his own had made advances on her.  She just wanted out of this house, but with no hope of leaving and she wishes there was someway she could kill the Lord Wyse but could she do this as she knew he needed to accept God and she needed to get closer to God and try to do what he wanted from her.

Thanks so much to Zondervan publishing for sending me this book to review and I did so in my own words.

ISBN: 9781595545053

Paperback, 312 pages

Thomas Nelson Publisher

I received this book free of charge from Booksneeze in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first time reading a book by Nicole Seitz and I enjoyed it mainly because it is filled with Southern charm and I am a southern lady myself.

Ally Green is a flight attentant and had to return to the low country of Charleston, SC to bury her father.  She was also trying to bury her past by going home to Mollasses Creek and her friend Vesey Washington is still living on the other side of the creek and theirs is a relationship that need some work. 

As she is trying to forget her past she begins to think of a young woman on the other side of the world that escapes her world of slavery in the rock quarries on Nepal. There is also another person Sunila Kunari that is wanting to find out about her past also and she finds some of it in a scetchbook that she comes across.  These three people are all drawn to the banks of Molasses Creek and finds God so that they may begin to heal. 

LOVE FINDS A WAY

by

Wanda E. Brunstetter

ISBN: 9781616266707

Paperback, 282 pages

Barbour Publisher

This book consists of three short stories which makes an easy read.  This is the first one of Wanda's books that is not about Amish and is a sweet book about modern day romances and troubles.

Blueberry surprise is about a young woman Lorna Patterson who had worked at least two jobs to send her husband through medical school but he dies she keeps working just to keep herself busy, even though she does not need to work that much anymore.  She had always wanted to be a music teacher and had let her own education fall by the way side for her late husband.  Now she is thinking about going back and starting life over and not in her in-laws home, where she had lived since she had been a widow.

Grandma's Doll is the second and like some of the other reviewers I too liked this one best.  I am a Grandmother and I have always loved dolls.  After Shelia Nickels' grandmother passed away she was going to pick that she wanted for herself from the attic and she choose an antique doll that she had loved to hold when she was growing up.  The doll went missing and as she searched for it she met a young man from her past, now she though maybe she should not have come back to Casper.

Matchmaker 911 is the third story and it finds Wendy Campbell cuttin hair for a living and was so tired of hearding one joke after another.  Wendy is not wanting a relationship but her father wants one for her.  When she cut the hair of Kyle Rogers a young Chritian man she found out this is who her father wants her to date.  He is a pramedic and she does not know if this is who she needs to date.  Is she ready to settle down.

This book is an ok book but now what I expected from Wanda Brunstetter, I have all of her Amish books and this one is written well and the storied are good, but well when you hear Wanda E. Brunstetter you think of Amish.  She and Beverly Lewis were the first authors that I read about the Amish people and that is like watching some of the actors on TV, Andy Griffith for one, you always see him as the sheriff of Mayberry no matter what else he played in and this is the way I see Wanda.  I know there are so many Amish books out there now and new authors coming every day, but these two authors I will always see as writting Amish books,

Thanks so much to Wanda Brunstetter and Barbour Publishing for sending me a copy of this book and I choose to review it.

MISSING YOUR SMILE

by

Jerry S. Eicher

ISBN: 9780736939430

Paerback, 286 pages

Harvest House Publishers

Releases Feb. 2011

Find Jerry on Face Book

I love a good story--authors like Frank Peretti, C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Joel Rosenberg, Nicholas Sparks. In grade school I stumbled across Anne of Green Gables and got caught up in its misty charm. I thought for years I must have dreamed the story, because I couldn’t find the book again.

I wrote my first fiction in the eighth grade, because I was bored with a research assignment on Hog Farming. (See story here.) It was not the usual format for such an assignment, but the teacher marked it with an A, writing Very Good across the front page.

I still have the tablet. The words written in red. A big exclamation mark following the Good.
The teacher’s name was Glen Hochstetler. God bless his heart. I know now he could have rebuked me for breaking the rules, dashed my joy into the hard ground. But he didn’t. He praised me, not just in class but in front of the whole one-room schoolhouse.
This mark--of doing what I’m not supposed to do--still follows me. I have written love stories. All while the Christian community is firmly convinced that men cannot understand women.
Sorry. I didn’t mean to break the rules. But I still like it when people mark my paper Very Good. Taken from  http://www.eicherjerry.com/

MY THOUGHTS:
This is the first book in Jerry S. Eicher's new series "Fields Of Home" .  I find this book very interesting about the AMish life and Jerry can tell it as no other because he grew up Amish.  Susan Hostetler left her home after she broke up with her boyfriend Thomas Stoll.  She wanted to get a taste of the Englisha life so she moved to Asbury Park, New Jersey.  She begins to live the full English life and ever bought a car and learned to drive.  Her parents were so sad and upset about her moving away and leaving the Amish life she grew up in.

Susan met a young unmarried woman that was expecting a baby and wanted her baby to be adopted by an Amish family.  When she returns home to help find a family for the baby, she also felt led to move back home and to her Amish way of life.  There was also the young man Thoman still waiting for her, so she was very comfused if about wheather she wanted to return back to the Englisha way of life or just stay where she really belonged. 

Very interesting book as all of Jerry's are.  Thanks so much to Harvest House Publisher and Jerry S. Eicher for sending me this me to read and I chose to post this review.



BLOG TOUR from Tribute Books

of

Lifting the Wheel of Karma

written by

Paul H. Magid

ISBN: 9780984016068

Papaerback, 186 pages

Point Dume Press

Paul H. Magid

Synopsis

Joseph Connell is a gifted high school athlete from Montana, loved deeply by his family, yet tormented by nightmarish visions he can neither explain nor escape.

He believes the answer to what threatens to crush him can be found in the knowledge possessed by a mystical old wise man, who lives deep within the remote Himalayas of India.

If Joseph is ever to find the peace he so desperately seeks, he must get this wise old man to reveal what he truly knows, but that will not be easy…for this sage knows far more than he admits.

My Thoughts:

I received this autographed book from Tribute Books for a blog tour, I am giving my review as well. Thanks Nicole!

As the book begins Joseph at age seventeen in an entangled forest with a sword made of thin steel and a curved handle made form Ivory and with an ornate design. He was dressed in anumal skin as he ran and jumped through the forest trying to get away from his pursuers.

Joseph has always had bad dreams of tormenting, and graphic nightmares that he cannot shake. Then he meets an old man finding peace through Hinduism by the old man, he learns of another life.

I am just not into believing that we had another life before God sent us here on earth through earthly parents, if you read this book and look at it as a fiction then it is a fairly good read. This was my first time reading Paul H. Magid's work and it was very interesting.

LONG TRAIL HOME

by

Vickie McDonough

IBSN: 978-0-8024-0585-2

Paperback, 290 pages

Moody Publisher

Overview


The Long Trail Home is third in a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896. Although a series, each book can be read on its own.When Riley Morgan returns home after fighting in the War Between the States, he is excited to see his parents and fiancee again. But he soon learns that his parents are dead and the woman he loved is married. He takes a job at the Wilcox School for the blind just to get by. He keeps his heart closed off but a pretty blind woman, Annie, threatens to steal it. When a greedy man tries to close the school, Riley and Annie band together to fight him and fall in love.But when Riley learns the truth about Annie, he packs and prepares to leave the school that has become his home and the woman who has thawed his heart. Will he change his mind and find the love he craves' Or will stubbornness deprive him from the woman he needs' Through painful circumstances, Riley and Annie learn that the loving and sovereign hand of God cannot be thwarted.


Meet the Author


VICKIE MCDONOUGH is the author of over twenty books including the Texas Boardinghouse Brides series. Vickie’s books have won the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest, Texas Gold, and the ACFW Noble Theme contest. Vickie lives in Oklahoma and is a wife of 35 years. She has 4 grown sons and one granddaughter. Visit Vickie’s website: www.vickiemcdonough.com.


MY THOUGHTS:

 

I always love to get my hands on a book written by Vickie McDonough, she just has a way with words that make you not want to lay the book down.

When Riley Morgan arrived in Waco, Texas in 1865 when he returned home from the civil war, he found his parents died and his fiance Miranda married to someone else.  He was needing work and the first job he found was being a handyman in a school for blind children and the only place he had to sleep was in the barn.  But at this point he was glad for anything that would give him a meal.

There was a young woman that lives at the school and cares for the younger children and is very much attracted to the young handyman Riley.  But she had a very bad pass as being a pickpocket and thinks she is unsuitable for Riley.  But, when the owner of the school dies and may be closed by the man that inherits the school.  As Riley and Annie fight to save the school they begin to fall in love but what will happen when Riley finds out about Annie's past.  Riley begins to get closer to God, but can he learn to forgive Annie and accept her as she is now.

 

I want to thank Jeanne from Wynn-Wynn Media for sending me this book for my honest review.

ISBN: 9781450755634

Paperback, 507 pages

Cascada books

Meet the Author


Tom Pollack has spent most of his professional career in the investment business, but his passions for sailing and adventure spawned the entrepreneurial and creative endeavors that ultimately provided the inspiration for Wayward Son.

A former member of the U.S. Sailing Team, Tom served from 2001 to 2007 as the CEO of the Transpac (TP) 52 sailboat racing class. During that time, he collaborated with His Majesty Juan Carlos, King of Spain, in the creation of the professional grand prix racing circuit now known as the Audi Medcup.



Tom's friendship with another TP52 owner, Roy Disney, led to the release in 2008 of Walt Disney Pictures' critically acclaimed motion picture, Morning Light. The film is based on Tom's original idea of documenting the exploits of a group of college-aged sailors recruited to compete against seasoned pros in the Trans-Pacific race from Southern California to Hawaii.



A Southern California native, Tom graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a bachelor's degree in political science. He resides in Dana Point with his wife, Jennifer, and their two children. Tom serves as President of the Mission Basilica School Foundation in San Juan Capistrano and the Chairman of ExplorOcean, Newport Beach's popular nautical museum.

My Thought:

As I love history this book was a really great read.  Near Italy's Mt. Vesuvius there is a building that contains artifacts going back to the earliest reconds of man.  There is only one person that can unlock the doors that open into the chamber.  Amanda James that works in the museum is that person.  But once she gets inside she is really surprised at what she finds. She unveils some truths about a Bibical killer that if this gets out, it could alter the desinty of millions.

This book is a mystery/thriller historical drame that tells vivid tales of the empires that have rose and feel though the ages. Amanda James as an archeologist finds things beyond her wildest dreams as she uncovers the man's story.

I am going to pass this on to my fifteen year old granddaughter that is wanting to be an archeologist when she gets through high school and college.  I am sure she will really enjoy this story.

Thanks so much to GlassRoads for sending me this free copy and I chose to review it.

 

HIS STEADFAST LOVE

by

Golden Keyes Parsons

ISBN: 978-1-59554-629-6

paperback, 331 pages

Thomas Nelson, Publisher

I love to read a good historical book and this is one of those. A love story back during the Civil War where Amanda Belle, a southern lady brought up with the strict upbringing of a Southern family and she is left to care for her younger brothers and sisters after the lost of her mother. She met an Union army officer Kent Littlefield just before the civil war started and they fell in love. But he soon had to leave her for the union army and having to leave the woman he loves back in the south.

Soon Amanda's brother Daniel joined the Confederate army, so now they would be fighting brother against brother, so sad. Will their love be enough to bring Kent back to Amanda or will she loose him.

As I am also a southern lady and lost my own great-grandfather in the civil war, I know a lot about the way the south was destroyed by the north. My own great-grandfather was last heard of near Charleston, SC never to return, my grandfather was born during this time never to know his own father. I love to read about this time, but I also hurt for my own people at what they had to undergo.

Thanks so much to Wynn-Wynn Media for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

THE MULLIGANS
of Mt. Jefferson

by

Don Reid

ISBN: 9781434764942

paperback, 326 pages

David Cook, Publisher

Synopsis

In this compelling tale about three boyhood friends, a small-town murder mystery meets the power of a lifelong bond. Carl, Harlan, and Buddy grew up together and got into all the trouble they could find. After World War II tore them apart, they wondered if their childhood bond would ever be the same. But in 1959, when Harlan finds himself in the hospital with a gunshot wound, it's Buddy and Cal who are at his side, attempting to solve the mystery that put him there. Written by the award-winning songwriter and author Don Reid, The Mulligans of Mt. Jefferson brings readers back to the small Virginian town they loved in O Little Town and reminds them of the beauty of second chances.

Biography

Don Reid, a member of country music’s legendary Statler Brothers, has 3 Grammy awards, 9 CMA awards, 13 gold albums, and 8 platinum albums is a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Country Music Hall of Fame and has also written several books including O Little Town and One Lane Bridge.Reid lives with his wife, Deborah, in Staunton, Virginia.

MY THOUGHTS:

I was so happy when I received this book from Wynn-Wynn Media that I could not wait to start reading it so I did.  Don Reid and his group of singers "The Statler Brothers" was one of my very favorite group and I find his writing is as good as his singing.

This story to me sounded so much like the guys that started the singing group that as I read I could just see each one as that boy.  The little town Mt. Jefferson, Virginia  was where everyone knew each other and Cal, Harlan and Buddy grew up as buddies and stayed that way even after they were married and had families.  One was a policeman, one a pastor, and one ran a jewelry store.

They were always getting into something and they always stood up for each other.  A man that ran a local restaurant everyone called Uncle Vic liked the boys and he started to call them "The Mulligans".

This is such a good story to me that you should pick up a copy and read for yourselves.  I was a teenager in the 1950s just as Don Reid was so it all came home to me.  I really loved the book and thanks so much to Jeane Wynn of Wynn-Wynn Media, LLC for sending me this copy and I really enjoyed reviewing it.

Tall, Dark, and Determined

by

Kelly Eileen Hake

ISBN: 9781602607613

Paperback, 318 pages

Barbour Publishing

 

Tall, Dark, and Determined, Husbands for Hire Series #2

Lacey Lyman needs a husband to help her set up and run a sawmill. But how can she snare the supposed hunter who seems to despise her complany? Chase Dunstan is determined to find out why the Hope Falls mine collapsed. Will he keep his cover or cave in to the chatterbox's charm?

 

My Thoughts:

 

I have not had the honor in reading the first book of this series, but I could read this one and follow alone with what is going on. 

 

As Lacey Lyman is trying to help rebuild their little town of Hope Falls.  It was a minning town but now that had fallen through so they are working on making the business a saw mill.  She presuaded her unmarried women friends to write ads for husbands as they needed men in the town to help run the saw mill.  Never did they think any would come reply in person as Chase Duncan did.  He had lost his brother-in-law in a minning accident and he wanted to find out what happened.  He never though he would fall for the chatter box by the name of Lacey.  He didn't want anyone to know why he was in the town but could he keep it a secret or with his silence ruin his chance with Lacey. 

 

This is a great read and I want to get the first book and reread this one after reading the first one.  Thanks so much to Barbour Publishing for sending me this book for free and I wanted to post a review for it.

ISBN: 9781595548023

Paperback, 298 pages

second book in series "The Big Sky Romance"

Thomas Nelson, publisher

My Review:

As Shay Brandenberger is trying to keep her head above water while she was raising her daughter

Olivia, and they were living in Moose Creek, Montana. She had agreed to play the bride in the Founder's day reenactment, but what she didn't know that she would she would really get married to Travis McCoy her old high school sweet heat. A trick had been played on her, and she didn't know what she was going to do. She wanted an annunlment but before she could do that, Travis came up with a way she could save her ranch. She didn't know if she agreed to stay married to him would be a good thing or would it be the worst thing she ever did.



Thanks to BookSneeze for sending me this book and I chose to review it.

THE MIRROR OF N'de

by

L. K. Malone

ISBN: 9780825426674

Paperback, 327 pages

Kregel Publishing

L.K. Malone

 

Short Biography: L. K. Malone is an insatiable reader who devours nearly a book a day when she isn’t writing. Favorite genres include political thrillers, historical fiction, romance, and fantasy. Some of her favorite reads include the Hunger Games series and the Harry Potter books, which inspired her to try her hand at fantasy with a Judeo-Christian twist. Malone is a Colorado native with a large extended family, which includes two lovely young women who graciously let her mentor them through the Denver Kids program, and a handsome menagerie of pets.


My Thoughts:

A great book for a young teen age girl. The story is about Hadlay and her family and all the people of "the Ramash". She was thirteen and was scorned and abused by the unloving Emperor. The Ramash people of very poor and as the children gather in secret so they can hear what the trickster Lelyeh and the msytical mirror was saying and doing.

Hadlat loved to think about how she could save her people from the rich and cruel governance of the overlords. She watched a friend die she is forsed to choose sides with childish pranks.

I have two young teen age granddaughter and am wondering which one will enjoy this book the most. Thanks so much to Kregel Publishing for sending me the book for me to review.

The Loom

by

Shella Gillus

ISBN: 9780824948160

Paperback, 234 pages

Thanks to Summerside Press for sending me this advanced copy of "The Loom".  In the South as I know very well as I am from SC, born and raised here, before the civil war the rich plantation owner has slaves to run the farms for them.  Some was good to them and as always some had to show who the boss was.  But when the slaves got too old to work in the fields the owners would send them to the mills to work with the looms that make the cotton fabric. 
Lydia was a light skined house slave and was overlooked somtime, and she had fallen in love with one of the field slaves and even trid to run off but was always found and brought back.  She wanted her freedom so bad that she agreed to marry a white plantation owner. 

Now in the south we see the whites and blacks married and think that this should not be, but God does not look at the color of our skin but the way we see Him in our hearts.

A good book written by Shella Gillus, so pick up a copy should have been out by the first of Dec. and read this interesting story.