Annie's Stories

Annie’s Stories by Cindy Thompson is a cute story set in the early 1900s. Annie is a young Irish housekeeper when the Wonderful Wizard of Oz book was first released, and Annie finds herself very interested in this very popular book. She also loves reading the stories her father wrote for her before he passed away. The characters were very interesting, and I liked the relationship between Stephen Adams, the mail carrier, and Annie Gallagher.

 

I enjoyed reading this book and the characters that were within the pages. Although I did not read the first in the series, I was still able to read the story without any confusion. This was easy to follow, and it can definitely be read as a stand-alone book.  

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from Tyndale as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." 

Through the Deep Waters

Kim Vogel Sawyer is one of my favorite authors, and every time I see a new book of her, I try to read it as soon as possible. I recently read Through the Deep Waters, and I’m glad I got the chance to read this book. Dinah Hubley was raised in a Chicago brothel, and her mother was a prostitute who did not take care of Dinah. Dinah decided to leave the city and become a Harvey Girl in Kansas. Although she was too young to get the job of a server, she was able to begin work as a chambermaid at the Clifton Hotel. Dinah made new friendships with her new job, and also was faced with making a decision of entering into a new relationship or following her dreams of becoming a server.

 

I really enjoyed this book, and the character of Dinah, and her friend Ruthie, were both very likable characters. Theirs was a great friendship, and it was great to read about Ruthie sharing her faith with Dinah.

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from Blogging for Books as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Death Takes a Ride

Death Takes a Ride is the most recent book by Lorena McCourtney in the Cate Kinkaid Files series of books. Cate seems to always have trouble following her, and the third book in this series is no different. The book focuses on Cate becoming an Investigator with the plans of taking over her Uncle Joe’s agency as well as with her relationship with Mitch. Although both of these side events are going on, Cate must solve a mystery. When she is waiting to pick up her aunt’s friend, there just so happens to have been a shooting at the same place. Thus, Cate is thrown into the middle of a mystery that she must solve.  

Although this isn’t my typical type of book, I really enjoyed all of the books in this series. Cate is a really liable character, and I like that her faith plays a prevalent role in her life. I also like the relationship between her and Mitch. It’s nice that throughout the mystery there is a relationship between these two characters. If you are planning to read this book, you can read it as a stand-alone, or in conjuncture with the other two books in the series.   

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from Revell as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Love Comes Home

I couldn’t imagine how difficult it must be for people returning for war, and that is exactly the premise of Love Comes Home, Rosey Corner Book #3, by Ann Gabhart. Kate, Tori, Evie, and their adopted sister Lorena must deal with different emotions in light of the war. The youngest adopted sister is dealing with her family abandoning her, another working through the emotions of her husband returning as a POW,  one sister whose husband did not survive the war, while the last one needs to get to know her husband. This book is written in a way that the characters feel very realistic, and you could imagine people during that time going through those same situations.

 

I really liked this book, and I’m a fan of any book written by Ann Gabhart. I also like historic books, so I enjoyed reading about the time following WWII and some of the emotions the returning soldiers were experiencing, as well as what their spouses and families were going through during that time. It was great getting to read again about Rosey Corner, but you would be able to read this book as a stand-alone and understand what is going on with the characters.  

 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

90 Minutes in Heaven

90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life is Don Piper’s story about his death on January 18, 1989. After being dead for 90 minutes, and spending that time in heaven, he came back to life when a person arrived at the scene of the accident and prayed for him. This book tells his story and what heaven was like for him, but it is more a focus on the actual accident and recovery.

 

Although I thought the concept of this book was interesting, I have to admit it wasn’t my favorite book. I think I liked Heaven is for Real (a similar book about a young child who goes to heaven and comes back to life) more than I did 90 Minutes in Heaven. There wasn’t as much focus on heaven in this book as I would have liked. Also, some of the recovery portions of the book were cumbersome and caused me to lose interest. Although I didn’t think this was my favorite book, I did like reading the first few chapters and found them interesting.

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from Revell as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Revealing

The most recent book by Suzanne Woods Fisher takes us again to Eagle Hill in her book The Revealing. I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, so I was really excited to get the chance to read the final book in the series. We get to follow the same characters again, and this book really focuses on Naomi King and her boyfriend, Toby Schrock. Toby is currently in Federal Prison due to his actions explained in the first two books. Soon, an “English” girl, Paisley, arrives in their community, causing problems in Naomi’s life.

 

Overall, I really liked the characters in the story, and I liked to read more about Naomi. She is a very likable character, and her kindness and compassion was clear throughout the pages of the book. I don’t think I would have enjoyed this book as much as I did if I hadn’t read the first two books in the series, so I would definitely recommend that, if you plan to read this book, you might want to read the first two books before reading The Revealing.

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from Revell as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Atlas Girl

Atlas Girl: Finding Home in the Last Place I Thought to Look, written by Emily Wierenga, is an autobiography where Emily writes about her childhood, marriage, and taking care of her mother while she suffered from a brain tumor. This book takes an honest look at someone who is suffering from an eating disorder. Emily wrote about the emotions that led to her anorexia. After getting married, Emily moved back home to take care of her mother. It was there that she found relief and answers to many of the problems of her childhood.

 

Emily was very honest about her feelings toward God in the book. She even addressed the times in her life when she struggled with her faith and when she decided to stop believing. This honesty made the book a great read. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from Revell as part of a blog tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."