Ann Shorey’s newest book, Where Wildflowers Bloom, is the first in the Sisters at Heart series which looks at Faith Lindberg dealing with life after the Civil War in the year 1866. Her family fought in the war as she lived her life in Noble Springs, Missouri. After the completing of the War, and the loss of her father and brother, Faith tries to convince her grandfather to leave the only home they have ever known and their family mercantile to travel and start a new life in Oregon. When the man she wanted to marry before the war returns home, she must decide what she really wants out of her life. In addition to deciding what she wants her future to look like, she also wonders about the strange occurrences that are taking place in the town.
As with most books I read, I’m drawn to anything that is historical in nature. This book was no difference. I enjoyed reading about how a family copes with the losses from war and how they go on with their lives. The various characters played different roles in the military, a militia-man, a nurse, and a soldier suffering from PTSD. Faith also deals with prejudice due to her being a woman, and difficulties in running a family business. I felt the characters of Faith’s grandfather and Curt Saxton were especially endearing, and I can’t wait to hopefully hear more about these characters in future Sisters at Heart books.
Available January 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. 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."
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Love Lifted Me
Love Lifted Me: A Songbird Novel, by Sara Evans with Rachel Hauck, is the third novel written by Sara Evans. Since I am a fan of Sara Evan’s music, I have read all of her books, and I was excited to have the opportunity to read the newest addition to her series. This book again looks at the life of Jade and Max and their marriage which has some difficulties. After Max’s drug problems and his time spent in rehab, he decides to leave his law practice and moves to Colby, Texas for the opportunity to coach a High School football team.
I liked the relationship between Jade and Max, and that Jade was willing to forgive her husband’s mistakes and even become closer due to the circumstances they went through. Also, they learn to grow with one another as they are attempting to find their place in a new city. They have to learn to move on from the past, both their past mistakes and their past home. I think this is something everyone struggles with at some point in their life, and I liked how this aspect of moving on was addressed. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I would most likely only recommend it to an older-aged audience.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Books. 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."
I liked the relationship between Jade and Max, and that Jade was willing to forgive her husband’s mistakes and even become closer due to the circumstances they went through. Also, they learn to grow with one another as they are attempting to find their place in a new city. They have to learn to move on from the past, both their past mistakes and their past home. I think this is something everyone struggles with at some point in their life, and I liked how this aspect of moving on was addressed. Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I would most likely only recommend it to an older-aged audience.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Books. 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."
Chasing Mona Lisa
Chasing Mona Lisa, written by Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey, takes place in 1944 during the time of WWII in Europe. Since I love reading anything concerning WWII, this book was especially interesting for me. The book looked at the Germans attempts to obtain famous and expensive pieces of artwork. The Mona Lisa was one such piece which held historical and monetary importance. Swiss OSS agents Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler are tasked with working with the French Resistance to save this piece of artwork from being taken by the Germans.
Although I did not read the book The Swiss Courier where the two main characters were originally introduced, I did not have any problems following the story. There were many characters, but I felt with a little concentration I was able to understand and remember the characters. Overall, I enjoyed the book and learning more about this time in history. I remember once watching a movie where German individuals stole pieces of artwork during WWII, and I found this book to be in line with what the movie portrayed. The characters were well-rounded, and I found myself caring deeply about them protecting Leonardo da Vinci’s artwork and also them forming a relationship with one another. I will definitely be reading The Swiss Courier to see an earlier story with these two Swiss OSS Agents.
Available January 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. 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."
Although I did not read the book The Swiss Courier where the two main characters were originally introduced, I did not have any problems following the story. There were many characters, but I felt with a little concentration I was able to understand and remember the characters. Overall, I enjoyed the book and learning more about this time in history. I remember once watching a movie where German individuals stole pieces of artwork during WWII, and I found this book to be in line with what the movie portrayed. The characters were well-rounded, and I found myself caring deeply about them protecting Leonardo da Vinci’s artwork and also them forming a relationship with one another. I will definitely be reading The Swiss Courier to see an earlier story with these two Swiss OSS Agents.
Available January 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. 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."
Saturday, January 14, 2012
The Keeper
Recently I read The Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher which looked at the Lapp family, and the problems they are facing in their Amish household. Julia Lapp’s engagement has just been broken, her father is refusing to have a life-saving surgery, and the younger children are dealing with problems at school. To top it all off, Roman Troyer is back in town. Roman Troyer has a way of getting under Julia’s skin, and this visit is no exception. He is an Amish man who seems to have no roots; he wanders from town to town with his bees that the farmers use to help in the growth of their fruits and vegetables. As Roman spends time of the farm, living in an abandoned cottage, the two begin to spend time together. As time goes on, their feelings begin to change, but they must first deal with some difficulties they are experiencing in the present and face some of the problems they had in their past.
I really enjoyed this book, and I did not guess what was going to happen at the end of the book. This was more than a book about love, rather it looked at forgiveness and the ability to move on. I really liked the relationship between the characters. The siblings always seemed to be there for each other, and they were very caring for Julia when her engagement was broken. The youngest sister, MK, also tried to raise money to help with her father’s surgery. Also, when their mother died, they worked together and each took on different parts of running the household. Although they worked hard to keep their home functioning after their father’s illness, the book shows the difficulties children experience when their parents have health problems. I cannot wait to read more books by Suzanne Woods Fisher!
Available January 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
I received a copy of this book for review purposes. I did not receive any monetary compensation.
I really enjoyed this book, and I did not guess what was going to happen at the end of the book. This was more than a book about love, rather it looked at forgiveness and the ability to move on. I really liked the relationship between the characters. The siblings always seemed to be there for each other, and they were very caring for Julia when her engagement was broken. The youngest sister, MK, also tried to raise money to help with her father’s surgery. Also, when their mother died, they worked together and each took on different parts of running the household. Although they worked hard to keep their home functioning after their father’s illness, the book shows the difficulties children experience when their parents have health problems. I cannot wait to read more books by Suzanne Woods Fisher!
Available January 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
I received a copy of this book for review purposes. I did not receive any monetary compensation.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
December 1941
December 1941: 31 Days that Chnaged America and Saved the World is written by Craig Shirley and looks at America During WWII. The book is 544 pages long and takes an in-depth look at how Americans were feeling during these difficult times in our history. The book focused on every aspect of American life, and not just the events of the war. Since I am extremely interested in history, I found this book to be very interesting. I have always enjoyed learning more about WWII, and I loved the background this book gave for me. Rather than just giving facts, the book used newspapers from throughout the United States during that time. This gave the book the feel of showing what every portion of the US was feeling and not just the major cities.
I will definitely be recommending this book for anyone who likes history, but I don’t know if others would be as interested in reading about this time-period.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. 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
I will definitely be recommending this book for anyone who likes history, but I don’t know if others would be as interested in reading about this time-period.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. 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
Monday, November 7, 2011
It Is Dangerous to be Right when the Government is Wrong: The Case for Personal Freedom
Since I’m interested in any type of political book, I was really excited to see It Is Dangerous to be Right when the Government is Wrong: The Case for Personal Freedom, by Judge Andrew Napolitano available through Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze bloggers program. I am familiar with Judge Napolitano from his commentary on Fox News Channel, so I was really interested to read what his thoughts were on freedom within the United States of America.
The book is divided into 15 chapters and is a little under 300 pages. Although it took me a pretty long time to read this book, and I don’t agree with all of the Judge’s viewpoints, I did enjoy the overall focus on constitutional rights. There were various facts included within this book, which makes it resonate much more with me than just if he were to fill the entirety of the book with his opinions. Some of the rights discussed in the book are self-defense, travel, speech, privacy, fairness from the Government, money, and other topics. Overall, as I said before, the main focus is that of natural rights and how government is infringing on these rights. I think only those who are interested in politics will truly be interested in this book. I could not imagine my family members, who are no involved in the political process, wanting to read this book.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. 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
The book is divided into 15 chapters and is a little under 300 pages. Although it took me a pretty long time to read this book, and I don’t agree with all of the Judge’s viewpoints, I did enjoy the overall focus on constitutional rights. There were various facts included within this book, which makes it resonate much more with me than just if he were to fill the entirety of the book with his opinions. Some of the rights discussed in the book are self-defense, travel, speech, privacy, fairness from the Government, money, and other topics. Overall, as I said before, the main focus is that of natural rights and how government is infringing on these rights. I think only those who are interested in politics will truly be interested in this book. I could not imagine my family members, who are no involved in the political process, wanting to read this book.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. 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
Sunday, October 23, 2011
A Necessary Deception
A Necessary Deception, written by Laurie Alice Eakes, is a book in The Daughters of Bainbridge House Series. The book tells the story of Lydia Gale, who is a widow after only a short marriage. She lives in the city of London in the year 1812, when coming outs were the most important things in a young girls life. This Historical Romance begins with Lydia helping a French prisoner, and the mystery begins from there. Blackmail, deceit, romance, and spying are all components of the book which kept me interested from the first page until the last. Throughout the main focus of the mystery being solved, we also see the secondary characters of Cassandra and Honore, Lydia’s sisters, and all of the hijacks they get into.
Although I read historical romances frequently, I don’t read books set in the early 1800s too often. I loved the time-period and learning about the British and French issues during this time. The books dealing with spies and mysterious characters definitely kept me interested in Lydia’s life. I also liked the character of Lydia as she was not afraid to follow her instincts, and I could not put the book down. I continually was asking myself “what is going to happen next.” I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who enjoys historical romance and also someone who likes reading mysteries. They will not be disappointed and will definitely want to read more books in this series.
Available October 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group
I received this book free from BAKER REVELL* as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not asked to write a positive review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Although I read historical romances frequently, I don’t read books set in the early 1800s too often. I loved the time-period and learning about the British and French issues during this time. The books dealing with spies and mysterious characters definitely kept me interested in Lydia’s life. I also liked the character of Lydia as she was not afraid to follow her instincts, and I could not put the book down. I continually was asking myself “what is going to happen next.” I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who enjoys historical romance and also someone who likes reading mysteries. They will not be disappointed and will definitely want to read more books in this series.
Available October 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group
I received this book free from BAKER REVELL* as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not asked to write a positive review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
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