What Follows After

One of my favorite authors right now is Dan Walsh. His books are always great reads, and I find myself not being able to put them down. What Follows After looks at the Harrison family in 1962. Gina and Scott Harrison are living a lie. They have been separated for almost a year, and yet they are telling their sons, Timmy and Colt, to lie to others about their relationship. Colt and Timmy have a plan to run away to show their parents that they should be with one another, but something terrible happens.
This book is set at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and since I really like reading about historical events, it made me even more interested in the book. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about history, or who just likes to read stories about families.

“Available April 2014 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.” 
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."

Sincerely Yours

I recently read Sincerely Yours: A Novella Collection, which contained historic short stories from Jane Kirkpatrick, Amanda Cabot, Laurie Alice Eakes, and Ann Shorey. Each of these stories was great and kept me entertained throughout the entire story. I really liked that each was about 100 pages. This is the perfect length for me to finish a story in a day or two. Even though they were so short, I don’t feel like the stories were rushed, which sometimes happens when an author tries to put too much into their novella.

 

A Moonlight Promice is written by Laurie Alice Eakes, and it takes place on the Hudson River in 1825. When Camilla comes to America to escape her past, and travels on a steamboat to Albany, she faces adventure and romance.

 

Lessons in Love, by Ann Shorey, takes place in Chicago in 1858, where Merrie is supposed to be finding a husband, not trying to become a writer. Mistaken identity causes some scheming to take place, as well as romance to grow between her and the most unlikely suitor.

 

One Little Word by Amanda Cabot takes place in Plato Falls NY in 1892. Lorraine goes to her long-lost brother’s inn, leaving behind the suitors she is not interested in. When she decides to help him while he is away on his honeymoon, she meets some interesting characters that she begins to have feelings for.

 

A Saving Grace by Jane Kirkpatrick is the last story in the novella, and it takes place in Olalla Washington in 1911. Grace must work to save her friend who is in a sanatorium, so there is a lot of mystery throughout this story.

 

It was nice that the final story was a little different than the others, but overall, I enjoyed all of them. I cannot wait to read more books like this in the future.  

 

Visit http://janeswordsofencouragement.blogspot.com/ for a chance to win a giveaway!

 

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 Long Awakening

After the birth of her Fifth child, Lindsey O’Connor ends up in a 47-day medically induced coma after oxygen deprivation because of a bleed-out. The Long Awakening tells the story of everything she went through during this time. Although I don’t frequently read memoirs, I decided to read this book detailing the struggles Lindsey’s family and she faced dealing with the coma and then returning to her family following her coma. There were many difficult topics Lindsey addressed in this book, and her strong faith was one of the things that stood out the most for me. Her family also seemed like such a great support to her, and I especially saw this great relationship when her 18 year old daughter returned home to take care of the new baby and other children while her mother was in a coma. This book was definitely one I will recommend 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."

Summer of Joy

Recently I’ve been reading a lot of books that are set in the Civil War time or the Amish Community, so it was great to read a book about a different time period. Summer of Joy by Ann Gabhart takes place in the summer of 1964. This is the third book in the series. Although I did not read the earlier books in this series, I still really enjoyed learning about the Brook family who lives in Hollyhill Kentucky. It took me a little bit of time to learn all of the names and back-stories of the characters, but once I did I really liked hearing more about this family.

 

I really enjoyed this book, and now that I’ve read it, I’m planning to go back and read the first two books in the series. I really liked that the book was realistic to the things that were going on in the 60s, and the realities that face all families, even today.

 

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."

A Heart's Rebellion

A Heart’s Rebellion is one of the books written by Ruth Axtell in the Regency Romance Series. Jessamine is a vicar’s daughter who is supposed to find a husband in London. Jessamine isn’t really interested in finding a husband because she is just getting over the fact that her friend’s brother decided to marry someone other than her. Lancelot Marfleet is a young Vicar who just returned from a mission trip, and he quickly begins to have feelings for Jessamine, who is not interested in him because of her past heartbreak.

 

While Jessamine wasn’t the easiest person to like at the beginning of the book, her character did grow on me. I think one of the biggest lessons she taught was that you don’t have to change yourself to be someone you’re not, like when she initially tried to change her looks to get the attention of men. Lancelot was a really great character because of his strong faith and his likeability.

 

Although this book is a part of a series, you can read it as a stand alone while still understanding what is going on during this Regency novel.

 

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."

In the Shadow of Jezebel

In the Shadow of Jezebel is the newest book by Mesu Andrews, and I liked it just as much as the other books I read by her. Her books are really detailed and help Bible stories come to life. In this book, she tells the story of Jehosheba (Sheba). She was raised to be a baal priestess, but she becomes the bride of Jehoiada instead. At that time she learns to have a faith in God.

 

I didn’t really know much about this story prior to reading the book, and it really helped me to understand this story and the difficulties the characters was able to overcome. Although I was confused by all the characters at times, I really did enjoy the book and seeing Sheba grow in her relationship with Christ.   

 

“Available March 2014 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”  

 

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 Dream Dress

Since I really love watching shows about wedding dresses like “Say Yes to the Dress” I was really excited to read The Dream Dress which is one of the books in The Dream Dress series written by Janice Thompson. The book looks at Gabi Delgado who works in a very fancy bridal boutique for a demanding boss, but she wants to be known for her talent as a dress designer. Sonn Gabi finds herself falling for Jordan Singer, a local reporter who is writing a story about the bridal shop where she works.  

 

I really liked this book, which was a fast read. I liked that it was set in a Bridal Boutique because, like I mentioned, there are so many shows that currently revolve around this setting, so it’s nice to get to read a book about that environment as well. This book can easily be read as a stand-alone book, and it’s not necessary to read the other books in the Weddings by Design series.

 

“Available February 2014 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.” Available January 2014

 

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."