Though My Heart is Torn

I recently finished reading Though My Heart is Torn by Joanne Bischof. This is a wonderful second book in the Cadence of Grace series.

Lonnie and Gideon's journey continues, filled with heartache and characters wrestling with whys and regrets. While heartbreaking, this story has its hopeful moments, and is filled with the tenderness and realness that Joanne Bischof is known for. The rugged backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains is beautifully portrayed. I can easily imagine myself there, and the struggles of life in the mountains.

I don't want to give away the story, so I won't say more. Just know that I highly, highly recommend the entire series (I just started reading book three!) and any books written by Joanne.

You can find Joanne's website here: http://www.joannebischof.com

Go Pro

I just finished reading Go Pro by Eric Worre. This is a relatively short, easy to understand guide to becoming a network marketing professional. Usually I don't read "help books", but I had to read this for a class. I actually really enjoyed it! So much so that I will read it again and again in the future.

Eric provides so many great, simple tips that really make a difference. It's not a bunch of baloney and it's not crazy difficult. You just have to work hard and probably adjust the way that you've been doing things in your business.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is part of a network marketing (direct selling, home business, multi-level marketing, etc.) company or

is thinking about starting.

You can visit Eric Worre's website here: http://networkmarketingpro.com/

Be Still My Soul

Yesterday I finished reading Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof. Keeping up with my record from Sunday, I read this book in just over 24 hours :) It was so good!! I was actually surprised with how much I liked it.

Gideon walks Lonnie home one night and she lets him kiss her. Big mistake. Her father saw it happen and forces them to get married! What?! Lonnie moves in with Gideon and his entire family. His parents have enough mouths to feed as it is. So Gideon decides they're going to set off on their own. Lonnie is made to leave the only place she's ever known, to live with a ladies' man who doesn't want her around. And that's where it gets interesting. As if that whole beginning part weren't enough!

While not an action, a comedy, or even a "romance" like we'd usually think of, I couldn't put this story down. Filled with heartache and trials of life in the Blue Ridge Mountains, this book tugged at my emotions and made me feel like I knew the characters.

Be Still My Soul was Joanne Bischof's first book, and also the first in the Cadence of Grace series. I am really looking forward to reading book two, Though My Heart is Torn, and book three, My Hope is Found, coming mid-October!

It Happened At The Fair

SO excited to tell you about this one :) Deeanne Gist is one of my most favorite authors, and this one was my favorite of hers so far! It Happened at the Fair took me by surprise. Even reading the back of the book, I had no clue what I was in for. I totally fell in love with the two main characters. They're so real and funny and have real-life problems that I could absolutely relate to. Cullen is a farmer whose real talents lie elsewhere. Della is a teacher for deaf children. They meet at the Chicago World's Fair. And I don't want to give away any more than that!! You need to read it! :)

 

I'm really really looking forward to Deeanne's next novel, Fair Play. 

You can find Deeanne on her website and her Facebook page.

A Bride In The Bargain

I just finished reading A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist. What a fun novel! Set in 1865-66 Seattle, you will fall in love with the characters and root for them as they stumble their way through relationships and other of life's problems.

Joe Denton moved to the Washington Territory ten years ago, to claim his free plot of land. Single men were allowed 320 acres, married men 640. His wife was to follow him there after he had the land settled and a house built. But she never made it. She died back home. Now, as the Civil War is ending and many women have been widowed or orphaned, businessman Asa Mercer has announced to the men of the Washington Territory that he will go east and find them each a bride - for a fee. Joe thinks this idea is ludicrous. Until the judge tells him that unless he can produce a wife soon, he will lose half of his land, reminding him that single men only got 320 acres. Joe can't lose his land now, not after putting ten years of hard work into it. So he grudgingly pays out the money for a Mercer bride.

Meanwhile, Anna Ivey has lost her whole family because of the war. She is working as a cook at a restaurant in Massachusetts, but the owner is a rude and lewd man who is determined to make Anna his. So when she sees an ad in the paper about a ship taking orphans and war widows to the new world out west, she jumps at the chance. The thing is, Mr. Mercer leads her to believe she is being hired as a cook. Little does she know that across the country, Joe Denton is expecting a wife.

As the back of the book says "The wedding is all planned... Someone just needs to tell the bride."

And of course, many more things go wrong. Funny things happen, dangerous things happen, embarrassing things, and through it all Joe and Anna must decide if they should marry out of convenience or wait for true love.

I highly recommend this book (and any by Deeanne Gist) to anyone who loves romance, history, laughter, and a good book.

You can find Deeanne online at her website and her Facebook page.

Healer

A couple weeks ago I finished reading Healer by Linda Windsor. And wow, was it good! Set in sixth century Scotland, the story follows Ronan - firstborn son of a powerful and angry king, and Brenna - orphaned and living in a cave with only a wolf as company.

Ronan's clan has been at war with Brenna's for years. It started when Brenna's mother chose Llas over her intended, Tarlach (Ronan's father, that angry king I mentioned). Now Brenna, a young woman alone in the world, is hunted by Tarlach while her own people wait for her to one day save them as has been prophesied.
 
One day while out hunting, her wolf finds and protects a man who is badly injured, and Brenna takes him back to her cave to nurse him back to health.

Little does she know that he's the son of her most powerful enemy.

I won't tell you anything else, but you should definitely read the book! If you're a fan of King Arthur, Merlin, and Lady Guinevere, you'll be delighted to know that they all play roles in Brenna and Ronan's story!

I look forward to reading the other two books in the Brides of Alba series, Thief and Rebel. Also check out  Linda's Fires of Gleannmara trilogy, which takes place in Ireland around the same time as this series.

You can find Linda's website here: http://www.lindawindsor.com/

Central Park Rendezvous

Last year I read an awesome book called Central Park Rendezvous. It's from the Romancing America collection, and features four novellas from four different authors (Ronie Kendig, Dineen Miller, Kim Vogel Sawyer, and MaryLu Tyndall), but the stories all intertwine!

Start out with Sean Wolfe, a young Afghanistan veteran with scars both physical and mental. When the beautiful ballerina Jamie Russo enters his life with questions regarding his father and an old coin, can she help him gain back the hope he'd lost while they look for answers regarding his past? Next, go back a few decades, where Alan James lost his one true love to another man. Will his broken heart ever heal? Then head back to the 40s, where Helen Wolfe and her young siblings are struggling to make it through without their parents. Will Bernie O'Day, owner of a local pawn shop, be able to help the family without hurting Helen's pride? Finally, travel back to the late 1800s as the Civil War is ending, and William Wolfe finds out that those beautifully written love letters from his fiance didn't mean a thing to her. As she chooses another man, William has to decide if he'll ever be able to love again.

I just love the way this book was written. I don't want to give too much away, but it's so cool the way it goes back and forth between different times, showing how the Wolfe family, the old coin, and Central Park are connected throughout generations.

While I had only read MaryLu Tyndall before, I think all of the authors did a great job! I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes romance, history, and happy endings :)

The Wings of Morning

This past fall I read a great book called The Wings of Morning by Murray Pura. Now, this novel was so entirely different than anything I'd read before. First, its about the Amish, and while I know there are tons of books out there in that genre, I had only read one. But even if you're a long-time Amish fiction fan, this will probably be out of the norm for you.

Set during World War I, a young Amish man named Jude Whetstone discovers a love for flying airplanes. The leaders of their Amish community have not decided yet whether they approve of airplanes, but for now, Jude is safe. BUT, they definitely know that they are against war and violence.

Lyyndaya Kurtz and her family only joined this faith and community ten years ago, and her parents are always extra cautious, to make sure they don't offend any of the other Amish leaders and families. So although the pastors haven't deemed flying to be wrong, Lyyndy's parents won't allow her to be courted by Jude as long as he flies those contraptions.

So Jude starts receiving attentions from other girls in the community, while Lyyndaya is forced to watch from afar and left to wonder if the two of them have a future together.

I don't want to give away any more of the story, but just believe me when I tell you that this story has so many plot twists that I NEVER saw coming, and while not always super exciting, the characters feel real and lovable, there are tender moments and terse conversations, air battles and jail cells, the Spanish flu, and a shunning, and you will want to know what happens next!

Veil of Pearls

I just finished reading MaryLu Tyndall's newest novel, Veil of Pearls. This is her eleventh novel, and while I have absolutely loved every one, this is definitely one of the best! Her writing style keeps getting better, and this story just flowed like none before.

On to the story. Adalia is one quarter negro, and while she was born free, was forced into slavery after her parents' death. But she escapes, and ends up in Charleston, N.C. She finds work and is content, but then she meets Morgan Rutledge, a playboy son of a wealthy landowner, and one of the social elite. He is instantly attracted to her, and while she does her best to ignore him at first, his persistence eventually gets her to change her mind, and she starts to attend parties and plays with him. The Charleston socialites don't know what to think. A common woman infiltrating their world! Some accept her, while others, like Miss Emerald, do everything in their power to get rid of Adalia.

Meanwhile, Adalia still worries about her owner finding her and taking her back to the plantation, and wonders what Morgan will think if he ever finds out she was a slave. Especially since his father owns slaves and if Morgan were to take over his family's plantation someday, he would become a slave owner himself.

And it turns out Morgan has a secret of his own. He loves the sea and would like nothing more than to be a sailor, but his father and the rest of society would look down on or even disown him if they knew. So he keeps these desires to himself.

What will happen? Will Adalia stay free or be taken back into slavery? Will Morgan find out that she was a slave, and what will he think if he does find out? Will Miss Emerald and her friends succeed in getting Adalia out of the picture? Will Morgan ever get to fulfill his dreams of becoming a sailor?

Find out by reading the book!! :)

I highly highly recommend reading Veil of Pearls! This stand-alone novel is wonderfully written, and really brings to light the struggle we all face to feel welcomed and popular, to fit in with the "cool crowd."Adalia hides her heritage to protect herself, but in the process becomes so enamored with the wealth and social scene that she completely forgets who she was. Morgan does what is expected of a man in his position, causing him to deny the things he really longs for. The book shows other characters' struggles, too, as Adalia sees that each of them is a slave in their own way - whether a slave to wealth and power, a slave to their beliefs and memories, or a slave to others.

You can buy a copy at a local book store, or order it online or download an e-book version from Amazon, CBD, Barnes & Noble, and more!

Check out MaryLu's blog, with links to her website, info on each of her books, and news about upcoming novels:  http://crossandcutlass.blogspot.com/

If you read Veil of Pearls or any of MaryLu Tyndall's books, let me know what you think!

Walks Alone

This is one of the best and most fascinating novels I've read in a long time. Walks Alone, by Sandi Rog, is about a young woman from Holland who is kidnapped by Indians while traveling from New York to Denver City. Her captor, White Eagle, is half French, but he looks and acts like the rest of the tribe. Anna's father had told her stories about the Indians he'd met years ago, so she is curious to know more about them. But at the same time she is terrified and furious that they've kidnapped her. 

Thus begins this exciting and suspenseful tale of mistrust, lost faith, broken relationships, and war between the Cheyenne and white men, while Anna tries to find her way to Denver City and her dream.

This is the first book I've ever read in e-format, and I am so glad I had it downloaded on my phone, because I could not put it down! Riding in the car, waiting at a friends' house, sitting by the pool... I read it everywhere! And I highly suggest you do the same.

You can check out Sandi Rog's blog here.

Heartless

I just read this incredible fantasy novel by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. Heartless is the first book in her Tales of Goldstone Wood series. I have read some great fantasies, but this one was so original!! Yes, it's got a princess. Yes, it's got daring and handsome princes. Yes, it's got dragons. Yes, there are mysterious woods, enchanted gardens, and foreign lands. Yes, there are fairies and other magical creatures. But not necessarily the way you'd imagine them. Plus you've got a jester and a blind cat. With lots of mystery and magic, some fun and quirky characters, and plenty of dark and scary ones, I say this is one of the best fantasies I have ever read. And I can't wait to continue reading the tales of Goldstone.

You can visit Anne Elisabeth Stengl's blog here.

Hearts in Flight

I just finished reading Hearts in Flight by Patty Smith Hall, and let me start by saying that I read this book WAY faster than anything I've read in the past few years. It was exciting from the start, and didn't disappoint in any aspect.

The setting is 1943 Georgia, in a small town, with a girl who's grown up flying planes. First for her father's crop-dusting business, and now as a member of the WASP - Women's Army Special Pilots. Maggie Daniels gets a job at a military plane-building plant, helping to inspect, work on, and transport aircraft. The thing is, no one thinks she has any business being there. Not her family, not the men in her squad, and especially not her commander, Wesley Hicks. But she's determined to follow her dream, and prove to everyone that she can do anything a guy can.

But it's no smooth sailing. Wesley's got a secret from his past that affects how he feels about woman pilots, Maggie's uncle will do anything he can to get back the house he thinks is rightfully his - the house where Maggie and other plant workers have been renting rooms from her aunt, and someone's leaving threatening notes aimed at the WASPs.

With plenty of action, humor, danger, and romance, you will LOVE Patty Smith Hall's first fiction novel.


For more high-flying adventures, check out The High Calling and A Time of War, both by Gilbert Morris.

A Vote Of Confidence

The latest book I read was A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher, the first book in the Sisters of Bethlehem Springs series. It's set in 1915 Idaho, where women have recently "gotten the vote", but some men and even some women don't believe that women should take on roles of leadership. The main character, Gwen Arlington, decides to run for mayor of her small town. This, of course, is going to upset some people! Meanwhile, Morgan McKinley is trying to build his New Hope Health Resort and Spa a few miles outside of town, but he's getting a lot of opposition from the town's leadership. So he decides that if he wants to get anything done soon, he's going to have to run for mayor himself.

So you have three people running for mayor - one, the current mayor, who is a known drunkard, at a time when Idaho is trying to pass prohibition laws; the second, a wealthy man who is new to this small town, and so has not gained the trust of the people; and the third, a woman, in a time when a female mayor was literally unheard of!

This book is exciting, funny, and charming. I loved the story, the characters, and the setting, and I definitely recommend you read it! I am looking forward to reading the next two books in the series, Fit to Be Tied and A Matter of Character.

You can check out Mrs. Hatcher's website here.

Death Star

Recently I finished reading Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry. Unless you're really into Star Wars, you probably won't be that interested in reading it. I'm not saying it wasn't good! On the contrary, I really enjoyed it. But it was rather slow-moving until the last fifteen chapters or so.

If you are a Star Wars fanatic, you'll be surprised at just how much there is to learn about the happenings of the pre-Episode IV Death Star project. While not especially action-filled, there is plenty of suspense, drama, and even humor to keep the story going. And, while I certainly don't side with Darth Vader, I now understand his point of view much better. This book explains a lot of what the movies do not.

There are many more characters than just Vader, Tarkin, and Leia, and it's exciting to see how the lives of all the characters from vastly different backgrounds will mix, forming relationships both odd and endearing, and working together to create, or destroy, the most dangerous weapon in the galaxy. Who survives? You'll just have to read and find out.

All Good Things...

My most recent read was Star Trek: The Next Generation: All Good Things... (must come to an end). It is the novelization of the last episode of Star Trek TNG, and I LOVED IT!! If you are into Star Trek, then I definitely recommend this book to you. If you are not into Star Trek, I still recommend this book. It's certainly better if you already know the characters and the back story, but I think you will still enjoy it even if you've never seen the show.

It's a trip back and forth between three different time periods in Captain Picard's life, as he tries to figure out how to save all of humanity, while Q, his nemesis, taunts and torments him. Old characters make a comeback, and regular characters become old, and young. It's a little confusing, and very exciting, with humor and suspense mixed in. Plus plenty of high-tech, futuristic gadgets and science to satisfy any sci-fi fan.

A Tailor-Made Bride

I just read the most delightful book, about a young and talented seamstress who moves to a small town in Texas, and immediately clashes with the local livery owner.

Hannah moves to Coventry, Texas to open her own shop. JT, whose livery is right across the street, hates anything to do with beauty and vanity. So he decides to dislike her before they even meet. But what he soon finds out is that she is the sweetest, friendliest, and most humble woman he's known. How, then, can she be in a business that promotes vanity and feeling superior to others? With these conflicting thoughts, he wrestles back and forth with wanting to court her and wanting to stay away from her. And when Hannah becomes best friends with his sister, he tries to protect Delia from turning into the stuck up and flirtatious woman that he thinks she will become. But when he realizes Hannah is only trying to help Delia attract the man of her dreams, he may start to change his mind.

This is a heart-warming story, with plenty of laugh out loud moments, and a few harrowing ones. The characters are endearing, and the plot is full of fun suspense. If you love any sort of romance or historical fiction, you will absolutely love this book! It was such an easy and relaxing read. I flew right through it, much faster than I usually get through books. Then I gave it to my mother in law and she read it in two days, and loved it! I highly recommend this book!!

A Tailor-Made Bride was published last year, and is the first novel by Karen Witemeyer. She has two more books out so far, and I am off to find them, as I am sure they will be as wonderful as the first! To go to her website, click here.