Not This Time by Vicki Hinze

 

 

I found this book to be very confusing at first. I think part of this has to do with the fact that this is a third book in a series and while I had read the second book it was a long time ago and I didn't really remember the characters that well.

 

As I got a little bit more into the book, I started to remember the characters a little bit better and for awhile it didn't seem to matter anyway as it was a new story just using "familiar" characters. I felt that the book was very drawn out and that the ending was a bit of a disappointment (not wanting to give too much information about the ending though, of course).

 

This book is written mostly from the perspective of Beth Dawson who finds that her best friend Sara has been acting strangely and then her husband Robert disappears. Beth had not been a fan of Sara's husband anyway and their relationship had been a bit strained, so when she questions Sara on various things it doesn't go over very well. The villagers are concerned that the terrorist group named "NINA" is at work trying to infiltrate them again (NINA is a group that is throughout the series). Many of the characters are unsure of who they can/should trust.

 

The book continues following through Beth's struggles of the next few days after a possible terrorist attack and show how Beth falls in love with Joe (a character from a previous book). This book bounces back between their relationship, but mostly focuses on trying to catch or figure out who the bad guys are.

 

I can't really say that I'd recommend this book because it took a long time to get to a pretty unsatisfactory conclusion. However, if you've been reading the previous books in this series then you may just want to get it so you can finish up the set. 

 

 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review through the Blogging for Books program of Multnomah. I was under no obligation to give this a positive review - all of the thoughts on this book are my own. 

Prize of My Heart by Lisa Norato

I found this book to be a little slow in the beginning. It seemed to me that there wouldn't be too many twists or turns and that it would be pretty straight forward and so I found it hard for me to stay interested in it. Knowing that I needed to finish reading this book so I could post my review, I eventually picked it up again and delved into it. Maybe it was just the difference of where my life was at when I originally picked it up or something else, but I found I couldn't put this book down. I read the rest of the book (the majority of it) in two sittings...much to the neglect of my housework.

Prize of My Heart is about the journey of a man who has had his young son taken from him by his vengeful wife. Three years have passed since he has seen his little boy and his wife has been deceased for the same amount of time. When he finally discovers his son living in another home with a different name and extremely happy, he wonders how he is going to be able to capture him and take him back to live with him. As many stories go...there is a young woman that stands in the way and that he soon begins to have feelings for. Not wanting to give anything else away, I'll just say that if you enjoy historical fiction and love stories about sea captains and fair maidens, then you should enjoy this book as well.

This is a Christian book so it also does a good job of showing that in all of the different circumstances in life - God is still in control!

Once I got into this book, it was a pleasure to read and review this book. I enjoyed the twists and turns that I really wasn't expecting.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Bethany House Publishers. All the thoughts and contents are my own and I was under no obligation to give it a good review.

The 365 Most Important Bible Passages for Mothers: Daily Readings and Meditations on Experiencing the Lifelong Blessing of Being a Mom

 

Reading this book for a review was kind of challenging, not because the content wasn't enjoyable or because it wasn't practical because it all was. But mainly because it is supposed to be a day-by-day devotional book not a sit down and read through the whole thing in a few days.

That being said, this book is such a valuable resource. It was so practical and really helped me as a mom to think more about raising my child. It seemed to me that this book would be helpful for any stage of motherhood you are in, but seeing as my child is only two this is just a guess.

Things to note since you are probably reading this book to find out if you would like to purchase it yourself...if you like the Bible passages to be from only one translation you might not enjoy this book. If you really only like to read from the KJV and nothing else you may want to pass as the KJV isn't used (the NKJV is, but not KJV).

While this book does go by the calendar year, it also has a handy table of contents at the beginning that shows you what the different subjects are throughout the book. This could be helpful if you are really needing to encouragement about a certain topic you could use that as a guide to find a devotional that would be more relevant to what you are going through at that time.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review through Faith Words. All of the opinions are my own.

Ricky the Remarkable Raccoon

 

 

 

This is an adorable story about a little raccoon who wants to be part of a family. He sees a boat and decides that the family gathered there will be his new family only to discover that they don't want him. What's a little guy to do?

 

 

 

Fortunately this book does have a happy ending, but I don't want to give too much away as you'll just need to buy this book and see for yourself.

 

This book was written by a social worker and so it is easy to see how her work has largely tied into this book.

 

The illustrations are beautiful and Ricky is an adorable little raccoon!

 

 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from the BookCrash program. All opinions were my own.

Be the Mom by Tracey Lanter Eyster

What a breath of fresh air!!! Tracey Eyster was remarkably frank, open and honest. She shared her own personal life experiences showing moms that they aren't alone! Every chapter was engaging and fresh - sharing chapter after chapter of potential mom "traps" that we can easily get into if we aren't careful - these traps include: "Just-a-Mom," "Me Mom," "Martyr Mom," "Busy Mom," "Mirror Mom," "Tomorrow Mom," and "They Say Mom". Tracey explains each of these thoroughly yet with a good balance that she doesn't go overboard.

This book is incredibly practical and I would recommend this heartily to any mom that is wanting to be a godly mom. Not surprisingly, since this book is put out as part of "Focus on the Family" it is written with a Biblical worldview (for anyone that isn't looking for a Biblical worldview - this book is probably not for you as this is the context of the whole book). For those that want to raise their children to love God and want to raise their children according to the Bible - you will enjoy this book and find it extremely practical!!

I highly recommend this book!

This book was sent to me for free in exchange for an  honest review from Tyndale House Publishers. I was under no obligation to give it a positive review.

Reunion by Lauraine Snelling

Coming soon in July...

Reunion by Lauraine Snelling!

Summary of the book:

The Sorenson Family are planning a family reunion even though their mother Dagmar has just passed away from cancer and will not be there to join them. Dagmar's daughter Keira has been going through her mother's house with the help of her best friend (and brother's wife) Leah. Keira is searching for her birth certificate so she can get her passport for a trip to Norway that her husband surprised her with and Leah is looking for pictures to make a family memory book for all that will be attending the reunion.

When Keira stumbles upon her birth certificate, she is shocked to discover that under the "father" section it reads: "Unknown." Hoping that she is reading this wrong and not wanting to devastate her brother Marcus (Leah's husband), she keeps the information to herself until she can look into the matter more.

Meanwhile, Marcus (a pastor in the community) discovers that his teenage daughter is pregnant and tries to decide what to do about it: should he hide the information or resign from the ministry?

While plans for the reunion continue to take place, each member of the family seems to have a secret that they are keeping from the other members of the family and it will all come to a head at the reunion!

My review:

This book gave great insight into how devastating a teen pregnancy can be. There are many great thoughts throughout the book on what should or could be done with a Biblical view of life. I felt that this book did very well at detailing how it affected each person whether it was Kirstin (the girl who was pregnant), Jose (the father of the baby), Leah (her mom), Marcus (her dad) or Keira (her aunt). The book definitely kept the focus on what God's Word says about life even though it was not easy for any of them when "push came to shove".

This book does a fantastic job of showing how important unconditional love is in the believer's life. By showing unconditional love in your life, you get to emulate God's love for us as sinners! What a great picture!

I did enjoy this book even though it focused on some hard topics. The author did a good job of weaving the story so that you really did get involved in the characters lives and wanted them to do the right thing. I know there will be many people that find this book controversial, but for those that try to live according to the Bible I would think this book would only be encouraging!

I received this book for free from Faith Words in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to give it a positive review.





Bringing Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson

I can summarize this book in one word: disappointing, but I'll expound on why I say this as you continue to read. I was so excited to have the opportunity to review this book because when I found out back in the summer of 2010 that I was going to be having a little girl I wanted to read everything I could get my hands on that would help me with raising her. My little girl just turned 18 months old a couple of days ago and I finally had the chance to read this book, but not just read it but own it for giving an honest review on it. I was so excited to read this book and then I started reading it.

It starts out telling about all the horrors of raising a daughter in this day - lack of morality in our country being the main topic that invades so much. I found it quite depressing, but figured that the book was just opening up that way to emphasize how important our roles as parents are in raising our daughters. Unfortunately, it just continued. I was almost 200 pages into the book and it was still just doom and gloom! I was disappointed. Where was the "practical advice and encouragement for those shaping the next generation of women"? This book was anything but practical or encouraging. The majority of this book I felt more and more depressed that I'd decided to have a child in this world that we are living in. But unfortunately (and no I'm really not upset I have my child - she brings such delight to our lives!) I already had a child and didn't read this book ahead of time so I'd know that I shouldn't have a child.

There were only 3 maybe 4 chapters that I felt even talked about how to raise your daughter. The majority of the book was just article after article about the decline in morality in this world. The other portion of the book seemed to plugging other books that Dr. Dobson had previously written so that you'd want to read those. I can tell you that this being my first Dr. Dobson book that I've read and the way this content matter was handled, it will probably also be my last! I can not in good conscience recommend this whole book to anyone that is trying to read a book about raising their daughters.

If you are wanting to read a book that will deter people from having children, then you may have stumbled upon the right one though! If you do feel the need to buy and/or read this book - just skip to the final chapter entitled "The Last Word" because that was the closest the book came to giving any parenting advice.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Tyndale. I was under no obligation to give a positive review.  

Raising Your Kids to Love the Lord by Dave Stone

This book was so easy to read. I read it all in less than a day. But the lessons that can be learned in it are so valuable to any parent that wants to raise their kids to love the Lord. My daughter turned 18 months old today. While I realize we are in the very beginning stages of raising her, I figured that this would be the perfect time to read this book and get some good insights on what to do while raising her (you know, before we really mess up!).

I'm not sure what I really expected this book to tell me, but to me it all seemed like a review. But that is only because my parents raised me the way this author writes about. For me, this book was a review and so many of the things I've already started to implement in raising our little girl. However, I can see this book being so practical and valuable to someone that wasn't privileged enough to be raised by godly parents and who wouldn't know what to do.

By the end of this book, I had tears in my eyes because I realized just how lucky (and by lucky I know that luck had nothing to do with it and that God had everything to do with it) I was to have been raised in a family that instilled all of these life lessons in me at a very young age.

I would highly recommend this book to anybody that is trying to raise their kids to love and serve the Lord because it is so practical and down-to-earth! The ideas and principles aren't unattainable! I know because I was fortunate enough to be raised with parents that held on to these same Biblical truths.

I'm so glad that this book was written and I'm sure I will look to it often when I'm getting discouraged in my journey as a Mom.

I received this book for free under the BookSneeze program and I was under no obligation to give it a positive review. 

The Creation as retold by Janice D. Green

I must admit when I first saw the pictures to this book, I found them rather strange and a little creepy. But then I realized that they are taken from a quilt and I thought the idea was interesting and fairly well put together. Before I ever actually picked the book up to read for this review, my now 18 month old daughter saw the book and seemed to really like the pictures. Since this book is written for children and not really for adults, I take that as a good sign that most kids would find the illustrations interesting as well. I did appreciate the uniqueness of the illustrations because I think it would help kids remember what day each thing was created.

As far as the content of the book, it really is just "The Creation" account that is found in Genesis. However, Mrs. Green has paraphrased it to make it easier for kids to understand. At the end of each page there are also some different questions that you can ask the kids. I felt like some of the questions didn't really pertain with that particular page, but they would open up a discussion with the child.

I can't really say that overall I would recommend this book as a purchase even though it is definitely unique. I think this book would probably be enjoyed by some and not by others - not just because it is about Creation (which I wholeheartedly believe in) but even just the way it is illustrated may not be what everybody is looking for.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review from the BookCrash book review program. I was under no obligation to give it a positive review.

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen

Having just finished reading "The Maid of Fairbourne Hall" by Julie Klassen, the only thing I can think of is, "I wonder what else she has written, so I can read another great book like this one!" I know that I've heard of Julie Klassen, but I don't recall that I have ever read any of her books. I'm so glad I decided to review this one.

This book starts off with Margaret Macy realizing that her virtue is not safe living with her mother and step-father. Having taken a little bit of money before she leaves, she goes as far as the money will take her and then seeks employment as a housemaid. She only needs to stay hidden until her next birthday when she will receive a large inheritance. Since she has always had her own servants, she has a lot to learn as a housemaid. Because of her new station, she learns many lessons about herself and about not judging people on their appearances. Of course there is a little bit of romance and mystery thrown in the mix to make this a very interesting read throughout the book.

I really enjoyed reading this book. As the review on the back of the book states, "Her writing is comparable to Jane Austen's." I definitely found that the style or at least the time period was very similar, but it was also a very fresh look at that time period as well. I especially enjoyed all the little tidbits at the beginning of each chapter that had quotes from various books or letters from the time period this book was written about. It was all so interesting!

If you are looking for a book that makes you forget your life for awhile and puts you in a period in time that was so different from ours then you've found it.

I did receive this book in exchange for an honest review from Bethany House. I was under no obligation to give a positive review.

Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting Intimacy with Your Spouse by Ed & Lisa Young

When I saw that this book was available for review I thought it sounded like an interesting twist on your typical marriage help books and I was eager to read it. While I sincerely believe that my husband and I have a very good marriage, I figured that there would still be something that we could gain from this book. I started reading the book and it did not disappoint. While yes, the book does definitely focus on having an intimacy with your spouse - it goes beyond that! It covers so many excuses that we let crop into our lives that lead us away from "becoming one" in our marriages.

One of my favorite chapters was actually the first chapter because it covered the differences between men and women and how we think. I couldn't believe how accurate it was! I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised since this is written from a husband and wife team that have been married for over 30 years, but it still amazed me.

I think that this book would be very helpful for any marriage. Even if you have a solid marriage - it will help to solidify your marriage. If your marriage seems to be shaky - it can help you to get it back on track. This book even has a section at the end of each chapter called "Action Steps" for couples that are reading this together and are getting ready to embark on the "Sexperiment". While this book is written for married couples, it also has a section at the end of the chapter called "Before You Do" for engaged couples and "The Yoke is Not a Joke" for those that are still dating. I really appreciated the fact that over and over in these sections they made a point to say that this experiment is only for you once you are married, but there are things that you can consider before you are in that situation.

I received this book for free from FaithWords in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All words and thoughts in this review are my own.

Sisters of the Quilt: The Complete Trilogy by Cindy Woodsmall

When the Heart Cries...

I've never done a review that encompasses three books at one time, so I figured that I'd just do "mini" reviews for each book as I finish each one and then give my overall impressions at the end.

Hannah Lapp is a 17 year old living in an Old Order Amish community. Her father is incredibly strict even for the Amish and she secretly meets with a Mennonite boy, Paul, and falls in love with him - getting secretly engaged. As she is walking home from her job (working for Paul's grandmother) on the day she got engaged, she is forced into a car and brutally raped.

Her parents don't want anyone to find out about it and so tell everyone that she was hit by a car on her way home which is partially true. Hannah struggles with her life after this horrible incident has occurred and doesn't know what to do next. She feels like she can't tell anyone and then horrible lies start to surround her as well.

Because Hannah feels like her community will never believe the truth, she decides to leave her home in Owl Perch and try to find her father's sister who was evidently shunned years earlier. This book ends with her leaving to go to Ohio.

This book started out a little slow to me, but then I got really intrigued in what would happen next to Hannah. By the end, I felt like I was right there with her!

When the Morning Comes...

After fleeing her community in search of her shunned Aunt Zabeth, many things change for Hannah. She finds friends and a purpose outside of the Old Order Amish Community.

Life continues on in her community after Hannah is gone, but nothing is the same. Her sister Sarah starts exhibiting bizarre behavior. Luke and Mary get married. Matthew continues to court Elle, but that starts to fail too.

While Hannah thrives in her new life - getting her GED, getting her driver's license, working for a Doctor and studying to be a nurse - she discovers that every step of the way God is providing for her.

When disaster strikes in her former community nearly two and a half years after Hannah initially fled Owls Perch, she feels obligated to return home even though things are going so well in her "new" life.

I really enjoyed this book. I found it fascinating reading about the transition Hannah's life took from Old Order Amish to living in an "Englischer" world.

When the Soul Mends...

Hannah Lapp Lawson returns to Owls Perch to help her sister get the help she so desperately needs. The person who is most qualified to help her sister out however turns out to be her former fiance' Paul Waddell. Hannah isn't sure she wants him to help out since she'd have to be in close contact with him regarding her sister and she wasn't sure how she felt about him since she felt that he'd abandoned her so many years earlier.

Hannah tries to help out in Owls Perch as she can, but she has her life in Ohio to also juggle. Back in Ohio, she has a wonderful boyfriend and two children that she is helping to raise - his niece and nephew.

Things start to fall apart in her relationship with Martin because of all of her trips home and as she discovers that she may still have feelings for Paul after all.

I really couldn't believe how much I enjoyed all three books! At first I was a little leery of doing this review since I knew that I'd have three books to read in order to do one review, but I'm so glad these were all combined. I can't imagine just reading one of the books and then being left hanging.

I would definitely recommend this series to my friends and family - especially those that love to read about the Amish community.

In closing, I did want to mention that I received this book for free through the Blogging for Books Program in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review.

To Have and To Hold by Tracie Peterson & Judith Miller

This book begins with Audrey Cunningham and her father Boyd in a financial dilemma. They have recently moved back home to the ancestral home on Bridal Veil Island, Georgia when they discover that they are extremely behind on their taxes and they don't have enough money to pay. Fortunately, a group of investors are interested in the island and offer them a deal that will help them pay their back taxes. Audrey, her father and her Aunt Thora open up their home to boarders - the supervisors of the building of the resort.

Marshall Graham shows up as a favor to Boyd Cunningham and becomes the project manager. Immediately upon his arrival Audrey automatically takes a disliking to him because she thinks he is like his father and whole family - a family of drunks. Having dealt with her father being like that the majority of her life, she is concerned that Marshall will be a bad influence on him.

Building begins on the resort and soon all sorts of problems ensue. As you can imagine, eventually Audrey and Marshall begin to have feelings for each other, but you'll have to read the book to find out what kinds of setbacks happen on the building project and on their relationship.

This was an enjoyable story for the most part. There were many times though that I found myself frustrated with Audrey or her Aunt Thora. Their characters seemed to go a little overboard at times in my opinion.

This book did focus on how we can trust God even when life is hard, but didn't over do it that it became too much of the focus of the book. It blended itself beautifully into the story line.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would most likely recommend it to anybody that enjoys historical fiction. I have read many books by Tracie Peterson, one of the authors of this book and have always enjoyed them and this book didn't disappoint either.

In closing, I want to make sure that I mention that I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to give a positive one.

Every Day a Friday: How to be Happier 7 Days a Week by Joel Osteen

I was so excited to see that I'd be able to review this book when I got an email about it. At the time, I was so stressed with working from home and trying to take care of my child at the same time I felt like this would be a great book for me to read to gain a better perspective on life. When it finally came in the mail I was so excited, I couldn't wait to start reading it but like so many times life got in the way - now months later I was finally able to read this book.

This book had such great potential and a lot of really good points. Much of the book was great! There was so much in the book that was so practical...being content where you are, keeping a positive attitude at all times, finding a reason to laugh every day (for me - that's hanging out with my daughter), giving thanks for what you have. There were so many great thoughts.

I guess my main concern with this book is it seemed that the main message for each chapter was do "a" and God has promised to bless you, do "b" and God will bless you. I have no problem with the fact that God blesses people because I know that many times God is most glorified when true believers praise him and declare how God has blessed them, but I just felt that he really didn't have Scripture to back up what he was saying at times. My other concern was the book seemed to be so focused on how can this help me. Many of the things he kept saying were that God will bless you because you are so wonderful or whatever point he was trying to make, but there seemed to be little in most (not all) chapters that gave any indication that the reason we were made was not to bring glory to ourselves and so that we can live great lives, but so that God will be most glorified.

Sometimes we can be doing everything right and we can be happy and joyful, but we won't always see the blessings here on earth. That I guess was where I felt like this book was a little off. Much of our blessing won't come here on earth, but will come when we reach heaven.

Even though I have some concerns about the book, it really did help to either change my perspective or to reiterate that I'm on the right track. I would still recommend this book to someone who is struggling to believe that God is good and that you can be happy even when times are tough, but I'd probably have to tell them to read it with a grain of salt.

As I wrap this up, I did want to mention that I received this book for free from Faith Words in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review.

First Date by Krista McGee

When I saw that book was coming up for review on the BookSneeze program, I immediately wanted to read it. It just seemed like a really cute premise and sounded like it would be an enjoyable read - I was not disappointed.

This book is about Addy Davidson who is 1 of 100 girls that have been picked to go on a reality tv show to win a date with the President's son. Addy really doesn't want to be on the show, but is doing it for the sake of her Christian school. She starts out having a pretty bad attitude about the whole thing, but as the show goes along she realizes that her bad attitude is also a bad reflection of her walk with God. She decides to make the best of this opportunity while she can which totally changes her outlook.

The story was loosely based on the story of Esther, so it was neat to read this book and realize that this could be a modern day version of what it was like for Esther. It really made that story come alive to me too!

I really enjoyed reading this book although it is considered juvenile fiction - it definitely would be appropriate for that age group. It was a very quick and light read - in fact I read it all in one day! I was glad to see that this author will be having another book about one of the other characters in this book coming out in July 2012 and I'm hoping I'll be able to read that one as well.

In closing, I wanted to mention that I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review through the BookSneeze program. I was under no obligation to give it a positive one.

A Most Unsuitable Match by Stephanie Grace Whitson

Whenever I'm reading books that I'm reading to write a review I find myself constantly thinking about how am I going to review this book. What will I say? Is this book great the way it was written? Or do I find myself wanting to know more about something that was touched upon but not answered? This book was no exception. Thousands of thoughts flitted through my mind as I read this book in connection to writing this review. But like every other review when I finally pull out my computer to write the review I also find myself faltering with how to begin. I don't want to always start every book review the same way, but I want people to know what the book means to me.

I guess I'll begin by letting you know what this book was about and then move on to what I thought about the way it was written and how it affected my life.

The book starts out with Fannie Rousseau kneeling beside her mother's grave. She has recently become an orphan. While money seemed to be no option all of her life, she soon finds out that she is nearly destitute. Shortly after learning about this an intruder enteres the house and because of this, she searches through the house for all valuables so that she can put them in a safe place. While searching through her mother's room, she discovers a picture of an aunt that she has never even heard of along with letters written from that aunt. She becomes intrigued and when faced with the possibility of marrying someone she doesn't know so that she can maintain her privileged lifestyle, she impulsively runs away via steamboat to Montana to try to find this unknown aunt.

While on her journey west to find her aunt, she meets Samuel Beck who is also searching for someone as well - his sister Emma. The two become friends and join their search together (don't worry her elderly maid Hannah came along with her). As they embark on this journey so many unexpected things happen that draw them closer together and closer to God. That's just the book in a nutshell!

I found this book was really easy to get into and pulled me into the story - I love a mystery even if it is just to find out why Fannie had never heard of her aunt. There were a couple of things that bothered me about the book, nothing horrendous by any stretch of the imagination of course, just things I would have liked to have fleshed out more. Without giving too much of the story away, it seemed that some of the minor characters that I'm not even going to go into for sake of space became more major characters than the major characters at some points in the book. It also seemed to me that while the story seemed to be focusing on Fannie and Samuel and their feelings for each other the majority of the book didn't even mention it - towards the end it seemed like the book needed to be finished quickly and so it focused again on these feelings and quickly had a resolution that was somewhat unsatisfying. Those are my negatives, overall though I really did enjoy this book. While I didn't think it stayed on point in the middle I found that the middle to be very interesting it just made me want the story to have a different ending.

One of the biggest signs to me of a good book is identifying with the characters and in this case I really felt like I did. There was such good individual character development portrayed throughout this book. I don't normally quote portions of the book, but I really felt like this particular part really spoke to me spiritually especially with everything we've been going through lately (loss of job, looking for a job even if it means moving to a totally different location, etc.)

This takes place between Samuel and his friend Lamar:

Lamar talking to Samuel after reading the passage, "Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

"...why is it you seem to think the only time it's God's will is if it's hard - something you got to force yourself to do?...Now, I know - sometimes that's how things are, and then we just lean into the wind and trust the hand of God to keep us from blowing away. But it seems to me that when a man listens to God's voice as sincerely as you do, Sam...couldn't God be putting the desire...in your heart, too?" Personally this just really spoke to me. It seems that a lot of times we seem to think that God's will is only going to be something hard and difficult for us and not something that we will want. It was such an encouragement to read that and to realize that our God wants to give us the desires of our hearts when we are truly delighting in Him!!!

I don't want to digress too much, but needless to say this book really did speak to me and I do highly recommend it even though there were a few things that I would have liked to see differently in the book.

I want to mention in closing that I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Bethany House. I was under no obligation to give it a positive review. If you would like to know more more about other books this author has written or just want to know more about the author herself check out her website here.

Promise Me This by Cathy Gohlke

Have you been looking for a book that you have trouble tearing yourself away from? Or have you been looking for a book that is a work of fiction, but ties together the fiction story with true life events? What about a book that you will feel like you are right there with the characters - sharing in their joys and their sorrows? Or maybe you've been looking for a book that will show you just how much God loved us and that His Son sacrified everything for us so that we could have eternal life? If any of these reasons resonates with you, then be sure to read this wonderfully written book by Cathy Gohlke.

I've always been fascinated with historical fiction. Some of my favorite events and time periods to read about are the Civil War, the sinking of the Titanic, World War I and World War II. This book doesn't touch on the Civil War or World War II, but it encaptures what life would have been like for the survivors of the Titanic all the way through World War I.

This book begins with Michael Dunnagan - a young boy, who has been badly mistreated - trying to escape from his current life situation. He boards the Titanic before it is even taking passengers and stows away until it ports in Southhampton where its journey is to begin. Once in Southhampton, he meets Owen Allen who is preparing to sail to America onboard the Titanic so that he can hopefully find a better place for him and his little sister Annie with relatives in New Jersey. Owen takes poor Michael under his wing and for the week he has remaining in Southhampton feeds him and gives him work. Annie remains in England until Owen has enough money to pay for her to come over to New Jersey.

Michael decides to once again flee his current situation and stows aboard the Titanic for a second time. Also for a second time he finds himself being rescued by Owen Allen. The two become like brothers in a short time and Owen feels the prompting of God to teach Michael everything he knows about plants and gardening which is what he was going over to America to help with. Since we all know the story of the Titanic, I'm sure you can imagine that this story isn't going to end well.

Owen sacrifices his life so that Michael can start his life over with Owen's family. Here we see the beautiful picture of what Jesus did for us! Owen makes Michael promise that he will save money and bring Annie over as soon as possible.

Without giving the whole book away - Michael works to bring Annie over, but many years pass before he is able to do so. This book shares the story of Michael learning to get over "survivors guilt" and Annie to stop blaming Michael for her beloved brother's death. They start to write to each other and it continues throughout World War I.

So much of this book really tugged at my heartstrings. It was just so beautifully written detailing the feelings that must have been going on for those that survived the sinking of the Titanic to the details of what it must have been like to live in Europe during World War I. I really felt like I was right there! I have not read a book that I enjoyed this much in a very long time! If you ever have the chance to read this book, I highly recommend that you grab a copy and read it. You will not be disappointed!

I'd never read any works by Cathy Gohlke, so you can imagine my surprise that this book was such a great read! I'm looking forward to reading more books from her. If you'd like to learn more about the author and other books that she has written or is planning on writing, you can visit her website here.

In closing, I did want to mention that I received this book for free for an honest review through Tyndale House Publishers, you can find out more information about them by clicking on this link. I was under no obligation to give a positive review, though I did absolutely love this book!

If you would like to read the first chapter of this book for yourself, you can click here.

The Wounded Heart by Adina Senft

  

 How many times have you had a difficult decision to make? One that you think may be the correct choice given your current life circumstances? Sometimes you have to make choices that you didn't think that you would ever need to make because life throws you a curveball - whether it is because of a job loss, or sickness, or loss of a loved one, sometimes all of these. Whatever the reasons, you have a choice to make - will you trust your own instincts or will you trust in God to guide you? And just like all of us that have had to make difficult decisions, we have the story of Amelia Beiler.

     Having lost her husband a year earlier, she is making ends meet for her and her two boys by taking over her husband's pallet making shop. While her hearts desire is to be at home and tend to the needs of the home like the majority of Amish women, she has had to change her lifestyle in order to survive. While working in a less than ideal situation for her, she starts to lose feeling in her hands and arms and decides to find out what is wrong with her. After multiple tests, she is diagnosed with MS and feels as if this is a life sentence of misery. Throughout the whole book, she seeks to understand why God would allow such a thing into her life, has not been through enough already? What is God's purpose and plan behind all of this? How will she take care of her boys? Should she sell her shop or should she just live with this diagnosis and the medicine that goes along with it?

    This story, while written from the perspective of an Amish woman rings true to so many of us that have had to deal with difficult situations. What a joy to read how this character did trust in God even though she didn't feel like it and that God provided in ways that she had not even imagined. What an encouragement! I really enjoyed reading this book and it was truly thought provoking to me to realize that in every situation God is working to bring good into our lives even when we can't see it. God is there for us every step of the way - even in the difficulty of losing my job in the middle of reading this book. It was such an encouragement to me to realize that God is in control even in the situations that are a complete surprise to us. God was not surprised and He does have a plan.

     I received this book for free from Faith Words a division of Hachette Book Group in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to give it a positive review. I am disclosing this information in accordance to Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.