To Love and Cherish by Tracie Peterson and Judith Miller

A Bridal Veil Island book, this is the second book of the series. Melinda has been waiting for the assistant gamekeeper at the resort to propose marriage. If he doesn’t, she must return to Cleveland with the family she is with as a lady’s maid. No proposal comes and Melinda leaves for Cleveland. If only she could secure a job at the Bridal Veil Island Resort, but the summer crowd is leaving and the local people have no job to offer her. Word comes just before the next summer season that a hurricane has hit the island. Melinda leaves her employment and rushes to Bridal Island worried about what might have happened to Evan. She knows he loves her and has no idea why he hasn’t proposed yet. When she arrives and sees the devastation, Melinda wonders if she made a mistake. As things are cleaned up for the first summer residents, she finds a job at the local hotel. All seems like it is going well until her brother shows up. With a reputation for gambling, she is worried about what he may be there for. Through a series of events, Evan is promoted and now feels enough in his financial position to offer the marriage proposal to Melinda.

I received this book to review for free from Bethany House.

Twice a Bride by Mona Hodgson

Should the reader be familiar with the Sinclair sisters and Miss Hattie, you will meet them again in Twice a Bride. Willow Peterson, a young widow, had dreamed of becoming an artist. She leaves home for the town of Cripple Creek and moves into Miss Hattie’s boarding house. She finds a job as a portrait painter for the local photographer, Trenton Van Der Veer. Careful of the time they spend in each other’s company, they are aware of the talk that could come out of a single woman spending too much time in the sole company of an unmarried male. Yet, romance blossoms. But, Mona Hodgson doesn’t stop here. The Sinclair sister’s father arrives with a child of French descent. Questions arise as each sister comes to grips with the love and attention Harlan Sinclair showers on Cherise. Love and attention he never gave them. Harlan and Cherise also stay with Miss Hattie while they are in Cripple Creek. Lest I give away too much, suffice it to say that there are two weddings by the end of Twice a Bride.

The fourth book in The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek, I would recommend Twice a Bride as a stand alone book for those not familiar with the series.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Betrayal 

by Robin Lee Hatcher

 

The year is 1899 in Wyoming and Julia Grace is determined t hold on to the ranch after the death of her husband. If it were only running the ranch by herself Julia thought she could do it, but her brother-in-law kept insisting it was too much for her and he wanted to buy the ranch. Then a stranger shows up. Hugh Brennan’s horse has gone lame and he needs to give the horse a rest to heal. Julia agrees to let him in return for some help around the place. As days turn into weeks, Julia finds she has come to depend on Hugh even though she recognizes the pain in his eyes. Hugh is also aware that Julia is hiding a past also. Two people with a past that haunts them, they soon find that with the love that blossoms between them the past can be laid to rest.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a Christian romance set in the old west.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Is there an escape for Lizzie?

Lizzie Engel is being forced to return to her Mennonite hometown of Kingdom, Kansas in order to protect her daughter. A stranger she does not know has been mailing her threatening letters and a man has been following her around. The new life she has set for herself and her daughter is threatened and the only place she knows to go is back home since that is the only place the stranger won’t be able to find her.

Kingdom is an isolated town that has been governed by a strict board of elders. Outside interference is simply not tolerated. She left five years earlier when her father would not accept her pregnancy. Seduced by a man she believed loved her, the town turned against her and she had to leave. Now she has returned and is finding that the new pastor and some of the  people she had known are changing the town. Buildings are painted, people are beginning to smile and help each other. Her own mother is taking a stand in opposition to her father’s. An accident and the death of the driver leads Lizzie to realize the stranger has found her. Who is this person and what do they want? An old friend, Noah Housler, works with her to unravel the mystery. In the end, of course, all is well and Lizzie finally finds the acceptance and love she had looked for all of her life.

Click here for a book trailer.

I received this book to review for free from Bethany House.

A Christmas story of love, forgiveness and redemption

When I read the back cover of this book, I failed to understand how the title had been chosen. A Wreath of Snow? A novella that covers a short period of time, Liz Curtis Higgs has given us a story that does not seem to be happening in a short time frame. Set in Scotland during a snowstorm, Meg Campbell is leaving Stirling and returning to Edinburgh after spending a disappointing Christmas with her family. Things at home have not been the same since her brother, Alan, had been injured in a curling stone incident. Gordon Shaw is leaving Stirling after completing a newspaper assignment. When their train is stranded in a snowstorm, this unlikely pair finds themselves walking back to Stirling. Neither wants to return for their own reasons.

Gordon is invited to the Campbell home for a meal and to warm himself when they make it back to town. From this point on the reader becomes immersed in the lives of the Campbell family and Gordon Shaw. There is more to these individuals than meets the eye. Meg feels guilty and angry because Alan is disabled and has become adept at making their parents feel sorry for him, catering to his every whim. Gordon is also feeling guilty because it was his actions that caused the injury. He knows he needs to make his true identity known and ask for Alan’s forgiveness. When the family realizes who he is at a curling match, the lifestyle that Alan has set up for himself begins to rapidly untangle and the secret that Alan had been hiding is now revealed.

A story of secrets, unforgiveness and guilt in the lives of Meg, Gordon and Alan we find the mercy and grace of God at work as everyone faces the truth in their lives and reconciliation becomes a reality.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Can a person be made for The River?

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I began The River. It is a story about a river and its place in the life of Gabriel Clarke. How could someone be made for the river? Yet, Gabriel was. Losing his father at a young age to The River, Gabriel moves from Colorado to Kansas to live with his mother. He fears the water now and wants nothing to do with any river. As the years go by, he begins to see that a river is not something to be feared. Then comes the day when friends invite him to go to Colorado with them to camp, go river rafting and to explore the river. Gabriel starts to remember things from those early years and begins to accuse The River of taking his father from him. 

The more I got into this book, the more I began to see and understand the struggles Gabriel was facing. He was trapped by the chains of fear and resentment, trapped by circumstances that would affect his life unless he could gain his freedom. Returning to Kansas after the trip, Gabriel felt the pull of The River and so returned to Colorado to the river rafting camps. He goes to work at one of the river camps and meets people who help him to better understand The River and the affect it has on the lives of those who love it. He also starts to understand that The River did not take his father from him. As a seasoned rafter, his father lost his life while saving the life of someone else. With this knowledge, he realized that his destiny, his home is here with The River. He was made for The River.

I recommend this book, giving it five stars. It is a story of the freedom that awaits all of us when we face our fears and no longer give them control over our lives.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Lonnie Sawyer and her family live in the Appalachian hills among the creeks and hollows. Shy and retiring Lonnie has no experience with men, so when Gideon O’Riley walks her home after a local singing and dance she finds herself what his friendliness and advances mean. Gideon has treated her with respect and kindness, helping her over the rocks and moving branches out of her way. When they reach her home, she allows him to kiss her. But Lonnie’s father believes it was more than a kiss and a shotgun wedding takes place. Now the handsome Gideon finds himself married. Not used to being responsible for anyone, he takes Lonnie and heads across the hills to find a job. The kindness and gentleness of the walk home that night is gone and he is now hard and unyielding in pushing to reach a town where there is work. Lonnie’s life was hard at home, but nothing like she is experiencing now. She is not feeling well, is not eating and wants to sleep. The walking all day with little to eat has begun to take its toil when Jebediah finds them and takes them home to stay with him and his wife so Lonnie can recover. Gideon begins to realize the responsibility forced upon him with his wedding day and discovers he actually loves Lonnie, but there are still things he has to discover and learn before he is able to be the husband and father his family needs. Lonnie finds that she is stronger than she ever thought and the book ends with these two young people ending up where they should have been on their wedding day – deeply in live and committed to each other.

Over the Edge by Mary Connealy

All’s Well That Ends Well is the title of a Shakespearian play, but it also describes the ending of The Kincaid Brides, Book 3. Mary Connealy has very neatly tied up all the loose ends and still managed to give us a surprise or two.

I had the opportunity to read second book, In Too Deep, about the second brother, Ethan, and wondered what I could learn about the third brother, Seth. A Civil War veteran with a physically painful childhood, Seth was in the habit of going to the caverns in the mountains around the home place to hide whenever remembrances of his past overwhelmed him. Along comes Callie who had married Seth while she nursed him after the war. One day he took off and she never saw him again. The day came when she realized she needed to find his brothers, let them know she had married Seth and was on the way to see them. That in itself was a surprise to the brothers, but not the biggest one. Seth and Callie had a son no one knew about.

At this point, I was hooked and had a hard time putting the book down. I simply had to know how Callie and Seth worked this out. Would Ethan find that the past no longer held control over his life? Would he remember that he had a wife? Would Callie find that she could trust her husband not to abandon her again? The answer to all those questions is yes, but how they were answered I want to reader to discover on their own.

Over the Edge works as a standalone book because enough information is given to make sure the reader is aware of what has happened in the lives of Rafe and Ethan, the brothers. Yet, that background information does not get in the way of those who have previously read Out of Control and/or In Too Deep.

I received this book to review for free from Bethany House.

A Season of Tending by Cindy Woodsmall

Would an Old Order Amish girl dabble in witchcraft? Many in Rhonda’s town believed she did. How else could one explain the premonitions that she said she sensed? Because the townspeople, Amish and English, looked at her wondering, Rhonda kept close to her family home and tended her garden. Canning the fruit of her garden and selling it gave her a feeling of satisfaction. So did dispensing the herbs she also grew, but there was one who was determined to destroy that garden and keep the seeds of doubt alive in the town.

Samuel King and his family tended the apple orchard that had been in their family for generations. Selling the apples for eating and cider provided the finances needed each year. This year, though, worms had invaded one third of the orchard and Samuel knew they were facing a financial problem. He considered approaching Rhonda for help with the orchard since she knew enough about horticulture to offer advice and had a thriving canning business that might make use of the apples that could not be sold for anything but cider. As they work at uniting the two businesses, a sudden tornado destroys what is left of the orchard. What will they do now? What new avenue is God opening up for them?

A Season of Tending presented a deviation from the usual Amish story of boy meets girl, boy and girl disagree, boy and girl either make up or go their separate ways. The primary focus of this book is the resolution of financial issues and of perception. This is the first of a new series titles Amish Vines and Orchards. I enjoyed this book and happily recommend it to anyone interested in another side of Amish life.

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The Widow of Saunders Creek by Tracey Bateman

A new widow, Corrie Saunders, returns to the home where her deceased military husband Jared had grown up. The Ozark area of Saunders Creek was home to descendents of Appalachia. Those early settlers brought their traditions of witchcraft and spells with them, raising their children in the beliefs they had been taught. Jared’s family was no exception, but for one cousin and his mother. Eli has taken on the task of renovating the home place for Corrie and find that he is becoming protective of her. Knowing there is a stronger source of power than the beliefs of his relatives has led him to begin preaching in the local church. Eli’s faith is well grounded and he begins to question some of the things that are happening in the house. Things that Corrie believes are Jared trying to communicate with her. As Corrie begins to suspect that maybe it isn’t Jared at all, she also realizes that Jared may not have been the person she thought he was. As Eli and Corrie become better acquainted, she starts to see that the picture Jared presented to the world was not who the man really was. Selfish and self centered in life, his only act of putting others first resulted in his death. With this revelation, she begins to move beyond mourning for Jared and see that she has a full life ahead of her.

Skeptical at first about the choice of subject in The Widow of Saunders Creek, I did finish the book. Not my favorite reading material I was curious as to how it could be a Christian fiction book and still hold true to Christian beliefs and values. What I found was a very good  explanation as to the differences between a relationship with God and witchcraft. I would recommend this book to someone who needed to see those differences as they began their walk with the Lord.

I have reviewed this book  from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group giving it my honest evaluation.

Short Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer

The title intrigued me. What is a short straw bride? Does she have short straw –colored hair? I was about half way into the book when Karen revealed where the title came from. By then I was hooked.

Meredith Hayes had an encounter with one of the Archer boys when she was ten years old. No one ventured onto the Archer land without taking their life into their own hands. Or so the stories went. Yet Travis Archer had treated her with kindness. Now it is twelve years later and she is living in town with her aunt, uncle and cousin. On a walk with the man she is engaged to, she hears him plot with another man to burn the Archer brothers off their land. Remembering the kindness of Travis, she hurries to their property to warn them. Now the second encounter occurs. Some sets fire to the barn while she is there and in the process of getting a stubborn mule out, Meredith is kicked in the head by the mule. When her uncle finds out that she has been with the four Archer brothers for four days recovering he insists that one of them marry her. Hence, the short straw bride.

Travis has arranged it so that he becomes the bridegroom, feeling that as the oldest it is his responsibility to take care of his brothers as well as Meredith. Unknown to everyone, he has fallen in love with her and Meredith is now married to the man she has dreamed about for twelve years. All goes fairly well until cousin Cassie shows up very upset because she is being forced to marry the man Meredith was supposed to. Again the Archer brothers find themselves shielding and protecting a woman. Their solitary life is quickly coming to a close and they find that neighbors are not such a bad thing.  

A thoroughly enjoyable book with twists and turns that will keep the reader engaged to the very end.

I received this book to review for free from Bethany House.

Love in Disguise by Carol Cox

What does a young woman do when she can’t do the thing she desires the most to do with her life? She finds a way and Ellie did that very thing. The personal assistant of a theatre star, she believes she will be traveling to Europe with her. Not so. She is released from her job instead and left with all the costumes. In search of a means of support, Ellie hears about a position with the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Dismissed the first time, she returns dressed as Lavinia Stewart, a middle-aged widow. Proving she can act a part and gather information by listening, the Agency agrees to send her west on a job with a more experienced female agent. Well, this almost falls through also. The other agent informs her she is quitting and getting married. Now Ellie is really in a quandary, she wants to do the job for Pinkerton. Can she present herself as Lavinia and also pose as the other agent, a younger Jessie? As Ellie moves from character to character gathering information for the Detective Agency, she find that her search for answers to the missing silver shipments through her in close contact with one of the mine owners. What is more she is beginning to feel emotions a middle-aged woman would never feel for a younger mine owner. Looking for the ones responsible for stealing the silver also puts Lavinia and Jessica in danger. How does she find her way out of this muddle? You will simply have to read Love in Disguise to find out.

  

I received this book to review for free from Bethany House.

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A story with a multitude of surprises

Tidewater Inn by Colleetn Coble

 

This is the second book by Colleen Coble that I have read and enjoyed it just as much as the first. Tidewater Inn was a difficult book to put down. I wanted to know how everything turned out.

Libby Holladay restores historic buildings that are usually added to the National Historic Registry. With the ability to see the possibilities, she sees what others do not and Tidewater Inn is no exception. But Tidewater Inn has more than just its appearance to snag and get hold of Libby. Her partner, Nicole, has preceded her to the Outer Banks and calls Libby excited about the Inn, a dilapidated lifesaving station and lighthouse ruins. When Nicole is kidnapped, Libby rushes to the Outer Banks to search for her. To add to her anxiety about Nichole’s safety, Libby finds that she is also a suspect. But all of this is only the tip of the iceberg. Libby learns that Tidewater Inn has been left to her by a father she never knew. Oh, and she also has a sister and brother. The reader gets caught up in the events surrounding Vanessa and Brent, Alec and his nephew Zach, an unscrupulous lawyer and meets a wonderful search dog named Samson. I leave it to the reader to do as I did and immerse yourself in Tidewater Inn. You won’t regret it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Vivian Sinclair is joining her married sisters in Colorado and she isn’t sure she will fit. She wants to make her own way as a fashion designer, but there is a problem. She can’t find a job in the mining community. Being a telephone operator only lasted a day or so, the local stores didn’t need women clerks and the clothing stores had no extra money to hire a new employee. When offered a job as a hostess in a sporting house, Vivian felt that a past mistake sort of gave her leave to work in such an establishment. However, her streak of independence is about to land her in trouble. When Miss Pearl, the owner, ends up dead Vivian becomes a suspect. The outlaw boyfriend of Miss Pearl is convinced she killed Miss Pearl and he is out for revenge. The sheriff and her sisters also want to know what has happened. How can she ever explain why she even considered working for Miss Pearl? Will her sisters reject her when they find out about what happened before she left Portland? Is she worthy of the love of the sheriff's love now?

The third book in the Sinclair Series of Cripple Creek series, The Bride Wore Blue still is a good stand alone book. Once I began, it quickly became a book that competed with my need for sleep.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for review.

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My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

Her heart said yes, but God was saying no. He said God hadn’t answered his prayers and had abandoned him. So begins the story of the stubborn hearts of Kate and Matt. Kate has returned to her ancestral home, called Chapel Bluff, with her grandmother to fix up the old house and bring it back to life. Unsuccessful in relationships, Kate hasn’t found the man God had for her future husband. Discouragement has set in. Matt had been hired to do the work at Chapel Hill. Preferring to work alone and actually to be left alone, he doesn’t appreciate Kate’s wanting to help, wanting to talk, wanting to be his friend. When his wife died, he had withdrawn into himself and given up his career, but he didn’t count on the persistence of one young woman who saw the hurt in his eyes and wanted to help.

As Kate spends time with Matt, she sees his heart and believes that God sent her to help him find purpose in his life again. Finally, her heart says yes and God says yes.

The reader hurts with the main characters, laughs with the antics of the “older” generation, and cheers for Matt and Kate when the final chapter is read. I don’t want to give away what happens to both Kate and Matt as they work on finding out that God does care about them and does answer prayers in His time.

I received this book to review for free from Bethany House.

 Beloved Enemy 

Al Lacy

What do you do when the love for family comes in conflict your feelings for a man you love? Such is the dilemma faced by Jenny Jordan. Her father, maintains his Southern sympathies and agrees to work as a spy for the south. A member of President Lincoln’s Senate Military Committee, he is part of the group planning the Northern offensive and defensive. As the north continues to lose battles, it becomes apparent that there is a spy in their midst. As this is going on, Jenny has met and fallen in love with a Union office names Buck. Being discouraged by her father for forming an attachment with Buck, Jenny can’t help herself and fears what will happen when Buck learns her father is a spy.

As part of a network of young ladies recruited to carry the battle information south, the day comes when Jenny is asked to carry her first message to the Confederate troops. Caught at a Union road block, she is now under arrest and subject to being put before a firing squad. Buck, as commanding officer, now seeks to intercede with the president on her behalf. Because she was instrumental in saving the life of Tad Lincoln, the president commutes her execution.

A behind the scenes look at the Civil War, I enjoyed this book and recommend it as a book worth reading. The male Confederate spies were caught and executed.  Because of an aversion to shooting the female spies, the woman responsible for recruiting the young girls with information for the Confederates was imprisoned for a while and then sent back south. She never arrived, having drowned in a boating accident on the trip.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

The Messenger by Siri Mitchell

Siri Mitchell has written a Revolutionary War story that probably mirrors the lives of many of the colonists during this time of history. I enjoyed reading about Hannah Sunderland and Jeremiah Jones. Hanna, a Quaker, finds her faith at odds with what is happening in Philadelphia under British occupation. The Quaker stance of non-violence and non-involvement in the war begins to take second place to helping her imprisoned twin brother. Captured by the British after he joined the Colonial forces, Robert lies sick inside the compound. How can she offer comfort to him and still adhere to the non-involvement her religion requires? How long can she keep the news about Robert from her family and would they help if they knew of his imprisonment? Enter Jeremiah Jones, an ex-British soldier. Jeremiah gives the impression that he is on the side of the British. Unknown to all, he is a spy for the colonists. Wounded while a British soldier and left with a handicap, Jeremiah is bitter for the way the army treated him.

Seeing Hannah sneaking around the prison trying to make contact with her brother, Jeremiah begins to wonder if she will work with him and pass information from the colonial army to the prisoners. Plans are in the works for the prisoners to dig a tunnel and escape. These plans call for coordination between General Washington’s army, the prisoners and a celebration planned by the British officers. The prisoners will escape the night of the celebration and the colonial army will be near to take care of them. While the escape goes well, things are not so good for Hannah and Jeremiah. They end up in prison, abandoned by the British when all the prisoners are moved to prison ships.

I received this book to review for free from Bethany House.

Do This & Live Healthy by Don Verhulst, MD

Do This and Live Healthy by Don Verhulst, M.D.

Dr Verhulst has subtitled this book: 10 Simple Keys That Cure. And ten keys based on scripture and healthy living he does give. Key 1 is learn to relax like the Lord. Key 2 lets us know we need to get to bed on time. Key 3 is about the benefits of exercise and so the list goes on. Using scripture along with personal family experiences, Dr. Verhulst gives the reader a plan that is easy to follow.

I learned so much reading this book and feel I have finally found a practical help that does not require expensive supplements or grocery items that the average American will never use again. The ten keys are found in the first part of the book. The second section deals with common health issues and how to deal with them. Allergies, Alzheimers, asthma, bladder infections and cancer are just a few of the health problems that are explored. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a positive, simple plan for life.

I received this book for free from Charisma House for this review. The opinions expressed are solely mine.

God Gave Us the World – Lisa Tawn Bergren

God Gave Us This World by Lisa Tawn Bergren


A delightful young children’s book for ages 3-8, this story is about a young polar bear, named Young Cub, who learns there are different bears in other parts of the world. He wonders why. Mother bear begins the explanation by pointing out the differences in the snow that is falling. From there Little Cub learns that God is creative. Different bears look different, live in different parts of the world and eat all different foods than he does. As he learns about the world and the differences found there, Little Cub also comes to see that we must take care of this world we live in. Best of all he has a special place in this world.

An easy to follow story with beautiful artwork, I believe this book will hold the attention of any child who reads it or has it read to them.  

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Finding Our Way Home by Charlene Ann Baumbich

This is the first time I read this author and was very happy with this book. In fact, I found it difficult to put this book down. 

Sasha Davis, a ballerina, has suffered an injury that has led to the end of her successful career. Not adjusting well, she had returned to her childhood home and is living in seclusion. Unfortunately she never learned how to cook and needs assistance with some household chores, so a companion has to be hired. Enter Evelyn Burt, a lively and active young woman who comes with her own set of issues. Just engaged, Evelyn is a bundle of energy with an outlook on life that is totally different from the life Sasha has chosen for herself.

As these two women live and work together, changes take place in both lives. Sasha has to face up to the fact that her injury was the result of health issues that even her husband didn’t know about. Husband? This comes as a surprise to Evelyn when she learns of his existence. She realizes Sasha has shut herself off from the world and sees no future for herself outside of being an invalid. She begins to encourage Sasha to take an interest in life again, beginning with watching birds bathing to reading the wide range of books brought home from the library. As Sasha sees the potential in her life and regains her ability to walk, she begins to help Evelyn see that there is so much in life for her also. Evelyn begins to realize that even though her engagement has ended, she cannot live her life solely by fulfilling the wants and desires of others. She has a future and goals that Sasha and her husband help her move into.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Reversing Diabetes by Don Colbert MD

I requested this book because the cover said, “Discover the natural way to take control of type 2 diabetes…” While I am sure some readers will pick up this book, believe they have found some help in controlling their diabetes and be very happy and satisfied with what they are learning, I am not one of them. I was looking for a book that would give the reader some practical, day to day help. I didn’t find much of this.

I was also disappointed when the author began promoting nutritional supplements available through his website and that are not readily available in all areas. I am not questioning the value of the nutritional supplements Dr. Colbert refers to and am sure his patients have found them a great help in getting control of their type 2 diabetes.  

While there is a lot of good information in Reversing Diabetes, there is also a lot of information that was above my head. I got lost in the technical side of things. I could care less about reading some of the facts that are interspersed through the book when I am looking for something that is easy to read and can give me suggestions that will improve my health.

There are recipes and menus for the Rapid Waist Reduction Diet that would work for an individual, but would mean cooking a separate meal for the rest of a family. Some of the foods mentioned would also exceed some family budgets. More helpful were the lists of approved foods for the two phases of the Diet. There were also tips for eating out and grocery shopping that were also informative and well as useful.

I received this book for free from Charisma House for this review. The opinions expressed are solely mine.

Wildflowers from Winter

Wildflowers burst from the ground in vivid blues and whites and violets, creating a picture more pleasing than anything her hands could design. She didn’t understand how it was possible, but Evan had been right. The abundance of snow had produced an abundance of wildflowers. More that she’d ever seen before. Somehow, those cold, lifeless winter months had prepared the land for something breathtaking. Something beautiful. Something brimming with life.

Evan knew there was something Bethany tried so hard to hide, to ignore. Why did he care? Why did he want to help her? He wasn’t sure, except that he knew he cared.

Bethany is forced to return to her hometown for not just one tragedy but two. Now she was stuck there. Her job was gone. Her apartment lease up. Her grandfather dead. Though the four hundred acres of farmland was hers, the farmhouse had been willed to Evan. Didn’t anyone understand why she couldn’t remain in Peaks? So now Bethany finds herself living with her old friend, Robin who is newly widowed and pregnant. Robin never had time to tell her husband about the pregnancy before he died and now she is finding it near impossible to move on with her life. As Bethany and Robin work through their struggles they begin to support each other in a way reminiscent of their childhood days. Moving through the winter months Bethany is present for the birth of Robin’s son, begins renovating a shop for the café Robin and her husband has planned to open, helps with the birth of a calf and finds that a hard winter does indeed bring forth wildflowers in abundance. She begins to understand that God is not who she thought He was and the winter of her life bursts into something complete, whole and breathtakingly beautiful. Like a field of wildflowers after the long, harsh months of winter.

I found it difficult to put down Wildflowers from Winter. Katie Ganshert is a good job of keeping her readers hooked. It isn’t until the very end of the book that we find out why Bethany had such a hard time remaining in Peak and why she was always looking for a way to escape.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Song of My Heart

Kim Vogel Sawyer’s book is a story about a girl who has a dream of singing and a desire to help her struggling family. Sadie Wagner wants to help her family, but doesn’t know what she can do. Then a letter comes from her cousin, Sid. There is a job opening for a clerk at the local mercantile and the possibility of singing in the local opera house. She packs and heads to Goldtree, Kansas. There she meets sisters Melva and Shelva Baxter, the owners of the mercantile. Welcomed with open arms, Sadie finds she is loved and cared for in her new home. But the opera house is not what she expected. Asa Baxter has built a concrete, well insulated opera room underground and off the basement room of the mercantile. Why there? The answer is revealed as the reader finds that all is not as Asa would like everyone to believe. Sadie and Sid find they are involved in the bootleg business of drink and gambling. She as the entertainment for a secret evening gathering of men interested in the liquor and gambling and Sid as the freight driver who has been transporting the alcohol labeled as molasses and vinegar. Are they destined for prison?

Taking place in 1865, this story could have just as easily taken place during the Prohibition period of our history. Lest I forget, there is a love story involved here. Sadie finds that Sid, a cousin by marriage, and the new sheriff both want to court her. It took me only about 5 evenings to read this book. Difficult to put down, I wanted to know the outcome.

I received this book to review for free from Bethany House.

The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck

Charlotte, an only child with no living relatives, owns a successful bridal boutique  and is engaged. As the wedding date draws near she begins to question the wisdom and timing of the wedding. As she ponders these future plans in her favorite outdoor spot, she finds herself at an auction where she is talked into purchasing an old trunk. The funny little auctioneer hands her a slip of paper that says “Redeemed $1000”. That is the amount she paid, but Charlotte doesn’t understand the word redeemed. And so the story begins. Charlotte and Tim agree to end the engagement, but remain as friends. As the days and weeks go by, Tim helps her open the trunk which had been welded shut. Inside they find a wedding dress of an older style and yet looking as if it was brand new. They begin to find clues that lead them to realize this dress is indeed very old and has been worn by previous brides. Charlotte meets two of the three previous brides and hears their stories about the dress and the part it played in their lives. In the end she finds that she is related to the original owner of the dress. Along with reading Charlotte’s story, the reader is introduced to the story of the original wearer of the dress, her engagement, involvement in a civil rights issue and the decision she had to make. I enjoyed this book and find Rachel Hauck to be a reader worth returning to again and again.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://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 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Where Lilacs Still Bloom by Jane Kirkpatrick

A wonderful story of Hulda Klager, a generally unknown lady from the north west who developed numerous varieties of lilacs. A German immigrant and farm wife, Hulda started fulfilling her lifelong dream by producing an apple that was easy to peel. Tired of fighting to peel apples for her husband’s favorite apple pie, she began grafting fruit branches from one tree to another. Each graft produced an apple closer to what she was after. Eventually, she succeeded. These experiments by a horticultural uneducated woman led her to branch out to lilacs around 1905. By 1910 she had created 14 new varieties. Ten years later she was conducting garden tours during the time the lilacs were blooming.

Where Lilacs Still Bloom takes the reader into Hulda’s life of hardships, floods and the death of husband, son-in-laws, three daughters and finally her son. Yet, she kept going developing over two hundred varieties of lilacs from three that her husband ordered for her from Europe. She passed away in 1960 at the age of ninety-seven.

Rejoice with her over her grafting successes. Cry with her when floods twice totally wipe out her whole garden. Mourn with her when death claims the members of her immediate family. Weep when you read of people from all over who donated plants they had gotten from her “failures” after the last flood destroyed every plant.

While a listed as a fiction book, Jane Kirkpatrick researched the life of Hulda and made every possible attempt to recreate her life story based on the facts available. The farm house and grounds are now listed in the U. S. National Register of Historic Places.  

I recommend this book to anyone wanting to read of a humble woman’s success and to those who have an interest in gardening and the development of different varieties of plants. An encouraging book for anyone who gets bogged down in daily living and who can’t seem to find a way to pursue the dream and vision for their life.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Sisters of the Quilt trilogy

Who would have thought it? Amish stories that are about and deal with deception, secrets and decisions to leave the Amish Community. Such is the Sisters of the Quilt trilogy. But, dear reader, please don’t keep this from picking up this book. Having read When the Heart Cries, When the Morning Comes and When the Soul Mends individually and at different times, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to reread them going from one story to the next.

Hannah was raised Amish, while Paul comes from a Mennonite background. They met when Hannah worked for Paul’s grandmother. As the years went by, their friendship grew and eventually blossomed into thoughts of marriage. Now comes the problem. Will Hannah leave the Amish? Will Paul join the Amish? After a tragic attack that has left Hannah pregnant, her father makes the decision not to tell the community about what has happened to her. So, how does she explain her pregnancy? When learning of the pregnancy, Paul questions what has happened, but is unable to reach out to Hannah in support. After the birth and death of her daughter, Hannah decides to leave and search for her aunt in Ohio. In the next book Hannah has found her aunt, meets a young man and begins to move on in her life. All seems it is progressing until Hannah and Paul cross paths in the third book. Will Hanna stay with her former finance or with the Englisher who has also captured her heart? I leave it to you to find out.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.