Joanne's Minis

Joanne's Minis:

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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.

Dollhouse Miniature Furniture - Tutorials | 1 inch minis: How to make a wall hanging candle holder.

Dollhouse Miniature Furniture - Tutorials | 1 inch minis: How to make a wall hanging candle holder.:

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Cleaning Ideas

Cleaning savings tips:

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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.”