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.

The Christmas Singing by Cindy Woodsmall

While I have not had the pleasure of actually reading this Amish story yet, I was intrigued by the promotion video sent out by Blogging for Books from WaterBrook Multnomah. I did some research online and became acquainted with the story itself. Now my goal is to obtain a copy of The Christmas Singing for myself. 


There has yet to be a book about the Amish and their way of life by Cindy Woodsmall  that I haven't enjoyed. The pictures she gives her readers about Amish life removes them from  too old-fashioned and totally out of touch with the modern world to a lifestyle that in its simplicity has found a way to still functions in today's world. These are not a backward isolated people, but a people who have found a way of life without the stress we so often live with in our electronic world. 


Please watch the video clip to get a taste of The Christmas Singing. 


http://bit.ly/vvg9mc