The Governess of Highland Hall - A Book Review

The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky takes place in London, England in the early 1900's and is about Missionary Julia Foster.  Julia has worked along side her parents as a missionary in India for years, but when her father gets sick they are forced to return to England.  Julia gets a job as a governess at Highland Hall to help her family financially.  Julia has been hurt deeply in the past by a former fiance and has no intention of falling for someone again.

William is the Baronet of Highland Hall and is a widow left with two young children.  His wife, though now has passed on, was not faithful to him and he is very leery of women.  He is now consumed with saving his deceased cousin's home (Highland Hall) and raising his own children and the two ill-behaved teenage girls of his deceased cousin's.

Even though both of them are guarding their hearts they both are determined to help their families and join forces and become fast friends and confidants.  William is very strict on following the rules of society and will not allow anyone in his home to court below their station, so what will he do when he has to make a choice between Julia and Highland Hall.

I love Julia's character and as her strong faith and gentle spirit begins to rub off on those around her was an encouragement to me as a reader.  I did have a little bit of a hard time getting into the book at the beginning, but after I the first couple chapters I could hardly put it down.   If you love Regency type stories then you will be sure to love this book.

***This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my review.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BOOK!

Plain Peace - A Book Review

Plain Peace by Beth Wiseman is the sixth book in The Daughters of the Promise Series.  I did not realize it was a series when I got the book and you certainly don't need to read the whole series to enjoy this book, however I do think it would make it more interesting.  There were several times that I was a little lost with the characters and wished I had a little more background.  About half way through the book I realized that I had read one other book in this series and I started refreshing my memory and now I would really like to read the whole series from start to finish.  Sometimes I do feel that Beth Wiseman's portrayal of the Amish is a little far fetched and unbelievable, but overall her books are enjoyable.

More about the book:

Anna has been raised by her grandparents.  Her grandfather is the Bishop and is very strict.  Due to his rules and sternness all the available suitors are afraid to court Anna.  Then Jacob Hostetler moves to town and decides that Anna is worth the challenge.  His family has suffered a great loss and are all still morning the loss of Jacob's sister.

When Anna's grandfather finds out that Jacob and Anna did not go to a singing as they said they would, he forbids them to see each other and refuses to hear the reason behind the change of plans.  Anna chooses deception and continues to see Jacob.  Will she continue to lie so she can have her dream of a family or will she realize that honesty is always best and that her faith is most important.

***This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my review.

The Jesus Story - A Book Review

The story of Jesus Christ is the most remarkable story ever told.  Whether you are a new Christian or a seasoned Christian, reading the 4 gospels in the New Testament is something that never grows old.  There is so much to glean from God's Word.

In The Jesus Story - Everything that Happens in the New Testament in Plain English, Dr. William H. Marty tells the story of Jesus in an easy to read chronological account.  It is very easy to understand and would be great for someone who is just learning about the Lord.  However, I do feel that for older Christians it may not capture their attention as well.  I found it a little "hum-drum" at times and I would much rather read the accounts straight from the Bible.  I do think that new Christians and those who are not familiar with The Word of God might benefit from this book, but I would still encourage those same people to pick up The Bible and read the stories straight from the source.

I did like how the stories are biblically accurate and did not sway from the truth.  The author truly has just taken the accounts, put them in order and wrote it in plain English.  I think it would be a great gift idea along with a Bible for a new Christian or for someone that you are trying to win to Christ.

***This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my review.

Seeking Christmas - A Book Review

As the holiday season is fast approaching I find my self once again looking for a good devotional book that will help our family focus on the True Meaning of Christmas.

Seeking Christmas - Finding the True Meaning Through Family Traditions by Renee Robinson is a great book that will fulfill this purpose for me.  I was given the chance to review it through the Book Crash blog review program and I am so pleased with what I found within the pages.

The book is arranged to be used over a 7 day period.  You can arrange this to fit your schedule.  Whether that be every day the week before Christmas, maybe even 2 weeks before Christmas or maybe you would prefer to spread the 7 sections out through the weeks leading up to Christmas.  The great thing about it is that you can adjust it to what works best for you.

Each day is separated into sections.  The first sections is REMEMBER.  This is for adults, I found this section to a great way to "set the mood" and to help the parent get their juices flowing and ready to share and make new "things to remember" as a family.

The second section is READ.  Each day includes a Bible scripture to be read as a family.  If you have older children there are extra scriptures for further study.

The third section is REFLECT.   This is a time to talk about the scriptures you just read.  There are also questions divided up by age group.  That is another great thing about this book!  It is great for kids of all ages!

The fourth section is RESEARCH.  In this section you learn some neat historical facts about Christmas.  For instance, you can read about the history of holly, the poinsettia and the candy cane to name a few.  I really loved this section and thought it added a little spice to the book.

The last section is REJOICE.  Here the evenings activity is summarized.  The author recommend keeping a Christmas Journal and during the section of REJOICE there are journal prompts as to what to write in the journal.  I love to keep a journal and a Christmas journal incorporated into the family devotion is a great idea.  I can't wait to get our started this year and how great it will be to look back each year and see what God has and is doing in our lives!

One more great thing about this book is that when you purchase this book you are helping orphans.   The author donates 10% to organizations that reach out to change an orphan's life.

For more information on this book and the author you can visit www.renee-robinson.com.

The Dawn of Christmas - A Book Review

Cindy Woodsmall is one of my most favorite Amish author's and I always love her short Christmas novellas.  Once again she has won me over with The Dawn of Christmas.  If you have read  any of her previous Christmas stories you are sure to recognize a few of the characters in this book as well since all the Christmas stories take place in Apple Ridge.

The story begins the day before Sadie is to be married and she finds her soon-to-be husband in the barn with her cousin Aquilla.  Sadie is devastated and to make matters worse no one seems to believe what she saw and Daniel and Aquilla are denying everything.  Sadie knows that she cannot marry a man that she can never trust and her father is the only one who stands by her side in her decision.

Levi lives with his brother Andy and is helping him raise his son.  Andy's wife ran out on him and it seems that Levi was left with a poor impression of woman.  He has no intention of ever marrying and is content with his life of training horses.  If only his family would stop pestering him to find a wife.

Levi gets thrown from his horse and Sadie finds him and stays with him until help arrives.  A friendship blossoms and soon they decide to "pretend" to court so their families will stop pressuring them.  Soon their feelings grow deeper even though they both are fighting it, but then everything comes crashing down and it seems that both of them feel that their feelings about the opposite gender were correct all along.

This is a great story for a cold day.  Grab a cup of tea or coffee, a warm cozy blanket and curl up and read!

***This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my review.

What Once Was Lost - A Book Review

What Once Was Lost by Kim Vogel Sawyer is a heartwarming historical romance that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Christina Willems has been running the Brambleville Asylum for the Poor ever since her father died a year ago.  When tragedy strikes and a fire leaves the house uninhabitable, Christina has to find shelter for all the people in her care.  They are all like family to her and having them all scattered about town soon becomes the least of her worries.

When Christina approaches the towns people she has no problem fining places for those in her care to stay, all that is except for poor little Tommy, the eleven year old blind boy.  Christina only has one other option and she knows she must approach Levi, the reclusive mill owner.  Levi has lived as a hermit and has no desire to let anyone into his life.  He reluctantly agrees to take Tommy in on a temporary basis and soon forms a strong bond with the boy.

As the weeks go by it seems like one catastrophe after another takes place that hinder the rebuilding of the mission home.  Christina begins to wonder if she will ever be able to fulfill her desire to rebuild the mission and to resume the job that she has dedicated her whole life to.

There are so many things I love about this book.  I love the character of Christina.  She has a servants heart and she wants so much to help others and is trying to do things like her father would do.  Tommy's character pulled on my heart strings and it was at times heart wrenching to read how he deals with the rejection he has experienced due to his blindness.  Then there is Cora, a young lady that has made many mistakes and fears rejection herself if anyone finds out the secret she is hiding.  I can't forget Levi, he is so good with Tommy and gives him the independence that the boy has needed.  Although most of the book is about rebuilding the mission home there are glimpses of romance that melted my heart.  I love reading a book that I can feel uplifted from and this book did exactly that for me.  I was interested from the first page to the last.  I would definitely recommend the book to anyone who enjoys historical romance novels.  

***This book was provided to my by the publisher in exchange for my review.

Country Pumpkin

I want to share this super cute pumpkin my mom made.  She got the idea off pinterest and the original project was done with a real pumpkin. Mom used a fake pumpkin which I think was a great idea.  This way she can get lots of years of use out of it. 

All you need is a pumpkin, a doily, modge podge and ribbon.  Super easy and super cute.

An Untamed Heart - A Book Review

When I found out that Lauraine Snelling had written another book about Ingeborg Bjorkland (her last name isStrand in An Untamed Heart) I was super excited.   I have read all of the books about Blessing, North Dakota and have come to love the Bjorkland family.  An Untamed Heart is actually a prequel to the Red River of the North Series and tells how Ingeborg's journey to America begins and how her and Roald get together.

I was a little disappointed with the book.  It was rather slow and verging on boring at times.  After reading 16 (yes, 16,  that's not a typo) books about the Bjorkland family I have come to feel like I know the character of Ingeborg pretty well and in this book I felt as if I was reading about a stranger.  She did not seem true to character.  I also had a hard time with some of the names.  Many of the names were familiar from the previous books, but at times I was not sure if they were the same characters from earlier books or just common Norwegian names.

Had I read this book first I may have felt differently, but since that is not the case and probably isn't for a lot of the readers that are fans of Lauraine Snelling I cannot give a real good review.  I would however recommend The Red River of the North Series and all the series following about this family.  I would even recommend reading An Untamed Heart first.  If you are just starting out you won't already have an opinion of how the character of Ingeborg should be and you can read and watch her transform into the character that I love.

Here is a list of the books in the order they should be read:

An Untamed Heart

An Untamed Land  (Red River of the North series)
A New Day Rising  (Red River of the North series)
A Land to Call Home  (Red River of the North series)
The Reaper's Song  (Red River of the North series)
Tender Mercies  (Red River of the North series)
Blessing in Disguise  (Red River of the North series)

A Dream To Follow  (Return to Red River series)
Believing The Dream  (Return to Red River series)
More Than A Dream  (Return to Red River series)

A Promise for Ellie  (Daughters of Blessings series)
Sophies' Dilemma  (Daughters of Blessing series)
A Touch of Grace  (Daughter of Blessing series)
Rebecca's Reward  (Daughter of Blessing series)

A Measure of Mercy  (Home to Blessing series)
No Distance Too Far  (Home to Blessing series)
A Heart for Home  (Home to Blessing series)

***An Untamed Heart was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my review.

A Christmas Gift for Rose - A Book Review

A Christmas Gift for Rose by Tricia Goyer is a charming little story that takes place at the end of World War II.  Rose is a young Amish girl who was engaged to Jonathan.  Jonathan shocked the Amish community when he enlisted.  He never fought in the war, but instead was a medic.  While Jonathan was gone Rose was left with the judgement of her Amish community where everyone urged her to forget about him.  Now that he's back it is time for her to face her true feelings.

Things from Rose's past start coming to light and she is shocked to find out she is not who she thought she was.  In light of everything she must come to terms with the way she passed judgement on Jonathan.  She is trying to discover who she really is and Jonathan is determined to regain her trust and love.

This story is faith filled, and focuses strongly on family bonds, belonging and love.  Even though the title makes you think it is going to be a holiday based story, it is not.  I would not even consider it a Christmas story
besides the fact that the time of year is during the holiday season.  It is a short story and a quick read that you are sure to love.  Perfect for a winter's day cuddled up on the couch!

***This book was provided to me by booksneeze in exchange for my review.

Fired Up - A Book Review

About the Book:

Glynna came west as a mail-order bride and ended up in a bad situation.  Now her husband, Flint is dead and she's determined to make a go of it on her own.  In a town full of men, Glynna decides she can support her two children by opening a diner, even though cooking is not one of her greatest talents.

Dare Riker is a doctor who saves lives, but someone seems determined to end his.  It may have something to do with the traitors he dealt with during the Civil War, or it might be related to the recent incident  with Flint Greer and the Ranch.  Whoever the culprit is, he or she seems really fired up, and Dare can't let his guard down for a moment - which is a challenge, since right now he's trying to win the heart of the recently widowed Glynna.

Though his doctoring business is booming due to Glynna's questionable cooking, Dare seems to encounter unexpected dangers wherever he goes.  There's the avalanche, and the fire, and then the shadowy figure with the knife. Can Dare survive it all long enough to convince Glynna to take another chance at love?

My Thoughts:

I first became acquainted with Mary Connealy's writing when I read the series "The Kincaid Brides" and I became an instant fan.  Now whenever a new book comes out I get really excited and can't wait to read it.  Fired Up is the second book in the Trouble in Texas series.  I admit that I struggled a little bit with Swept Away, the first book in this series, but Fired Up has redeemed the Author's spot on my favorite's list.

True to her writing style, Mary Connealy had me laughing out loud in several parts of the book.  I love both Dare and Glynna and thought there story is really good.  One thing I like about this book is that it is light-hearted and an easy read.    I'm really excited about Vince and am pretty sure that is who the next story is going to be about and I can't wait!!!

***This book was provided to me by Bethany House Publishing in exchange for my review.