Beloved by Robin Lee Hatcher - A Book Review

Diana Brennan  was adopted by a loving couple when she was a little girl.  When she turned 17 she fell head over heals in love for Tyson Applegate who is the son of a wealthy and hard to please mine owner.  Diana and Tyson quickly get married before she even meets his family.  Not long after their marriage she begins to find out that Tyson had ulterior motives for marrying her.  He needed to get married in order to get his hands on his inheritance before he turned 30.  He is very defiant towards his father and soon abandons Dianna and takes off to explore the world.  He ends up fighting with the Rough Riders in Cuba.  Years pass and Tyson is presumed dead.  Diana is ready to move past her broken heart and marry again, she just needs Tyson to be declared legally dead.  Just when she least expects it Tyson shows up and turns Diana's world upside down.

While Tyson was away, he became a changed man.  He gave his heart to the Lord and is ready to make restitution.  He is also running for the senate and asks Diana to live with him as his wife for 6 months during the election period and let him prove to her that he has changed.  If at the end of the six months she wants to leave he will provide her with a home for her and her mother and allowance for the rest of her life, but he will not divorce her.  Diana suspects the only reason he is doing this is for appearance sake, but agrees anyway.  She guards her heart, determined not to let him break it.

I absolutely loved this book.  Robin Lee Hatcher did a great job writing this novel and I was sorry for it to end.  I loved the whole restitution part as that seems to be a very important part of salvation that tends to get overlooked.  Diana is a character with a back bone and a streak of stubbornness that at a few times made me want to thump her in the head, but with her brokenness of the past years she has become very guarded and does not trust easily.  It is hard for her to understand that the people that hurt her so deeply in the past have now changed.  Tyson is determined to show his love and prove to her that he is a changed man and I love the romantic way that the author portrayed his character.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves historic fiction!

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

Apple Picking Time

 A few weeks ago we went to Eckert's to pick apples.  We had a lot of fun and can't wait to do it again!  Here are a few of the pics I captured that day!

My Hope Is Found - A Book Review

My Hope Is Found by Joanne Bischof is the 3'rd book in The Cadence of Grace series.

I have loved each of the books in this series and could hardly wait for each book to be released.  I was thrilled to have the opportunity to get an advance reading copy for review for the last book in the series.

Lonnie and Gideon's relationship has been rocky to say the least.  When it finally seemed as if they had found love and happiness together a women from Gideon's past comes forward and tears apart everything that Lonnie and Gideon had built together.  Cassie is Gideon's legal wife so he has no choice but to stay with her.  Lonnie is determined to move forward and adjust to life without Gideon.  It is easier said then done, but when the handsome Scottish minister comes calling, it's not long before Lonnie begins to have hope for a better future.

In the meantime, Cassie decides to let Gideon go back to Lonnie for she know's that he will never love her like he love's Lonnie.  They decide to get an annulment and Gideon heads back to Lonnie.

Right when Lonnie was beginning to accept her life without Gideon, he shows up again and now she must make a choice...a choice between Toby and Gideon.  Who will she choose?

I love the character of Lonnie but I must admit I am not a fan of Gideon.  Although he has changed a lot through this series he just seems so selfish and hot tempered.  I was glad to see redemption and forgiveness written into the story, but I was not real happy with the turn out.  Even with that said, I love the way Joanne Bischof writes and once again I found it hard to put the book down.  All in all it was a great series that I would recommend!

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

Rebellious Heart - A Book Review

Rebellious Heart is the second book I have read by Author Jody Hedlund and she is quickly becoming my favorite author!!  She has an amazing way of telling a story.  As I read Rebellious Heart it felt as if I was transported right to 1763 where I was watching the story unfold right before my eyes.

This book had me chuckling several times, page turning suspense at others and the romance is enough to make a grown women "swoon". ;)  I also loved the historical accuracy on what life was like in the 1700's!

If you have not read any of Jody Hedlund's books I highly recommend her and Rebellious Heart would be a great place to start!

About the Book:

In 1763 Massachusetts, Susanna Smith has grown up with everything she's ever wanted, except one thing: an education. Because she's a female, higher learning has been closed to her, but her quick mind and quicker tongue never back down from a challenge. She's determined to put her status to good use, reaching out to the poor and deprived. And she knows when she marries well, she will be able to continue her work with the less fortunate. 

Ben Ross grew up a farmer's son and has nothing to his name but his Harvard education. A poor country lawyer, he doesn't see how he'll be able to fulfill his promise to make his father proud of him. When family friends introduce him to the Smith family, he's drawn to quick-witted Susanna but knows her family expects her to marry well. When Susanna's decision to help an innocent woman no matter the cost crosses with Ben's growing disillusionment with their British rulers, the two find themselves bound together in what quickly becomes a very dangerous fight for justice.


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

Tattler's Branch - Book Review

Lilly Corbett Still has grown to love her life as the small-town doctor of Skip Rock, a tiny coal community in the Kentucky mountains. Though her husband, Tern, is away for a few months at a mining job, Lilly has her hands full with her patients and her younger sister visiting for the summer.

Lilly turns to her good friend and neighbor, Armina, to help keep things in order—until a mysterious chain of events leaves Armina bedridden and an abandoned baby on her doorstep. Lilly works to uncover the truth, unaware of what a mess she’s found herself in until a break-in at her clinic puts her on high alert. As she struggles between what is right and what is safe, Lilly must discover the strength of her resilient country neighbors, her God, and herself.

I did not realize this book was part of a series until I was finished with it, so even if you don't want to read the series this book works fine as a stand alone book. I was in no way "lost" about the events or the characters. I did however find it slow paced.

The first chapter I was captivated. I thought it was going to be a great "can't wait to turn the page" book, but after the first chapter the story line took a different turn. It became very slow paced, very detailed with too many details about doctor procedures that in my opinion were irrelevant to the story line. It was not until the last third of the book that the story started to pick up and really grabbed my attention again.

I really did enjoy the last part of the book and it even made me want to read the first book in the series to see how Lilly and Tern's love story began. I'll give it a try and sure hope it's not as slow as this one.

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