Wishing on Willows... a book review

 

by Katie Ganshert

Available NOW

WaterBrook Press

ISBN: 9780307730404

Fiction / Christian / Romance

 

As the sole owner of Willow Tree Cafe, Robin has poured her heart and soul into the business.  After the death of her husband, Micah, she renovates an old storefront with blood, sweat, tears, as their long-awaited child grows within her.

 

After four years of running the cafe, the town hires McKay Corporation to build condominiums on the site of her beloved store.  Robin digs in her heels and refuses to sell to the builder; if she sells, then One Life Ministry would lose its space, too.  As she wrestles with losing her cafe and her memories of her late husband, Robin becomes attracted to Ian - the developer working with the town mayor who is trying to "force" her out.... of course, for the good of the town of Peaks.

 

Read Chapter One

 

Katie Ganshert has written a moving novel about loss, grief, and recovery.  We all live through painful seasons in life: death of a loved one, a job loss, a broken marriage, depression.  Wishing on Willows invites us into Robin's story of healing in God's timing and His direction and reminds us how God is with us... all the time!

 

For more information on the book, click HERE

and

remember to listen to the author's podcast.

 

My rating: A

4.5 out of 5 stars

 

I received a complimentary copy of Wishing on Willows for my honest review from their Blogging for Books review program.

 

Blessings,

   

    Ellen

Uncle Tom's Cabin... a book review

 

by Harriet Beecher Stowe

(June 1811 - July 1896)

Originally published in 1852



My son and I just finished reading Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe as part of our US History and Literature program for the year.  We utilize the Progeny Press study guide which includes vocabulary, literary terms, comprehension questions, and deeper thought-based questions.

 

More information on Progeny Press

can be found HERE.

A must read for everyone!  Just like other "banned" books, Harriet Beecher Stowe desires the readers to search themselves and decide for themselves their own beliefs and why.  Good books make the reader think deeply about personal and societal issues.  This is one such book.

Remember to read the classics alongside the contemporary novels and books.  You may just find a gem that speaks directly to your heart!

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A +

Blessings,

     Ellen

 

Plain Admirer... a book review

 

by Patricia Davids

 

Available: May 21, 2013

ISBN-13: 9780373878178

Series: Brides of Amish Country

Love Inspired Fiction

Book Description:

Love Is Only A Letter Away

So what if Joann Yoder's Amish community deems her a spinster? She's content to stay single. In the meantime, she's working hard to finally buy her dream house. So it's problematic when she's fired from her job to make room for the owner's nephew, Roman Weaver. His blue eyes aside, she simply can't stand him! Good thing she has the secret letters she's been exchanging with a mystery man to keep her going. But who is writing her letters? And could she possibly fall for him in real life, too?

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

When her parents died, Joann fell under the care of her older brothers.  They felt she would be best if she spent time at each of the homes.  So, as she cycled between her brothers' homes, Joann dreamed her own dreams: home ownership and fishing.  She is content with staying single as long as she has her job at the Amish publisher and her new fishing pole.  To top it off, she feels inferior to the other unmarried women; she describes herself as plain.  Yet, she is far from it!

Patricia Davids has written a wonderful Amish story which gives the reader an insight into their lives.  The Amish feel family is a priority and look after the older generation as well as unmarried sisters.  From a modern perspective, I believe Joann should have had more of a say about the direction of her life.  I enjoy books which stretch my perceptions of other cultures, religions, etc.  In a way, I am jealous of the Amish's simple life.  How many times do we desire to get completely unplugged to simplify our lives?

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

 

A-

I received a complimentary e-copy of Plain Admirer from NetGalley and Love Inspired for my honest review.

Blessings,

   Ellen

A Matter of Trust... a book review

Series: A Mia Quinn Mystery

 

by Lis Wiehl with April Henry

 

Available: March 19, 2013

 

Thomas Nelson Publishing

 

ISBN-13: 978-1401688066

 

Genre: Christian fiction / Mystery / Detective / Legal Thriller

Book Description:

When life is murder, who can you trust?

 

One minute Mia Quinn is in her basement, chatting on the phone with a colleague at the prosecutor’s office. The next minute there’s a gunshot over the line, and Mia listens in horror as her colleague and friend Colleen bleeds to death.

 

Mia’s a natural for heading up the murder investigation, but these days she has all she can do to hold her life together. As a new widow with a pile of debts, a troubled teenage son, and a four-year-old who wakes up screaming at night, she needs more time with her family, not less—and working Colleen’s case will be especially demanding. But Colleen was her friend, and she needs to keep her job. So she reluctantly teams up with detective Charlie Carlson to investigate Colleen’s death. But the deeper they dig, the more complications unfold—even the unsettling possibility that someone may be coming after her.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Lis Wiehl has written another thought-producing novel!  With Lis' background as a former federal prosecutor, we are given a behind-the-scenes look at the life of Mia Quinn: mom, prosecutor, widow.  The themes in A Matter of Trust are based on real cases with a main character inspired by Lis' real life!

 

A Matter of Trust is not preachy; but through Mia's father's life, the gospel is shown.  God loves us and forgives us.  Possibly in future books, God's work in and through the characters will be seen more. 

 

Through another case Mia works on, the story opens up dialogue about cyber-bullying.  Is it ever right?  How can we protect our children and teens from being the target?

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was sad that it had to come to an end.  I look forward to reading the next book in the Mia Quinn Mystery series.

 

My rating:  5 out of 5          A

I received a complimentary copy of A Matter of Trust from Thomas Nelson Publishing through their BookSneeze program for my honest review.

Blessings,

     Ellen

Take a Chance on Me... a book review

 

 

Take a Chance on Me

 

by Susan May Warren

 

A Christiansen Family Novel: Book 1

 

Tyndale House Publishers

 

Available 3/22/2013

 

ISBN: 9781414378411

 

Publisher's Description:

 

Darek Christiansen is almost a dream bachelor—oldest son in the large Christiansen clan, heir to their historic Evergreen Lake Resort, and doting father. But he’s also wounded and angry since the tragic death of his wife, Felicity. No woman in Deep Haven dares come near.

New assistant county attorney Ivy Madison simply doesn’t know any better when she bids on Darek at the charity auction. Nor does she know that when she crafted a plea bargain three years ago to keep Jensen Atwood out of jail and in Deep Haven fulfilling community service, she was releasing the man responsible for Felicity’s death. All Ivy knows is that the Christiansens feel like the family she’s always longed for. And once she gets past Darek’s tough exterior, she finds a man she could spend the rest of her life with. Which scares her almost as much as Darek learning of her involvement in his wife’s case.

Caught between new love and old grudges, Darek must decide if he can set aside the past for a future with Ivy—a future more and more at risk as an approaching wildfire threatens to wipe out the Christiansen resort and Deep Haven itself.

 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

 

Set in a small town in Minnesota, Ivy dreams of belonging.  Belonging to a family, a community, and yes, that one special man.  The upheaval in her youth has her questioning God's part in her life.  Now, as she embarks on a new chapter of her life, can she work through her past and see all that God has for her present and future?

 

Chapter One Excerpt HERE!

 

With a wonderful cast of characters, the reader is pulled into the charm of small town life where everyone knows everyone else's business.  The story is not preachy, but the reader will walk away with the gospel message: forgiveness, love, and redemption.  Susan May Warren has written another wonderful story of romance and suspense.

 

 

Q & A with Susan May Warren on Take a Chance on Me

 

In today's economic times, many families are returning to multi-generational homes.  It is refreshing to read a novel centered around parenting adult children.  So many books are written around the premise of parents and young children that it is harder to see yourself in the characters lives when you no longer have small children or teens living at home.  

 

I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the Christiansen Family series. 

 

My rating: 

A-  or  4.5 out of 5 stars

 

I received a complimentary copy of Take a Chance on Me from Tyndale House Publishers for my honest review.

 

Blessings,

 

     Ellen



Walking Disaster... a book review

ISBN-13: 9781476712987

Publisher: Atria Books

Publish Date: April 2013

Contemporary adult romance

 

 

Can you love someone too much?

 

Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died:

Love hard. Fight harder.

 

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

 

Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.   ~  Publisher's Description

 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

 

In Walking Disaster, the reader learns what spurs Travis on, including why fighting his "bad-boy" tendencies are so difficult even for the woman he loves.  Just as in Beautiful Disaster, the characters are well-written and believable.  (See my review for Beautiful Disaster HERE.)

 

Read Chapters 1-2.

 

I enjoyed the insight into Travis' life, but there was no new story to truly be told.  I believe that Jamie McGuire could have written from an omnicient point of view and combined the two books.  This would be great for the readers but not so good from the profit point-of-view.

 

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars or a B-

I received a complimentary ecopy of Walking Disaster from Atria Books and NetGalley for my honest review.

Blessings,

    Ellen

One Step Too Far... a book review

 

 

One Step Too Far

 

by Tina Seskis

 

Published by Kirk Parolles

 

ISBN-13: 978-0957544321

 

Available: April 15, 2013

 

 

An apparently happy marriage

 

A beautiful son

 

A lovely home

So what makes Emily Coleman get up one morning and walk right out of her life to start all over again? Has she had a breakdown? Was it to escape her dysfunctional family - especially her flawed twin sister Caroline who always seemed to hate her? And what is the date that looms, threatening to force her to confront her past? No one has ever guessed her secret. Will you?

 

~ Publisher's Description

In Tina Seskis' debut novel One Step Too Far, Tina takes the reader on a wild ride with the most unexpected twist at the end.  Most families are dysfunctional in one way or another since no one is perfect... especially when more than one person is involved!  Add in a twin sister with emotional issues and an art for the dramatic, and you end up with more questions than answers.

After Emily runs away and begins life anew, she fails to grow as a person.  Her life evolves around herself and she cannot see past herself.  She accepts the blame for most everything.  Why can't she understand it isn't all about her?

Read Chapter 1 HERE.

Throughout the book, I had problems following the storyline.  I believe part of the issue was the "UK English" slang of which I am unfamiliar.  I found I needed to reread a few passages to be able to understand the context.  Also, midway through the book, the plot seemed to slow down.  I found myself skimming to get to the next "Aha" part.  Without giving anything away, the twist at the end dumbfounded me and a part of the ending was a letdown.  My response... "Really?"

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I received a complimentary e-book of One Step Too Far from NetGalley and Kirk Parrolles in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

Blessings,

    Ellen