My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

I received a copy of this book for review purposes from Bethany House Publishers.  I am under no obligation to write a positive review, just an honest one.

 

This book was a little different that what I normally read. To be honest I felt it was a little slow , but at the same time I did enjoy myself while reading it. A little something different is always good for a change up. 

Kate a social worker from Texas takes a few months of work to go up north to help her grandmother fix up her old birth places. The local contractor for the project is Matt , a famous retired hockey player who was recently left a widower by the death of his wife. Kate is more determined to fix Matt's broken shut down self than her Gran's house. Will she ever be able to break down the wall that he built so high ?

Like i said this book was a little slow and seemed to give alot of unnecessary details to the story but at the same time I did enjoy it after I was done wanted to know more of what happened after the final chapter 

The Harvest of Grace by Cindy Woodsmall

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

 I know what you are thinking, another Amish book surprise surprise. Its no secret that I'm a fan of a good Amish novel. And with a "The Harvest of Grace" that's exactly what I got! This is the third book in the "Ada's House" series, I read the second one not too long ago and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one to see where the story of these lovely Amish women went.

In "The Harvest of Grace " we are introduced to a new character Sylvia Fisher who in unlike normal Amish women roles loves to do the farming work. Being one of nine daughters she helped her father on their dairy farm, that is until a sticky situation with a brother in law left her with no choice to but to leave the farm. She found herself working on the Blank dairy farm helping Michael run things since only son Aaron is in rehab . Sylvia and Michael make plans to get the farm out of debt, all is on the right track until Aaron returns home with different plans on what to do with the farm, can Sylvia an Aaron work out their differences ?  You will have to read this wonderful novel to find out.

I knew going into it I was going to love this novel, because Cindy Woodsmall has yet to disappoint me. And once again she did not let me down. I read this novel in record time. I hope there is more to come in the "Ada House" series. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Winning Balance – Shawn Johnson

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book. I am asked to give my honest opinion about the book.

I'm not normally one to read these kinds of books. But I love gymnastics so I figured this would be a good read and something different that I knew I would enjoy. I loved Shawn in the 2008 Olympics so I was familiar with her story ....or so I though.


Shawn does a great job in this book of her life story so far, for only being 20 years old she sure has had alot of life experiences for someone her age. I really enjoyed reading of how hard it is for the gymnast to get to Olympic level. Sometimes when watching the games you forget the person is just as human as you or I.

Although she is young Shawn does a great job sharing her lessons in life and how a little bit of Faith and trust in God can go a long ways. Although Shawn will not be at the 2012 Games, I wish her the best in life post gymnastics. I can only imagine how hard it will be for her walking away from something that has taken up so much of her life. It will be like a whole new born again Shawn.

The Fiddler - Beverly Lewis

I received a copy of this book for review purposes from Bethany House Publishers.  I am under no obligation to write a positive review, just an honest one.

 As we all know , I love me an Amish novel. Being a big Beverly Lewis fan I knew I would love this story and she did not let me down. I finished it in record time and was ready for a sequel to see what happens next.

Amelia a concert violinist finds herself stuck in Amish country, what she first thought of an accident seems to be more of the Lords way. Amelia makes friends with Michael a young Amish man who is trying to figure out where in the world he belongs, does he stay with his faith or does he go English in the world he longs for?

Amelia and Michael make quick friends because just like Michael she is also searching to find where she belongs in the world. She loves being a concert violinist but longs for something more and different. She has stuck with her current career for so long to please her parents but is now time to step away and start doing things for herself and living life the way she wants ?

I really enjoyed this story, it was different than many other Amish stories cause this time the woman was the Englisher and the male was the Amish and normally its the other way around. Like I said I'm ready for book #2 in this series

Arms of Love - Kelly Long

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com  a book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Yay an Amish book, I of course was oh so excited  cause we all know I love me an Amish novel ! This was the first book that I have read by Kelly Long so i really had no idea how it was gonna go. I must say I was a little disappointed in this book. It failed to keep my interest :(  Never a good sign  for this book lover.

Young Amish woman Lena finds herself in a pickle when her mother dies in child birth and her father is locked up in prison . She is relying on the help of her Amish boyfriend Adam, little does she know that before her death Lena's Mother made Adam promise that he was going to change his ways and become a better man even if that meant leaving Lena to fend for herself. Will they end up together or will Adam's new ways not be what Lena is looking for in a future husband. 

Like I said I wasn't all that thrilled with the books, it was pretty slow going and about 100 pages in I just didn't have any interest in seeing how it ended. Now Im not sure if it was because this wasn't a present day novel.

The Messenger - Siri Mitchell

I received a copy of this book for review purposes from Bethany House Publishers.  I am under no obligation to write a positive review, just an honest one.

 

This novel is one of historical fiction, a tiny bit different from what I would normally read ( aka Amish) it was set in the Revolutionary War time, being a history buff that I am I thought I knew alot about history but as I got into this book it seems that I lost alot of knowledge that I should have gained in high school. So ti was kind of a refresher on how things use to be. 

This story is about a  young Quaker  woman , Hannah trying to figure out what in life she believes and doesn't believe and somewhat questioning the believes of her faith. When her twin brother lands himself in jail as a rebel she decided to go against her faith a little and teams up with a wounded solider and local bar owner Jeremiah in helping the jail-mates plan an escape as she becomes "the messenger " will Hannah and Jeremiah succeed in their mission? You shall have to read to find out .

Like I said before, this is a little different that what I would normally read but I did really enjoy this novel and it kept my interest and I read it in a fairly fast manner which is always  a way to tell how good a book is.

Wildflowers from Winter - Katie Ganshert

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

 

Wildflowes from Winter is a novel about a young architect, Bethany  in Chicago who left her hometown of Peaks Iowa at the age of 18 and hasn't looked back since. That is until Bethany gets a phone call from her mother who she doesn't get along with at all. Her best friend Robin's husband was in a serious accident as was in the hospital in a coma. Bethany debates on weather or not to return home to comfort her friend in her time of need. Then her Mom calls again saying that her Grandfather has had a heart attack...

Without thinking Bethany gets in the car and drives to Peaks.  With twist and turns along the way Bethany finds herself at her Grandfathe's farm with the young farm hand Evan. She is faced with life altering decsions. Does she follow her heart or her dreams, you will have to snuggle up in a blanket and this good book to find out how this page turner ends. 

This was my fist time reading Katie's work and I must say i really enjoyed it. As well all know im a fan of Amish fiction/ historical  fiction  but it was nice to step away from that and read something a little more modern. I look forward to reading the follow up.