Desert Gift

When you’re at the top . . . you’ve got a long way to fall. A nationally known marriage expert, Jillian Galloway is at the pinnacle of success. Her syndicated talk radio show is a hit and her first book is about to release. But just as she’s leaving for her West Coast publicity tour, Jill’s faithful husband of twenty-four years drops a bombshell: he wants a divorce.

As her world crashes down around her, Jill flees to her parents’ home in the California desert, wondering if everything she’s built her career on—and everything she’s built her life around—is a sham. She thought she’d done everything right. So how did her marriage slowly slip away? And will she ever get it back?

From best-selling author Sally John comes an insightful and inspiring story about the unexpected detours our lives can take, the lies we sometimes tell ourselves, and the hope that God is always at work, even in the desert.

Sally John's second book in the Side Roads series is just as compelling a read as the first book in the series.

This book brings out relationships other than just Jill and Jack's marriage. We meet Jill's sister Viv and her husband Marty - and get insight not only into Jill and Viv's relationship but also Viv and Marty's. Then there is Connor, Jill and Jack's son - who has a surprise of his own in store. And of course there Jill's loving relationship with her father Skip and her strained relationship with her mother Daisy.

But I think my favorite relationship in the book is the one that develops between Jill and Agnes, one of the ladies she meets through her sister Viv. Each and every one of us needs an "Agnes" in our lives.

Although the subject matter of a marriage expert going through a divorce is sad and serious, there are plenty of fun detours in the book.

Recommended.

Jody

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.

Beyond All Measure

Unless she can trust God's love to cast out her fears, Ada may lose the heart of a good man.

Ada Wentworth, a young Bostonian, journeys to Hickory Ridge, Tennessee, in the years following the Civil War. Alone and nearly penniless following a broken engagement, Ada accepts a position as a lady's companion to the elderly Lillian Willis, a pillar of the community and aunt to the local lumber mill owner, Wyatt Caldwell. Ada intends to use her millinery skills to establish a hat shop and secure her future.

Haunted by unanswered questions from her life in Boston, Ada is most drawn to two townsfolks: Wyatt, a Texan with big plans of his own, and Sophie, a mulatto girl who resides at the Hickory Ridge orphanage. Ada's friendship with Sophia attracts the attention of a group of locals seeking to displace the residents of Two Creeks, a "colored" settlement on the edge of town. As tensions rise, Ada is threatened but refuses to abandon her plan to help the girl.

When Lillian dies, Ada is left without employment or a place to call home. And since Wyatt's primary purpose for staying in Hickory Ridge was to watch over his aunt, he can now pursue his dream of owning Longhorns in his home state of Texas.

With their feelings for each other growing, Ada must decide whether she can trust God with her future and Wyatt with her heart.

Dorothy Love's Christian Fiction debut novel is a page turner. Set in the post Civil War era, we follow Ada as she moves from Boston to the back woods of Tennessee. A Northerner moving to the South so shortly after the end of the War faces unique challenges.

We follow Ada as she makes friends and plans for her future. Fighting the feelings of not wanting to be like her father and the heart break of why her fiancee broke off their engagement color her decisions as she attempts to start a business and a relationship.

Wonderful period fiction. Recommended.

Jody

Many thanks to BookSneeze for my complimentary copy of this book.

The Distant Hours

I discovered Kate Morton a year or so ago and eagerly await each new book that she writes. The Distant Hours did not disappoint.

The book begins in 1992 when a letter written 51 years ago is received by main character Edie Burchill's mother, Meredith. As a child, Meredith was evacuated from London during the war and stayed with a family in Kent. The family of three sisters and their father, lived in a castle in the countryside.

The story moves back and forth between the 1990s and the late 1930s/early 1940s. We learn of the complicated relationship between sisters Percy, Saffy and Juniper and their father Raymond Blythe, a world famous children's book author.

Lush descriptions, rich characters and twists and turns make this a must read book. There were several times that I thought I had it all figured out, only to find that Ms. Morton had a much more satisfying conclusion than anything I had come up with myself.

Highly recommended.

Jody

Holy Guacamole

When Trace Domingo is accepted into Chef Bonnie Miller's culinary boot camp, a life-threatening journey into Bonnie's past unfolds. In a vulnerable moment, Trace discovers part of Bonnie's closely-held secret. She hasn't yet decided to trust the "bootie" when a crisis makes the choice for her. The pair embark on a race against the clock across southern California and northern Baja in Mexico.

Laced with local references, historical sites, and culinary delights, Holy Guacamole is a fun summer beach read.

This book by writing team Dan and Denise Harmer is a delicious, light and fun read.

Highly recommended.

Jody

Many thanks to Glass Road Public Relations for my complimentary copy of this book.

Beside Still Waters

Marianna Sommer believes she knows where her life is headed. Nineteen years old and Amish, her plan is to get baptized into the church, marry Aaron Zook, and live in the only community she's ever known.

When Marianna's family moves from Indiana to Montana she discovers life and faith will never be the same. As she builds an easy friendship with local guy, Ben Stone, Ben not only draws her heart, he also gets her thinking about what loving God and living in community is all about.

As Marianna struggles to find "home", she also encounters God in intimate ways.

Tricia Goyer is the author of twenty-six books including Songbird Under a German Moon, The Swiss Courier, and the mommy memoir, Blue Like Play Dough. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 2003. Tricia's book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like MomSense and Thriving Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. She and her family make their home in Little Rock, Arkansas where they are part of the ministry of FamilyLife.

To celebrate the release of the first book in the Big Sky Amish series Tricia is giving away 10 copies of Beside Still Waters and a pair of super cute antique Amish salt & pepper shakers. (photo attached)

Details at Tricia’s blog, It’s Real Life: http://triciagoyer.blogspot.com/2011/04/beside-still-waters-giveaway.html

BONUS! Each person who enters the giveaway will receive a FABULOUS Montana Amish Calendar. Hurry, it’s only available while supplies last!

Very good book - highly recommended.

Jody

My copy of Beside Still Waters was a gift from the Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my review.

A Time To Love

A Time To Love is the first book in Barbara Cameron's Quilts of Lancaster County series.

This was not like any other "bonnet" book I've read before. I can't quite put my finger on what was different about it. One thing is you didn't get to meet much of the extended community. The main female character is Jenny, an "Englischer" who is a TV news corespondent who was injured while doing news reports on children in war torn countries. Back in the States she moves in with her only close relative, her father's mother, Phoebe, who is Amish. Phoebe's neighbor is a widower, Matthew, who lives with his sister Hannah and his three children. Other than that there is an elder named Josiah who appears frequently throughout the book but except for brief or fleeting mentions, there are no other Amish characters in the book.

A lot of time is spent on Jenny's doctor visits, hospitalizations and therapy.

There is a romance between Jenny and Matthew. Jenny apparently spent a couple of summers with her grandmother when she was a teen and had a bit of a "romance" with Matthew.

The characters are likable but the timeline is a bit sketchy. There are times that it seems like weeks if not months have gone by but there is no mention made of the shift in time.

And some things don't jib with other Amish inspired books I've read. For example, and this is a spoiler so read on with care, Jenny decides to join the Amish faith - but she doesn't dress in Amish clothing. The reasoning given is that she doesn't want to seem pushy. In other Amish inspired books I have read when one converts they immediately wear the clothing to show their commitment.

All in all it was a good book and I will be looking forward to the other books in the series.

Recommended.

Jody

Antiques Roadkill

Brandy arrives to find small-town Serenity anything but serene. It seems Clint Carson, an unscrupulous antiques dealer, has swindled Vivian out of the family's heirlooms. But when Brandy impulsively confronts him, her outburst amounts to about as much as what Carson paid for the Borne antiques. And when Carson is found run over in a country lane near his farmhouse, Brandy has made herself Murder Suspect Number One - with her mother coming in a very close second. The number of other suspects in Carson's hit-and-run ruin is impressive - his business seems to have been based primarily on bilking seniors out of their heirlooms. When Brandy and her mother begin poking, an avalanche of warnings follows - from the mysterious, charismatic chief of police, from a handsome young cop who once busted Brandy for speeding...even from Brandy's childhood friend turned grown-up wild child. Tracking down clues proves even more challenging than sorting trash from treasure at the local garage sales, and when the Borne "girls" uncover a few very unsavoury Serenity secrets, they become targets for a murderer whose favourite hobby seems to be collecting victims.

I got this book as a free Kindle download and was kind of worried because of all the customer reviews that were less than complimentary - but it was free so what did I have to lose but a bit of time?

I loved it - as a matter of fact I was thrilled to find that it's the first book of a series and there are already three more books.

I will admit that I did find it a bit annoying when Ms. Allan (okay, I know it's not Ms. Allan - Barbara is the Ms. and Allan is the Mr. of the writing team) felt the need to tell us the label name of every piece of clothing and make up mentioned. I really don't see how it advances the story that she uses L'Oreal black mascara instead of her just putting some mascara on. But I don't see that it detracts from the story either.

The story didn't drag, there was plenty of action, enough characters to keep it interesting but not so many that you can't keep them straight and the action seemed plausible.

Give it a look - you might just find a new series you can revisit time and time again.

Jody