Mattie's Pledge by Jan Drexler

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Tender, Poignant, and Heartwarming Glimpse into the Amish Migration West from Pennsylvania
Mattie Schrock is no stranger to uprooting her life. Even as her father relocated her family from one Amish community to the next, she always managed to find a footing in their new homes. Now as the Schrock family plans to move west from Somerset County to a fledgling Amish settlement in Indiana, she looks forward to connecting with old friends who will be joining them from another Pennsylvania community--friends like Jacob Yoder, who has always held a special place in her heart.
Since Mattie last saw Jacob, they've both grown into different people with different dreams. Jacob yearns to settle down, but Mattie can't help but dream of what may lie over the western horizon. When a handsome Englisher tempts her to leave the Amish behind to search for adventure in the West, will her pledge to Jacob be the anchor that holds her secure?
Tender, poignant, and gentle, "Mattie's Pledge" offers readers a glimpse into Amish life in the 1840s--and into the yearning heart of a character they'll not soon forget. 

MY THOUGHTS

hat a wonderful read!
I loved Mattie from the start. She has a terrible thirst for wonderlust. I enjoyed watching her characters get from uncertainty to finally realizing what she wants out of life ! it's a shame it took a man like Cole Bates to make her see the truth of things! Mattie also loves to be with her friends around the campfire when they are traveling west.
Jacob is a pretty interesting guy himself.
Afraid to let himself love because he's afraid of losing that person to death. Jacob for sure learns this lesson the hard way after almost losing Mattie to an Englisher the hard way for sure and certain!
Cole Bates wants everything that everyone else has by stealing whatever it is they have. In some weird way I kind of liked Cole. It wasn't his fault the way he was raised. But he did get caught stealing one too many times was therefore; caught and punished and I think the punishment for horse thieving is a hanging.
All in all, I enjoyed this story because it was different from the norm Amish genere that I usually read. I love how they went West because unlike them I got to travel all the way to San Diego, California. We followed the old Oregon Trail which is now interstate 70! I learned this when visiting the Kansas Historic museum. I was totally floored!
When reading this story I felt like I was traveling with the Amish to see a new land but I also didn't know there was swampland
Bottom line, I lived Jacob and Mattie's story and I loved to know that they have a happy ending! I won't say what that is because I don't want to give it away!! 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jan Drexler brings a unique understanding of Amish traditions and beliefs to her writing. Her ancestors were among the first Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren immigrants to Pennsylvania in the 1700s. Their experiences are the basis for her stories. Jan lives in South Dakota with her husband, their four adult children, two active dogs, and a cat. When she isn't writing, she enjoys hiking the Black Hills and the Badlands. She is the author of the Love Inspired novels "The Prodigal Son Returns", " A Mother for His Children", and "A Home for His Family" (September 2015).

review for Fraying at the Edges by Cindy Woodsmall

ABOUT THE BOOK

"Family, community, faith, and love. These "quilt blocks" sewn together made Ariana's beautiful life. When they are pulled to pieces, will anything familiar remain? The Old Order Amish life Ariana Brenneman loved vanished virtually overnight with the discovery that she was switched at birth twenty years ago. Now she's immersed in the Englischer world, getting to know her mother, and under the authority of her biological father, an atheist intellectual with resolute plans to expand Ariana's worldview. Only Quill Schlabach, a childhood friend living Englisch, can help steady Ariana's tilting ground between the two worlds, but can she trust him after so many betrayals? At the same time, Skylar Nash is forced to choose rehab or spend several months with her true relatives, the large Brenneman family and their seemingly backward life--no electricity, no technology, no fun. What the young woman can't leave behind is her addiction to illegal prescription drugs and deep emptiness from the belief that she doesn't belong in either family. New ties are binding Ariana and Skylar to the lives they were meant to have. Can they pray for the wisdom and strength they'll need to follow God's threads into unexpected futures? Fraying at the Edge is the second novel in The Amish of Summer Grove series"--

MY THOUGHTS

This was a totally amazing book! It was worth the wait! It had a delay in printing and I thought I'd never get it!
I really didn't think the whole thing was fair that the girls were taken out of their surroundings and put into different ones that each had to adjust to.
Arianna is a girl with guts and determination to do anything that her real father wants so that she can come back home Like me, she loves her adopted family and I don't really think she likes change very well! 
Skyar is also in a place she'd rather not be! It takes someone in her real family to make her see some sense and see that her family does really love her in spite of all that she does to them. 
I didn't like Nicholas because he's a hard ass. it's his way or not at all! He's responsible for all the mess and upheaval in the girls lives. 
Brandi really tries to connect with Arianna and dies succeeds somewhat better than Nicholas does. 
I really like Cameron Arianna s half sister. At first they butt heads a lot until something happens and then they start getting along. She is the fun loving and adventurous type and loves annoying her parents! I think most children love to annoy their parents. 
Will Arianna and Rudy get back together at the end of Ariannas adventure outside the Amish faith and Will Skylar stay with her Amish family or will she return to the English world in which she raised in?

ABOUT THE AUTHOUR

Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times and CBA best-selling author who has written nineteen (and counting!) works of fiction and one of nonfiction. She and her dearest Old Order Amish friend, Miriam Flaud, coauthored the nonfiction, Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women. Cindy's been featured on ABC Nightline and the front page of the Wall Street Journal, and has worked with National Geographic on a documentary concerning Amish life. In June of 2013, the Wall Street Journal listed Cindy as one of the top three Amish fiction writers.

She is also a veteran homeschool mom who no longer holds that position. As her children progressed in age, her desire to write grew stronger. After working through reservations whether this desire was something she should pursue, she began her writing journey. Her husband was her staunchest supporter as she aimed for what seemed impossible.

She’s won Fiction Book of the Year, Reviewer’s Choice Awards, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest, as well as one of Crossings' Best Books of the Year. She’s been a finalist for the prestigious Christy, Rita, and Carol Awards, Christian Book of the Year, and Christian Retailers Choice Awards.

Her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families enrich her novels with authenticity. Though she didn’t realize it at the time, seeds were sown years ago that began preparing Cindy to write these books. At the age of ten, while living in the dairy country of Maryland, she became best friends with Luann, a Plain Mennonite girl. Luann, like all the females in her family, wore the prayer Kapp and cape dresses. Her parents didn’t allow television or radios, and many other modern conveniences were frowned upon. During the numerous times Luann came to Cindy’s house to spend the night, her rules came with her and the two were careful to obey them—afraid that if they didn’t, the adults would end their friendship. Although the rules were much easier to keep when they spent the night at Luann’s because her family didn’t own any of the forbidden items, both sets of parents were uncomfortable with the relationship and a small infraction of any kind would have been enough reason for the parents to end the relationship. While navigating around the adults’ disapproval and the obstacles in each other’s lifestyle, the two girls bonded in true friendship that lasted into their teen years, until Cindy’s family moved to another region of the US.

As an adult, Cindy became friends with a wonderful Old Order Amish family who opened their home to her. Although the two women, Miriam and Cindy, live seven hundred miles apart geographically, and a century apart by customs, when they come together they never lack for commonality, laughter, and dreams of what only God can accomplish through His children. Over the years Cindy has continued to make wonderful friendships with those inside the Amish and Mennonite communities—from the most conservative ones to the most liberal.

Cindy and her husband reside near the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains in their now empty nest.

Review for Like a Bee to a Honey by Jennifer Beckstrand

                      ABOUT THE BOOK

Affectionately dubbed The Honeybee Sisters in their Wisconsin Amish community, the three Christner girls are devoted beekeepers who are coming-of-age—and discovering the sweet surprise of love… 
  

Shy, skittish Rose Christner is more comfortable tending to the beehives on the family farm and keeping her aunt’s unruly cats in line than attending social gatherings with the rest of the die youngie. A childhood trauma and secret shame keep her heart under lock and key, and Rose just can’t accept the sweet attention she’s receiving from a handsome neighbor. But the more she shies away from Josiah Yoder, the more their families sneakily plot to bring them together. And when a vandal who’s been plaguing the Honeybee Farm starts targeting Rose, Josiah’s steadfast protection—and patience—just may lead her into his waiting arms…

MY THOUGHTS

This is a fast paced, very entertaining, and it even has a little bit of mystery in it! I love the who done it cases. In this case, Jennifer Beckstrand keeps you guessing for sure and certain!! It is also very funny in places. I howled in some places of the book even though I'm in a lot of pain right now from today's fiasco at work lol! Jennifer Beckstrand thank you for making me laugh.

Aunt Bitsy is really cracking me up! Especially, the way she treats Josiah. I love love her personality! Even though she carries a shotgun to ward off stray cats lol she really does have a heart of gold! I'd love to have a Aunt like her. I guess in a way I do. I also like how she gives Josiah a choice on what to do with Rose's feelings. I myself thinks he's the perfect choice for Rose. 

Josiah is madly in love with Rose Christner. I love a sweet and caring man like him. My hero (swoon ). He's always there in the right place and time and jumps to Rose's defense especially against mean Paul Glick! 
Josiah reminds me of my husband. He thinks he can fix anything but when it comes right down to it he can't fix a lick!! Lol!!!
I give him an E for effort. 

Then we have sweet,shy Rose Christner. A very lovable and kind pain but who was on the wrong place at the wrong time. It is why she's afraid all of the time and always looking over her shoulder. Her sisters and Josiah is always protecting her bit she doesn't want to be a project or a burden on them. This is Rose's story to tell like Aunt Bitsy said. 
May the Lord guide Rose in her telling the story and if she tells will the mystery be solved? Only the Lord knows. He is our protector at all times and sends ppl to help Him in his stead. 
I still will not like Paul Glick!! He's mean and a cheater and liar! He is the one who done the Honeybee sisters wrong! I do ot like ppl who twist what really happened to.make themselves look good! It's not right! But, I believe Paul will get his justice in the end. I say this because God will take care of the mean ppl in the end!!

ppl you ve just got to read this last book in the series!!! As the Honeybee sisters say,"it's wonderful gut!!!! 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I grew up with a steady diet of William Shakespeare and Jane Austen. After all that literary immersion, I naturally decided to get a degree in mathematics, which came in handy when one of my six children needed help with homework. After my fourth daughter was born, I started writing. By juggling diaper changes, soccer games, music lessons, laundry, and two more children, I finished my first manuscript—a Western—in just under fourteen years.

I have always been fascinated by the Amish way of life and now write Inspirational Amish Romance. I am drawn to the strong faith of the Plain people and admire the importance they put on enduring family ties. I have visited and studied Amish communities in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin where I met with a bishop and a minister as well as several Amish mamms, dats, and children. It has always impressed me at what salt-of-the-earth people they are. My interactions with these kind people have been some of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I have a dear Amish friend with whom I correspond in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She helps me keep my facts straight and gives me inspiration for my stories.

My goal is to write uplifting, inspiring stories with happy endings and hopeful messages. If my books make readers want to give themselves a big hug or jump up and down for joy, I’ve done my job. I am a member of Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers and am represented by Mary Sue Seymour of The Seymour Agency.

There are three Amish romances in the Forever After in Apple Lake Series (Summerside/Guideposts). Kate’s Song, Rebecca’s Rose, and Miriam’s Quilt are all now available.

I have six Amish Romances in the works with Kensington Books. The first and second books, Huckleberry Hill and Huckleberry Summer, are now available in stores and online. The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill is set in northern Wisconsin Amish country.

The series, The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill, is about an elderly Amish couple who try to find suitable mates for their grandchildren. What could be more fun than throwing two young people together to see if sparks ignite? No one would ever suspect two octogenarian Amish folks of mischief.

Romantic Times gave Huckleberry Hill 4 1/2 stars and chose Huckleberry Summer as a TOP PICK.

I have four daughters, two sons, three sons-in-law, and two adorable grandsons. I live in the foothills of the Wasatch Front with my husband and one son still left at home.

My Father's House by Rose Chandler Johnson -- Book Spotlight + Giveaway

Genre: Christian, Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, Suspense
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication date: March 13, 2016
Number of pages: 314

Growing up, life is idyllic for Lily Rose Cates due to her one constant – her father’s love. But in her sixteenth summer, all that changes without warning with her father’s sudden death. There begins Lily’s struggle to find herself and a life she thinks is gone forever.

Marriage to her prince charming promises fulfillment, but their happily-ever-after barely survives the honeymoon. Beneath the sophisticated façade lies a brooding man who hides dark secrets. When all Lily’s illusions of happiness shatter, she must make hard choices – abandon her husband or risk losing much more than her marriage. She flees their home in Detroit and sets out on a fearful journey to a house in Georgia that her husband knows nothing about. . . .​

In spite of heartbreak and regrets, will she find the strength to survive whatever comes? Or will her husband find her and shatter all her hopes . . . again. This is one woman’s compelling tale of love and survival as she finds her way back home to faith and who she’s meant to be . . . in her father’s house.

​GOODREADS | AMAZON

My Father’s House is Rose’s first novel. Her devotional journal, God, Me, and Sweet Iced Tea: Experiencing God in the Midst of Everyday Moments won the Georgia Author of the Year Finalist Award in 2014. It was also awarded the Selah Finalist Award in the same year. Rose enjoys writing for her blog, Write Moments with God and engaging with her readers. A native Georgian, Rose has lived in a suburb of Augusta for the last thirty years. Before retiring from Georgia’s public school system, Rose taught English, French, and ESOL. She is currently an adjunct English instructor at a community college. In addition to reading and writing, Rose enjoys cooking, sewing, gardening, and spending time with her six children and their growing families. And yes, sweet iced tea is her beverage of choice.

GOODREADS | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | PINTEREST | BLOG

Enter the giveaway HERE.

​August 22--Bukwurmzzz
August 23--Bookworm Lisa
August 24--Reading Is My SuperPower
August 25--Smiling Book Reviews
August 26--Christy's Cozy Corners
August 27--Toni Shiloh Prayerfully-Lifted Romance
August 29--Katie's Clean Book Collection 
August 30--Mel's Shelves
August 31--Red Headed Book Lady
September 1--The Book Return
September 2--Christian Bookaholic
​September 3--Singing Librarian Books

No way up by Mary Conneally

                      ABOUT THE BOOK

When Cimarron ranch patriarch Chance Boden is caught in an avalanche, the quick actions of hired hand Heath Kincaid save him. Badly injured, Chance demands that his will be read and its conditions be enforced immediately. 
Without anyone else to serve as a witness, Heath is pressed into reading the will. If Justin, Sadie, and Cole Boden don't live and work at home for the entire year, the ranch will go to their low-down cousin Mike. 
Then Heath discovers the avalanche was a murder attempt, and more danger might follow. Deeply involved with the family, Heath's desire to protect Sadie goes far beyond friendship. The danger keeps them close together, and their feelings grow until being apart is the last thing on their minds.

                          MY THOUGHTS


I love this book! So far, I've laughed and snickered through this book! Mary is a fine author and I love her books! I always look forward to the next one and I wonder what surprises are in store for us in the next one?
Mary also knows just where to put humor in her books where it needs to go!
Chance knew his kids needed a good dose of reality. He wanted them to learn a lesson because he was afraid they'd drifted so far apart and lose the land that he worked so hard to build up. 
Sadie is my favorite and Cole comes in next. I'm thinking that Justin will come a close 3rd! 
Cole and Justin are so stubborn! Sadie is just as stubborn and sneaky it seems!


                   ABOUT THE AUTHOR


I wrote my first book when I was about twelve. A romance novel. I shudder to think what a twelve year old could know about romance. I have no idea what happened to the manuscript. I suppose my mother found it, and burned it while screaming in horror, but I’ve always been afraid to ask. Was it a hundred pages? Two? I have no idea, but I seem to remember just writing FOREVER! So I’m guessing two pages long at least.

As a new bride I marched straight out of journalism school and into the kitchen, I did a lot of scribbling. I still have those heartbreaking works of staggering genius, Ode to Roast Beef, things like that, all born out of the ‘Write What You Know’ school of literature.

I began writing more seriously when my baby went to kindergarten. Not writing well of course, but just putting words on paper. No one does anything well the first time. I’m sure Babe Ruth missed the first ball pitched to him. I’m sure Picasso smeared pages with paint-y fingers when he was a kid—as I remember he went back to that later in life. I’m sure Beethoven played the eighteenth century version of Chopsticks before went for the sonatas.

My writing journey is similar to a lot of others. Boil it down to persistence, oh, go ahead and call it stubbornness. I just kept typing away. I think the reason I did it was because I’m more or less a dunce around people—prone to sit silently when I really ought to speak up(or far worse, speak up when I ought to sit silently).

So, I have all these things, I want to say, in my head; the perfect zinger to the rude cashier, which you think of an hour after you’ve left the store, the perfect bit of wisdom when someone needs help, which doesn’t occur to you until they solve their problems themselves, the perfect guilt trip for the kids, which you don’t say because you’re not an idiot. I keep all this wit to myself, much to the relief of all who know me, and then I write all my great ideas into books. It’s therapeutic if nothing else, and more affordable than a psychiatrist.

So then a very nice, oh so nice publishing company like Barbour Heartsong comes along and says, “Hey, we’ll pay you money for this 45,000 word therapy session.” That’s as sweet as it gets.

My journey to publication is the same as everyone’s except for a few geniuses out there who make it hard for all of us. And even they probably have an Ode to Roast Beef or two in their past. 

Eden Hill

Nothing seems to change in Eden Hill, Kentucky, and that’s just fine with Virgil T. Osgood. He’s been content to raise his family and run the only service station in town. But when a new station is set to open right across the road from Virgil’s pumps, he suddenly faces obstacles in his career, his marriage, and his self-worth that he’s never even dreamed of.

Cornelius Alexander wants his new Zipco station to succeed and help establish a strong foundation for his growing family. As long as he follows the Zipco guide, he’s sure to be a success―and prove his father wrong.

Reverend Caudill wants to be a conduit for grace in his town, but that grace is challenged by the changes sweeping through in the early 1960s. For the sake of this small town, Virgil and Cornelius must learn to get along, but how do you love your neighbor when his very presence threatens to upend everything you hold dear?

MY THOUGHTS

his was a very enjoyable read!! Funny,very entertaining, and some seriousness too!
I loved that it was set in the 60's because it shows us that neighbors still cared about neighbors and helped them out in time of need.
Bill, I loved this novel and I Especially loved Reverend Caudill! He definitely had his hands full with the flock of Eden Hill!!!
Madeline Crutcher made me want to strangle her at times!
Virgil and his family cracked me up in mote ways than one. my thoughts were maybe he shouldn't have have hung around frank so much because he was always in trouble with Frank squeezing out of which wasn't fair.
I loved the town of Eden Hill, Kentucky. Wished it was a real place!
I wish that we today, could take time out to help ppl these days like they did back then.
But, people are hard to trust and we are just way too busy with our lives. The world has changed greatly since then and not for the good either.
Our generation has even shut God out of our lives and that is really sad for without Him we are nothing!
Bill, I hope you write a sequel to this story. I'd like to see Vee a grown up young man and see how he turned out and I'd like to see how the Reverend liked his new job 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bill Higgs is a lapsed academic, former engineer, and avid storyteller. He also admits to being a nostalgic baby boomer, with a keen interest in how things past can teach lessons for the present. He lives in Kentucky with his wife, author Liz Curtis Higgs, and her two cats. Eden Hill is his first novel.

Review for Seasons in Paradise by Barbara Camaron

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sam Stoltzfus left the Amish community and followed his older brother, David, into the Englisch world, walking away from a chance for love. Sam had clashed with his father, but is there more to his leaving the community than what he says? 
Mary Elizabeth, the woman he was starting to love before he left, is determined to find out the reason and bring him back into the fold in time for Christmas.

MY THOUGHTS

Oh my! I finished this book today. All in one day! That's how good it was!
God is good is he not?
Just when Mary Elizabeth lost hope in ever getting married God helps her along the way.
Mary Elizabeth is a pretty cool Amish woman. I loved how she bounces back after having her hopes up about marrying Sam.
Mary Elizabeth is a woman of many talents from cooking, sewing, whatever the case may be.
I just knew it was wrong when she was dating Ben because she was trying to show Sam up but I also knew she was using Ben as a rebound which isn't good either!
Aren't men just so hardheaded? Sam just goes to prove it by running away from home with his 2 brothers. Their father wasn't good to them but maybe it had something to do with the way he was raised? Some parents doesn't know how to show their affection especially men. From what I hear, it is more difficult for them to show their feelings which I think is a lot of malarkey. They're human too.
Sams mother mentions that it took Lavina to marry David to get him to come home. She also mentions it about Sam. It took someone to tell her that it was God's will that Sam might come home? Who knows? Only God does!
I am so so happy for Lavina! She's a wonderful inspiration as well.
Isn't there a pattern here? I think the Stolzfus's mirror the Zooks. I believe each of their children were meant for each other but sometimes it just takes a little nudge from God to help show us the way and that is why I love this story. This is why I gave 5 stars to this wonderful book
Barbara is an excellent storyteller! 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BD, CBA, and ECPA bestselling author of 24 books (including new series upcoming for Abingdon Press in 2011/2012) including fiction and non-fiction books for Abingdon Press, Thomas Nelson, Harlequin, and other publishers.

I sold three films to HBO/Cinemax and am the first winner of the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award.

My two novellas won the 2nd and 3rd place in the Inspirational Readers Choice Contest from the Faith, Love, and Hope chapter of RWA. Both were finalists for the novella category of the Carol Award of the American Christian Writers Award (ACFW).