Within My Heart by Tamara Alexander

Within My Heart by Tamara Alexander captured my heart from the start. Rachel Boyd is a widowed woman who has two young sons she is trying to raise on her own. Her late husband had dreams of raising them on the ranch and she is struggling to fulfill his wishes. With cattle dying due to the winter months, she finds herself losing more and more money. She finds herself wondering if it is worth it to work so hard to honor her husbands wishes, a wish that was completely different from her own.

Dr. Rand Brookston is new to town. Rand doesn't have a proper building for a medical clinic and makes many house calls with dreams of opening a clinic in the future. Rand and Rachel's paths cross when Rand starts taking care of someone very close to Rachel. The town of Timber Ridge is behind times on technology and Rand has to decide to perform a new surgery on this patient. If he succeeds, he would gain the trust of the town, but he fails....

This was a great, intriguing book. The mystery and love story kept me up all night reading to find out what was going to happen. Being in the medical field as I am, I was impressed that Tamara Alexander did her research and was accurate in her writing. This was the first book I have read by her and I can't wait to read more! I would highly recommend this book. If you are interested purchasing this book, please check out this link: Within My Heart (Timber Ridge Reflections, Book 3)

I was provided this book free of charge from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions are my own and have not been influenced.

The Devil in Pew Number Seven by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo with Bob DeMoss-Book Review

The Devil in Pew Number Seven is a horribly true story that started in 1969 for the Nichols family. Rebecca’s father was a pastor that felt he was lead by God to move his family to Sellerstown, North Carolina to pastor a church there. Sellerstown was a small town that welcomed the new pastor and his family. There was however one person that was not happy with the changes taking place, a man that was determined to get rid of this family by any means. Rebecca tells of the pure terror she and her family experienced from this man.
It started with harassing phone calls. Robert Nichols was threatened to leave or else he would be leaving “crawling or walking….dead or alive.” These phone calls escalated to much more that put the family through years of pure torment. Pastor Nichols refused to be scared of this man whom was a pure devil. He stood his ground and said that when it was his time to go, God would lead him. The Nichols has so much faith in God that they stayed and allowed this man to terrorize their family. They would refer to verses in the Bible that would give them peace and ease their worries.

Rebecca’s life was changed forever when an armed man walked into her home one night. She witnessed things that a child should never have to see. I found myself getting mad at her mother and father for continuing to live in this town and subject her and her brother to the evils that they experienced, yet I also found admiration for a family that was so full of faith that they had the courage to stay.

Rebecca tells the story of the years her family spent in torment. She learned the power of forgiveness from her parents and has been able to continue her life because of it. She has chosen the path of life that God intended, even though the trials of her life were unimaginable and started at such a young age. This book has a wonderful message about forgiveness and faith in God. I hate that Rebecca had to experience these things to be able to spread the word, but she does a wonderful job of telling how a person of any upbringing can choose the right path in life.

The Devil in Pew Number Seven was provided to me by Tyndale House Publishers free of charge for review purposes only. The opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced.

Masquerade by Nancy Moser

Charlotte Gleason is a woman that has lived the life of luxury in England with her family. Her father announces that she will be sent to New York to marry one the richest heirs whom she has never met and knows nothing about. Charlotte rebukes and tries to get out of the planned wedding but her father will have nothing of it. Little does she know, her family is in danger of losing their high status in society and this is why her father is so anxious to send her away and get her married to someone that can continue to give her the life that she is accustomed to living.

Charlotte is not one those women that want her life planned out for her. She wants to marry for love and she wants to learn about life on her own, something that she has not been able to do while living at home with her parents. Dora is Charlotte’s maid. She goes along with Charlotte on her journey to America. On the way, Charlotte comes up with a grand plan to switch identities with Dora so that she can go and discover herself and get the experiences in life that she would never be able to do if she marries this man. Dora has the opportunity to live a life that she has always been around but never got to experience. She is dressed in the beautiful gowns and feels like a true princess.

Life for Charlotte doesn’t turn out quite like she expected. Immediately upon getting to New York and separating from Dora, her whole plan is changed before her very eyes. She gets new experiences, but not the ones she had hoped for. Charlotte struggles with whether she should she go and claim her spot as the true Charlotte Gleason or should she continue on, not knowing what may happen to her life as she knows it.

This is a wonderfully told story that took me back to an era of time that is completely different to the life I am use to. I could not put this book down. Nancy Moser did a wonderful job of creating these characters and putting together a story that you could actually imagine the lives of these women in their struggles and journeys into two completely new lives. I would definitely recommend this book as a great read.

Masquerade was provided to me by Bethany House Publishers free of charge for review purposes only. The opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced.

Loves First Bloom by Delia Parr Book Review

Ruth Livingston is a preacher’s daughter that has her life turned upside down when her father is accused of murdering one of the women that he devoted his life to rescuing out of the life of prostitution. He would get these women to families out of town that would help them rebuild their lives and gain stability again. Father Livingston is bound to protect his daughter from the negativity of the case and sends her away one night with a small child to claim as her own.

Ruth assumes the role of mother to this child. They are sent to a family and she also takes on the role of one of the very women that her father has saved. This family takes in Ruth and the child not knowing that she actually is the preacher’s daughter. Life is very hard to for Ruth to adjust. Not only is she pretending to be a woman of a completely different demeanor of life, she has to learn to take care of this little girl whom the only thing she knows is that she belongs to the woman that was murdered.

When news that the preachers daughter is missing, the newspapers start making claims that the preacher may have murdered his own daughter. They send out reporters to find out about Ruth’s whereabouts and to see if she actually has evidence that would convict her father that she is hiding. Jake Spencer is one of the guys looking to find Ruth but he’s comes into town as someone different also. He pretends to have just had back surgery and is looking for some peace and quiet from the world. Ruth seeks tranquility and peace in a garden that just happens to be where Jake is living. These two do not like each other at all but as the story goes along, things start to change. He is desperately trying to find out the truth about Ruth and she is doing everything in her power to protect her identity.

The book has some twists that I never seen coming, which was a nice surprise. I was held in suspense throughout and found myself intrigued in seeing that Ruth and the child were protected. Delia Parr has officially become one of my favorite authors. I can’t wait to read more from this wonderfully talented writer. Loves First Bloom is one of those books that you don’t want to put down once you start reading it. I would give this a good four and a half stars, possibly a five. I am definitely passing this one along to my friends to enjoy also.

Loves First Bloom was provided to me by Bethany House Publishers free of charge for review purposes only. The opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced.

Still House Pond by Jan Watson Book Review

Still House Pond

Still House Pond is about the life of a young girl, Lilly Gray Corbett, her mother, Copper, and their hired girl, Manda. The book preview tells of Lilly being invited to go visit her Aunt Alice in the city. The train crashes on the way and Copper goes to the scene in search of her daughter. This scene does happen in the book but the preview leads you to believe that this is what the book is about and I didn’t find that to be the case. I did enjoy the book but felt a little bit mislead by the preview.

Copper is a busy woman who helps with the births of babies in the community. Lilly is an eleven year old girl that helps take care of the younger children of the family. Lilly’s birth father died when she was younger and her mother is now remarried with other children. Lilly has an aunt in the city that requests that she come to visit and sends the train ticket for her to come. Copper does not want to let her child venture out on her own but realizes that she is growing up and agrees to let her go.
Manda is the hired girl that helps take care of the house chores. Manda is still a young girl that is trying to figure out her place in life and with love. She is just as much as a main character as Lilly. We go with Manda as she learns some valuable life lessons and that the effects of her actions ultimately affect others around her, something that took the endangerment of Lilly for her to learn.

News of the train crashing sets everything into motion. The characters evaluate their actions and learn from their mistakes while trying to find Lilly. The unexpected twist was a nice surprise, only proving more that the things that we choose to do, whether good or bad, have an effect on other lives.

This was the fifth novel by Jan Watson. She did a great job of showing her readers the lives of these women and the consequences of their choices. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it as a good read.

Still House Pond was provided to me by Tyndale Publishers free of charge for review purposes only. The opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced.

Outlive Your Life Book Review

Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make A Difference

I was provided this book free of charge from Thomas Nelson Publishers. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way. 

Have you ever just wondered why you are here? Why did God put you on this earth? I am just a normal person and I'm sure that you are. With this book, Max Lucado explains ways that common folk just like us can make a difference in the world. God used common people in the bible and he is still the same God, therefore he still uses common people now. God changes the world with people like us.

This book is a great read and really made me think about what I am doing to make a difference in others lives. What can I do to make someone's day a little brighter, to let them know that someone cares for them. I especially liked the end of the book that was for discussion and action guide. Max provides us ways to take action to help make a difference. This book would be great as a gift or one to keep in your personal library, it's definitely going to be in mine.

The Boy Who Changed the World Book Review

Have you heard of the Butterfly Effect? Everytime that a butterfly flaps its wings, it moves tiny pieces of air, causing something else to happen such as the wind blowing on the other side of the world. Its amazing how one little decision can affect others for years to come.

I was recently given the opportunity to review the book The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews. This book is for children and is based on the popular book The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews. This book was provided to me free of charge for review purposes from Thomas Nelson Publishers. All opinions are my own.

This is an amazing story of how the actions of one little boy can affect the lives of others for years to come. The author spreads the word to children with the saying, "Every choice you make, good or bad, can make a difference." This book takes you through the lives of four boys that eventually all have a common connection and make a difference in the world. The decisions that you make today can truly change the world. My children have loved hearing me read this book to them. The illustations by Philip Hurst are so beautiful and lifelike, giving the book more meaning. I have enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it for all parents to share with their little ones.