For The Love Of Books

 When I do collections like this, I like to do a review of each individual novella and then the collection as a whole.  To start with, this was the first book by Regina Jennings that I have read and I was impressed so much that I went ahead and preordered her next book, Courting Misfortune, that releases at the end of November. Jennings writing style roped me in from the very beginning and was a wonderful start to the collection. I loved the character development and the way the plot moves along. Next was Karen Witemeyer’s novella, and it was also the first book I had read by her. I loved the way Witemeyer continued the story with little connections back to Jennings previous novella. The plot and the characters continued to build in a wonderful, great paced way. After that was Amanda Dykes novella, and I loved how the characters moved through their pain in this part of the series. Dykes pays attention to little details in everything she writes which makes it easy to get wrapped up in h

 Olivia Newport knocks it out of the park again with this next installment of the Tree of Life series. I really enjoyed the storyline of the trunk throughout the When I Meet You - and especially since we are able to start piecing together Jillian’s history more with this book. Character development is great, and the plot moves along nicely.  I am hoping that Olivia Newport continues to let us know Jillian’s backstory in the final book of this series coming out later this month, What You Said to Me.

 Stormie Omartian is known for her heart for prayer and offers guidance along the way in her books for people that feel lost as to how to pray for a specific situation. Omartian allows us to see into her personal life and stories while allowing the reader to know that they’re not alone and it is not a helpless situation. There are great reminders throughout this book to help us strengthen our marriages through the greatest way possible. I received a copy of this ebook from the publisher, but was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my own.

 I was blown away again by Pepper Basham’s writing! I am turning into a huge fan of this True Colors series and have loved each book I have read. They are doing a great job of choosing authors to line up with the stories of the crimes.  In The Red Ribbon, Basham does a fantastic job of dropping hints throughout the plot, but never entirely giving away the story until the last minute. Her character development is superb and by the end of the book, you feel like you have new friends.  I love the historical notes at the end as well! It’s always fascinating to see how things really played out compared to the fictional account! I received a copy of this ebook from the publisher, but was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my own.

 In Awaking Wonder, Sally Clarkson does a great job of taking the reader on a journey to find ways to awake wonder in their children.  Throughout the book, Clarkson tells many personal illustrations which is wonderful because you know she is a vetted mom who has been there, done that, and come out on the other side.  A lot of the ideas in the book are original and inspiring, and it is refreshing to see the many reflections back on God and the impact He has on our children’s lives. I was given a copy of this book by the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

  I have only read this and one other Julie Klassen book, but she is definitely one of the authors I want to eventually read all books of!  In An Ivy Hill Christmas, we are introduced/reintroduced to characters from Klassen’s  Ivy Hill series. I personally have not read any of the Ivy Hill books prior to this one, but it did not hinder me from thoroughly enjoying the book. I did notice references to things that had previously happened in the series, but it was done in a way that the reader does not feel left out. Rather, it intrigues the reader to want to go back and read the others to get the back story! Character development is great. Plot moves along well - I was worried it would not work out the way I hoped for a bit, but Julie Klassen created a fantastic ending for this book. I was given a copy of this book by the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

In The Conqueror, Bryan Litfin takes us to Ancient Rome. Liftin’s writing style is intriguing and the story line flows well as the reader is taken back in time to see the cultures of the day. If this were general market, I probably would have given it five stars, but since it is marketed as Christian fiction, I cannot. Liftin uses such descriptions of a sexual nature, that I would not feel comfortable giving this to my teenage son to read (and that is really disappointing as he was chomping at the bit to read this). I do understand that Roman culture was often like this, but I think in Christian fiction, we have to tread the fine line of how we portray situations and how we describe something.  In all, the book was well done with the exception of the sexual edge to it in areas.  I was given a copy of this book by the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

 In The True Colors series, if I don’t already know the background of the story, I like to read the True Colors book completely, then I tend to go crazy with research (I love history!).  Liz Tolsma does a fantastic job of drawing us in to the story. I had never heard the account before of this Serial killer, but that must have been a tough story to work through and write. While letting us know what was going on, Tolsma also kept it clean and not too gory. Even though reality was gory, Tolsma portrayed it in a way that makes us think, but doesn’t leave us with gory nightmares. Kind of like the difference in movies where they just show someone getting shot versus having blood and gore fly everywhere. The character build up is great as well as the plot line. I’m looking forward to more in this series! I was given a copy of this book by the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

Sometimes authors lose their flair after writing as many books as Beverly Lewis has, and they tend to run out of ideas. Not Beverly Lewis!  In The Stone Wall, Lewis has invented an amazing story that has a central theme of God’s Grace. Since Lewis has been around the Amish people so much, she has a heart and genuine knowledge that is hard to find.  The build up of characters (especially sweet Emmie) progresses very well, as well as the plot line running full course. I love the surprise towards the end with everything coming full circle.  I can’t wait for the next Beverly Lewis Amish story to come out! I was given a copy of this book by the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.