Welcome to last chance

This is the first book I've read by Cathleen Armstrong and I was looking forward to reading a book by an author I haven't read before! Right away from the beginning of the book I was quite intrigued about this story and by Lainie's history as well! I have to say, this was quite the book! It took me only a couple of days to get through it, the story was so good that I really struggled to put it down!
In this book we're introduced to Lainie who is running from her past and happens to end up in Last Chance, New Mexico after experiencing some car troubles. As someone who's trying to keep a low profile, Lainie really struggles to adjust to being in a small town, with people who notice everything! As time goes on Lainie finds herself drawn into this small town life, and into the life of its residents.
I truly enjoyed this book, and very much would recommend it to anyone! Its a wonderful story!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group". 

The Letters

as always, Suzanne Woods Fisher has written a wonderful story that while it isn't without its struggles is still full of hope and love! I'm a big fan of Woods-fisher's books so I was immediately excited to review this book! I love the simplicity of the Amish fiction genre and love to learn about a culture that is so different from out own!
In the book "the Letters" we're introduced to Rose, after the death of her husband, Rose must find a way to support not only herself and children but also her late husbands cranky mother. With very few options Rose decides to open a small bed and breakfast style inn in the basement of her home as a means to bring in some income. The simple life of the Amish along with a pair of eagle who decided to call her land home prove to be a draw to those outside of the community. And the people who are drawn in also find themselves experiencing the love and restfulness found in this Amish inn.
I love this book and highly recommend it.


"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group". 

The spiritual danger of doing good

I wasn't too sure about this book, from looking at the title I was a little hesitant to buy too quickly into what Greer and Haggard were going to say!
However I was quite pleasantly surprised to see that more times than not I agreed with what was being said in the book.
I appreciated so much what Greer had to say in regards to be careful and mindful of your relationships. As a pastor's wife I've seen so many families in ministry who strive to minister to others, yet allow things on their homefront to fall apart. I appreciated Greer's practical response to these kind of situations, he used both humor and personal examples throughout the book to get these lessons across. I found the book to be full of common sense that is applicable to so many aspects of our lives.
I am highly recommending this book for my husband to share with other in leadership within our church!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group". 

A Simple Change

I very much enjoy Judith Millers books, so I was really looking foward to reading this one as well. I've only had the opportunity to read a few books regarding the Amana colonies, so I was pretty interested in reading this book!
Right away (as it is with Miller's other books) I was able to settle into a nice easy flow while reading the story. Miller has a knack for getting her reader to to feel at home with her characters, and her characters are portrayed  in a very likable and straight forward manner.
Due to the health issues of her mother, the Rhoder family all move back to the Amana colonies (where Jancey's mother and father were from) where Jancey's mother wishes to spend her final days among a simpler people and a simpler lifestyle. For Jancey it's bittersweet, while she wants to spend her mother's remaining days together, she knows it'll be quite hard saying goodbye to the children at the orphanage she teaches at. Jancey also struggles to learn the customs and rules of the colonies and what she's expected to do while on the colony.
I enjoyed this book! It was really well written and had such a great flow to it. Like always Miller's book was heart felt and heartwarming! As well there was a measure of a message in there that didn't come across as preachy!
I would  100% recommend this book!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group". 

Rules of Murder

I have to admit that while the book was entertaining, I found it a bit corny for my tastes, but perhaps that's the style of the genre. I haven't read many murder mystery type books so I'm a little out of my knowledge area in this one. However, I did still find it to be an entertaining book, and I enjoyed the read quite a bit. I imagine that many who are familiar with this genre will enjoy this book quite a bit!
This is the first book I've read of Deerings, so I was looking forward to checking out this new author! The book had a pretty good flow to it, and the author was able to explain and introduce her characters in a way that makes them quite memorable and (for the most part!) likable.
In this book we're introduced to Drew Farthering who happens upon a body and from there his word starts spinning. With both a mystery to solve, a murder to find, Drew also is getting to know Madeline Parker who he is quickly falling for!
I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to those who are into the mystery type genres!



"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

The Mercy Prayer

I was really looking forward to reading "The mercy prayer", I think our culture in general forgets that God desires to give mercy to His children. That He desires to give good gifts to them, we're surrounded by such loud (and wrong) voices out there that scream about God's hate, its nice to be reminded of His love.
Gelinas did a great job of conveying the message of mercy in his book, I love that while he was abundantly clear about God desiring to give out mercy, that He also included the expectations that God has for His children as well! I think there's too many times where people only get half that message, and what a disservice it is to them, not to know how to live fully in the way that God intended!
To me the centeral theme of the book was found in Psalm 103:8 "The Lord is compassionate, and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love". I also love that the author included the example of practical ways for us to show God's mercy to the world, many authors/preachers love to say we need to show mercy, but don't usually adequately explain how to do that. So I really appreciate Gelinas willingness to really teach his readers not only that they need to show mercy, but how to do so too!
I believe this is one of those life changing books, that will leave you seeking more of God and a willingness to do the work of God in turn.
I highly recommend this book!

Surviving an Affair

When I got the book for review, I was a little weary about it. I haven't had to live through an affair, and wasn't sure what benefit would come of me reading the book.
However, as a PW and someone who has had friends go through this, I thought that this would be a great resource to have.
While I found that the advice and help in the book was certainly geared towards the victims and perpetrators of affairs, a lot of the advice was good solid advice that would help any marriage, no matter the circumstances.
I did find it interesting to read about why affairs begin and end, it gave some pretty great insight to what all parties are going through. Plus it gave the reader (at least to me it did) a glimpse into what we need to pray about and work on within a marriage that has not gone through adultery.
I know that this will be a valuable book to have in general, especially for my husband when he is counselling couples, but I think its a great one that will benefit all of its readers!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group". 

Small Town Girl

I cannot even begin to describe how absolutely thrilled I was to see the continuation of the story we first read about in Angel Sister. I adored the first book (Angel Sister) it has been well read and one of my very favorite books. So after reading a few pages in and realizing that this book gave us another glimpse into their lives I was so excited to get through this book!
Honestly, it doesn't disappoint at all, just like within the first book, "Small town Girl" develops even more on the characters, who are very well written and easy to emphasize with.
Kate is an easy character to like, she was well written and had that air of "goodness" about her that didn't come across as annoying or condescending. I really appreciated that about the character.
I love that Gabhart had such a strong lead female in her book. That while she was independent and strong, was still written to show regular emotions and problems. She wasn't presented as a "wonder woman" type of character.
I highly recommend this book, its one of the best books you'll have a chance to read, and I highly recommend the first book too (angel sister). (although if you haven't read it, this book will still make sense and will still be enjoyable!)

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group". 

Angels in the fire

I love books that are true stories that show God's hand in peoples lives in a supernatural way. It encourages me (and I'm sure other readers) that God is faithful to His children, and still intercedes in their lives!
I was looking forward to reading "Angels in the fire" Dann Stadler was a new author to me and I was looking forward to seeing what his story was all about!
I have to say, I'm very impressed with this book, the writing was very well done and the entire book had a good flow to it! (which sometimes isn't the case when reading about a true story, I find they usually are a great story that's poorly or far too simply written. I loved that this book wasn't like that!)
Within the whole book, I think that the part that encouraged me the most and spoke to me the most wasn't the initial rescue (which was an amazing story on its own) but the continuation of God's faithfulness to them throughout the months and years afterwards. I was encouraged by the fact that God continued to help them even when the "Immediate" danger was over. He didn't leave them to recover alone.
I highly recommend this book, I would even recommend it to a non-Christian reader. The story on its own is well enough written that it would be an enjoyable read, and while Stadler certainly speaks about God and shares about God, it isn't overly preachy!


"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Trouble in store

I had a chance to read another book by Carol Cox not too long ago, and very much enjoyed it, so I was really looking forward to reading this latest book of hers!
I have to say, that I think this one was even better than the last! I've mentioned in a number of reviews that I very much enjoy books with a strong female lead, so for the most part I very much enjoyed reading this book! I think the only parts where I didn't fully love the book were when the character had to neumerous times be rescued by the men (man) in her life. I would have loved to have seen the character be a little more independent.
 Melanie, after being let go from her previous employer, heads out west to her last resort, her portion of the store she inherited from her uncle. She's faced with the surly current owner who doesn't believe nor want, her to have any ownership in his store. As both face strong opposition within the town, they also struggle to undercover the mystery that seems to surround both the store and their late uncles.
I  enjoyed this book very much and would  highly recommend it to any reader who enjoys Christian fiction!


"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

A Most Peculiar Circumstance

I read Turano's previous book "A change of fortune" and enjoyed it immensely so I was pretty excited to be reviewing her newest one as well! For the most part I did really enjoy this book, the characters were witty and well written. There was lots of mystery and suspense throughout it that kept me reading on!
I think my one main complaint would be that at the beginning of the book the banter between the characters was a little to forced (does that make sense?) it didn't seem natural and to me felt like the author was trying too hard to establish the intelligence and wit of the two main characters. However that feeling dissipated within a chapter or so, and I did very much enjoy the entire book! I love that it was a continuation from her last book, and enjoyed catching up on some of the characters we'd come to know!
In this book we focus on Zayne and Harrison's sister Arabella, and her penchant for trouble as she seeks to help out those less fortunate while she also fights for the rights of women.
I enjoyed this character, I like that she wasn't a simpering wimpy female, but that she was strong and independent. Its not often that you find that in a historical romance!
All in all, I would highly recommend this book! An excellent read!


 "Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".