I will not fear

I don’t often enjoy books that tell the life story, especially those of the author, I find they often are made to seem larger than life. That however was not the case with Melba Beals’ book “I will not fear”, she gave such an in-depth look of the dark and dirty world of racism and fear in the 1950’s. There were parts that were so hard to read, I can’t imagine how much more difficult it was for her to live through them. But the strength she showed, the grasp she had on her faith in the midst of all these  times of struggle and pain is so inspiring. I was deeply moved by her story, it is such an important one, especially in this day and age where the fight against racism is still so strong.
This is an important book, I absolutely encourage anyone and everyone to read it,

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

Judah’s wife

For a while now I have really enjoyed Angela Hunt’s books based off of biblical stories, she often gives a perspective that is new to me, and offers the reader the ability to place themselves in the shoes of those who’s stories we don’t often think about.
I really enjoyed “Judah’s wife”, it was thought provoking, the wondering of the stories that don’t get told, of the women behind these biblical heroes, who must have had so much strength too, to go with their men, to support their callings.
I absolutely could not get enough of this book, I had it read within hours of picking it up, and was so disappointed when it was over, I wish it could had gone on for so much longer!
This is one of those books that has earned a spot on my “read again” book shelf, I enjoyed it so much! I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of historic biblical fiction!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

The house on Foster hill

Jaime Jo Wright is a new author to me, and while I love a good suspense book, murder mystery types usually leave me a bit bored and Unentertained. However I was very pleasantly surprised to find myself immensely enjoying this book! It was so well written and well thought out! In my reading experience Christian mysteries tend to be fairly subdued and tedious, but this book has me struggling to stop reading, I was absolutely captivated until the very end! I will absolutely be looking for more from this author!!

Struggling to get past the unexpected death of her husband Kaine decides she needs a new start in a new place and chooses to buy a home in same town that her grandfather resided in. As she arrives and finds the home (that she purchased sight unseen!) in disrepair and dishevellment she questions the choices she’s made in moving, and as she learns about the house’s past she begins to find herself in a state of danger as well. 

This book was an absolute page turner, I would definitely recommend it!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

A dangerous legacy

I’ve read a number of Elizabeth Camden’s books and immensely enjoyed them so I was thrilled to be able to review “A dangerous legacy” I knew a great read would be coming my way!!
And true to form Camden wrote an intelligent and strong book with a formidable female character that not only showed tenacity but also grace. I love reading about strong women and found this book to be a really fantastic read!
Lucy Drake is a valuable asset to the associated press news agency with her strong skills and talents in Morse code, along with working a job she loves she is also facing immense struggles and troubles with her familial situation. Fighting in court against some scrupulously dishonest  and dangerous relatives while at the same time developing a friendship with her biggest rival in the news business we are whipped through a story of suspense, danger, and through it all faith and grace.
I truly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it!!




"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

Where we belong

I absolutely loved this book, I found the characters extremely easy to relate to, I enjoyed their adventures and witty antics, and in all, struggled to put this book down! I enjoyed it so much that I was sad to have finished it, I wish the story could have kept going on!!
In “Where we belong” we meet Flora and Rebecca, sisters who both have a strong moral compass and sense of adventure! As they struggle to figure out where God would lead them with both their blessings and their talents, we the readers are treated to witty banter and a slew of knowledge! I loved reading of both their willingness to seek out God, and right the wrongs of their city. I loves the format of the book that we got to experience the story through every characters eyes, it really made for a well rounded story!!

I loved and would highly recommend this book!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

A Plain Leaving

It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of Amish fiction, I love reading the differences and similarities that these women have compared to my life! And since I’ve read a few of Leslie Gould’s books and loved them, I knew I would be enjoying this book as well!!
In “a plain leaving” we meet Jessica Bachmann, after having faced struggles and opposition from both her bishop and family Jessica makes the choice to leave for the English world. While living away, Jessic finds out that her father has died, as she heads home to bury him, she also walks head on into both heartache and hope. As  she learns about her history and the struggles of her ancestors, she starts to find the answers to her own struggles.

I really enjoyed this book, it was well written and easy to read, there was a great flow to it that really kept me hooked throughout the entire story!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

All she left behind

Jane Kirkpatrick is another one of my favourite authors, I love historical fiction and reading about strong women, so I know when I’ve got a book of hers in front of me, that I’m in for a treat! In “all she left behind” we get to meet Jennie, a young woman who struggles to provide a life for herself and her son after being left behind by  her husband. With a knack for knowing what herbs will help people, Jennie finds herself  as a nurse for an older family’s failing wife/mother. As she steps into this roll she awakens a desire to become a doctor, yet has insurmountable difficulties to overcome.
In so many ways, I love this book! Not only does Jane Kirkpatrick give us a strong womanly character, but she also provides us a character who has to face struggles that are so familiar to today’s women, I love it!!
I would absolutely recommend this book, it’s made its place to my “favourite” section on my bookcase and will be very well loved for years!!




"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

the proving

I have a deep and strong love for Amish fiction, I love the simplicity portrayed in them, while at the same time seeing that even separated from the world, there are still situations that we can all relate to! In Beverly Lewis’ book “The proving”  we meet Mandy, who after having her heart broken leaves The Amish life to begin anew as an “englisher”. After receiving news of her mother’s unfortunate passing she is stunned to find that her mother has left her Amish bed and breakfast to to her, with some added stipulations. As Mandy travels back home she’s caught in between two worlds, one that it achingly familiar yet has memories of heartache, or the easy convinces of the modern world.
I truly loved this book, it was filled with the familiarity that draws me to The Amish fiction, but also has a newness to it that kept me wanting to read on.
I would highly recommend it!!



"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

Fierce hearted

I love reading a book that encourages women to stand up and embrace their uniqueness, strengths, and scars,  and to live a full life in the way that God has set up for them to do. In fierce hearted Holley Gerth really gives such a freeing message on how to drop the worries and fears that come against us and instead embrace life and live life to its fullest. Her openness in her book made me feel like I could really relate, and in turn apply her insights to my own life in a much easier way! I found myself very encouraged and empowered reading “fierce hearted”, this is a book I would love to pass on to the young ladies of our world, letting them know that they don’t have to face the struggles of the world alone, and that our weaknesses are made stronger in Christ. I would highly recommend this book for any woman who deals with self doubt, worry or fear, or really any and every woman. A message of hope, freedom, and purpose is one we can all use!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

These healing hills

I have been a long time fan of Ann Gabhart, so I was pretty excited to see a book of hers up for review! I love that her characters have such strength and integrity to them. She writes them with such openness that you find yourself drawn in wanting to know more! With “These healing hills” I was absolutely hooked by the first chapter, and spent every spare moment with my nose in the book! I loved that Francine (the main character) was written in such a realistic way, she was easy to relate to, and like, without appearing too “preachy” or too “good” to be believable. I love that Gabhart writes her characters with flaws and struggles, it truly makes her books come to life! When we meet Francine we find that she’s been dropped by her long time love interest, and sets out to find herself and her future in the Appalachian mountains being trained as a midwife.
I deeply enjoyed this book, as always, Ann Gabhart wrote the characters and scenes of her novel in such a way as to make you feel like you’re right there with them. My only disappointment was that the book had to end!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

All Saints

I've been looking forward to reading this book for a while, I've both read about the book from various websites, and seen previews of the movie of it as well, and had some high expectations of this book! I was not disappointed! Sometimes you find that books based on true stories tend to flow not as easily as other books, and it's a struggle to get into a good reading rhythm with them.  However "All Saints" did not have that problem, the book flowed very well together, the characters were easy to like and they felt quite relatable as well! As the Pastor's wife of a small church, I really could understand some of the struggles the church faced, and absolutely loved that Pastor Michael and his congregation decided to step out of what was comfortable and take a risk to follow what God had for them! I think the dynamics of our churches are different in these days, we no longer view our mission field from far away, the mission field has come to us, and this book really spoke well to taking that opportunity to reach out and minister in a new way! I truly would recommend that anyone who pastors or goes to a small or struggling church pick up a copy of this book, you be both encourage and challenged by it!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

The promise of dawn

I've been a fan of Lauraine Snelling's books for a while now, I really enjoy books set in the past, and that show the strength of families overcoming the difficulties of travelling to new lands. Snelling has a great way in her writings to bring the reader easily into the lives of her characters, and paints such a great picture of their lives and situations that it's hard not to feel involved in the characters lives! In "The promise of dawn" we read about Rune and Signe, who immigrate to America to help their uncle with his farm. Upon arriving they discover how difficult and hard their relatives are to both live and work with. As they struggle every day to survive the harsh life their uncle has provided them, they also struggle to see eye to eye on both faith and life.
I really appreciated that Snelling included and wrote about Signe and her struggle with her faith, I find that a character is more relatable when they're written to show that they struggle with doubt and disbelief.  In all, I thought this was a fantastic book and can't wait to read more from this series!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

The Return

I enjoy Amish fiction, and especially by Suzanne Woods Fisher, so I was very excited to see her book up for review!! It absolutely did not disappoint, this is now my new favourite of her books. I don't often hold onto books I read, too many books and not enough room, so it takes a truly special book for me to consider adding it to my small collection of books that I just can't give up. This book absolutely made the cut, I loved it, it was inspirational, through provoking, it had suspense and surprise throughout it. I truly struggled to put this book down, I could not read it fast enough! The characters were so well written that it was easy to relate to them and emphasize with their situations. I loved reading about Betsy's captivity and the way she found a love for those that took her from her family.
I would 100% recommend this book, its fantastic, and will become a well read favourite!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

The captain's daughter

I do believe that this is the first book I've read by Jennifer Delamere, and I was deeply impressed with it. Her style of writing is engaging and well thought out, I was kept riveted to the book throughout my time reading it. There was enough suspense and action to keep my attention, while also containing thoughtful discussions and thought provoking scenes. I immensely enjoyed reading "the captains daughter" and will be looking up the rest of Jennifer Delamere's books!
I enjoyed getting to know the character of Rosalyn as she navigates her way through London after running away from problems at her former place of employment. It was easy to celebrate with her as she finds her beginnings in the theatre, and as she advances throughout it. Rosalyn was a likeable character who was easy to cheer on and feel a degree of comradery with.  As she strives to hide from those who are trying to bring her harm, Rosalyn finds herself within the care and protection of Nate. As both work to find their place in London and look to the future, they also begin to struggle with growing feelings of affection towards each other.

I truly enjoyed reading this book, it was easy to follow and kept me riveted right till the end. I highly recommend it!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin communications, Inc."

With you always

I have for a long while been a fan of Jody Hedlund's writing, her books are always so well written, engaging, and thought provoking, so I was very pleased to see that her book "With You Always" up for review, I just knew I would enjoy that read!!

I am a big fan of historical fiction, and of strong female characters, so this book was right up my alley, we were introduced to Elise and her sisters as they faced the task of surviving New York in the midst of the 1850's financial crisis. While caring for both her sisters and others who Elise has taken under her wing, she finds all of them in a desperate situation that requires some desperate actions. Leaving behind family in order to ensure their survival is hard for Elise, but as jobs open within the children's aid society Elise feels she has no choice but to travel away to ensure her family will survive and stay together. 

I loved this book, the characters of Elise and Thornton were easy to like and relatable to the reader. I really enjoyed getting to know them as their characters developed throughout the novel, and I truly appreciated that the author wrote them with their flaws included. I dislike characters who are written in an unrealistic manner with no flaws or mistakes, I appreciate that Jody Hedlund takes the time to ensure her characters are infused with both good and poor traits.

I highly recommend this book, it was an entertaining and thoughtful read!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

One Dominion

I had the opportunity to review this absolutely stunning book, and I was so impressed with it!

The entire book is filled with beautiful illustrations and photographs of Canada's history, there are some gorgeous maps (I wish I could find the maps in the book in a poster form, they're nice enough to be framed!) and the photographs capture all aspects of Canada's history and people from across the country!  To top it all off everything is written with a good Christian view of both our past and future. I immensely enjoyed reading through the book, and have received so many compliments on it as company flips through it while visiting. 

A stunning book that I highly recommend!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Bible League Canada and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."