RAY OF LIGHT, THE DAYS OF REDEMPTION SERIES, BOOK TWO by SHELLEY SHEPARD GRAY

About Ray of Sunlight:

Bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray brings inspirational romance to life in this sweet tale of love in the Amish community, Ray of Light, the second installment of her Days of Redemption series.

Roman Keim just wants a break from the family drama at his snowy Ohio home when he heads to an Amish snowbird community in Florida. There he meets Amanda Yoder and her daughter Regina who soon are warming his heart. But will Roman return to Ohio or will he stay and help the young widow embrace a second chance at love?

The author of the series Sisters of the Heart and Seasons of Sugarcreek, Shelley Shepard Gray delivers an honest, tender love story in Ray of Light, featuring the challenges of faith, family, and romance.

• ISBN-13: 9780062204424
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Publication date: 5/14/2013
• Pages: 262

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/l5Xy7

Landing page: 

http://litfusegroup.com/author/sgray

Meet Shelley:

Shelley Shepard Gray is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the "Sisters of the Heart", "Seasons of Sugarcreek", "Secrets of Crittenden County", and Families of Honor series. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town's bike trail.

Learn more at http://www.shelleyshepardgray.com.

My Thoughts 

This story picks up where book one left off.  All the family drama in the Keim familly has having proven to be more than Roman Keim wanted to deal with.  He decided to take a well deserved vacation going from ice and snow of Ohio to the sunny beaches in Florida.  His cousins have a condo right on the beach and they have invited him to come spend a week.  It has been a healing experience for him.  He is not a very outgoing person but since a lovely young woman, in the condo next door, caught his eye his world has become a whirlwind of emotions. Which is very good.  The woman as well as her darling little four year old girl that have taken up a special spot in his heart. 

Amanda Yoder is a widow of two years and she too is taking a well deserved vacation.  The minute Roman Keim walk up to her on the beach he was like a ray of light.  She could feel herself healing because of this handsome caring man.  He was not only a healing balm for her but more so for her daughter, Regina.  Regina did not trust anyone but to her surprise opened up like a flower to the sun.  Amanda does not want to let go of her deceased husbands memory yet she is drawn to the possibility of a new love in her future.

The author writes of healing for so many of the characters in this book.  Giving up the past to God and and going forward for the plans he has for them.  Some of the characters cling to the pain of the past not so willing to give up what is eating them alive making them bitter and depressed.  Why is it so hard to let go of the past?  My heart ached for all the characters and was glad to see the healing process in all of them take place.  My favorite characters in this book were Regina and Elsie they had more strength than all of them in the end.  

I highly recommend this book.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse Publicity Group/Harper Collins for review.  I was in no way compensated for this review.  This review is my honest opinion.

The House That Love Built by Beth Wiseman

About Book

Brooke has only loved one man, her late husband. Owen’s rebuilding after a painful divorce. Can a mysterious house bring them together for a second chance at love?

In the charming town of Smithville, Texas, Brooke Holloway is raising two young children on her own, supporting them by running the family hardware store. The last thing on her mind is falling in love. But she’s intrigued when a stranger moves to town and buys the old Hadley mansion. She’s always heard that house holds a secret—maybe even a treasure—and she can’t wait to see inside. When she meets the new owner and they spend time together, she can’t deny the attraction. Could God be giving her another chance at happiness? Or is she betraying her late husband’s memory by even thinking that way?

Owen Saunders bought the Hadley place to spite his cheating ex-wife. She’d always wanted to restore an old house in Smithville. Now he’s going to do it without her. But if anything needs restoration, it is Owen’s heart. Then he meets Brooke and her kids and finds himself tempted by love. Can he bring himself to trust a woman again?

Throw an eccentric uncle into the mix, along with the town’s teenage troublemaker, and even a finicky cat—and one thing becomes clear: God is bringing them all together for a reason.

Read Excerpt here. 

Purchase a copy here.

Landing page: http://litfusegroup.com/author/bwiseman

About Beth 

Beth is a Carol Award Winner, Inspirational Readers Choice Winner, INSPY Winner, and the best-selling author of the Daughters of the Promise series and the Land of Canaan series. All of her books have held spots on the ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) bestseller list and the CBA (Christian Book Association) bestseller list. She grew up in Houston, Texas and now resides in a small town west of Houston with a population of around 300. She lives with her husband, two dogs, two cats, two pot bellied pigs, two chickens and a pygmy goat. Her two grown sons also live in Texas. Beth has been writing in some capacity for most of her life. She's a former award-winning journalist with eleven honors, including 'First Place News Writing' for The Texas Press Association. However, writing love stories with a spiritual message is where her heart is. When Beth isn't writing (which is seldom these days) she enjoys traveling, cooking, fishing, reading, or just settling in for a good movie. Her best times are spent with family and friends! 

Learn more about Beth at: BethWiseman.com . 

My Thoughts

Brooke Holloway would like give in to the desire to stay in bed and grieve the loss of husband but she has two active children  and a business to run.  Her mother helped for a while but she had become to dependent on her now it was time to face life head on.  Her daily routine keeps her focused on her job  but memories of her deceased husband still occupy most of her thoughts.  Just like now when her thoughts were interrupted by Owen Saunders the new man in town. He recently bought one of the biggest old mansions in town that was in need of much repair and since she owned a hardware store he would become a frequent customer. Her coworker keeps pushing her to find a new man even though she keeps telling her and everyone else that she is in no hurry to start a relationship.  But brother if she were looking, which she isn't, this handsome guy would fit the bill.

Owen Saunders admits to himself he may have, as the saying goes, "cut off his nose to spite his face", by purchasing a huge old house that is turning into a money pit.  This is the house his cheating ex wife had dreamed of owning, so he bought the house just to rub into her face.  He was determine to finish the house as close to the original as possible.  He must admit he will probably never get it to original since he knows nothing about renovating anything.   So here he is renovating this old house when his is heart probably in worse condition than this old house.  He has had to make many trips to the hardware store owned by a very attractive lady.  The more they see each other it is apparent they are building a friendship but they both made it clear they were looking for nothing more.  God tends to have a say in what is planned for our life's plan. Maybe He wants them to start anew letting go of the bitterness and pain from their past and to trust in love.

The author adds many other interesting characters to the mix like two precious children, two grandmothers, a missing grandfather, a rebellious teen, a couple of crack head parents, a stray cat and well intended friends.

I found this an endearing story of love lost, bitterness, revenge, trust issues, tribulations and reconciliation.  In the author's writing I could see God's plan in restoring the lives of His children.  The author also writes about how the characters let anger, abandonment and fear eat away at their lives until they slowly and sometime quickly turning from God yet proves He never turned from them.  

In one part of the book Owen advises Brooke on the importance of forgiveness and she points out," Isn't that kind of like the pot calling the kettle black".   It is like seeing the err of our ways through another person's eyes or better yet by reading a great book like this one.

I highly recommend this book. It would be a great book for a book club and/or reading group. There are some very enlightening discussion questions at the back of the book.

I rated this book 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book from  Thomas Nelson/Litfuse Publicity Group for review.  I was in no way compensated for this review.  This review is my honest opinion.

If you found this review helpful vote yes or no here.

Join the Flock

Interview with DIANNE K. SALERNI Author of THE CAGED GRAVES

THE CAGED GRAVES

A Junior Library Guild Selection

In Catawissa, the dead don't always stay where you put them...

17-year-old Verity Boone expects a warm homecoming when she returns to Catawissa, Pennsylvania in 1867, pledged to marry a young man she's never met. Instead, she finds a father she barely knows and a future husband with whom she apparently has nothing in common. And a truly horrifying surprise awaits her: the graves of her mother and aunt are enclosed in iron cages outside the local cemetery. Nobody in town will explain why, but Verity hears rumors of buried treasure and witchcraft. Perhaps the cages were built to keep grave robbers out . . . or to keep the women in. Determined to understand, Verity finds  herself in a life-and-death struggle with people she thought she could trust.

 Inspired by a pair of real caged graves in present-day Catawissa, this historical YA novel weaves mystery, romance, and action into a suspenseful drama with human greed and passion at its core.

• ISBN-13: 9780547868530
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 5/14/2013
• Pages: 336
• Young Adult/Middle Grade

Where to buy:  Amazon, Barnes&Noble 

Interview with Dianne K. Salerni

Caged Graves and the Origin of a Story

I first saw the photograph in a random article on the internet: a lonely cemetery with worn and tilted tombstones – and one grave with an iron cage around it.

I couldn’t get the photo out of my mind, so my husband used the clues in the article and Google Earth to identify the graveyard as the Old Mt. Zion Cemetery outside Catawissa, Pennsylvania. It wasn’t that far from home, so we decided to take a drive to see it in person. I wasn’t even sure the grave would really be there, but we received a shock when we pulled the car up beside the abandoned graveyard and saw two caged graves! Two?!

The graves belonged to Asenath Thomas and Sarah Ann Boone. They were clearly related in some way, since Sarah was a Thomas by birth and Asenath was a Thomas by marriage. Both women died in 1852, within a few days of one another.

Why would anyone erect iron cages around their graves? The original article I read claimed Sarah Ann’s family believed she’d been bitten by a vampire – or maybe a werewolf. But legends of vampires and werewolves weren’t popular in the U.S. in the 1850’s, and besides, the writer of the article hadn’t even been to the cemetery or he would’ve mentioned the other grave.

I found a more respectable article written by the local historian who suggested the cages were erected to keep out grave robbers. In the mid-19^th century, fresh corpses were in demand by medical schools. This was a logical (although still creepy) explanation for the cages -- but why build something permanent when the danger of grave robbing would pass within a few weeks? And why were only these two graves protected? What made these women potential targets – who they were, or what they died from?

By now, I knew I had a novel-worthy premise. I started digging around in the history of that region and discovered a little known battle of the Revolutionary War had taken place nearby – about 75 years prior. When the Americans lost, captured Continental soldiers were brutally massacred by British and Indian forces. Then the countryside was razed by the victors, driving settlers to flee into a vast marsh. Most of them died of exposure in what would eventually become known as the Shades of Death swamp, but a few stragglers made it out and took refuge in Catawissa -- the town with the mysterious cemetery.

Tying these elements together became the heart of my story and a three-pronged mystery. How did Sarah Ann and Asenath die? Why were their graves caged? And how are they connected to events in the Shades of Death 75 years earlier?

My novel The Caged Graves is fictional, of course. The real story behind these graves remains a mystery.

About Author

Author Dianne K. Salerni of WE HEAR THE DEAD (Sourcebooks 2010), THE CAGED GRAVES (Clarion 2013), and THE EIGHTH DAY (a forthcoming series from HarperCollins). She is represented by Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger, Inc.

Visit Dianne's website: http://diannesalerni.blogspot.com/p/the-caged-graves.html

My Thoughts

Verity Boone at age two years, was taken from her father, shortly after her mothers  unforeseen death, in order to have the chance to have a normal life while being raised with her cousins in her Aunt's home.  Now Verity is 17 years old and has promised to marry a respectable young man from her home town of Catawissa, Pennsylvania.  When she arrives at her father's home nothing is familiar to her. She did not receive a very warm welcome from anyone including her father. Something was not right, maybe she was being ill treated because people were jealous that she was to marry the most sought after bachelor in Catawissa.  But then as time goes by it is apparent it was more of the fact she was her mother's daughter. Stories of witchcraft was whisper behind her back.  There are many secrets leading up to her mother's death and even at this time in her life when she should be enjoying the preparations for her wedding she is forced to face a life and death situation with no one to turn to for help. 

If this had been a movie, which I think it should be, you would be sitting on the edge of your seat and would not dare to go to the restroom or to get popcorn. Yep, it is that good.  I did not want to put the book down I took it everywhere with me. Yes even to the restroom.  

The author has done a bang up job on this book. You will find high anxiety, greed, action, mystery, romance and redemption all through this book. What a creative imagination this author has put to work in her writing.  I hope to be reading more of her books soon.

I highly recommend this book.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Netgalley for review. I was in no way compensated for this review.  This review is my honest opinion.

If you found this review helpful vote yes or no here. 

BLOWING ON DANDELIONS ~ LOVE BLOOMS IN OREGON SERIES BOOK 1, BY MIRALEE FERRELL

About Book

Do Dandelion Wishes Actually Come True?

Katherine Galloway knew this moment of calm wouldn’t last, blown away like the dandelion seeds she scattered as a girl. In 1880, three years after her husband’s death, she struggles to run an Oregon boardinghouse and raise two girls alone. Things don't get easier when her critical, domineering mother moves in. Katherine must make the situation work, but standing up for herself and her family while honoring her mother isn't easy. And with a daughter entering the teenage years, the pressure on Katherine becomes close to overwhelming. Then she crosses paths with Micah Jacobs, a widower who could reignite her heart, but she fears a relationship with him might send things over the edge. She must find the strength, wisdom, hope, and faith to remake her life, for everything is about to change.

• ISBN-13: 9780781408080
• Publisher:  David C. Cook
• Publication date: 6/1/2013
• Series: Love Blossoms in Oregon Series
• Pages: 400

Where to buy: CBD, Amazon, Barnes&Noble

About Author

Miralee and her husband Allen have been married almost 40 yrs. They live on 11 acres in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge in southern Washington State, where they love to garden, play with their dogs, take walks, and go sailing. Miralee also rides her horse on the wooded trails near their home with her grown daughter who lives nearby. She’s an avid reader and has a large collection of first edition Zane Grey books, which inspired her desire to write fiction set in the Old West. When she started writing fiction Miralee believed that she’d always stay with women’s contemporary, but has since branched out to historical romance. Her first two books were women’s contemporary with Kregel Publications, The Other Daughter, and Finding Jeena.

Miralee serves as president of the Portland, Oregon, chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and belongs to a number of writer’s groups. She speaks at women’s groups, libraries, and churches about her writing journey, and has taught a both writers and library conferences.

Her fourth historical romance with Summerside Press in their Love Finds You series, set in Sundance, Wyoming released summer of 2011. Miralee is currently under contract with David C. Cook for a three-book series of historical romance novels, set in Oregon. Some of her books have a suspense thread as well as romance, and three have a higher degree of action with a decided Old West slant. Her upcoming series will be somewhat of a women’s fiction/historical romance combination, with the emphasis on well-developed characters and plot.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/miralee
Twitter: www.twitter.com/#!/MiraleeFerrell
Blog: www.miraleesdesk.blogspot.com

My Thoughts

Katherine Galloway wishes she could be excited that her mother is coming for a visit.  But instead she is anticipating a very stressful situation.  Her mother is outspoken and overbearing not having anything nice to say to or about Katherine.  Katherine is treated like an imbecile by her mother.  When in fact she done very well for herself and her two daughters.  She owns a boarding house in Oregon which she has been in full charge of since she became a widow.  

Since Micah Jacobs recently moved to Oregon he keeps running into Katherine Galloway.  He has to admit she is an attractive woman but he is not shopping for a new wife.  He still grieves his deceased wife. Anyway Katherine seems to have more on her plate than she can handle.  His teenage son has made fast friends with Mrs. Jacobs daughter at which Mrs. Jacobs seems to object.  

Between Katherine dealing with running the boarding house, the arrival of her mother, her daughter's new friendship and then her youngest daughter to keep up with she is just about on her last nerve.

Wouldn't it be nice to have someone to lean on in times of trials and tribulations?  A spouse is would be a marvelous option.  God tends to give to us abundantly when we are not even looking.  For He already has a plan for our lives. 

This was a most interesting read.  I have heard of mother-in-laws on the war path but in this story the author has created a character you will not likely forget, a mother from Hades.  I loved the support system the author created for Katherine which was her church quilting group.  We depend on our Lord to comfort us yet He also gives us the church community as a support system.  The author and the Lord had to be very creative in the unlikely romance between Katherine and Micah since there are  so many obstacles in their way.

I highly recommend this book.

I rated this book a 5+ out of 5.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book from the author for review.  I was in no way compensated for this review.  This review is my honest opinion.

If you found this review helpful vote yes or no here.