A SIMPLE CHANGE, HOME TO AMANA, book 2 by JUDITH MILLER ~ A BETHANY HOUSE REVIEW

About Book:

She never imagined a simple change could be so complicated...

Middle Amana, Iowa, 1881

When her parents decide to sell their home  and  move  to  the   Amana  Colonies, Jancey Rhoder must make a difficult decision. Should she give up her beloved teaching job and her carefree life in Kansas City to go with them? 

Her suitor, Nathan Woodward, doesn't want her to go, but Jancey feels she must give this new life a try. Her mother is sick, and these next few months may be the last Jancey gets to spend with her. But will this move spell the end of her relationship with Nathan? And when life in Amana is far more mysterious and challenging than Jancey expected, will she choose to return to the city, or will she make this unique place her forever home?

• ISBN-13: 9780764210013
• Publisher: Baker Publishing Group/Bethany House
• Publication date: 8/1/2013
• Series: Home to Amana Series , #2
• Pages: 352

Where to purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

About Author:

Judith Miller is an award-winning author whose avid research and love for history are reflected in her bestselling novels. When time permits, Judy enjoys traveling, visiting historical settings, and scrapbooking the photographs from her travel
expeditions. She makes her home in Topeka, Kansas.

Visit her Web site at www.judithmccoymiller.com.

Books  1 & 2

My Thoughts:

Jancey Rhoder is leaving a life of leisure in Kansas City and following her parents to the Amana Colonies in Middle Amana, Iowa to live the simple life.  Her mother's wish is to return to her birthplace to live out the short time she has left.  Jancey can't fathom not being by her mother's side.

Jancey's father tried to convince her to stay and marry Nathan Woodard one of his business associates. She is not so sure she is ready to marry and informs Nathan she will be moving away with her parents.  He tries to talk her into staying but her mind is made up.  Is the old saying, "Out of sight out of mind.",  really true?

Will Jancey be able to adjust to the simple life? She is determined  to learn all the rules and follow them.  Yet she pushed the rules almost beyond the limit.   She is appointed a job of doing housekeeping at the mill workers dorm. Housekeeping was something she had never done before, but was willing to learn. In Kansas City she had been a volunteer at an orphanage where she was an accredited teacher. She loved teaching.the children. 

This author writes of a strong willed young woman wanting to to fit in to the simple life.  The lessons in this story are many which are meekness, love, hope, trust and faith in God's.  

There is a villain and a hero. The story will keep you guessing until the very end as to whether Jancey goes back to Kansas City or stays in Middle Amana.  

I have enjoyed this series and ready to read more of Home To Amana.  Judith Miller is undoubtedly one of my favorite authors.

I highly recommend this book.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group for review.  I was in no way compensated for this review.

Adoring Addie ~ The Courtships of Lancaster County, Bk 2 ~ by Leslie Gould

About Book

Not Since Romeo and Juliet Has a Couple Faced Odds This Long

The Cramers and Mosiers have been angry with each other for as long as anyone can remember. Things had cooled to a simmer...until Addie Cramer and Jonathan Mosier fell head over heels for each other. Now old tensions are renewed, and Addie's parents insist she marry stolid and uninspiring Phillip Eicher.

Distraught at a future apart, the two decide their best hope is to reconcile the two families...but that means digging into the past to see what tore them apart. Will their love be enough to keep them together or will long-held secrets ruin their chance at happiness?

Download PDF Excerpt here.

• ISBN-13: 9780764210327
• Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
• Publication date: 5/1/2013
• Series: Courtships of Lancaster County Series , #2
• Pages: 352

Where to Purchase: Baker Retail, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, CBD

About Author

Leslie Gould is the coauthor, with Mindy Starns Clark, of the #1 CBA bestseller The Amish Midwife, a 2012 Christy Award winner; ECPA bestseller Courting Cate, first in the Courtships of Lancaster County series; and Beyond the Blue, winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice for Best Inspirational Novel, 2006. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Portland State University and has taught fiction writing at Multnomah University as an adjunct professor. She and her husband and four children live in Portland, Oregon.

Where to find Leslie:  Author's Website, Twitter, Facebook

Other Books by Leslie Gould:

The Women of Lancaster County Series

• The Amish Midwife • Bk 1
• The Amish Nanny • Bk 2
• The Amish Bride • Bk 3

The Courtships of Lancaster County Series

• Courting Cate (November 2012) • Bk 1 
• Adoring Addie (May 2013) • Bk 2
• Wh(More to follow)

My Thoughts

When will Addie Cramer own up to her parents that she has nothing in common with.   Phillip Eicher, the bishop’s son.  She just can not image marrying someone she does not love.  Besides he is very boring and  knows nothing about the real Addie and her feelings.  She wants to marry someone who is actually interested in listening to her wants, needs and fears.  So far the only man that seems to be interested in what she has to say is Johnathan Mosier.  

Johnathan Mosier is mesmerized at the first time he laid eyes on Addie Cramer and after talking to her he finds her to be humble, sincere and very attractive.  The loyalty she shows toward her family and Amish community is from her heart and her trust in God.

Like the Hatfields and the McCoys the Cramers and the Mosiers hold a grudge against each other and would never agree to a union between the two families.    

The author has written a wonderful story of a couple's heartache, a daughter's desire to honor her father and mother,  reconciliation between friends, family and God.   This story shows the readers how anger and harboring a grudge can harden one's heart and distant him from God. 

Addie's father seemed to favor his son's over his daughters,  being more interested in what a marriage union for his daughter would bring to him and his family rather than how his  daughter felt about the man her father had chosen for her to marry.

I highly recommend this book.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book from Baker Publishing/Bethany House 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.

The Icecutter's Daughter ~ Land of Shining Water Series #1 ~ by Tracie Peterson

About Book

As the lone female in a houseful of men, Merrill Krause dedicates her life to caring for her family and their business, as her dying mother asked. Besides, it suits her; she's never felt like she fits what most people expect in a girl--she'd rather work with her father’s horses and assist with the ice harvest. And though she’s been mostly content up to this point, a part of her wonders if there will ever be anyone who will notice her amid the bevy of brothers determined to protect her from any possible suitors.

When Rurik Jorgenson arrives in their small Minnesota town to join his uncle's carpentry business, he soon crosses paths with Merrill. But unlike other men, who are often frightened away by her older brothers, Rurik isn't intimidated by them or by Merrill's strength and lack of femininity. The attraction between them begins to build...until Rurik's former fiance shows up with wild claims that bring serious consequences to Rurik.

Can Rurik and Merrill learn to trust God--and each other--when scandal threatens their newfound love?

Tracie Peterson's love for history and research fuel the bestselling stories she writes. She is the author of more than ninety novels and the recipient of the 2011 ACFW Lifetime Achievement Award. Tracie and her family live in Montana.

ISBN-13: 9780764206191

Publisher: Baker Publishing Group

• Publication date: 3/1/2013
• Series: Land of Shining Water
• Pages: 352
• Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.40 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Where to buy:  Amazon, Barnes&Noble, BakerBookStore, CBD

About Tracie Peterson

Tracie Peterson is the award-winning author of over ninety novels, both historical and contemporary. Her avid research resonates in her stories, as seen in her bestselling Heirs of Montana, and Alaskan Quest series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana. 

Visit Tracie's Web site at www.traciepeterson.com and her blog at www.writespassage.blogspot.com.

My Thoughts

Merrill Krause has several very protective brothers that have been known to run off any potential suitors.  She is responsible for the care of the household chores and the cooking.  She works with the horses which is her favorite thing to do on the farm.  You will even find her working shoulder to shoulder with her father and brothers.  She jumps right in when it is time to cut, haul and store ice from the lake.  Ice-cutting is tough for the brawniest of men.  She stays so busy that it is very apparent she is having no luck in finding a suitable husband.  

Rurik Jorgenson is new to the community.  He is going into business with his uncle's in a carpentry business. He hopes to fit in with the community.  With his uncle's health becoming a concern he volunteered to go in his uncle's stead to help his uncle's friend to harvest ice from the lake.  This will definitely be a new experience for him, but he was willing to learn.  He got a big shock when he discovered one of the icecutter's was actually a beautiful young woman.  He got plenty of teasing by her brothers. Rurik would not let them intimidate him when or if he decided to court their sister.  But his former fiancee concocts some wild accusations against Rurik which puts his reputation into question.

The author has written a story of family bonds, love and loyalty to one another.  Then there is the deception that threatens to destroy a young man's future. I loved the dedication these characters had to their family through such selfless acts.  My favorite character was Rurik's uncle he was a very giving, wise and trusting man, with a strong belief in prayer and God's will for one's life.  

I highly recommend this book.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House/Baker Publishing for review.  I was in no way compensated for this review.  This review is my honest opinion.

The Lesson ~ Stoney Ridge Seasons, #3 by Suzanne Woods Fisher ~ iPad Giveaway

About Book

Centered on one of Suzanne Woods Fisher’s most loved characters, this is the story fans have eagerly anticipated. The precocious M.K. is all grown up (well, almost) and ready to take on the world–with surprising results. Fisher’s trademark plot twists and turns are as unexpected and satisfying as ever in this third book in the Stoney Ridge Seasons series.

In her wildest dreams, spunky and impulsive nineteen-year-old Mary Kate Lapp never imagined herself behind a schoolteacher’s desk. A run-in (literally) with the schoolteacher compels her to act as a substitute teacher, just as her restless desire to see the world compels her to apply for a passport . . . just in case. The only thing of interest to M.K. in the sleepy Amish community of Stoney Ridge is the unexplained death of a sheep farmer that coincided with the arrival of a mysterious young man into the community. Frustrated that no one takes the crime seriously, she takes matters into her own hands. Unfortunately, as tends to be the case for M.K., she jumps headlong into trouble.

Read Excerpt here.
Reading Group Guide here.

• ISBN-13: 9780800719890
• Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
• Publication date: 1/2/2013
• Pages: 304
• Series: Stoney Ridge Seasons , #3

• Where to buy: 
• Baker Retail
• Amazon.com
• Barnes & Noble
• Christianbook.com

About Author

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of the Lancaster County Secrets series and the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. She is also the coauthor of a new Amish children's series, The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist. She is the host of internet radio show Amish Wisdom and a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazines. She lives in California. For more information, please visit www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and connect with her on Twitter @suzannewfisher. Get Amish proverbs delivered right to your iphone or ipad! Download the Free App!

Celebrate the release of The Lesson with Suzanne Woods Fisher by entering to win one of TWO iPads!

Two winners will receive:

• A brand new iPad
• A $15 gift certificate to iTunes

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on January 20th. Winner will be announced on 1/22/13 at Suzanne's Blog.

Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

My Thoughts

Mary Kate Lapp still has discontent for her life in Stoney Ridge.  She has her sites and mind on faraway places.  She has even gone as far as to acquire an application for a passport.  Her mind and body are never still, they are always on fast forward.  Then one day as she was racing down the road on her scooter she heard a gunshot and saw a man lying presumably dead in a field.  She raced down the road to use the schoolhouse phone to call 911 and on the way back to the supposedly murder scene she encountered Alice Smucker the school teacher in the road. She had plowed over Alice with her scooter causing a supposedly concussed head injury causing her to have to go call 911 once again.

The Bishop decided since MK had caused the teacher's supposed injury MK then would take Alice's place as school teacher for approximately three weeks.  Now MK would have like to argue the fact that Alice was a hypochondriac, but you just don't argue with the Bishop.

She thought this was the worst thing that could ever happen to her.  She spent years trying to get out of the school house now she had to go back as a teacher.  Being a teacher was much harder than she could ever have imagined.  Her stepmother Fern suggested she speak to a wise old woman by the name of Erma. Erma was soon to be one hundred years old. She surprised MK by giving her some very wise advice about how to teach each individual child and as days went by she began enjoying her teaching position.

* * *

Jimmy Fisher an old schoolmate came to MK for some advice about how to get his new love of his life to notice him.  But as usual Jimmy jumped from one girl or job before you could blink an eye.  He had a habit of  sneaking off in the middle of a job or he would be checking out the race ponies. But he always had time to visit with MK.

With so much going on in Stoney Ridge not many noticed a couple of new residence.  Will and his young sister Jenny had taken up residence in their Grandpa Mitchell's old home place.  Everything should work out fine for them if he can keep a low profile a few months longer that is until he turns twenty-one then the old home place will be legally his.  If his mother finds out where they are living she could cause a lot of trouble.  That was what she was good at and had left him and his sister in foster care since he was eight years old and Jenny was one. This was not something he wanted the people of Stoney Ridge to know about them.

MK had met Will the same way she had plowed over the teacher, but this ended Will upside down in a muddy ditch.  MK had no idea that Will was the new worker her father had hired to help with the farm.
Nor did she know that Jenny one of her students was Will's younger sister. Once MK found this out she invited Jenny to spend time at the her home until her brother got off work.  The more time she spent with Will the more attracted she became to him.  But for some reason he kept avoiding her which made her suspicious.  What was he hiding?  Here Mary Kate goes again!  She is determined to play police detective and find out who Will really is and what he is hiding. She wondered if he had anything to do with the death of the farmer she had seen lying in the field?

I would love to tell you more but then that would spoil the story for you.  So hurry and get a copy of this book and find out what secrets MK is able to uncover!

The author has outdone herself on this book.  My family kept trying to distract me from my reading but I just kept shooing them away.  In this book you have intrigue, intrigue and more intrigue.  Along with humor, romance, heartaches and reconciliation, secrets hidden and I emphasize secrets, and secrets revealed. It has an abundance love and support of family. But most importantly their Faith in God.

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 Group/Revell/Baker Publishing for review.  I was in no way compensated for this review.  It is my own opinion.

If you found this review helpful vote yes or no here

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Whispers in the Wind - Wild West Wind Series #2 by Lauraine Snelling

Whispers in the Wind

About Book

She's Come This Far.... Must She Turn Back Now?

After fleeing North Dakota and the now defunct Wild West Show, Cassie Lockwood and her companions have finally found the hidden valley in South Dakota where her father had dreamed of putting down roots. But to her dismay, she discovers a ranch already built on her land.

Cassie's arrival surprises Mavis Engstrom and forces her to reveal secrets she's kept hidden for years. Her son Ransom is suspicious of Cassie and questions the validity of her claim to the valley. But younger son Lucas decides from the start that he is in love with her and wants to marry her.

Will Cassie be able to build a home on the Bar E Ranch and fulfill her father's dream of raising horses, or will she be forced to return to the itinerant life of her past?

Whispers in the Wind  Series: Wild West Wind 2 by Lauraine Snelling ISBN: 978-0-7642-0416-6 Format: Paperback Publication date: Aug. 2012 | Division: Bethany House Where to buy: Amazon, Christianbook.com, BarnesandNoble.com.

About Lauraine

Award-winning and best selling author Lauraine Snelling began living her dream to be a writer with her first published book for young adult readers, Tragedy on the Toutle, in 1982. She has since continued writing more horse books for young girls, adding historical and contemporary fiction and nonfiction for adults and young readers to her repertoire. All told, she has seventy books published.

Shown in her contemporary romances and women’s fiction, a hallmark of Lauraine’s style is writing about real issues of forgiveness, loss, domestic violence, and cancer within a compelling story.

 Her work has been translated into Norwegian, Danish, and German, and she has won the Silver Angel Award for An Untamed Land and a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart for Song of Laughter.

As a sought after speaker, Lauraine encourages others to find their gifts and live their lives with humor and joy. Her readers clamor for more books more often, and Lauraine would like to comply ... if only her paintbrushes and easel didn't call quite so loudly.

Lauraine and her husband, Wayne, have two grown sons, and live in the Tehachapi Mountains with a watchdog Basset named Winston. They love to travel, most especially in their forty-foot motor coach, which they affectionately deem “a work in progress”.

Learn more about Lauraine on her website here.

My Thoughts

Cassie Lockwood's journey is over. She has found the ranch her father had told her so much about.  He had bought the ranch in partnership with his best friend Ivar Engstrom.  Adam's widow Mavis welcomed her with open arms but her grown sons have reservations about the partnership of their father and Cassie's father.  Mavis and Ivar had never mentioned anything about owning only half of the ranch and their children.

Ransom has his concerns with the fact that this important piece of information was never mentioned until the day Cassie and her friends show up to claim her inheritance which was half of the Bar E Ranch.  Mavis had not only withheld the fact that Adam was a partner in the ranch but that she had also been in love with Adam Lockwood before she married their father. She has not revealed the later to anyone.

Has Cassie come all this way just leave in order to preserve the peace within the Engstrom family? They are the true definition of family and love and she does not want to cause them problems.

Book two was so much better than book one.  I felt more connected with the characters and story. The character Chief has become Cassie's shadow and protector even more so since the death of Adam Lockwood. Micah is the animal handler that came along with them in hopes of finding a place to plant his feet.  Then there is Runs Like A Deer the Indian woman they found injured on their journey and she has made them her family.  All of these people have become a family unit. Oh, let's not forget Wind Dancer the beautiful and talented Pinto and George the buffalo.

Mavis Engstrom is the glue that holds them all together including the addition of Cassie's little family. Her young daughter Gretchen is a mini Mavis in the making. Mavis's son Lucas gets ahead of himself most of the time though it is usually with the best of intentions.  Her son Ransom is very protective of his family and the ranch. He is a hard nut to crack. But once he cracks it is all good.  Her son Jess is off at college and Mavis is not sure how he will react to news that half the ranch belongs to someone else.

The author told a heartwarming tale of coming home and uniting a group of people that God had meant to be together for the better of all of them.  It is all there love, family, unity, determination and trust in God and their fellow man.

I wanted the story of these beautiful people to continue. Looking forward to reading more.

I highly recommend this book.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure
I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House for review.  I was in no way compensated for this review.  It is my own opinion.

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

Review: My Life and Lesser Catastrophes by Christina Schofield

Christina Schofield has been a children's illustrator and writer for the last ten years, working with Zonderkidz, Group Publishing, Standard Publishing, and Cook Communications. She and her husband, Allen, a campus pastor, have one daughter, Lily, and live in Rolla, Missouri.

About:
Just after her thirteenth wedding anniversary, Christina Schofield woke up groggy and disoriented, surrounded by nurses in a hospital. She and her husband had hit a gravel patch while on their motorcycle and crashed into a ditch. With the exception of a concussion, she was fine. But Allen had broken his neck. He was now a quadriplegic.

With her entire life flipped upside down, she began an astonishing journey of tenacious faith amid increasing doubt. Full of dark, silent hours and a woman's honest questioning of the God she thought she knew, this is also a story full of miraculous answers to prayer and head-scratching, awe-inspiring encounters with her loving Lord.

With candid warmth and transparency, Christina shows readers that even in their darkest hours, God's goodness shines through.

My Thoughts:
The author shares one the most horrific accidents that most people think could never happen to them.  How could God do this to a faithful follower? A lot of us have probably been in similar situations and we get angry with God for not protecting us.

The author writes about her journey in faith and God's silence. This is a beautiful story of God's faithfulness to us and our needs.

When you sit down to read this book you best have a box of tissues close by. Luckily I had just bought a new box of tissues. My heart goes out to this family and what they went through and came out of because of this tragic event.

I highly recommend this memoir.

I rate this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:
I received a copy of this book from Bethany House for review. I was in no way compensated for my review. This is my own opinion.


Buy the book here: