What Once Was Lost by Kim Vogel Sawyer

About This Book

A woman meant to serve, a child in the dark, a man standing apart—can these three souls embrace a God with new plans for them?

On a small Kansas farm, Christina Willems lovingly shepherds a group of poor and displaced individuals who count on her leadership and have come to see the Brambleville Asylum for the Poor as their home. But when a fire breaks out in the kitchen leaving the house uninhabitable, she must scramble to find shelter for all in her care, scattering her dear “family.”

With no other options, Christina is forced to approach Levi Jonnson, a reclusive mill owner, to take in a young blind boy named Tommy Kilgore. Levi agrees with reluctance but finds himself surprised by the bond that quickly grows between him and Tommy. As obstacles to repairing the farm pile up against Christina, she begins to question her leadership ability and wonders if she can fulfill the mission to which she's dedicated her life. And when an old adversary challenges Christina, will she find an unlikely ally—or more—in the aloof Levi? Can Levi reconcile with the rejection that led to his hermit-like existence and open his heart and life to something more, especially a relationship with a loving God?

See more at: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?work=221537#sthash.WVhnm19G.dpuf

About Author:

Kim Vogel Sawyer is a best-selling author highly acclaimed for her gentle stories of hope. More than one million copies of her books are in print and have garnered awards including the ACFW Carol Award, the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. Kim lives in Kansas, where she and her retired military husband, Don, run a bed-and-breakfast inn with the help of their four feline companions. She enjoys spending time with her three daughters and nine grandchildren.   

See more at: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/author-spotlight.php?authorid=162648#sthash.oXneAdLR.dpuf

My Thoughts 

Christina has a mission to help the down and out the misplaced and homeless including orphaned children. Just when things seem to be going well on the Poor Farm the house catches fire leaving even Christina homeless. She finds places for everyone to stay until the house can be repaired except for Tommy a blind child.  She convinces the mill owner and recluse Levi Johnson to temporarily take in Tommy until she can make other arrangements.  There did not seem to be anyone sympathetic to this young boys needs. Levi tried not to bond with the boy but his heart continued to soften for the lad even though Levi did  not want to open his heart to anyone.  

Christina leans on Levi more and more while trying to get the house repaired.  This was not setting well with Levi.  He is suspicious of how the fire was started that damaged the Poor Farm.  Will they ever be able to return to the farm or will they be homeless again? Where will they go from here?

I found this to be a heartwarming tale that I did not want to put down.  I had never heard of a Poor Farm and found ite b a wonderful concept. Growing their own food and raising farm animals.  Homeless adults caring for orphaned children. This farm was almost totally self sufficient. God had a plan one that was not expected.  When we lead it makes it hard when God wants us to follow his path.  The author has a tender heart and a great vision that she is able to bring forth in her writings.  

I highly recommend this book.  

I rated this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:  I receiving a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books/WATERBROOK PRESS for review. I was in no way compensated for this review.  This review is my honest opinion.

ROAD TO the CHRISTYS - HISTORICAL - MINE IS THE NIGHT written by Liz Curtis Higgs

  

About Liz:
Liz Curtis Higgs has been telling tales since she attempted her first novel–handwritten in a marble notebook–at the tender age of ten. Successful careers in broadcasting, public speaking, nonfiction writing, and children's books honed Liz's storytelling talents, bringing her back to her first love–writing fiction–at the turn of the 21st century.

A gifted speaker, Liz Curtis Higgs has presented more than 1,500 inspirational programs for audiences in all 50 United States as well as Germany, England, Canada, Ecuador, France, and Scotland. In 1995, Liz received the highest award in professional speaking, the "Council of Peers Award for Excellence," becoming one of only forty women in the world named to the CPAE-Speaker Hall of Fame by the National Speakers Association.

Feature articles about Liz have appeared in more than 250 major newspapers and magazines across the country, and she has been interviewed on more than 600 radio and television stations, including guest appearances on PBS, A&E, MSNBC, NPR, CBC Canada, BBC Radio Scotland, Focus on the Family, and Janet Parshall's America.
Liz is the author of 22 books, with 3 million copies in print. Her fiction to date includes two contemporary novels and three historical novels…

• Mixed Signals
• Bookends
• Thorn in My Heart
• Fair Is the Rose
• Whence Came a Prince

Her best-selling nonfiction books include…

• Bad Girls of the Bible
• Really Bad Girls of the Bible
• Unveiling Mary Magdalene
• Rise and Shine: A Devotional

Three of the above titles have corresponding VHS videos and companion workbooks.
And she has written five books for young children…

• The Pumpkin Patch Parable
• The Parable of the Lily
• The Sunflower Parable
• The Pine Tree Parable
• Go Away, Dark Night

Her children's Parable Series was awarded the ECPA Gold Medallion for Excellence in 1998, and her book Bad Girls of the Bible received the ECPA Gold Book Award in 2004 for sales of more than 500,000 copies. Her first novel, Mixed Signals, was a Romance Writers of America 2000 Rita Award Finalist for both Best First Novel and Best Inspirational Novel. Liz's second novel, Bookends, was a 2001 Christy Award Finalist for Best Contemporary Fiction. Her third novel, Thorn in My Heart, was a #1 historical fiction Christian bestseller, followed by Fair Is the Rose, which reached best-seller status days after its release. Whence Came a Prince, the final novel in the series, published in March 2005. In addition, Liz is the editor of an annual newsletter, The Graceful Heart, with 20,000 readers world wide, and is a columnist for Today's Christian Woman magazine with her popular back page feature, "Life with Liz." More than 2,000 churches nationwide are using her 2004 video Bible study series, Loved by God.

On the personal side, Liz is married to Bill Higgs, Ph.D., who serves as Director of Operations for her speaking and writing office. Liz and Bill share their 19th-century farmhouse in Kentucky with their two teenagers, Matt and Lilly, and too many cats. For more about Liz, visit her Web site: www.LizCurtisHiggs.com


Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs (Chapters 1 & 2 Excerpt)

About Book:
Stepping from a battered coach on a rainy April eve, newly widowed Elisabeth Kerr must begin again, without husband or title, property or fortune. She is unafraid of work and gifted with a needle, but how will she stitch together the tattered remnants of her life? And who will mend her heart, torn asunder by betrayal and deception?
Elisabeth has not come to Selkirk alone. Her mother-in-law, Marjory Kerr, is a woman undone, having buried her husband, her sons, and any promise of grandchildren. Dependent upon a distant cousin with meager resources, Marjory dreads the future almost as much as she regrets the past. Yet joy still comes knocking, and hope is often found in unexpected places.
Then a worthy hero steps forward, rekindling a spark of hope. Will he risk his reputation to defend two women labeled as traitors to the Crown? Or will a wealthy beauty, untainted by scandal, capture his affections?
The heartrending journey of the Kerr women comes to a glorious finish in Mine Is the Night, a sparkling gem of redemption and restoration set in eighteenth-century Scotland.

My Thoughts:
This book picked up right where book one, Here Burns My Candle, left off. Elisabeth Kerr, no longer Lady Kerr steps off the coach along with her mother-in-law Marjory Kerr. They are on their own now seeking the meager home and hearth of their cousin Anne Kerr. Anne agrees to give them shelter. Since they have no money or husband they will have to provide for themselves by Elisabeth seeking work with a friend of Anne's that has a Tailor's Shop. Elisabeth is skilled with a needle but Micheal the Tailor can not take a woman for a partner and ends up hiring a man. So she is forced to seek work with at the residence of Admiral Lord Jack. Elizabeth is to sew dresses for the thirty female workers of Lord Jack's home. He becomes her hero finding out that she and her mother-in-law are penniless and he intends to make life easier for the two widows. They work hard to rebuild a life for themselves, while growing closer to God and His will.

The author did an outstanding job writing this book. The first book was tragic with loss of love and faith. But this book picks them up and leads them to a new beginning. This story is of healing and redemption. It was a beautiful book to read. The way the author worked in the history of Scotland made the story believable like you were there with Elisabeth and Marjory. The author gave these women so much strength and determination to survive while they gave each other love and comfort in such trying times. They were constantly watching and avoiding contact with the King's Dragoons, for they feared being arrested. God's will was at work and they chose to have faith in Him and follow the path he set before them.

I highly recommend this book.

I rate this book a 5 out of 5.




Disclosure:
I recieved a copy of this book for review from Blogging for Books/WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing. I was in no way compensated for my review. It is my own honest opinion.

Blogging for Books Review - Eye of the Sword (The Angelaeon Circle #2) by Karyn Henley

About Karyn


Award-winning author Karyn Henley has written over 100 titles, which include a mix of children’s books and articles, parent-teacher books, articles, and curricula, and preschool musicals and CD’s/DVD’s of original music for children. An accomplished songwriter, Karyn has been a Dove Award nominee, and received a regional Emmy Award as Music Composer for a Christmas television special. She has traveled worldwide speaking to parents and teachers and entertaining children and their families in storytelling/active movement sessions and concerts. Most of her work has been in the area of spiritual development. She is best known as the author of the original version of The Beginner’s Bible, which during the fifteen years it was in print (1989-2004), sold over 5 million copies and was translated into 17 languages.

A graduate of Abilene Christian University (BSEd), Karyn received a Master’s of Fine Arts degree from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2004. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Karyn’s debut line of YA fantasy novels is entitled Angelaeon Circle, the first release in the series being Breath of Angel, was published by WaterBrook Multnomah in 2011. The second release, Eye of the Sword, will be released March 13, 2011.

Information about Karyn’s spiritual resources can be found at: www.karynhenley.com

About Book

Where angels walk the ground and the future is told in song, does a man of low rank have a chance at love with a princess?

In Camrithia, a land of shadows and mystical secrets, Trevin lives to serve King Laetham. But his heart belongs to the princess, Melaia. When the King sends Trevin on on a dangerous quest to find the missing comains—captains in the king’s army—he must leave Melaia to the advances of a swaggering Dregmoorian prince.

Challenged to prove his worth, Trevin throws himself into his quest. Striving to prove his love, Trevin undertakes a second mission—find the harps Melaia seeks in order to restore the stairway to heaven. Through fire caves, rogue winds, and murderous threats, Trevin remains steadfastly dedicated to his quest—even when he is falsely accused of a heinous crime. As Trevin’s time runs out, he realizes he must face the shame and horror of his own past and the nightmare that has come to life. Will he have the courage to finish what he has started?

Eye of the Sword by Karyn Henley


My Thoughts


I read Breath of Angel, book one in The Angeleon Circle not really expecting to be transported into a mystical world of Angels. I was pleasingly surprised.


In book Two I was glad to continue this journey into The Angeleon Circle. The first couple of pages was fun to get into because Trevin's brother Dwin was acting like a total idiot and was laughing hysterically which drew me in right away.


Main Trevin is a hero on a quest to help Princess Melaia find the remaining magical harps that will restore the stairs to Heaven for the Angels. He is not only on a quest to find the magical harps but to save the Land of Camrithia from the Dregmoors and to save Princess Melaia from being bartered into marriage by her father, King Laetham with the Prince of the Dregmoors.


Plus the romance keeps building between Main Trevin and Princess Melaia. There is so much more I would like to say about this story but I would spoil the book for you.


There are many other characters in this book that hold this story together like connect a dots. Pay close attention some that claim to be friends may be foe.


Are you following the connect a dots that God has set before you or are you creating your own life lines?.


I highly recommend this book.


I rated this book a five out of five.


Disclosure:
I was provided a copy of this book from Waterbrook Press for review. I was in no way compensated for this review it is my own opinion.

Review: Hope of Refuge (Ada's House series #1) by Cindy Woodsmall

About Cindy

Cindy Woodsmall is a veteran homeschool mom. As her children progressed in age, her desire to write grew stronger. After working through reservations whether this desire was something she should pursue, she began her writing journey. Her husband was her staunchest supporter as she aimed for what seemed impossible.

Her first novel released in 2006 to much acclaim and became a Christian Book Association best seller. Cindy was a 2007 ECPA Christian Book Award finalist, along with Karen Kingsbury, Angela Hunt, and Charles Martin.

Her lastest book, When the Morning Comes, hit the New York Times best-sellers extended list and the Christian Book Association best-sellers list.

Cindy’s real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families enrich her novels with authenticity.




The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall (Chapter 1)



About Book

Published August 11th 2009 by WaterBrook Press
ISBN 1400073960 (ISBN13: 9781400073962)
series Ada's House #1
literary awards Christy Award Nominee for Contemporary Series, Sequels, and Novellas (2010)

Raised in foster care and now the widowed mother of a little girl, Cara Moore struggles against poverty, fear, and a relentless stalker. When a trail of memories leads Cara and Lori out of New York City toward an Amish community, she follows every lead, eager for answers and a fresh start. She discovers that long-held secrets about her family history ripple beneath the surface of Dry Lake, Pennsylvania, and it’s no place for an outsider. But one Amish man, Ephraim Mast, dares to fulfill the command he believes that he received from God–“Be me to her”– despite how it threatens his way of life.

Completely opposite of the hard, untrusting Cara, Ephraim’s sister Deborah also finds her dreams crumbling when the man she has pledged to build a life with begins withdrawing from Deborah and his community, including his mother, Ada Stoltzfus. Can the run-down house that Ada envisions transforming unite them toward a common purpose–or push Mahlon away forever? While Ephraim is trying to do what he believes is right, will he be shunned and lose everything–including the guarded single mother who simply longs for a better life?




My Thoughts

This is the second time I have read this book.  I am sharing my review from the first time I read the book.

This is book one of three from the Ada's House Series about an Amish community.


Cara was abandoned as a child after the death of her mother and ended up in foster care. She never stopped searching for answers to her past. She blamed God as so many people do when her prayers are not answered according to their wishes. God has a plan and it is sometimes hard to reason with the path He chooses for us. When Cara was a little girl she decided there must not be a God because He didn't seem to here her prayers.


Cara is a young widow with a little girl named Lori. Cara has had to jumped from one place to another to get away from a stalker of her youth. She is forced by fear to find a safe place for her child and takes off, with nothing but the clothes on their backs and a backpack, to search for her a place she only remembers in bits and pieces. It is a happy safe place from her early childhood memories and of playing with a sweet young boy. She tends to wonder if it isn't just a figment of her imagination. She finds this place which is an Amish community and she is not wanted there. One person, Ephraim, stands up for her and helps her to find her answers only to jeopardize his standing in the Amish community.


It touched my heart reading about this pour young woman trying to find a safe place for her and her child. If you believe in God's will, for your life and following the path He sets before us, you will enjoy this book.


I highly recommend this book


I give this book a 5 out of 5.


Disclosure:
I purchased this book for my personal reading pleasure. In no way was I compensated for this review. This review is my own opinion.

Review: Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner

About Author:

I cannot remember a time when I wasn't driven to put my thoughts down on paper. I attribute this love for writing to a creative God and to parents who love books and more particularly to a dad who majored in English and passed on a passion for writing.

I was born and raised in San Diego, California, and am the second of three daughters. My first writings are a laughable collection of oddly worded poems and predictable stories I wrote when I was eight. My second-grade teacher gave me the journal I in which I recorded these poems and stories. To my knowledge I was the only student in her class that she gave a journal to; she must have seen promise in me. In high school my freshman composition teacher found all kinds of ways to encourage me to develop my skills as a writer. Without telling me beforehand, he read the first composition I ever wrote for him aloud to the class. That's how much he liked it. I have never forgotten how it felt to hear him begin to read something to the entire class and realize it was something I had written.

I didn't do a lot of writing in the years my husband was on active duty in the Air Force, when we were living overseas, or when we were raising our four children. When we moved to rural Minnesota in 1993 after seven years in the Air Force — five of them spent in Europe — I became aware of a gnawing desire to write a novel. I ignored it while the children were young, choosing to try writing articles for magazines. Nothing ever got published however, so I began to think my best days as a writer had already happened in high school with Mr. Barone.

In 1995, I was offered a job as a part-time reporter for my county newspaper. The publisher gave me my own weekly column, In 1998, I was named editor of the Mountain Lake/Butterfield Observer Advocate, the town's weekly paper, after the county newspaper purchased it. I was honored to win several awards over the years, but the best part of my four years as editor was having my paper named the Best Weekly Newspaper in Minnesota by the Minnesota Newspaper Association in 2002.

That year became a rather pivotal one for me as a writer. My beloved paternal grandfather died in July 2002 — my Papa — and his passing had a profound effect on me. I suddenly had an incredible urge to write a book; a novel. I knew I didn't want to come to the end of my life having only dreamed of writing one. I resigned as editor of the newspaper, which was a very hard decision to make, and set out to write Why the Sky is Blue. It took four months to write and ten months to be accepted by a publisher and I’ve been writing novels ever since. My favorite genre is contemporary fiction with a historical thread running through it.

Currently, my husband is an associate pastor at a church in San Diego, and a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves. When I'm not working on a new novel, I am directing the small groups ministries at The Church at Rancho Bernardo. I also enjoy teaching workshops on writing and dream-following, as well as spending time with my family, listening to or making music, reading great books, and traveling.

About Book:

A house shrouded in time.

A line of women with a heritage of loss.

As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn’t believe that Susannah’s ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.

When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband’s home, it isn’t long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.

With Adelaide’s richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak— and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.

Paperback, 336 pages

Published October 4th 2011 by WaterBrook Multnomah

ISBN 0307458857 (ISBN13: 9780307458858)

A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner (Chapter 1 Excerpt)


My Thoughts:
Susannah Page is rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, labeled a traitor to Virginians and the South.
In present day she is known as a ghost searching for redemption of her past now haunting her home Holly Oak Mansion. Her great grandaughter does not believe Susannah is haunting the mansion.  She actually believes it is the house that holds a grudge against the past and is taking it out on the women of Holly Oak Mansion.

Now the mansion has a new resident Marielle Bishop and she soon learns about the haunting of the Holly Oak.  She is not sure what to believe and tries to uncover the truth.

I really got into all the history of Holly Oak Mansion  and  the residents of the mansion past and present.
The Civil War had done much damage to the Virginians. The fortitude of the South to rebuild their lives and their homes was heartbreaking knowing what they all went through.  The hardship of the slaves in the face of their freedom and rebirth of life must have been exalting.

How could anyone not feel as if their are ghost and hauntings  after so many lives and homes were lost in that war.

I highly recommend this book.

I rate this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:
I received a copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah/Blogging for Books.  In no way was I compensated for this review it is my own opinion.

******

Review: Mine Is the Night (Here Burns My Candle #2) by Liz Curtis Higgs

About this author:
Liz Curtis Higgs has been telling tales since she attempted her first novel–handwritten in a marble notebook–at the tender age of ten. Successful careers in broadcasting, public speaking, nonfiction writing, and children's books honed Liz's storytelling talents, bringing her back to her first love–writing fiction–at the turn of the 21st century.

A gifted speaker, Liz Curtis Higgs has presented more than 1,500 inspirational programs for audiences in all 50 United States as well as Germany, England, Canada, Ecuador, France, and Scotland. In 1995, Liz received the highest award in professional speaking, the "Council of Peers Award for Excellence," becoming one of only forty women in the world named to the CPAE-Speaker Hall of Fame by the National Speakers Association.

Feature articles about Liz have appeared in more than 250 major newspapers and magazines across the country, and she has been interviewed on more than 600 radio and television stations, including guest appearances on PBS, A&E, MSNBC, NPR, CBC Canada, BBC Radio Scotland, Focus on the Family, and Janet Parshall's America.
Liz is the author of 22 books, with 3 million copies in print. Her fiction to date includes two contemporary novels and three historical novels…
• Mixed Signals
• Bookends
• Thorn in My Heart
• Fair Is the Rose
• Whence Came a Prince

Her best-selling nonfiction books include…

• Bad Girls of the Bible
• Really Bad Girls of the Bible
• Unveiling Mary Magdalene
• Rise and Shine: A Devotional

Three of the above titles have corresponding VHS videos and companion workbooks.
And she has written five books for young children…
• The Pumpkin Patch Parable
• The Parable of the Lily
• The Sunflower Parable
• The Pine Tree Parable
• Go Away, Dark Night

Her children's Parable Series was awarded the ECPA Gold Medallion for Excellence in 1998, and her book Bad Girls of the Bible received the ECPA Gold Book Award in 2004 for sales of more than 500,000 copies. Her first novel, Mixed Signals, was a Romance Writers of America 2000 Rita Award Finalist for both Best First Novel and Best Inspirational Novel. Liz's second novel, Bookends, was a 2001 Christy Award Finalist for Best Contemporary Fiction. Her third novel, Thorn in My Heart, was a #1 historical fiction Christian bestseller, followed by Fair Is the Rose, which reached best-seller status days after its release. Whence Came a Prince, the final novel in the series, published in March 2005. In addition, Liz is the editor of an annual newsletter, The Graceful Heart, with 20,000 readers world wide, and is a columnist for Today's Christian Woman magazine with her popular back page feature, "Life with Liz." More than 2,000 churches nationwide are using her 2004 video Bible study series, Loved by God.

On the personal side, Liz is married to Bill Higgs, Ph.D., who serves as Director of Operations for her speaking and writing office. Liz and Bill share their 19th-century farmhouse in Kentucky with their two teenagers, Matt and Lilly, and too many cats. For more about Liz, visit her Web site: www.LizCurtisHiggs.com


Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs (Chapters 1 & 2 Excerpt)

About Book:
Stepping from a battered coach on a rainy April eve, newly widowed Elisabeth Kerr must begin again, without husband or title, property or fortune. She is unafraid of work and gifted with a needle, but how will she stitch together the tattered remnants of her life? And who will mend her heart, torn asunder by betrayal and deception?
Elisabeth has not come to Selkirk alone. Her mother-in-law, Marjory Kerr, is a woman undone, having buried her husband, her sons, and any promise of grandchildren. Dependent upon a distant cousin with meager resources, Marjory dreads the future almost as much as she regrets the past. Yet joy still comes knocking, and hope is often found in unexpected places.
Then a worthy hero steps forward, rekindling a spark of hope. Will he risk his reputation to defend two women labeled as traitors to the Crown? Or will a wealthy beauty, untainted by scandal, capture his affections?
The heartrending journey of the Kerr women comes to a glorious finish in Mine Is the Night, a sparkling gem of redemption and restoration set in eighteenth-century Scotland.

My Thoughts:
This book picked up right where book one, Here Burns My Candle left off. Elisabeth Kerr, no longer Lady Kerr steps off the coach along with her mother-in-law Marjory Kerr. They are on their own now seeking the meager home and hearth of their cousin Anne Kerr. Anne agrees to give them shelter. Since they have no money or husband they will have to provide for themselves by Elisabeth seeking work with a friend of Anne's that has a Tailor's Shop. Elisabeth is skilled with a needle but Micheal the Tailor can not take a woman for a partner and ends up hiring a man. So she is forced to seek work with at the residence of Admiral Lord Jack. Elizabeth is to sew dresses for the thirty female workers of Lord Jack's home. He becomes her hero finding out that she and her mother-in-law are penniless and he intends to make life easier for the two widows. They work hard to rebuild a life for themselves, while growing closer to God and His will.

The author did an outstanding job writing this book. The first book was tragic with loss of love and faith. But this book picks them up and leads them to a new beginning. This story is of healing and redemption. It was a beautiful book to read. The way the author worked in the history of Scotland made the story believable like you were there with Elisabeth and Morjory. The author gave these women so much strength and determination to survive while they gave each other love and comfort in such trying times. They were constantly watching and avoiding contact with the King's Dragoons, they feared being arrested. God's will was at work and they chose to have faith in Him and follow the path he set before them.



I highly recommend this book.

I rate this book a 5 out of 5.

Disclosure:
I recieved a copy of this book for review from Blogging for Books/WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing. I was in no way compensated for my review. It is my own honest opinion.

Review: Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs

About this author:
Liz Curtis Higgs has been telling tales since she attempted her first novel–handwritten in a marble notebook–at the tender age of ten. Successful careers in broadcasting, public speaking, nonfiction writing, and children's books honed Liz's storytelling talents, bringing her back to her first love–writing fiction–at the turn of the 21st century.

A gifted speaker, Liz Curtis Higgs has presented more than 1,500 inspirational programs for audiences in all 50 United States as well as Germany, England, Canada, Ecuador, France, and Scotland. In 1995, Liz received the highest award in professional speaking, the "Council of Peers Award for Excellence," becoming one of only forty women in the world named to the CPAE-Speaker Hall of Fame by the National Speakers Association.

Feature articles about Liz have appeared in more than 250 major newspapers and magazines across the country, and she has been interviewed on more than 600 radio and television stations, including guest appearances on PBS, A&E, MSNBC, NPR, CBC Canada, BBC Radio Scotland, Focus on the Family, and Janet Parshall's America.
Liz is the author of 22 books, with 3 million copies in print. Her fiction to date includes two contemporary novels and three historical novels…
• Mixed Signals
• Bookends
• Thorn in My Heart
• Fair Is the Rose
• Whence Came a Prince

Her best-selling nonfiction books include…

• Bad Girls of the Bible
• Really Bad Girls of the Bible
• Unveiling Mary Magdalene
• Rise and Shine: A Devotional

Three of the above titles have corresponding VHS videos and companion workbooks.
And she has written five books for young children…
• The Pumpkin Patch Parable
• The Parable of the Lily
• The Sunflower Parable
• The Pine Tree Parable
• Go Away, Dark Night

Her children's Parable Series was awarded the ECPA Gold Medallion for Excellence in 1998, and her book Bad Girls of the Bible received the ECPA Gold Book Award in 2004 for sales of more than 500,000 copies. Her first novel, Mixed Signals, was a Romance Writers of America 2000 Rita Award Finalist for both Best First Novel and Best Inspirational Novel. Liz's second novel, Bookends, was a 2001 Christy Award Finalist for Best Contemporary Fiction. Her third novel, Thorn in My Heart, was a #1 historical fiction Christian bestseller, followed by Fair Is the Rose, which reached best-seller status days after its release. Whence Came a Prince, the final novel in the series, published in March 2005. In addition, Liz is the editor of an annual newsletter, The Graceful Heart, with 20,000 readers world wide, and is a columnist for Today's Christian Woman magazine with her popular back page feature, "Life with Liz." More than 2,000 churches nationwide are using her 2004 video Bible study series, Loved by God.

On the personal side, Liz is married to Bill Higgs, Ph.D., who serves as Director of Operations for her speaking and writing office. Liz and Bill share their 19th-century farmhouse in Kentucky with their two teenagers, Matt and Lilly, and too many cats. For more about Liz, visit her Web site: www.LizCurtisHiggs.com.

Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs (Chapter 1)


My Thoughts:
Eighteenth-century Scotland. Elisabeth was a born Highlander. She went away to school and learned what it took to be a refined lady and returned to Edinburgh to work for friends of the family to learn the trade of seamstress. She falls in love and marries a Lowlander, Lord Donald Kerr. Lord Kerr's dowager mother Lady Marjory does not think Elisabeth is suitable for her son. Lady Marjory hides gold and guilt from her family. Love and betrayal,loss and redemption are many of things this family goes through. Will this family remain loyal to one another and their King?

This was an intense book. It must have taken a lot of research by the author because it was full of the history of Scotland and it's people, Highlanders and Lowlanders. The images she was able to put in writing was beyond anything I could imagine on my own. It gives you a true feeling of being there.

Praises to all involved in creating this book. When I finished reading this book I was able to pick up book two in this series starting right where book one had left off.

Rank My Review


I highly recommend this book.

I rate this book a five out of five.

I purchased this book for my own personal reading. In no way was I compensated by anyone for this review. This is my own honest opinion.

Review: Shadows on the Sand (A Seaside Mystery) by Gayle G. Roper

Shadows On The Sand by Gayle Roper (Chapter 1 Excerpt)

ISBN 1601420846 (ISBN13: 9781601420848)

Shadows on the Sand: A Seaside Mystery #5
by Gayle G. Roper

About Book:

She serves him breakfast at her café every morning … but he never seems to notice her.

Carrie Carter’s small café in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals … although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes. He’s recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children—and from the year he tried to drink his reality away. While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her, to Carrie’s chagrin.

When Carrie’s dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries … and into her life. But when Carrie’s own painful past becomes all to present, her carefully constructed world begins to sink.

Will the fragile relationship she’s built with Greg implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry?


Ecclesiastes 3:1,4
vs.1 There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.
vs.4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.


My Thoughts:
Carrie and Lindsey Carter run Carrie's Cafe in Seaside, New Jersey. Carrie and her younger sister Lindsey have come a long way from an unstable childhood of emotional abuse and near physical abuse due to their mother's addictions and neglect. Carrie takes her young sister and runs away from this sad situation in order to find a safe haven. They find this haven in Seaside at the very cafe she now owns. Carrie feels that distance can help her to forgive her mother but we all know that is not enough for God. To me it is like having an open wound that festers because your ignored the fact that it was there.

As time goes by Carrie finds her feelings are growing for one of her customers an ex cop by the name of Greg. He is recovering from the death of his wife and two children. She holds out hope that he will one day notice her interest in him.

Then there is Andi her 16 yr old waitress who seems to have problems of her own after running away from a cult her family has joined. The leader of this cult calls himself, Michael the Archangel and is determined to find her, leaving a trail of dead bodies.

Then there is all kinds of by standers that are texting about everything happening around them in Seaside.

This is a fast moving action packed story you will not want to put the book down. Whenever I was about to close the book something would happen and I had to keep reading.

The Reader's Guide and questions at the end was very thought provoking and helpful!

I most definitely recommend this book.

I rate this book a 4 out of 5.

Disclosure:
I received a copy of this book for review by WaterBrook Multnomah/Blogging for Books. I was in no way compensated for this review. This is my honest opinion.