The Sheepish Scribe

Wedding on the Rocks by Rose Ross Zediker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This one started slow. I actually started it a few months ago and set it aside. I decided I'd give it another shot and I'm very glad I did! It picked up steam and turned into charming romance.

Jennifer Edwards worked hard to get away from the ranch she grew up on in South Dakota. With her father recovering from a stroke, she heads back to temporarily run the ranch. But in her heart, she's all about getting back to Chicago and her big city life.

Brett Lange has loved Jennifer since high school, when she didn't have the time of day for him. He grew up in the town of Faith, wishing for her life on the ranch near the fossils that he loved to dig. Now an archaeology professor, he's back digging on her ranch and living at the house.

Thrown together, old misunderstandings surface and sparks fly. Some of those sparks lead places Jennifer doesn't want to go!

Head in the Clouds by Karen Witemeyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Impulsive and determined, Adelaide Proctor sets out to get what she wants, a husband. But when that doesn't work the way she planned, she takes a position of governess to a sheep rancher's daughter. Adelaide channels her determination into helping the mute little girl overcome the trauma in her life and find her voice once again.

Gideon Westcott needs a governess for his adopted daughter, but he never expects to fall in love with the tiny woman in yellow who fills that position. Threatened by the child's natural uncle - a dangerous man who wants her fortune, not his niece - he finds himself trying to protect two females he's grown to love.

Taming the Sheriff by Cynthia Hickey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun romantic romp with a spunky school teacher and a handsome hillbilly sheriff. Charlotte Nelson moves to the hill country of Arkansas to teach school. Her first teaching position,and her first experience in a backwater part of the country, she expects challenges. She doesn't expect them to be a handsome sheriff raising three unruly nephews.

Asher Thomas has his hands full with a 3-generation family feud and three feisty young boys whose father has gone missing. Between keeping the peace and searching for his brother, the last thing he has time for is a dark-haired beauty who thinks she can change the hill people. But if he can keep her alive, she's going to change his mind.

Things That Matter: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes and Politics by Charles Krauthammer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've enjoyed watching Charles Krauthammer on the news for years and he's always fascinated me by the depths of his thinking on issues. He goes beneath the surface and looks into things from such a logical viewpoint. Truly one of the great thinkers of our age. (Granted, it's an age where great thinkers are few and far between...but I digress.)

I enjoyed this book for several reasons. One, I could "hear" Krauthammer's voice all through it. He writes absolutely like he speaks. That's charming in and of itself. I enjoyed the look into a bit of his personal life. The things he enjoys and values. And I enjoyed his perspective on the weightier issues of the past 30 years; like the ever-present situation with Israel, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars,and the collapse of the Soviet Union. And I even enjoyed the challenge to my vocabulary! Yes...have a dictionary handy.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in political issues from a rear-view mirror look (the chapters/articles are reprints of those he wrote AT THE TIME of these events) and, of course, to any fan of Charles Krauthammer.

Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Completely engrossed within minutes.

Lynn Austin is a wizard at painting historical scenes. She transports the reader into the heart of Virginia before the Civil War. We meet characters all across the spectrum of life in the South. Her characters are so rich, multi-layered, and very human.

Caroline Fletcher's mother suffered from a mental disorder. Her father was often away. An only child, she was raised by the family's slaves and she came to love and trust them...as much or more than she did her parents.

Sent to Pennsylvania to stay with relatives after her mother's death, she is introduced to the abolition movement. Her eyes opened, she returns to Virginia and sees her loved ones in a different light. She also meets Charles St. John.

As the Civil War approaches, Charles prepares to join the fight. Caroline - quite unprepared - finds herself on the other side of the war.

The story unfolds as Caroline is torn between not only right and wrong, but between those she loves. Fascinating tale and well worth the read.

Emancipation of Robert Sadler, The: The Powerful True Story of a Twentieth-Century Plantation Slave by Marie Chapian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A heartbreaking tale. Sold into slavery at the age of five by his own father, Robert Sadler's life is one hardship after another. Separated from his sisters, he finds himself alone working in "the big house." What this little boy endured is beyond imagination.

A serious read. Escaped from the inhuman atrocities of his early years, Robert finds himself adrift in a free world he can't understand. Ignorant, scared, lonely, without hope, he becomes involved in illegal activities and escapes death by God's grace several times.

A powerful story. In spite of everything, he remembers the teachings of his mother and an elderly slave lady on the plantation. They were Christians and they pointed him toward Jesus Christ. When he finally gives his life, his hate, and his despair to the Lord, Robert Sadler came to life.

A wonderful testimony. A testimony to what God can do through faulty, broken human beings who put Him first in their lives.