tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81542691912351747682024-03-05T18:23:02.456-05:00The Sheepish Scribe<br>
<b>Book Review Blog by Pegg Thomas<br><br>
Writing Historical Fiction with a Touch of Humor</b>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.comBlogger343125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-65624200495566007532015-08-20T19:25:00.003-04:002015-08-20T19:25:28.115-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXki7eUwGi04pSfup7PPjwi6xHCBf1cO0QOTZMUmnzf0APQYuOSQ_abnBefLML3J5e8D8Fe2fA0eYhJh1_4bNFxedBAaKPKLgxpH8ahPL_UHS7g16uRErYVdtc1QbxlHau4BhZpzpumac6/s1600/we%2527ve-moved.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXki7eUwGi04pSfup7PPjwi6xHCBf1cO0QOTZMUmnzf0APQYuOSQ_abnBefLML3J5e8D8Fe2fA0eYhJh1_4bNFxedBAaKPKLgxpH8ahPL_UHS7g16uRErYVdtc1QbxlHau4BhZpzpumac6/s320/we%2527ve-moved.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
After almost six years, The Sheepish Scribe is moving over to a brand new site at Wordpress. Come check out the new site at <a href="http://peggthomas.wordpress.com/">peggthomas.wordpress.com</a>.Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-12063127712463569712015-08-11T08:17:00.002-04:002015-08-11T08:17:25.618-04:00Hearts Awakening<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6605689-hearts-awakening" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Hearts Awakening (Hearts Along The River #1)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388738650m/6605689.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6605689-hearts-awakening">Hearts Awakening</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/52465.Delia_Parr">Delia Parr</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/852270226">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love books with people who are real. People who aren't the smartest, the prettiest, the richest, the perfect. This is one of those stories.</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ellie Kilmer didn't have much choice - or chance - in life. She chose to spend her life caring for her elderly parents. Tall and plain, it wasn't like she had many offers anyway. Upon their deaths, she was shuffled between her cousins, neither of whom wanted her, until she accepted a business-like proposal. </span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jackson Smith had survived losing the love of his life and his unfaithful wife. With two young boys to raise, he needed help. Living on an island away from town, his only good option was to marry again. But he had no use for another woman other than to raise his boys. What better woman to pick than one who lacked any appeal?</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Will being a stepmother fulfill Ellie's inner desire for a family of her own? Can Jackson trust another woman when two others have let him down? </span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A good story with characters the reader can get behind and root for. Engaging little boys who act like little boys, not little angels, and even a stray dog to round the story out. Worth the read!
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-6300062495944225942015-08-03T17:07:00.000-04:002015-08-03T17:07:14.105-04:00Code of Honor<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3522985-code-of-honor" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Code of Honor (Australian Destiny #1)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1266666357m/3522985.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3522985-code-of-honor">Code of Honor</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/196065.Sandy_Dengler">Sandy Dengler</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/811543632">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first in a series, this book caught my interest in the first few pages. Samantha Connolly was born and raised in Ireland, but there's nothing for her there anymore. Doomed to finish life as a spinster, she gambles on an advertisement asking for indentured servants in Australia. </span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cole Sloan had a lot of Australian land and little money. The laws had changed and no longer allowed him to use the native black people for slave labor. Enticing Irish lasses to his shores was the perfect solution. Or so he thought.</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sam's sisters, Meg and Linnet, sell themselves into indenture along with her. They arrive in Australia hoping for a better life and husbands. What they find is hard work, a steamy tropical jungle, crocodiles, and a master who drives a hard bargain.</span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is the type of book that doesn't wrap up many loose ends at the finish. It more or less pauses at a logical point, to be picked up again in book 2. If you enjoy long historical sagas, this is a good one.
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-3175293184194205512015-07-28T20:28:00.000-04:002015-07-28T20:28:13.475-04:00The Most Eligible Bachelor Romance Collection<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23214089-the-most-eligible-bachelor-romance-collection" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="The Most Eligible Bachelor Romance Collection: Nine Historical Novellas Celebrate Marrying for All the Right Reasons" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411447283m/23214089.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23214089-the-most-eligible-bachelor-romance-collection">The Most Eligible Bachelor Romance Collection: Nine Historical Novellas Celebrate Marrying for All the Right Reasons</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13469661.Amanda_Barratt">Amanda Barratt</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1311156649">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This book is a collection of nine short romance stories, all set at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. It's hard to rate a book of multiple stories, because some are so much better than the others. In general, I'm not a big fan of short stories, but two of these make the price of the book worth it.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is one in here that really stood out to me titled "The Highwayman" by Shannon McNear. This story surpassed the others in the uniqueness of its main characters. Ms. McNear defied the stereotypical hero and heroine so commonly found in short romances. You can't help but connect with these two people and wish them their the desires of their hearts. I haven't read anything by this author before, but I'll be looking for her first full-length novel. </span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My second choice is "The Most Ineligible Bachelor in Town" by Connie Stevens for some of the same reasons. The hero and heroine are both down-to-earth people, the type you'd invite over for dinner after church. He's got his quirks and she's got some baggage, but you want them to get it figured out.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There aren't any bad stories in this collection. I just highlighted the two that really caught my eye. They are all light reading and suitable for all ages.
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-8707475621107179422015-07-17T08:05:00.000-04:002015-07-17T08:07:50.240-04:00Midnight on the Mississippi<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23883143-midnight-on-the-mississippi" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="Midnight on the Mississippi (Secrets of the South Mysteries #1)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1436641812m/23883143.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23883143-midnight-on-the-mississippi">Midnight on the Mississippi</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6176202.Mary_Ellis">Mary Ellis</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1337469178">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Romantic suspense is not my go-to genre to read, but I've enjoyed many of Mary Ellis's books, so I thought I'd give it a try. I was not disappointed!</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Loved the spunky heroine, Nicolette Price, from the rural backwater of Mississippi. She's a wonderful contrast to the hero, Hunter Galen, who is from the "old money" of New Orleans.</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Like most suspense stories, there is a body count. It's up to Nicki, with her brand new P.I. license, to find out who is behind the murders, both current and in the past. And she needs to do that under the jealous eye of an adversary in 4" heels.</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There's a lot going on, both in the current timeline and from Nicki's past, to keep the reader turning the pages with plenty of fun banter and toe-clenching romance. Read it!
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-24210747485396636342015-07-15T06:00:00.000-04:002015-07-15T06:00:09.555-04:00To Capture Her Heart<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23411596-to-capture-her-heart" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="To Capture Her Heart (The Southold Chronicles, #2)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415075788m/23411596.jpg" /></span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23411596-to-capture-her-heart">To Capture Her Heart</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7329038.Rebecca_DeMarino">Rebecca DeMarino</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1311156445">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is the second book of The Southold Chronicles. It continues the fiction story inspired by the author's ancestors. There are many references to the first book, so I recommend the reader take this series in order.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Heather Flower is the daughter of her tribe's Grand Sachem. She is stolen away by a warring tribe and rescued by Lieutenant Dirk Van Buren, a Dutchman. Heather Flower's people are friendly with the English settlers. Across the ocean, the Dutch and English are at war. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Benjamin Horton has grown up with Heather Flower, their families being close friends. He wants nothing more than to protect her, from another attack as well as from the handsome Dutchman.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lots of good history in this book and many, many characters. It can be a little overwhelming to keep them all straight. But the author does a good job of building the closeness of not only a large family, but the friends that surround them. There is a puzzle to be solved near the end of the story. I liked that.
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And who doesn't like a <b><i>giveaway</i></b>!?! </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">
<a class="e-widget" href="https://gleam.io/TbXzj/to-capture-her-heart-book-launch" rel="nofollow">To Capture Her Heart Book Launch</a> <span style="color: #783f04;">Click on this link for a chance to win some great prizes!</span></span><script async="true" src="https://js.gleam.io/e.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Grand Prize</b>: $75.00 Gift Card of choice (Amazon, Target, iTunes or Google play), Signed copy of To Capture Her Heart & A Place in His Heart.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> <u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Runner Up Prize</b>: $25.00 Gift card to Barnes & Noble, Signed copies of To Capture Her Heart & A Place in His Heart<u></u><u></u></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Second Runner Up Prize</b>: Signed copies of To Capture Her Heart & A Place in His Heart</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Winners will be notified on July 23rd. Get your entry in now!</span></span></div>
Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-9617966620938901632015-07-13T06:00:00.000-04:002015-07-13T06:00:02.069-04:00Chasing Amanda<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25834609-chasing-amanda" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Chasing Amanda" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1436394550m/25834609.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25834609-chasing-amanda">Chasing Amanda</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5187882.Robin_Patchen">Robin Patchen</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1324374802">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Is there anything more frightening than being stalked by a creep who means you harm?</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Is there anything better than being saved from that fate by a handsome Marine?</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Amanda didn't expect to be stalked. And she sure didn't expect to meet her own version of Superman. But it happened. To her. </span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She fell in love with a man on his way to war, but could she keep him?</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-77993115636046533392015-07-10T06:00:00.000-04:002015-07-10T06:00:05.517-04:00Irish Meadows<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23477297-irish-meadows" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="Irish Meadows (Courage to Dream #1)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1414643283m/23477297.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23477297-irish-meadows">Irish Meadows</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8436023.Susan_Anne_Mason">Susan Anne Mason</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1321501677">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I loved this story on many levels. One - which struck me as I read through it - was the Catholic background of the Irish immigrants. So many times we see that aspect of the Irish glossed over or shoved under the rug. But it was such an integral part of who they were. It brought the level of historical authenticity of this story up a whole notch.</span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The characters are intriguing and complex. These aren't cookie-cutter ethnic characters. They have backgrounds, faults, ambitions and goals. It's a fairly large cast and the author did a great job with all of them. These are the type of people you wouldn't mind renting a room to.</span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are snippets of history slipped in all throughout the story. I always love that.</span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And it has horses. Lots of horses! (Okay - I'm biased, I admit it.)</span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is book number one of the series Courage to Dream. I'm looking forward to book number two. And I'm feeling a little smug that I figured out who book two is going to be about before I read the author's note at the back of the book. HA!
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-71100961466818990502015-07-01T06:00:00.000-04:002015-07-01T06:00:03.848-04:00The Innocent<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23411606-the-innocent" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="The Innocent" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428364404m/23411606.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23411606-the-innocent">The Innocent</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/311723.Ann_H_Gabhart">Ann H. Gabhart</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1311156279">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ann Gabhart once again immerses us in the Shaker village of Harmony Hill. The Shakers were governed by a theology that valued peace and work ethic above all. While these are admirable goals for anyone's life, they took it to the extreme. Marriage was considered a sin and individually was discouraged. Like other cults and communes, there was both good and bad in their culture. Ann Gabhart does an excellent job of presenting her Shaker characters in an understandable, and even sympathetic, way. </span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Carlyn Kearney's husband doesn't return from the Civil War. He's listed as missing. Two years after the war, she must admit the truth. He's not coming home.</span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mitchell Brodie is the town's sheriff. Unpleasant duty is part of his job. Evicting a widow from her home ranks at the top of that list. A beautiful young widow who tugs at his heart.</span><br />
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With no family and nowhere to go, Carlyn turns to the Shaker village for a roof over her head and food on her plate. She's content to work for her keep, even if the Shaker teaching doesn't match the Bible teaching of her youth. But there are dark corners within the village. Can Carlyn fit in and find her own peace? Or will she get caught up in the darkness?</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-37526356094848288852015-06-23T06:00:00.000-04:002015-06-23T06:00:00.054-04:00Masterpiece Marriage<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22556609-masterpiece-marriage" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="Masterpiece Marriage (Quilts of Love)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421712913m/22556609.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22556609-masterpiece-marriage">Masterpiece Marriage</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5424560.Gina_Welborn">Gina Welborn</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1311155780">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love quilting and history, so I knew I couldn't go wrong with this one. The creation of the crazy quilt, as they were done back in the day, was beautifully embedded in the story. The rich color and textures came alive under the characters clever fingers. Very well done!</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mary Varrs has a mission she needs to complete and a deadline looming in front of her. Zenus Dane has a flooded textile mill full of partially damaged bolts of fabric. Mary's neighbor - also Zenus's aunt - holds the key to both of them getting what they want. But will either get what they think in the end?</span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Truly a fun romance between the main characters and some very strong secondary characters (I love those!). I'm dinging it one star because the dialogue was very modern and I quite often forgot I was reading a historical piece. It doesn't harm the story, but if you're a history geek at all, it was a bit disconcerting. If you love quilts - read it for that alone!
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-81091547367876357292015-06-18T08:25:00.001-04:002015-06-18T08:25:17.752-04:00The Meeting Place<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/706250.The_Meeting_Place" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="The Meeting Place (Song of Acadia, #1)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347613763m/706250.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/706250.The_Meeting_Place">The Meeting Place</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4049.Janette_Oke">Janette Oke</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/811548298">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Set in the Canadian frontier during the turbulent years when France and Great Britain fought for control of the territory. Catherine Price was married to her British office on the same day Louise Robichaud married her French farmer. The two women met by accident in a forest meadow. Could their blooming friendship span a cultural divide steeped in hatred and suspicion?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wonderful setting and history background to this story. Loved the rich descriptions of the area during this time. The characters are strong and likable, having missions the reader clearly understands and sympathizes with. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is the first book in a series and it doesn't really end, it stops. The action, presumably, picks up with the next book. It is not a book to read as a stand alone novel. If you're not willing to invest in the series, this is probably not the best book for you. If you enjoy the saga of a full series, dig in!
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-41107449295619653582015-06-09T06:00:00.000-04:002015-06-09T06:00:02.264-04:00A Place Called Bliss<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20324254-a-place-called-bliss" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="A Place Called Bliss (Saskatchewan Saga, #1)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388185396m/20324254.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20324254-a-place-called-bliss">A Place Called Bliss</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/357110.Ruth_Glover">Ruth Glover</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1054999409">3 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A saga of a two families who leave Scotland to make their way in the growing territories of Canada. Sophia and Hugh Galloway, being of noble lines with deep pockets, settle in Toronto and build a mansion to rival what they left behind. Mary and Angus Morrison left Scotland for a better life, a chance to be successful away from the hierarchy of the old country. They settled in the western bush territory, where land was free if one was tough enough to prove it out. But through the years, the two families remained connected.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From the hardship of crossing the Atlantic to the struggle to survive on frontier, the reader is treated to numerous historical insights. Delightful details about how the upper class would dress, their mannerisms, their outings, all combine to give the reader a look back in time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The story is good and the plot is engaging, but the it meanders quite a bit and drags on in places. Told in the omniscient point of view, the book reads more like a classic of old. The characters lack the intimate depth modern readers are accustom to.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you like epic stories that cover more than one generation with excellent historical references, this might be the book for you.
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-5798229649128267712015-06-05T06:00:00.000-04:002015-06-05T06:00:05.931-04:00The Preacher's Bride<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7685228-the-preacher-s-bride" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="The Preacher's Bride" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1425268989m/7685228.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7685228-the-preacher-s-bride">The Preacher's Bride</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358829.Jody_Hedlund">Jody Hedlund</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/811547155">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another gripping story from Jody Hedlund. I loved that I guessed which historical figure the story was inspired by early in the book. No spoiler here. You'll have to read it and see if you can figure it out.</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Puritan maiden Elizabeth Whitbread wants to serve Christ by helping others. When the town's tinker and lay preacher, John Costin, is left a widower with four small children, Elizabeth knows she's been called to help. Elizabeth defies the town matron and even her betrothed to become the housekeeper Brother Costin needs.</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The political winds of England are changing and the Puritans have fallen out of favor. John Costin has powerful enemies who resent his preaching. Enemies who aren't afraid to strike at those near him. Elizabeth is threatened and attacked by one such enemy. Despite the danger, she knows God wants her to continue to care for the children she's grown to love. And their father who occupies too many of her thoughts. But will the cost of her service be more than she's willing to pay?</span><br />
<br />Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-55372242320214755882015-06-02T06:00:00.000-04:002015-06-02T06:00:03.296-04:00Love Unexpected<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20665078-love-unexpected" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="Love Unexpected (Beacons of Hope, #1)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1392329265m/20665078.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20665078-love-unexpected">Love Unexpected</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358829.Jody_Hedlund">Jody Hedlund</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1275179977">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Could not put it down! Fascinating story, beautifully told, more than worth every minute of reading. Characters so real you'll think of them as old friends by the end of the book. My favorite Jody Hedlund book so far.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Emma Chambers wants a home of her own with a husband and a family to care for. But she's moving once again with her brother until their ship sinks into Lake Huron off the coast of Presque Isle. Pulled from the waters by handsome lighthouse keeper Patrick Garraty, Emma finds herself the unwelcome and unwanted guest of the only other woman at Burnham's Landing. When the circuit preacher suggests she marry the newly widowed Patrick Garraty and become mother to his young son Josiah, she agrees.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In spite of the fact that she can't cook and has absolutely no idea how to raise a child, Emma is thrilled with her new home. She's even getting used to the idea of being married to the taciturn stranger who spends most of his time either fishing or tending the light. His kindness stirs feelings she barely understands. But then she hears things - disturbing things - about his past. Just who did she marry? Is he the man she thinks he is? Or is he the man the rumors say?</span><br />
<br />Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-91942829172412730432015-05-30T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-30T06:00:03.202-04:00Out of the Storm<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22464698-out-of-the-storm" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="Out of the Storm (Beacons of Hope, #0.5)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402671564m/22464698.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22464698-out-of-the-storm">Out of the Storm</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3358829.Jody_Hedlund">Jody Hedlund</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1148079630">3 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This story is set in my back yard - well - almost. It's always fun to read about a place that you've visited.</span><br />
<span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Isabelle Thornton watched her father pull the bodies from the frigid waters of Lake Huron. Another ship wrecked, in spite of her father's diligent tending of the lighthouse in Presque Isle, Michigan. Only one of those who washed ashore was still alive. Isabelle knew she'd have to tend his injuries while her father buried the dead. But she never expected to fall for Henry Cole. She never expected to fall for any man, much less the son of a wealthy lumber baron. She knew her future could never include a husband and family.</span><br />
<span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #7f6000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is a novella, so it's shorter than a full-length novel. I prefer a longer story in general. Not a bad story, but not as good as the other Jody Hedlund books I've read.
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-5720769629602292132015-05-27T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-27T06:00:03.355-04:00Love's Rescue<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23411608-love-s-rescue" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Love's Rescue (Keys of Promise, #1)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1416178692m/23411608.jpg" /></a><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23411608-love-s-rescue">Love's Rescue</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4237438.Christine_Johnson">Christine Johnson</a></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1284634939">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Beautifully written tale of secrets and romance in the Florida Keys. Delightful setting with all the mystery and marsh of Key West. Smell the salty air and feel the humid breeze as the story unfolds.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Elizabeth Benjamin was expected to make a brilliant match in Charleston. Instead, she returns home after the death of her mother to take care of her father and her crippled brother. When the ship she returns on hits a reef, she's rescued by the one man she needed to forget. Rourke O'Malley hasn't changed. Not one bit. But even if her heart still yearns for him, she knows her loyalty and duty belong elsewhere. Her father views her duty differently. He expects her to marry well and secure the future of their family. Can she marry the man her father has chosen and forget the handsome pirate who holds her heart? Does she even want to after her father's secret is revealed?
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-74214680419322599152015-05-23T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-23T06:00:00.752-04:00Wings of a Dream<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10329469-wings-of-a-dream" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="Wings of a Dream" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298869983m/10329469.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10329469-wings-of-a-dream">Wings of a Dream</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4609534.Anne_Mateer">Anne Mateer</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/884941796">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Rebekah Hendricks knows what she wants in life, and it's nothing like what her mother envisions for her. Rebekah longs to shake the dust from her small Oklahoma town from her feet as she finds adventure in the big city. Arthur Samson offers her all her heart desires, but first he must train to do his part in WWI.</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then the telegram arrives. Rebekah is sent to nurse her ailing aunt, an aunt she barely remembers. She arrives in a little Texas town that could be the equivalent of the one she grew up in. And she finds her aunt on a farm much like her father's back in Oklahoma. But nothing else is the same. She arrives in time to watch her aunt pass from life and to meet the four children her aunt is responsible for. Children Rebekah knew nothing about. </span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sheriff Henry Jeffries helps her and the children through the Spanish Flu crisis. Rebekah and the four children escape the often fatal disease. But then what? The children's father is serving in France. They have nobody to care for them, except Rebekah, and she plans on traveling to Dallas to find Arthur. Pulled between her desires and her new responsibilities, Rebekah learns that life - and people - aren't always what they seem.</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had a little trouble getting into this story at the beginning, but warmed up to it quickly and enjoyed the read. The secondary characters are strong and the storyline is compelling. The history of the Spanish Flu outbreaks and how people coped during them is heart-tugging. Worth the read!
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-46886702218536000292015-05-20T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-20T06:00:08.714-04:00A Constant Heart<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2873007-a-constant-heart" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="A Constant Heart" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348171878m/2873007.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2873007-a-constant-heart">A Constant Heart</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5813022.Siri_Mitchell">Siri Mitchell</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/811549583">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Interesting historical tale set in Elizabethan England. Historically well done, going in depth into the whole royal court aspect of life. A Constant Heart parts the curtain and lets us see behind all the pomp and circumstance.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Marget, raised by a knighted merchant father who has done well financially, is married to the Earl of Lytham because he needs her money. Still, she hopes to find love and acceptance with her new husband. What she finds instead is a life at court. A life comprised of intrigue, power struggles, and danger. Can she earn the love and respect of the Earl without alienating herself from the Queen?</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">An enjoyable read, especially if you're into the history of that era.
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-15266358213547975872015-05-16T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-16T06:00:05.290-04:00Fancy Pants<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1135466.Fancy_Pants" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="Fancy Pants (Only in Gooding, #1)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347900392m/1135466.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1135466.Fancy_Pants">Fancy Pants</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/82603.Cathy_Marie_Hake">Cathy Marie Hake</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/884943112">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I love a book with strong secondary characters and this is one of them. The main characters are interesting and engaging too, of course, but the secondary characters really took this tale to the next level for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lady Sydney Hathwell came to the United States to marry a man who had corresponded with her father. Her father now deceased, she felt obligated to meet his choice for a husband for her. But it was disaster at first sight. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sydney flees to her uncle's ranch, her American mother's brother. But there's a catch. Uncle Fuller doesn't like females. So Sydney becomes "Syd" with a haircut and a change of clothes. From a British royal lady to a British fop training to be a ranch hand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Big Tim Creighton doesn't relish babysitting his partner's nephew until Fuller gets home. How's he going to turn this prissy greenhorn into something his uncle will be proud of?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Plenty of page-turning adventures in this book. You'll laugh out loud at some of the antics "Syd" gets into. And giggle some more at Tim's inability to grasp the blatantly obvious. And if you don't love Velma ... well ...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'll ding it one star because in places it got a little preachy. But the laughs will more than make up for that in the long run.
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-79467104974175802192015-05-12T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-12T06:00:12.482-04:00Paradise Valley<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8642679-paradise-valley" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="Paradise Valley (Daughters of Caleb Bender, #1)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428544387m/8642679.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8642679-paradise-valley">Paradise Valley</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33320.Dale_Cramer">Dale Cramer</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/811551095">3 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I loved the premise of this book. It starts in 1922 when Amish fathers in Ohio were jailed for keeping their children out of the public school. Caleb Bender decides to move his family to Paradise Valley, Mexico, where schools are not regulated - if they exist at all. Their church decides that one family should go first to the new land and determine if the move is good for more. Caleb's family learns the language and are befriended by Domingo, a half-Indian/half-Mexican native who speaks several languages. The land is good where they settle, and they build their farm. But not everything is good. The land has been torn apart by warring factions. Between the bandits and the government forces, who know who to trust?</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The characters are good, solid people, the kind you'd like for next door neighbors. The setting and history of the story are very well done. I'm dinging it down to three stars because it's one of those books that doesn't end, it just stops. It's obviously the first in a series, and while I enjoy series books, I like them to each have a definite beginning and ending. That's a personal preference and may not bother other readers. </span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-16909226737242221062015-05-08T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-08T06:00:10.200-04:00Writing in Obedience<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20907688-writing-in-obedience---a-primer-for-christian-fiction-writers" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="Writing in Obedience - A Primer for Christian Fiction Writers" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403264898m/20907688.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20907688-writing-in-obedience---a-primer-for-christian-fiction-writers">Writing in Obedience - A Primer for Christian Fiction Writers</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/636108.Terry_Burns">Terry Burns</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/885012981">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I finished this book. Now before you laugh at that statement, you must understand that I'm the queen of unfinished books on writing. I have a STACK of them. I'd like to tell you that they are all unfinished because I got so inspired half-way through that I dropped everything and dug into my writing. But you go to hell just as fast for lying as you do for stealing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This book isn't a how-to type of writing book. It's a thoughtful look at whether or not you're ready to be a writer. It gives a general overview of what it takes to write a book, what it takes to get published, what it takes to self-publish, and all along the way, questions for the reader to think about in their own writing journey. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I found it very insightful and realistic, while also encouraging. Writing in Obedience is for the newbie writer, the thinking-about-it writer, and the discouraged writer. It's not a long book. It's easy to read through and absorb. If you're wondering whether or not writing is for you, get a copy.
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-57144963951554479522015-05-05T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-05T06:00:07.608-04:00The Choice<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7000455-the-choice" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="The Choice" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388712729m/7000455.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7000455-the-choice">The Choice</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1922565.Suzanne_Woods_Fisher">Suzanne Woods Fisher</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/811550127">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Carrie Weaver is ready to jump the fence and run off with Solomon Riehl. Together they'll leave their Amish heritage behind. They have it all planned, right down to Sol's baseball career. Everything is going according to plan - until Carrie's father dies.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How can Carrie walk away from her little brother now? She can't leave him with their step-mother. Sol leaves to start his career and Carrie is left with one choice. When Daniel Miller, the son of her father's best friend, asks her to marry him, she says yes. He's offering her and her brother a home.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But Daniel has deep secrets of his own. Included in them is his cousin, Abel Miller, fresh out of jail. When tragedy strikes again, what choice will Carrie have?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not your typical romance story. This story digs deeper. The characters are very complex and intriguing. There isn't a "perfect" character in the lot. They hurt, they fear, they despair ... it's all real. The story caught be off guard with a twist I never saw coming. No spoiler - but it's worth the read.
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-73899120970316930792015-05-01T06:00:00.000-04:002015-05-01T06:00:10.451-04:00A Change of Fortune<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13511668-a-change-of-fortune" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="A Change of Fortune (Ladies of Distinction, #1)" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1330914736m/13511668.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13511668-a-change-of-fortune">A Change of Fortune</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5765468.Jen_Turano">Jen Turano</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1069919251">3 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whimsical story about a young English woman who has lost her fortune and travels across the ocean to New York City to find the culprit who stole it. Lady Eliza Sumner takes a governess position, but she's found out soon enough when handsome Hamilton Beckett arrives on the scene - or at the scene - of the crime. The two partner with an unlikely cast of characters to save Eliza's fortune and solve a mystery from Hamilton's past.</span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A fun story with engaging characters. It would have gotten a 4-star review from me if the characters had been more authentic to the time period. There is quite a bit of modern language and behavior in this one. It doesn't spoil the story, but for someone who loves the historical aspect of a historical romance, it got in the way.
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-18327668412872824152015-04-28T06:00:00.000-04:002015-04-28T06:00:05.929-04:00The Blue Castle<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/95693.The_Blue_Castle" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="The Blue Castle " border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1214964817m/95693.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/95693.The_Blue_Castle">The Blue Castle</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5350.L_M_Montgomery">L.M. Montgomery</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1261500360">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For Valancy Stirling, turning 29 years old was worse than a death sentence. No husband. No prospects. Living with her widowed mother and aunt. Stifled and alone, she lived a life she despised. She had no hope for anything better. And then the doctor told her she was dying. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Armed with the strength of knowing her time was limited, Valancy found the courage to break free. She walked away from her upper-crust family and its bondage to tradition and public perception. Freedom tasted sweet and got even sweeter when she met Barney Snaith. Could she sustain such happiness, even for the short while she had left?</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's fun to take a break from contemporary writing and sink back into the prose of bygone days. Written in the omniscient point of view, this story clues the reader in to the thoughts and motivations of everyone in the room. Sometimes that's just ... refreshing.
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154269191235174768.post-14899800483255795632015-04-24T06:00:00.000-04:002015-04-24T06:00:10.770-04:00Angelhood<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24553425-angelhood" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img alt="Angelhood" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1421614754m/24553425.jpg" /></span></a><span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24553425-angelhood">Angelhood</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12852697.A_J_Cattapan">A.J. Cattapan</a></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1258200886">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This story is amazing. A.J. Cattapan does a great job tackling a very tough subject for our youth today, suicide. What better use for fiction than driving home truths in a palatable format that our kids will enjoy. The characters are engaging, realistic, and on a journey that will keep youths - and adults - turning the pages.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The opening scene is hard-hitting. High school senior Nanette commits suicide. Where can the story go from there? How about into a whole new realm. Nanette finds herself in a limbo-like state where she's put in charge of watching over another young girl who is considering suicide. As Nanette helps Vera, she starts to change, and it's not all about the wings that sprout from her back. In helping another, she learns the value of all she left behind. Can both girls reach the healing truth in time?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is fiction. While some may want to quibble over the theology, I want to encourage readers to glean the message within its pages. The consequences of suicide reach far beyond the person who dies. <i>Angelhood</i> explores these consequences in a touching, authentic, eye-opening story.
</span>Pegg Thomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17113756304449398701noreply@blogger.com0