Book: The house that love built
Unfortunately this is not a Wiseman home run. It seems her writing has suffered somewhat as she has ventured away from her best selling Amish genre. Something about her characters (Brooke and Owen) seems flat and somewhat predictable. The beginning is a bit confusing as you are rocketing between 3 or 4 different perspectives, and there are so many “loose ends” hanging out there that don’t resolve until so late in the story, well by the time they did I had largely lost interest and just wanted it to be over. I did have compassion for Brooke, as she is a widow, but Owen, he rather got what he deserved. (As far as the house went that is. Owen decides to spite his ex-wife by purchasing and updating the home she always wanted. I couldn’t help but think that perhaps if he had thought a little bit more about what she wanted while they were married, they might not have ended up where they were.)
The book is still a decent read, but it falls far short of the typical Wiseman (Amish) novel. I’m hoping to read her upcoming (6th book I think?) Daughters of the Promise book and find that she has retained her spark which I have always loved in the past. Between her last non-Amish book (need you now) and her second (this one), the house that love built shows improvement. Perhaps she’ll grow in this genre and I’ll find her non-Amish books more enjoyable in time.
*My copy of this book was given to me by Booksneeze in return for my review. All opinions expressed are mine.
Book: Faithful to Laura
As many other reviewers stated, this book is confusing. It starts with her dreaming, and then there are several competing story lines that keep shifting your focus around. I wasn’t aware, but apparently this is the second book in a series. I’m guessing if you read the first one (Treasuring Emma I think) you would not be quiet as lost in all the side story lines.
Overall this was a departure from the type of Amish fiction I’ve usually read. There are more themes that you don’t typically associate with the Amish, like violence.
It wasn’t a bad book but I highly recommend you start from book 1, in order to have more info on the characters you’ll meet.
Book: This scarlet cord
I really enjoyed this, as Rahab is one of my favorite biblical women. I’ve read just about every fiction book written about Rahab, and this one was certainly unique. Unfortunately I cannot tell you WHY without spoiling the story for you.
Rahab, a young and beautiful farmer’s daughter finds herself kidnapped and carried away to be sold to unscrupulous men who buy young women. By God’s will and blessing she is saved by a young man, and returned to her grateful family. Rahab and her young hero are destined to meet again, in a place called Jericho.
The story maintains your interest all the way through. It’s one of the oddest interpretations of Rahab’s story I’ve ever seen, and in my opinion, a highly unlikely interpretation. However, it is WELL worth reading and you may find yourself unable to put it down like me! Since Rahab’s story is only told in small part in the Bible, none of us knows for sure what her life was truly like, we only know that she is one of the few women listed in the genealogy of Jesus.
Excellent story!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Book: God loves broken people
When I received this book from Booksneeze I was really excited to read it. However, in the beginning I really struggled to get in to it. Then, I ended up unexpectedly struggling with health issues and put the book aside for quite a long time. (Sorry Booksneeze) Eventually I picked the book back up and I’ve found that so many of insights in it apply to the struggles I’ve been going through lately. I especially liked chapter 11, “Only the wounded can serve.” I won’t spoil it for you all, but I highly recommend ch 11 for anyone struggling with feelings of inadequacy because of health issues or disability.
Much of the book focuses on how being broken isn’t necessarily a bad thing. (Sounds pretty contradictory, yes? Broken usually equals bad, right?) Having become disabled myself I know I struggled (and still do some days)greatly with feelings of inadequacy, feelings of being let down, and feelings of being “less than” those who aren’t disabled. This book contained many insights that are helping me come to terms with my new state of being, and in some cases even viewing it as a blessing. How can you argue with that?
Book: Need you now
This review is for the entire book, not just the first half, as I received a reviewers copy. The opinions expressed here are my own.
This is Beth Wiseman’s first non-amish fiction book. While I wanted to love it, since I am a big Beth Wiseman fan, I didn’t. It’s a good book, but to me it lacks the spark that Beth Wiseman’s books usually have.
The basic story is that a city family moves to the country, in an attempt to seperate their children from some undesireable situations. (A son with bad friends, a daughter with boyfriend troubles)Once they settle into their fix’er upper, they find that trouble can’t be outrun so easily.
Darlene, the main character, is the mother of 3 children who finds herself wishing for a job outside the home in order to make some new friends and feel a little more “independent.” Her husband isn’t overly fond of the idea, but wants his wife to be happy and tries to support her desire to work. From this point, the family begins to fall apart. Their son engages in questionable behaviors, their middle daughter develops a dangerous addiction, and secrets between husband and wife threaten the very fabric of the family.
Unfortunately I found many of the characters a bit flat, and some almost unnecessary. (Many barely got “fleshed out” so to speak)The husband is almost an afterthought through much of the book, as is the youngest child. A side story about a neighbor is mostly a distraction. The husband blames the family’s troubles on the wife working outside of the home, the wife blames the husband for working too many hours…Too many problems pop up, one after another, until the story gets far too spread out, wandering all over the place. In the end, many of the loose ends don’t really get addressed, and the neighbor is suddenly a focal point, distracting from the main story about the family.
I still give the book 4 stars, as it was a good read. However, I usually cannot tear myself away from a Beth Wiseman book until it’s finished. This book did not quite inspire that feeling. It was a good read, but it was nothing like Beth Wiseman’s usual writing. The characters didn’t feel as “real” which is a departure from the usual, since Beth’s Amish characters often seem so real, that the reader forgets that they don’t know them in person. I do think that it would be wonderful if Beth continued to write non-Amish Christian fiction, but I hope that future novels have more of the “Wiseman spark” that was missing from this one.
Book: The Patriots Bible
The first thing I noticed about this book was the quality of it’s construction. (I received the hard cover KJV of this bible.) The book is solid, with a good binding, nice quality cover material, and beautifully rendered art work throughout. The pages are not your typical “onion skin” pages that you find in most Bibles. These pages are a little more sturdy, and the print is significantly larger than you find in an average Bible. (I enjoyed that very much, since I found myself getting lost in reading without the eye strain later.)
There are many paintings/drawings, historical documents, and “moments in history” type stories included throughout this Bible. While I found some of it hard to “mesh” with a Bible, I did find it mostly enjoyable reading. As a note to any LGBT readers, this Bible makes a pretty bold statement near the beginning about marriage being between one man and one woman, and adds that changing that would destroy the concept of family. This is the main reason I gave the book 4, not 5 stars. I think the Bible says enough on it’s own about that particular subject, and I don’t think the passage was necessary. Perhaps that’s the danger of mixing US history with a Bible, it becomes tainted with politics.
Over all I found this to be a quality Bible, large (not one to tote around with you), sturdy and beautifully designed. There are many pages up front to note family history, Military service etc. I prefer the KJV, so that pleased me as well. I can see this being a very popular gift for the history buff in your life!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Book: Amish Wedding
Amish Wedding
I am a great fan of Amish fiction, so I was eager to read “Amish Wedding” when it was released. Imagine my distress when my copy went missing after a cross country flight! Eventually I was reunited with the book and able to finish it.
Amish Wedding is a collection of 3 stories, basically comprised of 3 different view points of a single event, the approaching wedding of Pricilla and Chester.
Story one “The perfect secret” was my least favorite of the three. The plot was a bit “out there” for me. The characters didn’t behave in a very Amish manner on several occasions, and the story itself feels like the author was a little bit here, a little bit there, and rushed to close the ending without tying up many of the loose ends.
Story two “A perfect match” was better, the author stayed on track and the story didn’t end up with the same “wandering rush” feeling of the first.
Story three “A perfect plan” was the best of the three stories. This is the story written by Beth Wiseman, who is (IMO) the best Amish fiction author on the market currently. As always, Beth’s characters behave just the way you’d expect Amish folks to behave, and the varying elements of the story mesh with each other and make sense! (Unlike story 1)
Despite not particularly liking the first story of the book, the rest was quite entertaining. Over all a very good read, worthwhile, especially if you are a fan of Amish fiction in general.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Book: A year with Jesus
A year with Jesus
I’ve found that devotional type books can often be dry, or worse yet, full of the Author’s twisted version of the truth. I was pleased to find that this devotional is neither!
A year with Jesus is focused on the words spoken by the Lord as recorded in the (NIV) Bible. Each daily devotional includes the words of Jesus, and then a small paragraph following that offers some insight on the chosen passage. I came across a few that weren’t exactly inspiring, but by and large the majority of the devotions were excellent and made me interested in reading on. (Because I am reviewing this book for a publisher, I did not stick with the day to day format, and I read straight through the book in about a week.)
I very much enjoyed this book, and found it even more enjoyable because it didn’t focus on random parts and pieces of the Bible, but specifically on what Jesus Himself had to say. A worthy read for any Christian!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Book: The wonder of your love, By Beth Wiseman
The Wonder of Your Love
Beth Wiseman does it again! The second book in the “Land of Canaan” series “The wonder of your love” is just as terrific as the rest of her novels have been!
This book focuses on the Amish widow Katie Ann, after she was abandoned by her husband Ivan, who ran off with an “Englischer” named Lucy. Katie Ann has just delivered her and Ivan’s long awaited first child, a son she calls Jonas. Katie Ann struggles with the fear of failure as a mother and worries about raising Jonas without a father, but how could she ever trust another man? Of course she is helped along by her “adopted mother” Martha, the quirky english woman she befriended in “Seek me with all your heart.” (The first book in the Land of Canaan series.)
Katie Ann meets an Amish man named Eli who is visiting Canaan for a family event. Eli is a widower who has just seen the last of his kinner marry and move out of the “haus.” Now he plans to travel and experience the freedom that a man raising 6 children on his own could never have. Meeting Katie Ann puts a slight crimp in those plans and he wonders if the Lord might not have a different plan in store for him?
Katie Ann and Eli struggle to maintain their relationship as “best friends” but both must come to face the fact that they care for each other much more than just friends do, and make some difficult decisions about where to go from there.
Side stories pop up in the book, including Lucy’s, Mrs. Dash’s, and Danielle’s. (I’m hoping to see her next Land of Canaan book focus on Danielle) My only complaint about this book is that I felt there should have been a little more information on Lucy and her outcome, and Mrs. Dash as well. We never get to hear how things turn out for either of these new mothers. While it’s tempting to hate Lucy for what happened with Ivan, you have to realize that she, too, is a victim of Ivan’s wandering and irresponsible ways.
Kudos to Beth Wiseman for creating a vivid and engaging community of Amish people that, unlike many other author’s Amish characters, are flawed and real. I love Amish fiction, but I lose interest quickly when the author creates a “too perfect to be real” plastic Amish community. Beth’s Amish people are faithful and good, yet they struggle to do the right thing and deal with painful life events, just like the rest of us!
I received this book in e-book format free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
