Category: Uncategorized

 When We Were Sisters Review

My Review

 just love Summer beach reads. Who can resist a book that is so full

of emotion such as this one?
Adult sisters Jayne and Charlotte have been estranged for quite some time but must come together for the reading of their grandmother’s will.
Jayne is the older sister and when they were children she would have

done anything to protect Charlotte.
This book was fabulous right from thee start and I found it very

hard to put down and it became a very quick read for me.
When they were children the children had to be separated it was beyond their control but younger sister Charlotte blames older sister Jayne for not being able to keep them together and has become a bitter adult for it.
Each carries a special memory with them of their last Summer at their grandparents beach house and the wonderful time they had together.
These days the sisters have nothing to do with each other though one of them has put a lot of effort into trying to change this.
A stipulation of the will says the sisters must live together in their grandparents beach house for 6 months while fixing it up n the order the grandmother specifies.
While there a lot of emotions play out including misunderstanding,grief,hurt,betrayal,love,peace,acceptance and more.
Will their grandmother, through her will be able to bring the sisters peace and harmony again in their lives?
Some unexpected happenings in this family drama.
I really enjoyed this book. This is a must read author!

Pub Date 11 Aug 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

GoodReads Summary

Two sisters who haven’t spoken for twenty years. One summer to bring a family back together.

Jayne Winters hasn’t seen her sister Charlotte since that last childhood holiday at their grandmother’s North Carolina beach house. Separated after that summer by their parents in a bitter divorce, Charlotte has never forgiven Jayne for not fighting to stay together.

So when Jayne discovers that they have both inherited the beach house, and that their grandmother’s last wish was for them to renovate it together, it feels like a miracle: one last chance to win her sister back.

At first Charlotte will barely speak to her. But slowly the memories of swimming races and storytelling in their attic bedroom looking over the sea start to break down the wall between them. With the help of photographs and letters left by their grandmother for them to find, the two women begin to restore not just the creaking mahogany staircase and the faded antique wallpaper, but their own relationship.

But then Jayne discovers that Charlotte has kept a heart-stopping secret from their past from her. Can she find it in her heart to forgive her sister and keep their grandmother’s dream of reuniting them alive—or are some wounds too big to heal?

An emotional and uplifting read about sisters, secrets and the family bonds that hold us together no matter how complicated they are, from the bestselling author of The Lighthouse Keeper. Fans of Mary Ellen Taylor, Elin Hilderbrand and Mary Alice Monroe will love this.

Amazon buy Link Here

Thank you for visiting today. I hope you have a wonderful day.

My Review

Three generations of women all working hard to bring their vineyard into the future in Champagne, France. These women are widows and all are strong in mind and body. Their family has worked the vineyards through good times and bad for over 200 years. Champagne runs through their veins, they will do anything to protect the family’s vineyards.

The women, a grandmother,her daughter-in law and the granddaughter live comfortably well off.
Their home has been requisitioned by the Germans who give them the “courtesy” of allowing them to stay in their own home.

With their best vintages hidden behind a fake wall in the basement will the enemy be able to find it to satisfy the unquenchable thirst the Third Reich’s has for the finest champagne?
The family matriarch with her slipping memory is fighting the hardest battle of her life.
The women all carry secrets, one that would mean instant death for the family .
These family will carry on through sheer determination to keep things running showing courage in the face of fire.

Excellent book and I hope to see more like it by the author!

Pub Date 27 Jul 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Amazon Buy Link

GoodReads Summary

For readers of Lilac Girls and The Lost Girls of Paris comes a captivating novel of resilience, as three generations of women battle to save their family’s vineyard during WWII.

Champagne, 1939

Gabrielle Leblanc Dupree is taking her family’s future into her hands. While she should be preparing for a lavish party to celebrate two centuries of champagne making, she secretly hides Chateau Fouché-Leblanc’s most precious vintages behind a fake wall in the cellar in preparation for the looming war. But when she joins the resistance, the coveted champagne isn’t the most dangerous secret her cellar must conceal…

A former Parisian socialite, Gabrielle’s mother, Hélène, lost her husband to another war. Now her home has been requisitioned by the Germans, who pillage vineyards to satisfy the Third Reich’s thirst for the finest champagne. There’s even more at stake than Hélène dares admit. She has kept her heritage a secret…and no one is safe in Nazi-occupied France.

Josephine, the family matriarch, watches as her beloved vineyard faces its most difficult harvest yet. As her daughter-in-law and granddaughters contend with the enemies and unexpected allies in their midst, Josephine’s deep faith leads to her own path of resistance.

Across years and continents, the Leblanc women will draw on their courage and wits, determined against all odds to preserve their lives, their freedom and their legacy

About the Author

Bornin Atlantic Beach, FL, The United States
Websitehttp://www.reneeryan.com
Twitterreneeryanbooks
GenreHistorical Fiction, Suspense, Mystery

Renee Ryan grew up in a small Florida beach town. Surfing didn’t work for her, but that didn’t keep her from watching others tackle the waves. To entertain herself during those countless hours of “laying-out”, she read many of the classics. It wasn’t until the summer between her sophomore and junior years at Florida State University that she read her first romance novel. Hooked from page one, she spent hours consuming one book after another while working on the best (and last!) tan of her life.

Two years later, armed with a degree in Economics and Religion, she explored various career opportunities, including stints at a Florida theme park, a modeling agency, and a cosmetic conglomerate. She went on to teach high school Economics, American Government and Latin in between coaching award-winning cheerleading teams. Several years later, with an eclectic cast of characters swimming around in her head, she began seriously pursuing a writing career. What better excuse to avoid housework and ignore clocks?

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful day.

My Review

None of my relatives are from the areas the Dust Bowl took place in. I have no first hand knowledge of it and have not had the privilege of hearing stories of this tragedy passed down from generation to generation so to gain knowledge of it I read fantastic and very highly researched books such as this one.

This book hits where it hurts, the heart. The characters are realistic and believable and you come to know them as though they are friends and they are in your corner.
These people could be your people, when they hurt you hurt as you become very invested in the character’s lives both good and bad.

The Dust Bowl in the 1930’s was a tragic time, many men were cowards and killed themselves or ran off to leave their women and children alone to fend for themselves.
The banks closed, everything did people didn’t have the money to buy anything .
Dust covered everything, filling people’s lungs ,killing off the livestock and making life an impossible hell!

Scraping together money for gas to make it to California they are in for a shock when they meet the land of broken dreams there.
Unfair wages for many hours of backbreaking work and having to live in tents where people carry diseases and total discrimination while trying to find and honest job are what they are met with.

The book was overall bleak but realistic for it’s time period and I can’t fault the book for that because I enjoy reading about realism.
There are pockets of sunshine and a renewed sense of hope along the way though.

I can’t recommend this book enough!

This is my first book by this author but you better believe it won’t be my last!

Pub Date 02 Feb 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

GoodReads Summary

Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance.

In this uncertain and dangerous time, Elsa Martinelli—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life. The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American Dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes an epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against the backdrop of one of America’s most defining eras—the Great Depression.

Amazon Buy Link

About The Author

Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels including the international blockbuster, The Nightingale, which was named Goodreads Best Historical fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People’s Choice award for best fiction in the same year. Additionally, it was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week.

Kristin’s newest new release, The Great Alone, was published on February 6, 2018 (St. Martin’s Press) and became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller. The novel, an epic love story and intimate family drama set in Alaska in the turbulent 1970’s is a daring, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival and the wildness that lives in both nature and man. Like The Nightingale, The Great Alone was voted the best Historical novel of the year by Goodreads readers.

The Nightingale is currently in production at Tri Star, with director Melanie Laurent and Dakota and Elle Fanning to star. Tri Star has also optioned The Great Alone and is in development.

Thank you for visiting the blog today. I hope you have a wonderful day.

My Review

This is the sixth book in the Amish of Southern Maryland series. Though I have read all of the books in the series I do believe the story can be read as a stand alone.
The story is sweet but filled with a whole range of emotions.
Young widowed mother Lena had a first love with Samuel when they were teens, he moved away and they lost touch. Oh he said they would keep in touch, would write letters, etc. but it just didn’t happen.
Heartbroken she knew it was time to move on and she marries and becomes the mother of three very young children and is now widowed.
When Samuel returns to town her emotions go into a tailspin. She’s still interested in him but she’s mad at him for not keeping in contact at the same time.
Lena is a wonderful mother and her children always come first in any situation.
Samuel has a secret, a secret he’s ashamed of and it’s the reason he had to move away from her when he was younger. He’s back now and knows he’s doing everything he can to make her trust him again but secrets do have a way of coming to the forefront.
Will she be understanding when she hears his explanation?
This is a wonderful and heartwarming series and I have enjoyed every book in it.

Pub Date 27 Apr 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

GoodReads Summary

The first scent of blooming flowers, fresh green fields, and invigorating days of sunshine. A Southern Maryland Amish spring bursts with hope, bright promise–and a practical young widow’s chance to try love anew…

With two lively daughters, an active newborn, and a huge farm to tend, Lena Troyer has no time for impossible what-ifs. She just can’t let herself be distracted by Samuel Mast’s unexpected return. Even though her childhood sweetheart became the man she longed to marry, Samuel never saw or wrote Lena again after his family abruptly moved away. Now a widow, Lena is determined to keep Samuel’s helpful ways and irresistible good humor at arm’s length–no matter how often he’s there when she needs him most…

A restless father with a shameful secret was the reason Samuel’s many letters never got to Lena. And it’s why Samuel can’t bring himself to tell Lena the truth–though he’s doing everything he can to regain her trust and prove he’s worthy of the resourceful woman she’s become. But as a rival for his affections complicates matters, Samuel and Lena must somehow put the past to rest–and believe that faith, honesty, and rekindled love will be more than enough to finally build a family together…

Amazon Buy Link

About The Author

Susan Lantz Simpson has been writing stories and poetry ever since she penned her first poem at the age of six. She has always loved the magic of words and how they can entertain and enlighten others. Her love of words led her to earn a degree in English/Education from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in St. Mary’s City, Maryland. She has taught students from pre-kindergarten to high school and has also worked as an editor for the federal government. She also holds a degree in nursing from the University of Maryland at Baltimore and has worked in hospitals and in community health. She writes inspirational stories of love and faith and has published a middle grade novel (Ginger and the Bully). She lives in Southern Maryland and is the mother of two wonderful daughters. She’s also a member of ACFW. When not writing, she enjoys reading, walking, and doing needlework.

Thank you for stopping by I hope you have a wonderful day!

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.

Thank you for visiting my blog today.

My name is Deanne and I am trying my hand at a new blog site today.

I am a vegan and am interested in helping out the environment and saving animal’s lives.

If you would like any information about veganism please contact and I’d love to try to help you.

I am also an avid reader and blogger. I love to help author’s get the word out about their books. Please contact me if you are interested in me doing a book review for you.

I do not read fantasy books or any about the abuse of animals.

Thank you for your time today and please subscribe as I’d love to see you around more.