Tag: forgiveness

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historical fiction

The Seaside Homecoming (On Devonshire Shores Book #3): (Regency Historical Romance Novel about Secrets, Second Chances, and Sisterhood)

400 pages Bethany House publishers Publication date December 3, 2024

ABOUT THE BOOK

A surprise homecoming tests the bonds of sisterhood as a hidden past comes to light . . .

Disgraced eldest sister Claire Summers has been living in exile as companion to a stern great-aunt in Scotland. About to lose her place and longing to be reconciled with her estranged family, Claire sees an advertisement from someone looking for a “respectable female partner” in a Sidmouth boarding house. Is it a sign? She answers the ad, hoping she has not made another reckless mistake. When she meets the handsome, secretive proprietor, she wonders what he’s hiding and if he’s any more trustworthy than the nobleman who betrayed her years ago. Claire is drawn to him even though she fears he will reject her when he discovers her genteel façade hides a less-than-respectable past.

Meanwhile, the Summers family learns their great-aunt has died and Claire has disappeared without a word. The sisters rally together to find their lost sibling, but will their unexpected reunion heal old wounds and rekindle their bonds . . . or deepen the divide?

Return to the captivating Devonshire coast as the Summers sisters navigate romance, second chances, and the enduring strength of sisterhood in the face of adversity.

MY THOUGHTS

t’s always such a treat to read a book by the author and I’m already looking forward to the Christmas release in this series coming out in September.
This is the third of what I believe to be a four-book series.


I’ve enjoyed getting to know the five sisters and their widowed mother. I’d suggest reading the other two books in the series to catch up on the back story, meeting all the sisters and getting to know their personalities.
The author’s books are wonderful, and her storytelling abilities have evolved over the years making for such compelling stories that I’m sure not to miss.


How exciting that the book started out taking place in Scotland.
I’ve really enjoyed the Regency spin she puts on her books. We have romance, forgiveness, strong faith. We have a reunion with the oldest sister and after a troubling past it was so nice to see such strong sisterly bonds are still there as they are there to support her.


Great descriptions and as with the other books I could imagine the rugged seaside coast. Looking forward to the other sister’s stories soon. Great wrap up of this story as it kept me glued to its pages.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own

MEET THE AUTHOR

Julie Klassen loves all things Jane—Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. She worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. Three of her novels have won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. She has also won the Minnesota Book Award, the Midwest Book Award, and Christian Retailing’s BEST Award. Julie is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She and her husband have two sons and live in St. Paul, Minnesota. Visit http://www.julieklassen.com and talesfromivyhill.com for more information.

Thanks for joining me here today.

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The Year of Goodbyes and Hellos (A woman’s emotional battle with cancer)

399 pages Thomas Nelson publisher December 5, 2023 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

In a novel inspired by the author’s own cancer experience, two sisters seek a new balance in work, family, and love when one receives a diagnosis that sets the clock ticking.

Determined to save Sherri’s life, Kristen drops everything to guide her sister on the harrowing cancer treatment journey. When she’s unable to balance the strain of caring for her patients, being a wife and mother, and her frantic efforts to save her sister, Kristen’s carefully balanced life crumbles, starting with her marriage. Desperate to regain her footing, she vows to rebuild her broken relationships . . . as soon as she’s sure Sherri will beat the odds stacked against her.

Unlike her sister, Sherri Reynolds has worked to cultivate balance in her life. Her children, her job as a teacher, and her strong faith keep her grounded–until her diagnosis sends her spiraling into the scary world of what-ifs and unknown outcomes. Sherri faces the agonizing realization that family history may be about to repeat itself. With the clock ticking, she’s determined to use whatever time she has left to heal old wounds and restore relationships.

The Year of Goodbyes and Hellos is a novel that will have readers reaching for the tissue box again and again as the author uses her own experience of living with ovarian cancer for seven years (and counting) to provide first-hand knowledge of sitting in the chair when the diagnosis is first delivered and the repercussions that follow.

MY THOUGHTS

The Year of Goodbyes and Hellos is based on the authors personal experience with ovarian cancer. Through the authors story we get a firsthand look at a womans cancer battle up close and personal in a way we wouldn’t have been able to without experiencing it ourselves.


A story about sisters, one is an oncologist, one is battling cancer. In this battle to help her sister her marriage is falling apart.

The book is raw, gripping, very personal and emotional. I know it had to take a lot for the author to write this but I’m so glad she has. If this book can help even one woman with her cancer battle and the detection of it.

A compelling read, one every woman should read, and her partner should too as he may notice something she doesn’t. This needs to be on everyone’s keeper bookshelf.

Pub Date 05 Dec 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Best-selling novelist Kelly Irvin’s latest Amish romance, Every Good Gift, debuted in February 2023. The third novel in the Amish Blessings series takes place in Yoder and Haven, Kansas. The series takes a look at adoption in Amish communities. The first book, Love’s Dwelling, won second place in the Selah Awards contest in the long contemporary romance category. The series follows the Amish of Sky Country series, which featured Amish communities in Northwest Montana affected by wildfires that destroyed thousands of acres in the state in recent years. The first book, Mountains of Grace, debuted in August 2019, and delves into the impact on not only an Amish man and woman, but also a smoke jumper, a sheriff’s deputy, and a young English woman forced to confront her past because of the fires.

Kelly also writes romantic suspense novels. Her most recent forays into this genre include Trust Me, Her Every Move and Closer Than She Knows, all set in San Antonio and South Texas. Publishers Weekly says of Closer Than She Knows, “this brisk, smoothly written thriller from Irvin pits court reporter Teagan O’Rourke, a murder mystery lover, against a cunning and vicious serial killer. Fans of serial killer fiction with a Christian slant will be satisfied.”

Of Tell Her No Lies, The Library Journal says, “Irvin creates a complex web with enough twists and turns to keep even the most savvy romantic suspense readers guessing until the end. Known for her Amish novels, this two-time Carol Award finalist shows that her talents span subgenres from tranquil Amish stories to rapidly paced breathless suspense.”

Kelly is also the author of the Every Amish Season series, which included four books that chronicle the lives of Amish widows who are in different seasons in their lives. These women are linked by life altering experiences that bring them together as wives, mothers, and grandmothers in the small town of Jamesport, Mo. The first book, Upon a Spring Breeze, received critical acclaim from the Library Journal: “A moving and compelling tale about the power of grace and forgiveness that reminds us how we become strongest in our most broken moments.”

Kelly Irvin is also the author of The Amish of Bee County series, which includes the critically acclaimed The Beekeeper’s Son. Publishers Weekly called the first book in the series a beautifully woven masterpiece and Romantic Times Magazine called Kelly a storyteller extraordinaire. It was followed by The Bishop’s Son and The Saddle Maker’s Son, which is an ECPA bestseller.

A two-time ACFW Carol finalist, Kelly’s novellas have been included in numerous anthologies, including An Amish Summer, The Amish Christmas Gift, An Amish Market, an Amish Christmas Love, and Amish Quilt, An Amish Reunion, An Amish Picnic, and An Amish Christmas Bakery.

She also penned the Bliss Creek Amish series and the New Hope Amish series, both published by Harvest House Publishers. Love Still Stands, the first book in the New Hope series, debuted in September 2012, and the follow-up, Love Redeemed, released March 1, 2014. The final book in the series, set in Branson, MO., was A Plain Love Song, released in July 2014.

The Bliss Creek Amish series, set in Kansas, includes To Love and to Cherish, A Heart Made New, and Love’s Journey Home.

In the New Hope series, familiar characters from Bliss Creek move to Missouri to start a new district and a new life.

The Kansas native is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the ACFW San Antonio local chapter Alamo City Christian Fiction Writers, as well as Sisters in Crime and Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

A graduate of the University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism, Kelly wrote nonfiction professionally for thirty years. She studied for three semesters at the University of Costa Rica, learning the Spanish language. As a journalist, she worked six years in the border towns of Laredo and El Paso, where she was exposed to culture and language that serves as fodder for her fiction writing. She has written hard news, features, entertainment pieces, restaurant critiques, editorials, and weekly columns. Writing awards include the Silver Star Award from the Texas Mental Health Association for articles pertaining to mental health and numerous awards in news, feature, and editorial writing from the Texas Press Association and Texas Press Women.

Kelly retired in 2016 from her position of 22 years as public relations manager for the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department, where her duties included writing and designing an employee newsletter, writing news releases, collaborating on marketing campaigns, coordinating ribbon-cuttings and groundbreakings, coordinating press conferences, updating the web site, and acting as a media spokesperson.

Kelly has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for 35 years. They have two children and four grandchildren. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories and poetry, read books by her favorite authors, and visit the babies.

For more information, visit http://www.kellyirvin.com

Thank you for stopping in. Enjoy your day.

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First Christmas on Huckleberry Hill (The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill Book 10)Amish Romance by Jennifer Beckstrand

289 pages September 28,2021 publish date Zebra publisher

About The Book

Before irrepressible eighty-somethings Anna and Felty Helmuth became Huckleberry Hill, Wisconsin’s most-beloved matchmakers, they were mismatched young lovers facing seemingly impossible obstacles . . .
 
She can’t cook, sew, sing, or clean. And no matter how hard young Anna Yoder tries, she’d much rather help people in trouble than be a well-behaved pretty face and properly perfect Amish maidel. So she instantly reaches out to her old schoolmate, Felty Helmuth, when their Amish town ostracizes him for his Korean War army service. He’s still the only one who’s ever understood Anna—and liked everything from her green Jello carrot salads to her love of books. And this holiday season, she can’t help hoping that somehow she and Felty can find a way to be the perfect match . . .
 
Felty sensed he was called by Gotte to serve his country, though it went against his community’s peaceful ways. Troubled by his wartime experiences, he is resigned to being an outsider avoided by most eligible Amish girls. But lively, intelligent Anna has grown into a warm-hearted generous woman who accepts Felty for who he is. And in the face of family and community opposition, he and Anna will take a leap of faith to prove they are made for each other—and a lifetime of happiness.

Grab A Copy Here

My Thoughts

I have read every book in the Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series. I will admit I absolutely love Anna and Felty, they are my favorite older Amish couple to read about.
They are just the cutest couple ever! You just can’t help but love them. Anna and Felty are older, in their eighties but spunky and have so much living to do as well.


They have lots of grandchildren and under the pretense of needing some work done around the house or some other nonsense they get their grandchildren to come visit them one by one and they match make for each of them. Everyone in their family knows how meddling they are but they don’t do it in a bossy way and all of their family adores them. When their latest conquest, er grandchild comes to visit the matchmaking once again starts up.


But instead of the story revolving around the grandchild’s story it takes us back in time to Anna and Felty’s own courting story when they were much younger. Though Amish Felty feels led by God as a young man to enlist, he did some things while enlisted that he’s not proud of and won’t talk about it as an older man.

Returning home after his time serving, the Amish don’t welcome him home as they are a peaceful people and don’t condone violence. When he becomes an instant hero after a near tragedy, he is heartily welcomed home. Anna and Felty had feeling for each other before he left but neither knew it at the time. I love that Felty loves Anna for who she is despite her being a terrible cook and seamstress.

He has a chance to have the prettiest girl in their community and she’s the bishop’s daughter, but he just wants his Annie. This is what I call genuine love. At the end of the book, it does switch back to modern times where the grandparents are older. Such devotion to each other, this couple has it for sure. Loving this series. This is a long running series that I will continue to read as long as she keeps writing them.

Pub Date 28 Sep 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About The Author

Jennifer Beckstrand is the USA Today Bestselling author of The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series, The Honeybee Sisters series, The Petersheim Brothers series, and The Amish Quiltmaker series for Kensington Books. Two of Jennifer’s books were nominated for the RWA RITA® Award, and she is a #1 Amazon bestselling author. Jennifer has written twenty-eight Amish romances and the nonfiction book, Big Ideas. She has also written two Western historical and two contemporary romances as Jen Spencer. She and her husband have been married for thirty-seven years, and she has six children and eight adorable grandchildren, whom she spoils rotten.

Homepage

https://www.facebook.com/jenniferbeckstrandfans

Instagram: j.beckstrand

Hope your weekend is going great. Thanks for stopping in.

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All the Days of Summer by Nancy Thayer. A Truly unputdownable emotional read

336 pages May 02,2023 publication date Ballantine Books publisher

About The Book

Heather Willette has a good life in Concord, Massachusetts. But when her marriage has fizzles out, Heather has to decide what sort of life to live next. Ready to seek out her own happiness and discover herself again, Heather decides to leave her husband and rent a cottage on Nantucket. And her plan is going perfectly—until her son, Ross, announces he’s moving to Nantucket to work at his girlfriend’s family’s construction business instead of going back home to work with his own father, like he’d promised. Worst of all for Heather, this means having to get along with her.

Kailee Essex is thrilled that Ross is willing to move to her hometown. She has big hopes for their happily ever after, especially now that her parents are finally showing interest in her career. She’s less thrilled, however, about his mother living nearby. Kailee has clashed with Heather since the day they met. But anything is possible in the summer sun and sea breezes of Nantucket—even reconciliation. And when change comes sooner than either Heather or Kailee expect, they must learn to overcome their differences to fight for the future they want.

With All the Days of Summer, beloved storyteller Nancy Thayer delivers a moving novel that explores the complexity of family and the unexpected ways fate can guide you forward.

My Thoughts

Heather Willette lives in Massachusetts with her husband and in his twenties son. Her son will take over their hardware store when his father retires, it’s all been planned out.
That is until Kailee Essex comes into their lives, or rather her son Ross’s life.


This thin, young blond beauty from a wealthy Nantucket family has stolen his heart and refuses to give it back. In what seems like an instant all his plans change, he no longer will take over his paren’t hardware store but will move in with Kailee’s family for now and rise in the ranks in her father’s business while he’s treated like a son by her family.


Heather knows the run was good but good isn’t good enough and what seals the deal is her husband would rather watch a ball game than have a serious talk with her. It’s time for that divorce and for her to do some living, do some things that make her happy.
When a friend of hers finds her an in need of work cottage to rent for the summer in Nantucket she snaps it up. After all what will a 3-month Nantucket vacation hurt while the divorce is processing?


Heather and Kailee, these two women seem to be at each other’s throats all the time especially when Kailee finds out Heather has moved to the town she lives in. Has she followed Ross here, not able to cut the mother-adult son ties?


Many times poor Ross feels as though he has to choose between his mother or his girlfriend and having to defend his actions. I wasn’t too sure if I liked Kailee’s character. She is highly driven like her mother and wants a high ranking, important job in her family’s business.


Some family dramatics made me feel bad for Heather as there are many misunderstandings between the two women and at one point, I was convinced Ross would call it off with Kailee after their engagement. The book is beautifully emotional and you will really enjoy the family dynamics. This book is so realistic, once you start, you’re not going to be able to put it down. Fabulous! Such a perfect summer read.

May 2,2023 pub date
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About The Author

I grew up in Kansas, surrounded by prairie, but thirty-five years ago I came to Nantucket to visit a friend who introduced me to the love of my life. Charley and I have now lived on Nantucket for 33 years–year-round, as we say, so I have a special feeling for this island and for the people who come here. I love the island most in the winter when the waves crash dramatically on the shore.

I have a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English literature from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, and I still go to KC often to visit my darling baby sister, who inspires many of the characters in my book. Yes, she is blond, and yes, she is 9 years younger than I am. I still love her.

For a few years, I taught freshman English in several states, and had short stories published in literary reviews. My first novel, Stepping, was published by Doubleday in 1980, and started me off on the career I’ve always wanted. I was a Fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in 1980 and in 2015, I received the RT Career Achievement Award.

I’ve published 30 novels–all available on Amazon–including Secrets in Summer, The Island House, The Guest Cottage, Nantucket Sisters, and Island Girls. A Nantucket Wedding was my 30th. The upcoming Surfside Sisters will be out July, 2019! Champagne for everyone!

When I’m not writing novels–all 30 are available on Amazon–I’m walking the beach with my husband or entertaining our 4 grandchildren & their parents & our friends. All my novels are about family and friendships, which I believe are the foundation of a happy, if complicated, life.

Have a most blessed day and thank you for visiting today.

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Remember Me (Pictures of the Heart Book #1) Tracie Peterson

I just love this beautiful cover and can’t wait to read the others in the series.

About The Book

From the Yukon to Seattle, the hope of a new beginning waits just around the corner.

Addie Bryant is haunted by her past of heartbreak and betrayal. After her beau, Isaac Hanson, left the Yukon, she made a vow to wait for him. When she’s sold to a brothel owner after the death of her father, Addie manages to escape with the hope that she can forever hide her past and the belief that she will never have the future she’s always dreamed of.

Years later, Addie has found peace in her new life as a photographer, training Camera Girls to operate and sell the Brownie camera. During the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo in Seattle, Addie is reunited with Isaac, but after the path her life has taken, she’s afraid to expose the ugliness of her former life and to move toward the future they had pledged to each other.

When her past catches up with her, Addie must decide whether to run or to stay and face her wounds in order to embrace her life, her future, and her hope in God.

My Thoughts

I have long been reading this authors books. She has so many out, I call her the “Queen of Historical Fiction.” Her research is immaculate and makes each story relatable and realistic.
Her books have a beautiful faith message but it’s not overbearing.
Remember Me is the first book in the Pictures of the Heart series.
The setting is 1909 at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo in Seattle.
Addie Bryant has had a very harsh and heartbreaking bringing up. Her brothers and father did not love her, and she had no one. After they betrayed her in the worst way possible, she was able to escape. With memories of a promised love from childhood she holds onto these happy memories as a way to keep going but doesn’t expect anything to come of it.
After she is reunited with Isaac, her past love, she doesn’t feel worthy of forgiveness or to be with him.
The theme here is your past is in the past and God is a forgiving God to be trusted and Addie does come to do this. A strong story line with themes of forgiveness, redemption and love.
I will continue to read books by this author as she’s one of my all-time favorites.

Pub Date: 07 Mar 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

The Author

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than one hundred books. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.

Visit Tracie’s web site at: http://www.traciepeterson.com

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Her Heart’s Desire (A Season in Pinecraft Book #1) Amish fiction by Shelley Shepard Gray-Review

Print length 291 pages Revell Publisher Jan 3,2023 Publication Date

Grab A Copy Here

About The Book

Mary Margaret Miller needs an escape from her small Amish community. She boards a bus, all alone, for a vacation in Pinecraft, Florida. Meeting Betsy and Lilly on the way, she’s amazed to find two kindred spirits. They become fast friends and determine to have the best two weeks of their lives. For Mary, it starts when she meets Jayson Raber. The handsome and charming carpenter is taken by Mary from the get-go, but he has responsibilities back home in Kentucky–including a girl he’s supposed to marry.

When someone from Mary’s past shows up in Pinecraft, it seems like her perfect vacation is ruined. But that’s nothing compared to what’s coming when she realizes what Jayson has been hiding.

Take a vacation with New York Times bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray as she explores what happens when we allow our pasts to define our futures in this story of friendship, romance, and new beginnings.

My Thoughts

I always look forward to the author’s newest releases coming out. This one is the start to a new series, and we are once again back in Pinecraft, which I would love to visit someday. It sounds so peaceful.
This is A Season in Pinecraft, #1.


The author is such a master storyteller. no matter the genre she writes, I especially enjoy her Amish stories. Her stories are so compelling with such a nice faith message in them. I always feel so much better after reading her books, such a positive boost they give me.


I was moved by the characters, how they examined who they were and worked on improving their character.
I am looking forward to the next delightful book in this series.

Pub Date 03 Jan 2023
I received a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About The Author

Shelley Shepard Gray is a NYT and USA Today bestselling author. She’s published over a hundred novels and has over a million books in print. She currently lives in northern Ohio and writes full time.

Shelley lives just an hour from Holmes County, where many of her Amish-themed novels are set. She currently writes contemporary romance and Amish fiction for a variety of publishers. When not spending time with her family or writing, she can usually be found walking her two dachshunds on one of the many trails in the Cleveland area.

She also bakes a lot, loves coconut cream pie, and will hardly ever pull weeds, mow the yard, or drive in the snow.

Shelley also spends a lot of time on line! Please visit her website, http://www.shelleyshepardgray.com to find out her latest news or to sign up for her newsletter.

You have blessed me by visiting my blog today. Thank you, friend!

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New Book Release Review-The Second Christmas by Marta Perry

About The Book

The warmth of the Christmas season and a woman’s return home to the charming Amish community of Promise Glen opens the door to a second chance at love.

When Leah Beiler pictured returning to Promise Glen, she imagined taking everything she learned from her aunt’s business in Upstate New York and starting up a quaint herbal tea shop of her own. What she didn’t expect was for Josiah Burkhalter to insist on helping her. Josiah might have been her childhood sweetheart but they’ve both changed a lot since then and Leah’s not sure she can trust the man who once broke her heart.

Josiah is determined to make the most of this unexpected second chance. When he hears of Leah’s plans to open her own shop, he resolves to help in any way he can–beginning his gentle campaign to win her back by renovating the small cottage on her family’s farm.

During her time away, Leah looked forward to once again spending the holiday season with her family, especially Second Christmas, December 26th, a time of celebrating with extended family and close neighbors like the Burkhalters. But as Christmas nears, her feelings for Josiah grow more confused, strengthened by their time of working together. Now it will take all the magic of the season for Leah to confront her fears and reach for the love she deserves.

Books in the series

My Review

I just love Marta Perry’s books and they always teach us such an important lesson.
This one deals with forgiveness.
This is the fourth book in the Promise Glenn series.
In this one upon returning home Leah Beiler imagines herself starting an herb shop with the knowledge she’s earned from working with her Aunt at her upstate New York herb shop.
Josiah Burkhalter insists on helping her set up her new shop. Now that would be all fine and dandy but he was her childhood sweetheart and her broke her heart when they were childhood sweethearts.
Time has changed and matured them both. Those old feelings flare again, can she trust him to not hurt her and can she trust her own heart?
Life is full of disappointments but to trust and forgive is so important. Sometimes what we think we really want isn’t what we get but we realize what we have is so much better and we are grateful for it. I love the author’s writing style and important lessons learned. This is a joyful and heartwarming Christmas story.

Published September 27, 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

About The Author

Marta Perry is a Pennsylvania-based author of over 35 novels, many of them inspirational romances. She uses her rural Pennsylvania life and her Pennsylvania Dutch heritage in writing her books, especially in her Pleasant Valley Amish series for Berkley Books and her new Amish-set suspense series for HQN Books.

Marta and her husband live in a centuries-old farmhouse in a quiet central Pennsylvania valley. They have three grown children and six beautiful grandchildren, and when she’s not busy writing her next book, she’s usually trying to keep up with her gardening, baking for church events, or visiting those beautiful grandkids.

Have you read any books by this author?

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