Stealing the Preacher by Karen Witemeyer

Another fun book from Karen Witemeyer. Not too long ago I read her previous book, Short-Straw Bride. This book is about the younger brother of the "hero" in the previous book. This book, however, will stand alone. If this is the only one you read you will still have a great read! Joanna's father, a reformed outlaw, kidnaps a preacher for her off the train for her birthday because her dream is to fill the pulpit in their tiny church. The preacher in question is on the way to try out for a position in a neighboring town. His name is Crockett Archer. Not pleased with the turn of events, he eventually gets pulled in to Joanna's dreams anyway and pastors her church. There is the predictable marriage-hungry young lady and her mama to throw a monkey wrench into the works but Crockett and Joanna only have eyes for each other. Just a fun tale. I highly recommend it for some light reading.


I received a copy of this book from Bethany House for review. I did not receive any compensation for completing the review. All opinions are my own.

Sweet Mercy by Ann Tatlock

This book takes place in 1931, with a prologue and epilogue in 1981. The time frame of the book is during Prohibition and the time when all the big names in crime such as Al Capone were on the scene. Eve moves from a high crime area in St. Paul, MN to Mercy, OH where her uncle has a hotel/resort in what she views as a small town / safe area. As it all transpires, she finds out that bootlegging and illegal activity is widespread and not exclusively in the big city. She meets some interesting people and finds out some interesting things about herself as she works in Mercy.


This book was fascinating to me because it is the time frame in which my mother grew up and she would have been close to the same age as Eve. She grew up in rural Oklahoma, but I'm sure a lot of the headlines and news stories were the same.


I love the characters in this book and the way the story flows. I would not have normally chosen a book on this era to read but I found it fascinating and noteworthy and would recommend it to anyone who just enjoys a good story with some surprising twists and turns.


I received a copy of this book from Bethany House for review. I did not receive any compensation for completing the review. All opinions are my own.

The Outcast by Jolina Petersheim

This story takes place in an Old Order Mennonite community in Tennessee. The story is told in first person by Rachel, the main character in the story and by her old bishop Amos King, now deceased. This was an unusual way to tell a story and some questionable theology involved, but very effective nonetheless. The story was a page turner. I never put it down till I finished it.


This book purports to be a "modern retelling of The Scarlet Letter." Since I don't remember a whole lot about that classic that I had to read at some point in school I didn't have a whole lot to compare here except public attitude, which is, I believe, a big part of The Scarlet Letter.


The characters here are very believable and all have an issue or story of their own which make them very interesting to the reader.


It involves adultery, cancer, twins, young love, loss and a myriad of other situations but surprisingly it all weaves into a very compelling story and does not lead you to the conclusion that the author had an overactive imagination to come up with so much trouble for everybody. I had that experience with another book I read recently but this one did not have that feeling to it at all.


Since the blurb that Amazon offers on this book is very appropriate to the story, I will not give away any plot by embellishing on it. I will just say that this author is one you will want to watch in the future!


I received a copy of this book from Tyndale for review. I did not receive any compensation for completing the review. All opinions are my own.