When Love Returns by Kim Vogel Sawyer

This is Book 3 in the Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy. I recommend you read all three because much of the story started in Book 1 continues on through Books 2 and 3. In this book Suzanne is back in Kansas helping out at the Bed & Breakfast while her adopted daughter makes a trip back to Indiana to look for her birth mother. Meanwhile, Suzanne's birth child is right there with Suzanne but she doesn't know who her birth mother is. This book explores the dilemmas that are faced by birth and adoptive parents and by the children they raise. But it is all masterfully woven into a marvelous story. The characters became so real to me I almost felt I could travel there and stay in the B&B and get to know them all. Kim Vogel Sawyer has a gift for writing spellbinding stories with intricately crafted characters and interweaving their faith into the tale. This book is my favorite of the three because it pulls it all together and ties up a lot of situations that the family was facing throughout the trilogy.

I received this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review and as part of the "Street Team." I can honestly say that I would have bought it the minute it was available for sale if I had not been on the team. This lady is one of my favorite authors and is from my home state of Kansas. I almost feel like we're related somehow. ;-)

After you read this trilogy if you are as captivated as I am by the story, and if you are new to this author, go back and find anything you can that she has written because all her books are keepers!

Chivalrous by Dina L. Sleiman

The sequel is rarely as fine a pearl as the original but this one is as good or better than the original. This book is delicious!

Lady Gweneth would rather be a knight like her three brothers than the lady her father expects her to be. Her father wants to arrange a marriage for her with a brute of a man who has no respect for women but Gwen has her heart set on Allen of Ellsworth who has newly arrived in their dukedom. A cousin of the Duke is working very hard to take over the Dukedom as he considers it his rightful inheritance. We met Allen in book one (Dauntless) and later in the story we meet up with the other main characters from the first book.

I loved this book, the characters, the attention to detail of how people lived and dressed and what they ate in the 1200s. I really enjoyed the attention the main characters gave to scripture and their prayers and relationship with God. It was all seamlessly part of the story.

Bethany House gave me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review but I would have bought it anyway and will rush to purchase any subsequent books from this author!

Below is my review of Book 1 of the Valiant Hearts series that I wrote a few months ago.







March 15, 2015 Dauntless by Dina L. Sleiman

All I can say is WOW! I loved this book! I love this time period, I love these kinds of stories and I want more! (And I don't want to wait till the Author's next installment. I want her to speed write!)


Lady Merry Ellison and Timothy Grey were once betrothed but her father's opposition to King John put a damper on the situation. Her parents and brother were murdered by the King's men and Merry and some of the village children were forced into exile by the circumstances. They formed a little band for survival and lived off their wits in the woods. Timothy, thinking Merry was dead too, eventually went to work for a nearby landholder. When he discovers Merry is still alive he doesn't know what to do. To let others know is to put her in danger.


This was so much fun -- a Robin Hood type of story. The characters are interesting, the time period is interesting, the political intrigue is fascinating and the storytelling is superb!

Bethany House gave me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review but I would have bought it anyway and will buy any subsequent books by this author. Loved it!!

Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke

This is one of the most interesting WWII books I have read. It kept me in suspense throughout. Like most WWII books, it is sad. But it is also hopeful and enjoyable.

The story is about Hannah, who knows nothing about her mother or her mother's past. Even though her mother raised her, she never was forthcoming about her past. When her mother, Lieselotte, dies and leaves everything to her she discovers some interesting papers in the lockbox at the bank. They lead her to a German grandfather who is still living. But he has secrets to keep too. She goes to spend time with him in order to try to find out who her mother really was but finds more questions than answers.

If you love to read about WWII and about the holocaust you will really enjoy this book. I highly recommend it to all and even suggest that it be used as an extra credit reading assignment for homeschoolers studying American or World History.

I received a copy of this book from Tyndale in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Potter's Lady by Judith Miller

Rose McKay has just graduated from a design school and convinces her brother to invest in a Pottery factory. There she meets Rylan Campbell who is 2nd in command at the Pottery Works. Her designs and business ideas will make a success of the business in her opinion but Rylan is not so sure because he is not a fan of change.

The story of the workings of the pottery factory was very interesting to me. The time period and the characters were well developed by the author and became real as a result. I was fascinated by all the intricacies of the process and it brought to mine some wonderful pottery collections we have made in both the U.S. and Europe. It makes me want to collect even more!

Judith Miller always tells a good story and I am always happy to get a new book by this author. Bethany House provided me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Stealing Jake by Pam Hillman

This story is set in a small coal mining town not too distant from Chicago in the late 1800s. Livvy is a former street child who is now helping run an orphanage. Jake is the deputy sheriff and part owner of a collapsed coal mine. Both have their pasts to overcome but a series of robberies around town, a bunch of starving street children and rumors of a sweat shop set up right within their borders leave a lot of investigating to do. Livvy wants to help the kids, Jake wants to uphold the law.


This book is well written and with all the cute, vulnerable children is a tugger of heartstrings. I couldn't put it down. I would love to read more from Pam Hillman.


Tyndale House gave me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

In Good Company by Jen Turano

Jen Turano is a new author for me but she is going onto my favorite authors list immediately. This book was pure joy. Mix a madcap nanny, a very serious gentleman, some matchmaking older ladies, 3 adorable kids, a gaggle of interested servants, 3 puppies and a whole flock of peacocks and what could be more fun. Jumping from New York City to Newport, RI to Boston, there is plenty of action, a mystery to solve and love is in the air!

Be sure and block out enough time to read the whole book because I can guarantee you won't want to put it down. The characters are delightful. The plot is well planned and the goings on of all the characters are just plain fun!

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House for the purpose of writing a fair and honest review and I am so grateful this is the book I chose this month!

Blessing (#2 in Quaker Brides series) by Lyn Cote

This is about a Quaker widow, Blessing Brightman, who is an influential and wealthy part of the Cincinnati community in the mid-1800s. She is part of the Underground Railroad and is an avid Abolitionist and Women's Rights advocate. She meets Gerard Ramsey, a spoiled heir to a Boston family, when he comes to rescue his cousin from the clutches of her best friend.


This is a rich historical novel with many interesting things to learn about this whole time period and the people who populated it. Speakers that came to Cincinnati included Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass.


The book started out slow and for a chapter or two I thought it was going to be tough to get through but then it started to flow and I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to finish it.


I will now be looking for book 1 of this series and waiting for book 3 to appear. I will also be looking for other books by this author. I love finding a new author to add to my "favorites" list.


Tyndale gave me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you Tyndale for a great experience!