A Noble Groom by Jody Hedlund

This was a fun book that I could not put down. I read right through it. It is about German immigrants that came to the U.S. around 1880 to escape oppression in their homeland. My own ancestors came here around that same time and settled in Ohio. These immigrants settled in Michigan.


The story is about Carl Richards, really the son of the noble family that ruled in the area the immigrants came from in Germany. His father was whose oppression they had escaped. When Carl is falsely accused of attempted murder in Germany, he flees to Michigan at the behest of his manservant whose brother is living in Michigan. The brother is awaiting a relative being sent to marry his widowed daughter and take over her farm. Carl arrives ahead of the prospective groom and helps on the farm while hiding from the law.


The characters were interesting and likable and the book was well researched. I learned a lot about that day and time that was very interesting to me. Even though my ancestors settled in a city rather than on farms, I felt I learned a lot about what their lives may have been like. But more than that, this was just a good story that left me wanting more.


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.

Road Trip to Redemption by Brad Mathias

This is a wonderful book and all parents should read it. Brad Mathias is a minister and he thought he had the parenting thing all figured out until something went wrong for his daughter and he had to rethink everything. Not only did he find out that his way wasn't working, he found out there weren't any cut and dried answers and that it takes a lot more work and dedication to be a parent. But the key thing, in my opinion, is that God spoke to him on more than one occasion and he chose to listen and follow. It wasn't the easiest course of action but it was the right one.


Part of Brad and his wife's journey through this rough patch included an actual road trip where parents and teens reconnected with each other and with God.


This book should be read by every parent who needs these insights to continue their own journey in parenting their precious children. Even I, as a grandmother, gained much insight into some of the things I have observed along the way.


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.

Meal Time Devotions by John Avery Whitaker

Everyone in our house loves Adventures in Odyssey and Whit's End. So when I got the opportunity to review this book I was excited! Family devotion time can be a snooze for some families especially when they have a wide range of ages in the family. Not so these devotions. Each devotion is one page long. It starts with a prayer and then moves on to the "Appetiser" which is a game or a demonstration of some sort that everyone can participate in. Then the main course is a short idea to get you thinking, followed by Table Talk which is a series of discussion points or questions. The last snippet is "vitamins and minerals" which is a scripture verse that ties it all together. This is a fun way to get everyone involved, even the teenagers.



If you love Adventures in Odyssey, you will enjoy this book of 90 family devotions (3 months worth)!


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

Swept Away by Mary Connealy

This is another great story by Mary Connealy! I have been gobbling up her books since the very first one and waiting with great anticipation for the next installment. I love her sense of humor! I hope I am still around ten years from now and Mary is still writing books because they just get better and better. This one is even better than all the previous ones. She has refined her art and this one just sings!


This book is the first in the Trouble in Texas series. Luke Stone is working with his war buddies to recover the ranch that was stolen from him. He finds Ruthy MacNeil along the way, half-drowned from being swept away by a flash flood. He takes her along with him for lack of a better plan and she proves to be as big an asset in the plan to recover the ranch as all the former soldiers. This books is a real page-turner and I am now waiting anxiously for book number 2 in this series. Also hoping this book comes out on Audio soon so my daughter can enjoy it too.

The Icecutter's Daughter by Tracie Peterson

Rurik Jorgensen had to leave his Swedish hometown of Lindsborg, KS to go help his Uncle Carl with his furniture making business in Minnesota. In Minnesota, he meets German farm girl Merrill Krause (the Icecutter's daughter) and they are each entranced be the other. Unfortunately, some of Rurik's past arrives in Minnesota to visit him and a lot of unpleasant things happen. Both Rurik and Merrill continue to trust in God for the outcome and all is resolved in the end.


There is so much rich history and tradition in this volume and that alone would make it worth the read, but in addition it is a well-crafted story with wonderful, believable characters and a storyline that won't let you put it down. I just kept reading till I was suddenly at the end an bereft at the loss of the story -- it should have kept on going into infinity. Now I must wait to see if a sequel is in my future, and if so, if I will find out more about these characters and about Merrill's brothers and their future families etc. I almost feel like these characters are friends.


Tracie Peterson has written a wonderful story here and I recommend it to all who love Christian historical fiction and all who just love a great story!


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

Sweet Sanctuary by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Kim Vogel Sawyer is one of my all time favorite authors and I don't think you can improve on perfection but with each book that comes out I realize that she has done just that because each one is even better than the one before. When I looked at the blurb for this one I thought, WWII -- I don't want to read any more WWII stories -- but after all, this was Kim Vogel Sawyer so I decided to soldier on. I am so glad I made that decision. This book is the best one yet. It is about a doctor and nurse who were formerly stationed in Hawaii together and now she (Lydia Eldredge) is in Boston taking care of a child given to her by a dying friend and he (Dr. Micah Hatcher) is in New York being a doctor to immigrants and also doing some top secret work to help save Jewish children in Europe. His brother, a minister, is in Europe and is smuggling the children of Polish Jews into the United States to be adopted by Jewish families in the U.S. Dr. Hatcher receives the children as they come in and takes them to a rabbi who places them. They reconnect and Micah tries to help Lydia, whose little boy is being claimed by his birthfather. The birthfather is addicted to morphine and wants to sell the boy to pay for his habit. The story gets even more interesting from there but I won't spoil it for you. In this book, two people actually accept Jesus as their savior during the course of the story and I thought that was a gutsy inclusion and thought Ms. Sawyer's relating of those two conversions was very well done. I love the current Christian fiction. Authors like Ms. Sawyer are not afraid to take on the real issues of Christianity and tell it like it is without being preachy or stilted. I am hoping this book comes out in Audio version soon so my very busy daughter who loves WWII stories will be able to enjoy this one.

FIrefly Island by Lisa Wingate

This book was a real page turner. I had a hard time getting into it at first because I just kept thinking, "this is going to end badly." I couldn't imagine how a professional woman working on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC could be happy quitting her job, getting married and moving with her ready-made family to a ranch in the back of beyond in Texas. I couldn't imagine a "happily ever after" coming from that scenario. But amazingly enough, it did. And with a lot of mystery and intrigue in the middle. There were a lot of mishaps along the way as she dealt with goats, cows, vermin and hometown folk in the small Texas town. Throw in a surprise pregnancy, a lot of loving, long-distance interfering relatives and some unusual new friends. This book had a lot of quirks and surprises but it chronicled the journey from self-sufficiency to being part of a community and a real genuine love relationship. By the time I got half way through the book I couldn't put it down anymore and could not wait to read to the last page to find out what happened. After I read the last page I sat and enjoyed knowing but with a little sadness at that being the end and no more to experience. I've read several of Lisa Wingate's books and all I can say is they keep getting better and better!

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