Behind Love's Wall (Doors to the Past) by Carrie Fancett Pagels

 

This was a fun story centered at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. (Lake Huron) .  Willa is a modern day interior designer whose roots are in this area.  Lily is a singer who is hired by the Hotel  back in its heyday and she too had roots in this area.  What they have in common is a desire to figure out who their living relatives are.  Willa is also intrigued with Lily's story as  she finds historical references and documents that start to tell the story.   The story goes back and forth between the two time periods as they work out their genealogies.  

I have been a genealogist for many years and frankly the relationships that were mentioned in the book were somewhat confusing to me.  I would never have figured it all out from the narrative if I hadn't diagrammed it out.  I'd prefer not to work that hard to get the details when I am reading for entertainment.  In addition, it seemed like pieces were missing. It suddenly jumped from one day to another with no transition.  I was wondering how they changed their mind about things so quickly when in the last section they had a totally different point of view about what was happening and I wasn't privy to how they made that decision. That said, I still enjoyed this book and would pick it again if I had a do-0ver . 

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

 

Little Souls by Sandra Dallas

 

Originally from Iowa, Lute and Helen are sisters who live in Denver since their parents died and left everything to them. Lute is a fashion ad artist for a local department store and Helen is a nurse. Lute is engaged to a divinity student who has gone to France in the war (WWI). Helen's fiance is Gil, a local physician. The city is plagued by the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 in addition to the war effort going on on the home front.

This book expertly expresses the culture and angst of the time period. It is well researched and informative as well as a riveting story. I couldn't put it down. Put it at the top of your reading list!

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews

 

This book was surprising and fun!  Ivy is a divorcee from Atlanta who has decided to move where the living is slower and easier.  She has purchased a farmhouse and two acres through the internet has come ready to move in.  Ezra is the realtor who handled the sale. He meets her with the keys and introduces her to the house she has purchased.  The house belonged to a couple who for many years had been the local Santa and Mrs. Santa for all the towns Christmas celebrations.  Their home was famous for the lights and decoration.  As it turned out, everything had remained with the house when their descendants sold it.  Ivy finds lots of surprises in the house and finds friends and becomes part of the local culture almost immediately.  I highly recommend this story.  It was very enjoyable.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.  All views expressed are only my honest opinion. 

A Season on the Wind by Suzanne Woods Fisher

 

Penny Weaver and her brother Micah run a small birder retreat on their deceased Grandmother's farm.  Ben Zook, famous world bird explorer and author of best selling bird books, comes to find a very special bird that Micah has sighted.  This bird is way out of its normal territory and this is exciting to avid birders.  Ben was Amish once and grew up very close to this farm, but he had never planned to come back to this area until he heard about the sighting of this rare bird.  Penny had visited her grandmother's farm when she was a young girl and made friends with Ben and passed on all her bird knowledge and enthusiam to him.  There are some subplots too that are interesting and the story is strong.  A highlight is also all the birding knowledge that is passed along.  Please read this book!  You will be so glad you did.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

An Unexpected Amish Christmas (Surprised by Love #3) by Rachel J. Good

 

Jacob Zook is in rehab recovering from a horrible accident that took his mother. He decides to send condolences to others who have recently lost family members. Keturah Esch is struggling with running the family business (a pretzel stand in the local farmers market ) and help her 3 younger sisters deal with their grief after their parents are killed in an accident. Jacob sends his condolences anonymously but it helps Keturah so much that she continues to correspond with him even though she doesn't know his identity.

I loved this story and enjoyed learning about the innerworkings of the pretzel business. I also enjoyed revisiting characters and setting from earlier in the series. Recommend!

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

The Amish Baby Finds a Home (Hearts of Lancaster County #2) by Barbara Cameron

 

Gideon Troyer and his twin brother own a farm together but Gideon has a toy shop in town and his twin is in charge of the farm.  Gideon's girlfriend, Hannah Stoltzfus, owns a quilt shop down the street from Gideon's.  She is eating lunch with him at his shop when she discovers an abandoned infant in his shop.  There is a note telling Gideon that it is his turn to take care of the baby for a while.  Gideon's twin brother is the father and Gideon is anxious for him to step up and take the responsiblity.  This is an interesting story and all of the characters are people you wouldn't mind having for a friend.  Anyone who loves this genre will enjoy this story very much.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

An Amish Baby for Christmas (Indiana Amish Brides #8) by Vannetta Chapman

 

Thomas Albrecht is an Amish man who is saving up to buy a farm. He is working as a property manager to do farm work for people who are unable to do their own. The bishop has asked him to help a young widow, Abigail Yutzy, whose husband died suddenly and left her alone on her farm and expecting a baby.

This is a very interesting story with engaging characters. I enjoyed reading it and recommend it to anyone who likes to read this genre.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.