When Grace Sings

To receive grace is to gain something you didn't deserve, much like a prisoner receives a pardon. They deserve punishment for committing crimes, but when they are pardoned, they are receiving something they didn't deserve. That is the definition for grace and also the theme in Kim Vogel Sawyer's second book in the Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy Series. In When Grace Sings, one could misinterpret what it really is about.

For Alexa Zimmerman, it is about coming to terms with the recent knowledge that she was adopted and left behind by her birth mother. It's wondering what your purpose is life is supposed to mean when you realize that all the people you believe in your life were your family, really aren't. So in order to find purpose for her life, she takes over running Grace Notes B and B on her grandmother's Mennonite farm. In fact just her appearance alone would beg to ask the question why she doesn't dress like all the others in the Old Order, but she isn't about to convey to anyone what the truth is just yet. Not until she comes to terms with it first.

Just beginning to take on guest after all the recent renovations, Alexa wants to prove she can make this business profitable and not have to rely on the finances from her grandmother. She gains a long term book from Briley Forrester, an up and coming reporter who wants the story of a lifetime. Convinced that the Mennonites and Amish aren't exactly as wholesome as they appear, his editor convinces him to stay for a couple months in order to find the story that will prove they are just like the rest of the world in their short comings. But will Briley be able to do that at the cost of hurting Alexa and the people who welcome him into their community with open arms?

I received When Grace Sings by Kim Vogel Sawyer compliments of WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained here are strictly my own. The one thing I took away from this novel besides its theme on what grace really is, is the quote, "Every man has two equal abilities - to build up or tear down. The challenge lies in knowing which is the right choice." I guess the hardest thing any of us has to master is ability to recognize how our words can either build up or tear down. The hardest thing comes in learning to control what comes out. Sometimes it takes quite a while to figure out God's plan in things when they turn out to not be so favorable in our own eyes and it's learning how to deal with it that shows true growth of character and a healthy dose of grace as well. I rate this one a 4 out of 5 stars and readers will find a great recipe for peace and pecan pie as well as a Reader's Guide at the conclusion of this heartwarming novel.

For more information about When Grace Sings, Kim Vogel Sawyer or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

When Grace Sings by Kim Vogel Sawyer

You can find Kim Vogel Sawyer on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on When Grace Sings, please visit WaterBrook Multnomah Publisher's website. 

• Series: The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press (March 17, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307731332
• ISBN-13: 978-0307731333

The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy
# 1 When Mercy Rains
# 2 When Grace Sings

Fearless Hope

Life sometimes offers us a different path than the one we wanted for our lives. Sometimes we are forced to face some of those challenges head on and wait to see what the outcome will be believing of course, that God knows best. In the latest novel from Serena B. Miller, Fearless Hope, offers the readers a different way of looking at hope in the most challenging of situations.

For Logan Parker who lives in New York as a best selling author, he has come against the proverbial and dreaded writer's block. Known for his suspense novels, he has been struggling since the loss of his wife and can't see to find the light beyond the end of the bottle. His publisher has given him the last ultimatum since turning in less than stellar best sellers in his last two novels, either find where you got off track or you won't have a contract with his publishing firm in the future. He has a deadline to complete a novel and if it isn't along the lines of what they have been expecting, he will be fired.

When he takes a trip to the Amish country of Holmes County, Ohio with his financèe, an interior designer looking for quality furniture, he happens upon a home for sale that provides him with an unknown serenity. As if he has been there before. Thinking it would offer him a respite from the rigors of New York and hopefully provide a break to his writer's block, he purchases the house. He can't understand why he feels as if he has been there before, but his fiancèe Marla, a strikingly beautiful women whose only focus is on what she can get out of life thinks it's a complete waste of time.

Logan buys the home against Marla's wishes and while he opts to stay in the house in Ohio, she heads back to New York. Left with an empty house in need of filling, Logan begins to shop around town for things to fill the home. While browsing a local store, he finds Hope Yoder, who is looking for work as a housekeeper. She is struggling to find her own sense of purpose sense losing her husband Titus in a farming accident that has left her with two young children and pregnant with her third child. She is hoping to find something that will allow her to bring her children to work and one that will allow her to work until she has the baby. Logan is willing to give her a job seeing as he is in need of someone who can cook for him while he tries to find himself. They both understand that nothing can come between the two of them since Logan is English and Hope is Amish. Hope is more than surprised to learn that Logan has bought her father's house and farm and it more than excited to help bring it back to it's former glory. But either of them be able to keep their hearts from finding a path different than the one they have in mind?

I received Fearless Hope by Serena B. Miller compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed are strictly my own. I love novels that combine different genre's and in this case, it's contemporary romance alongside Amish romance. I love seeing how Logan and Hope try to work around the differences in their faith while trying to get past their own stages of grief having both lost their spouses. What inspires me most about Hope's character is that her actions speak louder than anything she says and it's true what the Bible states that we can be won over by our actions rather than our words with others. What an inspirational story of hope among loss that is geared to encourage us all that life doesn't end when we think it should and God has a plan in mind for all of us. .This one easily rates a 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Fearless Hope, Serena B. Miller or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Fearless Hope by Serena B. Miller

You can also find Serena B. Miller on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Fearless Hope, please visit Howard Books website.