Season of Forgiveness

Emma Johnson believes that in order to reach some people, she has to live out what she believes. If Jesus dined and associated with sinners without judging them, than that is just what Emma will do and teach her growing family of seven boys. To say she is strong in her faith is an understatement and it permeates everything she does and says in raising her boys while her husband Jake drives the cattle on their growing ranch. But not everything for Emma has been easy. As a daughter of a white father and Indian mother, some of the people in the town of Riverbend can't see past their own race prejudices and treat her as less than worthy of God's kindness.

While Jake and her two older twins Jed and Jerry are on their way back from a long cattle drive, Emma is faced alone with caring for her five younger sons. Knowing how to shoot and take care of their needs, she still has an unsettled feeling, danger is lurking nearby. As she plans to head out for a picnic with the boys in hopes of adding some coneflower roots to her medicinal supplies, she encounters a man who has more on his mind than cause Emma harm. He plans on having a little "fun" before he takes her life. Only he wasn't counting on Emma being trained in how to use a gun and finds himself shot before he can do anything to do. Not only once in the shoulder, but when he failed to take her warning seriously, she shot him in the knee as well. But Emma isn't planning on letting him die. After she ties him up, she begins to treat his wounds.

Daisy Carson is trying to understand just where she keeps going wrong. Her father seems to find fault in everything she does, no matter how hard she tries. After losing her mother, it seems like her father can't seem to find joy in anything, except drinking, finding faults and insulting Daisy, making sure she understands she is worthless and if the punishments need to take on a physical nature to get his point across, he doesn't hesitate. Along with his drinking, he takes to assaulting Daisy at night when he visits her in her bedroom. Just when she thinks it couldn't get any worse, her brother believes that since their father can get away with treating Daisy that way, so can he. But just before he assaults her, the hired hands that work for her father, manage to arrange a rescue. They arrange to raise some money to ensure Daisy no longer has to be treated like that by her family. She takes a train and heads west in hopes of finding a new life in the mountains.

In the novel Season of Forgiveness by author Templa Melnick, each of the women in the novel find themselves in different circumstances that teach them just how powerful prayer is, and how the act of forgiveness can work to heal them in ways they could never imagine no matter how hard it is to do. With God's help each of the women learn the strength that comes from their faith as well as how important prayer is in helping them move forward in their futures despite what others may think of them. I received Season of Forgiveness compliments of Cladach Publishing for my honest review and did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review. I love how each of these women find their own strength in their faith and no two examples are exactly alike. Emma has to struggle with racial prejudice, Daisy has to deal with finding her own self worth, Dee, will need to come to terms with starting over with other's preconceived notions of who she was in her past despite trying to move forward and Sally needs to learn how to move on when her husband abandons her in search for gold. It is a testament to what we all have to deal with in learning to forgive others who have hurt us and realize that God's love supercedes what others may think. I easily rate this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars. This is the first novel in the Seasons of Riverbend series as well as the debut for Templa Melnick, and I personally can't wait for the next one!!!

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Season of Forgiveness by Templa Melnick

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Thunder and Rain

If you have ever wanted to pick up and book and have it completely capture your attention until you find yourself turning pages faster and faster because the story is that intense you want to know how it will end, then pick up Charles Martin's latest novel, Thunder and Rain. This is the perfect summer read for those of you that love a contemporary suspenseful love story of a Texas Ranger and a single mother and her daughter looking to find a way to start a new life. The only problem is the ex-boyfriend/SWAT officer that will stop at nothing to find them.

The conflict in this story is two-fold, with the first dealing with the pending divorce of Texas Ranger, Tyler Steele and his estranged wife Andie. Caught in the middle is Brodie, their only son, who only wishes for his family to work things out and be happy again. Yet Tyler hasn't been completely honest with the reasons why he can no longer be married to Andie and subsequently looks for a way to tell him that he is divorcing his mother. While trying to find answers of his own, he manages a cattle ranch with Brodie and an ex-con who goes by the name of Dumps. He takes care of Brodie and the ranch when Tyler is called out of town to work on a case.

Tyler is now facing the same challenge his father before him had, which is finally realizing that his job has become the most important thing in his life while his family is slowly eroding away. When he attempts to find retirement as the answer, he runs literally into a single mother, Sam and her ten-year-old daughter Hope in the fog on a highway one night. Seeing her in dire straights with a run-down car that is on it's last leg, Tyler tries to help them get to safety at the local truck stop for gas and some food.

Once they arrive, he finds out more than he ever wanted to know when Sam's abusive ex-boyfriend locates them and attempts to abduct them in his van. But Tyler being a Ranger knows that he can't turn his back when he knows he can help and that is protecting the innocent. Now he attempts to help them as much as he can and put a stop to why this man insists on hunting down Sam and Hope, but now, Tyler is his next intended target. Will Tyler's future end up just like his father's or will he be able to let go of his job and focus on what's really important, raising his son Brodie?

I received Thunder and Rain compliments of Center Street, a division of Hachette Book Groups for my honest review and LOVED it. I was immediately drawn into the hero of the story and the details of Tyler's life and his past. The love his shares for his job and the responsibilities creates a likeable characteristic of what makes a true hero, one who will do whatever it takes to defend the innocent, no matter what the cost. There are memorable supporting characters you meet along the way that help balance Tyler's hard exterior and make you want to meet them in real life. For me, this book hooked me from the beginning and kept me up until I finished the final page. For those of you looking for a great crime mystery with a romantic twist, then you'll definitely want to pick this one up. The action is intense but with so much tenderness woven in between! In my opinion, this one is a 5 out of 5 stars and has found a permanent place on my personal library. Now I want to pick up more novels by this amazing author.

For more information about Thunder and Rain, Charles Martin or where to pick up a copy of this amazing book today, please click on the link below:

Thunder and Rain by Charles Martin