The Wings of Morning

If you live in the Amish world you must learn to give up certain conveniences of the world, electricity, cars and modern technology. However in the small Amish town of Paradise, the subject of flight is still up for debate. So while it is not yet banned, Jude Whetstone continues to pilot his Curtis JN-4, the Jenny as he affectionately refers to it to the amazement of the residents below. But his heart belongs to more than the sky, it belongs to Lyyndaya Kurtz.

"If God had meant for us to fly, Master Whetstone, wouldn't he have given us wings?" asked the ever curious Bishop Zook.

"Bishop Zook,"  he responded, "if God had meant us to ride a buggy he would have given us wheels and four legs."

"Ah ha!" shouted the bishop, slapping his huge hand against his leg and making most of the people jump, including Lyyndaya. "You have it, Master Whetstone, you have it." He clapped his hands lightly in appreciation and a smattering of relieved laughter came from the small crowd. "So now take me up."

It's the year 1917 and while the war in Europe is brewing, the Amish are exempt from the draft because of their religious beliefs and their unwillingness to take the life of any man. However when a British pilot sees the remarkable ability that Jude exhibits being self taught, he feels he could be just the edge his squadron could use to prevent so many deaths on the front lines.

Soon the army shows up and proceeds to take the young men from the Amish community believing that they pose a threat to the war, speaking German and refusing to fight in the war. After countless months in prison and on the verge of watching some of his friends facing death, Jude learns there is a way to save them. If he is willing to enlist, his friends will be released and sent back home. It may be the greatest sacrifice of his life, for if Jude does this, he will lose the life he knew back in Paradise. He will be shunned and the love of his life, Lyyndaya will never be allowed to write or wait for him. It is the greatest punishment of the Amish community, but for the sake of his friends it may be worth the cost!

In the novel, The Wings of Morning by Murray Pura, the men in the Amish community must face extreme persecution for a crime they didn't commit. However in the eyes of the government, they treat them like spies and they undergo the worst treatment imaginable for people who don't understand their way of life. Once again Murray Pura blends the perfect genres of historical fiction along with Amish romance to create another unforgettable story. I would have never considered what the implications would have been for the Amish young men when faced with this difficult decision and applaud Murray Pura's portrayal of this storyline in his Snapshots of History series. This is the second book in the series and one I had been waiting to review after reading, The Face of Heaven, dealing with the Civil War. I was not disappointed and literally took my time reading this one. The richness of the details he manages to capture are unforgettable as well as the tenderness of love and romance appeal to the hopeful romantic in all of us.

I received The Wings of Morning by Murray Pura compliments of the author himself as a gift during a Christmas giveaway!!! While I was not required to review this book, I just knew I had to share it with fans of Historical Fiction and Amish Romance. I absolutely love this one because I am a huge fan of World War 1 and 2 fictional books and this took my favorite genre's to an entirely new level of delight!!! I would rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and can't wait for his next book in this wonderful series! Trust me, this author will be on your must read list!!!

For more information about The Wings of Morning, Murray Pura and where to pick up this book today, please click on the links below:

The Wings of Morning by Murray Pura

You can also find Murray Pura on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest books!

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (February 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736948775
• ISBN-13: 978-0736948777
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches

The Captive Heart

The latest novel, The Captive Heart is the second book in the Daughters of Caleb Bender series by Dale Cramer and could easily be read as a stand alone book as well. The first chapter is dedicated to an overview of just how the Bender family arrived in Mexico after leaving Ohio. They were facing a lot of persecution from the local government and school board for being Amish and adopting the Amish ways of life in regards to the education and raising of their children. Faced with jail time unless they were willing to change, the Bender family opted to move to Mexico for a new chance at living the life they have come to love without any interference from outsiders. The land was also cheap to purchase and ripe for a new start.

Now in the midst of the Mexican Revolution, the Bender family is having to deal with renegade bandits who will rob the family, kill their livestock and take the women because no one has stopped them up to this point. With the exception of Domingo, a Mexican farm hand her father has hired, the Amish community is at a loss for how to deal with this situation since the family does not believe in violence or even carrying weapons except for hunting.

However when the renegade group of bandit lead by El Pantera insist on provoking the Amish community to the point of kidnapping one of the women, they wonder if God will really be the answer to their prayers and protect them. Will Miriam find a way to fall in love with Domingo despite the fact he isn't an Amish man or will God have other plans for her?

I received the book, The Captive Heart by Dale Cramer compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and was so excited to discover that this was the next book following Paradise Valley! This was a bonus for me and the excitement that is unfolding in each chapter keeps the reader flipping pages as fast as they can read just to see what will happen next. I could not put it down until I finished the final page in under four hours, and for me, that makes this an exceptional novel well worth 5 out of 5 stars.

Here's even more information regarding the author, the book and even a first chapter sneak peek below:

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Captive Heart Bethany House (January 1, 2012) by Dale Cramer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dale Cramer spent his formative years traveling the world as an Army brat, then settled in Georgia at the age of fifteen when his father retired.

After high school he became an electrician, a job that took him to places as diverse as power plants, stadia, airports, high-rise office buildings and a hard-rock mining operation.

Twenty-five years of experiences in the trades provided him with the wealth of characters, stories and insights that populate his novels.

When he married his childhood friend, Pam, in 1975 he had no way of knowing they would not have children until fifteen years later.

In his early forties, when Dale left his job to become a stay-at-home dad, he suddenly found himself with time on his hands, so he pursued a lifelong dream and taught himself to write.

Using an online writer’s forum as a training ground, he wrote his first short stories in 1996. As his writing skills improved he turned to novels, publishing his first book, Sutter’s Cross, in 2003.

Since then, Dale has published four more novels and garnered a measure of critical acclaim with two Christy Awards, a listing among Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2004 and numerous other Best lists. Dale and his wife Pam live in Georgia with their two sons.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Bandit troubles intensify as Caleb Bender's family tries to settle into their new life in 1920s Paradise Valley. When El Pantera kidnaps Rachel and leaves her brother, Aaron, for dead, Jake Weaver and the Mexican native Domingo pursue the bandit leader to his mountain stronghold in a hopeless rescue attempt. Jake and Domingo manage to escape with Rachel, with the bandits hot on their trail. In a desperate attempt to avoid recapture, Domingo puts himself squarely in harm's way, giving Jake and Rachel time to get away. This is not the quiet life Caleb Bender envisioned when he led his family out of Ohio. What is a father to make of his daughter's obvious affection for a man outside the fold? And how will a pacifist Amishman like Caleb respond to the events that threaten his family and their way of life?

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Captive Heart, go HERE

Katie's Way

After a thwarted romance, Katie Miller starts over by moving to Pleasant Valley and opening a quilt shop. Soon Amish and Englisch turn the store into a lively spot…to the consternation of Caleb Brand, who crafts furniture next door. Then Katie’s sister joins her, to escape rumors of her wild rumspringa, and Katie feels the burden of responsibility for a restless teenager. Even worse, her efforts to bring more people to Main Street arouse resistance among local businesses. When acts of vandalism threaten Katie’s shop, she turns to Caleb for comfort, and their friendship deepens. But will Caleb’s secret past prevent him from embracing a future with Katie? Or will their fragile romance develop the strength to last a lifetime?

My Review:

What a great story of friendship, second chances and faith in this wonderful addition to the Pleasant Valley series. This is the fifth book in the series, but can be read as a stand alone, although after reading this one, I can't wait to go back and read the previous four in the series.

We find a struggle existing between Katie who finds that running a quilt shop will provide her with the outlet she needs at this time in her life while surviving from a loss of the love of a man she had hoped to marry. So she spends her time trying to forget by piecing together the fabrics that will wrap love around those that purchase them and in doing so, lends to healing her broken heart. Meanwhile Caleb isn't too happy with his business neighbor, Katie even though he tries he best to make her feel welcome. Well you can just imagine where this one will go, but the journey along the way makes it worth reading this one.

I received this book compliments of Pump Up Your Book for my honest review and can't wait to pick up the rest in this series by Marta Perry. In doing so, this one rates 5 out of 5 stars. Here's even more about the author and a link to purchase a copy of this book today.

About the author:

A lifetime spent in rural Pennsylvania, where she still lives, and her own Pennsylvania Dutch roots led Marta Perry to write about the Plain People and their rich heritage in her current novels. The author of more than forty novels, with over five million copies of her books in print, Marta is active in her church and community. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, American Christian Fiction Writers, and Pennwriters. When she’s not writing, she and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening, and visiting their six beautiful grandchildren.

For more information, visit Marta on the web at www.martaperry.com, on Facebook at Marta Perry Books, and check out her blog at www.booksbymartaperry.blogspot.com.

Along Wooded Paths

If you have read any Amish fiction, then you know based on the Amish lifestyle and principles that most Amish that stay within their church communities, marry other Amish people. However when one Amish family decides to move to Montana, they find themselves working side by side with Englisch neighbors. It is here that the readers of Tricia Goyer's latest novel, Along Wooded Paths, find themselves at the beginning of this story.

This is the second book in the Amish Big Sky series with the first being, Beside Still Waters, where the Sommer family has moved to Montana to start a new lifestyle yet in the process separates Marianna from Aaron Zook who was hoping to being a courtship with her before she left. Now their relationship survives on what letters they write to one another and just when Marianna was going to move back to Indiana, she changed her mind and stayed with her family, who needed her help.

During the time apart, Aaron has tried to forget Marianna and tried seeing another local girl Naomi, but deep down inside, Aaron has his heart set on Marianna. He has been writing her since she has gone, but has never sent the letters. He hopes that he can win her heart again if he heads to Montana to see her and give her all his letters face to face.

Marianna has a confusing lifestyle, she lives in the Amish community but works with Annie, an Englisch woman at the store/bakery where she has been enjoying seeing both worlds mix together. In the process she has grown to see her heart fall in love with Ben, an Englischer who walks with the Lord in all he says and does, more so than most of the Amish around her. But Marianna's family does not want her to give up her Amish ways, but does God only love the Amish or can God have other plans for her with Ben?



I received Along Wooded Paths by Tricia Goyer compliments of Litfuse Publicity for my honest review and since reading Beside Still Waters I wondered how the next book would play out with the Englischers. I was not disappointed and even though I had read the prior book, anyone can read this one as a stand alone. The question about where the religious beliefs of the English play into how the Amish view them is up for grabs in this book. Does God see a difference between the two who place God first in their lives and try to live according to His word. To find out, you'll have to pick up this latest Amish book and see who wins Marianna's heart after all? Will she stay true to her Amish ways or will a God-loving English man show win her heart? I rate this one a perfect 5 out of 5 stars and can't wait for the next one!

For more information about this book, the author and where to purchase a copy of Along Wooded Paths, please click on the links below:

Along Wooded Paths by Tricia Goyer

You can also follow Tricia on Facebook by clicking here.

The Wounded Heart - Giveaway and Review

Once again another Amish novel has captivated my heart and left me sighing. A great sign of an excellent book in my personal opinion. For most people they understand the simple story lines of your typical Amish novel, but not in the case of The Wounded Heart by Adina Senft.

We have a story that is slow as it unfolds as we find ourselves immersed in the tragic story of Amelia Beiler, who has recently been left a widow after an unfortunate buggy accident that claimed not only the life of her husband, Enoch but the driver of the car that hit them as well. Now left to deal with managing a farm alone with just two small boys, she struggles to maintain her husband's pallet business as well. Offer after offer appears on her doorstep, first from an English man looking to retire and then subsequently from others within her Amish community as well.

The only thing is, that Amelia isn't sure she wants to sell. How else will she be able to provide for her family without having to move back home with her mom and dad? However when Amelia begins to experience tingling in her left hand, that leaves her numb and at times unable to use her left hand, she begins to wonder if perhaps God isn't sending her a sign after all. The only thing is will she be ready to accept all that God has for her, even if it means going against everything she believes she needs in her life.

I received this beautiful, heart-warming story as an Ebook compliments of Faith Words Publishers, a division of Hachette Book Groups for my honest review. I applaud the character of Amelia for attempting to hold down the front in spite of some difficult odds that seem to stack up against her. She tries to maintain a level of strength in trying to get on with her life, while still grieving for a husband that she still misses and has a difficult time trying to move forward. She relies a lot on her friends, Emma, who fears that God has abandoned her efforts to find a husband, and who manages to also be the only child struggling to take care of her parents who are in desperate need of medical care; and her other friend, Carrie, who is struggling to have children after being married for 10 years and unable to conceive. Meanwhile, Carrie's husband Melvin is struggling to find work since he lacks the farming skills to keep them afloat.

It seems like quilting is the only thing that keeps these three wonderful characters from falling apart. Each a times is able to put their own personal struggle on the back burner so they can assume the care taker in the others life. This is what it means to be true friends in my personal opinion and what makes for a great book. For those that love Amish stories, this one will not disappoint and takes a different road than the one most of us are used to, making it a 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion. When faced with any adversity in life, it's easier to weather those storms with the love and warmth of close friends. Just like the patches of material that make up a beautiful quilt, it takes friends and family to weave our lives together and make it beautiful and full of love and life.

This is the first novel in the Amish Quilt Trilogy and she has me as a fan for life! Can't wait for the next book in this series! For more information on this book, the author, read an excerpt or where to get a copy of this book, please click on the links below:

The Wounded Heart by Adina Senft

You can also find Adina Senft on Facebook by clicking here.

Thanks to the generous folks at Faith Words and Hachette Book Groups, they are providing a giveaway copy to one lucky follower of my blog. Here's what you need to do to enter:

1. Be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart!

2. Be a resident of the US or Canada or have a US or Canadian mailing address. Please No P.O. Boxes.

3. Since I will need a way to contact you if you're the lucky winner, please make sure to leave me an email address in the comment box. You can use the words (at) or (dot) instead of the symbols.

4. Leave me a comment and tell me why you'd love to win this book.

The giveaway ends on October 5th and I will be contacting the winner at that time. If you want to pass the news around to your family and friends, I'd love to add them to the giveaway and have them visit me as new followers.

The Protector

Every woman craves the attention and protection of the man who will love her and keep her safe. Yet ever since she was a child, Ella has accepted the fact that no one wants to be her friend. She believes it's due to her tall stature, the fact she has to wear glasses so she can see, and her plain, old brown hair. No one has ever wanted to be friends with Ella, except her best friend Corrine. So Ella has resolved to stay alone, and take care of her parents. She knows no one will ever fall in love with her.

Fate steps into her life when her father passes away and she has to care for her ailing mother. When she too passes away, Ella is forced to auction off her families belongings and farm just to be able to live with no other family. What's worse is that the boy she had a crush on in her childhood, Loyal Weaver, is now the man who is buying up all her belongings as well as the home she thought she would always live in.

Now she lives in a small apartment in town with her friend, Dorothy, who has agreed to provide her with a place to stay and a job. After all since no one will ever fall in love with Ella, she doesn't think the arrangement isn't too bad. It seems to work out for the best until Ella begins to spend too much time with Loyal and Corrine and not enough time with her. All of a sudden, Ella begins to question her safety the more time she spends with Dorothy. Will she ever find love or will she be left all alone just like she has always believed.

In the sequel to Shelley Shepard Gray's Families of Honor series, The Protector, picks up right where the Caregiver left off. This is a wonderful transition into the second book and I completely enjoyed this one as much as the first one. This time we get to know more about Ella Hostetler's life growing up in the Amish community alone without her family to support and guide her. Living a life as a woman alone, it makes her choices more difficult, not knowing if there are what is best for her. We also get to experience what is must feel like to be treated like an outsider within your own community through Ella's eyes and just how God will chose to answer her prayers.

I received this book compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and LOVED it. Now I can't wait for the continuation in this series with The Survivor coming out in the fall of 2011. This book rates a 5 out of 5 stars for a great Amish romance story that will leave the reader wanting more!

The Caregiver

Lucy Troyer is coming via train to visit her cousin Mattie who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer among the Amish community of Jacob's crossing. Lucy feels that since Mattie was there for her when her husband Paul died and in the midst of years of abuse from him, it's the very least she can do.

Lucy is also hoping to finally put some of the deep, dark nightmares to rest that have been haunting her since he died. She feels that this time away focusing on Mattie's care may bring the healing they both need. She ends up becoming friends with Calvin Weaver and his young sister Katie aboard the train and when it breaks down, she discovers that God has a bigger plan in her life than she thought.

Mattie Lapp is beginning to wonder whether she can ever begin to live her life. She fears that cancer sits at her door waiting to take all it can including her life. She has already lost one breast and with the chemotherapy she isn't sure that she will be able to fight this final battle. Her only hope besides the expected visit of Lucy, is her childhood friend, Graham Weaver who lives next door. It is his unconditional caring that seems to help Mattie when everything else fails.

I received The Caregiver by Shelley Shepard Gray compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and must say it was an award winner. The story between Lucy and Calvin is so much a different romance story than that happening between Mattie and Graham and the overlapping parallels of healing in both women's lives is touching on some many different levels. You can see how much God plays a part of every part of what each woman is dealing with and how His love, once more prevails. This one rates a perfect 5 out of 5 stars.

This is also the first book in the Families of Honor series and can't wait to read them all. This book is available in paperback and eBook formats.

Here's even more great information about the book, the author and where to get a first chapter peek into this heart-warming story of love and faith.

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Caregiver Avon Inspire; Original edition (March 8, 2011) by Shelley Shepard Gray

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shelley Shepard Gray is the beloved author of the Sisters of the Heart series, including Hidden, Wanted, and Forgiven. Before writing, she was a teacher in both Texas and Colorado. She now writes full time and lives in southern Ohio with her husband and two children. When not writing, Shelley volunteers at church, reads, and enjoys walking her miniature dachshund on her town's scenic bike trail.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Two lives converge one stormy night on a train headed to Cleveland

Lucy is traveling by herself via train to Jacob's Crossing to help care for her cousin Mattie, recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Trying to overcome the sudden death of her husband, she's glad to get away and focus on someone else for a while.

The only other Amish people on the train are Calvin Weaver and his little sister, Katie. When their train breaks down outside of Cleveland, Calvin and Lucy band together to face the outside world. But Calvin also carries the weight of past hurts. When an altercation brings both their wounds to light, they question whether they can trust each other.

Once in Jacob's Crossing, Lucy is occupied with caring for Mattie, while Calvin does his best to run his family's farm. But they can't stop thinking about those special hours spent together. Will the bond they formed last? And will Lucy and Calvin be able to put away the pain in their pasts to recognize the happiness that is suddenly in their grasp?

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Caregiver, go HERE.

Paradise Valley

Just what the name implies, lush, green, fertile lands just waiting to be farmed, and the answer to Caleb Bender's prayers. Paradise Valley is a place to start over, begin again, before their way of life has ceased to exist.

Caleb Bender makes the most difficult choice a man can make for his family. As an Amish farmer who has held the same piece of land for generations, he finds he can no longer just let things be. When the local school board has him and other farmers arrested and brought before the court for having their children work the farms rather than attend school, Caleb stands his ground. Their fine, 60 days in jail and paying a 20 dollar find for every child in their home that should be attending school. If after jail time, they do not send their children to the public school, things will get more difficult.

During their jail time, the sheriff's and the courts have the children removed from their homes and placed in a state home. They are forced to attend school and have their hair cut and clothing changed to conform to the English ways. When Jake Weaver decides to make a run for it, Rachel Bender lures the administrator away to go to the restroom. Once she has locked their door, the children make a run for it. The only ones who escape without being caught are Jake and his younger brother.

Deep down inside her heart, Rachel, has known that she likes Jake. When he confesses the same intention to her at a Sunday singing, her heart is filled with joy. When Caleb Bender finds a note selling land in Mexico at $10 per acre and learns that they don't care what people do there, he believes God is telling him, to move his family to Paradise Valley, Mexico.

The adventure just begins at the conclusion of the Mexican Revolution and Caleb decides his family will be the first of the Amish town to head to Mexico. Hopefully once he has arrived, he will send word for the other Amish families to join him, so they will not be forced by the government to abandon their way of life.

I received the book, Paradise Valley by Dale Cramer, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and loved the unique twist on your typical Amish romance stories. Wondering if Jake and Rachel will be able to endure a long separation that will unite them or drive them apart forever and will Paradise Valley become a new Amish town south of the border. This book rates a 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about the book, the author and where to get a first chapter peek, then read on:

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Paradise Valley Bethany House (January 1, 2011) by Dale Cramer





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dale Cramer was the second of four children born to a runaway Amishman turned soldier and a south Georgia sharecropper's daughter. His formative years were divided between far-flung military bases, but he inherited his mother's sense of place—



He took on small construction projects at night to help make ends meet— "and to preserve the remainder of my sanity," he says. While building an office in the basement of a communications consultant, a debate over labor/management relations turned into an article on mutualism which found its way into an international business magazine. It was Dale's first published article, and he liked the feel of it. He bought books, studied technique, and began participating in an online writers' forum, writing during the boys' naps and after they went to bed at night. Before long he was publishing short stories in literary magazines and thinking about writing a book.



Three storylines vied for Dale's attention when he finally decided to write a novel. His first two choices were commercially viable secular stories, and a distant third appeared to be some kind of Christian saga about a broken-down biker. The process of determining which novel to write was settled by a remarkable encounter with his youngest son, a lost set of keys, and God. His sense of direction was suddenly clarified. In 1997, Dale began work on Sutter's Cross, which was eventually published in 2003.



His second novel, Bad Ground (July 2004), while it is not autobiographical, contains a great deal of material drawn from his own experience as a construction electrician.



He and his wife and two sons make their home in northern Georgia.





ABOUT THE BOOK

An Amish settlement in Ohio has run afoul of a law requiring their children to attend public school. Caleb Bender and his neighbors are arrested for neglect, with the state ordering the children be placed in an institution. Among them are Caleb's teenage daughter, Rachel, and the boy she has her eye on, Jake Weaver. Romance blooms between the two when Rachel helps Jake escape the childrens home.



Searching for a place to relocate his family where no such laws apply, Caleb learns there's inexpensive land for sale in Mexico, a place called Paradise Valley. Despite rumors of instability in the wake of the Mexican revolution, the Amish community decides this is their answer. And since it was Caleb's idea, he and his family will be the pioneers. They will send for the others once he's established a foothold and assessed the situation.



Caleb's daughters are thrown into turmoil. Rachel doesn't want to leave Jake. Her sister, Emma, who has been courting Levi Mullet, fears her dreams of marriage will be dashed. Miriam has never had a beau and is acutely aware there will be no prospects in Mexico.



Once there, they meet Domingo, a young man and guide who takes a liking to Miriam, something her father would never approve. While Paradise Valley is everything they'd hoped it would be, it isn't long before the bandits start giving them trouble, threatening to upset the fledgling Amish settlement, even putting their lives in danger. Thankfully no one has been harmed so far, anyway.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Paradise Valley, go HERE.