Where We Belong

What really made me want to read this book, before I ever looked at the synopsis, is the cover. Just something about exploring Egypt has always fascinated me, and this book by Lynn Austin is no disappointment. Truly something a bit unique but found myself thinking of this book, like The Mummy movie with Brandon Frasier, because of the woman in the movie, who defies social stereotypes of the era and branches out on her own. In Where We Belong, Rebecca and Flora Hawes are being raised by their father, since their mother's death on Flora's birth that left them without the influence of a woman in their household. Being from a well-to-do family, they lacked for nothing with what money could buy for a good education, and their father held nothing back from them.

Deep within both of the girl's hearts was a love for adventure and travel, and at any early age knew that they could convince their father to take them on a European trip to discover the things they were being taught at school, better than any books could teach them. They only had to present it in the correct manner as father liked to conduct all things with a business plan in mind and thus the reason they were so well off. After their latest adventure and returning on their voyage home, they encountered Mrs. Worthington who was also a widow with a plan and purpose. She manages to convince their father that both girls will need suitable husbands to help manage their finances and thinks her nephews would make the ideal candidates.

But Rebecca isn't ready to settle down with the quintessential husband that society and her father would love for her to marry. Flora is quite pleased with having the best of both world and soon falls in love with Thomas. Knowing their father's health is failing, they beg him to not marry Mrs. Worthington until they return from one final trip to visit Egypt and the Holy Lands. But alas, fate will take its own turn as their father passes away and the girls are stuck with figuring out how to manage without a man's influence in their lives any longer. Their journey has only just begun and its about to get very interesting with whom they meet on their latest trip abroad.

I received Where We Belong by Lynn Austin compliments of Baker Publishing Group and NetGalley. I absolutely LOVE Rebecca's spirit of adventure in not conforming to societies standards for proper young women! This is like an Indiana Jones adventure but with switching the roles between the main characters. I found myself rooting for her the whole time and really wanted to see where all this would lead and could only imagine untapped wealth and the ability to travel makes this such an enjoyable novel. I easily give this one a 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion!

For more information about Where We Belong, Lynn Austin or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Where We Belong by Lynn Austin 

You can find Lynn Austin on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Where We Belong, please visit Baker Publishing Group's website. 

Keepers of the Covenant

When God brought the Israelites through the desert out of Egypt and eventually into the Promised Land, filled with milk and honey, He made a covenant with them. To abide and obey by His laws, the 10 Commandments and to live according to the ways He established for them. As long as they lived as He wanted them, they would receive God's blessings over their land and their lives. But if they failed and went back on their vow to God and instead began to worship the gods of their forefathers, God would lift His hand of protection from them and they would receive His judgment instead. Like their forefathers, the Israelite failed and instead took up the practices of worshiping the false gods and left their one true God. Now that judgment came to their lands and Babylon took possession of their promised land, the people have been exiled in Babylon.

When King Cyrus allowed for them to return to their homeland in Jerusalem, many instead decided to stay and instead continued in their practices of the worshiping of false gods and adhering to the ways of the Babylonian people. This is precisely where Keepers of the Covenant by author Lynn Austin begins. It is the second novel in the Restoration Chronicles and now follows the life of the prophet Ezra at the height of the Jewish people's planned execution by Hamon, the advisor the for King. A decree has been issued to eliminate the entire race of people and once the decree has been issued bearing the King's seal, it cannot be repealed.

Now Ezra is being asked to lead the Jewish people to find an answer for God in how they can survive the coming execution with little less than a year remaining before that happens. While Ezra attempts to search the ancient Torah scrolls for answers, the people begin to wonder just what they can do to ensure their survival. It will truly be a race war between the Jews and the Gentiles as both sides begin to prepare for a one day battle that will pit them against one another unless God, Himself, intervenes and remembers the promise of the covenant He created when He left a remnant of His people behind.

I received Keepers of the Covenant by Lynn Austin compliments of Bethany House Publishers and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained here are strictly my own. This is such an exceptional book that follows the biblical books of Esther, Ezra, Jeremiah and Nehemiah in breathing life into the struggles that befell the Jewish people that were stuck in exile in Babylon when they refused to leave the first time. It takes you ground level into what it must have felt like on both side as Lynn creates characters to enable you to see things from their point of view, from Devorah and Ezra, Jewish people who love the law of God, and Amina, a crippled Gentile who struggles with finding a place in the city being cast aside by her own family and accepted by an elderly Jewish women Hodaya, who can relate to her in more ways than one. This takes those books of the Bible and expands on them as if you were literally there when it all happened. That is what makes this novel so amazing to read for me. It's historically accurate following the biblical outlines provide from the Bible and casting a set of characters for us to support and follow all the way to the end. Easily a flawless 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Keepers of the Covenant, Lynn Austin or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Keepers of the Covenant by Lynn Austin

You can find Lynn Austin on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Keepers of the Covenant, please visit Litfuse Publicity's book tour page.


Lynn Austin is back with the next book in The Restoration Chronicles series, Keepers of the Covenant. Austin weaves together the struggles and stories of both Jews and Gentiles, creating a tapestry of faith and doubt, love and loss. Here, the Old Testament comes to life, demonstrating the everlasting hope displayed in God's unwavering love for His people.

Lynn is celebrating with a Kindle HDX giveaway and a live author chat webcast on October 21st.

One winner will receive:

• A Kindle HDX
• Keepers of the Covenant by Lynn Austin

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on October 21st. Winner will be announced at the Keepers of the Covenant LIVE webcast event on October 21st. Connect with Lynn for a fascinating evening centered around God's unwavering love for His people. She'll be hosting a Biblical fiction book club discussion, giving away prizes, answering your questions, offering an exclusive peek at the next book in The Restoration Chronicles, and much more!

So grab your copy of Keepers of the Covenant and join Lynn and friends on the evening of October 21st for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today by signing up for a reminder. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 21st!

Wonderland Creek

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Wonderland Creek Bethany House (October 1, 2011) by Lynn Austin



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

For many years, Lynn Austin nurtured a desire to write but frequent travels and the demands of her growing family postponed her career. When her husband's work took Lynn to Bogota, Colombia, for two years, she used the B.A. she'd earned at Southern Connecticut State University to become a teacher. After returning to the U.S., the Austins moved to Anderson, Indiana, Thunder Bay, Ontario, and later to Winnipeg, Manitoba.



It was during the long Canadian winters at home with her children that Lynn made progress on her dream to write, carving out a few hours of writing time each day while her children napped. Lynn credits her early experience of learning to write amid the chaos of family life for her ability to be a productive writer while making sure her family remains her top priority.



Extended family is also very important to Austin, and it was a lively discussion between Lynn, her mother, grandmother (age 98), and daughter concerning the change in women's roles through the generations that sparked the inspiration for her novel Eve's Daughters.



Along with reading, two of Lynn's lifelong passions are history and archaeology. While researching her Biblical fiction series, Chronicles of the Kings, these two interests led her to pursue graduate studies in Biblical Backgrounds and Archaeology through Southwestern Theological Seminary. She and her son traveled to Israel during the summer of 1989 to take part in an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Timnah. This experience contributed to the inspiration for her novel Wings of Refuge.



Lynn resigned from teaching to write full-time in 1992. Since then she has published twelve novels. Five of her historical novels have won Christy Awards in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, and 2009 for excellence in Christian Fiction. And two of her inspirational fiction books were chosen by Library Journal for their top picks in 2003, and 2005. One of Lynn's novels has been made into a movie for the Hallmark Channel, starring actress Shirley Jones. Ms Jones received a 2006 Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Aunt Batty in the film.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Alice Grace Ripley lives in a dream world, her nose stuck in a book. But happily-ever-after life she's planned on suddenly falls apart when her boyfriend, Gordon, breaks up with her, accusing her of living in a world of fiction instead of the real world. Then to top it off, Alice loses her beloved job at the library because of cutbacks due to the Great Depression.



Fleeing small-town gossip, Alice heads to the mountains of eastern Kentucky to deliver five boxes of donated books to the library in the tiny coal-mining village of Acorn. Dropped off by her relatives, Alice volunteers to stay for two weeks to help the librarian, Leslie McDougal.



But the librarian turns out to be far different than she anticipated--not to mention the four lady librarians who travel to the remote homes to deliver the much-desired books. While Alice is trapped in Acorn against her will, she soon finds that real-life adventure and myster--and especially romance--are far better than her humble dreams could have imagined.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Wonderland Creek, go HERE.

While We're Far Apart

Brooklyn, New York ~ September 1943

Just like so many other young men, Eddie Schaffer feels it's his duty to enlist to do his part to help in the effort to fight the war currently going on in Europe. What he doesn't expect is his mother's reaction to the news. She is more than upset and when she refuses to care for his children, Eddie is just about out of options.

His wife, Rachel died and he's having a difficult time trying to carry on with life as he knew it with memories of her everywhere and feels he needs a change of scenery. His children don't want their father to die in the war so they aren't happy with his decision either. They certainly don't want to stay with their grandmother, who know has made it obvious she doesn't want them.

"I'll do it!" calls a voice from the backyard. It's Penny, a childhood friend that has known Eddie her whole life. She willing volunteers to watch his kids while he completes basic training as she has been in love with Eddie her whole life. The children, Ester and Peter don't want Penny watching them either, but she offers to stay at their home so the children don't have to leave their school and home. Eddie agrees and a week later he's off to basic training.

Penny's parents are less than thrilled when she tells them her plans and they do all they can to discourage and belittle her efforts. They remind her she is moving into a Jewish neighborhood and nothing good can come from that. Penny's lived her whole life in fear of never being good enough for her parents so she leaves anyway. Penny believes that God is giving her a second chance and thinks if she cares for Eddie children, he will fall in love with her as well.

Penny meets the landlord, Mr. Jacob Mendel, a Jewish man who is bitter and resentful of his life since his wife died as well with Rachel. He blames God for not answering his prayers and while his only son, daughter in law and grandchild remain missing in Hungary, he has no hope left.

Will Penny be able to mend all the torn lives in the people she meets or will she accept the words of her parents that she is a complete failure at anything in life?

In the book, While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin, you are taken through the many lives of the people who are affected by the war and how each one of them finds a way to cope. I received this book, compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and gave it a 5 out of 5 stars. This is a great novel about faith and restoration in the midst of one of the hardest times in the world during WW2.

For more information about this book, the author and where to purchase a copy, please click on the link below:

While We're Far Apart

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing While We're Far Apart Bethany House (October 1, 2010) by Lynn Austin

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

It was during the long Canadian winters at home with her children that Lynn made progress on her dream to write, carving out a few hours of writing time each day while her children napped. Lynn credits her early experience of learning to write amid the chaos of family life for her ability to be a productive writer while making sure her family remains her top priority.

Along with reading, two of Lynn's lifelong passions are history and archaeology. While researching her Biblical fiction series, Chronicles of the Kings, these two interests led her to pursue graduate studies in Biblical Backgrounds and Archaeology through Southwestern Theological Seminary. She and her son traveled to Israel during the summer of 1989 to take part in an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Timnah. This experience contributed to the inspiration for her novel Wings of Refuge.

Lynn resigned from teaching to write full-time in 1992. Since then she has published twelve novels. Five of her historical novels, Hidden Places, Candle in the Darkness, Fire by Night, A Proper Pursuit, and Until We Reach Home have won Christy Awards in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, and 2009 for excellence in Christian Fiction. Fire by Night was also one of only five inspirational fiction books chosen by Library Journal for their top picks of 2003, and All She Ever Wanted was chosen as one of the five inspirational top picks of 2005. Lynn's novel Hidden Places has been made into a movie for the Hallmark Channel, starring actress Shirley Jones. Ms Jones received a 2006 Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Aunt Batty in the film.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In an unassuming apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, three lives intersect as the reality of war invades each aspect of their lives. Young Esther is heartbroken when her father decides to enlist in the army shortly after the death of her mother.

Penny Goodrich has been in love with Eddie Shaffer for as long as she can remember; now that Eddie's wife is dead, Penny feels she has been given a second chance and offers to care for his children in the hope that he will finally notice her and marry her after the war.

And elderly Mr. Mendel, the landlord, waits for the war to end to hear what has happened to his son trapped in war-torn Hungary. But during the long, endless wait for victory overseas, life on the home front will go from bad to worse.

Yet these characters will find themselves growing and changing in ways they never expected--and ultimately discovering truths about God's love...even when He is silent.

If you would like to read the first chapter of While We're Far Apart, go HERE.