Colors of Christmas

I don't know what it is, but I love a great Christmas romance! Something about the time of year inspires hope while romance is in the air. Olivia Newport is no stranger to romance novels and Colors of Christmas is a MUST READ! She combines two different story lines centered around Christmas, one Christmas in Gold and the other, Christmas in Blue. You can almost guess what will be the them of each. In the first, Christmas in Gold, an elderly German woman Astrid takes an unexpected spill down the stairs outside her home while carrying a full load and it prevented her from accurately seeing the steps. Now her son, Alex believes it is time for her to pack up her home, sell it and move to a retirement community where she can be looked after should something like this happen again. While it does offer independent living apartments, Astrid believes in her heart that it is time. After 40 years of dealing with the loss of her last husband and with family being busy with work and living a distance away, it is probably for the best.

Like all great novels, there has to be something more, and for Astrid, she feels that her physical therapist Carly is bearing the weight of the world on her shoulders. She knows she might not be able to do much, but sometimes just having a friend to talk to really helps. For Carly, she hopes that the man who has been trying to contact her, will finally lose hope now that she has obtained a restraining order against him. She only hopes she won't have to pull her son out of school and move again, meaning she would lose her job as well. But as God has a bigger plan in mind. "No two people suffer in identical ways, and we must not discount any suffering. The greatest gift we can give each other is to see suffering and name it as real. Always in suffering we meet fear. Always in suffering we must raise our eyes from darkness to light that awaits. There we will find others who have known suffering. Even God knew the suffering of His own Son."

In Christmas in Blue a long time resident that has always hosted the towns A Christmas to Remember event has passed away and the church committee members believe that the one who knew her the best would be the better choice at continuing the town's desired Christmas event. Angela was her dearest friend but has no clue where to begin or even what to do to make this happen and worst yet, the committee members have given her only 10 days to make it happen. Seems like it will take a Christmas miracle to make that happen and one by one, every single process is hampered in unexplained ways where she will be forced to make some hard decisions and running away is not one of them.

I received Colors of Christmas by Olivia Newport compliments of NetGalley and Barbour Publishing. I found myself relating quite a bit to Christmas in Gold, because my husbands parents are now beginning to look at retirement communities now that they are having so many health issues and family is more than 4 hours away. They desire to stay independent and have no desire to move back to be closer to family either. I found myself sharing this story with my husband and found a common connection with Astrid's character. This is such a wonderful novel and you truly feel like you are getting two books in one. I savored each one for a different night. I didn't want to rush through them and was so glad I did. I easily give this book a 5 out of 5 stars and one doesn't have to wait for Christmas to enjoy them. A reader's discussion guide is included at the conclusion of this book which would make it a perfect book club selection.

For more information about Colors of Christmas, Olivia Newport or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Colors of Christmas by Olivia Newport

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Gladden the Heart

This was a difficult review to consider writing because when I get to a novel that I struggle to maintain focus on and dream of how much longer it would take to finish it so I can move on to something else, I have to take a step back and ask myself a few questions. What can I remember that I have read so far? Is it simply too much to take it for a reader at the beginning of a novel? Do I care what happens to any of these characters? Am I simply distracted from reading because of other things going on around me, that is pulling my focus away? Then I can answer these questions quite honesty and give an honest review. That answer to all of them is "No." I hate when that happens especially when you have read the authors other novels and you really enjoyed them. It was not the cause unfortunately for me in this one.

This novel is part of an ongoing series, Amish Turns of Time, and this one is book 5. I can be honest and say, I have not read any of the previous novels so I can't say whether doing so would have made me enjoy the premise behind this one any better. I have read previous novels that were part of a series and could follow along until I get the just of what is going on with the characters. In this case, I honestly couldn't care about any of them.

It involves two very different set of people living amongst one another, an Amish Order and the Methodists which are close neighbors to one another. Those readers who are familiar with Amish fiction, understand that they are very faithful and committed to their religious beliefs. They try to keep those in the community from being affected by those outside their faith, and in this case with the Methodist preacher who comes to stage tent revivals, a few of the Amish are a bit curious like the main character, Susana who occasionally peeks into the tents to see just what all the fuss is about. Her Amish boyfriend, Adam is making plans to marry Susana and doesn't want to see her dabbling in the other faiths, no matter how curious she is. When her favorite cousin Noah suddenly has spells in which is preaches without remembering any of it, not only is Noah's wife Phoebe at bit concerned, but also the entire Amish community who like to believe that all their preachers come from being chosen in the community not just those who suddenly have the ability.

I received Gladden the Heart by Olivia Newport compliments of Barbour Publishing and Net Galley. In accordance with the new FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book reviewed here at Reviews From The Heart was provided to the reviewer by the publisher, media group or the author for free and were received, unless specified otherwise. For me, this entire novel really never connected. It felt like bits and pieces of two very different parts of the book were spliced together. The beginnings and endings of each set of circumstances seemed disconnected and choppy and thus for me, I had a difficult time truly caring for any of the characters. The spells that Noah continues to have increase in frequency and I can understand why those in the Amish faith might fear this situation, and thus the need to keep them separated while the leaders of the community can figure out just what to do with them. Other readers might feel differently about this novel, but for me, it just fell flat and thus the need for a 2 out of 5 stars in this reader's opinion.  This just wasn't a favorite for me.

For more information about Gladden the Heart, Olivia Newport or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Gladden the Heart by Olivia Newport

You can find Olivia Newport on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

Accidentally Amish

"Annie pulled her phone out and touched the screen. The three text messages she ignored the night before were now seven.

DON'T BE A FOOL, ANNIE.
YOU'RE THROWING EVERYTHING AWAY.
THIS IS NOT OVER. " (pg. 22)

Technology software creator and designer, Annie Friesen learns that her boyfriend/lawyer, Rick Stebbins and her business partner, Barnett Paige are attempting to steal her latest software launch and take away her business, she knows she has to do something to protect her investment. She puts up multiple firewalls to prevent Barnett from hacking into the software while she plans to beat them at their own game. What she didn't realize is how desperate they would become to stop her. When Annie makes plans to disappear from Rick, the plans backfire and she finds him attempting to stop her. She manages to jump into the back of a pickup truck just before it departs leaving Rick attempting to find her on foot.

When the truck arrives at its destination, she learns she has arrived at the Amish farm of Rufus Beiler. Hiding in the barn hoping she can make new plans in the morning, she doesn't plan on the barn animals giving away her hiding place. When Rufus discovers her, he allows her to stay in the barn until morning, and offers her a ride into town the next day. When they arrive to meet with Tom, the owner of the pick up truck she stowed away in, she learns that someone has slashed all four of his tires. She discovers through overhearing a conversation between Rufus and Tom, that they believe it's the work of Karl Kramer, a local English contractor that wants to put Rufus out of business because he believes Rufus is a threat to his business. But Rufus refuses to pursue legal action against Karl because that is not the way of the Amish. He believes God will take care of him.

Annie believes that she can help Rufus but he refuses even her offer of help. While she attempts to stay hidden in the town of Westcliff, Colorado, a very small town, until she can locate an attorney who can help her salvage her business from Rick and Barnett, she finds that perhaps there is something to be said for small town life compared to her own busy one. Will she find more than the solution to her business problem in the heart of this small town? Does she in fact have a tie to the Beiler family through her own family history? You'll have to read Accidentally Amish by Olivia Newport to find out.

I received Accidentally Amish compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and Barbour Publishers for my honest review. This is the first book in the Valley of Choice series and honestly, Olivia had my attention from the very first page. Part suspense fiction and part historical romance, this is a perfect blend of genres to create something that you will want to immerse yourself in and hope the book never ends. To me that's the sure sign of a great book, especially a first in the series. It's like a rich decadent dessert you want to last so you take your time and savor every bit of the story! I easily rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and this is a keeper in my personal library and is on my watch list for upcoming sequels in this series.

For more information about Accidentally Amish, Olivia Newport and where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Accidentally Amish by Olivia Newport

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• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Barbour Books (October 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1616267127
• ISBN-13: 978-1616267124
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1 inches